Feb. 26-"Solitude must be woven into our daily life, it produces reverence. Reverence is that altered state of consciousness when you feel awe and wonder. Reverence enwraps you in perfect peace because there is no past/future, only the present moment. Today try concentrating on one task at a time w/care and attentiveness, it will evoke reverence. Real life full of joy begins when we restore a sense of reverence to our daily affairs. Today, search for the sacred in the ordinary of your life-you will find gratitude in your heart."
Feb. 27-"If you consciously work to bring more gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, and joy into your daily life, your world will be transformed. The spiritual, creative and practical can't be seperated-they are connected. You think you are only making a meatloaf, you're really ministering to hungry bodies and weary souls in need of nourishment and love. Spirituality is the sacred center of which all life comes...including Monday, Tuesdays and rainy Saturdays in all their mundane yet glorious details."
Feb. 28-"Create a sacred space to celebrate, concentrate and consecrate your inner work. Start gathering meaningful objects that evoke love and gratitude to you. These things will encourage you to meditate more often. The objects should represent all that you love and you are grateful for."
As I was quoting some of these thoughts, I was reminded that though one can never be sure where an author's "thought" truly comes from, you can know what thoughts an author provokes in you. In thinking about reverence, my mind immediately goes to God, the great Creator. For He is the one that deserves my reverence. It is through the blood of His Son that my sin filled past no longer exists and that my future is secure if I will continue to obey Him/revere Him. When thinking about the "ordinary" in my life and the daily tasks I am given to do, I am reminded of the passage that says, "Work heartily as to the Lord." "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord." God is my employer...it is for Him that I work. Therefore whatever the task is, I must remember that it is a privilege to do it for my God. Sure, sometimes others reap the benefits from the tasks that I do-but this is not the motivation from within-it is my love/reverence for God that keeps me on task. Which brings me to the second thought-one way to keep my priorities straight is to evaluate my task at hand and decide if it has "eternal" consequences/benefits. My greatest desire/goal is to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness", therefore obtaining the great reward of Heaven when I leave this life. In a day full of so many good/wholesome activities to choose from-I must exercise self control and decide which are the "best" things I can choose. Does my task/activity help me to meet my goal in some way? If not, perhaps my time/effort is better spent letting go of some activities and choosing something more profitable for me/others spiritually. Never in the history of mankind have we had so many avenues/opportunities to "do/be" so many things. Choice abounds everywhere! The more noble path is the one which understands that the choices we make help frame our life. The most important choice any of us will ever make is whether we will choose to follow God and His path toward eternal reward. In the details/tasks of daily life I fear this is often forgotten and overlooked by most of us. This is one of Satan's greatest tools-"diversion". If he can keep us distracted...even with "good" things/choices, then he is succeeding in keeping us from a relationship with God. This idea of "good" things/choices...in the N.T., James reminds us that "all good and perfect gifts come down from above." Perhaps part of the problem is that we define "good" based on our own earthly experiences instead of through the eyes of God. Since God is the giver of all things "good", we should only follow after those things which will bring us closer to God. Even if a task/activity/choice cannot be defined as "sin", it does not necessarily mean the thing is "good" for us. The only things truly "good" for us are the things which help us retain our focus on God. What a challenge it is to look at and seriously consider our daily activities strictly in relation to "how does this benefit me spiritually?" What you will find is that a LOT of our tasks/activities can be "good", therefore related to maintaining our focus on God. It merely has to do with regaining a proper/spiritual perspective. That perspective must come from God. The way to gain that perspective is to meditate/spend time reflecting on the Word of God so that we can better understand each day the way that God thinks, who God is, what God desires, etc... This requires time. Time spent trying to better understand God's purpose for us is the most important way we can use our time. It also requires solitude. Solitude is different for each of us at different stages in our lives. When I was the mother of preschool children, it meant that I got up "earlier" than my children to be alone in the stillness/quietness of the morning so that I could seek the face of God. It involved some sacrifice on my part-giving up a bit of sleep. But, that time passes very quickly and the reward from that time alone w/God is eternal for me:) Now that my children are older, it means that once they have gone off to school, I have time to be alone, with God, observing what He says, "Be still and know that I am God." God does not expect us to live in seclusion, He expects us to "live in the world, but not be of the world." God expects us to be "different" than those that have not yet chosen to be His obedient child. This will require our perspective to be different, which will require us to spend time with Him in His word. I am reminded of the scripture in Romans 12:1-2 which says, "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." God sent His Son to be a sacrifice for our sins, it is "reasonable" for us to present our own bodies in God's service. Not because God "NEEDS" our service, God created the world in 6 days merely by SPEAKING it into existence...He does not "need" us/our service...instead He desires to have relationship with us. One of the ways we are "set apart"(holy) is through our service to Him, not merely our service to ourselves or mankind. Renewing our minds-that is what will help us know what is GOOD. If left to our own devices and deciding for ourselves what God wants/what the mind of God is...we would be forever lost. What a blessing to have God's word, forever preserved for us through the guidance/protection of the Holy Spirit. Let us each seek to understand/know God better each day by renewing our minds with that blessed word. Which brings me to my final thought-creating a sacred space for yourself to renew your mind. It is important to have a specific "place" that you can go to enjoy solitude and renewing your mind with God's word. Again, that place will be different for each of us and can change with stages of life. When my children were younger, my sacred space was my bedroom-my nightstand contained the various "tools" I needed (the word of God, study guides, bible study books, etc...) to focus on God. Today, my sacred space is in my recliner in my living room where I have a picture of my girls, a basket full of "tools" that I use for study/encouragement, and my laptop that I use for blogging and encouraging others to seek God. In more recent years, I have also implemented a "get away" retreat for myself with God chicks. This gives me a week away from daily "tasks" to refocus my time/energy on the purpose of my life while encouraging my sisters to press ever upward toward that goal of Heaven. I treasure the time I have away at retreats/summer youth bible camp. Those are some of the greatest times of in depth spiritual focus for me. Start thinking about these things for yourself today. Do you think of God as your employer, or do you see your job merely as providing a paycheck? Are you seeking the "good" things, the things which bring you closer to God/understanding God? Do you have a sacred space? A space just for you where you can join God and focus on eternal things? I challenge each of us to not allow Satan to "divert" our attention, instead choose the more noble/sacrificial path toward an eternal home with God.
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