Leaning In

I want to feel safe.

I want to be guided by God.

I want to be free of conflict.

I want to be fed & feel satisfied.

I want to be without annoyances or pesky things.

Otherwise, I am restless & do not lie down well.

Just like sheep.

There are many references to us in the Bible being like sheep. As I am more aware of myself abiding in Him, I am much more able to be at rest in my day to day, my moment by moment.

Sheep need guidance, peace, freedom from distracting predators, protection, and nourishment. So do we, as people of His Pasture.

Psalm 23, that’s where I wanna live more fully, in my soul, day to day…….in green pastures, beside quiet waters.

Rewiring the brain. The word I equate with renewing our minds from the verse in Romans 12:2.

Science is catching up with the age-old, timeless Truths of God’s Word that is true & works.

Be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Our brains were created so beautifully with the ability to change & adapt. Give it the right food, the right thoughts, the right focus and new pathways are created in our minds.

So cool to me.

Sitting outside before dawn…..the sights & sounds of the world while it is still dark, but stars are stark & bright. Gently they are beginning to fade from view as the daylight in unrolling, these are some of my favorite moments. The birds chirping their healing hertz, the quiet, the low hover of the gases visible in the faint light. The sense of the angel armies encamped around me. The powerful sense that all is right with the world regardless of anything. The silent, powerful surge of God’s Presence that engulfs me but does not overwhelm me. The hope, the new day, the unspoiled hush, the unwritten hours to unfold soon. Priceless moments.

Luke 17:21, The kingdom of heaven is within you.

Colossians 1:27, Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Ephesians 4:6, One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Heaven is in us, the kingdom is in our midst, Christ is indeed in me, we are his temple & he fills us. That bears some repetition, some pondering, some lingering on & some mind-blowing shifts in my thinking up til now. I’ve read those verses many times over the years, but it’s beginning to take on new, deeper heart-meaning for me, and not just be head-knowledge that is kind of surfacey, that I read & skim over too quickly. The Kingdom is IN ME, IN YOU. His eternal, dazzling Light is illuminating in me, in you, right now, merged, blended, entangled, melded, now and forever, not “some day in heaven.” Oneness.

As of late, I’ve been reading & trying to wrap my head around more about the quantum realm/quantum physics, which seems to me to be the scientific proof of this Scriptural concept of the Christ Consciousness Truth. Embedded in us, tattooed on us & in us, swirling within every fiber of our being is the God of the Universe. Not far away, not only in heaven, but right here, right now. Emmanuel, God with us. The fullness of his glory in me. The infusion of the divine, the everlasting God, into me. Makes me think of Fusion Foods (where does one regional ingredient end & the other begin, like TexMex?), Shaken or stirred martinis (where’s the defining line between the ingredients), the delicious swirl cone at DQ or Costco (where does the vanilla end & the chocolate begin?), my fused wedding band & engagement ring (where does one begin & the other end?), the above-ground visibly-melded root systems of some beautiful trees (where does one root end & the other begin?).

We’re in Him, He’s in us. Not partially, not “a bit.” All in! Him in us, us in Him. Completely, 100%. Two, sharing the same existence & space. Christ Consciousness, Oneness, Fullness. Period the end. Oneness.

I love this realization. I love lingering on it & savoring the peace of it, closing my eyes & imagining the miracle that it is, the wholeness, the perfectness, the wonderfulness of this Truth.

It’s the name my son & I have given to the practice of purposely & intentionally baring oneself to the elements of Nature to connect on a deeper level with God, renew weariness sometimes, and savor beauty; for us, here’s how it’s looked so far……it’s putting ourselves into colder temperatures, into snow, to dipping our hands in an ice cold river, lake or ocean water; it can look like riding in the car with the window down blowing in your face or stepping outside on a break from work & taking some deep breaths or taking a quick, brisk walk at lunch and can be standing in the ocean or a cold swimming pool for a few minutes, purposely being out in the elements to experience the rawness of something that interrupts our day in an impactful way. Just experience it, just immerse yourself in it, even briefly; there are such benefits, like a reset. You’ll find yourself missing it when you don’t do it and seeking it out. It changes everything for us as we’ve learned to do this the past 3 years. We spend enough time indoors in this life, with unnatural lighting & sometimes no windows in places or no fresh aire…….it just feels wonderful to blast ourselves with raw, delightful elements of Nature and feel reconnected in an immediate way. And feel more alive.

I highly recommend John Eldredge books, and he suggests in one of them that finding out what feeds your own soul or challenges you to experience the beauty & wonder of Life a bit more each day, is a very valuable, purposeful choice that can reconnect us with our own soul, our Creator, make us feel more alive, rejuvenate us, and make a big difference in our interface with the world.

I have also found in my own life that beautiful photography or a song that resonates deeply with me is also in my John Eldredge-ing practice; a bit gentler, but equally beneficial.

The possibilities are endless, seek yours out & give it a try. I do not think you’ll be disappointed!!

Incline and Hearken. I read them in the Word lately & they have lingered with me.

I love the imagery it affords me to think of those two words. Incline reminds me of turning my attention toward something, leaning in, being intentional & purposeful to draw near. I don’t incline to annoying noise or yelling or loudness, do you? I incline to hear better, see better, smell something, to sense something, or to give undivided attention to another person. Intentional moving toward. Reminds me of God, how in my life He has inclined to me with His Love & Care & Protection. He is always moving toward me. I love that.

And then there’s hearken which to me speaks of listening more acutely or paying attention to something so I don’t miss it. I don’t hearken to bad advice or hardcore rock & roll music because it disturbs my peace. God is always hearkening to my cry, to my voice. I love that. In recent days, I’ve become more acutely aware of where my attention & focus goes, and a reminder that for my life to be optimal, fuller, simpler, less stressed, and less complicated, it’s vital for me to incline and to hearken unto the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. And since He is not a yeller & is described with a still, small voice, I have to hearken & lean in to hear Him in a world that is loud & distracting at times.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.

So let’s live in the “present” and be grateful!

For anyone seeking the God of the Bible as I am, I offer some hopeful heresy to simply say we haven’t been given the complete scope of the Bible. There’s allegedly been some censorship & books withheld from us. There have been narrow, limited or seemingly incomplete things we’ve been taught over the years in my opinion. Seems that the Ethiopian Bible has survived for 16 centuries & has additional texts in it that add richness & understanding to the full story of God. And do we ever need it for such a time as this. Those books are on a roll out that I’m just now beginning to notice, and what a blessing to have them available online in audiobook form. As I listen, some dots are being connected, some timelines are being populated, some concepts are being explained more fully, and some things that never made sense are becoming more clear. God bless the people in Ethiopia who preserved them & painstakingly hand wrote them so that they were not subject to further editing, exclusion or omissions. Some of those books are Jubilees, Ascension of Isaiah, Esdras, Enoch, Maccabees & Baruch. I’m diving in! Spring & Summer Reading List, here I come.

Where have courtesy & politeness gone? Manners, appreciation, some patience, some consideration of others. Simple kindnesses. Please and thank you. Excuse me. You’re welcome. A smile. Are you ok?, Pardon me, may I help you, what can I do for you? I’ll wait, you go ahead. Holding the door for others, speaking up to a server or other worker that is rocking it & doing such a great job; the grocery store clerk that actually comes up to you personally & says I’ll help you over here; people with you who are present with you & not responding to each & every beep, vibrate & ding; stopping your car at a crosswalk fully aware there are people really, truly going to cross the road right now; posting a google review mentioning people’s names if possible & complimenting the good, to name just a few! Has anybody else wondered that lately, as I have?

Reader discretion advised, for I will be going dark briefly, listing out some of my pet peeves about lost common courtesies…going Negative Nancy on you for a few moments..Seems we are bombarded every day with rudeness that assaults our sensibilities……red light runners, tailgaters, honkers, ragers; people dropping trash & not caring; people in the gym or pacing around the airport with headphones plopped on their heads the size of lawnmower tires yelling their conversations that we do not want to hear, that can be heard in the next city; people in the grocery store check out line waiting behind us, but bum rushing the clerk that has been summoned (& has just opened their checkout line) to be first in line while the rest of us are stunned at the rudeness; those folks who park their cart in the middle of the aisle so that you cannot get past them & then if you try to move their basket they will give you the stink eye for touching their cart; the people in the back of the aircraft who bum rush the rest of us patiently waiting in our seats or the aisle just next to our row of seats, to get off (I clearly understand there are people late for a connection & that is acceptable, but…..); people in the gym who have germed up & sweated all over handles & weights & do not sanitize the equipment they have just used with a quick sanitizing wipe down; now I haven’t been to an actual movie theater for years, but when people used to wait til the middle of the movie to open their noisy candy wrappers in the dark when they clearly arrived & sat down with their stash at least 15 minutes prior to the movie starting, oh my!! How about this one…..looking up from your phone only long enough to remember yes, I’m there and pretend you’re listening to me for a second, fully wishing you could answer that notification (I get emergencies, but how often is the next ring or vibrate an actual emergency?); people who are parked next to us in tight spaces & do not hang on to their door & smack your car & then see you sitting there & try to pretend they didn’t just see you & didn’t whack your car.

Perhaps I sound petty & way too detailed about some of the annoyances. But I said all that in a bit of detail to say I believe we can be the light in the darkness; continue to show kindness & courtesy & let our own manners & considerations be contagious. Pay it forward. Bring back some good old fashioned values that seem to be fading away, but can be reborn through us. It brings such joy to my heart & a smile to my face to be treated considerably & respectfully so I know the one can become the many!!