Soul-Satiating

07.02.19.  Truth. Trust. Provision. Seeking. Soul-satiating.

Terry, my hubby, knows me inside-out. Terry sees me doing all the things and filling up the daily schedule and, when having been totally spent, he sees me fall into bed. Terry knows I love to travel and store up memories to recall, later. He may have planned this weekend to be a birthday trip to East Tennessee, but it was so much more. 

Soul-satiating space that could not be interrupted by the demands of schedule nor a cell signal. 

Soul-satiating pace with the perfect rhythm for Terry and I to walk hand-in-hand and to talk face-to-face about something or nothing in particular and to sing silly songs.

Soul-satiating place perfectly situated with water and bluffs and wildlife and a canoe for two to explore the good things of our living and loving Heavenly Father. Did I mention I'm a 7w8 on the Enneagram?

Soul-satiating grace. That's what grace feels like to me. 

It runs deeply to care for the things we keep buried, because they hurt too deeply. It soothes

and fills the dry, cracked, calloused areas exposed and desensitized by overuse. Soul-satiating grace is that soft

place to fall back and unclench our spirits to trust Truth. It is the provision of spiritual nutrients we are lacking, because we have gone too long unaware of being depleted and weakened.

Why and how do I allow myself to become empty? When does it happen? It's not penciled into my planner with a set date.

After I was full-up, again, I believe I caught a clue.

An intimate, soul-satiating relationship with God is not accidental. It is intentional.

Even though I plan daily devotions and attend Sunday worship service, my mind can fire a dozen different directions without fully being in those moments with Him. If I am not intentionally listening and not purposefully positioning myself to have my soul satisfied to the fullest measure, I will be back at that place -again- wondering why and how and when did empty happen?

Singer-Song Writer and worship leader, Jason Upton, raises his voice in lyrical prayer in Wild and Free with this one line that makes my soul agree - "Lord, fill my heart till it's full on hunger."

That deserves a two-hands-raised-in-praise!

I'm thankful for spotting the EMBRACED book by Lysa TerKeurst at a ladies' conference. I'm thankful for her devotions sparking my spirit for these 32 days, because the devotions have pointed to what is good and necessary and soul-satiating -- a deeper, intentional relationship with the One who loves me.

In Wisdom's Time-Out

06.26.19.  Wisdom.

When I pray for His wisdom, it is imperative I know my own motivation. Is it to hoard wisdom? That's goofy. Is it for selfish pride? That's not godly. Wisdom of the Lord. Wisdom for the moment. Not to be the smartest person in the room, but to know His direction. To consult the Lord and know His thoughts and, then, act or speak or be still and quiet. Why do I pray for wisdom?
I need wisdom when I speak with people.I need wisdom when I make decisions. I need wisdom for ministry and work responsibilities. I need wisdom in the emotional moments when it would be easier for me to knee-jerk react. I need wisdom to know myself.

"...make your ear attentive to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding. If you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding and if you search for it like silver and hidden treasures, THEN, you will have a reverent respect and trust in the Lord, because He gives wisdom and speaks knowledge for us to hear and treasure." (Proverbs 2:1-6 SAMtrans)

This weekend had been one day longer with friends, ministry and travel. Engaging and fun.

But, by yesterday, I woke up feeling tired and stiff. Eager to write and catch-up on posting my thoughts from the EMBRACED book, I started. There was plenty of time, but my head felt disconnected as if it didn't want to crank. After several attempts and coffee and prayer, I pushed my journal and computer aside. No sense of getting frustrated. Move on.

Am I the only one who needs wisdom to know when to push through or when to push aside without guilt or self-condemnation?

Not conscious of the wisdom of the moment, I made something to eat and rested my body and brain with a National Geographic Channel recording about the National Parks Service. In case you place to much attention on my viewing selection, know that's not what I'm driving at.

Sometimes, the wisest thing we can do is rest our body and mind. Why fight it when fatigue clearly is the victor? I would like to think that a residue of wisdom was clinging to the frontal lobe of my brain like a kind of spiritual lichen clinging to the northern side of a tree and, causing me to wisely retreat to the couch for a couple of hours. 

After learning about the birth of the parks service and a couple more episodes of the diverse beauty in our National Parks, I found my feet and brain and moved with more clarity. Wisdom had set me down and propped me up in a much needed time-out.

Notes from Lysa TerKeurst and my missing EMBRACED posts:

How am I spending my soul?
It's good to use wisdom and knowledge and an understanding of your resource capacity to access your decisions. (This "resource capacity" dealio, by the way, is brilliant!)
Not every opportunity was meant to be my assignment. (Yes! Sam, pay attention!)

Her thoughts on wisdom were setting me up for me to make a wise choice.

Learning about myself has been this month's reading focus using The Road Back to You: An

Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery. If you have not read the book, I encourage you to put it on your list and study it, soon. If you have explored the book, then you are cued to just how wonderfully we've been created! For those interested, I'm either a 7 Wing 8 or an 8 Wing 7. Yep, my motor runs hot... until it doesn't and I need to engage that part of wisdom that instructs me to rest.


We have opportunities every single day to let wisdom guide us, if we ask, listen and obey.