Carrie Newcomer’s Holy As the Day is Spent stands as one of my all time favorite songs. It speaks to the everyday holy moments of “folding sheets like folding hands, to pray as only laundry can.” May your week be full of the Holy enmeshed in the daily.
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In Him together, Susan Gaddis
Sometimes the most important thing you can do is nothing. As the great theologian Winnie the Pooh said, “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
I rediscovered the importance of doing nothing on my summer vacation–long days with no agenda, no obligations, and few phones. Endless hours included time to crochet and read mindless novels that provided mental rest and laughter. Lovely dinners cooked with simple food and glorious sunsets added beauty to the atmosphere of doing nothing.
This was not as easy as it sounds for a girl who is very project and goal oriented. I never touched the little projects and books I had brought along with the thought I’d have time to work on my website or study for a retreat message. Every time I looked at them I heard the Lord say, “No.” So nothing of “value” was done during vacation except:
1. I rested–both physically and mentally.
2. I had a great time with my husband who was also suffering from work withdraw.
3. I found my creative juices slowly regenerating.
4. I let the world be bigger than what I could control.
5. I discovered that not caring about some things is a very important discipline.
6. I learned that it takes several days to really get into the practice of doing nothing.
Since Tom and I take Fridays as our Sabbath, the practice of doing nothing is an ongoing discipline–a spiritual discipline that provides a place and time to connect with God and each other. How do you work the spiritual discipline of doing nothing into your life?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
About two weeks ago Tom and I snuck away to a friend’s cabin at Hume Lake. It is one of our ways to obey Mark 6:31, “And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” We needed to obey the first part of this verse in order to get relief from the second.
I knew we were long overdue for a short sabbatical when we slept most of the first two days. Slowly the weight of the last year of ministry dissipated, and the year before us was order to a starting date three weeks away on the calendar.
We quickly settled into our routine of quiet prayer and reading before the rest of the human world woke around us. By the time the people noises joined the bird chatter, Tom had usually completed his run around the lake, and I had breakfast cooking.
Our morning discussions over the latest book we were reading together happened over a third cup of coffee on our large deck or at one of the outdoor tables at the Hume coffee shop.
Other vacations spent at Hume have not always been so peaceful. In the past, we’ve had kids and friends with us—fun, but more busy than peaceful. This year we left the two youngest at home to house-sit and maintain their jobs of gardening and ice-cream scooping at Cold Stone. Without them, we still canoed, swam, and bought our coffee and malts from the cash Tom found on the bottom of the lake—a result of high school kids swimming with loose change in their open swimsuit pockets.
We’ve not always planned our vacations well. Often our vacations take the form of escape with lots of activities thrown in that are fun and designed to bond us as a family, but not always restful. As we grow older, I’m viewing our vacations as more of a short sabbatical rather than a busy diversion from a crowded life of ministry. This post is simply my reminder to:
1. Schedule more than one week of vacation at a time. It takes almost a week to unwind and another few days are needed to transition back into work mode. The middle days are for refreshing and renewal. This summer we scheduled three weeks in a row of vacation time.
2. Reserve part of our vacation for just the two of us to enjoy—long days strung together without interruptions or responsibilities. Then move on to “people time”—enjoying family and friends. After our week at Hume Lake, we headed to Shell Beach, an ocean community, where we can connect with family and friends and still find quiet days to spend together.
How do you structure your vacation time for rest and refreshing with the Lord? What has, or hasn’t, worked for you?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
Sometimes I forget that God is closer to my kids than I am. Usually this lapse of memory occurs when a child, or grandchild, falls into some type of crisis—or my definition of a crisis. When my worry genes kick in, my mind switches gears into anxiety mode and my hand reaches for my Bible. The latter action adjusts the former two.
One tip for dissolving worry is to tweak your mind from thinking worry-talk to thinking promise-talk. Here are two Scripture promises I use for my personal self-talk during times of anxiety. Note how each Scripture ignites a spiritual pep talk in my brain. Just replace my name with yours.
“Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he” (Isaiah 41:4 NIV).
Susan, God has been calling your generations from the beginning of time. He has called each individual in your family into existence and he is with each one of your kids, just as he has been with you. He is also calling your kids—even those yet unborn—to come into his love and light. God is passionate about your generations and he is passionately in love with your kids. He will always be at their side drawing them close.
“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11 NIV).
Susan, God’s plans and purposes for your kids will stand firm. These plans are not dependent on the opinion or actions of your kids, yourself, or others. God is more determined than you are to see your kids come into his kingdom and walk with him. His intimate thoughts are on each person in the generations that follow you—planning how He can influence each life to reflect His love and grace.
God’s promises hold steady when our lives don’t. Self-talking a few Scriptures transforms worry into faith. What Scripture promises do you grab onto when your children hit your worry button?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
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I’ve been experimenting with ebooks as I plan to publish an ebook called Scripture Prayers to Pray for Your Kids. I also plan update my Family Discipleship Manuals and release them in an ebook format within the next few months. My first adventure into the ebook realm consists of a booklet full of contemplative quotes.
Some years ago I hosted a contemplative prayer retreat at the historic San Miguel Mission. I thought it would just be myself and a few curious friends attending, but I was surprised at the turnout and how eager folks were to learn about this ancient Christian practice.
Many people don’t realize there is a name for the intimacy they experience or desire with the Lord. Contemplation is all about intimacy and holiness with the Lover of our souls. Contemplative prayer is an ancient tradition for gaining a depth of relationship with God. I find it interesting that this practice is exactly what the Spirit Holy is saying to the church in this present hour—intimacy and holiness.
We also touch on contemplative prayer when I teach on Hearing God’s Voice at YWAM’s Discipleship Training Schools and in our own ministry training courses at church. People hunger for this practice that dates back to our ancient Jewish roots. Someday I’ll put these teachings into an ecourse, but for now a short booklet of quotes will have to do.
Definitions of contemplative include:
I like Peggy Wilkinson’s definition best. In her book, Finding the Mystic Within You, she explains that, “the word ‘contemplation’ is based on the Latin ‘templum—open space for observation of the heavens, which also gives us temple.’ In contemplation we descend into our inner space to observe heavenly things.”
Moments of contemplation arise during my morning coffee, prayer, and musings. Other times I take an hour or more to practice contemplative prayer in the quiet of my study or garden. I’m still learning much about this ancient practice. Some of the things I write about are birthed during such hours of intimacy with the Lord.
You’ll find Quotes for the Contemplative Life available on my Free Stuff page at www.susangaddis.net. You do not need to buy special software to read this ebook—you can read it right on your computer. The password to open the booklet is contemplativequotes. I hope you’ll enjoy it enough to pass on to your friends.
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
One of the most important duties of grandmahood is to teach your granddaughters how to knit, or in my case, how to crochet. Whoever wrote this grandma rule was someone who understood the ways of the Lord.
Teaching my granddaughters the way I crochet insures that some part of who I am and how I do things will be passed on to succeeding generations. The companionship fostered as we learn how to hold a hook and weave the yarn through a post stitch binds our hearts together tighter than a phone conversation.
Teaching involves more than communicating instructions—doing the directions together is part of the mentoring. I wonder if I am as teachable as my granddaughters. “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name” (Psalm 86:11 NIV).
What has God been teaching you lately? How has that experience knit your heart to his?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
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What is the one thing that captured your wonder yesterday? Was it the fresh air that blew across your face as you stepped out your front door? Was it the quiet of the house as you went to bed? Did you encounter any wonder in your day?
So much of life is our handiwork—our accomplishments—our successes. We often miss the wonder tucked within our schedule and busy lives:
Psalm 89:5 reminds us that the heavens praise the wonders of the Lord. Why don’t we? The heavens will give way to a new heaven and earth one day, but we will live for all eternity future. Why should the heavens be more proficient at praising the wonder of the Lord than we are?
I have decided that the heavens aren’t going to be the only thing praising the wonders of the Creator. I’m determined to write one wonder each day in my journal. Care to join me? I dare you to say, “Wow God, you rock!” out loud each time you see a wonder this week.
What has captured your wonder today?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
I’d never given much thought to an old woman’s hands until I looked at my mother’s wrinkled ones covered with age marks. Now she is gone and I regret not giving voice to what those hands represented.
Funny how something so ordinary becomes holy when viewed through the lens of thankfulness.
I appreciated the blacktop on the road in front of my house when I started walking again after many months recovering from foot surgery. The blacktop made the road smooth. Uneven ground threatened my balance. The ability to walk and pray without having to constantly look where my foot was placed gave me a freedom I had missed.
Thornton Wilder once remarked, “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” How alive are you today? What are your treasures?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
The New Year comes. May you experience the gift of simple days where the Holy walks with the ordinary. “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God” (Eccl. 3:12–13 NIV).
Sometimes I forget to notice the simple joys that comprise my daily routine. A morning kiss served with a cup of coffee, the fresh smell of laundry cleaned, a meal together at the end of the day—these are the threads weaving my life into holy days.
Most of us are oblivious to the Holy tucked away in the corners of our life. We want the sparkle and flashing lights that come with the announcement of angels and the riches of the wise men. But Christmas is over and a New Year awaits us. I hope this year to embrace the simple more.
In The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan comments, “This is a gift of God: to experience the sacred amidst the commonplace—to taste heaven in our daily bread, a new heaven and new earth in a mouthful of wine, joy in the ache of our muscles or the sweat of our brows.”
Where do you find the sacred amidst the commonplace? What are the simple joys that tie the Holy to your day?
View from my back deck
Holy moments are just that—moments when the Holy touches your life and then is gone.
I had a moment like that earlier this week. I watched my favorite, old tree turn golden as the morning sun warmed the day. The leaves danced to the ground like falling snow.
My golden, morning moment came and went. By the end of the week my tree looked ready for winter—naked and cold.
God is like that—casting his glow over my day and then letting me feel the bite of winter. Without the winter, I wouldn’t notice the glory of the golden leaves.
What have been your holy moments of golden leaves saved up for winter’s cold?
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
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