Instagram post 2197364386242591032_20301831 “We have great demands, but Christ has great supplies. Between here and heaven, we may have greater wants than we have yet known. But all along the journey, every resting place is ready; provisions are laid up, good cheer is stored, and nothing has been overlooked.” Charles Spurgeon
Instagram post 2196768275408829063_20301831 I love these words by @jenwilkin: “Entertaining is always thinking about the next course. Hospitality burns the rolls because it was listening to a story. Entertaining obsesses over what went wrong. Hospitality savors what was shared. Entertaining, exhausted, says ‘It was nothing, really!’ Hospitality thinks it was nothing. Really. Entertaining seeks to impress. Hospitality seeks to bless.” ✨ Cheers to coffee and conversations amidst piled up clean clothes, stacks of paper on the counter and burp cloths everywherrrrrrr.
Instagram post 2195999042747837058_20301831 Being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong adventure of knowing His great love for us and reciprocating it back to Him. [new blog post]
Instagram post 2193270798621765232_20301831 N E W  B L O G  P O S T — “I have felt so much shame because of the things I’m struggling with. I have felt so much confusion over why certain things feel so challenging to me right now. And I have been exhausting myself trying to make myself ‘better.’ To which God says: Stop thinking you’re out because of how you are right now. Keep coming. You’re in. You’ll always be in. You’ll always be loved. You’ll always be Mine. I won’t give up on you. So you don’t give up on Me.” #postpartum
Instagram post 2191824718843486802_20301831 On repeat — He’s a God of infinite, unfathomable power AND care for my small, seemingly hidden needs.
Instagram post 2188698527575970533_20301831 For Christmas, John gifted me a revamp of my blog (#nerdstatus). I enjoy writing and photos and storytelling. I like Instagram. I like connecting with friends and strangers near and far over things like hair care, God and books. 
Today, so much life happens via the internet and technology, and it might be tempting to think abundant life and purpose are found in online activity. But we were made for loving God and people, not life online. ✨ Real flourishing happens where our feet are planted, in face-to-face connection and presence, and enjoying God most in the places no one else sees. ✨ Right?

I really enjoy having a blog. And sharing stories + graces on Instagram, but the conviction still stands — I don’t live to share it online. I share from the living and breathing I do offline. 
And I pray it adds goodness and light and maybe causes people to linger a little longer on the Lord.
Instagram post 2187517128504388173_20301831 What if thanksgiving is less about mustering or mounting a list of good things and more about a posture of living open to God? Sometimes we’ll feel there isn’t anything to be thankful for, other times we’ll want to cry over the beauty and wonder of life.

Maybe being thankful isn’t only about the reasons but more about surrender. Maybe it’s wherever and however we find ourselves, we [ask and] allow Him to produce in us a discipline of seeing Light, of hearing a different Voice, of abiding in His Presence, of serving in His Kingdom and not building our own.
Instagram post 2187418496979563625_20301831 Spouse — an extension + working out of God’s love, help, fresh air, strength, joy, friendship, grace, sharpening, forgiveness and wisdom for me.
Instagram post 2187116267244465542_20301831 Happy Thanksgiving! Someone pass the butter...
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faith · 09/05/2017

the practice of internal wonder

Internal stillness takes practice. It is the fruit of hiddenness — a life that’s lived looking at God, a life of wonder in Him — and it needs to be cultivated. Sara Hagerty, Unseen

Do you ever feel tempted to make your relationship with God about appearances or productivity?

It can sometimes happen unknowingly, and the mindset shift can be stealthy. It sometimes happens under the guise of church activity or mentorship, even bible study and service.

God continues to bring the story of Mary and Martha in Luke to my mind.

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Martha, perhaps busying herself with tasks she had deemed more important than gazing at Jesus. She might have even had that internal warring going on many of us can relate to: so many people in my home, it needs to be clean…. I need to appear productive and making things happen…. I wonder what that person is thinking about me… These things need to be done first, then I’ll listen to Jesus.

Can you relate?

I can.

The tendency to believe the lie that work done for God is more important than my friendship with and love for Him.

But I think a greater truth is that our unseen time with Him is what makes all the difference.

Our exchange of words, His Truth and my worship, hidden from the eyes of others, needs to be my most precious thing.

In Sara’s book (in which I basically highlighted every paragraph), she also makes this statement. My soul was cartwheeling in agreement.

Meeting Him required quieting my insides enough to hear and respond. The kind of dialogue I was learning to have with God burgeoned when I saw it as an exchange — my mind for His thoughts, my fear for His assurance, my whispers for His response.

My insides have been a little chaotic lately.

But Holy Spirit is changing how I think about my friendship with God. My private life with Him, the exchange I have with Him every minute of every day, should be my priority.

When my soul’s focus is on human approval, or getting everything perfectly clean or organized, or the pressure of being everyone’s cheerleader 24/7, or serving on every team until I’m burned out, I miss out.

When my soul’s eye remains fixed on Him, on what He thinks about me or about a circumstance I find myself in, there I find real joy, real rest, real change, real Jesus.

When I prioritize our time together, I am filled to the brim with fruit of His Spirit, not fighting (a.k.a exhausting myself) to maintain high spiritual levels.

When I look at any situation — staff meeting, cooking dinner, driving around town — as a chance to encounter Him, this is how I dig deeper the roots of my spiritual growth.

I once wondered why I struggled to live this reality, but now I think it’s because I didn’t fully grasp the beauty in my unseen time with Him being the most important thing in life. 

It’s our private life with God that overflows to incredible Kingdom impact, not our focus on how well we’re doing.

I can sometimes fall into that trap: gauging my strength level, joy level, knowledge level.

A life of abiding in Jesus is one of complete, utter, beautiful, freeing dependence on Him.

Leaning into His Spirit who is closer to you than any other person.

Charles Stanley, in his book The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life, talks about how we simply bear (or wear, as I like to think of it) fruit, we don’t produce it. We aren’t told in the Bible to imitate Holy Spirit’s deeds, but His fruit. And His fruit is produced from an active, intimate, friendship relationship with Him. He produces it, we bear it.

The Trinity is all about community, togetherness, union, right? Before God spoke our world into existence, it was only the Three: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

If we want to bear the fruit of God, if we want to actually develop His qualities, we should start with an almost secret (and sacred) habit of conversing with and gazing at Him.

In that space and time, I believe will come amazing things.

Let’s be real, it will definitely take practice, an intentional turning from other distractions, frequently, but I wholeheartedly believe it’s worth it.

Practical ways might be not turning to social media before you go to sleep or while you’re waiting at the doctor’s office or at a stoplight, but choosing a Psalm to meditate on.

It might be singing worship songs while you get ready in the morning, or researching the names of God and meditating on one per week.

It might be going for a walk or run without music, opting for nature sounds and praying for friends/neighbors.

It is amazing how clear things become when we are still before Him, not complaining, not insisting on quick answers, only seeking to hear His word in the stillness, and to see things in His light. Elisabeth Elliot

Are you willing to reprioritize? To focus more being a soul who lives looking at God than one who only does good work for Him?

Friend, I’m yelling a joyful YES!

Photo by Jean Gerber on Unsplash

In: faith · Tagged: abiding, biblical truth, fresh start, prayer, spiritual growth

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Comments

  1. Alice Smith says

    09/10/2017 at 1:30 am

    WOW. This is what I struggle with everyday. Do I stop and read my bible, finish my BSF assignment, finish that K Group reading, or do I do the ironing, clean the kitty litter box, empty the dishwasher, or just sit for a minute and look at the HGTV magazine that came in the mail today and maybe have a quiet cup of coffee before the grandkids arrive. So many things pulling for my time. I must prioritize and get it right. It is important to get it right. And so often I grease the squeaky wheel instead of filling my mind and heart for the Gospel. Your post is inspiring.

  2. Chelsea B.E. says

    09/14/2017 at 12:46 pm

    I know what you mean, Alice! I like how you phrased that, “so often I grease the squeaky wheel instead of filling my mind and heart for the Gospel.” Beautiful. Thanks for leaving a comment!

Trackbacks

  1. A Few Favorite Books Read This Year – heartnatured says:
    12/20/2017 at 7:45 pm

    […] This post is the fruit of my enlightenment, let’s call it, after reading Sara’s latest b… If you can’t get your mind around this theme / truth yet, she writes: “God never stops looking at and into us. There is never a time when we are unseen by Him.” It is comforting, inspiring, and strengthening to know and believe that no matter what, God’s loving eyes are on me. He sees us under the mountain of laundry, He sees us working diligently at your job, He sees us when we wrestle over Spirit and flesh, and He knows and cares about every emotion we feel. If we want to bear the fruit of God, if we want to actually develop His qualities, we should start with an almost secret (and sacred) habit of conversing with and gazing at Him. It’s our private life with God that overflows to incredible Kingdom impact, not our focus on how well we’re doing. Truthfully, there are truths are learned reading this book I should recite over myself every week. […]

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Instagram post 2197364386242591032_20301831 “We have great demands, but Christ has great supplies. Between here and heaven, we may have greater wants than we have yet known. But all along the journey, every resting place is ready; provisions are laid up, good cheer is stored, and nothing has been overlooked.” Charles Spurgeon
Instagram post 2196768275408829063_20301831 I love these words by @jenwilkin: “Entertaining is always thinking about the next course. Hospitality burns the rolls because it was listening to a story. Entertaining obsesses over what went wrong. Hospitality savors what was shared. Entertaining, exhausted, says ‘It was nothing, really!’ Hospitality thinks it was nothing. Really. Entertaining seeks to impress. Hospitality seeks to bless.” ✨ Cheers to coffee and conversations amidst piled up clean clothes, stacks of paper on the counter and burp cloths everywherrrrrrr.
Instagram post 2195999042747837058_20301831 Being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong adventure of knowing His great love for us and reciprocating it back to Him. [new blog post]
Instagram post 2193270798621765232_20301831 N E W  B L O G  P O S T — “I have felt so much shame because of the things I’m struggling with. I have felt so much confusion over why certain things feel so challenging to me right now. And I have been exhausting myself trying to make myself ‘better.’ To which God says: Stop thinking you’re out because of how you are right now. Keep coming. You’re in. You’ll always be in. You’ll always be loved. You’ll always be Mine. I won’t give up on you. So you don’t give up on Me.” #postpartum
Instagram post 2191824718843486802_20301831 On repeat — He’s a God of infinite, unfathomable power AND care for my small, seemingly hidden needs.
Instagram post 2188698527575970533_20301831 For Christmas, John gifted me a revamp of my blog (#nerdstatus). I enjoy writing and photos and storytelling. I like Instagram. I like connecting with friends and strangers near and far over things like hair care, God and books. 
Today, so much life happens via the internet and technology, and it might be tempting to think abundant life and purpose are found in online activity. But we were made for loving God and people, not life online. ✨ Real flourishing happens where our feet are planted, in face-to-face connection and presence, and enjoying God most in the places no one else sees. ✨ Right?

I really enjoy having a blog. And sharing stories + graces on Instagram, but the conviction still stands — I don’t live to share it online. I share from the living and breathing I do offline. 
And I pray it adds goodness and light and maybe causes people to linger a little longer on the Lord.
Instagram post 2187517128504388173_20301831 What if thanksgiving is less about mustering or mounting a list of good things and more about a posture of living open to God? Sometimes we’ll feel there isn’t anything to be thankful for, other times we’ll want to cry over the beauty and wonder of life.

Maybe being thankful isn’t only about the reasons but more about surrender. Maybe it’s wherever and however we find ourselves, we [ask and] allow Him to produce in us a discipline of seeing Light, of hearing a different Voice, of abiding in His Presence, of serving in His Kingdom and not building our own.
Instagram post 2187418496979563625_20301831 Spouse — an extension + working out of God’s love, help, fresh air, strength, joy, friendship, grace, sharpening, forgiveness and wisdom for me.
Instagram post 2187116267244465542_20301831 Happy Thanksgiving! Someone pass the butter...
Instagram post 2186839378445531809_20301831 Two things — 1. @birdsonglouisphotography is the bee’s knees of people photography. If you need photos taken, contact them. They are a joy to be around. And 2. @kb_akins, we’ve made it through high school sports, braces, mean girls and a lot of growing up. You’re a wife and I’m a mom now... I can only imagine all the next few chapters hold. I think being adult sisters might be more fun than being kid sisters.

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