“Rest allows us to fully process and move through our experiences. This rhythmic nature is the way all creation functions. . . . We were made to flow like water. We simply cannot and were not made to be in one season all the time. . . . The wisdom of strong like water reminds […]
“We are called to begin our weeks at rest by receiving the gift of the Sabbath. When we honor this invitation, we work from a place of rest, rather than desperately need to rest from our work.”- Ken Shigematsu (emphasis author’s) “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat […]
“Why do we wait until we hit rock bottom before we allow others to enter into our mess? Maybe it’s because we believe a lie that says we must keep all the plates spinning or there might be something wrong with us. But when it all falls apart, we are left lonely and isolated, longing […]
“Rest comes in the stillness of surrender, when we relax and realize we cannot hold it together. Opening our hands to what Jesus has for us in the moment versus what we think we need brings peace. When we learn to live in abundance instead of scarcity, a calm comes over us.”- Meredith McDaniel “Take […]
“God is always going to be inviting, nudging, and challenging you to step into greater faith and rest. The Enemy, however, is going to push you to step into fear and ungodly striving by trying to make things happen in your timing and through your own wisdom and effort rather than God’s.”- Banning Liebscher (emphasis […]
“As adults, we often accept the language of being a daughter or a son of God and yet still struggle — nearly daily and sometimes hourly — with the internal strife of not knowing how to rest in the safety of our God’s arms.”- Sara Hagerty Sara Hagerty concludes Chapter 2 of Unseen as she […]
“We equate external control with inner tranquility.”- Judah Smith “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.”- Isaiah 30:5 (NLT) In Chapter 6 (“A Quiet Soul”) of How’s Your Soul?, Judah Smith notes we live in a loud culture- inundated on a daily […]
“People sign up for helicopter Jesus all the time. I cannot wait to follow Jesus, they think, because he’s my heavenly helicopter. Get me out, Father! Hoist away, Jesus!– Judah Smith As Pastor Judah Smith concludes Chapter 4 of How’s Your Soul?, he confesses that he wishes the writer of Hebrews said helicopter of my […]
“So how about you enjoy the trees, eat some fruit, and relax a little bit. You’re not that big of a deal, just FYI.”- Judah Smith’s take on God’s communication with Adam in the Garden of Eden “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom […]
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”- John 14:23 (NIV) “God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a walk.”- Meister Eckhart “Prayer is the most concrete way to make our home […]
John Ortberg concludes Chapter 11 of Soul Keeping by discussing the fourth and final phase of The Cycle of Grace- Achievement. He describes this phase as follows: “To achieve- to bear fruit- is crucial to the soul. But fruitfulness is just as much a matter of grace as acceptance is. The fruitful soul is also […]
“The grace of significance liberates me from the need to hurry.”- John Ortberg “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul.”- Psalm 23:2-3 Today John Ortberg discusses the third movement in The Cycle of Grace, Significance. He notes that Jesus had a clear understanding about […]