God’s Power Steering – Don’t Let Go of the Wheel – Just Keep Moving
I have to admit that I struggle as I get older with realizing the concept of having less time than in my youth. There are so many things that I want to do. Because I have hit the over half-way mark in my life, I feel a sense of urgency in wanting everything NOW!
The Psalmist says, “Be still and know that I am God.” And James says, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” So I struggle with being still and doing.
Be Still and Know that I am God – The Meaning of Be Still Will Surprise You
The words – Be Still – can mean not moving, and being quiet. From a biblical perspective, I was shocked and actually had to laugh when I found out the literal meaning.
The sermon at church one morning focused on the passage from Mark, Chapter 5. Jesus had been overwhelmed when so many people wanted to make contact with him. That’s right, Jesus was overwhelmed. He made the decision to take a boat across the water to escape the crowd. A huge storm rolled in. The disciples were freaked out and scared to death. They looked for Jesus to help them and found him fast asleep from exhaustion. They were terrified because of the storm and woke Jesus up. According to Mark’s account, Jesus was not happy. He was quite mad. So much so that he yelled, “Peace, Be Still!” The storm and the huge waves stopped immediately. The literal translation of, Be Still is – Shut Up!
The bible verse, Psalm 46:10 – Be still and know that I am God – is also translated to mean – Shut up and know that I am God. Another pastor I met told me about that translation and used the analogy of the proverbial, family road trip. You know the one, with the kids in the back seat saying, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” The answer, of course, is be still or shut up!
If you Fall off the Meditation Wagon (or Meditation Horse) – Just Get Back on Again
I officially launched this website just after Thanksgiving. There were a lot of technical issues to resolve and a lot of parts and pieces to get in order. But the website child was finally born!
Of course Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday season. I was determined to not let the holidays steal my joy which they had done every year, so I decided to blog with a new Christmas idea every day.
Having not fine-tuned a daily blogging habit on my other site, the process wasn’t exactly flowing. But by the middle of the month, I was tooling along. The problem was that the month of December was filled with a ton of other commitments: end of the year doctor appointments for my mother and myself in order to take advantage of the deductible for the year, choir practices and concerts, family coming in from out of town and all of the to do’s that come with Christmas – shopping, baking, wrapping presents, cleaning – Need I go on?
I was getting up before the crack of dawn to craft my tip, idea or inspirational thought for the day then flying out the door to take care of my other responsibilities. Something had to give and unfortunately, I let it be my fifteen minute meditation practice. THAT was the one small, chunk of time that I should have protected.
But, my friends, even as one who has dedicated her life to teach and involve people into the practice of meditation, I let myself fall of the meditation horse. Why?
The True Test to Lead The Guided Life – On New Year’s Eve my Husband was Let go from his Job
It will be two years since I left the corporate rat race to forge my own entrepreneurial path. The plan had been for my husband to keep working for the next two to five years as I got my business going. As what happens so many times, our plans are not what God has in mind.
On New Year’s Eve my husband’s employer told him that his position had been eliminated. Happy New Year! When he came home and told me the news prior to us fixing dinner that evening, my initial reaction was overwhelming sadness. Our plans had not worked out. I wanted to be hysterical and think of how awful it was, but those feelings and thoughts never came. Deep down I felt a peace about the situation.
Dwell on the Past – Worry about the Future – Miss Out on Living
If you’ve ever attended Sunday school as a kid, or if you are familiar at all with the Bible, surely you’ve heard the story of Moses and the burning bush. God talks to Moses literally through a burning bush on the side of a mountain and tells Moses the next steps that he needs to take. I have often prayed for God to be so clear and dramatic when sometimes desperately seeking answers.
As I continue to seek God’s direction in my life, he is guiding me. In many cases, the answers are subtle, yet also in many cases, the answers and outcome are truly amazing. While there have been no burning bushes, there have certainly been many doors slammed and others opened. Many, who I call “angels”, came to my aid when I needed help.
In our society there has been an increasingly popular “spirituality” movement. Psychic readings, spiritual teachers and channeling abound. I believe the reason for this popularity is that we all want answers. We want the burning bush. We want to know what the future holds. Living a guided life, a life of faith, means living without being able to see our future – yet trusting that God has our future in his hands. Our faith comes ultimately from what is not seen.
In the Beginning it was Good – A Message of Hope and Encouragement for the New Year
The New Year always holds new hope and promise. As I continue to seek what I call, The Guided Life, a life guided by God, I know that with each new challenge God is guiding me and taking care of me. I have been building up my courage muscles and faith muscles to strengthen my spiritual walk!
My pastor, Dr. Rev. David A. Holyan, gave a sermon entitled, “In the Beginning.” Whenever I need encouragement, I pull out this sermon. It is so fitting for the New Year and I wanted to share the closing paragraph with you.
I wish for God to guide you on your journey and that you will be richly blessed in the New Year!
From: “In the Beginning”