It is so easy to get wrapped up in life and all it’s loudness…so easy that in one moment you slip into it and don’t even realize it.  The volume gets turned up, you adjust to it and it plays on and on…and then you forget how to turn down the volume!

Our first evening of vacation was spent in the Sacramento Mountains at the United Methodist Camp.  The director gives free restorative visits for Methodist clergy!

We left a record breaking Texas summer with highs near 110 and a drought to boot!  Texas is literally burning up, as are its residents!

As we drove into the mountain, the clouds appeared, dark and low.  The sound of thunder was thrilling, causing us to giggle together.  The very moment we drove into the camp and stepped out of our car, it began to rain.  It felt just as if God was welcoming us, restoring our dry souls!  And I believe He was.

It has been my experience with God that He has just the right way to bring about restoration.  All in perfection, as it was with every breath we took of the rain freshened air, each wild-flower seen, the lovely scent of the pines, the buzzing of the hummingbirds.

We were met by the director who showed us the way to our cabin.  It was perfect! 

We were so very tired from the long drive, having left Texas at 2 a.m., but we didn’t dare miss a moment of the peace this place had already brought us.

We immediately found a trail to hike and of all things it was named the Emmaus Trail.

For those unfamiliar with The Walk to Emmaus, it is a spiritual weekend Christians participate in to become closer to God.  Luke 24 is the scripture it is based on when the 2 were walking on the road to Emmaus and were met by Jesus who opened their eyes to all that is true and perfect in Him.  Rick and I have both participated in walks, as pilgrims (students) and workers.  With each walk we have joined, our hearts are “strangely warmed”, in every unimaginable way.  So to find this Emmaus Trail was indeed a spiritual moment for us both.

It was on this trail that we were reminded of how loud our lives had gotten.  The higher we climbed, the more apparent it became as God’s artistic expressions danced all around us.

Life demands loudness.  It is a necessary part as we go about the business demanded of us.  But it is also just as necessary to listen to the quietness that God offers us, to drink in the goodness of His graces that we are surrounded by.

As we descended from the trail and back into the camp, we joined others for supper.  It was there that we noticed it…that look upon each face…it was the Emmaus glow…The Holy Spirit was so strong that you could not help but to be overwhelmed by the sweetness, the closeness, the utter assurance that all was good.

It was that feeling that the loudness of life had captured and I needed, more than anything else, to experience it again.  It was a great gift!  This song, by Sherri Youngward,  captures perfectly, the feeling I had at that moment.   Thank you sweet Jesus for giving us your Spirit!

Restore My Soul  by Sherri Youngward

07 – Restore My Soul(1)  (click on link to hear her sing…you’ll be glad you did)

Lyrics…

Lead me beside
The water so still
Let me catch my breath
Let me drink my fill
Let me lie in fields of green
Where only gentle breezes blow
I’ll reach out my empty hands
For the cup that over flows

Restore my soul, Restore my soul,
Restore my soul, Restore my soul

I’ve stood too long here in these shadows
These valley walls are all I see
I need the skilled eyes of my Shepherd
Now my vision’s failing me

Restore my soul, Restore my soul,
Restore my soul, Restore my soul

Then I will run and not be weary
I will walk and not faint
I will soar with wings of eagles
In God alone is my strength

Restore my soul, Restore my soul,
Restore my soul, Restore my soul

Surely goodness and mercy
Will find their way
to me
And I will live with them forever
I will have no more need
The Lord is my Shepherd
He is my God
I will live with Him forever
I shall not want

May God’s blessings fill your life with quiet moments!

More vacation stories to come…thanks for reading…

Tracie

Be still!  Quit squirming!  I can’t concentrate!  I’m going to mess up if you don’t be still!  I can’t hear!  I can’t see!  Be quiet!

These are the words I heard over and over today.

Ahh, it’s summertime, kids are out of school and Nana is on full-time duty!  What to do with 2 little grand-girls all day long?  As would be expected, we swim a lot.  But in the hottest part of the day, the air conditioned indoors is the place to be!  On this particular afternoon, we decide on a movie and polishing the nails.

As I settle in the bed with a grand-girl on each side, “Ice Age” on play, it is not the voices of Sid, Diego and Buck I hear.  As I try to calmly and rationally quiet the girls from their little squirmishes, I am taken aback 40 years earlier as I lay next to my grandmother.  I could never be still enough for grandma.  “Be still, stop that, quit squirming!”

Fast forward to present tense, the movie is past and it is time to find another activity.  What little girl doesn’t enjoy getting her nails polished?  We have an entire routine that consists of picking just the right color/s, trimming, filing, painting and drying.  Today we have decided on a rainbow of colors!  How exciting!

And here we go again… “Be still. Quit squirming! I’m going to mess up if you don’t be still!”  And then it hit me as I heard myself repeating those same words said to me so many years before.  I think, no, I know God is speaking to me and His words are now, finally, loud and clear.  “Be still, quit squirming!”

One of my favorite Bible passages comes from the book of Mark when Jesus and the disciples get in the boat and a storm surges.  Waves crashing in upon them, the boat being tossed about like crazy yet Jesus is still as he sleeps peacefully amongst the chaos and impending doom.  The disciples are all in a tizzy, squirming about, worried, frightened.  Can you hear it?  All the noise?  Can you see it in your life?  I can in mine.  I know you are familiar with the crashing waves of life, the feeling of impending doom.  We won’t escape times of chaos.  We can escape the noise that always follows by keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Are you familiar with the song, “Be Still My Soul?”

Be still my soul – the Lord is on thy side;

bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

leave to thy God to order and provide;

in every change – he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul – thy best thy heavenly Friend

through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

I believe my story of a summer day at Nana’s can end here without further explanation.  But not without the words of one little girl who, after being still, nails shining all a new with fresh polish, exclaims excitingly, “WOW!  Awesome Nana!

“Be still and know that I am God”  Psalm 46:10

“WOW!  Awesome God!”

Be Still, My Soul

I hope all had a great Thanksgiving holiday!  The Davisduo enjoyed time with family and friends, delicious food and made memories.  We certainly are a very blessed people!  I think of my most cherished blessings each time I can hold a grandchild, look into their eyes, whisper in their ear.  What is it about grandchildren?  I don’t get to see my Kens(no.3) very often but there is something about the connection, the bond of grandmotherly love, that makes time irrelevant.  The moment I see her/she see’s me I feel the love in her heart, see it in her eyes.  She is so very beautiful.  It is no different with each one of the other girls.  Rhilyn is the sweetest little toot!  She has this wonderful head of curls and scrunches her nose when she smiles.  She is just learning to talk.  Soon we will have grandchild number 5!  We are all hoping for a boy.  Ahh yes!  So many blessings!

Speaking of blessings, today was my first Sunday back since my surgery.  We had our Church Christmas dinner with Santa Claus.  For us Methodists, today is the beginning of Advent.  It is the season of the church year that we prepare our hearts and minds for Christ’s coming.  It is a time of waiting, listening, of stilling ourselves in preparation for the greatest of all events.  Each Sunday the sermon, the whole service, is set around that.  We have an advent wreath which consists of 5 candles.  Each week a candle is lit by chosen families of the congregation.  Families use that particular Sunday to make sure their entire family is in attendance and dressed up for the scripture reading and the lighting.  The candles represent Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and then on the Christmas eve service, the Christ candle is lit.  It is our tradition that the pastors family lights the first candle, the light of hope.

So now, the season of hope has begun.  As I sit here pondering that thought, I am reminded of a dead man’s family in what must be utter grief and confusion.  That a man was trampled to his death by people caught up in a moment of despicable and inhumane acts of greed speaks volumns to the degrading condition of the human race.

Every day, turn on the news, open the paper, crime is rampid.  Violence of every kind is reported.  Tragedy in people’s lives is a common occurrence whether from accident, disease, crime, greed, hate, selfishness, neglect.  These are the events, the attitudes that rob us of so much of life’s beauty.  From the bliss of the garden to the shame of deceit we have always been dependent upon the grace of our Lord and Savior.  It is only He who can rescue us from those moments of hell on earth.  It is only He who can give us hope.  He is the provider of our many blessings; He is the provider of our hope in a world of chaos.  It is He who provides the very one thing we can hold on to.  Do you know this to be true in your life?

In times of difficulty there seems to be great volume of wisdom to which we can turn.  In the 1960’s Paul McCartney of the Beatles wrote that in times of trouble we should “Let it Be.”  It made a great song and letting some things be is certainly wise.  As they say “let sleeping dogs lie.”  But most of life has to be dealt with even if it is unpleasant.  So in times of trouble I prefer the wisdom of three men who have faced and suffered greater trials than I ever hope to endure.  The first is the 20th century Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the second is St. Paul the apostle and first century Christian martyr, and the third is no less than our Lord Jesus the Christ.

While Bonhoeffer waited out his last years of life in a NAZI prison, he had the strength and courage to continue being part of the German resistance and even participated in the planning of an attempted assignation of Hitler.  The result was his untimely death just months before the end of the war.  At the same time he wrote what became several books on Christian Discipleship.  The following came from one of the books entitled Life Together:  “There are three things for which the Christian needs a regular time alone during the day: meditation of the Scripture, prayer, and intercession… In our meditation we read the text given to us on the strength of the promise that it has something quite personal to say to us for this day and for our standing as Christians—it is not only God’s Word for the community of faith, but also God’s Word for me personally…” p86-87

While in a Roman Jail, also awaiting his own execution, St. Paul wrote: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Philippians 4: 6-7

The night before Jesus was crucified; he was calm and still caring for his disciples when he told them: ”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14 25-27

So I have to ask myself, if these men in prison and awaiting death for the crime of loving God and humanity can suggest that we should look to the scriptures, pray for ourselves and others, with thanksgiving to God, and we shall receive the peace of God, then maybe I should listen to them.

Something to ponder; all things should be brought to God.  In all things we should be thankful to God, not the cruelty of the world people create, but in the all encompassing presence of the Holy Spirit.  For me the peace of God is actually the recognizable presence of God in my life at that moment.  My memory of the Lords’ previous help for me feeds my faith which acknowledges that Gods’ presence can be trusted, even in the times of unwanted outcome.  All three require faith to function within a person’s life.  Meditation is more than reading or memorizing, its’ sinking into the scripture.  Letting our mind and spirit dive into the scripture to contemplate what it meant to those who first heard it.  How did it change their lives and what does it mean to me. What would it mean to put it into practice?  What is God saying the Divine power will do?  What has been my experience in this matter if any?  Do I truly have faith in God to do this?  Remember, Jesus said “my peace I give to you.”  How much more can we ask for from our Creator?