It's a New Year...and I'm Going to....

Rest!

Yes, my friends, it is a New Year...and I am going to REST!  That is my "One Word" for 2017!  I "labored" over what my new "One Word" should be...and my mind grew weary with trying so hard.  Then this morning I opened my "Jesus Today" devotional book by Sarah Young, and this is what I read:

"Find Rest in Me alone, dear one; 

Your hope comes from Me. 

You have a restless mind. 

It skips and scampers about continually, rarely taking time to be still.

Listen, and you will hear Me saying,

"Come to Me."

I am the only resting place for your mind that will truly satisfy and strengthen you.

Take time-make time-to direct your thoughts to Me.

Whisper My Name and wait in My sacred Presence.  

You are on holy ground.

This provides refreshment not only for your mind

but also for your soul."

(Jesus Today, #108)

And this message confirmed to me what I was already thinking...it is time for me to 

find REST in Christ alone.  

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from Him."

Psalm 62:5

In keeping with this idea, my mind was already spinning (not resting!) with ways in which I could accomplish this idea of resting.  Doesn't sound like I've quite learned anything about it yet, does it?  But hear me out, please.  

You see, my son sort of started it when he gave me this wonderful surprise gift for Christmas:

Here we are on Christmas morning, as my son Scott explained to me that he found this bench, in pieces in a dumpster, and he knew he had to bring it home and rebuild it for his mom!  And so, after he'd get home at night after work he was secretly laboring over this project outside when I was totally unaware. I was warned to stay away from the lean-to in the yard, but not told why.  And so on Christmas morning he revealed this beautiful park bench to me, which is still not quite completed, but good enough to show me...and I immediately started thinking about where I was going to put it so I could enjoy it the most!

I've had a dream of establishing a little "secret garden" in our back yard...even wrote about it once before I think...(Click HERE for that story...three years ago!)  but I never really got that project off the ground.  I was still working and going through other difficult things in our lives, and the secret garden kind of just faded into the weeds...(ferns mostly)

and even the spiders found a home there:

But now that I am retired...I feel God nudging me to set aside this special place where I can go and find REST for my soul...my own little "Secret Garden" where I can meet the Lord in the morning or the shade of the afternoon...whenever I feel the need or prompting of the Holy Spirit to steal away into a quiet place and meditate on Him...

I found this quote on Pinterest today...and it expresses my sentiments exactly....

and so one of the first things I have set in place is a gate that opens wide into my secret garden:

It is actually an old iron headboard that I found in the old shed on our property...so I painted it and we set it in place...permanently in the OPEN position, so that nothing will hinder me from entering this secret garden...and you are welcome too!  The beautiful glass flower ornament is a Christmas gift from my sweet hubby! He didn't know this would become the first thing to decorate this special place...he just saw it at the flea market and knew I would like it!

He was so right!!!! He knows me better than I realized!

And so now that I have embarked on this new project...it is supposed to help me find "REST"...but first I have work to do so that I CAN rest!  (Something wrong with this picture? Perhaps...but I can't rest until I know everything is in place...) so stay tuned for future developments....(Now you may understand why God wants me to learn how to REST).   

By the way, last year my "One Word" was GRACE...(Click HERE for that story)...and I must admit that God has shown me His loving grace in so many ways this past year...as well as I have had to  learn how to be filled with grace as I have helped to care for my mother in law as she progresses in her physical and mental needs each week...that is still a work in progress for me.  

So perhaps the time of REST will help me to fully understand just how great is God's Grace.  

Psalm 46:10 says:

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

This won't be the first time the Lord has tried to teach me to be still and meditate on Him.  I pray that this year I will do exactly what He is teaching me to do...and just

Rest!

Post Update: Linking up with Deb and friends over at Breathing in Grace to share our One Word for 2017!  Check it out and see how the Lord is leading others in this adventure to draw closer to God in 2017...

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Psalms 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."

I love the old hymns of the faith...they often express exactly what I am feeling at the moment. So please bear with me as I share with you another old hymn that I find comforting today:

"Jesus, I am resting, resting

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou has bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul;

For, by Thy transforming power,

Thou has made me whole.

Oh, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings;

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me,

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth's dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father's glory,

Sunshine of my Father's face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting;

Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart."

"Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting", by Jean S. Pigott, 1845-1882

Thank you all for your prayers for our son Matthew today, as he travels to Boston for his appointment with the medical team at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  Today he will be learning what level this cancer has supposedly reached in his body, and what the treatment plan will be.  We are praying that God has already gone before him, has prepared the way with Doctors who are knowledgeable, compassionate, and highly skilled.  We are also praying that they will be astounded by what God has already been doing in Matthew...and that they will know beyond a shadow of doubt that God has already touched his body and brought healing.  We are trusting and resting in Jesus today.  Regardless of the outcome of these reports, we will trust our God.  We KNOW that HE is in control, in all things.  Therefore, I can rest in Him today.

Thank you, everyone! 

GOD IS IN CONTROL!

AMEN!