the Secret Garden Chronicles - Speak, Lord, In the Stillness - Revisited

This was written a couple of years ago from the Secret Garden.  Today I am feeling a little under the weather...allergies/sore throat/tired...anyway, this message soothes my soul today, and I wanted to share it with you again.  I hope it will be a blessing to you as well.


Original Post 2/26/2017:

While sitting in the Secret Garden this afternoon, the Lord led me to discover this song in my old hymnbook.  It was not familiar to me, so I found this version on You Tube, sung by Andy Pratt. His words are the modern version, replacing the Thee's and Thy's with You and Your, etc., but the message is still so serene and comforting.  The tune is named "Quietude"....which is exactly how this feels...quiet, peaceful and as if you are in a holy place...which is where we are when we enter the Presence of The Lord...whether it be in a garden, or your prayer closet, or maybe a quiet sanctuary after the close of the services, kneeling before the altar of the Lord...  I hope you will turn on your sound and sit quietly and prayerfully sing along with this beautiful little song. You will be blessed by it, I assure you.

Speak Lord In The Stillness, 

modern version sung by Andy Pratt

written by E. May Grimes

1

Speak, Lord, in the stillness,

  While I wait on Thee;

Hushed my heart to listen,

  In expectancy.

2

Speak, O blessed Master,

  In this quiet hour;

Let me see Thy face, Lord,

  Feel Thy touch of power.

3

For the words Thou speakest,

  They are life indeed;

Living bread from heaven,

  Now my spirit feed!

4

All to Thee is yielded,

  I am not my own;

Blissful, glad surrender,

  I am Thine alone.

5

Speak, Thy servant heareth,

  Be not silent, Lord;

Waits my soul upon Thee

  For the quickening word.

6

Fill me with the knowledge

  Of Thy glorious will;

All Thine own good pleasure

  In Thy child fulfill.

7

Like a watered garden,

  Full of fragrance rare,

Lingering in Thy presence,

  Knowing You are there.

I think I will close with these verses from Psalm 63

1.  "O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You,

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You 

in a dry and thirsty land

where there is no water.

2.  So I have looked for You in the Sanctuary...

to see Your power and Your glory;

(this is not in my Secret Garden, but a lovely place on the Ocklawaha River we hiked to one time, near Davenport Landing)

3.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You,

4. Thus will I bless you while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your Name.

5.  My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness,

and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."

Praise the Lord!

I hope you've enjoyed this time of "quietude" 

in the Secret Garden with me today. 

May it bring peace and solace to your soul.

Amen 

Sermon Notes: Here I Am, Lord

Isaiah 6:8

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

"Whom shall I send,

and who will go for Us?"

Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

We sang the following song as a hymn today at church, and it was all I could do to get through the whole song without choking up and crying...

"Here I am Lord"

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard My people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin, My hand will save. I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear My light to them? Whom shall I send? Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart. I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame. I will set a feast for them, My hand will save Finest bread I will provide, Till their hearts be satisfied. I will give My life to them, Whom shall I send? Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.

The disciples were crouched in fear in the upper room...waiting for whatever would come next...fearful that they would soon be the ones to be killed for their relationship with Christ...and then...

A sealed tomb could not hold Jesus in...a locked door could not keep Jesus out...Suddenly everything changed...Jesus appeared in the locked room after His crucifixion and resurrection...He said to them, "Peace be with you." (John 20:19)  Jesus Christ had conquered death...He conquered their fear...and He gave them a job to do...and He gave us, His followers a job to do as well...

John 20:21

"So Jesus said to them again,

"Peace to you!

As the Father has sent Me,

I also send you."

But we are not expected to follow Jesus alone...

John 20:22

"And when He had said this, 

He breathed on them, and said to them,

"Receive the Holy Spirit."

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto the disciples that day...equipping them for service and for all of the things that were yet to come...and Jesus Christ has also breathed His Holy Spirit upon us, filling us with His very Presence...giving us all of the gifts and tools that we need to go forward into the world in His Name...He goes with us...we are not alone.

So, what's next, Lord?  I've been at this place before...many times...and whenever I (we...hubby and I are a team, but You know this already, Lord) heard You calling "in the night", I/we responded, "Here I am, Lord."  And You always took me/(us) at my word, and there was always "a plan"... so, again, here we are, Lord...You know we are retired, right? I have a feeling that is something that is an advantage for You, Lord...not a disadvantage...so...what's next, Lord? 

"Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart."

Stay tuned for further developments...

God always has a plan...

Sermon notes from FUMC Interlachen, April 22, 2018, Pastor A.C. Myers

Fill My Cup (Renewed)

1/20/2018:  This post was originally written on 1/2/2013.  I wish my poinsettias still looked like these...long gone from various years of frosts and freezes...and I wish I still had that cute little cup bird feeder that a friend had given me for Christmas that year, but it met with an unfortunate accident...I keep meaning to make another one like it...maybe this year? But the message below...that's what I wanted to share with you...it just blessed me as I re-read it and thought it was worth renewing for sharing again today.  Sometimes I just run out of words and new things to say, and God takes me back to the beginning and reminds me where I came from...and how far I've come...Thank you, Jesus!!

Original Post: 1/2/2013:

"I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord."

Psalm 116:13

When I was a young woman fresh out of high school I had the opportunity to serve as a counselor at our church youth camp.  I spent the whole summer there...trying to become a guide or role model for younger teenaged girls when I was barely a year or two older than they were...and not a whole lot more experienced in the ways of the world or the Lord. I still had so much to learn...and it seemed as though that summer was just the beginning of my real journey into things of the Spirit. 

One memory that has stood out in my heart and mind ever since that summer was a song that became our theme song.  We would sing it at local churches on the weekend in between camps...and it's message carried over into my own personal life and walk with the Lord.  To this day, some 45  50!!!!  (in 2018) years later (Oh my goodness, can it be??? ) this song still evokes memories of that summer...primarily memories of when I fully began to understand what it meant to commit my heart and life to Christ. That summer was the beginning of a life time of service and growth...still growing today.  

Here it is...perhaps it will spark some memories or thoughts of commitment in your heart and mind as well:

"Like the woman at the well I was seeking

For things that could not satisfy;

And then I heard my Savior speaking:

'Draw from My well that never shall run dry.'

Chorus:

Fill my cup, Lord,

I lift it up, Lord!

Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;

Bread of heaven,

Feed me 'til I want no more--

Fill my cup, fill it up

and make me whole!"

There are millions in this world who are craving

The pleasure earthly things afford;

But none can match the wondrous treasure

That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

(Chorus)

So, my brother (sister!), if the things this world gave you

Leave hungers that won't pass away,

My blessed Lord will come and save you,

If you kneel to Him and humbly pray:

Chorus:

Fill my cup, Lord,

I lift it up, Lord!

Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;

Bread of heaven,

Feed me 'til I want no more--

Fill my cup, fill it up

and make me whole!"

"Fill My Cup, Lord", by Richard Blanchard, 1959.

My "One Word" and theme for 2013 is  (was):

“presence”

Seeking god’s

Presence

In the ordinary

And

Extraordinary

Places of my life

In 2013

On this 2nd day of the new year, I felt God's PRESENCE in looking at this cup that was a gift to me at Christmas...meant to be a little bird feeder...but it reminded me of holding up my cup to the Lord and asking Him to fill it with Himself.  That is how I want to start the New Year...filled with His divine  “Presence”.  How about you?  Want to join me on this extraordinary journey into the PRESENCE of Christ?  Let's go.   Lift your cup up to Him...He will fill it with His love, His Spirit, and His Presence. What a marvelous way to begin anew.

"Fill My Cup, Lord!" 
John 4:7-29