The Quiet Place.... Another of "Toni's Creative Adventures" UPDATED

This post was originally written on 1/18/2018, and is another of our dear friend Toni Taddeo's "Toni's Creative Adventures".  As I shared another of these creative adventures with you here last week, I did so in loving memory of our friend Toni, who very sadly passed away a few months ago after a fierce battle with breast cancer.  I wish that I had participated in more of her creative adventure memes because they always were fun and entertaining as well as mind challenging.  Those that I have participated with I will share with you a little at a time over the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will stir up some creative ideas in your own mind. I am certain that Toni would be pleased and honored if anyone wanted to use these same prompts to create your own stories and share them here in memory of Toni as well.

So, without further ado, here is what I wrote on January 18, 2018:

Here is my "Creative Adventure" based on Toni's meme for this past week:

http://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/

The Quiet Place
1.  While looking for a quiet place to rest my tired body after a bad day at work I stumbled on a: path through the woods that I had never noticed before in my usual wanderings.  The sunlight was shining through the trees, filtering through the branches, beckoning me to follow the light...like a shimmering, glistening angel, smiling down and reaching deep into my weary soul..."Come, follow me..."

And so I did...and as I followed that glorious light into the depths of the woods,

my path diverted and began a descent down through the trees...and there suddenly appeared a body of water...and it seemed as though the woods whispered to me...

I was stunned!  How could this lovely place have been there all along and I'd never known it?

As I stumbled further down the path I gasped at what was there before me...

   2.  It was the most beautiful place that I ever could have imagined!

So peaceful, serene, calm...exactly what I needed...

3.  I turned and spotted what, to me, was the perfect place to just sit and marvel at the works of God...

And as I sat there along the shore of this quiet, peaceful little lake, I felt the cares of the world just slipping off of my shoulders and gliding down into the water, washed away and carried off into the depths of the "sea"....It was as if I could hear Jesus, as He walked along the shore of Galilee...that place where He called His disciples to Him, saying, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men..." (Mark 1:17)...and where He healed so many of their diseases and afflictions...(Mark 3:10)...
I know I heard Him say, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." (Matthew 11:28)

4.  After a long quiet while I knew I had to get up and head back home...and as I began my ascent back up the little hill through the woods to the dirt road that led back to the pathway home I discovered something I had failed to notice ever before.  There was a little sign saying "Lake Galilee Shore Road"...

I turned and looked back down the slope toward the water and wondered..."Could it be?"

I declare I could hear Him calling to me..."Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace..." (Mark 5:34)

What do you think?

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Although the story may be a bit altered by creative license, the pictures are of a real place along the shores of Lake Galilee...not in Israel, but right here in Florida, not very far away...

"Go in peace..."

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Back to the present (3/25/2020), I would like to give you a little history on the pictures above of "Lake Galilee Shores"...Yes, that is a real place, located not far from where we are currently living.  When I took these pictures a couple of years ago, we had just begun our search for a potential location for our new home. We had decided that we truly wanted to relocate to this area, and we also knew that we wanted to look for property that was on the water in one way or another.  We came across this piece of property, and it was for sale. We fell in love with it immediately, and thought seriously about purchasing the lot with the intention of eventually building our home there.  However, it just wasn't in God's timing. The more we checked into the reality of building on that property, the more we knew it would quickly get beyond our ability to afford it, and so reluctantly we had to give it up.  But it was a struggle. I loved the idea of living on the "shores of Lake Galilee".  I could envision writing a book of devotions with that theme, and I thought for sure it was where God was leading us.  But God had another plan.  It would take another 18 months before His plan was revealed and brought to fruition, and now we sit here on the shores of "Still Waters Pond".

And even though it isn't on the shores of Lake Galilee, Jesus is still calling us to "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men..."

So my little creative adventure really did come true after all!  I love it when God's plans come together, don't you?
I hope you enjoyed this brief interlude from your "captivity at home" with this little creative adventure and also "the rest of the story", as our old friend Paul Harvey used to say.  
Have a blessed day my friends, and stay healthy and safe! And "Go in Peace"....

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 

"In Quietness and Confidence..."

"In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

"Sibyl" by F. Graham Cootes
as seen in the book
The Eyes of the World
by Harold Bell Wright, copyright 1914

I've been reading this vintage book the past few days, The Eyes of the World, by Harold Bell Wright, written in 1914. The frontispiece is this charming picture above.  Isn't she lovely? In my view, this young maiden represents the image of a woman of true beauty and grace. The Bible verse above..."In quietness and confidence shall be your strength,"  is exemplified in her calm, serene expression. (I love the Irish Setter's expression of trust and admiration as well. Isn't he gorgeous?)

I find myself wishing I could emulate the confidence of this young lady in my own attitude and actions.  All too often my first reaction to stressful or difficult situations is to become defensive or protective of my own position, which is probably a normal reaction, but it is not necessarily the best reaction.

My "One Word" choice for 2014 is the word "Strengthen".  As I look back over the past eight + months of this year, I can see how God has been putting me through some pretty strong strengthening exercises.  If you have followed this blog very long, you have a pretty good idea what I am speaking of without me having to go back over it all again. Am I getting stronger? Well, maybe not so much in the physical sense, but inwardly, spiritually, emotionally? Hmmm, I have to think about that as well. Oftentimes we cannot measure our own increasing strength.  It has to be put to the test. Frankly, I'm not so sure I want to be put through anymore tests.  I'd like to cry "Uncle!" and say "Enough!"   And yet, I know that my tests, as heartbreaking and sorrowful as they have been, have not been nearly as hard as what many others have endured. I am thankful for God's great mercy and graciousness toward me and my family. If I have been strengthened at all, it is in this one regard...I am thankful for His kindness and mercy.

Sometimes it seems that we are allowed to go through difficulties in life to bring us to a place of trust in God's mercy and grace. Perhaps He is waiting and watching, ready to lend us aid at any moment, but like a parent teaching a child how to walk, ride a bike or how to swim, He holds back and lets us try it on our own first.  If He always made the way easy, or did things for us, we would never learn how to stand on our own.  We would never be able to run with confidence...and rather than grow stronger, we would become weaker and lack the stamina to hang in there when the going gets tough.

The end result of these tests should bring us back to that place of "rest"...."In returning and rest you shall be saved..." and in the process we learn what it means..."In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."  No one who knows me has ever commented on my "quietness"...it is not one of my normal characteristics to be "quiet" for very long.  But as we grow in confidence and strength in the Lord, there is a "quietness" of the spirit...a calming of the heart and mind that comes with maturity and the knowledge that God is in control in all things.

I like these verses further on in the passage:

"Therefore the Lord will wait,

that He may be gracious to you;

And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.

For the LORD is a God of justice;

Blessed are all those who wait for Him." 

Isaiah 30:18

He will wait for me to "firm up" in the process of these strengthening exercises. He knows that when I reach that place of "quietness and confidence" He will show me His grace and mercy, and He will be exalted...and I will be blessed.

Thank you, Lord, for your graciousness and mercy shown to me.  Thank you for waiting for me...and I'm so glad I've waited for You.  Amen.

For more thoughts on Quietness, go HERE

Fresh Out of Ideas? Check out THIS post.

"Three Gifts 'Quiet'"

I am trying to get back in the groove of writing about my daily "gifts" or "blessings".  I kind of got side-tracked for a few days with a lot of activity and then just being too tired to participate, but I never stopped "giving thanks" for the daily blessings.  Just couldn't put it into words.  Sometimes we need to take a break and sit back in "quietness" and take stock of our blessings.  That's what I did today.  Here are my three gifts of "quietness" I discovered:

1.

"For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 

 'In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.'" 

Isaiah 30:15

~~~~

2.

"The Lord your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

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3.

"Lord, my heart is not haughty,

Nor my eyes lofty.

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

Like a weaned child with his mother;

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

From this time forth and forever."

Psalm 131

I just realized that each of these discoveries are actually concerning the country of Israel.  Taken in their true biblical context, they do not have any particular message for me personally.  Even though I am claiming them as messages to my heart...I find it interesting that God has directed my attention to these messages for Israel in light of the current events taking place in that  part of the world even tonight as I write.  There is great concern for their future and the impact any possible action on their part against other nations could have on our world and on our country in particular.  Perhaps calming and quietness is something we all need during these days of turbulence.   

"O Israel, hope in the Lord

From this time forth and forever."

O America, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forever.

O Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.

O _________ (insert your name),

Hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.

O Pam,

Hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.

AMEN.

(See www.AnnVoskamp.com for more information on "Counting 1000 Gifts in 2012")