Category: Monday musings

Wonder and Delight

 
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:5 NKJV
 
 

 
 
 
 
This weekend I was wondering if I should take a couple weeks off from blogging, so I gave myself persmission to do just that.
 
 
Then this morning, I noticed the two chairs I recently placed around the table, painted with the words: Wonder and Delight.
 
I chose delight last summer, so I decided to paint another word on the second folding chair. I thought to myself, what word goes with delight? Moments later, wonder popped into my mind. I was delighted.
 
Always needing more definition in my life, I went to the dictionary to search out the meaning.
 
wonder (n): a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar or inexplicable. (New American Oxford Dictionary)
 
Ahhh…the joy of words strung together like jewels on a necklace. As I marvelled over the depth of wonder, I began to worship the One who delights to reveal Himself through words.
 
Here is a little poem to our Wonderful God, who delights in our praises.
 
Why,
O, Lord, do such
New and amazing
Discoveries
Enter daily into my
Reality?
 
May this be your experience today:
 
Wide-
Opened eyes delighting in
New
Discoveries.
Embracing ever-widening
Reality.
 
 

 
Posted on by kelrohlf 6

Recall: To Bring Back to Mind

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
Psalm 84:5 NIV
 With the 31 Day Challenge completed, I continue on this journey to seek God as we approach the season of Advent. I am preparing provisions, spending time in solitude and recalling the goodness of God in the land of the living.
 
 

As we close in on the end of this year, my mind returns to this time last year. It always amazes me how much can change over twelve months. Last year this time, I was putting the finishing touches on a dream. I was in a flurry of activity. Finishing papers and studying for finals to complete my bachelor’s degree in English. Editing and formatting two books. The first being, a collection of poems, prose and art pieces published for Bellerive,the literary publication of Pierre Laclede Honors College. The second, my own self-published collection of devotions: Defining Moments: Overflowing with Living Words. To recall the vast array of accomplishments humbles me, because truly without God’s strength, I would never have dreamed of completing a degree and a book in the same year. (And not to mention that I still prepared and celebrated the holidays with gusto.)
 
 
 

This year has been a year of rest. A year of saying no to good things, in order to nestle into God’s goodness and wait. To taste and see that God is good in the midst of hard things. He carries us through in ways we never could imagine.
 
 

This time of year brings to mind the munificent provisions that have been bestowed upon us. God sees beforehand every single thing that we need. He knows exactly what will be best for us, even if we can’t see it for ourselves.

As we celebrate this season with gratitude, may the blessings of God restore your hope, peace and joy!
 
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Posted on by kelrohlf 6

Cope: Deal Effectively with Something Difficult

Yesterday, we ordered tickets for Les Miserables. This morning my husband noticed that I had ordered them for the wrong day. No refunds, no exchanges. All sales final. I felt miserable. I started wondering, if I get this frustrated with little things, how am I supposed to cope with the BIG things?

When faced with hard questions, where do I turn?
The dictionary, so I looked up “cope” and found out it means to “deal effectively with something difficult” (The New Oxford American Dictionary).

Right away, I knew I was in trouble because this definition posed another question, “How effective are my coping skills?” 
I paused my search, went to the fridge, pulled out the Hershey’s chocolate syrup (the only chocolate in the house) and made myself a mocha, complete with whipped topping and sprinkles.
 
 

Returning to the definition, I read through to the origin of the word. The roots of this word made me grin. From Middle English, it means to “meet in battle” or “come to blows.” Coping is a battle. It makes sense that often, while I am coping with difficulties, I want to smack someone or something in the face.

It gets better; the noun version of cope is a cloak. Figuratively speaking, when I cope I am hiding, covering or disguising my pain.

Definitions thrill my soul, a close second to a creamy mug of mocha.
I started thinking of ways we try to cope, and this acronym poem poured out of my pen.

At the end of the…

Running
Out  of
Plans to
Engage.
 

We turn to…

 
Dulling
Our
Perception with
Escape.

Or we can…

Call

Out to God!
Pummel the
Enemy!

Which leads to…

Having

Our
Perspective
Enlarged.

 

After all my soul searching this morning, I turned to the Psalms. And this one fit perfectly with all my other musings. God knows what we need to cope! His very words define life so well!

O Lord, look how my enemies have increased!
Many are attacking me.
Many are saying about me,
“Even with God on his side,
he won’t be victorious.”           Selah
But you, O Lord, are a shield that surrounds me.
You are my glory.
You hold my head high.
I call aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.                         Selah
 
I lie down and sleep.
I wake up again because the Lord continues to support me.
I am not afraid of the tens of thousands
who have taken positions against me on all sides.
 
Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
You have slapped all my enemies in the face.
You have smashed the teeth of wicked people.
Victory belongs to the Lord!
May your blessing rest on your people.          Selah
 
Psalm 3 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
 
 
 
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Posted on by kelrohlf 10

Embrace: Take Up Readily or Gladly

But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Luke 15:17-20 ESV

 

A week ago, I was ready to embrace this expedition. Taking 40 days to seek God’s rest and direction for the next season of life. Fifteen days ago, I gladly accepted the challenge to blog for 31 days on the topic: Nourishment for the Soul.

To nourish a soul is a privilege. My soul finds its nourishment in words, in the Word of God and in the Word become flesh—Jesus!

Today, I find my pen empty, dry. It is harder than I thought to whip up a feast of words every day. Today I feel like all I have to offer are leftovers, or even worse, maybe just crumbs.

I have to embrace the famine as well as the feast.

What are you struggling to embrace at this moment?
 
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Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Expedition: A Journey Undertaken for a Specific Purpose

 “… the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness.”
Mark 1:12 NLT
 
 
Over the next forty days, I am planning to go on a spiritual expedition. A spiritual experiment of sorts. Not a forty day fast. Nor a forty day retreat, but forty days of preparation. Forty days from today marks the weekend before Thanksgiving. The weekend after Thanksgiving will mark the forty days of Advent.

As the end of this year approaches, I am surprised by an invitation to continue to rest. I started out the year with a forty day Sabbath, seeking to be ready for what I hoped would be a new season of encouraging women in my home. I wanted to offer a place to retreat and be refreshed by God. This vision birthed out of my own desire to practice more solitude in the midst of a world that distracts so easily.

Even last year, this desire was growing. I wrote about it in a journal entry dated: Tuesday, June 22, 2011.
 
“…but what I really want is my life to matter. To enjoy what I have—to share what I have with others. Out of the overflow of this…I long to invite women to retreat and be refreshed, renewed and restored.”

By now, I thought I would be offering day retreats in my home to weary souls. Yet God in his ability to see beyond my thoughts has invited me to wait in His presence. To soak in His Word and rely on Him as the Spirit moves me into this “wilderness” season.

Jesus was led into the wilderness for forty days. We know that part of the purpose was a testing, but I think mostly it was a time of preparation. And that is the specific purpose that leads me to a season of staying home more, reading more and praying with intention to discover and develop ideas that have been whirling around my heart, soul and mind. To test them, and see if this is the direction God would have me to go.

Pray for me as I embark on this expedition. You may hear more musings about it here. Who knows? I just know that I must follow hard after Jesus, and trust Him to lead me on into New Frontiers.


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Posted on by kelrohlf 5