The Sylvr Pen

“Rest in the LORD…” (Ps 37:7)

Reviewing my personal journaling of the past year, I came upon a note on something organizing expert Lissanne Oliver talks about in Sorted!…

“White space.” It plays a highly important part in art, advertising, book pages,  and physical areas like book shelves and desk and counter surfaces–and also within our mental boundaries. As Oliver pointed out about this last area: clogging up our minds with the past, or a too-cluttered present (or too much ambitious planning for tomorrow) stifles our forward movement, growth, and creativity. White space is important to our spiritual life as well.

Space to Sit

Sometimes we need to just sit. Or run, if that unclogs our minds better. The point is, when on overload of the brain, not to do more mind work, but less–as close to zero as possible for a little while.

Of course zero won’t really happen. We can’t think nothing unless we’re brain dead. And even those areas of our minds that get exhausted can’t otherwise stop forever. Vacuums fill up at the first opportunity. But minds–and emotions–need rest from demands.

Space to Refuel

What do you do when the creative well runs dry? Or the spiritual well? Sometimes I try pumping harder, to expose myself to stimuli that might spur me to more creative acts or spiritual thoughts. There’s a place for that. But there’s also a place for that white space, for a time of “mind rest” in which we put no demands on the creative and reasoning parts of our brains.

Our time with God needs “white space,” too: periods of communion with no petitions, no Bible studying, no devotional doing. And no simultaneous physical tasks on our part (the old I can have fellowship with God while I weed, iron, vacuum, or whatever). Just silent non-activity in His presence–and that’s all!

I realize what a boon that would be to me today. And it’s a great day for it. Yes, I have a lot of other journal reading and year assessing and aim setting “to do” that might be very beneficial. But it will work better with some white space around it.

So, for right now…white space.

Back from a lovely Christmas time with family living elsewhere, and all unpacked now, I’m about to get out my journaling from the past year, snuggle in, and enjoy some of the remembering Psalm 105:5 tells me to do: of the wonderful things God has done in my life.

Do you keep a journal of the workings of God in your days, or weeks? I’m so glad I do. This is such a helpful and encouraging tool. If you don’t, try taking a look at your 2010 calendar to jog your memory of God’s hand in your year—and may you find your remembering time richly blessed.

Remember …” (Ps 105:5).

How well did you remember the Christ of Christmas throughout the holiday season? I did quite well… until the day of the great cheesecake challenge, day before Christmas!

In one half-day I lost my focus. I let a stupid (confusing!) cheesecake recipe rob me of it! What I learned from that experience was:

1) Don’t plan any over-ambitious endeavor for a day bound to be overloaded, even if you think yourself otherwise well prepared.

2) Count the cost before you build the tower or wage the war (Lk 14:28-32). (In this case that meant read the recipe thoroughly before even planning on embarking.)

3) Realize you can still shelve earthly plans, even those you’d set your face set like flint to accomplish.

4) Keep Christmas as simple as possible without becoming a Scrooge. And…

5) Make remembering Christ the Number One priority, with all humanly contrived frills and thrills subservient to that—everyday.

I can’t tell you how many hours I wasted on Christmas Eve Day over this foolishness, what with phone calls for helpful instruction and all. And the futility of all that angst and effort came home especially by 10 PM on Christmas Day when no one had yet tasted the thing. With all those other goodies, who needed a cheesecake, no matter how fabulous?

Now about to embark on a new calendar year, I don’t want to goof up again the same way, setting my sights on over-ambitious self-improvement campaigns, with too many facets and complications, on grandiose plans that are mine, but not God’s.  Let me follow instead the simple yet sensible instructions of Psalm 105:1-5, and watch the rest of my new year’s endeavors fall into place, and then move forward by His good Spirit in His good time.

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth” (Ps 105:5, KJV).

(The last of the “mini-mandates” of Psalm 105:1-5)

What a good time for remembering: this last week of 2010, before launching out into 2011. What a good time to look back and consider what great things God has done for me. What a pleasant order to follow! This will be my week of remembering. May I invite you to such pleasant remembrances, too?

To avoid putting the answers to yesterday’s quiz in a post that some people will see right before the questions in the post below it, I made a separate page for them. Go to the top of this page and find it, or click here: Christmas Quiz Answers.