A thousand opportunities in this day alone,

to hush, be still,

if only for ten seconds,

then whisper,

“Did you hear it? The song of birds, the rustle of wind, the raindrop light-fall roofward?

“Did you see it, that oriole nest hung high in the tree, the burst of rhododendron bloom, the hovering shimmer of hummingbird?

“Did you pick up the fragrance of spring in the air, of fresh wet grass, of herbs brushed by a stride or a sweep of a hand?

“Did you feel it, the velvet of a pansy petal, the breeze on your brow, the Presence of God all around?

“Did you taste and see that the Lord is good, in this moment, and the next, and the next?”

Ask whoever’s with me. But mostly ask myself.

A thousand opportunities to stop and beathe in beauty, to thank and praise their Author.

Seizing opportunities on this misty morning. And smiling big.

*****

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 Five Minute Friday

I’d read his little book before, seeking his “spiritual secret,” his “method” of living close to God.

What he outlined seemed so simple. Yet “trying it,” I’d failed miserably, and so figured he must have just been some special kind of saint.

But last fall, when I picked up our tattered copy of The Practice of the Presence of God, suddenly several “little things” beamed forth as “key” — details that evidently flitted right past me before.

Context is important — and I now believe the context of Brother Lawrence’s life played large part in bringing forth his “practice’s” sweet and glorious fruit.

So these days, when afternoons grow hot and I grow sluggish, I hope to take (iced) tea with not only my dear Lord, but Brother Lawrence’s book as well, and pay close attention to details previously disregarded.

One each day. Only. To ponder its effect on the man’s life and relationship with God. Then maybe share here my thoughts and responses — something like weekly?

Today, how he saw trees …..

We don’t always miss “the forest” by considering individual trees. Brother Lawrence looked at just one tree — closely — and thereby “got” the message of the forest.

One day, at age 18 (early 1600’s), he gazed at the everyday… and grasped the everlasting.

It was a time of deadness. A vista of bare limbs, gray and stark, were all the hardwood forest had to offer human eyes. And his spiritual vision was still dim. Inside he felt dead like the trees looked. And he was.

But he had known spring’s wonder. And as he gazed upon bare branches, the thought of them in warming time began to warm his heart. He testified that…

“… seeing a tree stripped of leaves, and considering that within a little time the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit appear,

“he received a high view of the providence and power of God, which has never since been effaced from his soul.

“…This view had perfectly set him loose from the world, and kindled in him such a love for God that he could not tell whether it had increased during the… years he had lived since.”

This was not how I’d remembered it. My vague recollections mumbled something about him seeing a leaf turning over. And from there my mind skipped away, supposing he’d just given extra weight to some quirky experience.

But He was far from thinking of turning over the new leaf of some better habit. His thoughts were knowingly or unknowingly sunk deep into Colossians’ mysterious concept of  the old man is dead, long live new life in Christ — about life replacing deadness, to grow vibrant and glowing and flowering and fruitful.

So, truths to consider now:

A heart’s conversion and spiritual growth is a work of God (John 3:5-8; Col 1:9-13; 2:13-15).

Brother Lawrence’s active role in this pivotal happening was…

beholding “a tree stripped of leaves”

pondering the renewal of coming spring.

Things he received (passive) — and from where but from God?…

“a high view of the providence and power of God”.

getting “perfectly set… loose from the world,”

“and [getting] kindled in him such a love for God”

So, if I want to be able to relate more closely with God, don’t I need to look to and petition Him? Don’t I need His help?

Seems like that’s Step One: Look to Him. And ask.

…..

Today’s post continues a thought thread on “dressing” for Christ-living — of abiding, wrapped up in Him. Previous posts following the theme:

Forest, Trees. Who Sees? {Conquering Sinful Behaviors and  Attitudes}

Sure Cure

…..

SO MANY REASONS FOR MY HEART TO PRAISE HIM

(Continuing the Count)

From Isaiah 61:

212 – Because He heals the brokenhearted

213 – Because He proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of all kinds of prisons to those who are bound

214 – Because He has brought about the acceptable year of His favor

215 – Because He will bring about His Day of Vengeance

216 – Because He provides comfort for all who mourn in Zion

217 – Because He gives beauty to replace ashes

218 – Because He gives the oil of joy for mourning

219 – Because He gives the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness

220 – Because He does all this so that His own may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified!

221 – Because He replaces shame with double honor

222 – Because He replaces confusion with rejoicing

223 – Because He loves justice

224 – Because He hates robbery for burnt offering

225 – Because He will direct the work of His own in truth

226 – Because He makes and keeps an everlasting covenant

227 – Because He clothes His own in garments of salvation

228 – Because He covers His own with a robe of righteousness

229 – Because He adorns them as a bride is adorned with her jewels

230 – Because as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden makes the things sown in it to spring forth, so the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

(Hallelujah!)

*****

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Word-Filled Wednesday at the Internet Cafe

What if each day you could grab one garment-ensemble to wear, including every underpinning and outward accessory, all ready and perfectly coordinated, precisely appropriate, exactly fitting, personally becoming? Put together by a top apparel designer and coordinator who loves you, knows your assets and flaws, and wants to bring out your best?

Spiritually, you/I/we can.

Thursday’s post talked about spiritual apparel Colossians 3:5-10,12,14 says to put on — and un-spiritual items to remove and toss. Both lists prove daunting.

The put-offs weigh heavy with sometimes besetting sins. Covetousness, anger, “little white” lies, impure thoughts, etc… have a nasty knack of creeping right back onto us.

And those lovely items to don seem either impossible to wiggle into or quick to fall right off shortly after we thought we’d secured them on! How, really, can one keep wearing kindness, meekness, humility, and long-suffering patience without it sliding off and down, plunk! into the mud, after fifteen provocations?

So we struggle. And fail. And struggle. If we care to honor God at all by our lives.

Or…

There was a man named Brother Lawrence, lay brother/kitchen worker in a 17th century French monastery, who claimed, “in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess ____ ___ as great tranquility as if I were on my knees at the blessed sacrament.” And others testified this truly was his demeanor.

Reading that always grieved me! The only way I knew to come halfway close to such sweetness in my kitchen was to shoo everyone else out! How did He do it?

Answer: Evidently, He was wearing THE GARMENT. (An important word’s missing, above, which I’ll reveal pronto…)

But first, another faith giant… Watchman Nee. Once a couple frustrated sick by their own parental impatience, asked him to pray for God to give them patience:

And he refused to do it!

They were aghast! Were they so far gone God would not hear their prayer, or another’s on their behalf?

No. Nee informed them, “It isn’t patience you have need of…

“It is Christ.”

Christ. THE GARMENT.

Nee explained, “God will not give me humility…, patience…, or…, as separate gifts… dispensing grace to us in packets, measuring out some patience to the impatient, some love to the unloving, [etc], in quantities we work on as a kind of capital. He has given only one gift to meet all our need: His Son Christ Jesus. As I look to Him to live out His life in me, He will be humble…, patient…, loving…, everything… I need — in my stead.”

Then he referenced 1 John 5:11-12 and Romans 6:23, echoing these Colossians concepts:

“Let no one cheat you… not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body… grows with the increase from God” (Col 2:18).

“…you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new [man]… renewed… according to the image of Him who created him… Christ [is] all…” (Col 3:9-11).

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts… Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… Whatever you do…, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God… through Him (Col 3:15-17).

This was how Brother Lawrence “did it.” He actually said (above), “I possess GOD in as great tranquility…” I omitted “God” from the quote — The. Most. Important. Factor. 

And that’s just what we do, way too much, isn’t it? Leave God out.

Why? What fools us, cheats us?

In a post to come…

…..

Today’s post continues a thought thread on dressing for Christ-living. Previous posts following the theme:

Forest, Trees. Who Sees? {Conquering Sinful Behaviors and  Attitudes}

Sure Cure

…..

Thanking Him, with Ann at A Holy Experience this morning for these astounding gifts:

~ He has clothed me in the garments of salvation! (Is 61:10)

~ He has covered me with a robe of righteousness!

~ He has given me the garment of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness I bore (Is 61:3)

~ He has encircled me with the protection of His feathers like a mother bird

~ He has enveloped me within His gracious love

And are these all not Him?

~ He has given me Himself, the new man, to put on, to wrap myself in, to immerse myself in, to totally cover me.

~ And is He Himself not lovingkindness and tender mercies?

~ Are not humility and long-suffering patience essentials of His Spirit?

Deep gratitude for these, all gifts of Himself, of grace, from the God Who is Love and Light, “the Way and the Truth and the Life” —

and that He has instructed me to ABIDE IN HIM: to nestle down, permanent, in all this glorious gifting!

Oh, how is it that a human soul so graced still can wander…?

*****

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It was a quote that caught me, one little paragraph within a small devotional. Today amid early morning coolness and bird song, I sit and meditate on it, to sink it down into daily remembrance:

“The cure for _____ lies in living under a constant sense of the divine presence,

worshiping God and communing with Him all the day long,

however long the day may seem.

True religion lifts the soul into a higher region,

where the judgment becomes more clear and desires more elevated.

The more of heaven there is in our lives, the less of earth we shall covet.

The fear of God casts out _____.

The deathblow of _____ is a calm consideration of the future.”

-C. H. Spurgeon, from Faith’s Checkbook

…..

He was writing of envy. But any sin fits nicely in the blanks, doesn’t it?

Linked to

Ever miss the point entirely, even while striving, jaw-set hard, to get the needed wisdom? (Like I just did?)

Sometimes a message lies “hidden” in a forest’s configuration, like the 1943* date (planted in pines) my dad used to point out as we drove along a hill opposite it. Standing amongst its tree trunks, you couldn’t discern it. At all. But in the wide view it stood out bold.

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees.

Sometimes in a fog like today’s** it’s hard enough just to see the nearby oaks and maples.

What to do about such blindness, when it comes to spiritual matters?

• Ask Him Who sees it all, to reveal what He wants you to see.
• Listen to all he says: Yes, get every detail…
• But also don’t neglect His panoramic view. Don’t lose sight of the forest by just analyzing bark on one or two trees. Like I did…

…

It was a study on “Put off, put on,” Colossians 3:5,8-9a,12,14.

It focused on specifics. Put off these behaviors and attitudes. And these. Then, put these on. Like renovating-and-redecorating. Or improving personal appearance by stripping off uglies and putting on pretties instead.

After an overview, we focused on Colossians 3:5’s particular uglies, to decide:

1) Which sin do you think gives women the most trouble?

2) How can we put it off or counteract it?

And our teatime tables became round tables of discussion, brainstorming human thoughts and possible solutions.

Single solutions, for a single ill. Us looking horizontal. As at single trees.

It wasn’t till we were breaking up the gathering, people all busy putting things away, that my fog cleared and I saw I’d totally missed the point, the crucial principle, His bigger picture. The big important, all-encompassing thing we’re supposed to put on that takes care of all the particular ills.

I needed to consider how all the individual “trees” (details), fit into their forest. 

At home alone later, I did. 

Several quite different individual “trees” stood right there amongst the scrutinized ones, in Colossians 3:9-11,15-17 — revealing a Bigger Picture. Can you see it?

The important clue word, “therefore” finally got my attention, too — right at the beginning of our first scripture passage! (Col 3:5), reminding me not to lose the connection of what follows it with the concepts that went before.  

So I looked at Colossians 3:3-4 — then backed up even further… to get the still larger view, to 2:18, and read from there right up to Chapter 3 (Col 2:18-3:1) Hm.

What about the context of the whole epistle? Jumping to the book’s beginning, I skimmed to get the whole panorama. There, certain high points stuck out for me, like 1:6b in Col 1:4-6, and verse 8, and 9, and 11, and 12. And 13… and 18… and 21-22… and 27…. and verse after verse after verse (Col 1:8-9,11-12,10,13,18,21-22,27).

Where’s the power?

There’s this one little phrase, two words, five letters, repeating like a mountain top call-and-echo through the entire book.   _ _   _ _ _  (Hint: Col 1:17,19;2:6,7,9,10,11.)

Those two words show what Big Remedy we need most to put on, and keep on. Those two words focus on our central means for conquering sinful behaviors and attitudes, and for manifesting all the godly attitudes and behaviors. Those two words: _ _   _ _ _.

More about this, next post.

…

*(Or some date close to that. I don’t remember now for sure. Only that you couldn’t miss it, looking at it in that way.)

**(I wrote this beginning on foggy Monday. Which shows what a busy mess my week’s been.)

[So why am I linking up with Five Minute Friday? (Really big cheat!) Because this post so fits the prompt word. I “couldn’t help myself!” It’s as if I already wrote from the prompt ahead of time. In that sense, I didn’t even take the five minutes today.]

*****

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