The voices in my head sometimes call me "Mom".

I don't know about you, but there are A LOT of different voices in my head.  Some of the voices are work-related.  Some of them have to do with school.  Some have to do with how I look.

There are neighbor voices.  Church voices.  Family voices.  Voices that tell me I've failed.  Voices that tell me I've succeeded.  Voices that tell me we're out of milk.

There's one voice that sounds just like my husband.  That's something they never tell you when you're getting ready to walk down the aisle!

Four of the voices move around a lot and look like this....

Just because there's a voice in your head doesn't mean it's necessarily troublesome, of course, though there are those.  But the reality is that, whatever the source, there is a lot of competition for our thoughts, and who we are, what we do has a lot to do with how these voices manifest themselves in our daily lives.  I was recently asked to do an inventory of my spiritual disciplines.  In other words, how do I connect each day to God's voice?  (There's nothing like doing an inventory of your spiritual disciplines to reinforce how much you're lacking said discipline.)  What I found was that I have taken holiness for granted in a big way.

You see, holiness is living in devotion to God.  Aligning yourself with His will and seeking it over and over and over again, in every facet of your life.  Holiness is not a given.  It does not come to us just because we love the Lord.  It does not come to us because we attend church.  It does not come to us because we are nice to others and live a good life.  It comes because we take time--intentional moments--to be with Him and listen for His voice.  It takes effort.  Repeated effort.  Over and over and over again kind of effort.

We sang through a great hymn today....an oldie but a goodie, if you will.  Take Time to Be Holy

1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
   Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
   Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
   Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
   Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
   By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
   Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
   And run not before Him, whatever betide.
   In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
   And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
   Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
   Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
   Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

I love some of the voices in my head, I really do.  Others I can live without.  But of all the voices in my head God's needs to be the loudest.  It needs to be the strongest.  It needs to be the voice against which all other voices are measured.

I know this will take effort on my part.  I must take the time to seek it.  I must take the time to maintain it!  A relationship with the Living God means constant pursuit.  But what I know of this kind of effort is that God always honors it.  When we take the time to listen for God's voice we can be assured we will hear it!

….Well, the voices in my head are telling me to get some sleep now.  Not before I pray over my day today, of course, and what lies ahead for tomorrow.  Like buying milk.  And toilet paper.  And I think we're out of eggs.  And the bathroom needs cleaned.  Good grief, these voices are bossy....

XOXO....Kelly  

     

 

When home is not a resting place...

I remember a season in my life a few years ago.  We were moving into a new home--trying to fix, pack and clean one while moving into the other.  I had just returned from a two-week trip out of the country.  Spring Break and Easter were nuzzled somewhere in the middle of it all on top of all sorts of spring-time goodness at the kids' school and extracurricular activities.

It was one of those seasons when I would wake up in the morning and first thing have a little panic as I tried to remember which day it was.  Every facet of our lives was busy...work, school, church, even home.  I remember feeling there was absolutely no place to just rest.  I jokingly asked my friend if I could come take a nap on her couch for a while because I was not actually responsible for anything in her house!    

We build our homes in the hopes that they would be a haven for us.  Home should be sacred a place, where we can unwind.  Where we can be real.  Where we can air our dirty laundry (literally!).  But inevitably home fails us from time to time.  Family strife.  Difficult phases of parenting.  Everything on the news (it's been a doozy here lately, hasn't it?).  Mud on the floor!  What do you do when home is not a place to rest??

I love what Ruth Chou Simons writes in her book Gracelaced...."A tidy home and sometimes a calm and quiet environment has often been my comfort--my shelter in the midst of crazy--messy seasons.  It was never meant to be."

Psalm 91:1-2 says, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"

We look for shelter and refuge in all kinds of places, things and people, but God's word reminds us that it is the shelter of Him--who is Most High and Almighty--where we will truly find rest, where we truly find home.  We cannot rely on our physical surroundings to bring us peace, no matter how lovely the couch cushions are!  (Incidentally my couch cushions smell like socks)

That season eventually passed for us.  We got moved in and the other house sold.  Summer came and we all enjoyed the break from school.  I began to remember what day it was again!  Seasons come and seasons go.  Some stay longer than others, both in good and bad ways.  The only constant we can expect is the true and solid refuge of God.

Take shelter there, friends, and you will find rest.