My Cup Runneth Over

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Nourishment For The Soul

The "prompt" read: What I love to do that feeds my soul...

There's a list a mile long for that one! Just as I began reviewing my mental list, it hit me like a ton of bricks...again.

It was during the summer. The group of friends that had quickly become my community were each sharing their answers to this very same prompt. As I listened to the responses, my eyes wandered out the windows that lined the wall toward the horizon filled with hills and trees and sky and all of nature. Words started coming to me--dancing, writing, nature walks, walks along the beach, indepth studies, photography--but as soon as I processed one word, I realized~~after each one~~I don't do that anymore! My turn came, and I could barely spill out the words, "I used to dance...but i just realized that i don't anymore..." without choking back the tears. I was surprised at the spark of emotion that filled me from the inside out! At that moment, I resolved to become more purposeful in nourishing my soul. And that was that.

Now here I am in the midst of winter and there it is again~~What nourishes my soul? My spirit laughs at God's humor in His ability to capture my attention! But how do I write about what I love to do that feeds my soul without just making a list...? So, I went to some of the other bloggers and looked at their writings as if looking for a new answer to an old question. The first post I stumbled upon slapped me square in the face with my answer--but it was an answer to a different question: How can I be purposeful to incorporate those things that feed my soul?

Aimee, on her blog, Becoming Esther, atteded a conference in which part of the message included asking everyone to draw up 3 lists: what made them feel good, what made them feel great and what made them feel ecstatic. The speaker then challenged them to each day to do one thing that made them feel good; each week to do one thing that made them feel great; and each month to do one thing that made them feel ecstatic.

I felt God's laughter as its truth sunk in...Three categories? My list just expanded another mile...because there are those simple acts that nourish the soul~~lighting a candle, being still and just knowing, reading the lyrics to a song I just heard or just reading a new book, writing a REAL note and mailing it using a real stamp, exercising, cooking, gardening, singing to the top of my lungs (don't expect it to be on key!), taking a bath, going out for lunch with a friend...The time is ripe in this new season of my life to find nourishment in these old places.

Now, it's in print for the whole world to read and even hold me accountable!

May my cup overflow with refreshment and nourishment of my soul!

Linking up with Bonnie Gray on Faith Barista!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

A Word

I realize i've been doing this all wrong...i've given the names of my years at the end...letting life happen to me instead of me happening to life.

Ann Voskamp has dubbed her past years with such terms as koinania, eucharisteo, communion, rest, no fear...and now Bonnie Gray is challenging those of us who long to write~~who long to use the written word to share that which is deep within~~with a prompt: what is our one word for 2015? Ha! There's even a book titled "My One Word" by Mike Ashcroft...

Oh the humor! How could I have known when my friend, Terry, sent me a link to Faith Barista's blog about Spiritual White Space that this would be the "thing" to catapult me back into a writing habit...? But here I am, and I am wondering what ONE word does God choose for me to influence my 2015...

Could it be "Forward"...when the last couple of years have been stuck looking "back"? Empty nesting can be such an empty place...filled with changes that are so foreign and overwhelming that moving left or right is impossible and moving forward is a black hole of vast nothingness.

But now...words that, in scripture, indicate something new...something is about to change. And it refers to the NOW, not the past nor the future. It carries with it the connation of cultivating, encouraging, nourishing...

Out of the blue, "lavish" comes to mind...i actually just spent some time in scripture meditating on Mary and her alabaster bottle of perfume lavished on Jesus. What would a year of "lavish" look like? Extravagance, generosity, abundance, elaborate, splendid...

Here I sit contemplating what my Lord might be saying to me, as if I must choose...and I realize He's telling me "but now, it's time to move forward and live lavishly!"

So my word for 2015 will be "lavish!"

We can define our year with a focus that leads us closer to the One who holds us in the palm of His hand...what will you allow Him access to in this new year? :)

My cup overflows just knowing His plans for me are more than I ever could dream or imagine...!

Linking up with Bonnie Gray and "Faith Barista!"

http://bit.ly/belovedbrews

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Writings on the Wall...or in this case, the dust ruffle

In making one my daughter's bed today after company left, I spotted this on the dust ruffle:

I found my mind traveling back 18 years...One of my best friends had disciplined her less-than-2-year-old for writing with markers all over their hallway wall. That week, she lost her precious baby. She never cleaned the markings off the wall; and when she moved, her family carefully cut the sheetrock around the artistry, framed it, and displayed it prominently in their new home. Sometimes, you just gotta see with a new perspective.

Now, I'm sure one of my grandaughters created this masterpiece..it doesn't really matter which one. It sort of gives me this sense of their presence and comfort knowing that a part of them has been left with me in our home.

As a grandparent, I have a different perspective. In fact, while I can smile at the thought of the secret that is hidden under a quilt, I can rest in the confidence that~~at some point~~each one of my granddaughters has left such masterpieces on some unorthodox canvas and probably were disciplined in a way that no longer left them with the desire to create further reminders of their presence.

I'm glad this happened before that time...because it sure does make my cup overflow!

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

A Place of Rest

My secret garden is the place I go each morning for my quiet time with Yeshua. The thirst in my soul is quenched here...it is here I am emptied out and filled up ready to poured out. This is my time to be refreshed and renewed so that I might flourish in my day.

Being still before the Lord has never been one of my strengths, even though it is one of my strongest desires. So it is amazing that this secret garden has provided me with a place that invites me in and beckons me to draw closer.

Right now i'm in Ezekiel. It's a harsh book. It feels repetitive. Yet there are new revelations and applications for me each time i'm brought back to its pages.

The readings I look forward to the most are a Psalm and a Proverb. They open my eyes and my heart in worship and teaching. Today, Proverbs 3 held a treasure chest full of reminders in every single verse...it overflowed with more than my brain could hold. I could write a separate piece on that chapter! Psalm 27 was my Psalm for today...I read it over and over and it was my praise for today.

In return for my praise, God shows me His majesty in my garden. Mr. GoldFinch appeared up today introducing me to Mrs. GoldFinch, and it looks like Mr. and Mrs. Hummingbird (who showed up late in the season) have 2 new friends with whom they are allowing to share their feeder! The garden teems with purple martins, chicadees, woodpeckers, mourning doves, sparrows, cardinals, mockingbirds, purple finches, squirrels and rabbits.

Bouquet after bouquet of flowers burst with color, filling the air with its soft scents, and bring vividness to the life that has been nurtured here.

Though the thick moss will soon give way to new grass, I immerse myself in its softness, and the healing that the damp soil brings to my feet causes me to linger with each new step.

Trees tower up into the sky with a protecting canopy that ushers in the soft summer breezes along with cooling shade, coloring the sky with differing hues of green.

In these days in which the realization that another season has passed and my parenting days are over, my secret garden offers me solace to focus on the One who gives me hope and assures me of my future and of a new season just as He promised in Isaiah 43:19:

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.




All these reasons, and more, are why my cup overflows today.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Procrastination

I keep thinkin' i'll make time to catch up, but it seems I slip farther and farther behind on events, thoughts, etc.

This week, Rebeka and I traveled to Memphis to see my mom and dad, so our week has already been blown as far as completing any routine business...so what better way to keep the procrastination going than to find something else to do...! Sooo...i just did an iphone dump and decided to share what's been going on in my life....

A few weeks ago, my Memphis friends were blowing up my phone at 6:30 a.m. knowing I have been sleeping in lately...this was their encouragement for an empty-nest momma...yep. i love my friends!

Not long after that, Rebeka came home (i will blog in more detail about that later!), from her YWAM Zion DTS in NZ.

The next weekend, Jessica came to welcome Rebeka home (as well as Bert, Elizabeth and Caroline!) I LOVE my family!

Side Note: My youngest two love stealing my phone and altering information...and so do their friends. Kari wasted no time in filling in for my missing Hannah (fyi: Kari is made from the same mold as Hannah, so when she is here, it's like Hannah is here, which brings me such joy!) with selfies...I love this girl!