Meditation Monday (Even though it’s Tuesday)
I wanted to start something new here at the ‘Bloomr, and true to fashion, I’m a day late getting it going. I love the alliteration of ‘Meditation Monday’ though, so even though it is now Tuesday morning, in Tori’s World it’s still Monday. Sometimes one must bend the laws of physics and the universe to suit one’s sense of propriety, and this is one of those times. So all of you literalists and sticklers for accuracy will just have to bear with me today.
One of our regulars around here is a beautiful (no, we have never met face to face, but I’ve seen pictures!) young British woman named Rachel Baker. Her mom is ‘bettyrwoodward’ and her father is a wonderful pastor named Stuart. Russ has been at their church in England, and the two of them welcomed the girls and I right after we landed at the airport when we had our wonderful European Adventure a couple of years ago.
How cute are they?!
Rachel, this is where I would put an adorable picture of YOU, but I don’t have one. So instead, I will post a picture of the lovely gift Rachel had delivered to me via her parents– I just love it, and never use it without thinking of her…
Rachel also writes beautifully, though she is so busy raising small children right now that she probably wears her ‘mommy hat’ more than her ‘writer hat’ these days. But every so often she sends me something she has written, and I always enjoy it so much. A couple of days ago, after I had posted some photos of my little mountain getaway I received the loveliest email from her. I read it right after I had finished my morning devotional, and honestly it felt like I was still reading out of my devotions book. I asked for her permission to share it, which she graciously granted, and then I had the fabulous idea of maybe making this a regular (or as regular as anything is around here) feature– a Meditation Monday series, written by… YOU GUYS!
Whaddya think? If you are interested in participating, write down a few paragraphs sharing a thought, feeling, inspiration, prayer, Scripture, etc. that would be something for us all to read at the start of our week. Email it to me here: tori@babybloomr.com and I’ll post them here.
So today, on this very first Meditation Monday (work with me here), please feel free to join in by adding your own thoughts and comments…
I am happy to present our own Rachel Baker:
Hello,
I’m so pleased that you got to escape to the mountains for a few days to recharge and refresh. I hope it achieved all you hoped it would.
I just wanted you to know that your blog and photographs unintentionally completely transformed my spiritual experience and general attitude in the last week or so.
I was feeling physically and spiritually drained and I have to admit that when I saw the first photo of the mountains I was feeling pretty envious. Jon has been away the whole of January (comes back on monday – yay). Daniel had been ill and I was trying to function as a single mum on a very small amount of sleep. The thought of a few days of solitude in beautiful surroundings sounded like a wonderful but impossible dream (yeah, I was feeling sorry for myself). That’s when God broke through it all, and reminded me that He is right where I am. I can receive His rest and His peace here and now. Its amazing how often I forget. I admit I’m still tired physically but I’m now emotionally and spiritually where I should be.
I’m not at all suggesting that ‘runaway mum’ breaks are not wonderful and necessary. I just need to remind myself not to rely on these times (or even a quiet space and time when the kids are asleep) to recharge my batteries and then run them down until I am burnt out. I have a constant source of strength living in me every second of the day, I just need to draw on it!!
I just scribbled down these words;
Oh, hear Him say ‘I’m here’
Don’t wait for a better time
Don’t search for a special place
Drink of the water while you thirst
He’s whispering your name
Here Him say ‘I’m here’
‘You can hear my voice in the noise
you can see my beauty in the mundane
you can feel my peace in the madness
you can know my healing in the pain’
Oh, hear him say ‘I’m here’
In every now of every day
In every joy and every grief
Drink of the water while you thirst
He’s whispering your name
Hear Him say ‘I’m here.’
Come to the living water
come and drink
drink of the water while you thirst
Thank you for your encouragement (intentional and otherwise).
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Oh, sweet Rachel,you certainly know how to comfort a body……from one heart to another. And I do so appreciate the honesty of it all.
Stuart says that it’s the first time he’s been called cute since he was three years old. Love the picture which Russ took at Flatford Mill. I would to take you there sometime as well, come over for a holiday.
Thanks for reminding Rachel how well she writes, she needs someone other than us to tell her! Thanks for the blog as well it is always appreciated even when I don’t add a comment.
Had a LONG LONG Stressful Tuesday (oops–extralong Monday!) and just sat down at my computer to find,…these lovely words from Rachel. Thank you, thank you,..I needed this!! Betty, you sure did something right!
And I thought Stuart The Cute did something right by asking UK Betty to be the mother of his children = / Or did she rope him in…
And talk about an extra long Monday, I did not discover this until just now, which is approximately 10:35, February the 8th, a WEDNESDAY morning; Helsinki time !! Well, better late than never, I guess = ) And I’ve always been a fan of Rachel’s writing ever since some of her lyrics were posted here awhile back !! Wonderful to see her words used for this brand new, which ever day it happens, Meditation Monday !! = )
Please excuse a brief, Monday, interlude here, but Tori, I think they’ve outdone themselves; again !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MejbOFk7H6c&feature=g-all-u&context=G218b642FAAAAAAAABAA
Stuart even cuter = Stuart in a kilt ?? Oh, yeah, he’s not Scottish = /
Rachel, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! Bless your sweet heart!
This has been a very stressful week around here…….birth of new grandbaby, complications from the spinal block, a couple more hospital trips, with instructions not to even sneeze and dislodge the blood patch, and then a car accident last night! And I’ve been consciously trying to teach my children how to rest in God’s Hands. How to take one day, and sometimes one hour at a time. And to be thankful for little things along the way. You said it exactly right——
“Don’t wait for a better time
Don’t search for a special place
Drink of the water while you thirst…”!
Thanks, Rachel…..and Tori for sharing! I’m sending this to my daughter today! (And you definitely have a beautiful gift, Rachel! Listen to your mother! LOL)
Wow, Linda !! Hope everyone is OK now, that the worst has passed !!
Oh, and I left out the bout of stomach flu we had! Ever try to burb a baby when you’re about to “burb” something up yourself???? It’s a challenge!
Thank you, jonny. Candy is very sore today——she cut her knee in the accident and it’s pretty swollen. We’re just hoping and praying that the blood patch isn’t dislodged because it was such a painful ordeal to get it put in place last week.
Prayers being proffered !!
And I’m not reading this until Saturday evening (soooo not Monday!)
Rachel – THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!! It brought tears to my eyes. It was simple and profound. We search and search and search for God, His touch, His voice, His presence…and He’s right there! Always!
I’ve often prayed for God for something, then tacked on…”And please let me know when it happens!”…because we tend to get so busy with daily stuff that we miss His still, small voice in the mundane.
Thank you, Rachel, for that reminder! Keep writing. You do have gift!
“I’ve often prayed for God for something, then tacked on…”And please let me know when it happens!”…because we tend to get so busy with daily stuff that we miss His still, small voice in the mundane.”
‘Like’
“We search and search and search for God, His touch, His voice, His presence…and He’s right there! Always!”
I also believe that not only is He already there, but His desire is to search and know us !! King David often prayed, “Search me, and know me.” When Jesus did the parable of the sheep and the goats, the one casting the goats away said, “Away from me, for I never knew you !”
Wow, jonny! That’s an interesting thought! I’ve gotta think about that one! On one hand, He is our maker and knows our frame very well! Yet, David, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a man after God’s own heart, said, “Search me and know me”. I think that He knows us, inside and out, but since He gave us free will, does He know what we are going to decide to do before we do it? And is that really free will? Okay, now I’m getting a headache. But that was an interesting thought, jonny.
I find it true in my life. In David’s prayer it’s, I believe, search me and know me and ‘expose,’ ‘bring to light,’ search out’ every false, dark way within me. I believe there are areas so deep and dark that only His Spirit, with our permission, can enter and deal with properly. I hope this make sense. I also HATE the ‘works’ message so often attached to the sheep and the goats thing. I believe the works part is a result of our growing oneness in, with Him. Him in us; us in Him. Just as He was one with the Father and EVERYTHING He did stemmed out of, or resulted from, that oneness. I’m also getting more than a little tired of all these messages, plans, programs, teachings, etc, that seem to want to ‘cut out the middle’ man, yet being ‘for’ Him at the same time. Or at least by-passing any real need for the most important part of why He died for the world, or direct involvement with Him in such matters other than, ‘please back up my mission, plan, vision, teaching.’ Oh, and by the way, thanks for saving me !! But if you don’t mind, we’ll get to this ‘You knowing and pruning me, and me actually sitting at your feet and being YOUR disciple’ stuff later, OK ??
Hope that made sense, and please forgive the rant.
I guess there can also be at least two types of ‘knowing.’ One coming from a knowledge, awareness, understanding base; the other from a ‘been to hell and back’ type relationship with another and still being one, such as the Father and Son have. But even then it seems there can be a surprise or two; ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken me ?’
Well, you have broght up some very good thoughts! (Is this meditation Tuesday??) I appreciated them, jonny! Especially this part….”…‘please back up my mission, plan, vision, teaching.’ Oh, and by the way, thanks for saving me !! But if you don’t mind, we’ll get to this ‘You knowing and pruning me, and me actually sitting at your feet and being YOUR disciple’ stuff later, OK ??”!!!! How true is THAT???
Oh my, we do seem to be back around to Meditation Tuesday again don’t we !! And it’s Valentine’s Day !!! Maybe we should do a little extra meditating on how to love and encourage each other today, and in doing so loving and blessing our Lord !! = )