I see them when I wake up and it is his voice I hear. I see it when I switch the pen caps and laugh. I see it when someone talks to me while I stand alone. I see it when I get a question right. I see it when I don’t fight. I see it when I spell something right I thought I would get wrong. I see you whenever you talk to me. I see you when you laugh with me. I see you when you smile at me from a far leading people over. I see you in the crowd unmistakable to miss standing right there a foot, a mile, a state away and I know you are coming you will always be there waiting to laugh with me, waiting to smile, waiting to talk, waiting to help, and waiting to listen. I will only catch some, but each one matters each one I will wait for each one I will look for. Because I know you are waiting too.
Tag Archives: listen
A time to be silent
In this time of the great opinion, many of us spend more time forming, preparing, mulling over and then sharing our own opinions on the many platforms and soapboxes we have created rather than actually stopping to listen and take the time to understand the opinions of others. Ironically, the instrument that we use most for sharing our opinions must now be covered with a mask when we go somewhere and universally a covered mouth means, be quiet or be silent.
We might not be getting the hint just yet, but I think it is being given none the less. The time to speak has passed and it is now a time to be silent and listen.
Ecclesiasties 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Let the walls come crashing down!
I often hear prayers for the Lord to put up a hedge of protection around people, schools, neighborhoods, and I get it – I long for my loved ones and friends to be safe too, but when I hear this prayer something in my heart remains unsettled.
I heard it again last week when a very sweet friend prayed for a hedge of protection to be placed around our children’s school. As I spent time mulling it over once again, I think His sweet whispers finally came through, and the thought came to me…
We have too many walls! We should instead let the ripples of love flowing out from our hearts unite with His infinite tsunami of love as it spreads out and breaks down the walls within the hearts of all who come near!
My sweet Lord – I pray for all who come near our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, our schools – any child in the whole world – to have the walls they have built in their hearts come crashing down allowing their hearts to once again be fully open to Your Mercy and Grace.
Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell…
Come, come and see…
When I first began writing this blog, I didn’t realize I was searching for Jesus, but now that I have found Him (through His infinite Mercy and Grace alone) how I long to take EVERYONE by the hand and say,
“Come, come and see…”
And then in His infinite kindness and gentleness He whispers – patience my love, they are coming, they will see, they too will find me… theirs is a different path, just as painfully beautiful as yours, but different. Keep praying, keep loving, and keep listening so that you know when the time is ripe for you to take someone by the hand and say ever so gently and full of My love,
“Come, come and see!!!”
Listen…
The leaves in the trees translate His words on the wind
The sounds of the night honor Him with constant and steady praise
The trumpet flowers bloom to announce His great Love
When my soul is pricked, His Holy Spirit whispers guidance
Listen…
He calls to us to us ALWAYS through EVERYTHING, but we rarely listen.
We are often taught to pray with words, but I think we need to also practice the Prayer of Silence.
Maybe we have filled our world with so much noise because we are scared of what He will say to us if we do stop to listen?
He loves you, He loves me, He loves all of us! Do not be afraid, listen my friends as He showers us with love!
A quiet breath in the darkness
Have you ever read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis? My sister asked me to read them a few years ago and I am so thankful to her for it… I love these books!
In the book, The Horse and his Boy, Shasta is a little boy who is running away from the only home he has ever known and trying to get north to the free land of Narnia.
At one point in the story he has nearly reached his destination, but is left behind again because he can’t direct the horse he is riding. He is very tired and begins to feel so sad and so sorry for himself as he rides through a very dark night. What startles him out of his woe and sorrows is a sudden fright. He suddenly notices that someone is breathing right next to him in the darkness.
– From The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
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What put a stop to all of this was a sudden fright. Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him. It was pitch dark and he could see nothing. And the Thing (or Person) was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls. What he could hear was breathing. His invisible companion seemed to breathe on a very large scale, and Shasta got the impression that it was a very large creature. And he had come to notice this breathing so gradually that he had really no idea how long it had been there. It was a horrible shock.
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So he (Shasta) went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him. At last he could bear it no longer.
“Who are you?” he said, barely above a whisper.
“One who has waited long for you to speak,” said the Thing.
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The reason I am telling you about this is because it happened to me this morning. My husband is away and as I was waking up this morning I heard a quiet breathing in the darkness next to me. When I first heard it I lay in the darkness just listening to it and wondering who or what it was. Then I thought I must be hearing my own breathing so I held my breath for a moment and listened and it was still there, steady and quiet. My next thought was that one of my girls must have quietly come into my room in the middle of the night and was sleeping somewhere on the ground or in the bed. With that thought I sat up in bed to look around the room. There was no one else in the room with me.
I laid back down and listened to the breathing for a few more minutes before my alarm sounded to begin a hectic morning which made me quickly forget the sound of someone breathing by my side.
Later after everyone was off to school and I was finally sitting down to a cup of coffee, I remembered the breath in the darkness and I thought of Shasta and Alsan, the High King above all kings, breathing next to him in the darkness.
What if our sweet Jesus was here with me this morning as I was waking up? What if He was here waiting for me to acknowledge Him, talk with Him and ask Him what He would like me to do today?
I am sad that I missed my chance to whisper into the darkness, “Who are you?”, but thanks to Shasta’s example I hope I will not miss my opportunity next time.
We don’t sit quietly and listen enough my friends. He might be here with us more often than we realize and with all of the noise and distractions we have setup for ourselves there is no way we will ever hear His quiet breath as He patiently waits for us in the darkness.
Wake up!
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God really wanted me to wake up this morning. I first woke up at 5:40 am and thought to myself, I should get up and read the Bible or my devotional, but I felt too tired so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 6:03 am and again rolled over to go back to sleep. Finally at 6:10 am, I had to get up because the alarm in the girls bedroom went off and was blasting NPR all over the house. I took this as a sign that God was not taking “No” for an answer this morning 🙂 Thankfully none of the girls woke up… I’m not sure how they slept through it, but they did!
I think what I took from all of this was a reminder not to get swept away by the wrong things this Christmas. The last few days have been a little hectic as I have been preparing for Christmas, sending cards, shopping, cooking, wrapping, cleaning, etc. I haven’t found much time to sit in peace and quiet and just listen.
I want to listen during this Holy time. I want to sit in peace and think of our Savior, His Mother, His earthly Father and His Holy Birth. I want to be moved to depths of my soul as I reflect on Him.
Thank you my Loving and Heavenly Father for nudging me awake this morning. Please help me to keep You always in my sight and to stay awake!
Listen carefully my friends, He might be trying to wake you up too!
Seeking the sacred within the secular…
I am reading a book of the complete works of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare of Assisi, Francis and Clare: The Complete Works.
In one the letters that Saint Francis wrote to the clergy, he quotes Corinthians 2:14, The person who does not have the spirit does not perceive the things of God.
I loved reading this today because I have been thinking about the sacred within our secular world versus the secular within His sacred world. Is there a difference? Can a strict line define sacred versus secular or are we the ones who have imposed this distinction?
I have been trying to be a little more attentive to every song, every book, every discussion, every thought with the hope to perceive His message everywhere. I think it is everywhere and I want to be still and listen.
Jesus, please fill us with Your spirit so that we can perceive the things of God and realize that we are surrounded by Them… They are everywhere.