A friend in need

Sometimes God answers a prayer you didn't pray.

In becoming the answer to another person's prayer, we can find our own needs addressed in ways we least expected.

It happened to me a few months ago.

The Philosopher (husband/carer/general dogsbody) and I found our health problems escalating over the last year and his ability to care for me/the household exponentially diminishing.

We felt overwhelmed and drowning, so we sought help and support from our church.

Before very long, it became clear that there was no-one both able and willing to come to our aid.

Finally, a casual conversation the Philosopher had with a friend brought a possible solution.

His wife was lonely and in need of close Christian fellowship and friendship with someone near at hand. She was also pretty nifty with an iron, vacuum cleaner and duster ~ hooray!

The couple called round unexpectedly one day to state their intent.

It was after lunch. I'd made it downstairs but I was feeling exhausted, wearing my oldest PJ's, hair awry, in need of a shower, and decidedly discomfited to be seen in such a mess.

I knew the husband pretty well but his 'late-in-life-God's-gift-of-a-wife' was almost a stranger to me. 

However, she was charming, kind and concerned. We decided to make arrangements and see how things went.

I thought if she'd already seen me (and the house) at our worst, then there wasn't much left to be concerned about, was there?

A few months down the line, and I am awed and amazed at how well it has all turned out.

Despite our different nationalities, culture, language, experiences and expectations we clicked straight away. Deep at heart, where it all counts, we are soul sisters in Christ.

Both of us know what it's like to be wounded (yes, even by fellow believers), to feel marginalised, ostracised, rejected and lonely.

Both of us needed a close, spiritual, giving and receiving, prayerful faith-sharing relationship, only she had been fervently asking for it and I was unaware of my need until I had it.

We came together cautiously and soon became good friends. Our common ground far outweighs our differences, fascinating as they are.

She knows I am an unreliable friend in terms of making definite arrangements to get together. But it's always worth it when we do, even if no housework gets done.

Although all forms of communication in general drain me considerably and have to be a paced event, our sharing time can vanish in a flash because it feeds my spirit and energises me briefly to be in her company.

She is a calming influence, a prayer support, an encourager and a great reminder of God's love and grace.

The main topic of conversation is our life with God, His goodness, mercy and amazing love, especially in the midst of life's challenges.

If you'd asked me a few months ago if I needed another female friend I would probably have said No. 

My life seemed full, rich maybe with such friends... even if the great majority are on social media due to the limitations of living with M.E and being largely housebound.

But in answering my need for help in the home, God allowed me to answer her need for friendship.

Nothing beats having a Jesus-with-skin-on real life friend and soul companion. They are precious indeed.

There may be more new friends to come who I have yet to meet, because who ever has enough genuine friends or grows out of the need to be a true friend for others?

That's the wonder of God. He knows our inmost needs before we're capable of giving them shape or thought. He is a friend in need and our best Friend indeed. 

And those inner heart cries for help? The ones we fail to voice? We can be reassured He hears, records and answers every word.

Not all answers are as unexpected as mine was, nor swift either. But we can trust God's heart even when His hand seems slow to save.

Don't give up hope, my friend. God is well aware of your needs...yes, even the most practical and prosaic ones..and will meet them in His own way and timing as you wait upon Him. 

Over to you:**How has God answered a prayer in an unexpected way for you? 

                  Have you had a new friend come into your life when you least expected it?**

Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.Your words matter. I love to hear from you, even if I may be slow to reply sometimes.

Awakening to potential

A quivering occurs deep in our souls. An inviting ripple on the waters, an opportunity to stretch our wings and fly free.

This one won't go away. It resurfaces when we least expect it.

Our lives are about to change and we run scared instead of running toward it with open arms.

Not all of us can greet change with cheer, or equanimity at least.

It feels unsettling, ground shifting, mould-breaking, day-defining and life-liberating all at once.

It calls for a new challenge, a new level we feel unprepared for.

So we quake. Even if we know those soft spoken sounds are Holy Spirit sighs.

I'm in a time of transition, waiting to walk into a more spacious place emotionally and spiritually. It requires recognition of what's being said, and response to all God is currently asking of me.

And, truth be told, I. Don't. Feel. Ready. I want to rewind time to one of blissful ignorance.

Those urgings are calling me out of a place of seeming safety, a place where I was bound but couldn't see it, and leading me into the Light, into Truth, into freedom, into God's presence and rest.

The slumbering season is over. Our souls need to wake up to the potential all around. When God is speaking, we do well to listen.

He gentles us forward saying this isn't all or nothing, impetuous crash and burn; this is a slow growth in the right direction as I lead and guide you. This is a warming to My words, an inner alertness to My voice, a gradual unfolding of My plans for you. Trust Me to keep you, to hold you safe throughout.

Maybe you're in this unsettling place too? 

Hearing and trying not to heed it?

We can be deep-bone weary from all types of pain, yet strangely wary and reluctant to move away from its suffocating embrace if it means treading into new territory.

Because what we know, what we are familiar with feels like home to us, however dark it may be in reality. Our pain is our pain. We live and move and have our being in it, don't we?

Actually no. We live and move and have our being in God. He is our Strength, our Hope, our Deliverer and Healer. 

Healing frequently comes in stages, by degrees, by unloosening, yielding and surrender rather than by sudden illumination and ability to receive it.

I've had God close some powerful doors in my life recently, doors which I'd inadvertently opened to the enemy when I was younger in years and understanding.

Once he has been denied access to areas he has tormented us in for years, the enemy will do everything in his power to try and regain that territory.

Doubt, fear and unbelief insinuate a way in, wrapping their tentacles around our souls. We need to guard our hearts, wear the full armour of God and be vigilant.

We have a spiritual battle on our hands and a continual need to reaffirm our new position, make declarations of faith from God's Word and sow seeds of positivity into areas that were always negative before.

Yes, we rest secure on the promises of God, but we also have our part to play in holding on to our healing and deliverance.

It's hard work but it will be so worthwhile to see results, to be prepared for The Next Big Thing God wants to do in your life and mine.

Some days I feel scared of transition and transformation. When we've believed lies for years, then our minds have to slowly become renewed by the Word and our hearts grow strong in faith.

Here's a prayer for all who are where I am now, or sense they soon will be. Let's begin to embrace hope, embrace the light, and embrace joy in knowing we are already victorious in Christ.

Plumbing the depths

Just a few simple words. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sometimes, that's all it takes to make or mar a day. A drop here and there.

When words rise to our pool of consciousness and hover a while close to the surface, it is well worth asking God if these are ones He wants us to pay particular attention to.

Although God mainly speaks through Scripture, He also invites us gently to notice our lives, heed the world's sounds, and hear Him in the everyday, e.g via books, blogs, poetry, music, films and the spoken word.

These had a life of their own, shimmering with vibrancy like ripples in a pond spreading wide to touch others.

My breath caught as they reached to my core. Here were words to confirm the 'word' I'd received for 2015 and set me thinking soul-deep.

They came from a new book, 'Centering Prayers:A One Year Daily Companion for Going Deeper into the Love of God' by Peter Traben Haas.

These words (underlined) were part of a contemplation:"I begin the year with the simplicity of silence. Resting in you, I become myself again" which were simple but profound, with echoes of eternity in them.

As I pondered their significance, I reflected how my early life experience had already revealed the world to be a place where I invariably felt lost, drowning under the weight of expectations and pressures, splintered and fractured, fragile and out of sync.

To have a chance of becoming and feeling whole (and safe) again, I needed to connect to God. And I feel so blessed He called me to faith as a late teenager so I could spend all my adult life getting to know Him. 

Because, not only do we find God the Father in relationship with Jesus, we also find our true selves.

Become more fully human and fully alive than ever before.

Become more truly who God created us to be, beautiful in Him.

Function more freely with the flexibility of grace.

Fulfil God's greater plans and purposes for our lives as we co-labour with Him.

Discover our full potential.

Embrace our new identity In Christ.

Waken to our worth as God's beloved child.

See ourselves, via eyes of faith, as already healed, restored, beloved and forgiven.

Rest in the knowledge of being united with The One who knows us inside out and loves us just the same ~ even as He's transforming us from the inside out.

In some inexplicable way we grow to become more like Jesus as we learn to live and abide in Him on a daily basis.

Yet, amazingly, we also become more of ourselves, more true to the essence of God's intended blueprint for us.

All this from one line or two, just a few words? Yes, indeed. Words have power to change a life.

And I wouldn't mind guessing that I have only touched on a small fraction of what it means to "become myself again" as I rest in Him. 

Many words have been inspiring my soul lately as God has been speaking to me, and I'm sitting with them for a while before sharing, letting them rest in me and do their work.

Because I have all year (a lifetime?) to plumb the depths, to mine for treasure and discover the riches of resting in God.

And you, dear reader, can learn along with me as we share the journey of faith together.

Linking here with Bonnie, Jennifer and friends

Over to you:

What words have greatly impacted your life recently?
How hard do you find it to see yourself as God sees you?

Please feel free to join in with the comments below. I really appreciate your input. Your words matter. Thank you.

Resting in the Father's love

When life's challenges knock us sideways, instead of rocking ourselves back and forth with worry, we need a solid Rock to lean on.

A breathing space.

A place of shelter.

A refuge from the storms.

A haven of rest.

A place of dependency from where we are enabled to grow strong, become free.

Someone who we can rely on above all others.

We need a Saviour. We need Jesus. We need His joy. We need His peace.

We need grace to see, believe and receive how much God loves us beyond words, beyond our wildest imaginations, beyond life itself.

It can be so hard to believe we are the beloved of God when calamities come strong against us, can't it?

It can be hard to stay stable and remain calm in the mud and mire of our mess and miseries.

To fight the urge to give in to discouragement, to give up in despair.

To avoid cynicism creeping in. 

To stay more focused on God's face and His amazing grace to help us live as overcomers, instead of pointing to our problems.

Much depends on what or who are we listening to. 

Voices crowd our mind from our inner fears, from the past, the world, the enemy, from those who have hurt us.

Yet it is the gentle whispered words of Holy Spirit which our souls most need to listen to.

And His is the one voice we tend to lose most easily in the daily grind, in the swirl and whirl of noisy sound all around.

How might it look if we had a revelation of how much God loves us?

How might we live in the light of that knowledge?

I'm not sure yet. But I hope to find out in the months ahead.

Currently, my body needs more physical rest than usual as I recover from having flu, and my mind craves it too.

I'm aiming to devour God's word, meditate on its soul-transforming truth, seek more spiritual whitespace, embrace all that assists the process, and gradually learn to draw aside from all that hinders me from being fully at rest in Him. 

As I try to rest grateful on His grace, rest in knowing who I am in Christ, rest in being a daughter of the King of kings and a woman of God, maybe I will grow to live more at ease with accepting how deeply loved I am by Him. 

It would be so freeing to do that, wouldn't it? Maybe you have struggles in this area too. Let's share and learn together, shall we?

The song below is a great reminder of how our heavenly Father rejoices over each and every one of us and stills our anxious hearts with His love.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Entering His rest

There's something special about listening for God's voice. Making way for the mellow moments of sacred pauses in our days.

Something infinitely precious when He speaks so hearts can hear Him and draws us close to His beautiful, compassionate and loving, Father-heart.

When I received 'Listen' as my one word last year, I found myself spending all of 2014 trying to hone the skill, and I ended the year still awed and amazed when He whispered close with words He longed to impart.

There wasn't a predictable pattern. God cannot be boxed. He is calm and loving but also gloriously wild and free. The Spirit goes where He wills.

Most times, I sat expectant with Bible, pen and prayer journal at the ready, at others He spoke soft during the mundane, messy moments of my day ~ whenever He had something vital to say.

The more we practise the art, the more we become a little bit accustomed to His voice and better able to discern it above all others.

Those times of quiet listening bore fruit inwardly, teaching greater inner restfulness, peace and patient endurance that He knew I so desperately needed, and still do.

They also yielded fruit to share with others in the form of 'Prayer Whispers' to help, encourage and bless. Some have made their way into the blogging arena and others I hope to eventually make more public via a compilation to share.

So you might think I was getting seasoned in the ways of listening to God and easily able to tell what He was saying to me, wouldn't you? If only...

Well, yes, occasionally that was the case. But my own wayward heart, doubts and fears so often tripped me up... just as they're doing now.

Because, after praying for several days, I was no nearer hearing God's 'word' for me for 2015 than I was before. Various thoughts played themselves out in my head then slid silent away.

Eventually, one word made its presence known more strongly than the others.

And I was quick to reject it as a mis-hearing, because it felt wryly ironic to be hearing 'Rest' shaping itself as my defining word for 2015 while laid up in bed with an unexpected, unwanted Christmas gift of a ferocious, fluey cold virus!

I prayed, doubted and prayed some more. Gradually, God penetrated the thick mucus curtain where my brain seemed to be lodging and made Himself known. 

Yes, there was no mistake. Far from being just my usual state as an M.E and chronic illness sufferer ~ where rest and pacing are the order of the day, and a particularly necessary one right now ~ rest was going to be a strong feature of the year ahead too.

Only... I had to appreciate its nuances more than ever before. Rest means different things to each one of us.

At this early stage I can already see the type of rest God has in mind for us is so much more than a Sabbath break in our week, ceasing from physical activity, putting our feet up, taking a nap, being on vacation.

His plans for us are complete, holistic, changing from the inside out. I sense rest is no exception.

My soul needs to learn how to rest easy in His word, truly believe who it says I am in Christ, lean peaceful on His love and grace.

Maybe discover how to actually live like I'm freed from guilt and anxiety, stay rooted and grounded in faith, develop trust that replaces tension.

Rest in the finished work of Christ rather than relying on self-effort and works to somehow complete the deal.

Rest in seeing myself as pre-approved, deeply loved and called to make a difference.

Quite a bit to mull over here! No doubt more will be revealed in time to come.

And it feels as if my main priority is physical rest right now as I seek to recover from the horrible cold symptoms and try to claw back some precious energy.

Perhaps priorities will loom large as I endeavour to save energy for all I am called to do rather than all I may want to do.

Maybe there will be encouragement to make room for more spiritual whitespace, for contemplative prayer, for continuing to listen to prayer whispers and to seek His face?

I hope so. 

My soul craves deep rest; my body cries out for it and my mind desperately needs it too.

One way or another I hope to enter His rest, in fact I long to; I need to. 

One thing I am certain of:as God gives me inspiration and strength I aim to be sharing the journey here and over at 'Poetry Joy', just as I did with 2014's word 'Listen'.

Here's a 'Prayer for Rest' that you can take and make your own. Feel free to pin or use as you need to:

Over to you:

Have you had benefits (as well as challenges) from listening to God?

Has God given you a new word to ponder over for 2015?

Whether or not you've heard a 'word' yet, what do you think your main focus will be for the year ahead?

As always, I really appreciate and welcome your input here and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Out of darkness

A child develops in darkness. Entombed in the womb. 

Cushioned and cradled within its comfortable confines.

They grow toward the day when they will emerge, blinking, into the light.

Stretch tenuous fingers toward all that awaits to embrace them.

At a point in time they will draw in air, breathe independently and become a living, wriggling, blood-stained crying reality to those who have anticipated their arrival.

Each new birth holds a degree of mystery and wonder, unfolding of a life that is as yet unknown, unfamiliar, no matter how well prepared the parents may feel beforehand.

Scripture speaks of the anticipated arrival of Messiah, Servant-King, God Incarnate.

Years of waiting culminating in "to us a child is born, to us a son is given", a child like any other in appearance yet with a huge weight on his tiny shoulders.

This Christ-child is to be called "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 42:6) and One who will "reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever" (Isaiah 42:7).

He developed and grew in the secret place, in the deep dark space, in the area where only God sees and meets with us.

He came to be the Light-bringer, Light-bearer and Light-giver to all who walk in darkness.

His time encapsulated in the womb echoed His desire to fully enter into all our frail humanity, to lay aside His majesty, come into our darkness.

It is said of Jesus' coming, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:2).

I wrote this little poem recently about being in a time of darkness:

In coming to earth as a tiny, defenceless, dependent baby, Jesus identifies with our weakness and fragility.

In coming to earth as a bringer of holy Light, He reveals God's desire to overcome the darkness that exists both within and without us. 

In coming as a child, developing in the depth of a warm, watery womb, He experienced a taste of being without visible light yet still intimately and vitally connected to God the Father.

He had the light of life within Him continually, just as we can experience when we come to faith in Him and His Spirit comes to live within.

Here's the thing:Don't we get to know and experience God most in the dark side of life, in the painful circumstances, the challenges and hardships we face?

Aren't we more aware of Him when we need help rather than when we feel confident and capable?

Our heaviness of spirit tips hopeful toward the light of His presence, wanting to feel lighter, to loose the load we bear and hand it over to God, our Burden-Bearer.

"Anyone who has ever known him has known him perhaps better in the dark than anywhere else because it is in the dark where he seems to visit us most often" ~ Frederick Buechner in 'Listening to Your Life' 

And just as we long to gather our own children to safety and shelter, to comfort, reassure and give them support, so God calls us out of the dark ways that threaten to kill and destroy our very souls.

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth" ~ Isaiah 42:16

As we await the celebrations of Christmas there is much to ponder in the interval.

Advent speaks of a coming, a watching and a waiting. It also speaks of an arrival.

The curtain is lifting. The stage is set. God enters human history as one of us.

We live the other side of the blind darkness, of the deep distress, of the lost hopes and dreams.

We are chosen, redeemed, beloved and precious to God.

We are a people called out of darkness into His glorious light.

We are destined to be light-bearers and light-bringers for those still in darkness.

Once we see the great hope we have from being in Christ, there is every reason to have joy in this season and beyond.

Let us look beyond the confines of our circumstances, breathe deep of Holy Spirit power, stretch wings of faith and hands of praise toward the One who brings light, love, hope and joy into each and every day ~ if we allow Him to. 

Jesus sees and knows our every weakness. He came to save, to suffer, to die for you and me. We have the challenge of letting Him live in and through us.

You and I can be born again, brought into the light, freed from the grip of death and darkness, given a fresh start.

Thank you for joining me in my Advent reflections which began here.

I look forward to sharing with you again soon. May God bless you and keep you, and shine His light strong in the dark spaces and places of your life.

Awakening to wonder

It was 2 am according to the clock. Insomnia was stealing sleep as usual.

I lay quietly thinking, alternately restlessly wriggling and praying. 

A few words whispered their way into my head. Became embedded in the place where poetry is birthed.

And as I mulled over them I thought back (via my imagination) to another night, over 2000 years ago.

To a hillside, bleak and stark against the sky, where shepherds gathered in the dark, leaning on their crooks, stamping feet and blowing on hands to keep warm in a night devoid of heat.

No 24/7 neon-lit, constant-buzz-of-activity night for them. All was dark. All was still.

They huddled under a blanket of stars, wrapped in a cloak of inky blackness. Struggling to stay awake just as I so often struggle to sleep.

They kept watch over their sheep, a beady eye looking out for predators, routinely counting woolly heads and soothed by soft bleating sounds. Ready to rescue as necessary.

Would they have had any awareness of the greatest rescue mission of them all about to unfold that night?

I wondered if they might have an inkling etched into their consciousness.

A sense of occasion. A sea-change in history. An encounter with Mystery.

A glimmer of the blinding light about to erupt around them.

An awakening to wonder at which they would become ring-side participants.

A new birth - not of a lamb as they knew it but of the Lamb of God - our servant-King, the coming Christ-child.

As midwives themselves to the sheep in their care, did they take it all in their stride as they saw the babe in the manger? 

Or did the fear and terror of sudden Divine illumination breaking through their night vigil (and their usual nocturnal ruminations) remove all natural reactions?

We don't fully know. Fear was there but wonder sat beside it as it always does in our encounters with God.

An angel visitation shook and astonished them. They were unprepared and overawed. 

And able to marvel and rejoice as comprehension gradually came.

These are the initial poetic words that came to me in the early am:

"There's a waiting, dawning wonder
A deepening, yearning hunger
Earth is at rest
She holds her breath"

They mark the very beginning of the shepherds' story, of a demarcation in the sands of time, of God's intervention in human history, now changing with the unfolding of His Story.

Then God stirred me again and these thoughts came as He whispered close:

"I come for the humble.
I come for the lowly.
For those with an ear to the ground.
For those who search high in the heavens.
I come to every heart that will give Me room.
I come to bring Light, hope, joy and peace.
To shine in your darkness.
To fill and flood your very being.
To give you a new heart and a fresh start.
Watch and wait, and wonder.
Your King is coming again to rule and reign" 

In coming first to shepherds, not kings, God reveals His willingness to meet with us right where we are in our daily soil and toil, to offer holy moments in the mundane.

And it gives a glimpse into how Jesus, the babe in the manger, became the Chief Shepherd of our souls, the One to lead us beside quiet waters and give us rest.

God's seeking heart chases after and captures our hearts long before we run to Him. 

An expectant hopeful, faith-filled heart will have an encounter with the living God, one way or another. Of that we can be sure. He longs for us to be in relationship with Him. 

Even to the extent of whispering words to us in the midnight hours!

Thank you for joining me on my journey of Awakening to Advent. I hope and pray it will be a blessing to you.

**How are you awakening to wonder in this season? I'd love to hear your stories. Please feel free to share them in the comments below**

Being a giver

This is the season for giving thanks, gifts and resources ~ and getting too, as some might gleefully say.

This is the time to spend, spend, spend.. then ruefully pay, pay, pay.

As our circumstances have altered over the years, I have learnt to cut my cloth to suit my means. 

And that's been hard at times because I love to give gifts, especially to my loved ones, family and friends.

But it doesn't end or even begin with spending money, does it? Giving encompasses so much more.

The best form of giving is from the heart, willing, open, generous and sincere.

Thankfully, we all have myriad means at our disposal to give to others, no matter how limited our resources, health or energy may be.

We can give:

• Our time
• A listening ear
• Intercessory prayer
• A word of encouragement
• Friendship and fellowship
• Support, a hand to hold
• Cakes, cards and creative gifts
• Food parcels or vouchers

We can share:

• Ourselves, our stories
• Our time
• Our creativity and skills
• Our faith journey
• Our hope in Christ
• A cup of coffee or a meal

I'm sure you can think of many more things to give and to share. 

The ways and means are as endless and creative as our imagination will allow.

We can reveal the 'give-without-counting-the-cost' aspects of God's kingdom in the way we live and love, give and care for others.

Just search your heart, pray, and ask God what you have within you to give to others.

There are ways to be a giver all year round; it's not just for Christmas time.

And here's the thing:Some of those blessings you give out? Well, they may return to you with interest, because that's the sort of generous God we have.

He multiplies all things at His hands.

All gifts of grace are generously given in order to be returned unto others, and given back to us too in some mysterious, divine holy alchemy.

Our challenge is to be both generous, cheerful givers and gracious, humble, grateful recipients too. 

And to aim to reveal Jesus in all we say, think and do.

Which is the theme of the video below of 'Do Something' by Matthew West, taken from the album 'Into the Light'.

I'm linking here today with Kate for #FMF where we are writing brave and free with the prompt:'Give'. You are warmly invited and encouraged to take part.

Awakening to Advent

November fog invades my brain, stealing away brightness, coating all in its dreary gloom.

Seasons affect us more than we know. Each one leaves a footprint of their presence.

This season? My soul needs quiet, my body craves sleep and rest, my spirit thirsts after the place where I converse with God, on the doorstep of my heart.

I'm seeking after sacred pauses, making way for holy moments in the everyday.

As my health has declined over the last few months, I've needed to withdraw quite a bit from social media interaction, groups and conversations, and I've also missed the quiet times and places where my soul speaks with God.

Although it's what I've needed more than anything, it's also been a casualty of the storms of life.

'Quiet Time' ceased to be such as my fog-brained, pain-filled body yearned for sleep, became preoccupied and anxious; and praying was reduced to quick-fire cries for help.

These needs cannot be ignored. We pine and die inside without letting the Light in. Because a weary mind and body need His strength to go on, don't they?

There's a shift beneath the surface of my slow, sluggish days. A stirring toward all my soul desires to stay sane, stable and at rest.

An acknowledgement that I am lost and lonely when I fail to spend quality time with God.

I want to awaken to Advent without the world's noise intruding strong, resist its clamouring tongue and clarion call to excess consumption.

And as I try to still my heart, listen to the One whom my soul loves and runs after, I sense Him whispering these words:

"Be aware; be watchful; be prepared. The King is coming. He is with you.

Keep your eyes peeled and your heart receptive. Don't let it grow hard or cold.

 Allow a Holy longing to touch mystery seep slow into your soul and invade mind and spirit.

A new morn dawns in the history of mankind. 

A new day to rejoice and be glad, for your God is with you and He is mighty to save. 

A reason for humble thanksgiving.

Come closer. Come empty. Come freely. Come frequently. I will fill you to overflowing.

My throne room is always open to you and you will find a warm welcome here.

Spend your precious energy in seeking Me. I will refuel you.

Lavish attention on My glorious provision. I will give you all your soul longs for.

Whisper it loud. Joy is here for all to share. There are no beggars in My Kingdom.

This sacred place makes space for all who hunger and thirst for Me.

And in this season, all who seek Me with their whole heart will find Me.

There will be celebration over every soul who makes way for the King to live within.

Share your words; share your heart; share the promises fulfilled in Jesus, My Son.

Your watching, waiting and praying will have their reward.

As your heart makes room for the King of kings, it will be filled and flooded with the love, joy and peace of His presence.

Reflect on these things anew; rest in My goodness and grace, and remain in Me always"

How can we awaken anew to the watching, waiting wonder of Advent?

As well as revisiting the biblical narrative (and maybe listening to a few Christmas songs to get me in the mood!), here are some of the things I have at hand to help me in this season:

1) Re-reading 'Touching Wonder:Recapturing the Awe of Christmas' by John Blase ~ a delightful, warm way of connecting to the humanity of Advent and the Nativity via insightful words, reflection and prayer. 

2) Reading 'The Deep Place - where nobody goes:Connecting with God on the steps of my soul' by Jill Briscoe ~ and rediscovering the wonder and encouragement of being able to have a relationship and conversations with God.

3) Diving into 'Advent with St Francis:Daily Reflections' by Diane M.Houdek in an attempt to recover rest, simplicity and respect for the mystery of it all. 

4) Seeking more spiritual whitespace by returning to the insights in, 'Finding Spiritual Whitespace:Awakening Your Soul to Rest' by Bonnie Gray and making room for resting in God as part of needful self-soul-care. 

5) Savouring 'A Faraway Smell of Lemon - A Christmas Short Story' by Rachel Joyce (author of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) as a way to rediscover the human pangs and joys of Christmas.  

As you can see, an awful lot of reading and contemplation could be going on as I dip in and out of these books! Maybe my desires will crash under the weight of them. Time will tell..

How about you? Are you entering Advent with anticipation or grim determination?

Feel free to share what helps (or hinders) your faith-walk in this busy season. I love to hear from you. 

I'm linking here today with Janis for Sunday Stillness and with Charlotte for Spiritual Sundays. You are warmly invited to join us. 

A New Song

Welcome to another foray into Five Minute Friday's free-fall, free flowing, as-it-comes, straight-from-the heart writing.

It's always a great challenge but also great fun to participate in.

You are very welcome to join us! Just click on the link at the end of this post to take you there.

This week I am stretching myself more by attempting to write a poem in just 5 minutes. The muse has been flowing fairly freely recently as my last three posts have all had poetry in them. Just to add an extra level of difficulty I'm aiming to make it rhyme. Gulp!

Today's prompt is:Song

Deep breath..let's see what happens..

Start...

A New Song

Image Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Sing it loud and sing it clear

there's a new song in the air,

a song of freedom, hymn of praise

resounding through eternal days.

Our voices pick up the sweet refrain

and find it echoes through heart and brain.

Hear the cry

heed the sigh

of a Spirit's release

that brings us soul's ease.

Kept strong and sure

by a love that endures,

given grace, joy and peace

that will never cease.

No longer captive, held fast,

no longer imprisoned by our past.

This is a new day

this a new song.

Pick up the melody 

as you sing along.

For God is rejoicing over you today

as He sees you clothed in glorious array

Those dirt-rags don't fit you anymore

you're no longer wretched or poor.

Now we have hope and a future in view

that's truly liberating for me and for you.

Join in the song

Come raise your voice

with the heavenly throng

who will always rejoice.

Stop.

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in God" ~ Psalm 40:3

Phew! That was hard work today with time pressure, but at least I've written something. And that's what this is all about, to be brave and bold instead of aiming for spit-polished perfection.

Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday

To stay in touch with my posts (poetical and otherwise) you can follow by Twitter or like my Facebook page.