Dedicated to precious Lulie
Renewal
Today on Choosing Peace, you’ll read about being still, BLT sandwiches and a song.
In part 1, I introduced this topic. “When I say Special Days, I don’t just mean your favorite day of the week. I mean that small handful of days that say anticipation or celebration or milestone in a very personal way to you. Special Days can include your favorite holidays and vacations. What are your Special Days? Mine are my birthday, Mother’s Day, our anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas and vacations.”
Are there other Special Days? As I’ve explored this topic, I’ve come to realize the answer. Yes. There are other Special Days. I’ve discovered that certain days of serving and renewal can also be Special Days. Sometimes we know these days are special ahead of time and sometimes we realize it in hindsight.
A time of renewal
Surprise vacation
Last November, I wrote about an unusual and wonderful week—a time of renewal. After injuring my arm in a fall at work, I spent an unexpected week of vacation being still on our couch. Rain, chocolate, friends—and so much more. During my surprise vacation, I experienced many facets of the Holy Spirit—the Comforter, the Helper, the Spirit of truth and the Protector. And my week of renewal included a revelation. Because the Lord protected our son Logan from a serious accident, I learned about the power of written prayers.
I didn’t plan this week of stillness and renewal. God did. And he showered me with blessings, rest and reflection. The Lord gave me a whole week of Special Days, and I had no idea it was coming. Read about my unexpected vacation in The Holy Spirit, part 6.
Your turn
Has there been a time in your life when you experienced unexpected renewal? Unplanned renewal? Perhaps unwanted, fought-against, ultimately-embraced renewal? When the power goes out, when you lose your phone, when the snow storm confines you, when someone cancels your plans, when you’re sick in bed, will you seek renewal instead of complaining? Will you stop focusing on the inconvenience, frustration or disappointment? Will you ask God, “What now? What are you showing me? What do you have for me?”
Be still
When your life comes to an abrupt halt, it’s time to stop and be still. When things are spinning too fast—stop and be still. When you feel alone, afraid or misunderstood—stop and be still. When you feel far from God—stop and be still. When you’re stuck—stop and be still. When you’re trapped in busy-ness—stop and be still. When you need God’s help—stop and be still.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10, New Heart English Bible
“Be still” doesn’t mean sit down and do nothing. The words be still are the beginning of an important command from God Almighty. The rest of the sentence tells us an equally-vital part of this two-part instruction: “…and know that I am God.” While you’re being intentionally still, think about God. Acknowledge who he is. Admit that he is God and you aren’t. Lay your burdens at his feet. Nothing is too insignificant or too hard for the Creator, our Father.
Psalm 46
What’s going on in this particular psalm or song? These words paint a vivid picture: trouble, roar, tremble, rage, totter, melts, desolations, wars. This psalm describes times of shock and trauma. Can you relate to any of that? But trauma isn’t the heart of the story. Those words about danger and uncertainty aren’t what this psalm is really about. Psalm 46 begins with this all-important verse:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1, New Heart English Bible
And it ends with this verse:
The LORD of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalm 46:11, New Heart English Bible
Psalm 46 tells us where to go and what to do when we’re in trouble. Go to God! Read the whole psalm here.
Solo retreat
In September, I took myself on my first-ever Writing Retreat to a quiet farm an hour from home. I’d been wanting to do that for a long time and I finally did. Even though I recharge my batteries, as they say, during times of solitude, being alone and away from home was a little outside my comfort zone. I wrote two posts during that long Labor Day weekend. One was about pride. The other was about fear. God did amazing things as I dug into those two subjects. He changed me. He taught me. And he healed me from some anxiety that crept back in the previous month. Thank you, Lord.
Renewal
Was this planned, private retreat a time of renewal? Absolutely.
I experienced spiritual renewal, physical renewal and emotional renewal. The Lord taught me so much while I wrote. He blessed me with special songs and scriptures. Most of all, he blessed me with his presence. He was right there. And I brought some of my favorite foods, like BLT sandwiches, potato chips and onion dip. (Thanks, Charlene, for your advice about the chips and dip!) Do you remember the birthday cupcake the Airbnb host left for me in the fridge? Mmmm. So good. What about emotional renewal? Writing two short anger letters helped me greatly. I laid things down that I needed to lay down, so I felt truly renewed. Lighter. Freed from old chains.
Drinking in the beauty of my surroundings ministered to me on many levels. The beautiful sunrise. A cool, unexpected morning breeze. The horses. The glorious sky. The sounds of the chickens. I loved it all. It was so peaceful. No chatter. No distractions. No road noise. Being on a farm in the country made all the difference. Taking breaks and stepping outside renewed me—deeply.
Rest
While my retreat was a very fruitful writing time, it was also a time of rest. I took three naps on Saturday—one in the bed, one on the couch and one in a chair. Ha. I had trouble falling asleep the first two nights. Like I said, traveling alone put me outside my comfort zone. But the third night? After I wrote those anger letters? I fell right to sleep—feeling comfortable. I’d reached a new place inside. Having written about fear all day—learning and acknowledging many things—I went to sleep with no fear. That felt so good.
Refreshing
On the third day, I thought about inviting Brandon to come out for dinner. I asked the Holy Spirit if that was a good idea; and the still, small voice in my mind said, “Yes.”
Sunday, September 3
Journal entry
Brandon brought us Sonic cheeseburgers for dinner, and he brought me a chocolate cake. Woohoo! We ate at the kitchen table. I enjoyed showing him this wonderful place. He asked if we could step out and visit the horses. The [dark] one came over and we petted him. I got the most glorious profile photo of him when he was looking at Brandon. This was an appointed time filled with blessings. Thank you, Lord.
My time with Brandon and with the horse was a sweet time of refreshing during a day focused on writing.
Renew, rest, refresh, repeat
Will I be taking myself on a Writing Retreat in the future? Yes, indeed—Lord-willing. I’m planning to make it an annual Happy Birthday to Me weekend. Special Days extraordinaire…. And I will look forward to it for months. That’s part of the beauty of Special Days—looking forward.
Your time of renewal
Do you need a time of renewal? Do you need to experience the renewal of a quiet period of time—just you and God? Do you need a time of renewal spent with others? Pray and ask God to show you what he has for you—who, what, how, when, where. You might be surprised at what he reveals.
Is he calling you to carve out a daily quiet time with him first?
Special days of serving
Someone Cares retreats
Sometimes our Special Days are spent serving with others. These unique Special Days can be filled with remarkable renewal.
For almost four years, I’ve been privileged to serve with an amazing team of women at the Someone Cares weekend retreats. I called our team a rescue squad in The Armor of God, part 5. There’s nothing in my life like these retreats—not only for the privilege of participating in God’s healing work—seeing the chains of abortion fall off each participant’s heart; but also for the one-of-a-kind camaraderie our leadership team shares.
In this place
We give God all the glory.
♦ In this place, we’re fully known and fully loved.
♦ In this place, we’re freed from chains.
♦ In this place, the Holy Spirit moves freely.
♦ In this place, the power of prayer is manifested.
♦ In this place, we laugh, cry, hug and reveal truth.
♦ In this place, we’re the hands and feet of Christ.
♦ In this place, we witness God heal broken hearts.
Being at a Someone Cares retreat is the closest thing to heaven that I’ve ever experienced.
Love flows freely and God moves powerfully.
Deep and beautiful
We share, we worship, we sing. And the Holy Spirit knits our hearts together. Ever closer. Ever deeper.
We explore deep things going on in our lives. We forgive others and we forgive ourselves. (To explore What Forgiving Is and Isn’t, start reading here.)
God shows us the beauty of what he created. The beauty of each woman who comes to experience healing. The beauty of each woman serving beside us. The beauty of a new day, and so much more.
Serving, the song and the tears
Peaceful Reader, have you yearned for something more meaningful in your life? Is God calling you to serve him somewhere? Has he opened a door that you’ve been afraid to walk through?
This beautiful song by Audrey Assad mentions “the fear of serving others.” Drink in the depth and the message of “I Shall Not Want.” In the Grieving series, I wrote about how I discovered and laid down my anger at my mom. This was the song I featured at the end of that important, revealing post. This was the song that helped me to grieve and have a long, long cry about my mom. This was the song.
Tears are a healing gift from God. Let them flow.
His calling
Spend some time being still, knowing that he is God, and asking him to show you what he has for you. Ask him for the courage to step into his calling. When you do, give him all the glory for what he reveals to you—about himself, about others, about you.
His calling is good. His calling is right. His calling has meaning. His calling has Kingdom purpose. His calling is for you.
Some callings are short-term; others are long-term. He may be calling you to be a devoted stay-at-home mom. He may be calling you to leave that high-stress job and simplify your life. He may be calling you to be content and joyful with what you have.
Follow where he leads.
Coming next: I don’t have the foggiest idea what’s coming next. The Holy Spirit will show me. I look forward to it. I love his surprises. Come back next time.
Thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Psalm 57:2
Song: “Plan for Me” by Zach Williams
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