Life has been pretty crazy lately. \u00a0 The wheels of my daily juggling act are all developing seeds of their own. \u00a0What started out as a mixed portfolio of life giving activities has turned into barely overlapping wheels of potentially life sapping obligations. \u00a0Just as in my previous life of The Iron Maiden, Financial Controller par excellence, I am now the Queen of yes, operator par excellence, can do, will do, love to do girl. \u00a0The only way out is to physically get away from it all and get close to God.<\/p>\n
Knowing that I needed more time alone with God, I started ‘prayer and praise’ last August. \u00a0First gently, sticking a toe in the water, I started bringing along a friend into St. Andrew’s on Tuesday at noon. \u00a0We would pray and sing and praise and pray and just be with God. \u00a0After a few weeks it seemed selfish just to keep it to ourselves so I opened it up to others. \u00a0It is now a regular part of our church life. \u00a0So with this regular commitment and all the other ways that I regularly pray and study (NT Theology last year, OT Theology this year) I thought I was already doing the right things. I still didn’t get it and my yes girl mentality was taking away all that space I had in my early years alone with God. \u00a0Those important revelations that once came with a mighty hand, were not as frequent in my swirling world.<\/p>\n
Enter Mary D, (code named now MD) over the Atlantic. \u00a0 A few words brought out a life giving beautiful soul. \u00a0MD comes from Lighthouse Int’l Christian Church which is a mecca and multicultural melting pot for souls who have come from places like Iran, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. \u00a0Individuals and families come, many as refugees, new to the christian faith. \u00a0Many move to other parts of the UK from this entry point. \u00a0The church itself is growing rapidly, even with this steady movement. \u00a0Meeting at 4 p.m. for prayer, praise, worship and food (imagine the treats in store with this international pool), they are outgrowing their home and looking to expand. \u00a0Oh what I wish for this phenomenon to take hold over our population of pioneers in the lakes. But this wasn’t all that MD brought to the table. \u00a0She was convinced that what I needed was a precious book she was carrying with her called Begin the Journey with The Daily Office by Peter Scazzero.<\/p>\n
Now I’ve been studying and praying and praising God with zeal for years. \u00a0I’ve done just about every configuration of sound bite study. \u00a0In fact, I’ve determined that what I need is more theology to understand the world and the people and the circumstances of those early days\u00a0to encourage those stubborn hold-outs with a logical way to come to the grace of the Lord. \u00a0I thought I needed this little book like ‘a hole in the head’ and was pretty adament that I couldn’t possibly accept it. Mary was having none of it. \u00a0She insisted that this precious well worn book was for me. \u00a0God has put us together over the Atlantic for a reason. \u00a0And so I did what I was called to do and accepted it with a grateful heart. MD’s gift has brought me back to the quiet time that I’ve been missing in my world of (the most maddening combination of visionary, operator and processor) can do it all madness. So starting from next week, we’re all going to begin exploring this precious little book, slowly, in Prayer and Praise. \u00a0Our infusion with the living Lord just got a whole lot richer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Life has been pretty crazy lately. \u00a0 The wheels of my daily juggling act are all developing seeds of their own. \u00a0What started out as a mixed portfolio of life giving activities has turned into barely overlapping wheels of potentially … Continue reading