This summer was full and overflowing with good things. Good things that kept me very busy.
My new website was launched. My e-book was released. My baby was born. My e-book got revised, expanded and printed as a real book. My Declare keynote talk has come and gone. The God Experience, Summer Edition is finished.
With all those things wrapping up, I looked ahead to what could be next. I had exciting ideas for Marriage Monday and felt eager to start running with them.
So I sat before God with my coffee steaming, my planner opened and my pen ready to book myself solid; to continue running with the momentum that had been building.
But as I planned, I got the drift that maybe, that just maybe,
I was following my own momentum; not God.
And I sensed a twinge of unmet desire.
With this, I paused right there in the coffee shop and my pen began to scribble something else.
An honest prayer for more.
As I began to realize that this was a new season and God was doing a new thing, I asked Him a pivotal question.
“God- who do you want to be for me in this new season?”
The first word that came to mind was an anchor.
Then in my mind’s eye I saw a picture of a huge anchor being thrown off a large boat. The boat was going at a nice steady pace but slowed down to a halt with the weight of the huge anchor dropping to the ocean floor.
In my heart I sensed that the boat was my online ministry.
I got the message.
He is slowing me down. Gently calling me deeper.
Henri Nouwen talks about the intimate nature of our walks with God being like a steam bath.
The point of a steam bath is to keep the door closed and let the heat and the steam build up intensity. But if the door of the steam bath stays open, there is a constant leak of heat. And the intensity never builds.
The same is true with our relationship with God.
With the compulsion to constantly open the door of my soul in the setting of social media and online interaction, without extended time spent in the quiet places with God, the inner fire dwindles.
I was made for intensity in my walk with God. (we all were.)
The door of my spiritual “steam bath” has been open for quite a while. And part of slowing down in this season is to close the door of my steam bath and retreat with Him. To settle into that quiet place of silence and solitude that we talked about this summer.
My plan?
To turn off the lit up screens and
to turn up my undivided attention to Him.
My prayer?
Lord, let me grow strong, in the strength of Your might. (Eph. 6:10)
My goals?
– To focus on physical and spiritual strength with my new friend Alisa from Revelation Wellness
– To dig into God’s word with a sharp focus.
– To enjoy my kids with no digital distractions. Can I get an amen?
:::
I am passionate about seeking heaven on earth with you – experiencing God’s real love in our real lives, and seeing marriages thriving in Christ – so I look forward to being back here with new “heat” from going deeper with God in the coming months.
But for now, I’m signing off. Fasting, to be filled.
If you want to reconnect when things get rolling here again, feel free to subscribe below and we’ll be in touch.
Much love to you!