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Where Can I Go From Your Spirit? A One Word Meditation

August 18, 2023 by Lauren 4 Comments

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.”  Psalm 139:7-12 NIV

 

I listened to a podcast recently that looked at some of the original language of this passage.  Particularly the word “darkness” and I immediately knew I wanted to dig into it.  You see, my word for the year is “joy”.  And the truth that God’s presence is always with me brings me an immense amount of joy.  But the word “darkness” stuck out to me.  I’ve seen a lot of it the last few years.  I’ve felt it.  And, by grace, I’ve felt joy in the midst of it.

 

The original Hebrew for the word “darkness” in these scriptures is also found in the beginning.  “ Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”  Genesis 1:2-3 NIV  Darkness has been around since before the world as we know it.  But all our Heavenly Father had to do was speak, and the darkness dispelled.

 

So Where Can I Go From Your Spirit?

 

God controls THE darkness, and He has control of MY darkness. ” You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”  2 Samuel 2:29 NIV.  Same Hebrew word.  No matter the darkness we face, our Lord can redeem it!  And no matter where we go or what we do, He stays with us.  He doesn’t let go of a child and there is nothing we feel, see or experience that escapes Him.  

 

These scriptures and the prayers they elicit bring me joy and comfort that I can’t describe.  So it doesn’t matter if I’m in the highlands or the heartaches (as one of my favorite songs says), He is there.   If you are currently experiencing darkness, I pray you will be comforted by the presence of the Lord.  And remember that “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 NASB God dispels the physical darkness every…single…day.  And He will do the same in your life.  That’s a promise.  

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

My thanks to Lois Flowers for articulating some of what I’m feeling in the same place she’s in.  Read 4 Scriptures Providing Comfort in a Season of Transition.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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Joy: A Lesson Learned From My Teenaged Daugher

July 21, 2023 by Lauren 8 Comments

Immaturity, selfishness, thoughtlessness and carelessness.  These are the fairly universal traits of an American teenager.  This all seems to come built into the undeveloped prefrontal cortex and raging hormones of the emerging adult.  Now, I will 100% believe you if you tell me your pubescent angel is amazing.  And I believe you without sarcasm.  But I also know that, at times, the aforementioned character traits come out to play.  And they play so hard that it can get easy to focus on those things and the failings of the younger generation.  But I’d like to tell you about a lesson learned in my life, and the credit goes to my 18 year old daughter. 

 

 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:11-12 NIV

 

A few weeks ago, a staff member at our church asked me to consider a challenging ministry opportunity.  For the sake of privacy and the dignity of others, I won’t get much more descriptive than that.  I didn’t even have to think about it.  With my Allie moving out and moving on to college I needed a new challenge and something to throw my extra emotional energy into.  But after dipping my first toe in, I immediately started to regret this commitment.

 

All the doubts I carry about myself crept back in.  Am I strong enough?  Do I know enough?  Will I be effective?  Can I handle it?  And to be honest, my selfishness came to the table as well (it’s not just for teenagers!).  It felt hard and I didn’t want to be bothered or sacrifice my time.  Really Christ-like thoughts.  But then I saw more pictures on social media from Camp Blessing.a lesson learned

 

My daughter Allie served on staff at Camp Blessing, a sleep-away camp for children and adults with special needs, for the first 6 weeks of the summer.  She did wheelchair transfers and changed adult diapers and bathed those who couldn’t shower themselves.  Allie (camp name Birdie) dealt with severe behavior issues and stayed up countless hours at night tending her flock of campers.  She oversaw hygiene routines and feeding challenges of the mildly to severely physically and mentally handicapped.  And she pushed wheelchairs all over campground terrain in the 100+ degree Texas heat.

 

 

A Lesson Learned From a Joy Observed

 

I have one at home with severe impairment.  And it’s tough.  Allie served 100’s during her tenure at camp.  And that is how my teen daughter challenged and motivated me.  I found myself thinking, if she can do all of that, I can certainly do this thing that won’t be nearly as physically and emotionally draining.  I could sacrifice my time and love others well, just as my girl was doing.  And do you know what?  She did it with such joy.a lesson learned

 

Birdie radiated a God given joy and Christ-like love in every picture posted.  In our weekend conversations she would tell me about some of the issues she faced and times she was pushed to her limit.  My response was, “I’m sorry it wasn’t a good week.”  Her response, “I didn’t say that.  It was hard, but every week is a good week.”  And she meant it.  This is what it means to have true joy in serving the Lord.  Even when the times or tasks are really tough.  And I’m so grateful for a lesson learned through this extraordinary girl.  God is so good, and when I grow up (spiritually) I want to be just like her.a lesson learned

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!  There was a lesson learned for me here, too!

 

Grace and Truth’s own Tammy Kennington gave me the scriptural basis to handle a troubling circumstance right now.  Maybe you could use it too.  How to Find Peace in Troubled Times.  Thank you, Tammy.

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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