Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Self Talk Soul Talk


It is Tuesday, no it is Wednesday. Self Talk Soul Talk Chapter title this week is
Chill Out: Be at Rest, O My Soul.

The past 10 months, I have been making conscious decisions to "rest".
While I lived in Virginia, I was always on the go...working, raising three kids, involved in entirely too many areas of ministry that seemed to be (in my mind) necessary for being part of a church plant. My evenings at home with my family were rare.
And then I moved to Texas.
Everything stopped.
My mom was involved in a tragic accident and I spent about two months 5 hours away from my family while I helped her convalesce.
During those months, I discovered how tired I really was.
For a good long time, I was in and out of meltdown mode.
Crying.
Sleeping.
Crying.
Praying.
Crying.
When I finally began to cling to God and what he was saying, I knew it was really time for me to reevaluate how He wanted me to spend my time.
So, I chose to rest.
I have a few people who are holding me accountable to taking time for myself.
Seriously.

Great advise from Pastor Rick Warren in this chapter.
Divert daily.
Withdraw weekly.
Abandon annually.
I like it. Easy to remember.

I am learning to find rest in God alone.
I am learning to recognize that feeling that I get when my life is feeling like a whirlwind, and more importantly,
I am learning how to make choices that allow me rest in the loving arms of my Father.

I love the challenge of writing our own Psalm of gratitude to God.
Listing the goodness of God on my behalf will prompt me to rest.

My God is so loving,
I cannot even describe how much He loves me.
I try to understand,
but His love is so much bigger than I can grasp.
I know He loves me because He shows me all the time.
He drew me to Him
and taught me about Himself.
He protected me when I was afraid,
when I thought that I would not have what I needed.
He gave me what I needed,
and even what I wanted.
When the pain threatened to tear my heart apart,
He held me together.
He caressed me with His comfort.
When I cried out to Him,
"Please God, take this away! It is more than I can bear."
He did.
When I lost what I thought I could not replace,
He gave me better.
When I am afraid, he guides me through the scary places.
When I am tired, he leads me into quietness.
He whispers peace into my soul
and covers me with serenity.
When my heart beats too quickly,
He gives me a softer rhythm.
He wipes my eyes and smooths the wrinkles on my face.
He is the author of rest.
And He is my God.

Chill out and be at rest, O my soul.

For more visit
Lelia @ Write from the Heart

3 comments:

Carol said...

Liz

I love your Psalm, so beautiful and so true.

I remember you talking about your mom's accident, but didn't realize you were away from home so long while she healed.

God has brought you thru much recently, and when you share that so openly it ministers to me.

Love,
Carol

The Dementia Nurse said...

Liz, this is absolutely beautiful!!! You've inspired me to try the psalm-writing challenge - sounds like something one should write, print out and refer back to often!

Stacy said...

LOVED the Psalm. It has been a crazily hectic week and this was a moment of much needed 'refreshment'.

Love,
Stacy