One Thing

I sit on the floor of a bookstore and I am overwhelmed as I pour over titles and covers and table of contents and skim chapters and pages of so many books I lose count. Thousands of souls lay bare in front of me. Bare and exposed and powerless to withdrawal their words, authors stare at me from back covers.

To imagine my own book on these shelves one day is terrifying. I picture my words here...available for any stranger to read...to love or to hate.

I feel vulnerable.

This writing is an exposing of one's most inner thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and fears.  It is an uncovering, a confessing, a revealing.

My heart beats fast and I am afraid. Afraid to succeed. Afraid to fail.

A familiar voice tells me I will never be good enough and I can never work hard enough.

And then I remember our reflection verse this week in our current Online Bible Study. I remember Martha and Mary and I remember the one thing.

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42.

As I dig a little deeper I discover what my heart already knows. There are many matters that cause us to be anxious and distracted from the one thing we were created for. There is only one thing from which all other things are birthed that is required of us. It is the better choice and it is good, beneficial, and worthy.

It is to sit at the very feet of Jesus. To surrender. To exalt Him above everything else in our lives, no matter how pressing or important or necessary. When Jesus calls, we must accept His invitation.

As I consider my current project in light of this scripture my thoughts change. This writing is an exposing and all those other things, too, but it is more.

It is worship and it is sacrifice. It is intimate and it is personal but it is not mine.

As I sit at the master's feet, as I chose the one thing that is required and good, then will His purpose pour out of me and then will His glory be revealed in my story and through my words, whether they ever find their way to those bookshelves or not.

As you surrender those things that are causing you anxiety, whether it is work or ministry or tribulation, and find your place in His presence, you will have chosen well.

As you lay down those distractions and cease striving and doing and working to prove yourself or make sure everything is just right, and instead sit at the feet of Jesus, you shall hear His word as Mary did.

Verse 39 says, "And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word."

As Mary settled near Jesus, she heard his word. She positioned herself close enough to understand every word He said and she heard Him.

I want to do everything I can for God. I want to lead Bible studies and write books and teach and encourage others and fulfill my purpose. I want to understand and know and hear Jesus. But it must all start by sitting at His feet. We must find a place near Him and dwell there. His presence is our starting point. It is the place from which everything else we do must begin.

Can you lay down those distractions and surrender your anxieties today? Can you cease for a moment and spend time at the feet of Jesus? I'm praying you can. I'm praying I can. Let us sit together and listen for His words.

Father, your word says as we draw near to you, you draw near to us. We choose to draw near to you today. We long for your presence and desire to hear you speak to us. Help us to lay down whatever might be keeping us from you. Give us courage to trust and strength to obey. Have your way in our lives. Be glorified in all we say and do. We choose the one thing, the better thing. We choose you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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Linking with Melissa Taylor and a community of women for the last week of our current online Bible study, Stressed-Less Living, by Tracie Miles. Click here to find your way there.

Our next study, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeurst, starts July 28th. Want more info? Click here.

This Knowing...It Changes Me

I stand at my sink and scrub potatoes dug from beneath the earth in dad's garden.

I slice squash and zucchini and take chicken from the oven and I know.

I know this mothering really is ministry. This loving of family with dinner cooked and laundry folded is more. This serving my husband is not just physical.

It's all things I know but as the words form my heart grows.

It is in this making of a home that God is seen.

It's in this loving that God becomes known.

My husband arises while it is still dark and kisses me goodbye and this daily sacrifice for our family is worship to our God.

I listen to the sound of our children sleeping, tucked in beds warm and safe and theirs. I count my blessings and thank God for this ministry.

This knowing ...it changes me.

Suddenly daily frustrations take on new meaning and I ask forgiveness for my unseeing eyes.

Like yesterday in the grocery store where my flesh ruled and my heart followed and this unsettling affected my spirit and took my joy...but I had provision to buy everything I needed.

Or at the doctor's office when things didn't go as I imagined they would and though my smile was present my heart was polluted and my thoughts impure...but my son is healing and my family is whole.

Or the pile of dirt by the front door from shoes thrown inside without dusting...but the game of front yard football was fun and we laughed.

Or this house that is too small and these dishes that fill the sink daily...but this family fills the table and my arms are full.

These things aren't meant to take our joy, although they can if we choose. They are for growing and reminding and changing and thanking.

I begin today with my eyes open and my heart bowed.

I stretch these hands wide and worship my God who causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

And, oh, how I do.
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Linking with beautiful Emily today.

It is Good to Draw Near

For some time now I have felt God's invitation to come closer...an invitation to know Him more...to fellowship and worship all throughout the day. At times I have to just stop and kneel beside my bed, even if only for a few minutes. And some nights, like tonight, sleep is no rival for time in His presence. My body is tired but my spirit is doing cartwheels.

This morning our Pastor finished up his most recent series with a message titled Seeking God's Face in Prayer and Worship. He spoke about how the church as a whole has become quite efficient in seeking the hands of God when in need or want of something, but are neglecting the Giver Himself.

God is urging us to get to know Him. He desires that we wade out a little deeper.

James 4:8 assures us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus promises that if we seek, we will find and if we knock, it will be opened to us.

Again Jesus speaks in John 7:37 and invites those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink.

The psalmist in Psalm 73:28 proclaims that it is good to draw near to God.

To be near our Savior. To sit at the feet of Jesus. To rest in the lap of our God. To bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

No petitions.

No requests.

No pleas.

Just be near Him.

(A very abbreviated summary of my notes):

I. We must first seek God's face in prayer.

• Relationship is dependent on fellowship. Jesus' relationship to His heavenly Father was directly related to his prayer life.

• The disciples knew that prayer was key. In Luke 11:1, they did not ask Jesus to show them how to heal or how to do miracles or how to teach but how to pray. "...Lord, teach us to pray..."

II. We must seek God's face in worship.

• As Esther prepared for her time with the King (Esther 2:12), she used oils and perfumes not of her own preference, but those that were pleasing to him. We, too, must prepare and worship in ways that are pleasing to the King, however we feel the Holy Spirit leading. It is not about our preference, but His.

• In Matthew 26:8, Mary brings an alabaster flask of very expensive oil and pours it on Jesus as He sits at the table. Pastor James painted a picture of Mary breaking open the flask and emptying the entire bottle without hesitation. She was extravagant in her worship no matter the cost. Today, the majority of the church measures out a little here a little there, deciding how much we give God in worship. He wants us to come in our brokenness (break open the flask) and pour out everything we have on Him, no matter the cost.

It is good for me to draw near to God...Ps. 73:28

More posts on drawing near to God:
i am His
An Invitation, A Call to Intimacy
Unworthy but Invited to Come
My Soul Longs For You
Complete in His Presence

Today I am linking with Jen at Finding Heaven, Michelle at Nebraska Graceful and counting my gifts with Ann.

#66-75 of graces embraced and gifts undeserved but given anyway

66 lifting holy hands
67 knees bent
68 arms open
69 the weight of His glory
70 spiritual cartwheels
71 an invitation to come closer
72 the sound of sleeping beauties
73 staying up late and sleeping in on holidays
74 corporately reading through Matthew 1-4 on a Friday night in a little church in the middle of nowhere
75 overwhelmed in His presence and tears that flow freely

An Invitation...A Call To Intimacy

(From my journal last Friday night 2:00 a.m.)

Dark outside, the day sleeps.  The only sounds uttered are those of tiny crickets hidden in blades of grass.  The only movements made by the glaring red numbers on the clock, a gentle reminder that time continues even when everything else seems to stop.  My body commands sleep but my soul awakens, desperate for its Maker.


In the stillness, He is here.


I sense His majesty in the silence.  Overwhelmed by His presence I can only breathe.


How many times have I ignored this invitation...this call to intimacy?

Let not one opportunity pass me by....let not one invitation go unanswered.



Linking this post with...

Complete in His Presence

Finding my way to my quiet place

Reading.

Praying.

Listening.

Expecting.

And then

I feel Your presence

As the weight of Your glory brings me to my knees.

My words seem so inadequate

My lips remain silent,

But my spirit connects

With the One for whom I was created.

Praising.

Worshipping.

Loving.

Being.

Time stands still

And nothing else matters.

I am complete in His presence.