THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORSHIP ROOM

August 11, 2023August 11, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / 10 Comments

The other day I wrote a post here on “Notes” entitled “THE LINGER”. It was about the importance of using my prayer space to reenergize from the rigors of ministry and from the burdens I felt in recent schedule changes

I asked two questions in that post.
The first question was… DOES CHANGE MAKE YOU TIRED OR DOES IT ENERGIZE YOU?

And the second question was….HOW MUCH OF YOUR PRAYER TIME IS SPENT LISTENING?

I got three great responses from that post which I want to share with you and then follow up with how I intentionally sought the linger.

Jane said…”I appreciate your reframed question from yesterday. I was wrestling with a response as I am one of those who is wired for change .. I love the flow and adventure of it. As to your question from today … my version is .. “how much of your/my time is spent listening?” (to myself, to others, to the world large and small, to God) .. a reminder I can need to receive rather than express. Thanks!”

Basia said… “Sometimes it’s hard just to be in the presence of God. for me the best times are during bouts of insomnia.“

Brenda said…I think change is exciting and challenging, therefore it is always emotionally exhausting. If you are excited for the new direction or adventure, there is still a crap ton of work to do to prepare the way so to speak…and if your new direction or adventure is a surprise to you that can feel like a heavy load to carry. It doesn’t mean you don’t understand or even like the change it is just….you have to work through it all. Change is good. Change helps us grow…growth most often is uncomfortable.

Change and growth are uncomfortable. I find they also take energy and so I need an intentional way of reenergizing. I think everyone reenergizes differently.

Some people reenergize by serving others

Some people reenergize by studying, by reading, by taking classes.

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Some people reenergize by encouraging others and themselves towards higher achievement.

Some people reenergize by taking stock and restocking what was used, or by planning and organizing.

Some reenergize by fixing something that is broken.

Then there are those like me who reenergize by prayer and spiritual focus. Normally I can just sit on my front porch and slip easily into the prayer space. This week it has been harder. I find my mind continually wandering back to the worries of the day.

It is for this reason I have set aside some time this week to go to the worship room. The worship room is a ministry dedicated to 5days a week of prayer 4 hours each day.

I was able to set aside two one hour slots this week to just go and sit and listen to the voice of God. The change of location and method was enough to jar me out of my distraction and get me into the presence of God.

HOW DO YOU BREAK THE POWER OF DISTRACTION?

THE LINGER

August 9, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / 6 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about “running on empty” because of my current schedule transitions. I asked what some of you do when you go through transitions to beat the weariness that comes with change.

I guess the first question I should have asked was DOES CHANGE MAKE YOU TIRED OR DOES IT ENERGIZE YOU?

I know that not everyone reacts to change the same way I do. Sometimes I wish I didn’t react the way I do to change. I wish it didn’t make me tired. But that’s me and I have been at this game called life long enough to know that part of the pathway to peace is to accept who you are as a person and to find the benefits in the you that is you.

I have found that one of the things I need is to spend lots of time lingering quietly I the presence of God.

For me, prayer is not a job of getting g through lists of prayer requests so I can move onto the next bit of work. Prayer, for me, is like sitting in the sun at the beach watching the ocean waves roll in as the tides change.

Don’t get me wrong. I pray for lots of people everyday. But I spend far more time just being with God and His Word. The majority of my prayer life is just waiting in His presence for Him to direct me to my next thing or for my next thing. The lingering and the listening always come before the asking.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

HOW MUCH OF YOUR PRAYER TIME IS SPENT LISTENING?

RUNNING ON EMPTY

August 8, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

I approach today exhausted from the weekend.

It was a phenomenal weekend!

Family reunion Saturday! What an incredible day it was.

Then Sunday was church! It always amazes me how much energy goes out of me when I preach and pray.

Normally I take off from Sunday right after service until Monday evening Men’s Ministry. This week though I had a quick church board meeting after service and then several pastoral calls to make Sunday afternoon.

Monday morning was the big change though. I have been praying for some time about launching another DLT (which stands for doing life together) group on a morning during the week. I think it will be on Mondays at 9:30 A.M.

So this week I met with a group of people to talk about the launch of this group. It looks like it is a go.

So I will be moving my day off from Mondays to another day of the week.

In ministry work schedule changes are almost a seasonal thing. They are generally led and created by God (or at least by seeing where He is working in your community and responding to that move). But I have found that no matter how inspired or called or ordained the change is, it generally takes my body some time to adjust to the new rhythm. In the in between time I often find myself extremely tired and easily distracted when I should be focusing.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU DO TO HELP YOURSELF ADJUST DURING TIMES OF TRANSITION?

Family Weekend

August 7, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / 4 Comments

This weekend we had a family reunion on my mother’s side. I was originally going to hold it at the church, but we all know we are in a season of lasts with Mom. This may be her last opportunity to see her family all together in one place, so I opted to hold it at The Vicarage.

Sevy and Kristine got to meet Uncle Tom, and my cousin Nada and her husband Ray

My cousin Matthew and his wife Brittney came with their children Justice and Aria.

My cousins Todd and Dan andMike and Barbara also came. Later my daughter Melanie came with her children.

The biggest hit of the day with the adults was the catching up with each others’ lives.

The biggest hit of the day with the kids was the solar bird bath and the pile of stones in the driveway.

WHAT DO YOU DO AT YOUR FAMILY REUNIONS?

Getting Ready

August 3, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / 3 Comments

The Vicarage is hosting a family reunion of the Tenny cousins this Saturday.

Melanie, James and Joe helped me set up the three party tents as part of the yard work we have done. Amanda mowed part of the lawn and I mowed part. I did some hedge cutting yesterday and some weed whacking.

Now we just need to pick up some extra chairs and we should be all set.

ARE YOU HAVING A FAMILY REUNION THIS YEAR?

“You Must See What I Am Doing!”

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

About five years ago I began hearing this line over and over again in my private prayer times. I hear it to this day.

This morning one of my congregants posted a question in my Facebook Feed.

WHAT WAS THE GREATEST TEMPTATION JESUS HAD TO ENDURE?

His answer and my response brought me right back to this long standing question.

Ray says…What was the greatest temptation Jesus had to endure? The answer to this question will confirm why prayer is so vitally important. The answer was everyday, He had to surrender His Will and His Freedom to God. Are we willing to let go of our greatest idol, our will and our freedom in exchange for Jesus. We will never experience true freedom in Jesus until we completely surrender and trust in Jesus. We have to destroy the idol we keep hanging onto. It’s name is SELF. MY RIGHT. I AM ENTITLED, and the one we love even more, MY WILL BE DONE, not yours. This is why we must surrender in prayer everyday.

I responded…Jesus did surrender daily to the will of His Father. He never did anything He did not see His Father doing. When you think of how much Jesus actually did, that He saw His Father doing, it does make one wonder how much we are missing of the Father’s work around us.

HOW MUCH OF WHAT THE FATHER IS DOING ARE WE NOT SEEING?

Overflowing

August 1, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This last weekend I had a family gathering with cousins from my father’s side. Most of these folks I have not seen for over a decade.

Friday night our whole immediate clan went to the Murdock Farm for ice cream.

There are so many wonderful things going on, and my days are full! I am loving the season

THE SPEED OF THE DAYS

July 28, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

Has anyone else noticed that time seems to be going faster and faster?

Maybe it is just because I am getting older and so have less time on this side glory than I used to have but it just feels like there is less time for more things and I am saying “no” to more things than ever before.

Last week the Lillie VI family arrived at the Vicarage and began to settle in. I cancelled almost everything on my schedule before they got here thinking that the settling in was going to need most of my attention. I was right and I was wrong. It was good I had the time so that I could help ease my son and his family into life here in Massachusetts. Jetlag really effected my grandson’s sleep schedule.

And so my son and daughter-in-law’s sleep schedule was likewise effected. They muscled through and it got a little better everyday. Then I got sick with a bug my son brought back from The Philippnes. I ended up cancelling even the things I had kept in the schedule.

The week ended with a family party for my oldest granddaughter.

This week our schedules went back to normal.

My son had two job interviews and two job offers. My daughter-in-law’s social security card came in and today the Lillie VI family is beginning the search for an apartment.

My schedule of meetings has been completely full to make up for last week and Amanda’s schedule has blossomed as we approach the coming of fall and the restart of our children’s school programs (it is unbelievable to me that we are almost to the start of the new school year!).

I am filled with awe at how fast things seem to be moving. At the same time I have this sense that it needs to be this way. Something is coming and we must be prepared.

DO YOU FEEL IT IN THE AIR? THERE IS A CHANGE COMING!

I Am Bowser

July 26, 2023 / joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

It was a week of celebrations in a season of celebrations at the Vicarage.

Of course the Lillie VI family came home. HUGE CELEBRATION AT THAT EVENT!

Not only that though, this week marked my oldest granddaughter’s fifth birthday. That I have a five year old granddaughter is beyond astounding to me. That I have all my children and grandchildren within five minutes of where I live makes me unbelievably blessed. I will revel in it for however long I have the privilege of it.

Daniella decided she wanted a Princess Peach birthday party. She of course got to be Princess Peach.

Her sister got to be “Mickey Hero”…. I do not know who that is, but Abigail seems to have taken on the role with serious gusto.

We had a great party with all the royal attendants in attendance.

And I even got to play a role in the weekend….By royal edict of Princess Daniella Peach and Mickey Hero Abigail I was dubbed Sir Bowser The Monster Villain!