DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL AUGUST 10, 2024
MINISTRY
RESTORATIVE PRAYER
Life is wonderful. Life is full of opportunity. Life is full of challenges. Life is full of set backs. Life gets hard sometimes. All of the wonder, opportunity, challenge, setback and hardness just wears me out. I find I constantly need to restore myself, or perhaps more accurately, I need to be restored.
For me this means I spend a lot of time is RESTORATIVE PRAYER.
Prayer is broken down into many different genres: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication, Petition and Waiting (what I call RESTORATIVE PRAYER) to name a few.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.“
The word WAIT (QUAVA) is perhaps the most important word for me when it comes to prayer. WAIT in Isaiah 40:31 does not mean to sit and wait like you wait for a bus (although sometimes that is what it looks like when you are actually doing the work of waiting). It is waiting as in hoping. It is waiting as in expecting, but it is also an intentional twisting together as in braiding two or three chords together until the individual rope (that would be me) is strengthened by the addition of another rope or three ropes (those additional ropes would be God as in the Trinity).
As I said life wears me out until I am just too tired to keep going. RESTORATIVE PRAYER is that which makes me strong again.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
- I FIND A QUIET PLACE.
- I TAKE MY BIBLE, MY PHONE, MY PEN, MY AGENDA AND A JOURNAL
- I GET INTO A COMFORTABLE POSITION, FOR ME USUALLY SITTING IN A COMFORTABLE CHAIR OR LAYING DOWN
- I SET A TIMER FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES BUT USUALLY 20 OR 30 MINUTES
- I PUT ON EITHER SOFT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OR MY BIBLE APP IN AUDIBLE FORMAT.
- I CLOSE MY EYES AND SETTLE BACK TO LISTEN.
- I TRY TO COMPLETELY RELAX. SOMETIMES I HAVE TO PRACTICE “HANDS DOWN PALMS UP AS I BEGIN.
WHAT HAPPENS:
- Sometime I come to the waiting with a thousand things on my mind. In time like this my racing thoughts jump from issue to issue that I have to deal with. This is what the agenda is for. I turn to my “TO DO LIST” and I begin to write down all the things my racing mind thinks are more important than seeking God and His strength. Sometimes I write down the time when I need to do the jobs alongside each item in my list. This step sometimes takes me five or ten minutes.
- Sometimes if my mind is really racing I have to practice “HANDS DOWN PALMS UP”.
- As my mind slows down I begin to feel the weariness of my spirit, soul and body move in. Now I can begin to focus in on the music I am playing or the Scripture.
- Often at this point I fall asleep. I never feel guilty about this. It is part of the waiting, a necessary part of being restored. I trust that the Word of God or the worship music is getting into my subconscious. It is also why I set a timer.
- Usually I will awaken before the timer and then I begin praising the Lord. As I do I spend a moment contemplating if there was anything I thought about or dreamt about during the beginning of my waiting period that may have been from God. Often there is. I write that down in my journal.
- When the timer goes off I consider whether I need to go again. Many times I reset the timer. Sometimes if I am very weary or stressed I need to repeat the whole cycle, but if I have been mindful of my personal care, I can usually focus on items 3 and 5 the second time around (Usually the second time around I opt for the Bible app over music as I am ready now to receive deep truth).
RESTORATIVE PRAYER is one of the most essential spiritual disciplines I practice.
Have you ever tried RESTORATIVE PRAYER?
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL AUG. 8, 2024
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL JULY 23, 2024
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL JULY 16, 2024
WHAT’S BLOOMING AT THE VICARAGE 7-10-24
It has been quite a week for the Lillies of the Vicarage. And I mean that for both the human Lillies and the flower lilies.
We have three new varieties of lilies blooming on the property.
Plenty of rain And lots of heat are keeping these flowers blooming and growing.
We humans have also had plenty of rain and heat in the metaphorical sense. One daughter had gallbladder surgery this week. My other daughter lost her beloved pet Picasso four days before she started radiation treatments. My sister discovered that her work in the Netherlands is going to be double taxed. She will have to pay taxes to the US and to the Dutch government on all income. Like I said, lots of rain and heat.
In the midst of all these things, we are standing on verses from the Bible, like the one below
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.1.6-7.NLT
My daughter Amanda’s word for the year is “bloom”. we are learning that blooming takes rain and heat. We are facing many trials but we know God will carry us through somehow.
“I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. I cried out to you, O Lord. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord.” You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”
Psalms 30:1-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.30.1-12.NLT
WELL, THAT DIDN’T GO TO PLAN!
Last time I wrote, I said that I planned for my Fourth of July to be filled with grilling and gardening. We at the Vicarage were about as far from that idyllic form of celebration as we could be on the Fourth of July holiday.
It all started with a call from my daughter at 6:30 A.M. Melanie was having a gall bladder attack and was heading to the emergency room. She asked if I could watch Daniella and Abigail for the day.
The girls arrived around 7 A.M. and Melanie and James headed off into the uncertain wait that is our American medical system today. That’s not a criticism of the doctors and nurses who work so diligently in our hospitals, just a commentary about the state of our system. You never know what is going to happen when you head out to the hospital these days. It turns out this time around they would keep Melanie over until surgery could be scheduled. The girls would be at The Vicarage for the day.
At this point, I still thought we could rescue the holiday from the ashes of the fire pit. My nephew , Tyler, was still coming over. James was planning to pop by and check in on the girls if Melanie was in a place where she could be left for a bit. Kristine was willing to bake the cookies and make the Jello salad that Melanie was going to bring originally. I got the meats marinating and the barbecue started.
It was all going according to plan B and then our family cat, Picasso, had a stroke while my daughter Amanda was holding him. A few hours later, my daughter’s dear little companion for the last 13 years would pass.
It was not lost on any of us that this is the second family celebration in less than a month that has been effectively cancelled by illness and trauma. A week ago my daughter, Melanie, had sent me a word she felt was from God for our family. It read, “The garrison attacks are a distraction from the true objective of the enemy.”
Well we can now see what the garrison attacks are. What, I wonder is the true objective of our enemy, the Devil.”
LORD DO NOT LET ME BE DISTRACTED. LET MY EYES SEE AND MY HEART PERCEIVE THE TRUTH THAT IS BEING HIDDEN BEHIND THE HORRIFIC DISTRACTIONS.
A Weekend Of Prayer and Family
It is summer. Here in New England with summer being so short (lasting really only two. months) we try to cram in as much summer living as we can. This weekend the Parks and Rec department scheduled inn the annual Food Truck Festival. It was all hands on deck for this huge event, so my daughter Melanie had to work the event from start to finish. Her husband James also had to work, so I got to watch their girls, my granddaughters Daniella and Abigail.
We watched “Bluey” and”Monsters At Work” on the Disney Channel
Then we went to the playground for some much needed playtime in the sunshine. We even stopped at the Food Truck Festival, but the girls didn’t see anything they liked (except ice cream of course) and so we ordered a pizza from where their Dad works and hunkered down until Melanie and James were finished their work.
On Saturday all the kids went to the beach and I met mum with my Father-in-law for lunch at Kerrick’s Tavern in Orange MA. Doug is up visiting his brother and sister-in-law who are both ailing. But we found time for lunch and catching up.
After a ride through the countryside, I dropped Doug off at his brother’s house in Athol MA. Since it was time to pray I decided to take little prayer tour around the area. I stopped at Silverlake St. Cemetery where my family is buried. There I heard I felt the Spirit of God urging me to begin tying up loose ends.
At Tully Lake I contemplated how long my family has been connected to this area of the world. My great great great grandfather was a pastor in this region back in the mid 1850’s. My family has been actively spreading Christianity in this part of the world for a long long time.
At Doane’s Falls I was once again thinking about how much spiritual water has been over the bridge since my family came to this region. How many lives have we been able to touch over the centuries and how many more souls remain to be impacted before the age of the worlds changes.I
I know my great great great grandfather probably thought the same way I am thinking now, but I feel like time is short and the message must be brought to our generation.
HERE IS THE MESSAGE I PREACHED ON SUNDAY OF YOU CARE TO LISTEN.
What’s Happening At the Vicarage This Week 6-26-24
Today is my sabbath. I started the morning by drinking mint tea from my garden in the outdoor prayer chapel during Prime.
I have a pretty long to do list that I have compiled over the last week. I will probably get some of it done today, but it is Sabbath so a relaxed rhythm is in order.
The day lilies are in full bloom now.
So is the giant hosta.
I love the delicate flowers of the lady’s mantle.
The fleabane is also in full bloom. These tiny white flowers on 3 foot stocks attract lots of pollinators to the garden. So many people pull these out of their gardens considering them weeds, but I love how they fill out space around the yard and bring in the bees.
The whole yard is filled with the scent of honeysuckle. It is really strong this year. I can smell it no matter where I am on the property.
This year the forest garden is attracting a large number of birds.
I have to pick up more suet for the feeders today. We have five or six hungry woodpeckers that are hanging around.
I have also set up an extra hummingbird feeder. I have a larger than average population of hummingbirds and they are constantly warring over the one feeder I usually put up. The second feeder seems to have solved the problem.
My Sabbath day is going to be filled with prayer and gardening and cleaning.
How are you going to spend your day?
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL JUNE 24, 2024
Notes From the Vicarage 