Is that what Quiet sounds like?

This last weekend I took a little trip into a different world than I normally reside. It was a remarkable difference. My purpose in leaving my family for 3 days was to retreat from the daily grind to be able to reestablish my ability to hear my Savior and to be reminded that it is Christ who fulfills me. This song, by Kathryn Scott, says it all.

Only You

No one, but you, Lord can satisfy this longing in my heart.

Nothing I do, Lord can take the place of drawing near to you.

Only You can fill my deepest longing.

Only you, can breathe in me, new life.

Only You can fill my heart with laughter.

Only You can answer my heart's cry.

It was wonderful to spend time in the Word with David in Psalms. David knew how to be transparent with God, and he also had a right perspective of who God is, and who he was.

I also spent time reading the book, The Nature of God by Graham Cooke. The focus of this book is our view of God, and how each new phase in our life requires us to "upgrade" our view of God, and who God is to us. Here is a quote that really spoke to me:

"God wants to declare what He is becoming to you. Like Moses (Exodus 33, 34), you have fresh favor to ask Him to go deeper. God is the sneakiest Person on the planet. You cannot have a desire for Him that is unmatched by His desire for you. In fact, if you really want to know where you are with God, check out what is in your own heart. What are you signing about right now? During those times you sit in the presence of God and your heart sighs for Him, what is it you are sighing for? Understand that your sigh originated in His heart. It is His longing for you, reaching out to you!

When you understand what it is your spirit is sighing for, you will understand exactly what He wants to do. You cannot have a desire or longing for God that He did not put there. Your heart for Him is simply a reflection of His heart for you; God has us longing for the things He most wants to give us."

It is pretty overwhelming to think that God knows us so intimately and desires to be everything we need, without us even knowing what it is that we need! On top of this, He reveals it to us in a way that means something to us. The God that I serve is truly an incredible God.

Over the last week I've been able to establish a good quiet time routine, and found this to be true, "The antidote to stress and crisis is upgrading our fellowship with God." (Graham Cooke) What a difference in my days to begin them spending time in His presence. He truly is my Prince of Peace!!! You need that when the rest of the day is filled with constant demands!

Something else that came out of the weekend was direction in an area that I've been floundering in a little. How refreshing to be taught by the Lord! He truly is my Wonderful Counselor. He then reminded me of Ps. 37, which quickly became my new theme "song."

In a different direction, something that has happened every time I've gone away, is a new schedule. Stepping away from reality has a way of giving perspective. The most revolutionary thing that happened to my schedule, was that I'm able to clean my whole house during the week, just one or two chores at a time. This does not include the daily grind kind of chores, and it also doesn't include the deep cleaning kind of chores. It sure is easier to do than doing everything at once when I'm at my wits end!

I'm so thankful to the Lord for this weekend, for the renewed strength to serve Him, my husband and children, and to experience all that God wants to be for me.