every two months, we take a gaggle of downtown eastside women on a car ride, a ferry ride, and another car ride until we reach the sunshine coast. even if you've never heard of the sunshine coast, doesn't it sound idyllic? well, it is-- it's perfection.
we take the whole band to a little slice of paradise called "linwood house."
this is the most exquisite home i have ever been in.
first of all-- it's massive.
second of all-- every little detail is amazing:
i took great delight in the doilies, the english country rose teacups, the pinstriped upholstery, the embossed wallpaper, the hardwood floors, the wraparound porch, the baby grand piano the paintings, the blue hydrangeas...absolutely stunning.
BLOG WHIPLASH COMING UP:
i wrote that 1 week ago, and never got around to finishing it. it now seems like lifetimes ago-- i'm far away from the sunshine coast, in every sense. to write any more about the experience would be looking into the distant past, and that is not something i'm inclined to do.
still, i enjoyed that handful of sentences i wrote, so i'm keeping them up.
onto the present.
we (and by we, i mean humanity, not just you and i) are always so stinkin busy.
i can't even tell you how many emails i have composed to long lost friends that began with, "sorry i haven't written you in a while, i've just been so busy!" \
614 Vancouver is, perhaps, particularly hustling. i know of individuals who, and i have experienced times when i, don't have time to buy groceries or do laundry because of working so tirelessly. ridiculous.
thus-- if one of us has a few hours off, all we want to do is rest.
i often hear, "i want to go visit people on the streets in my free time, i want to pray more, but i just can't fit it in!"
this chaos has a few different results:
--a chore mindset. a troupe of people who only do good for others when it is programed in for them to do so. visitation during League of Mercy, prayer during Air Force, preaching during Open Air, but never ministering out of the spontaneous overflow of the heart.
--lack of intimacy with the Lord. time with Him is rushed and scheduled down to the minute, full of requests and study but minimal amounts of listening and waiting.
--and at worst: burnout. total loss of passion and desire. quitting the field.
i think that many people these days look at business as a sign of importance. if you're not tiring yourself out with duty, then you must not be working hard enough for the Lord. i confess that sometimes i see my comrades running around like maniacs, and i feel that maybe i should be doing the same.
but the Lord keeps telling me "no"! in fact, He is telling me to cut back my schedule. this way, i'll have time off, and i'll have no excuse for not praying, for not taking one of our friends out for dinner, for neglecting a comrade who needs me to minister to them. i'll have the time to do what i WANT to do, and hopefully it will come more out of the abundance of my heart, and less out of prosperity of my schedule.
the Lord has also been teaching me about the importance of having a "secret place" with Him. going to my room, closing the door, and talking to Him with no one else around. this is also something that i can only do well if i haven't packed my day as much as is humanly possible. solitude is a basic lesson, but i'm relearning it, and it's transforming me. praise the Lord.
11 comments:
I love what you said here. The whole not being busy thing...Love it love it! It is hard but keep it up!
KB
Liv -- I am with you on this, only right behind you : )
Getting the same lesson from the Lord in same dynamic just different context. The secret place is also the power center. Vital. Sometimes I think we are provoked to maintain the busyness by our enemy.
Keep pressing in Liv, being transformed. Right behind you kiddo : )
Mom.
I agree with Mom.
I am often reminded of a quote I heard years ago, "If the enemy can't make you sin, he'll keep you busy."
I am all for simplicity and paring down to the essentials.
God help us.
I pray for all of you everyday Olivia, What God is doing though you out there is have a major impact on us here. God bless you and love you. Sorry to make this a long comment, but I wanted to paste this whole song for you,
In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide!
Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus’ side!
Earthly cares can never vex me, neither trials lay me low;
For when Satan comes to tempt me, to the secret place I go,
To the secret place I go.
When my soul is faint and thirsty, ’neath the shadow of His wing
There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring;
And my Savior rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet:
If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet,
What He says when thus we meet.
Only this I know: I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears;
Oh, how patiently He listens! and my drooping soul He cheers:
Do you think He ne’er reproves me? What a false Friend He would be,
If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see,
Of the sins which He must see.
Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow: this shall then be your reward;
And whene’er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place,
You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face,
Of the Master in your face.
Good Word. Also, do not underestimate how the LORD will use all this chaos as future application. Just imagine when you are leading and administrating hundreds if not thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands ... you get my point.
Psalm 90:14 has been a jewl to me in the same plac lately.
The harvest is ready but the workers a few.
Its kinda like when you work somewhere and its under stafed right, everyone is going hardcore to pick up the slack, same kinda thing i think, so much to do, so little workers to do it.
This is why we're getting back to basics for a season, only scheduling War Room, cell, and reduced re:cre8 hours.
Everything else, if it happens, is meant to be spontaneous and an overflow of the core stuff.
I'm interested to see how people will respond, if we will all just fill our hours like before, if we actually will pray and visit people when it's not scheduled, if we will feel better rested and more effective in the fight. I for one am looking forward to this season.
Grace,
Aaron
I do love doilies as well and staged an entire house search recently for my Grandma Wanda's hand crocheted ones for my end tables. The urgency simply grew and grew when I couldn't place my finger on them...and the relief I discovered when I did locate them was palpable. Whew
Busyness is an enormous distraction and it is also an enormous fulfillment. Nothing feels more frustrating than to be in constant "recharge status", getting ready but never pouring yourself out to the full. But it has never been God's intention that our connection with Him and with others will be structured to the minute. It is so effective to evaluate the things which keep us busy and recognize the places where the overflow of the heart does its work the most.
And still I find myself quite busy, falling into bed at the end of the day spent...and ask God plainly, "Was this for You?"
Sorry your schedule may feel it has a stronghold on you - fight back best you can!
Today is God's day, and He prepared it for you lie a gift, to be experienced with His joy. Embrace and enjoy your day.
I enjoy reading your blog whenever I get a chance!
i think you said it well. as usual. you said well what most of us are afraid to admit, even to ourselves...we know something isn't right but we are almost afraid to say it for fear of offending the Lord or someone who is doing it all, with it all together.
blog aside. i miss you, olivia. send me an email. i would love to hear from you. how's life?
love you lots!!
jeni
At the same time, I think we need to recognise and admit to ourselves that the way we have chosen to live our lives down here is quite hard. We really are in the midst of the fight, and in some ways we should expect to be tired.
This does not excuse us from trying to be overly busy (though sometimes even unstructured that's how life in a chaotic environment presents itself), because trying to be too busy is tantamount to not trusting that the battle belongs to the Lord. But sometimes I get exhausted not because of a busy schedule, just because the fight is tiring and hard. I don't expect this life to be easy, but we can perhaps find a better balance of work and rest.
Grace,
Aaron
Miss Olivia:
firstly, I do enjoy your blogs and your candor; sometimes painfully refreshing ;)
Last night at bible study we were looking at Titus, where it tells us to be busy, (ch. 2) and you know I kind of felt like, "Man, I can't get much busier!" Sadly, when I'm busy, my quiet time is almost non-existent... It's not like I'm not thinking about the Lord, but my focus is warped, it's second hand devotion. I read books about Him, do I read books by Him? Like the patient in Screwtape Letters, I focus on feeling charitable, rather than being charitable; I focus on thinking about major works of the Lord and how I would feel/what I would do in the moment rather than being taught by Him.
Hmm... thanks Olivia, good word. Keep it up, you're bringing on the revolution.
under the b&f
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