SOUL FOOD 2020

My March 20, 2020 entry, Attack-a Stack, explained the "creative" way I was extending my quiet times. Today the devotional book at the top of the stack was so timely! Streams in the Desert (L.B. Cowman)

It could have been written TODAY---for such a time as this! A Covid 19 Pandemic times. Copyright laws prevent me from printing it all here.* 

The entry began with scripture, as always. Today's was from 2 Kings 4:4.

Go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.

My musings---

A widow with her two sons were to be alone with God. God only. Removed from their circumstances. Totally isolated. A time to get in touch with God alone---to depend on Him. God, the Source of miracles.

Analogy given was that of Christians on the treadmill of life, ordinary, predictable. A time was needed to enter a secret chamber of isolation in prayer and faith. A time for God to show us something new. Something Divine. A new pattern for life with Him.

Like the widow, "detached from outward things and attached inwardly to the Lord alone in order to see His wonders." --from Soul Food. 

In my life, God isolated me during my cancer journey.(2009) God clearly spoke to me from the MAC diagnosis to a year of surgeries and treatments. I was fed by others, with a syringe through a pencil sized hole in my mouth. Hands of others liquified my food for intake. 

But God.....He, Himself, fed me daily. Soul food straight from His Word. 

My pattern was a D.A.N.C.E.. It's when God taught me "our" DANCE--a dance He had just for me. He became my dance partner and led me in every step. A unique dance. He was there for evey twist and turn. I kept focus---always looking up into His face and not down at my feet. (circumstances) If I did stumble, He was always there to keep me from falling headlong.(Psalm 37:24, NIV)

It became the first big step of fruit bearing for me....as I stepped out & shared my story. 

I will be forever grateful for soul food from His hand and others who became HIs hands and feet on my behalf. (Psalm 27:13, NKJV)

* For the complete God's Pattern-Streams in the Desert, click the highlight.

CHOOSE: TO DANCE TO MY LIFE'S SONG

How does one know her life's song?

For me, I had to look for God's hand and listen to His soft whispers---those are the visual lyrics & melody of His unique song for my life. 

God has written each one's story, one's own life's song. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Wubbels, Lance, Dance While You Can.2006

One just needs to "tune" her heart to hear.

Lean in a little closer and choose to allow Him to lead you to "dance" with Him to the music He has chosen for your life's song.

CHOOSE: HIS GUIDANCE

Hubby's high school chum, Norman Mitchell, introduced us (2009) to the "faith family's" definition for guidance. It certainly fit my cancer journey, which I had dubbed, "my dance."  Linguistically, it's use is probably metaphorical or maybe analogous, to my trusting the Lord to guide me during that time of the "unknown."
Each twist and turn seemed to be a new step in my "MAC Dance."

One lesson learned from that experience is that the dance of life never quits until heaven.
The dance might change steps and the music might go from lament and blues to doo-wop and gospel, but life, and all it's ruts and bumps as well as fun, frivolity and worship is always better when it's done with Him.

God, you and I definitely dance---and when You are doing the leading, it's a wonder to behold!

CHOOSE: TO DANCE ONCE MORE

Many times, especially those of hardship, loss or health struggles, one wants to choose anything but dancing.
Choosing to dance is a metaphor for choosing to live life to the fullest in spite of the "falls" on life's dance floor .
For Christians it requires the right dance partner. Jesus Christ.

When we stumble our Partner is there to catch us. (His hand hold keeps us from going headlong)

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. (Psalm 37:24)

Trust ensues and grows with every recovered struggle/slip.

Step adjustments are made and once again we can see what seemed like utter trial/pain, or devastation---take your pick) God can use for good.

Thanks be...."to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the glory, blameless with great joy." (Jude 1:24)

Choose to dance looking up into the face of the Ultimate Dance Partner who leads you in His chosen dance of love for you.

Encouragement for My Dance

This was not the blog I had started writing earlier today but it is the RIGHT blog. This e-mail came from Michèle---my friend from Germany, who is a year ahead of me in her microcystic adnexal carcinoma journey. She calls it her McJourney and she is the one who understands so well all that I go through because she has been where I am. She continues to encourage me and to be accepting of my humanity while she reminds me of the One who loves me---and as I had written earlier today, "in my weakness, He is strong." My journal jotting read, " a juxtaposition of my frailty and God's strength." As you read, may you be encouraged by her as I was.

Dotsy, I just read your blog. And about two hours ago, I finished writing a blog of my own that somewhat parallels yours. Mine is about the year-end emotional roller coaster of BFA, not necessarily about the emotional turmoil following the trauma of your last months, but the conclusions I write about work for both situations. Correction: the conclusions work for all situations, because they allow for human weakness and post-roller coaster emotional exhaustion and they point us toward the one immovable point in the constantly swirling "dance" of life.

It's a bit like ballet dancers who have to "spot" as they turn pirouettes. They keep their eye on one spot on the edges of the room and, while their body turns, keep their eyes anchored there, whipping their heads around only to reclaim that spot as their immovable point. The same is true for what we've been through. In a sense, we're locked in an emotional pirouette we can't control and we mostly manage to keep our eyes on that fixed point. But sometimes, during that fraction of time when we have to whip our heads around to keep up with our bodies, we lose sight of it. We flounder a little. We doubt a little. We wish a little that it were not so hard, not so long, not so wearying. We tap into the very real human side that God loves so much in us. And He says, "Look over here--turn your eyes back to the spot that has stabilized your world before. I can do it again. Turn your eyes back to me." And we do--as you will soon, I know. But I also know that there will come more spins, more losses of eye-contact, and even in those circumstances all we'll need to do is trust and wait for our revolving journeys to turn us around to that heart-position where we can claim His peace and confidence again. Please don't be too hard on yourself during these more fragile times. They're what remind us of our frailty so we can cling more firmly to His strength!

I'm praying for you right now, on the gorgeous evening in the foothills of the Black Forest. The valley outside my windows is cast in the day's final golden rays. It's my favorite time of day--my students and I call it "The Goldening." I'm praying for serenity and endurance.

Michèle

BATTLE FATIGUE

5/29/09 Battle weary............
Up since 4:15 a.m. with anxious thoughts whirring in my head. How’s that for a confession from someone others have been extolling lately because of her faith in hard situations. It’s a battle folks. I know many people prefer to read my dance and tea type entries---they’re usually more fun to write too. But today the dance that is looming seems to be the old avoiDANCE. I’m not quite out there dancing on my own yet but I have been assuming the “wallfower” position---just not even wanting to get on the floor. That dance floor is slick with reality. I don’t want to stumble. I don’t want the world to rate me and thus rate the Lord because I miss a step. This isn’t “Dancing with the Stars” but I feel as if there’s an entire world out there watching. I don’t want to be relegated to the “So You Think You Can Dance” segment of life either---the cynics jeering and thinking, it wasn’t real after all. It is real---God is always faithful. I’m just the one struggling at the moment. In my head I know I can dance because I know Who has chosen me as His partner. I’m just having some heart difficulties right now.
After tossing in bed with prayers turning every which way but upward (mainly inward), I went to my prayer chair and began to pour out to the Lord. For me, that meant writing a list. I wrote “Dreads and Worries.” The list was long. I looked at it and thought about it and tried to ask the Lord about it and my stomach just churned and I even felt shaky. Finally---I “chose” to fret and stew far too long---I wadded up said list to throw it away. I walked all the way out to the curbside trash (Herbie Curbie, my mother used to call it) and deposited my list very glad our pick-up day is Friday----that’s today. I need instant “pick-up” to keep me from going back and physically retrieving THE list and focusing on it again---maybe even checking off items taken care of. This was a list I really didn’t need to “stew” over any longer.
The hard part was going to be not mentally retrieving the list. That’s were most of my battles are---in my mind. I need to take the good thoughts captive and regard the other thoughts as the enemy seeking to rob me of my joy. First line of defense began as I returned to my prayer chair and opened my grandmother’s Bible to Jeremiah. That’s where my summer connections group will be studying this summer. The first thing I noticed was the tidy 52 chapters----great for a chapter a week study for a year. It’s also home to one of my all time favorite verses, chapter 15, verse 16. Since that deals with eating God’s word, I began to nibble. I didn’t get very far---just chapter one---but that’s all I needed.

I’m not sure how theologically sound my interpretations are but God---did you hear that, But God………met me right where I was and these are words that jumped off the page along with ideas I gleaned from His word----mostly THOTS right now as I Trust Him On This Subject. Jeremiah Chapter 1

• “To whom the word of the Lord came”----my marginalia, 52x that is mentioned—I highlighted 4x in chapter 1, not sure if "came also" counts---that’s a THOT

• “Before formed in womb, I knew you---before born, I consecrated you, I appointed you” (God knows me too and has set me aside---just for a different purpose.)

• “Go where I send, speak what I command” (feel not qualified, He qualifies and provides the message)

• “Put my words in your mouth…..to build and to plant” (His word is power, not mine)

• "Gird up loins….arise….speak all I command. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them.” (I’m typing, I’m typing.)

• “They (my thoughts) will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” (verses 17-19 sound like “fighting” words. I told you it was a battle.)

I can dance! I can dance when I “choose” to join Him in the dance of life, even though the floor is slippery!

I can dance!!