a time to pause

"The notes I handle no better than many pianists.

But the pauses between the notes --

ah, that is where the art resides.
~Artur Schnabel

Today is a glorious rainy day. I love the rain -- it cleanses, refreshes and renews -- and prepares the way for the sun. Sunday -- a perfect day to pause.

Linking up at Sunday Citar with Tabitha.

Also Sunday Snapshot with Stefanie.

SILENCE

A beautiful Wednesday morning. Nice, sunny and clear outside. Supposed to get a little colder today -- in the 60's.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I envy all you in the north enjoying a "real" autumn with chilly weather and blankets of snow!

Today I'm grateful for SILENCE.

I have a day without the children today, which rarely happens. You that homeschool know how it is when you have to practically schedule time to go to the bathroom alone! Forget completing a thought, that's out of the question most days! So, I'm very, very, very, very, VERY grateful for this day when all the children went to Mimi's. (Mimi is their grandmother.) They'll spend the night and we'll meet up with them tomorrow for Thanksgiving at Mimi's. I have to make a few dishes, and I desperately need to make some dresses, but I'll do it in SILENCE. Aaahhhh....blessed quietness.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I'm grateful for the SILENCE. To not have to talk to anyone. The last time I had a substantial amount of time alone, I went the entire day without talking. Yes, from the time I woke up, until the evening when my husband came home. It was WONDERFUL.

I turned off my phone (I just checked it periodically in case there was an emergency or something).

Photo by Jimi Ann

I declared it a mental health day -- a recovery day. Kind of like a sick day, but I wasn't sick. A retreat. We all need retreats, especially when you're with people who need you 24/7. Jesus retreated, and we need it too.

I made myself a nice breakfast and read a devotional with a cup of tea while watching the morning unfold.

Took a loooong glorious sha-bath. (That's a shower, turned into a bath, for those who haven't experienced this luxury).

I did some light cleaning, with no big goal in mind. You know, it's actually relaxing cleaning and putzing around the house when you're alone, and it's quite meditative.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I read. I prayed. And I wrote.

I did everything slowly, purposefully, and was fully in the moment. I exhaled and remembered not to hurry or rush. My shoulders relaxed. My soul was refreshed and quieted.

It's an especially treasured gift today, in light of the hustle-bustle of the holidays coming up. SILENCE. I read somewhere recently, it's my soul learning to breathe again.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I want to share a verse of one of my favorite hymns:

"Blessed quietness, holy quietness,
Blest assurance in my soul.
On the stormy sea Jesus speaks to me,
And the billows cease to roll."

"Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart his home."

(Click on the picture of my hymn book above to read the rest of the lyrics if you want to).

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and hope you all have a blessed time of Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Don't forget to breathe!


Again joining Brenda for the Gratitude Challenge. I'm very grateful for her.

I also just discovered Wordless Wednesday, which I'm excited about participating in! Next week, I'll really have a wordless Wednesday, not just write about it!

What IS Solitude?

Is solitude Loneliness? No. "Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment."

I LOVE being alone. I'm not lonely. If I don't fear being alone, I possess inward solitude.

"There is freedom to be alone, not in order to be away from people but in order to hear the divine Whisper better." Although, I admit, I DO often want to get away from people! As I read in A. W. Tozer's biography, God is much easier to be with than people sometimes!



Is solitude Silence? Well, yes and no. I can be silent and still be very agitated or angry. (Like giving my husband the silent treatment -- I know, I know....)

But...we do need silence to have solitude. "Without silence there is no solitude. "

"All those who open their mouths, close their eyes! The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear." And to see and hear more clearly. To notice the little things. The things in life that don't shout.

Is solitude Listening? I fail to listen if I'm not silent. Listening to what God is trying to reveal to me. If I take no time for silence, expectantly waiting, I won't hear that still, small voice tugging at my heart. The whisper. The sound of the trickling brook.



Is solitude Trust? Yes. Silence is trust. Trust that I don't have to control everything and everybody. "A frantic stream of words flows from us because we are in a constant process of adjusting our public image. We fear so deeply what we think other people see in us that we talk in order to straighten out their understanding....Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justification." I need to let God be my justifier -- I don't need to straighten others out. Nor do they need me to. Trust. If I try to straighten others out, I interfere with God's plan for them. I become a block. A block to their spiritual growth.

Me being silent. To listen to them. Trusting God with them.



Solitude.

What is Solitude to you? I would love to listen.

As a disclaimer, I'd like to quote a big truth I read once, "We teach best what we most need to learn!"


(All Photos by Jimi Ann;
Quotes by Richard Foster)