Sabbath is the stranger you’ve always known. It’s the place of homecoming you’ve rarely or never visited, but which you’ve been missing forever. ~Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God
Sometimes God hands you a gift you know you need but learn not to expect. Because He’s your Father and you mature into His wisdom, like knowing when it’s best to pick fruit off the vine. Take a bite of impatience and it leaves your mouth gravelly and bitter. Or wait instead to savor the sweet.
I bit into Holy Week and the sweetness of Christ dripped off my chin. Now I’m ruined for the taste of His kindness as I anticipate Sabbath.
This week I turned off the noise, lay prostrate before Him in waiting. And learned submission requires heart posture, more than burying my face into the floor.
Just when I settled on circumstance, He brought a gift I knew I needed right to my front door. Of smiles and kindred knowing, wrapped in a package called friendship stamped England. All quite unexpected. We strolled on the beach, skimmed soup from a cup and spilled words leaving joy in our wake.
As we lean into the home stretch toward Easter, may your feet be sticky with the fragrance of Christ, leaving the imprint of His sweetness where it’s needed. Farm the unexpected while the harvest tenderly ripens and a surprise may wait for you at the front door.
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” ~Pope John Paul II
Inspired reading for your weekend:
Rest is NOT a Four Letter Word by Sonny Lemmons for Prodigal Magazine
A Surprisingly Satisfying Alternative to Self Promotion by Jeff Goins (This is where I’m headed as I take a hiatus from social networking.)
Fans Do Not Equal Friends {The Benefit of a Smaller Blog} by Kris Camealy at Allume (Kris says it well. This is exactly how I feel about you, my online community.)
For Alcoholics and the People Who Love Them: Hope on Good Friday by Emily Freeman
Join me this week, Wednesday, April 3 for the launch of an online book club as we dig into Wonderstruck by Margaret Feinberg. I’ll be co-hosting with Duane Scott with link-ups for your blog posts on both of our sites, and an ongoing discussion on Facebook.
BOOK CLUB SCHEDULE
April 3: Chapter 000 – 001
April 10: Chapter 002-003
April 17: Chapter 004-005
April 24: Chapter 006-007
May 1: Chapter 008-009
May 8: Chapter 010-Final Thoughts
Psst, come back Monday for the launch of something new, just for you, at Living the Story, my column at BibleDude.net.