Tag: rest

find rest…

Karla Lees

We are all looking for that soft place to land upon when we fall.

We tend to keep ourselves busy to distract ourselves from the fact something isn’t right.

We all need rest.

And some of us need to stop running so we can find it again.

Saying yes to some priorities means saying no to some things we may love, but aren’t important in the big picture of life.

Rest- both physical and spiritual- is near the top of my list.

We are called, actually reminded in the Word, that to rest.

Psalm 62:5 tells us we can find our rest in Him.

Time spent in His Presence brings an inner rest and peace in the quiet place where we meet together….and that connectiveness helps keep me calm when the storms of life hit.

Because we all know storms come and go, as do the sunny days.

My soul needs to be supercharged with rest to help keep me seeking Him despite what is ahead, just around the bend.

Relationship problems?
Work problems?
Health concerns?
Financial stresses?
Relocations?
Death of a loved one?
Unprovoked aggression?

All of these can be seen throughout the Bible….and none more clearly than in the life of Jesus.

Jesus took Himself away from the crowds, even his best friends & family, and sought God in the quiet place.

To seek His face,
to be reminded of His love,
to remember who He really was,
to find rest despite the hard road ahead.

Unsure of things going on in your life?

Press in to the One who is ever present and never changing.

Press in to Him for the rest you need, which only He can deliver.

Respond to His invitation to come and be with Him.  For the rest you are looking for is found on His Presence.

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when counting sheep doesn’t help you get the sleep you need

Karla Lees

Breathing in, breathing out.

In the quiet, I can hear my heart beat as my body is overcome with its need for rest as I lay down. Another coughing fit takes over, and I find myself desperate for my next fresh burst of air.

God, how I need You to intervene.

I am now so weary that unless You show up, I have no passion left to offer. I am sinking more and more into the depths of just get it done.

I want to serve You willingly everywhere I am. But to do so, I desperately need You…

  • Your strength in these weary bones.
  • Your energy to flow through my veins.
  • Your love to spill over in my heart.
  • Your voice, Your presence to captivate my senses.
  • Your rest which You promise Your Beloved, me.

So I lay myself down into Your promises of rest again today.

Come to Me all who are weary and weighed down with burdens. I will give you #rest. (Matthew 11:28)

God gives His beloved #rest. (Psalm 127:2)

Break this heart to fully surrender to what You have for me, the best of rest, deep in my soul.

Just let go let His love wrap around you and hold you close. Get lost in the surrender, breathe it in until your heart breaks then exhale. Exhale. – Plumb

And if You touch my body to help it to get to sleep as You do, this sheep would be most appreciative!

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Sunday Psalm: time well spent

Karla Lees

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content.

Sunday.

The day we are urged to rest.

Connect with what matters most.

Look back at what was, leave behind what needs to stay there, and adapt as we need to move forward changed for the better.

Remind each other we care.

Remind our souls we are Beloved. 

Listen for His voice before all others, helping us reset our priorities for His Kingdom first.

There is nothing I like more than celebrating Sunday morning with my heavenly family, Sunday afternoon with my sofa, and Sunday evening with my loved ones.

To me, Sunday’s not so much about what I do apart from resting in His Presence.

May we take some time to soak in who He is and who we really are before stepping into the week ahead.

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resting securely on His shoulders

Karla Lees

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12

Today did not start well.

I awoke congested and feeling like I had not slept at all. I began work to find a serious glitch has occurs with one of the main programs I use daily. Hubby may be having a long term IV put in today and my eldest is recovering from an allergic reaction to a new food source. My son is feeling bad for accidentally sitting on my laptop and cracking the screen.

In short, a day most of us would prefer to stay in bed or have a restart button to push for a skip over.

Last night, I was reminded of this verse above.

And it struck me after worship time this morning that God gave me that verse last night to remind me of the following truths:

1. I am His Beloved.
No matter how I feel, God pursued and wooed me.

2. He is always shielding me.
Always. Just because I can’t see Him or His angels doing so, doesn’t change this truth!

3. GOD loves me.
Even when I am cranky, miserable, acting sinfully and unlovely, I am the one He loves!

4. He is my source of rest.
No matter what is happening, or what I am facing.

5. He is carrying me close.
I am resting on His shoulders. And in order to stay there…

6. He is holding on to me.
He never lets us go, those whom He loves. He has me safely in His grip.

7. God is leading the way as I rest on Him.
I can place my hope that I am headed in the right direction when He is guiding my every step.

If you too needed to be reminded of these truths, join me in praying for a stronger sense of His Presence to rest upon you today, as we learn to rest on His shoulders.
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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Karla Lees

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy!

We can have rest because Jesus was born.

Shocking, isn’t it?

That the birth of a child can turn your whole world upside down?

If you are a parent, as we chatted about yesterday, you know it’s true.

But if that baby is God Himself, tucked into human form, supernaturally growing in a virgin’s womb, announced by a choir of angels to some of the lowest of the community, born in a stable?

You know miracles are going to happen. They are in His very DNA.

So like God, we can rest after creation.

Jesus came as part of God’s plan to restore, make right what was broken in the garden.

To remind us God hadn’t & hasn’t forgotten about us.

Jesus always was part of His story for reaching His people.

And because God is with us?

We can be merry for the Good News has come.

We can also rest, knowing we are not alone, and God has done all the work to make the way Home for us.

If this is a hard Christmas for you, missing your loved ones, or Christmas’ past, take comfort and joy.

The One we have been waiting for has come. He will always come to those He loves, Beloved.

Rest in that truth today!
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weary aches

Karla Lees

Last night, after very busy week, i crashed. My core within me is telling me to rest.

So today, I am. And I am trying not to feel guilty about it as all the things I could be doing instead flash in my mind.

Just because I could doesn’t mean I should.

I because I can doesn’t mean I will.

So this week, I started saying no.

And yes.

No to what will cause me to feel more weary, yes to more rest.

And deep within, I know God is pleased I am doing so.

Lord, may we walk, run, jump, write, sing, love, do all we are mean to do at Your pace.
In Your timing.
For Your glory.
With Your grace.

I lay my weariness down, and arise in Your strength.

Because I can’t, You can.

Because I won’t, You will.

I am ever grateful that Your Kingdom doesn’t work the way we think it should, but the way You want it to!

Rest deep, my friends, in His purpose for each of you.

May His embrace give you all you will ever need for the race ahead.

For His Beloved, He gave His all.

For His children, He continues to do the same, in every need they have!

My weariness ebbs away as I hear You speak this truth to my soul. 🙂

I am Yours.

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when it’s time to rest

Karla Lees

I have decided not to write today.

I am still trying to process a whole boatload of changes headed my way, and I am literally all thumbs this morning.

I am taking some time to rest, recharge and reboot despite this being my busiest work day of the week.

Because the time spent with Him & caring for myself are to be my priorities when the stress levels rise.

If you, like me, are feeling like you have entered the high speed Lane, take the path unexpected, and head for the pastures of His presence.

Today I proclaim a day of rest over my spirit.

May you too sink deep into the comfort of His embrace.

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when history & destiny intersect

Karla Lees

Our scars reflect our history but they don’t determine our destiny; they’re the intersection where our pain meets the needs of others.
David Cassidy

I used to feel badly about my scars, both the visible and private ones.

Not any longer.

Without my life experiences, I would not be who I am today.

I would not have hit rock bottom, and looked up to see the One who came not only to rescue me, but bind up my wounds,
heal my heart, mind & spirit,
and continuously pours His very life and live into me.

My scars may show the world i’ve been wounded in battle, but God sees them as testimony of His Presence in my life.

For they are now scars, not open sucking the life out of me wounds.
He has made me whole.

The next time you think your scars are not of any importance, see how much they relate to how He has gifted you.

I can write, sing & share how He has given me a full makeover, because I was the one needing the full renovation.

I can relate, because I once walked there.

I refuse to allow the enemy to stir up guilt or shame about what God has healed & sealed as finished.

If you struggle with your scars, spend sometime with Him today.

Share your heart.

Hear His beating for you.

Rest in His embrace.

Listen for His love & wisdom whispers.

He awaits you, sister, brother.

He is waiting to continue your healing.

When heaven intersects with humanity, new life happens.

For He has never stopped being in the Creation business.

In Him, by Him and because of Him, all things can be made new!

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runaway, run the way Home

Karla Lees

I have had a tendency to run away from home way too often.

And God always keeps an eye out from His porch, waiting for me to return.

There are times I run because I don’t get what God has planned, and so I fill up at His table only when I hit exhaustion, and can’t run any further.

Other times I strike out on my own to try to maintain control over my life, before heading Home with my tail between my legs, humbled by the startling reality I faced – which reminded me again only He is in control.

Then there are the times when I am sick and tired of waiting for an answer, and I take off to lick my wounds & try to hide away on my own, even though I know that is the wrong place to be.

All the while, my spirit longs for Home.

My body longs for deep rest.

My mind longs for peace.

My emotions long to be still.

My heart? It yearns for Your love.

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I have been keeping how I have been feeling about this current fall bottled deep within.

I hadn’t yet cried until yesterday afternoon.

Why? Because I have been trying to be brave in a situation where I have been praying for God’s justice, and discovered He may prefer for me to offer mercy & grace.

I was hoping to be made whole from someone other than Him.

Someone i respect pointed out that out, as well as that I need to be more aware of what’s going on around me, which hurt.

Because I have been trying to hold it all in, and barely managing with getting all my ‘have-tos’ completed as best I can.

Honestly, I felt slapped in the face with what was not intended to be received that way, but hit me hard through its delivery. It left me reeling for a few hours.

But family speaks truth even when it may hurt.

You see I normally try to be sensitive to the needs of those around me, for the most part. I realize I can’t always do that to the best of my ability at times, but God still wants me to listen for His cues and follow them. Whether it be an act of kindness, encouraging word or offering to help.

In trying to do more than I should be more quickly than I ought to, my sensitivity chip isn’t tuning in, as I struggle to keep it all together.

I had a few friends over for tea last night to catch up. All of us hit a rough patch of various degrees over the past two weeks. We heard one another out, hugged each other, offered comfort where we could, and are praying for each other. That was the other aspect of family I had been missing out on too.

After they left, I still had an ache I couldn’t wrap my thoughts around as I headed for bed. Heavy hearted and drained.

This morning, I awoke to hear God whisper: “I am enough for you. Come rest in me.”

With a jolt, I realized i had been living on my own again, this time without understanding I had even done so.

I am packing my bag for a permanent move Home.

No more flings with independence. No more long runs with futility.
No more sleepovers with sulking.

I am so thankful He is always with us, even when we can’t sense Him, for we are His, I am His beloved.

He will always welcome us home, and help us wash the laundry from the road we took to get back where we belong.

God’s beloved;
God’s permanent residence.
Encircled by God all day long,
within whom God is at home.

Deuteronomy 33:12 MSG

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when you feel like wavering

Karla Lees

This week, I took a blow to the body when an unexpected patch of ice literally knocked me fault on my back.

I apparently took a blow to the head in that slip.

That first night while dreaming in vivid colour, the enemy tried to knock me out in my dreams.

I arose in His strength from all those blows.

The one I didn’t see coming arrived yesterday. Not quite enough in this week’s cheques to cover our usual expenses, and “now I have been off work 2 days and likely will be 4 so how is this gonna work Lord?”

That blow to my faith was a little unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been.

The enemy is not a fair fighter. He likes to kick us when we are down.

My God is more than a match for him.

If Jesus could die, and rise from the grave victorious after confronting the enemy, if He is is with me and I am sinking into His strength vs the depressing circumstances around me, I will rise.

My faith doesn’t need to waver, for the God I trust in never does.

He caused my coworkers to rally around me, and i have had the best care.

My family has taken extra good care of me (not that they usually don’t, but they’ve amped it to that extra special care you give someone who is unwell kind of pampering).

And God?

Despite not having the head space to dive into the Word as usual, or be online like I am used to, I have a core of peace I have not quite known before.

He is with me.

Causing my body to relax its tense muscles, my auto clock to be reset as I need more sleep than usual.

As I usually have worship music on at home, He has been reminding me of His rhythm in the silence, one I never noticed before.

Rest is restorative for the whole person.

And I am being rebuilt somehow through this accidental fall, more wholly as He has intended.

All things work together for His good.

God did not cause my fall, but He is causing it to become part of the tapestry of wholeness He is constantly weaving about and within me.

All things work together for those in Christ Jesus.

I can rest easy, knowing this season, right now, I am to fully rest in His hands.

Being able to let go of what I normally do, and allow Him to expand me beyond my normal into the beyond He has waiting for me as my trust deepens.

All things work together for those who love You.

Jesus, today I say it again, but I am all in. All of me, offered to all of You. Such as i am, with all my love, Jesus.

And You remind me, over and over, but again today, You are always more than enough!

Your mercy is new and fresh and mine.

Your love for me goes on and on and on and never fades.

And last but not the least for today…Your rest extends peaceful hands as You lead me by still waters.

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