What if each day’s ‘journey’ was also punctuated with the building of ‘altars’? What if we got into a pattern of opening and closing each activity, or group of activities, with worship? What if we invited the Lord into the detail of our lives?

A 17th century monk said it well:

He went on to write:

Now I think that’s a goal which could transform this year……

Here in the north of England autumn has arrived, the leaves are turning red-gold, migratory birds are beginning to amass in the estuary, and there’s a decided chill in the air. For many people the onset of winter brings stress and anxiety, and it is viewed as a season to be grimly endured until the days lengthen and summer arrives again.

However if we are to live in rest throughout the year, we have to learn to embrace rather than endure distinctive seasonal characteristics. Learning to live in step with the rhythms of the year can have a calming effect on our busy modern lives.

Simon King, in his account of life in the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, wrote

'To love Shetland was to embrace its hard edges, its storms and dark winters, its treeless skyline and howling gales, because in that embrace came precious access to wildness, beauty, peace space and perhaps most importantly of all a sense of freedom…….' [ Simon King ‘Shetland Diaries’ 2010]

I wonder what wonders we might have access to, by applying that same philosophy to our corner of the world in this season?

An attitude of thanksgiving is not an optional extra, it’s the natural expression of a child of God. The Lord also promises that when we offer thanks we open up the way for Him to bless us. [Psalm 50:23]. So make a decision to kiss grumblings goodbye this winter.

This subject can be explored further here:
http://www.rhythmsofgraceuk.org/power-of-thanksgiving.html
http://www.rhythmsofgraceuk.org/blog/category/grumbling

Long dark nights can be a source of depression for many people; so focusing on the benefits can be a real mood-lifter. Take time to plan some activities which perhaps get crowded out during the long active summer evenings. What can you find to do during this season, which will help to mark it out as special, and cause you to look forward to next year with anticipation? What can you find to do that is particularly appropriate to this time of year, which can become part of your annual rhythm?

Get curled-up and cosy, for example, and be blessed and challenged by a Christian biography, or savour a long-awaited book; or perhaps you could turn your hand to a creative project, learn a new skill, take time to write letters or listen to music. Maybe you might be inspired to invite family and friends round for candlelit meals or nostalgic film nights, visit elderly neighbours or experiment in the kitchen. Whatever it is, have fun – and make it special!

A lot of recent research at Edinburgh University has shown that being out in the countryside has a very therapeutic effect. So relieve your stress levels by spending time outside: in the hills, at the coast, in country parks or municipal gardens – wherever- and enjoy the autumnal splendour, migrating birds and other natural wonders. Many country parks and RHS gardens have special seasonal events – check them out, you may enjoy something so much you start a family tradition.

Alternatively, on a crisp, clear night try a nocturnal activity and visit a dark sky reserve or planetarium and delight in the marvels of the universe. A star gazing guide can be found at the link below:

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/guides/bbc_stargazing_live_star_guide_PF.pdf
 

We are blessed in the western world with a wealth of foodstuffs; our supermarkets are stacked with a rich variety of products, which we largely take for granted. As this year’s harvest season draws to a close, it is a very appropriate time to be rejoicing in the earth’s produce. Let’s really celebrate the abundance of our provision. In addition, it’s a good time to consider supporting local producers through farmer’s markets, and restaurants which use locally sourced goods; and experiment ourselves –  cook up a seasonal feast!

Life can be dull or full of life depending on our attitude. Jesus said that He came so we could have abundant life – and celebration is the natural outworking and expression of life that is brimming over.

So let’s not put life on hold until the days warm up again, instead let’s be intentional about finding things to celebrate in the season we are in.

Incidentally, the annual Jewish Feast of Tabernacles started yesterday. There are many things we can learn from this festival which can inspire us to rejoice; click on the link for more information:

http://www.rhythmsofgraceuk.org/seasonal-rhythms-blog-archived/category/tabernacles/2
[Be sure to start at the beginning, at the entry for 5/10/2014, and read from the bottom blog up, for it to make sense.]
 
The Lord wants us to walk in rest and peace, and that includes in the natural seasons of the year. So let’s learn from Simon King’s wisdom, embrace the season we’re in, and look out for it to reveal its wonders.

What are your favourite seasonal things?

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The problem with this perspective is that it writes off today and postpones living to a future date. Although it is good to dream, and also to make plans - with God - for the future, the danger comes when that dreaming becomes escapism – our bolt-hole from a mundane or difficult present. Learning to embrace now with faith and enthusiasm is key in our pursuit of maturity.

Another trap is to focus on the future with a fearful mind; to worry about future events - whether they will take place tomorrow or next year. Anxiety steals our rest today, and has an enormously negative  effect on our physical and emotional health. Although many of us feel we cannot help worrying, it actually stems from unbelief, a lack of trust in the goodness of God. And we can do something about that – faith is essentially a choice rather than an emotion. And the truth is, we can’t hold faith for today, and unbelief for tomorrow at the same time. To get the most out of the present, we have to be at peace with the future.

Any thoughts?

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For some the answer to unresolved issues of the past is to fill the present with more activity, a faster pace and more noise. Silence in these situations is threatening because unwelcome thoughts leach into the quietness. The only problem with running from the past is that we can never run far or fast enough - eventually it always surfaces......

To really celebrate the present we have to still these voices of yesterday, and resolve to live free from their domination. To do this we need to let the past go; being forgiven for our mistakes and failures and forgiving  those who have hurt or mistreated us; receive healing for pain we have suffered, and renew our minds so that we look at today with the eyes of faith.

Let’s not delay any longer, let's take steps now to get free from the control of the past.

As always the answer is in Jesus. He died so we could live free – let’s remind ourselves of all He did for us on the Cross, and make sure we’re living in the good of it all. Let's make sure that we get all He paid for!

Check out the resources below to help you silence the voices of your past:

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Sometimes our days are overcrowded – with things we must do, or feel we ought to do. It’s hard then to live in the present, because we are overshadowed by the stress of our ‘list’. We can’t take time to really be present in each activity because we are hounded by all the things we haven’t done.
Sound familiar? Maybe it’s time to look again at our ‘To Do’ lists…....

John Wesley wrote:

A day lived in calmness of spirit - now that’s something to aspire to! We see this mind-set personified in Jesus, who never seemed hurried or agitated, and made it clear that He only did what He saw His Father doing [John 5:30, 8:28].

Biblical wisdom is essentially a ‘plan that works’, a plan that has an anointing for success. And we are invited to ask the Lord for the wisdom we need [James 1:5]. An anointed plan – is this the answer for our stress filled days? His plan may mean scratching some things from our list - this is where trust comes in – the trust that He has our interests at heart and knows exactly what we need.

Interestingly, the Hebrew day started at nightfall, meaning that the day started with rest. The hours of sleep therefore became preparation for the coming work hours, rather than for the collapse of exhaustion afterwards. How about starting your day in the same way, asking for the Lord’s plan for the morrow and His equipping with everything you will need while you sleep?

If we learn to walk in His plan, with His resources, we will come to know the truth of Ecclesiastes:

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We are called to live intentionally in the present, to celebrate and make the most of now, to reject the temptation to think that life will start sometime in the future ……when I get a new job……. when I get married….. when we move…… when we have children …….. when they leave home…..when we retire, and so on.

To celebrate the present, though, made up as it often is with the mundane stuff of life, we have to see past the dull routine to the purposes of God.

He has stated quite clearly that there is a ‘time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens….and that He has made everything beautiful in its time.’

Finding the beauty in each moment is the challenge. And for that we need to adjust our perspective.

Our Heavenly Father has a multitude of ‘good works’ prepared for us; works that are specific to us, to our particular gifts and abilities; works that will delight and bless us, works that will bring His Kingdom to a needy world. And many of these works are to be done not through great crusades or special ministries, but at the supermarket or the school gates, cooking the evening meal, or filing papers.

Not only does He want to fill each moment with His presence (see last post), He wants us to partner with Him in bringing eternity into the present. Heaven is the realm of eternity, and it is our commission to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

Whatever we do, whether it is walking the dog, or chauffeuring clients, we do it as ambassadors of another kingdom. And we have the opportunity to leak some of that kingdom into our work-places, families and communities.

Mother Theresa said that one of the guiding principles of her life was to do small things with great love. Similarly, Wendy Backlund recommends doing small things with great faith.

This is the way the kingdom comes…. This is the way we endow every moment with divine purpose…..

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……though He is not far from any one of us.
For in Him we live and move and have our being.
[Acts 17:27,28]

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.
[ Isaiah 6:3]

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
[Psalm 139:9,10]
​

And not only is the earth filled with His presence every moment of every day, for believers there are the added promises:
​

​There has been a lot of emphasis in recent years on the manifest presence of God – the experiential presence – and many people have been blessed with wonderful encounters with the Lord. However, some have focused on the sensations rather than the truth of His presence, and have felt bereft when away from an anointed meeting, or disappointed in an experience that has not matched their neighbours’.

C.S. Lewis has some words of wisdom on this:

Of course the presence of God is not the same as the sense of the presence of God. The latter may be due to imagination; the former may be attended with no “sensible consolation.” The Father was not really absent from the Son when He said “Why hast thou forsaken me?” You see God Himself, as man, submitted to man’s sense of being abandoned. …… The act which engenders a child ought to be, and usually is attended by pleasure. But it is not the pleasure that produces the child. Where there is pleasure there may be sterility: where there is no pleasure the act may be fertile. And in the spiritual marriage of God and the soul it is the same. It is the actual presence, not the sensation of the presence, of the Holy Ghost which begets Christ in us. The sense of the presence is a super-added gift for which we give thanks when it comes, and that’s all about it.
[The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III]

The Evil One loves us to believe that we are somehow separated from the Lord, that we are somehow inferior Christians. The truth is that nothing separates us from His love [Romans 8:35-39], and we live grace-filled lives.
​
​Take time at intervals today to focus on the truth of the Lord’s presence. Stop and thank Him that His presence is filling that particular moment, that particular place, and you as an individual.

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I’m so in love with the Friday feeling. When the weekend stretches before you in all its 2.3 days of glory; promising you lengthy lie-ins, fun times with friends, and plenty of good old relaxation. It’s an amazing time… until Sunday evening rolls around quicker than you can blink. Suddenly Monday  morning looms around the corner like a big black cloud on the horizon, and a little bit of dread fills your soul. It’s time again to face a whole five days of working adult life.

Let me ask you this. Do you ever get to work in the morning (especially on a Monday), and wish that it was 5pm already and time to go home? Do you begin the countdown to the weekend on a Tuesday?

Somehow, we’ve all ended up in a trap in which we’re literally living for the weekend. We live for life’s highlight reel- for summer holidays abroad, for Christmas, for birthdays, for the exciting moments that are more of an occasion than an everyday reality. This means we’re spending about 80% of our lives wishing time away waiting for those other 20% moments. Meanwhile we endure the “normal” moments, dreading chores and hating mornings.

I make the whole “Thank God It’s Friday” jokes as much as everyone else, and yet deep down I don’t want to live like that…

So what’s the answer- should we try and make our lives into ones of infinite fun and no responsibility? Can we create lifestyles which are full to the brim with non-stop thrills and endless magic, kicking the whole nine till five thing to the curb?

If you take advice from Instagram stars and travel bloggers, you might just come across this message-  that of course you can design the perfect life. You can make everything just how you want it, each day full of glorious moments, skipping across the globe into the sunset with no boredom ever to be experienced again.

How I wish this were true. Unfortunately though, it isn’t.  Yes of course you can go after the things you really want, finding joy in those things and creating a lifestyle you love. If you hate the nine till five, don’t do it. However, the truth is that no matter what you do, who you are, how much money you have, or how awesome your job is, you will never completely escape the mundane side of life. There will always be errands and practical matters to take care of. There will always be boring and not-so-glamourous sides to any kind of life you map out for yourself. Everyday life will always be everyday life.

I know this sounds like I’m being totally depressing, but stick with me on it. If there’s no escaping the dull, difficult, less fun parts of our existence- what are we to do? How can you be happy every day, and live life to the full?

 I believe the answer is not necessarily always found in trying to change your circumstances, but in shifting your perspective. We can actually choose to love everyday life no matter how seemingly unexciting it is. It’s all in your head and the way you think.

Why not choose to make the most of every moment, no matter what it is you’re doing. I honestly think you can learn to enjoy even the most dreaded parts of your day- all it takes is a change in attitude.
If you can’t stand cleaning, for example, stick on some music, crank up the volume and have a little boogie while you do it. If you’re a Christian, pray and spend some time with God while you’re scrubbing the oven.

If you’re doing your weekly shop, be thankful for the fact that you can go to a store, fill your trolley up and stuff your cupboards with nice things. Half the world’s population don’t have that luxury.
All these dreaded little things can become something we actually appreciate and feel grateful for if we adopt the right attitude. Life is how you see it!

As well as learning to make the most of everyday, the same philosophy can also be applied to the various seasons of life and circumstances in which you find yourself.
Maybe you’re single and you want more than anything to be coupled up. Or you’re itching to be promoted at work, or you can’t wait to buy your first house. We think that once we get those things we will be content. The problem is, when you attach happiness to circumstances, it’s always remains around the corner, just out of reach.

What if instead you were to find contentment where you are right now?
If you’re single, starfish the bed, spend your time how you want to, and soak up all the glorious independence and freedom available to you. If you’re married, make the most of your time together before noisy demanding little people take over your world.

If you’re studying, make the most of those lie ins and all that free time! Enjoy learning new things and meeting new people.

If you’re working, enjoy the 9 till 5 or whatever hours are yours. Enjoy the office environment and the ability to leave your work behind when you finish. If you work from home, enjoy the freedom it brings and make the most of it.

Your season will not be the same forever, and you will never get this time back.
All it takes is a little shift in perspective. Enjoy the mundane moments and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime moments. Savour the time you have, knowing that you won’t always have it. Life is but a vapour, here now and gone a moment later…. so choose to enjoy it while it lasts.

To hear more from 'Letters to Eve' check out the blog at

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Twilight is the time when it is neither really day or night, the in-between time, when it becomes hard to see clearly. In the gloaming shapes become blurred, shadows increase and fanciful ideas take hold.

It is so easy for us to live all our lives in a ‘twilight world', with our eyes fixed on the past or looking forward to the future, but never really living in the present. And just as in times past, without the benefit of electric light, the twilight fostered all sorts of fears in our ancestors, so our ‘twilight living’ works against us being at rest.

The present moment is precious – a gift to us, which will never come again. I often used to say to my children when they were young, and complaining of boredom,

The same holds true for us as adults, we don’t know what the future holds, it’s in God’s hands, but we do have now, today, this minute  - and it’s worth celebrating.

There is much interest currently in the practice of mindfulness which emphasises the blessing of focusing on the present moment. The problem with these explorations is that they miss out the most important and fundamental things which undergird each minute of our day: the presence, purpose and sustaining power of God.

Today is a gift to us from our loving Heavenly Father. He holds it all together and imbues it with His presence and purpose and power. And He invites us to walk through it with Him.

What has He got for you and me that is unique - just for today? What ‘secrets’ does He want to reveal? What ‘treasure’ has He got for you to discover? What partnership does He offer for this period of time?

More on this next time......

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