January 4, 2010 by Teri Frana.

Anyone who knows me would describe me as a “go-getter” – someone who is constantly working on a goal of some sort.  In fact, I’ve pretty much always trained others on how to set goals and achieve them.  In the past few years, God has been very hard at work, changing my perceptions of goals and how God views my performance. 

It’s been in the last five years especially God has opened my eyes to see just how precious rest is.  In order for Him to get my attention, He basically had to take away all that I was striving for, but on the other side of that, I must say that the lesson of rest is one of the best gifts He’s ever given me.

First I had to learn what rest meant.  I don’t know as I ever did it, at least without feeling guilty.  It’s not exactly just sitting around twiddling your thumbs. It’s a purposeful pause in your day or week to simply be still in your heart, mind, soul, and strength and hang out with God. 

I also didn’t realize how much work went in to resting.  I have to think ahead, persevere, guard my time, say no to things I don’t want to say no to, and do nothing even when I’d really rather be doing something.  I had to learn to be happy in silence.  

I’ve come to realize that describing an American as “busy” is redundant.   Somehow in our quest for more quality of life, we’ve lost something very valuable.  We lost depth.  We lost insight.  We’ve lost meaningful connection.  We lost the power of musing, thinking, pondering, and posing questions.  We’ve cut them out of our schedule and deemed them “unproductive.”

We are constantly trying to invent time-effective ways to connect; like Facebook, Twitter, and texting.  We’re learning to make our musing and connections fit within a five second window.  Not that I’m against any of these - in fact, I use all of them.  But, my truest connections do not happen there.  They happen in the space and time that I purposely carve out of my schedule to allow my mind, heart, soul, and strength to rest and just be.

It is in that time I connect the deepest with my friends and family and with God.  Don’t know if you noticed, but the Bible isn’t written like a text or a Twitter post.  If we aren’t careful, we will lose the ability to embrace something richer and more profound that a five word sentence as a complete thought.   Do not replace the gourmet of your Sabbath rest with fast-food style relationships.  Each has their time and space in your life.  

Make rest a New Year’s resolution this year.  You might have to say no to Facebook for a whole day.  You might need to open your Bible and pray and pray for God to reveal something to you there.  You might struggle a bit with your mind wandering to a zillion other things.  You might need to not take that trip to the store for things you probably don’t need.  Or you may need to redefine what you think you need.  You might need to say “no” to the kids or the family or to friends or to church.  In essence, you could be saying “yes” to you and God.

Saying “yes” to rest, as hard as that is, may be the best thing you will ever do.  As painful as silence can be to our American, 21st Century ears, it can grow to be the best sound you’ve ever hear.  There is something beyond anything you’ve experienced waiting for you in the silence, rest, and quiet contemplation of God.  I pray that you find it in 2010 - but, it will take some work and a lot of resolve.  

“The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

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July 15, 2009 by Teri Frana.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

Sometimes I long to just sit and think. I really like being still and quiet (although I’m sure that’s hard for some of you to believe.) I ache for time to let God near and simply hang out with Him. Many of my most special “God-moments” have been in the silence of contemplation.

In the same way, I long to just BE with my family with no agenda, no event to attend, no activity to engage in, and no where to go. I miss these moments so often because I’m thinking about what needs to happen in the next moment. I long to be a connoisseur of the moment.

Just a few years ago, I wasn’t satisfied unless I filled every second of my waking hours with some form of movement. Now, I crave stillness. I’d love to be able to capture the moments and stretch them into something serene like in the Matrix movies. What changed in me? And why do I feel so incredibly worn out if I don’t get my “serene stretch” often?

Age could be part of it, I’m sure. I also think a good night’s sleep works into the equation. But, what I’m trying to find goes much deeper than these things. I can almost just catch it if I stay still long enough. When I am still, as I’ve been this morning, a fuzzy outline of the Truth comes into view.

If I could take a guess at what it is I’d say it looks very much like the rhythm of God. The rhythm of God and heartbeat of America look very different. God created the world to be in perfect harmony and rhythm with just enough hours in the day to do what He asks of us; nothing more and nothing less.

It is when I focus on being part of the rhythm of God that I become most alive. It is when I’m in the sweet spot of His heartbeat my productiveness shoots through the roof, because I focus my energy on what’s most meaningful.

When I’m there, I can hear even His slightest whisper, “call her, she needs to talk”, “serve that man, he is asking for help”, “hug your daughter and tell her you love her”, “affirm your husband, he’s feeling low today”.

Lord, help me be a connoisseur of the moment you have given me. I want to be nothing more and nothing less that this…

Posted in Wilderness Rest, Transparently Human | No Comments »

June 21, 2009 by Teri Frana.

Final entry for He Is…
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He is OVER all things, IN all things, and THROUGH all things. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – ONE, EQUAL, yet distinctly different. ALL with the same purpose. ALL with the same goal. ALL fully submitting to one another as they pursue us in perfect unity.

He is a mystery. He is child-like in His simplicity, yet indescribably complex. The only term which can adequately describe who He is, is “The I AM”. Too big to contain. Too wide to span. Too high to ascend. Too deep to understand.

He has left His mark in every cell, every DNA molecule, and every ray of light. He is in every drop of blood, every tear, and even in the “dark space” we cannot see, feel, taste, or measure.

This is who we seek. He is who we need to ask. We should be knocking on His door. For He is the One who finds, answers, and welcomes our hearts in the way we were designed to receive.

Yet, we ignore His advances. We turn a deaf ear to His call. We turn our back on His attempts to draw us close. We treat Him as if He was the cause of all our pain, suffering, betrayal, and sin.

We compartmentalize Him and stuff Him into a drawer until Sunday morning. Or we shift our schedule and take Him out on Saturday night so we can have Sundays all to ourselves. We read about Him, hear His Word, learn His story yet we remain unmoved. We cling to our lives, our comfort, and our security as if it was our own power and strength which brought it to life.

We miss Him even though He is present in everything. We believe in ourselves even though we know how imperfect we are. We focus so intently on ourselves, our circumstances, our desires, and our pain that we can’t see Jesus right smack in the middle of all of it.

Seek Him - don’t miss Jesus one more moment. Ask Him - and listen for His response until you hear. Love Him - even if you aren’t sure how. Trust Him - even when you are afraid.

He is there. He is speaking. He is loving. He is trustworthy. He is.

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