Whether we’re on vacation or daily life at home, we can enjoy the blessings on God’s table. Today I’m sharing 5 ways to find His gift of refreshment. Then I’ll share more about my book writing process and 7 Strategies for Gaining Peace in Challenging Times. It’s baseball season, so enjoy the double header.
When my sister-in-law Penny traveled as a young adult, she loved to gaze at cows in their pastures.
“They look so peaceful,” she’d say.
I liked cows just fine, but when I was her age, I certainly didn’t gaze at them with wonder. While my husband drove, I completed projects. I read books, wrote lesson plans, sewed on buttons, or made to-do lists. I was too busy to stare at cows. Fine for Penny but not for me.
My former type-A personality and perfectionism prompted me to fill my days with task completion activity.
Until I crashed.
Yet our loving heavenly Father used illness and sheer exhaustion to teach me the need for rest and refreshment. I needed moments of relaxation and soothing views—like cows in a pasture.
Now that I’m older, and hopefully wiser, I value the refreshment God designed for His children.
On a recent trip with my husband to the Blue Ridge Mountains, I enjoyed God’s refreshment from sunrise—or whenever we arose—to sunset and beyond.
Maybe you and I can’t visit our favorite beach or mountain valley this week, but I’m praying for you and for myself to find ways to enjoy God’s glorious gifts of rest and refreshment wherever we are. He prepares a table before us (Psalm 23:5) that’s laden with gifts.
Five Refreshing Ways to Enjoy the Blessings on God’s Table from Sunup to Sundown
1. Seek new morning mercies.
Each morning in the mountains, I pulled back the drapes to view a pastoral scene. Watching horses graze in their pasture reminded me our Father provides everything we need for the day ahead, including new portions of mercy. Great is His faithfulness.
These truths refresh our hearts before the day begins. As you pull up a chair to the breakfast table and thank Him for His generosity, acknowledge His faithfulness to meet every need.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
2. Delight in beauty.
If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while, you know I adore the blues and greens of God’s creation. During our recent trip, I delighted in the peaceful views of mountains in the distance and bountiful gardens in the valleys.
Now that I’m home, I can still enjoy fluffy white cloud parades, ripe red tomatoes, zooming hummingbirds, shade trees, and bright yellow zinnias. Even a blooming weed in a sidewalk crack can bring joy, and all ages can find pictures in the clouds and marvel at the flight of a butterfly or bumblebee.
The verse below reminds us of God’s great power manifested in the heavens and earth He created. If “nothing is too hard” for Him, why do we sometimes fret and worry? Anytime, from sunrise to sunset, we can delight in the beauty of creation and remember the Creator cares about each aspect of our lives.
Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17 ESV
3. Enjoy laughter.
The frequency of our laughter increased when we rested and enjoyed God’s gift of refreshment in the mountains. This quote in a small-town restaurant brought chuckles: “Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.” * Think about that one.
Our picture with the photo cutout board caused us to laugh out loud.
Believers’ joy in the Lord can bubble up when life’s happenings are funny, and the same joy can sustain us even in hard times. Either way, laughter and joyful smiles are beautiful testimonies of the blessing of life with Christ.
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 ESV
Let’s use our laughing muscles more today.
4. Create times of fellowship.
We recently attended a Fourth of July picnic. We celebrated with others as we filled our plates, enjoyed a delicious meal at beautiful tables, and watched a fireworks display.
We can enjoy fellowship at a table for two when we join God in prayer, and we can share fellowship with others as we talk and laugh together. Both bring refreshment. Perhaps you and a friend need the refreshment of fellowship today.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Acts 2:42 ESV
5. Pray in the evening.
My favorite time to pray while in the mountains was when I could sit in a rocker on the patio and watch the changing colors in the sunset. Whether we enjoy a sunset, gaze at the stars, or take deep breaths as we push our feet under the bed covers, evening is the perfect time to thank God for His blessings and the assurance of daily refreshment.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Psalm 121:5-7 ESV
Father, help us to remember Your presence and embrace the blessing of refreshment on your table from sunup to sundown. Thank You for life with Christ and all Your blessings. Amen.
Your turn
When time is short and days are full, how do you enjoy the rest and refreshment God offers?
*Anonymous source A similar quote appeared here: 9 March 1955, Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, “In the Wake of the News” by Arch Ward, pt. 3, pg. 1, col. 1: That’s a Joke.
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/blessed_are_those_who_can_laugh
Update 2 on A Place at His Table & 7 Strategies for Gaining Peace in Challenging Times
In the June 28 post, I summarized my process for writing the book from the first idea to the completion of the manuscript. Today, instead of explaining the editing phase as I’d planned, I’m sharing more about the process for those who are interested.
I’ll include six practices God led me to follow during the challenging aspects of writing a book, and I’m praying they’ll help you with your challenges.
Movies Don’t Portray Real-Life Writing (or living)
Movies portray writers with a deadline who travel to a charming mountain cabin, eat dinner beside a crackling fire, solve all their problems, and produce a manuscript in one weekend. Where’s that eye-rolling emoji? (Writer friends reading this post are now holding their sides from laughter. Trust me.)
Writing a book requires some laborious tasks and long hours. And Christian authors have the responsibility of handling God’s Word rightly, a responsibility we take seriously.
Like any work God calls you or me to do, we find joy and gratitude in the privilege of His call to kingdom work—even when it’s hard. The joy outweighs the labor by far.
Writing is not hard like a missionary on the field without running water. It’s not hard like a church preschool worker who herds little ones to the snack table when the sermon is long. Writing is hard in a unique way.
Three worn letters on my keyboard testify to long hours of typing, rewriting, revising, and editing. Each time I reviewed one of the devotions for my book, I found parts I wanted to improve.
For months, my best ideas and recognition of errors seemed to happen between midnight and three AM when the world around me slept. I enjoyed reshaping paragraphs, searching for synonyms, studying Bible passages, and rewriting. Peanut butter crackers and a bit of chocolate fueled my nocturnal work.
The call to write is a blessing, and I’ve enjoyed the process—most of the time. Sometimes when I awoke at the keyboard, I found lines of random letters on the screen depending on where my fingers fell when my eyes had closed. Momentary panic ensued while I checked for text I might have deleted by accident.
Sometimes I cried in frustration and felt like I’d never finish. I’d pray, switch from computer to paper, research another source, talk out the devotion, get a snack, water plants, then try again to write. The finish line blurred in the distance.
With some devotions, after days of research in study Bibles and commentaries, I’d realize my intro story didn’t match the passage I’d selected. Back to the drawing board. More prayer and study.
Hard work isn’t all bad. Weakness in particular areas of our ministry and daily lives isn’t wasted. Diligence and our weaknesses pair well with faith. When we don’t know what to do, we find ourselves in the perfect position for trusting God. Paul wrote,
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
Our gracious Father took my hand during those difficult writing times, calmed my spirit, renewed my joy in writing, and led me to helpful practices. Maybe these practices will help you during your challenging times.
7 Strategies to Gain Peace in Challenging Times
1. Take a short walk.
Take deep breaths and watch the clouds parade across the sky. Compare your struggles to our faithful Father’s promises to meet our needs. He reminds me often of the premise of my book, based on Psalm 23:5. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (ESV). He provides daily gifts on His table to meet our every need.
2. Share specific prayer requests with trusted friends and family members.
3. Observe those who are more experienced and ask questions when you’re unsure of next steps.
4. Enjoy long conversations with our heavenly Father throughout the day and during the night when problems loom large before you.
5. Thank God for your blessings and for each step you’ve accomplished that day.
6. Find verses to help you stand against negative thoughts with truth. For example, when I thought, “I’m afraid. I can’t do this,” I read “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV) or “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:13 ESV).
7. Write your needs and questions in list format or write each one on a small card.
I placed mine in this basket my mom and I used to list her requests during an extended illness. Placing needs in the basket reminds me of “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV).
I’m praying for you, dear reader. I hope some of these strategies help you. We all face challenges on this earthly path, but God promises His strength and wisdom.
The next time you watch a movie about a writer, shake your head and say, “no way,” then pray for Christian writers you know and other friends who experience challenges.
Updates on A Place at His Table, available Sept. 4th
Lemonade Stand Memories
5 Easy Ways to Gather Friends Around the Table
Iced Coffee
Refreshing Broccoli Salad