Exploring Circles - A Shield of Protection - part 6 {Paths to Healing}...

I have written about the Caim prayer already in this post; but I do want to share even a little more deeply here.  The word "Caim" is an old Gaelic word meaning:  "protecting", "encircling", "sanctuary", loop or circle and has been passed down from the ancient Celtic church.

When the ancient Celtic Christians of Britain felt threatened physically or spiritually they used the Caim (encircling) prayer. The Caim involved both a spoken prayer and a simple ritual. (To some this may sound odd, but it is nearer to prophetic acts of the Old Testament prophets or words and symbolism,  eg baptism, communion, even handshaking or stopping at red traffic lights, that are used today.) The "simple ritual" was the actual "drawing of a circle" in the air using ones hand, much like making the sign of the cross at the end of a prayer that some of our Christian brothers and sisters use.  The act helps make the connection with God's Presence more real, visible, in this physical world.  Brother Tadhg Jonathan calls these "enacted" prayers.

There are several prayers called caim, and the individual is encouraged to adapt them according to need. 

Here are some samples:

The sacred three
my fortress be
encircling me
come and be round
my hearth and home. (Prayer from Outer Hebrides)


From : Susan Gaddis
Use your imagination to see yourself and those you are praying for surrounded by the safety of the Father’s care and protection.
Here are several ancient caim prayers from Celtic Daily Prayer.

Circle me, Lord. Keep protection near and danger afar.
Circle me, Lord. Keep light near and darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord. Keep peace within; keep evil out.

See how easy it is? The basic structure of a caim prayer looks like these examples. Simply insert the name of the person you are praying for and change the wording to suit the circumstances.

Circle (name), Lord. Keep (name the good you want revealed) near and (name the evil you want removed) afar.
Circle (name), Lord. Keep comfort near and discouragement afar. Keep peace within and turmoil out.
Circle (name), Lord. Keep hope within and despair without.

 Another example of Christian Caim prayer can be found on the Anam Chara book website - this is by Bruce Epperly: Drawing a Circle of Love: The Celtic Encircling Prayer

I found another sweet place that discusses the Caim prayer style at "Being Benedictine" here.

(Blogpost updated 03/15/2023)

Circle love (exploring circles post)...
Exploring Circles - techniques post - {Paths to Healing}...
Exploring circles - post 1 - {Paths to Healing}...
Exploring circles - post 2 - {Paths to Healing}...
Exploring Circles - post 3 - {Paths to Healing}...
Exploring Circles - Bringing Focus, Bringing Containment - part 4 {Paths to Healing}...
Exploring Circles - A Shield of Protection - part 5 {Paths to Healing}...

Exploring Circles - A Shield of Protection - part 5 {Paths to Healing}...

Time for our next installment of exploring circles.  Last time, we explored using circles as containment or as calming...today, we will examine circles as "protection" or "guarding".

Now do NOT think I am moving towards New Age ideology!  I DO NOT think a simple circle can protect or guard you.  I DO NOT think circles have any magical powers in or of themselves, nor do I think drawing a circle around oneself offers protection...in fact, if you are doing that, you are actually opening yourself up to spiritual danger.

Just a quick snap shot - quality isn't very good!

However, I AM talking about this because if you are on the internet and looking for the symbolism of circles, you WILL come across that other terminology and ideology.  What I want to do is to offer some word pictures found in the Bible and reconnect you with the idea of circling prayer that the Church Fathers enjoyed so that when you do come across the dross, you have the true 'mental pictures' coming forward in your mind.

Since the ancients used the circle to symbolize God and His eternal nature, it makes sense that the circle would be employed as the symbol when entreating Him for protection!  I had so much fun finding scriptures that included this idea - the passion of the hearts and spirits of the writers is so evident: 

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;

with favor You will surround him as with a shield. 

Psalm 5:12

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; 

You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.  

Psalm 32:7

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, 

So the LORD surrounds His people 

From this time forth and forever.
  Psalm 125:2

loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh.

Psalm 32:10

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. 

The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me. 

Psalm 142:7 

Perhaps you can find more?

Please feel free to share them in the comments if you do! 

 

Experimenting with prayer circles asking for His protection - and Caim prayers (more in the next circles post)

Circle love (exploring circles post)...

 I haven't had much time to work on my exploring circles book and posts, but I thought I'd share some of my inspiration photos with you...it looks like life will settle by this weekend, and I should be back with more in depth healing through art prompts...

Clockwise from top left:  A Garland of Gratitude by Jessie Jellicorse on Minted.com; crayon scribbles from a friend;  circle collage by Daisy Yellow; doodles - Anna Pasquale; circles by Rebecca Sower; circle collage by Daisy Yellow; mixed media bird with watercolor bubbles (I cannot find the original website); center - torn paper stack by Andrea Myers

Exploring Circles - Bringing Focus, Bringing Containment - part 4 {Paths to Healing}...

 Today we will look at the circle as a tool to help us mentally focus...

Circles on my grocery list so I am SURE to get those items...

Circles as a way to narrow our attention, or draw it towards a certain point, is so common, so instinctive, that we may not even consider the act of circling as a tool to help us work through strong emotions, calm a feeling of anxiety or as a way to diffuse racing thoughts.  For example, I am a note taker - I take notes in the books I am reading; I continue to use spiral notebooks to record my own thoughts and the quotes and instructions I want to especially remember from the books I read.  And to help me find, once again, the really good things - I circle them...sometimes the line is more
rectangular, but still I have encircled the portion I want to be able to find again - and that serves as a way to draw my attention, my focus, to that portion I know I will be coming back to.

So - it could be said that circles can be used to help remember, recognize, and reorder!

Let’s move into some exercises using circles to help one focus:

1.       Exercise one:  Recognizing importance – using circles to relieve anxiety over being over-scheduled:  using paper and pen/pencil, make a list of all the things you need to attend to on the next day.  Try to limit what you write to just a word or a short phrase, for instance: laundry, dr. apt. at 2 pm, call _____, order ______, etc.   Also, try to get the day’s list finished within five minutes.  Write as fast as you can, not worrying about spelling or punctuation.  At the end of five minutes (or sooner) go back through the list and circle the 5 that have the highest importance and then number those 5 in order of importance.  Do not overthink this and do not spend more than another 5 minutes on this part of the exercise.  You may not finish your entire list on the next day, but if you focus on your top 5, you will most probably accomplish them, and have the satisfaction This is a great way to prioritize items that do not already have a set time and to quickly relieve a sense of overwhelm or anxiety about “having too much to do”.  You can adopt this principle for other issues that are causing anxiety for you.

2.      Exercise two: Reordering scattered or racing thoughts/emotions – Does just reading those last four underlined words make your stomach do a little flip flop?  Did you brain just go…somewhere?  Many of our “normal” days can be so high stress that just thinking or imagining more stress or chaos can send us there!  So this exercise will be a great one to put in your toolbox of self-calming tools – and…it can be done anywhere, at the office, waiting for children at soccer practice, watching TV with the family, even in your quiet time if needed.  Draw a four to six inch circle on a piece of paper you have handy.  This becomes a container for those ambiguous feelings or racing thoughts.  Now, within the circle, color or doodle…there is no right or wrong here.  But just to get you started, consider:

Miss Sweet Tweener was a little heavy with the color!

Color concentric rings, starting at the line you drew and working towards the center.

Divide the circle into parts using straight lines, 

then fill in each space with a different doodle (this is very much like Zentangle)...so here is a link to some different Zentangle patterns.

You could even doodle or write over the watercolor or colored pencil...

Make large "scribble" lines, then color each space or doodle in each space.

Draw, color, or paint an image of a peaceful place (to you) within the boundary of the circle.

Write words that you need to be peaceful within the circle, or

write just one word that calms you and embellish it with designs and/or color.

When you finish, note how you are feeling - emotionally.  Write down how you feel someplace near your circle.  Note any clarity, new ideas, or creative solutions to problems you have been having as well.

3.   Exercise three - a) circles as simple containers for memories or b) temporary containers for racing or intrusive thoughts - Use this little exercise (really another form of exercise 2) to quickly capture the events of a day or to dump racing thoughts.

a)  Draw a circle an inch or two in diameter, then draw an image or write a word or two describing something you want to remember.  The act of making the circle narrows the mind's focus, and the most important events are what emerge in the forefront of your thinking...making it simpler to choose which events to record!  Don't forget to date your page...

A little watercolor wash behind my brief journaling circles.

 b) In the case of racing or intrusive thoughts, write enough words to capture the thought, using one circle for each thought.  Do this for as many thoughts as needed.  It is OK to write outside the lines!  Notice how the circles act as a containment vessel for the thought, and that the feeling of calm increases as each thought is expressed and contained.  You might even consider folding this paper in half and tucking it in a safe place as a metaphor that you are tucking these thoughts away in a safe place in your mind until there is a good time to continue processing them.  Sometimes just the expression is all that is needed to diffuse troubling thinking; sometimes more processing is needed. This is a tool to bring control and calm and containment till a more convenient time to address the thoughts, not to bury toxic thoughts indefinitely (which would be unhealthy).

Also, in using art for healing, one isn't necessarily trying to produce an art masterpiece, but a heArt masterpiece, so "proper" art technique isn't as important as the process itself.  This is the time to "let go", experiment, and relax!

Linking with my "In the Studio" friends again...here...

Exploring Circles - techniques post - {Paths to Healing}...

Here it is - tricks, tips and techniques I have already learned in making this little meandering book...it will be a bit long, so enjoy!  {You can see the first 3 posts here, here, and here.}  Also, if you read or scroll to the end of this post, you will find links to downloadable images in 8" x 10" and 4" x 4" sizes.

And I'm joining with the "In The Studio" creatives here...

First - tho' the book I was using as inspiration was small, approximately 4" x 4" and I thought that would be big enough, now I certainly wish I had an 8" x 8" book to work in (I would have to bind the edges with decorative tape or in some other manner, which could be cute and add another dimension of design)...or perhaps not even do a "meandering book", but just a straight forward art journal, such as the Amazing 16 page journal by Teesha Moore (part 1 here and part 2 here).  Next journal will be an Amazing 16 page one!

Second - REMEMBER, when doing the meander book, to think through how the pages open and plan your pages in advance.  I used a pencil to lightly mark page numbers in the lower corners help me remember the direction each would turn next.

Third - I am playing around with watercolors this year...I read - somewhere in all the free online tutorials I have found in searches - that you only need 3 colors, and you can mix what you need from those...but for myself, I am currently still borrowing from sweet tweener's school watercolors:

Prussian Blue
Burnt Sienna
Yellow Ochre

There is a crimson red that came with
the set that I have used in this project
when the Burnt Sienna doesn't give me
the color I want.






Fourth - I am approaching this more like a sketch book than a finished art product...so I am experimenting right in the little book.  If you want yours to be more of a finished art piece, you might want to practice a scraps first, until you find the technique you want to use in each page.


Page One
I used a compass to lightly draw a circle to mark where I wanted to add water for a wet on wet technique, then I placed a "load" of each of my main three colors into the pre-wetted paper at 3 different points near the outer edge of the circle, then used the brush to guide the colors towards the center, letting them mingle freely as they chose.  White space leaves the piece looking organic and light - the imperfection of it lending a natural look and helping to heal my need to be perfect!  The imperfect is so inviting...in relationships as well as art...

But, there is something to be said for a little planning, as well.  Especially when it comes to word placement.  Again, using a light touch with a soft pencil lead, I sketched in the words around the outer edge of the circle, erasing and re-writing several times until the spacing of letters and white spaces fit...then I wrote over the top with my micron 01 pen.  Finally I erased the pencil marks after waiting for the ink to dry a couple of minutes.

Here is a "wet on wet" tutorial I've watched and liked...

Page 2
 

Here I was trying to do a watercolor wash with one color, fading from darker to lighter with a mask over the trefoil I had transferred onto the page.  I couldn't find my masking fluid (did sweet tweener borrow that?) Well, she couldn't find it either...so I improvised and painted some gel medium over the trefoil area so the watercolor would just wipe off.  After the gel medium dried, I did the wash - the gradation isn't all that obvious, but it looks nice I think, just one color.  I just used a paper towel wrapped around my finger to wipe away the color from the trefoil area.  (I like Viva because it doesn't leave behind traces of paper).  I also have started using up my soft knit recycle rags which also do not leave lint behind.  I could still see - lightly - the lines from the tracing and they would no longer erase because of the gel medium, so I painted a light layer of white acrylic over the gel medium and that gave me the less defined look I wanted.

Page 3

I wanted to play more with blending the colors, so I painted each arc with one of my 3 main colors.  Use your palette to add water to your color till you get it to a nice transparency.  Then I painted the color straight onto the dry page.  After I had laid all the colors down, I wet my brush more, and pulled the water around the points of where colors intersected to blend the transitions even more...when color went over the lines into the white area, I just added more water at that point and dabbed the wet color up with my lint free cloth...just experimenting with removing watercolor from the paper, too!  I haven't decided how to add words to this page, or even if I want to - I like it in its simplicity right now.



Page 4

Ahhhh fun!  Wet the page with clean water, paint a strip of prussian blue along the bottom and with new clean wet brush, pull the color up towards the center...then paint a strip of burnt sienna along the top, clean and wet the brush again and pull the paint towards the center - don't touch the blue, let the colors move towards one another on their own and mingle...and the surprise was the yellowish result in the middle!  I guess the blue didn't reach up very far, and the burnt sienna separated into the pigments that make it up...!  I messed up the fish symbol a little - just couldn't find those light lines.  I "saw" this classic Christian icon as I was working with the trequeta...and the implied two circles could represent heaven/God and the other earth/man...and their intersection the joining of the two through the experience of being "born again"...  

A little blurry, but you can see the entire page...

Template for 4 inch by 4 inch designs
8 inch by 10 inch circle
8 inch by 10 inch trefoil
8 inch by 10 inch trequeta
8 inch by 10 inch cross with circle

Exploring Circles - post 3 - {Paths to Healing}...

Last week we took a look at the idea of circles - a basic definition, in Scripture, and by implication how characteristics of the circle can represent some of God's characteristics.  I briefly looked at how simple observation of the sun, moon and stars and other objects in nature can give rise to the circle being used as a metaphor for human experience.  Because circles are observable in nature, there has grown a "universal" list of circle symbolism, including:

*  Inclusion  *  Wholeness  *  Focus  *  Unity  *  Nurturing  *  Cycles  *  Initiation  *  Everything  *

     *  Perfection  *  Womb  *  Centering  *  Revolution  *  Infinity  *  Mobility  *  Completion  *

                                         *   Protection  *  Continuation  *  Eternity  * the Soul  *
 
It is an easy concrete rendering to use in trying to explain ideas that are more abstract.  This is perhaps the very reason why so many cultures and belief systems have adopted the circle to represent a wide variety of concepts.

When you go searching online, you will come across many sites making many claims about what the circle represents.  As we continue to look at some of the metaphors that a circle can portray, and use them in healing art or journaling with greater understanding, it is my desire that you remember that the circle originated with the Creator Himself, and regardless of the belief system or movement that has adopted the circle and given it some meaning, the true origin of the circle is with the God of the Bible...

Remember the first circle going on the cover of my book?  Here is a little "circle" information that I had come across (and if you have been following me this year, you know I have been researching Japanese/Chinese ink painting and the creation story of Genesis embedded in the Chinese language) so I was naturally drawn to this entry in my Google search:

Ensō is a Japanese word meaning "circle". Ensō is one of the most common subjects of Japanesecharacter. It symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it can also symbolize the Japanese aesthetic itself. As an "expression of the moment" it is often considered a form of minimalist expressionist art.
calligraphy even though it is a symbol and not a

In Zen painting, ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create. The brushed ink of the circle is usually done on silk or rice paper in one movement and there is no possibility of modification: it shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Zen Buddhists "believe that the character of the artist is fully exposed in how she or he draws an ensō. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō. Some artists will practice drawing an ensō daily, as a kind of spiritual practice."


I am drawn to the idea of "mentally and spiritually completeness" juxtaposed to the imperfection of the enso...the texture, the scraggly lines, the rough perfection.  The shape of the circle still there in all its pristine beauty, representing the eternal nature of God, and I am reminded of this verse:

...and in Him {Christ} you have been made complete...Colossians 2:10 NASB

My imperfection, my failures - made perfect and complete through my union with Jesus, as His perfect life is written over my messy one...and all this can be conveyed in the simple formation of the circle.

And then I was surprised with other versed of completion that came up in my search, like:

And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.  Ephesians 1:23 NLT

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.   Hebrews 13:20-21 King James 2000 Bible

For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.  Job 23:14 ESV 

Now, imagine an exercise done daily, along with your quiet time, your art journaling or putting pencil to paper - and a simple meditation of drawing a circle while remembering one of these scriptures, remembering that we are made complete and whole through our union with Jesus...only a moment, but one that concretely connects us with our Creator...a beautiful thought!

Tomorrow I will share some of the techniques I promised earlier, some lessons I have already learned (technique wise) and the book so far...but here is a teaser picture...

   Just a snapshot to capture the first two pages

Exploring circles - post 2 - {Paths to Healing}...

As promised, the first installment of research, prompts and peaks into my exploration of the simple circle.  As you can imagine, there are many meanings attached to the circle, and therefore many symbolic uses that we might use in our creations.

First, the research, beginning with the most basic, technical definition:

A circle is a simple closed curve which divides the plane into two regions: an interior and an exterior. In everyday use, the term "circle" may be used interchangeably to refer to either the boundary of the figure, or to the whole figure including its interior.

There are many meanings to the circle.  Having neither beginning nor end, the circle has long been a symbol - across time and cultures - of eternity, wholeness, protection, and unity.  I found this thought from a native American medicine man, and it seemed to capture the sentiments of many:

image source

From this example we can discern that the circle's symbolism has mostly been derived from the circles that can be found in nature, and therefore, may be totally subject to the interpretations of the individual who is doing the observing!

However, I want to begin with exploring what might be discerned about the circle from the Scripture:

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.                                                                                                              Isaiah 40:22 NASB

...as He walks on the circle of the sky.                                                    Job 22:14 HCSB

He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.                                                                                                 Job 26:10 NASB

These scriptures reference the creation itself, whether it is the heavens or the earth; their spherical shape giving the discernible edge of a circle.  The circle became a symbol for God Himself because it was so evident in the largest objects of creation (earth, sky, moon, stars and planets) and perhaps even more so because of the idea that a circle has no beginning and no end, a reference to infinity, or even more specifically, it represents eternity; each concept reflects the everlasting nature of God:

  He has no beginning and no end

He is inifinite

He is eternal

(Jude 25; Isaiah 57:15; Psalms 90:2)

and He desires to share that eternity with us: 

the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago

we have an eternal "house" in heaven

and this eternal life is found through Jesus, the Son

You might guess that I tend towards the "scholarly" (because of the teacher gifting), and to spare you the work if you are not bent that way, but to offer the resource; click here for a wonderful treatise on God, Time, and Eternity.

The circle as the perfect representation of God probably was cemented during the Renaissance, as it conformed to their thoughts about God.  Renaissance thinkers considered the circle and sphere as "perfect" shapes; and God took the form of the sphere to create the earth, and therefore everything pertaining to man; spirit, mind and matter - which in turn was represented by three descending concentric circles

I wanted the cover of my book to hold a simple circle - I haven't added a title yet - I am unsure if I want to!  I will probably cover over this with clear drying gel medium to give it added protection and strength:

I wanted to form the circle in one motion, without lifting the paintbrush.  I did twist the brush as I went around.  I wanted to use purple paint, because purple is the color of royalty in Christian liturgical symbolism - I even mixed my own purple, hoping for blues and reds to show up in the finished circle...it did take me a while to decide on this (!), but next week's post will explain some of why I went in this direction...

I used some rice paper I had on hand - it took the acrylic paint quite well I think!  I have to apologize here for not being more progressed on my own book, but I have been painting in Sweet Tweener's room; turning it from young girl to young lady...pictures will be coming soon!

This symbol is called the "Trefoil" and is a representation of the trinity, showing each is eternal in nature and equal to the other members of the Godhead - the trefoil has been used since the 1300s to represent the Trinity (the early beginnings of the Renaissance)...

You can download this pattern here.

 I will be placing one of these on the second page of my book...

This is the "Triumphant Cross" - the cross placed over the world.  It symbolizes Jesus as triumphant over anything we face in the world.

Download here.

        

The "Triquerta" is the interlocking parts of the three intertwined circles...they form a stylized triangle, whose three sides also have been used to represent the Trinity for hundreds of years.

Download here.

Your prompt: Choose one of these circular forms for your own book or journal. Include some of the scriptures I have included today, or find your own...make this exploration so very much yours!  I promise I will be back with more of these before next week, to show some different techniques...

More scriptures to use that reflect the Trinity:   Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Revelation 1:4-5

Exploring circles - post 1 - {Paths to Healing}...

Recently I read a post on the meaning and symbolism of circle in art therapy - and it struck me that circles have a rich history in the Christian faith as well, and before that, in the history of God's dealing with man.  At the same time, I realized I had been collecting ideas that were based on the form of a circle - and it just seemed to be the perfect time (and perhaps even the leading of the Holy Spirit) to explore the meaning of circles in my life and my faith - yes!

So, starting next Wednesday, and through the month of August, I will post a little research, a little prompt, and a little peak at what I am creating with circles...if you want to play with me, this is the book I am making to create in and record in (but of course you can use your regular art journal, too):  


I have this pinned to my "Art Book/Journal making" pinboard...and this is the form I want to use for my "Exploring Circles" art + healing processing - 

Detailed instructions can be found here - Jesscreateit.wordpress.com.

I am using a 12"x 18" piece of 140 lb. coldpress watercolor paper - mostly because that is what I have a few extra pieces of! 

I'm not sure if I am going to do a lot of prep work or not...I am thinking of using watercolors - tho' the sample image is truly a mixed media piece!  I can tell I need to do some thinking before I actually start...

Here is what my paper looks like - folding, then cutting out certain portions per Jess's instructions...

Putting my quilting supplies to good use!














Cut and ready to fold:

What does a circle mean to you?

Beauty + poetry....

Beauty

Beauty is mystery,

something to be explored,

to search,

know, 

pursue, 

love,

wonder. 

That is what it means to 

see beauty.

While I am working on some mixed media techniques, dealing with slow internet issues, home school + 4H, and posts for healing creative pathways - I am also enjoying some poetry interludes...

Remember this "Black Out Poetry" post?

Here, I painted my favorite sky blue acrylic to reveal the words of the poem I discovered on the book page...

Actually, there is a lot of inspiration over this word "beauty" right now, and I found another poem, mingled among the words of the same old book (I am pulling apart to use as an art journal), about the beauty of creation...

 I think these pieces might become a little series, perhaps bound in a little chapbook!

There is still time to enter in the MyMemories Digital software giveway...scroll down and leave a comment in the comments area...winner will be selected and announced on Valentines Day! 

Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at StudioJRU
FaithFilledFriday

Sneak Peak Friday...Creative Books...

I can't wait to see what other books are out there! Here are the main 3 books that have inspired me spiritually as I have followed God back into creativity:

The first: a fun way to add more creativity in your quiet times/prayer journal....Praying in Color:

A great book for all sorts of creative endeavors, whether writing, visual art, dance, etc..The Creative Call delves into what the Scripture says and reveals what the church has simply not focused on for centuries!  Plus practical sections to guide the reader to reflect on and discover their own heart towards creativity....

 

Making Crosses is simply so devotional and beautiful...perfect for individuals, groups, home-school, young and old...I used the idea for our homeschool group's children at an evening event (here) and they were deeply into the activity...you can read free chapters of the book and see crosses inspired by the book here.

 

And of course, a very inspirational book, rich in imagery:  the Bible ♥

Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at Studio JRU

The Name - Beginnings - Chapter One, part 2

Photo from here

Sophie was still thinking about the passage when Betsi called later in the morning. Her friend was eager to find out how her first real morning quiet time had turned out.

“How was it?” Betsy was always direct and to the point, just one of the reasons Sophie considered her one of her best friends!

“As soon as I sat down and began to pray, it was as if my brain had a mind of its own! Every negative thought I have ever had or heard about myself was racing around up there! Plus I’m not sure I can tell the difference between His voice and my own thoughts…that one rolled around for a little while! But I did push through and I was able to read through the passage 3 times before Peter woke up!”

Her friend’s voice sparkled. “That’s great! ­­­­­Not the struggle, but that you persevered and were able to read through the verses in triplicate. And I so identify with what you were going through! Although MY brain leans more towards listing every little task I have to do for the day AND the rest of the week! And the little people seemed to wake up early a lot when I was first starting my quiet time routine, too. But what I have learned, at least for myself, was that those distracting thoughts really were floating around my head all the time. In fact, I didn’t think of them as a distraction at all - more like my gift of administration operating constantly. But when the thoughts interrupted my attempts to deepen my relationship with God, they just didn’t feel “Spirit-led” anymore. But that’s another story. Oh, and you know Glenda? She used to be in my small group at Bible Study…she tried to have her quiet times at 10:00 a.m. and she said that she never heard her phone ring more or have people ring the front door bell as often as they did when she was trying to pray! So she went back to an early morning time and has kept that ever since!”

“Another thing is…I don’t know if I am doing this right,” Sophie confessed. “I have this vague feeling that I HAVE done something wrong, or I AM DOING something wrong and any moment now – WHAMMY – something will happen that is the punishment for whatever that thing is, but I still won’t know exactly what is wrong! And I am certainly not feeling peaceful and I am not feeling closer to God, or even that He loves me SO much that He would send His Son to die for me! It’s more like He HAD to send His Son BECAUSE of me!”

Sophie could sense her friend’s smile over the receiver, and when Betsy continued, her voice was gently comforting.

“Those feelings aren’t coming from our Heavenly Father, or from the Lover of our souls, our Lord Jesus,” she stated quietly. “They might be thoughts interjected by one of satan’s cohorts; or the thoughts could be coming from your own mind.” Betsy spoke knowingly, as Sophie had shared more of her past with her than with any other person in her life. “Or she knows from experience,” thought Sophie.

“ No matter where they are originating,” Betsy went on, “the Lord means for you to push through them as you did this morning, and maybe even confront them. Just don’t believe them!”

Betsy’s words seemed to wrap Sophie’s heart in warm golden love. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and she couldn’t speak for a moment as peace flooded her being. Betsy knew God’s truth had just penetrated Sophie’s soul.

“That’s what His truth feels like,” Betsy whispered into the airway.

The friends said a quick good-bye, each standing at their kitchen counters in the midst of His.Holy.Presence.