Adoration

This week, my heart cries out in adoration to our God, our King, our Savior, JESUS! How can I express the praise rising up in my spirit. His presence is overwhelming...

Shall I sing for You, Lord?
Shall I shout for You, Lord?
Shall I throw my hands in the air?
Shall I dance for You - with You, my Prince of Peace?

Do you, at times, feel the same? Overwhelmed with His constant there-ness? I know He never leaves, and yet there are those times when my perception of Him is more acute. Yes, more finely tuned. During those times, I am awestruck by Him. And my desire to express this devotion feels beyond my human capability.

And sometimes I dance...

Yes, you read that right. Sometimes, I dance. I twirl, I curtsy, I stand high on my toes and throw my hands in the air, lifting my head to my Creator. Eyes open, eyes closed, head bowed and sometimes lifted high. I do the best ballet I know - without any formal training.

And once, I performed in public, unbeknownst to me, and to my utter embarrassment. I'll never forget. Only a few months of settling into my new Texas home (the first time around), as was to my custom, I flipped on the worship music - nice and loud. The sun streaming in through uncovered rear windows swayed and dipped along with my pirouetting shadow.

And then, I opened my eyes. Staring back at me were two cable workers accessing my backyard over our rear fence. Construction was everywhere in the neighborhood, and the home being built behind me apparently shared the same wire we used. And since the cable tower resided in my family's backyard, the fact that they were there didn't frighten me. But it certainly startled me.

Even more startled though - I do believe - were the cable guys. I don't thing they had ever beheld such a sight. Though surely more women dance before the Lord on a regular basis? And surely they've seen it before, right? Well, if they had, they were not letting on.

As for me? I blushed, simply waved, and walked into a more private room.

... And the music played.
... And I continued my dance.

What about you? What are some of your favorite postures of praise? And how do you incorporate them into your LINGER time? I'm asking for your transparency here. Your freedom of expression in worship may help set someone else free to do the same.

OH, and one more thing. How do you include family members into your times of worship, especially if you have young children who are home with you on a consistent basis? OR if you live alone, how do you enjoy your LINGER time?

Here is a short-list of a variety of ways I've LINGERED with the Lord (will you add yours?):

1. Simple dialogue
2. Kneeling before Him
3. Dancing
4. Singing
5. Face to the floor
6. Outstretched hands
7. Worship while working (What does this look like in your life?)

I look forward to reading and learning from your LINGER moments. Be blessed this week as you abide with God in your everyday moments.

My Own Worst Saboteur

This week, I'm going to shift directions - just a little.

Our topic? SABOTAGE.

Specifically? SABOTAGE-ing our LINGER time. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to LINGER-ing with our Father. Our deep desire is to pause from the everydayness of our lives to answer God's invitation to LINGER. But can we? Our families require our homemaking skills. Our communities beckon for more and more volunteers. Our careers demand our attention. Our churches appeal to our spiritual gifting. All of these are important; all are worth our time. But what about God?

In the midst of our everyday flurry, our Lord eagerly, yet patiently, awaits our attention. And we yearn for one-on-one moments with Him. More than moments, our hearts are desperate for hours with Him. LINGER reasons with the logic of do and do until in concedes to what needs doing. And again, we are left with our unfulfilled longing for more of Him.

We have once again sabotaged our desire. Yet, He relentlessly continues His pursuit of us. Why? He created us with a bond of eternal proportion. It's not about the here and now - not completely. It's really about then - Eternity.

I have to tell you, I love fairytales. Most specifically, I LOVE the story of Cinderella. I LOVE the happy ending. And I love the romance of it all. However, as I've grown older, I've delved more deeply into the story - in segments - to find the allegory of Christian women today. And I believe I found it.

Cinderella sabotaged her happy ending. Sure, all ended well, however, it could have ended well much more quickly. Cinderella didn't feel worthy of the Prince's forever love - A fairytale paradigm of the present. Cinderella spent only as much time with her prince as was allowed. And then... whoosh! Back to real life. Back to the do-and-do of real life - without her prince. It was only for a moment after all. Just a taste. Not forever.

But back to the ball... Oh how she danced! Free in the arms of her prince. All was well, except the caveat of the clock ticking the hours to minutes, minutes to seconds. Her enjoyment of the ball was immense, yet with the conscious threat of leaving growing closer with each waltz, how much of the prince's attention did she miss?

What do we miss during our times with the Lord when our minds periodically fixate on the do-and-do of our day? Yes, we are enjoying the presence of God. But can it be fuller, richer. Are we missing anything at all - the slightest thing?

Do we sabotage our own time with our Lord? Do I? Do you?

Will you discuss your own experiences of SABOTAGE, as it relates to your LINGER time with the Father?

Why?

One thought occurs to me this morning. Yes, just one so far because I haven't had my coffee yet. But it is a challenging thought, so before I sip from my favorite mug, I"m going to drink deeply from His cup... because I'm parched. My sweet friends, this week, it's my turn to be transparent with you.

My question for you is this: Why, OH WHY would God have any desire to spend quality time with me?

I know by faith, He wants my attention.

I know by faith, He deeply loves me.

I know by faith, He longs to hear me raise my voice in worship.

I know all this by faith. I hear His voice calling for my presence.

He, our MOST HIGH GOD is relentless in His pursuit of us - of me - of you. By faith, I know this, but WHY? And if we knew the answer to that question, would our Linger time increase? Would it transform?

...My dear sisters, another thought just occurred to me. I'm going to stay real here. And at the risk of being vulnerable, I'm not going to revisit, delete or discredit my questions from above. However, I am going to tell you what I just now, this very moment, heard in my spirit. I pray it profoundly ministers to you, as it just did to me. My parched soul is finding relief as I type these words.

I (We) do NOT need to know, and can't humanly understand the WHY of His desire for me (us). I (We) only need TRUST in knowing He does. The question of WHY now becomes a question of TRUST through faith. In every question above, I interrupted the dialogue with, by faith. And this is something I do know about faith:

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (NIV)

AS a result of this revelation today, my challenge to you (and me) is this. Will you join me in search of Scriptures that assure us of God's desire of our presence - Scriptures that share His pursuit of us? Let me start with one of my favorite Scriptures of God's attention to me (and you):

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

I'm so completely blessed by these words - The Word - this morning. Thank you for allowing me to be completely transparent with you. We are, after all, on this life journey together. Let's Linger in fellowship not only with our Lord, but together to encourage one another.

Scriptures?