"Learn My Unforced RHYTHMS of Grace ~ Jesus"

Maybe I spoke too soon when I wrote"Out of Rhythm"
because I do believe that I am learning still
"Unforced RHYTHMS of Grace"
I had another YV plan in draft, but chose the youth longer one 
when I wrote that blog post & I should have chosen this 7 day one first:
"FIND YOUR RHYTHM: RETURN TO HEALTHY, NOT TO NORMAL"

(perhaps this is for the younger generations also)

provided by an initiative of Christian Vision (CV)a global Christian charity with evangelism at its heart calledyesHEis

Although I have not completed this short 7 day plan, each day has a theme with "simple, practical and healthy habits" so that we can "live the deep and meaningful life God intended" which means that it helps us develop a RHTHM that is more "intentional, balanced & healthy."

Right on the first day, they inspired me to continue with hopes to develop a more healthy RHYTHM with these words and perhaps you'll recognize some of it from the Scripture verses found in The Message of Matthew 11:29b-30:

[image credit]

"Find & Explore Healthy Rhythms (day 1) "Your life has a rhythm. Whether you know it or not, your daily practices and habits create a rhythm. Your rhythm is the beat of your life & determines how you ultimately live. The question is, is your current rhythm intentional, balanced and healthy? Jesus invites each of us to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. He promised that He wouldn’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on us. Rather, a life kept in company with Him is a life lived freely & lightly. The problem is, life seems more stressed, fast-paced & tiring than what Jesus promises. It is as though the pressure to do more, post more & be more is stronger than our desire to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. It is as though we’ve got our wires crossed & priorities a little mixed up. If you were honest with yourself, would you say you are thriving or surviving? Does your life feel full of meaning & depth? If not, maybe it is time to slow down, trust God & begin to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. Maybe it is time to find your rhythm, explore healthy habits & commit to keeping company with Jesus. Today, spend time contemplating your current rhythm & your current life pace. List out your current practices & habits and imagine what a more intentional and healthy rhythm could look like. A healthy rhythm isn’t about reaching perfection quickly. It is about committing to growth over time with Jesus by your side."  ...

{I'm sure that I should not share the entire first day (so I did leave out some) but my hope is that maybe it will capture you as it did me so that you consider doing this plan too.}
In other words, even without having completed this, I highly recommend.If only it had a prayer each day I'd guarantee my 5⭐️ rating
so I'm sharing this verse image prayer

[image credit: YV] 
3 John 1:2

<>

As I mentioned above, each day has a different focus (outlined below):

Day 2 - SOUL       Spiritual Health Day 3 - MIND        Mental Health Day 4 - BODY       Physical Health Day 5 - HEART     Emotional Health Day 6 - FRIENDS Relational Health Day 7 - OTHERS  Community Health

Clearly, this is an all-inclusive package deal!
Each daily devotional with accompanying scriptures give you 
simple practices to embrace to learn & grow in 
God's 
"... unforced RHYTHMS of Grace ..."
{of course, this could be expanded on, but the devotionals are brief/concise}
As an example, I will just enumerate the 3 simple practices given for Day 2 for our SOUL (Spiritual Health)

"Read the Bible Daily" ... "Regular Prayer - a foundational habit ..." "Attend Church ..." "While each of these practices may seem rudimentary,  they are pivotal to a sustainable and healthy spiritual life."

<>
Once again, I am sharing the Verses of  "FOCUS ..." by C.C. Reaves for the 
One Word this week:
RHYTHM

"... Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."   Matthew 11:29b-30 MSG

As we continue to learn together
and grow in Christ Jesus
intentionally
in all these areas
to become healthy and balanced
living freely and full with
less weight
as
Jesus
invites us to rest
 & take His yoke upon us
so that we become less weary
and less burdened
because
His yoke is easy
🙏

OUT OF RHYTHM

It took me awhile to get the "RHYTHM" of this week and 'get' research on "RHYTHMS". I even read & reread quite a few times the devotion. I enjoy "RHYTHMS" in music for most of my life but for some reason I just couldn't figure out this concept of "RHYTHMS" of Jesus or what this meant. It didn't help me at all to check for Bible verses not many with the actual One Word, because most of them & the topical search on Bible Hub landed me on poetic "RHYTHMS" of syllables and meters; and singing. It didn't help at all for me to recall that when I was attempting to learn how to play guitar, I never was able to sync strumming chords with the RHYTHM either and the actual song, keeping the RHYTHM going. I guess I really didn't 'get' (understand) RHYTHMS. Yet I knew that I have RHYTHMS in my everyday life because I read that "we all do life in rhythms" ... the ebb and flow of our daily living, melodic or hum-drum. Known or not. Regular RHYTHM: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. 

So, I began to look at sermon series (and there are so many available) until I finally came up with a better idea of what is meant by using RHYTHM spiritually; and the concepts modeled in scripture of: "Rest, Restore, Connect, Create" as Rebekah Lyons shared in her book, "Rhythms of Renewal". It was when I found this post on "Spiritual Rhythms" that I better understood that they are how we connect with God. I think my understanding of this was our routine, or pattern (habits) in our lives, and how we spend time with God, and others. I saw/read many that seemed like RHYTHMS meant like opposites; like where God built RHYTHMS into creation: day & night, work & rest, etc. I even tried a YV plan of RHYTHMS (I think intended for youth). I was also confused if RHYTHMS meant "seasons" as in Ecclesiastes.

One of the series I found was by Living on the Edge Chip Ingram & Ryan Ingram called "Sacred Rhythms", which finally helped me understand better and I really liked this statement:

"Sacred rhythms are a specific way we arrange our life to cultivate a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus."

So, it's resolved that I DO have RHYTHMS, at least, in my 'sacred' part of life.
Soul Shepherding shared one of the best, inclusive teaching:
"My RHYTHM of Life with Jesus"
{I was totally captured by their Soul Shepherding ministry website as their name}
😇Makes me want to sign up for a retreat with them😉Thankful that my Shepherd knows my soul & rhythms.♬He walks with me & talks with me ...
<>
One of the "youth" articles that I read had a Mary/Martha pendulum (Luke 10:38-42) that I liked, calling it "RHYTHMS of action and contemplation" ... now that I understand. But again the ones given just seem like opposites: RHYTHMS of "pain & joy"; ... "silence & noise";  and the same as I listed above. I'm still missing the beat and understanding of RHYTHM. 😟

The article that I shared first in my last blog post gave a plan for "finding your own RHYTHM" from Jesus' RHYTHMS & rest. Now in music, I know that there are RESTS that tell us to pause & breathe. Christianity Today had a good article from back in 2016, and it had 2 very helpful points to grasp "this simple RHYTHM and live it well" - "a two-beat rhythm of life" from Mark 3:13-14.

"To be with Him in prayer and devotion. And to be sent from Him into the world. The 'being with Him' part of the rhythm provides space in our lives for prayer, solitude, contemplation on scripture, and rest. The 'being sent' aspect gives us a mission in life through daily tasks of love. In being with him we love God. In being sent we love our neighbour. Being with, being sent – that's Jesus' rhythm of life. "

Another favorite that I encountered was "... Practicing the RHYTHMS of God's Grace" because (of course) that fits well with this blog being "aMazing Grace" and going "Back to the Basics ..." by Lauren Bowerman (on Journeywomen). Perhaps "Four RHYTHMS I learned from Jesus"  synchronized all I needed to finally understand RHYTHMS. 

I tucked away far too many You Tube videos/ series (that I didn't watch, but saved) wondering if or when I might need to incorporate them into my search for RHYTHMS and need to view, like:

💚RHYTHMS of JOY💚

my playlist of 6 videos

RHYTHMS of JESUS (playlist)

Follow Me: The RHYTHMS of Jesus

The RHYTHM of Prayer

Jesus' RHYTHMS

Chrystal Evans Hurst with Hosanna Wong

RHYTHMS for Reconnecting with Jesus

[also read a post from Chrystal Evans Hurst 

"Cultivate  Rhythms with God" 

and she lists another related post in this]

Rhythm of Grace
A few verses with the One WordRHYTHM

Psalm 96:11 And so, let the heavens resound in gladness! Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar. Psalm 149:3 So let the music begin; praise His name—dance and sing to the rhythm of the tambourine, and to the tune of the harp. Jeremiah 33:19-20 Again, the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah. Eternal One: If you can figure out a way to break My covenant with the day and with the night so they do not always arrive on schedule, the very rhythm of life on this earth Revelation 18:22 Never again will the sound of music grace your streets. The melodies and harmonies of the harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters will never be heard again. And never again will an artisan of any craft be found in your markets, And never again will the grinding of the millstone provide rhythm to your city

Believe it or not, I probably am drawn to these verses, because later in life (not when I attempted to learn playing a guitar - kinda mid-life), I began playing tambourine during worship time (and found out how much RHYTHM I have hidden in me) but it was because I took a class on Tambourine patterns (like this or this and these) and then taught younger girls. I stayed with the more simple patterns and usually did not do the ones with dance steps. But I really love to use a tambourine in worship & warfare because that's what I learned it was for ... yes, those were the days ...

<><><>
I believe that God wants us to be well-stringed symphonies of RHYTHM,
our voices, our hands, our feet, our lives
tuned and adequately rested
in sync with Jesus
which means
"Being with Him & sent from Him"
real 'sabbath' *rest, meaningful time with God,
strong connections with others
and
serving others
*not only on the Sabbath, but especially on the Sabbath
Hillsong actually has recorded a song
RHYTHMS of GRACE

"... Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:29b-30 MSG

Maybe I'm not really
Out of RHYTHM
with life or my life with Jesus
after all
{I just march to a different beat/drummer/tune & didn't know about my "rhythms" or the meaning, because I follow plenty of them.}

Hopefully 
you understood better than I did
👏

FOCUS: RHYTHM

 One Word for this Week:

RHYTHM

"... Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live  freely and lightly." Matthew 11:29b-30 MSG

The very first article in my RHYTHM search was:
"How You Can Find Rest in the Rhythms of Jesus"
and after that (& because I have her book)
"Rhythms of Renewal: Living with Rhythm"by Rebekah Lyons
but before that 
"Rhythms of Work, Rest and Worship"

"Spiritual rhythms are your regular pattern of connecting with God" and it seems from the above articles that those rhythms include grace, rest, renewal, work and worship. 

RHYTHM

verses in the Bible

The other verses shared in FOCUS with this week's devotion:

1 John 2:6 CSB; Galatians 5:16 CSB;  Deuteronomy 8:6 MSG; Genesis 6:9 NASB

"Jesus, set my RHYTHM; help me to follow."
💙my key favorites that stand out from Cleere Cherry Reaves

"... Jesus had a different RHYTHM..." "...His (Jesus') RHTHYM was always adaptable to where His Father pointed."  "...When we bring our imperfect selves to the feet of Jesus through the discipline of RHYTHM, we allow His perfection to shine through us."

perhaps there will be more as I FOCUS on RHYTHM
This week's FOCUS TIP!
asking God  to help me set the perfect cadence - one that will give me peace & abundance."
I really 💙 this!

PAUSES ... week 4 One Words

Anticipating Pentecost
May 19, 2024
by taking
PAUSES
to reflect on the
One Words for this week:

Fourth Week of Eastertide Day 22: Counselor - John 14:16 Day 23: Remind -     John 14:16 Day 24: Testify -       John 15:26 Day 25: Truth -         John 16:13 Day 26: Anointed -   Luke 4:18 Day 27: Love -         Romans 5:5 Day 28: Body - 1 Corinthians 6:19

These devotions each week along with these Pauses for Pentecost One Words & Scripture really help me to focus each day. You may notice that the same verse is used for Day 22 & Day 23 because both of these One Words are in this verse, yet in the book, Trevor Hudson takes the first part of the verse for Day 22 (and I found that the CSB & HCSB versions use the One Word "Counselor" whereas other versions use Advocate, Helper, Comforter) and the last part of the verse for Day 23 - you can compare here all the versions. Of course the Amplified expands on even more terms for the "Counselor" besides those listed it adds Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby for the Holy Spirit, Paraclete, who is all this and more. 

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you." HCSB

Paraclete
the Greek Word parakletos(line above the "e")
meaning
"someone who is called to come alongside someone else"
How wonderful this is to know that 
God the Holy Spirit
the third Person of the Trinity
has been called to our side
to support us who need 
Him
Holy Spirit is a personal being
and
He indwells every believer
Jesus
promises that the Spirit of God would come & indwell to
"teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus has told us"

We seriously need this MORE than ever in this time in which we live!
We are "empowered" to become paracletes to others in need.
<>
Looking forward to the messages this week
with these ONE WORDS as reminders
as we PAUSE & listen & reflect

* take note of the second part of the Prayer of St, Francis

" ... grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console ..."

Let us be "instruments of Peace - God's Peace" 
Let the Holy Spirit breath into us
the consolation that only Jesus gives
so we may console others
and there are many
who need us
"The Spirit personalizes the gospel when we face difficult situations,
when we don't know what to say, or when we are uncertain ..."
Let His Spirit lead, be present & active in our lives!

May these One Words draw you closer to the Holy Spirit alive in us!
(each week - but the ones for this week look powerful)
🙏

GLORIOUS GIFT of FORGIVENESS

This image was in my April 18th 📧
because in the "Jesus Always" devotional book; 
it is the devotion for that day.
Sharing part:

"... I want you to enjoy the wonder of walking through your life as My follower—totally forgiven! The best response to this wondrous gift is to live in gratitude, seeking to please Me above all else."

If you're at all familiar with Sarah Young's (1946-2023) writings, than you know that she writes as if it is Jesus/God speaking to you (as this was the biggest criticism of her writings).Critics write: "she speaks for God" or that "she hears from Jesus" and "brings His messages" to her readers.
Frankly, in my opinion, that's exactly what I appreciate when reading all her devotionals -for THAT reason. 
She takes the Word of God & speaks it to me/us.
I did not share this to debate her as an author,or against people (pastors) that criticize her.
But as I read that small boxed quote from her devotion,
I am thankful to read these words as if Jesus is saying these words to me!
It means so much more!
Sarah Young always shares what verses in the Bible 
her words are based or taken from:
(such as this one)
John 1:12: Acts 4:12 NASB; Romans 8:1-2
[and quite often those parts are in italics]

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved. —Acts 4:12 NASB

"Thank Me for the glorious gift of FORGIVENESS. I am Your Savior-God, and I alone can give you this blessing. ... "

This is what's on the image (in bold) and also is the first line of the devotion & here is some more (not all, but some) in this two paragraph devotion in
"Jesus Always"
April 18

" ...  You receive FORGIVENESS and become My child by receiving Me and believing in My Name. This Name, Jesus, means the Lord saves." ... "Rejoice, beloved, for through Me the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free!"

I'd love to share the full devotion but I try not to as my way to respect the author & copyright.
<>
Truly
FORGIVENESS
is a 
Glorious Gift from God!
I believe my previous blog post, which links to my own writing on 
FORGIVENESS,
is a testimony to that gift in my own life from my earthly father. 
The other ones that I've written also do, but I did not re-publish all of themso I'm sure that many of them are still in draft.
Yet, once again, I'd like to state that reading the Scripture verses in God's Word and reading the devotionals that Sarah Young wrote, allow me to actually sense God comforting me through her wordsfrom His Word.
I know that her style may be controversial to somebut I, for one, benefit greatly from reading them.
Often we are encouraged to apply the Word or speak the Scripture verse as a prayer or respond to "what do you think God is saying to you?"when we are reading or discussing.
Isn't that what Sarah Young 
has so beautifully done?
[I've read the critics, now I'd like this -ism to end, as I would many -isms in our world today]
<><><>
As a NOTE, separate to this blog post, I'd like to let you know that I re-posted (which means I moved & published again) my original post from April 17th (so it's no longer there) to Fri. April 19th in order to publish it again with the links for all of the devotions by Christine Wyrtzen on Forgiveness for this past week. She may continue next week, but I'm already looking ahead to a new One Word for next week's FOCUS (on Mon.) and the ones for "Pauses for Pentecost" (on Sun. 6 pm). Rhythm for Reflection?

FORGIVENESS ...

         📧 ✉️ 📧 📨 📧 📩 📧 ✉️ 📧 📨 📧 📩 📧 ✉️ 📨

Oh my goodness. I am being bombarded this week with "FORGIVENESS" everywhere, but especially in my emails. In fact, I went back and looked at my blog posts, finding that many are in the "drafts" posts and the many times that I have written on FORGIVENESS. I thought if I chose one to publish again that it would appear here in 2024, but it didn't. So the one I opened and chose to re-publish is back (I think) where it was originally published on November 10, 2010. It's the only post that shows right now in my Archives for November of 2010 since I drafted them. 2010 was a very heavy & difficult year for me, and I don't even remember much about it. Mostly a blur for me! I was looking for FORGIVENESS blog posts, one in particular, but for now, this one will do. You need not read the entire bottom green & blue print portion, and many of the links probably won't work. S.O. stands for Stormie Omartian. I will continue looking through my drafts. This was part of a series: Secret Garden. 

Actually, I encountered one of the past ones back in 2009 that I was thinking of sharing. But it needs to remain in "draft" (sorry). I'm still looking for the other one about my father's final letter to us that included his FORGIVENESS for me. Maybe you recall that one. * I FOUND IT back in September of 2009 and republished it also.

[image credit: Bible com YV plan]

God is speaking
FORGIVENESS
to many I guess right now
The ones that I received in my emails were all wonderful but I only am directing you to the articles written so far this week by Christine Wyrtzen at "Daughters of Promise". And oh how I'd love to be able to 'borrow' her beautiful painting on April 16, 2024 with the most current devotional by her. I will only link to each one since April 10th until today, April 16th, but I think she will continue these, at least this week (so I may add those also and link to her blog).

I believe that April 10th is the best place for me to begin:

"Let Me Show You What You've Done"

{the one for April 11th is good but not actually on Forgiveness, so I'm skipping listing it}

The next one is from April 12th (which is the day that I noticed the theme of FORGIVENESS appearing) and then it continues for each day. This one caught my eye & that's what started my search through my own blog posts. Because I couldn't agree more & needed this reminder

"Forgiveness is a Gift I Give Myself"

I think it might be better to read each one separately and allow yourself time to soak in her words. If I had known, I would have posted each one as I received in my email, which gave me the opportunity to do this that way - one at a time. But if you're crunched for time just go to her blog and keep reading one after the other from the most recent, scrolling down. Or better yet just subscribe, if you haven't already. That way, you will get the future ones too.

"Forgiveness is a Gift I Give to God"

I think this is my favorite (so far):
"Forgiveness is Allowing God to be King"

UPDATE of ADDITIONAL POSTS
"Forgiveness is Not Toleration of the Offense"
"Forgiveness is Not Forgetting"
"Forgiving is Not Excusing"
April 22, 2024
Christine Wyrtzen continues posting onFORGIVENESS
"Forgiveness is not 'necessarily' Being Free of Anger"
[please continue reading these at her website]
<><><>

[image credit: Pastor Rick's Daily Hope]

Here are a couple more of the other FORGIVENESS emails that just came this week:

Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren "Why You Should Always Choose Forgiveness" 

Your Daily Prayer: "A Prayer for the Strength to Forgive" (there was another prayer back on April 5th too) "A Prayer for When You Don't Feel Like Forgiving"

Even my devotional book for this year:
"Jesus, Calm my Heart"
shared quite a few on
FORGIVE and FORGIVENESS

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13 night 100

"...Shower us Lord with the sweetness of Your FORGIVENESS"...
"... Bring healing and FORGIVENESS..."

[image credit: winnipeg free press]

🙏

{that's my favorite!}
"... Your FORGIVENESS is
like sweet, sweet honey on my lips (yes, it is) 
Like the sound of a symphony to my ears 
It's like Holy Water"song
<>
One more article (from a year ago) before I go
"Lessons in Forgiveness and Flourishing"
There's so much available online about
FORGIVENESS
but this is
what
stood out in my week
besides our

Let me know if you like anything special from these
FOCUS
on
FORGIVENESS
[Lent was certainly a time when this was written about much by Living Compass]
{they started out with "The Why... & are listed on the right archive sidebar if you need help with FORGIVENESS}
<><><>
I added another post by Christine Wrytzen
(if she continues to share on FORGIVENESS I will add, so please check back)
and
* found another one of my blog posts from long ago
THE FINAL ACT & LETTER of FORGIVENESS
(about my dad's final letter)