Hi, it is so lovely to have you drop by! I have a lovely cuppa prepared for us with delicious treats. While we sit & reflect on pausing & what this actually means for our wellbeing.
Today’s tea is a Ginger & Lemongrass herbal blend with an assortment of nuts & dried fruits to nibble upon as we sip our tea.
Modern Life is so busy, demanding, rushed & led by deadlines of some sort or another…Don’t you think?
Then there are family pressures, work expectations, health issues, financial pressures & then our own personal expectations of ourselves (even when in retirement)!
This all adds up to our bodies & minds being in a continual state of adrenaline fuelled stress.
This is really not good for us! Our bodies & minds were never meant to be in this constant state of adrenal hyper vigilance. It causes our bodies, minds & spirits to become extremely weary & fuzzy…
We start to lose focus on the true treasures of life. As seen in the fuzzy & unfocused background in the photo!
We need to pause…reflect & refresh often! Did you know that the Ancient’s did this & they didn’t even live in our crazy modern world, they left the following wisdom for us;
Selah ~ meaning to pause & reflect
This term is mentioned approximately 74 times in the scripts of the Ancient Hebrews (Old Testament) !
This term & its meaning was once thought to be purely a musical term but there are many scholars who believe it has a twofold meaning for life. I agree!
The following advice is also found;
Be still ~ meaning to let go & relax
Which is also mentioned several times in the ancient texts… Jesus the Christ himself, while here on earth, gave us the example of withdrawing to be still, reflect, refresh & pray often within His journey.
You see our body & minds are not super human…but wonderfully human.
We need to take time to pause from life’s pressures, stresses & expectations…to reflect upon where we are in life & where our spirit is placed in the spiritual things of God.
To see His workings in our lives & to ascertain where we are heading…are we going in the direction that is healthy & growing us towards our upward goal or are we treading a path that deep down we know is really unhealthy for us & pulling us backwards!
There is also a wisdom attached to being still, as seen in the following verse;
“Let go & relax, & know that I am God”
Psalm 46:10
Reflective time with the Spirit of God brings clarity in knowing & recognising God’s presence & treasures in our lives.
When we take that all important time to pause & reflect…refreshingly new clarity appears.
Our lives come sharply into focus in where we are truly heading…just like the focused image of the glass in the photo above.
So dear friend…Let me ask you the following question…
When was the last time you purposefully stilled yourself in body, mind & spirit?
Letting go of all the musts & to do’s, truly relaxing in God’s presence to reflect upon the true treasure in your life.
Until next time…
Jennifer
You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook
Or in Prayer
© 2019 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog All Rights Reserved. Photo on Pexels.com
Featured at Grace & Truth Linkup
Tea With Jennifer 
Jennifer – I’m entering the season where I love tea, steeped, in a quiet – and right now quiet is hard for me to find, but I am learning to still myself in the middle of holding a baby, rolling out dough – quiet myself and meet Him in things I cannot set down right now. I am thirsting, though, for a still, nothing-to-do moment, but God has told me to embrace where I am right now!
Maryleigh, embracing the season God has given you is always a Blessing 😀
I need to do a lot more of this. laurensparks.net
Happy New Year to you Lauren!
Thanks for this beautiful reminder to quiet ourselves before the Lord. I’ve chosen your post as my Grace & Truth feature this week. Please stop by tomorrow (Friday) to get the “I Was Featured” button for this post. Thanks for linking up so faithfully!
Oh thank you Aimee, what a blessing! 😀
I definitely need more selah in my life! In good weather, the hubs and I like to spend Saturday afternoons at the lake, reflecting on life and enjoying nature. I haven’t found a way to do that when I can’t go to the lake!
It sounds a lovely place Jerralea, I love the water too…Lovely to have you join me here 😀
I think I just replied to the wrong devotional–have just discovered yours and would like to be put on your mailing list (email) to receive daily posts (or as often as they come out). Thanks
Will send you an email invite Shirley, just follow the prompts for a weekly email alert 😀
I have just found your blog (yesterday)–beautiful pictures and timely devos. I, too, suffer from a chronic illness so related to your posts and almost wept to hear of others who feel the same way.. Bless you for these.
I’m sorry to hear you are traveling the road of chronic illness too Shirley, its a difficult journey…isn’t it!
But it helps to have fellow companions along the way who understand the difficult terrain.