July 26, 2024 (See 🇩🇰 translation at the bottom)
Hi! I hope that you are fully enjoying your Summer and having fun!
Ah, summer. The time when we recharge our inner batteries and fill our lives with something other than the mundane usual stuff! It's when we try to do nothing at least for a moment here or there and just be. Let me share with you why doing nothing is something worth doing not only on the summer but all year round!
When it comes to Summer and vacation it isn't always easy to do nothing. And maybe, doing something we've longed to do for a long time is the nothing we need. But what really satisfies the deepest longing in our souls? What fills that empty void that tugs on our human hearts? - Being still and waiting to hear that still small voice of God.
Vacation
In the beginning of our vacation this year we had a lot of practical things to do and a lot of ice cream to eat, but after a week or two I began longing for a solitary place to spend our mornings with the Lord before sightseeing all day. This year, as we we vacationed in Västervik, we missed taking personal time with the the Lord in the morning. We prayed for the day together and sang some worship songs together before bed, but during our vacation we didn't take time to be with God alone. We didn't take time to sit at His feet and do nothing but listen.
Each day, soon after we'd eaten breakfast underneath a pergola full of roses, we were off to see different areas around the town, take a boat tour and eat great food. Day after day we had fun, stopping at "loppisar" (garage sales), farm stands and sightseeing as we drove until we found a place to order a gelato or two. All that is well and good and very refreshing - for a time.
But I started to feel empty. We were having all this fun and I was hungry in my soul. Why? Because, it is during my daily moments with God - where I study the Bible and talk with God alone about what is on His mind that I am renewed, filled and my heart is set at rest. It is in those moments - when I do nothing but sit patiently and listen to Him - that the real love bombs drop. Sometimes He only speaks a sentence or two but they are awesome.
Jesus said that "Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Mathew 4:4) Reading and studying the Bible helps us feel satisfied but then there is a deeper dimension available to each and every one of us who believe - sitting at Jesus' feet and listening while doing nothing.
In Luke 10:38-42 we read "Now as they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what he was saying. But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, you do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don’t you? Then tell her to help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. But there’s only one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her.”
The only thing that fills our hungry souls is intimacy with God.
I wrote a song about the need for intimacy with God based on the story about Mary and Martha called The Vine because I felt that my life was very much like Martha. Since then I have sung it as a prayer asking God to help me stay "in the Vine", i.e. close to Him. Listen and then talk to God about your life situation and wait on the Lord. He will satisfy your soul.
"Good morning God!"
I was at a worship conference workshop in 2017 where Jason Keyes from 10,000 Fathers spoke about the importance of taking the first moments of his day - before even leaving his bed - to take time to listen to the Lord. As soon as he wakes up he says, "Good morning, God! What do you have on your heart today?" and then He waits and listens with attentive ears until God speaks.
How often do we roll out of bed and plow through our days, doing all sorts of things, but missing the encouragement and leading that comes from hearing what the Lord has to say? It's hard to do nothing and just listen, but so important!
This month's Bible verse: Lamentations 3:25
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
Write it down. Memorise it. 😃
Music News
My song, I'm Allowed to Be Myself was coming along well in June until I had some computer issues. I will get back onto it in August after vacation. Here are the lyrics from verse 1 :
I'm allowed to be myself
To be the one I am
To laugh and play and sing and shout
To walk barefoot in the sand
I don't have to prove my worth or try to be the best
I am loved for who I am by my Father in heaven.
All the instruments except piano are now recorded and soon edited.
Inspirational "News"
The other day, I was reminded of the unique way God loves us when I saw this picture in a Facebook post from one of my Danish friends. She found a heart hiding in the middle of her watermelon! I asked her about it and she said that, soon after opening her heart to the Lord this winter, she's found hearts all over the place. She then posted a few more pictures of hearts she'd found in nature (I don't have space to share them here). What a beautiful way for God to speak to her and say "I love you!". That's our God!
This heart thing also happened to an ex-muslim friend of mine. After praying with her to receive Jesus, she began to find hearts every day - for a full year! The funniest heart message was with pancakes! She worked in a restaurant and, one day, as she was frying pancakes, some of the batter squirted along the edge of the frying table. The strange thing was that it formed into two hearts connected by a pancake batter thread!
I've heard many testimonies though the years about how God shows HIs love to people in unique and tangible ways!
Book news: The Memoize & Meditate Handbook
After releasing the beta version of the and some constructive criticism from friends, I have now adjusted a few typos and improved the handbook.
Here is the link to the new version:
It's free and a great tool to help you in your walk with the Lord.
Enjoy!
Until next blog!
❤️😃👍 Liz
🇩🇰 You can find the Danish text here below (translated with AI):
Hvorfor at Gøre Ingenting er Noget Værd at Gøre + Musik- og Bognyheder
Hej! Jeg håber, at du nyder din sommer fuldt ud og har det sjovt!
Ah, sommer. Den tid, hvor vi genoplader vores indre batterier og fylder vores liv med noget andet end de kedelige sædvanlige ting! Det er, når vi prøver at gøre ingenting, i det mindste et øjeblik her og der, og bare være. Lad mig dele med dig, hvorfor det at gøre ingenting er noget værd at gøre, ikke kun om sommeren, men hele året rundt!
Når det kommer til sommer og ferie, er det ikke altid nemt at gøre ingenting. Og måske er det at gøre noget, vi har længtes efter at gøre i lang tid, det ingenting, vi har brug for. Men hvad tilfredsstiller virkelig den dybeste længsel i vores sjæle? Hvad fylder det tomme hul, der trækker i vores menneskehjerter? At være stille og vente på at høre Guds stille lille stemme.
Ferie
I begyndelsen af vores ferie havde vi mange praktiske ting at gøre og en masse is at spise, men efter en uge eller to begyndte jeg at længes efter et ensomt sted at tilbringe vores morgener med Herren, før vi tog på sightseeing hele dagen. I år, da vi holdt ferie i Västervik, savnede vi at tage personlig tid med Herren om morgenen. Vi bad for dagen sammen og sang nogle lovsange sammen før sengetid, men under vores ferie tog vi ikke tid til at være alene med Gud. Vi tog ikke tid til at sidde ved hans fødder og gøre intet andet end at lytte.
Hver dag, snart efter vi havde spist morgenmad under en pergola fuld af roser, var vi ude for at se forskellige områder omkring byen, tage på bådtur og spise god mad. Dag efter dag havde vi det sjovt, stoppede ved "loppisar" (garagesalg), gårdbutikker og sightseeing, mens vi kørte, indtil vi fandt et sted at bestille en gelato eller to. Alt det er godt og meget forfriskende - for en tid.
Men jeg begyndte at føle mig tom. Vi havde det sjovt, men alligevel var jeg sulten i min sjæl. Hvorfor? Fordi det er i mine daglige øjeblikke med Gud - hvor jeg studerer Bibelen og taler med Gud om, hvad der er på Hans sind - at jeg bliver fornyet, fyldt, og mit hjerte kommer til ro. Og det er i de øjeblikke, hvor jeg gør intet andet end at sidde tålmodigt og lytte til Ham, at de virkelige kærlighedsbomber falder. Nogle gange taler Han kun en sætning eller to, og jeg ser alting mere klart.
Jesus sagde, at "Mennesket skal ikke leve af brød alene, men af hvert ord, der udgår af Guds mund." (Mattæus 4:4). Så at læse og studere Bibelen hjælper os med at føle os tilfredse, men der er en dybere dimension tilgængelig for hver og en af os, som tror - at sidde ved Jesu fødder og lytte, mens vi ikke gør noget.
I Lukas 10:38-42 læser vi: "Mens de var på rejse, kom Jesus ind i en landsby. En kvinde ved navn Martha tog imod ham i sit hjem. Hun havde en søster ved navn Maria, som satte sig ned ved Herrens fødder og lyttede til, hvad han sagde. Men Martha var bekymret over alt det, hun skulle gøre, så hun kom til ham og spurgte: "Herre, betyder det ikke noget for dig, at min søster har ladet mig gøre alt arbejdet alene? Sig da til hende, at hun skal hjælpe mig." Herren svarede hende: "Martha, Martha! Du er bekymret og urolig over mange ting. Men kun én ting er nødvendig. Maria har valgt den gode del, og den skal ikke tages fra hende."
Det eneste, der fylder vores sultne sjæle, er nærhed med Gud.
Jeg skrev en sang om behovet for nærhed med Gud baseret på historien om Maria og Martha kaldet "The Vine", fordi jeg følte, at mit liv var meget ligesom Martha. Siden da har jeg sunget den som en bøn og bedt Gud om at hjælpe mig med at blive i "vinstokken", dvs. tæt på Ham. Lyt og tal derefter med Gud om din livssituation og vent på Herren. Han vil tilfredsstille din sjæl. Se videoen her.
"Godmorgen Gud!"
Jeg var til en lovsangskonference workshop i 2017, hvor Jason Keyes fra 10,000 Fathers talte om vigtigheden af at tage de første øjeblikke af sin dag - før han overhovedet forlader sengen - til at tage tid til at lytte til Herren. Så snart han vågner op, siger han: "Godmorgen, Gud! Hvad har du på hjerte i dag?" og så venter han, indtil Gud taler med opmærksomme ører.
Hvor ofte står vi ud af sengen og kaster os ud i vores dage, gør alle mulige ting, men går glip af den opmuntring og vejledning, der kommer fra at høre, hvad Herren har at sige? Det er svært at gøre ingenting og bare lytte, men så vigtigt!
Dette måneds bibelvers: Klagesangene 3:2
Herren er god mod dem, der venter på Ham, mod den, der søger Ham.
Musik Nyheder
Sangen I', Allowed to Be Myself kom godt i juni. Jeg kommer tilbage på det i august efter ferien. Her er teksten fra vers 1:
I'm allowed to be myself
To be the one I am
To laugh and play and sing and shout
To walk barefoot in the sand
I don't have to prove my worth or try to be the best
I am loved for who I am by my Father in heaven
Alle instrumenter undtagen klaver we nu indspillet og snart redigeret.
Inspirerende "Nyheder"
Forleden dag blev jeg mindet om den unikke måde, Gud elsker os på, da jeg så dette billede i et Facebook-opslag fra en af mine danske venner. Hun fandt et hjerte, der gemte sig midt i hendes vandmelon! Jeg spurgte hende om det, og hun sagde, at kort efter hun åbnede sit hjerte for Herren denne vinter, har hun fundet hjerter overalt. Hun postede derefter et par flere billeder af hjerter, hun havde fundet i naturen (jeg har ikke plads til at dele dem her). Hvilken smuk måde for Gud at tale til hende og sige "Jeg elsker dig!". Det er vores Gud!
Denne hjertesag skete også for en eks-muslimsk ven af mig. Efter at have bedt sammen med hende om at modtage Jesus, begyndte hun at finde hjerter hver dag - i et helt år! Den sjoveste hjertebesked var med pandekager! Hun arbejdede på en restaurant, og en dag, da hun stegte pandekager, sprøjtede noget af dejen langs kanten af stegebordet. Det mærkelige var, at det formede sig til to hjerter forbundet af en pandekagedejstråd!
Jeg har hørt mange vidnesbyrd gennem årene om, hvordan Gud viser sin kærlighed til folk på unikke og håndgribelige måder!
Bognyheder: The Memoize & Meditate Handbook
Efter at have udgivet beta-versionen og fået nogle konstruktive kritikpunkter fra venner, har jeg nu rettet nogle få slåfejl og forbedret håndbogen.
Her er linket til den nye version:
klik her
Den er gratis og et fantastisk værktøj til at hjælpe dig i din vandring med Herren.
Nyd det!
Indtil næste blog!
❤️ Liz
Thank you, Elisabeth for the timely reminder to sit at the feet of God with His Word. It's easy to get busy and be like Martha when I need to remain in the Vine and be more like Mary. Love the song too - we just finished the study of John last year with BSF and your song brought back the lesson on remaining in the Vine so we can bear much fruit for His glory.