The last few weeks have been busy ones; two weekend women’s retreats and one, ten day conference for “m” workers (global workers, ministry partners).
I’ve loved every second of every minute.
The conference took place on a cruise ship to the Bahama’s (the volunteer training took place at a hotel in Miami right off Bayside along the Biscayne Bay).
It’s fairly rough ministry, but somebody had to say yes; so, I sacrificed and went as the speaker.
OH! MY!
That added an entirely different level to “serving Jesus.” ???
In spite of all that pops into your head about a “cruise,” I really didn’t have a lot of free time.
Not once did I sit poolside drinking some wonderful tropical drink…
But, I did walk around the deck and enjoyed the sunset one evening…
…and, one morning, when we docked in Nassau, I got off the ship and zipped through the marketplace rather quickly.
The rest of the time, I worked on my messages (refining them) and filled 10, one-hour long counseling appointments over the course of three days.
One of the gals who attended, used an interesting word to describe the state of her soul, as she shared with her small group:
CRISPY
She said, “I feel crispy.”
I totally understood.
I’ve been crispy-in-soul before, and, in fact, I thought to myself as I went for a long walk this morning, “I am currently crispy, and in much need of simply doing mindless-duties.”
Or, better yet, no duties (but that’s rather impossible).
Let me explain “crispy.”
I have a food dehydrator, I love.
I grow my own herbs, and dry them in it, then use mortar and pestle to crush and fill my seasoning jars.
In the fall, we love dried apples and pears (particularly, the pears) as a healthy treat.
After sitting in the dry heat and “wind” of the dehydrator for hours, these things are CRISPY.
The WordBook dictionary defines CRISPY as, “dry and easily broken.”
I’ve definitely been on-the-go since mid-March…
The stuff which comprises my life can not be described as difficult (hot, dry, high winds), but it has left my heart, mind ?, soul, and strength a little bit crispy, and without some re-hydration from LIVING WATER ?, I put myself into a position where I can easily be broken.
GOOD NEWS for my little gal at the conference; GOOD NEWS for me; GOOD NEWS for you.
A little solo time with Jesus is the best way to drink, drink, drink of living water and re-hydrate for the purpose of renewal and re-use.
So, this morning, because I awoke before the sun did, I went for a walk and entered into the Presence of the Lord by simply singing along with a few worship songs.
I turned to an older playlist that I created back in about 2017, one I’ve kept adding to over the years, titled “Worship.”
These are the first three songs on that praise & worship list – they aren’t about “me” or my situation, just songs of praise about our King of Kings. I’ve attached a YouTube link for you to enjoy them yourselves
Gratitude. Brandon Lake.
Indescribable. Chris Tomlin.
Strong God. Meredith Andrews.
King of the World. Natalie Grant
Just making this intentional move into the Presence of my Savior and King, the process of re-hydration began.
I moved into a time of prayer, then thanksgiving for: the sunrise over the desert, the bunnies who froze in place (so I couldn’t see them – smile ?), the skittish quail scattering off with their little top-knots wagging, and, of course, the coffee that brings my Spidey-senses to high alert.
When I returned, I opened the Word of God, and HE SPOKE TO MY HEART ?, these words from Paul, the Apostle:
Crispy or not, there’s a secret to instantaneous rehydration – it’s called:
Alone-time with JesusPraise and WorshipPrayer and ThanksgivingListening for His VoiceReceiving His WordAll adds up to REHYDRATION!!!
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*the dry heat and winds of our life* that make us “crispy.”