July 24th, 2020
by Jason Huckabee
by Jason Huckabee
by Paul Cypert
Although it was November in the Central Plains of Texas, the sun was warm on my face. And as I walked slowly and quietly to the deer blind, I arrived, gear laden, weapon in hand with the rest of me warmed up.
Opening the small ports of the blind, the wind, prevalent to this area, wafted through this small chamber bringing with it the sounds and fragrance of the woods below. I settled in for the afternoon and with the push of an off button the temptation to text and check the weather was removed.
The weather would be exactly what it was going to be, and I was good with that.
The texting could wait.
As the world slowed around me, my thoughts settled on the night before and a meal of venison steak provided by a friend and his son, complete with veggies cooked over an open fire fueled by pecan wood. The venison harvested by my friend; the fire wood cut and split by myself.
All renewable, nothing from the store. There is something profoundly right about provision wrought from one’s own hands.
My mind easily slipped to a time long ago, where, as a young twenty something I sat at the kitchen table of an older gentleman with my Dake Annotated Reference Bible. Mr. Burk took the time to share God’s word and feed my hungry soul. Those evenings around his table, and there were many, sustained and nourished the new life inside me like tide water rising; gratefulness swelled in my emotions.
What an honor!
He’s long gone today, but the memories and the truths live on. Funny how when one slows down, what one’s thoughts rise or fall to!
The sun began to set. No deer that evening, just a young coyote strolled by and a flock of wild Rio Grande turkeys and as the night settled, so did the quietness.
As I reflect on life, it’s clear that most resist quietness and solitude. I think because the soul (thinking, feeling, will, beliefs, experiences, relationships, spirit) often falls to the dissonance of it and in our lives, as well as the world around us. Not to mention our constant need for busyness, entertainment and problem solving, but that need not be so.
Because, that dissonance, conflict, busyness is simply a plea for transcendence to a higher call, the call to its rightful place; That is to the Father and His world.
“A Christian is one who has God as Father,” so said J.I. Packer.
Perhaps C.S. Lewis described best our dilemma, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
One of my go to passages is Psalm 23 and specifically the first 3 verses:
23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
So much here, where would you begin? I’ll try a couple of points.
Verse 1: The Lord is my shepherd.
When we think shepherd, we think sheepherders. Not so, the word shepherd is pastor. A pastor leads and watches over the sheep.
I asked Ana my interpreter, years ago as I traveled through Mexico with her and Ernesto, her husband, “Why did they have donkeys or jack___s, your choice, in the fields with the sheep?”
She answered me by saying, “They are the pastors.”
Well, there you go!
So, here’s a question? Is the Lord your shepherd? Or have you replaced Him with someone or something else?
Jesus talked a lot about shepherds and sheep. He called Himself the good shepherd and said clearly, “My sheep hear my voice and follow me,” not the voice of a stranger.
I like how this resonates in my soul, ‘The Lord is my Pastor.’
Verse 3: He restores my soul.
That’s His work and as we become less distracted, less disturbed, less entertained, less busy, less ambitious, less greedy, less power hungry, our souls become quiet.
We naturally sense the rhythms of His grace, vibrations ebbing and flowing in the interior person. And the rhythms like a dance partner lead us to and into His presence.
Paul’s closing words in a letter to the Philippian church jump starts the restoration process of the soul.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell (think) on these things.
Point of fact, Paul, in the very next verse, says to practice this discipline of placing a boundary on the thought life; Thoughts that resonate.
This is not the passive approach that so many take today.
Be advised this takes, as Paul said, practice!
Let Nothing Disturb You,
Paul Cypert
Once a quarter, Paul leads a workshop called a Life Advance. One of the skills taught is Self-Management. All of us have an inner critic. It’s called by many names; the accuser, the saboteur, the negative self. We fall many times into being critical of ourselves – critical of others – critical of the world around us. The inner critic is the narrator of your thoughts who travels along with you throughout your life, lending its interpretation to your experiences. This Saboteur is not the negative thoughts we think; he is the source of those thoughts. This skill helps us bypass, censure, bind this critic/accuser and leads us to abundance and resonance.
Although it was November in the Central Plains of Texas, the sun was warm on my face. And as I walked slowly and quietly to the deer blind, I arrived, gear laden, weapon in hand with the rest of me warmed up.
Opening the small ports of the blind, the wind, prevalent to this area, wafted through this small chamber bringing with it the sounds and fragrance of the woods below. I settled in for the afternoon and with the push of an off button the temptation to text and check the weather was removed.
The weather would be exactly what it was going to be, and I was good with that.
The texting could wait.
As the world slowed around me, my thoughts settled on the night before and a meal of venison steak provided by a friend and his son, complete with veggies cooked over an open fire fueled by pecan wood. The venison harvested by my friend; the fire wood cut and split by myself.
All renewable, nothing from the store. There is something profoundly right about provision wrought from one’s own hands.
My mind easily slipped to a time long ago, where, as a young twenty something I sat at the kitchen table of an older gentleman with my Dake Annotated Reference Bible. Mr. Burk took the time to share God’s word and feed my hungry soul. Those evenings around his table, and there were many, sustained and nourished the new life inside me like tide water rising; gratefulness swelled in my emotions.
What an honor!
He’s long gone today, but the memories and the truths live on. Funny how when one slows down, what one’s thoughts rise or fall to!
The sun began to set. No deer that evening, just a young coyote strolled by and a flock of wild Rio Grande turkeys and as the night settled, so did the quietness.
As I reflect on life, it’s clear that most resist quietness and solitude. I think because the soul (thinking, feeling, will, beliefs, experiences, relationships, spirit) often falls to the dissonance of it and in our lives, as well as the world around us. Not to mention our constant need for busyness, entertainment and problem solving, but that need not be so.
Because, that dissonance, conflict, busyness is simply a plea for transcendence to a higher call, the call to its rightful place; That is to the Father and His world.
“A Christian is one who has God as Father,” so said J.I. Packer.
Perhaps C.S. Lewis described best our dilemma, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
One of my go to passages is Psalm 23 and specifically the first 3 verses:
23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
So much here, where would you begin? I’ll try a couple of points.
Verse 1: The Lord is my shepherd.
When we think shepherd, we think sheepherders. Not so, the word shepherd is pastor. A pastor leads and watches over the sheep.
I asked Ana my interpreter, years ago as I traveled through Mexico with her and Ernesto, her husband, “Why did they have donkeys or jack___s, your choice, in the fields with the sheep?”
She answered me by saying, “They are the pastors.”
Well, there you go!
So, here’s a question? Is the Lord your shepherd? Or have you replaced Him with someone or something else?
Jesus talked a lot about shepherds and sheep. He called Himself the good shepherd and said clearly, “My sheep hear my voice and follow me,” not the voice of a stranger.
I like how this resonates in my soul, ‘The Lord is my Pastor.’
Verse 3: He restores my soul.
That’s His work and as we become less distracted, less disturbed, less entertained, less busy, less ambitious, less greedy, less power hungry, our souls become quiet.
We naturally sense the rhythms of His grace, vibrations ebbing and flowing in the interior person. And the rhythms like a dance partner lead us to and into His presence.
Paul’s closing words in a letter to the Philippian church jump starts the restoration process of the soul.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell (think) on these things.
Point of fact, Paul, in the very next verse, says to practice this discipline of placing a boundary on the thought life; Thoughts that resonate.
This is not the passive approach that so many take today.
Be advised this takes, as Paul said, practice!
Let Nothing Disturb You,
Paul Cypert
Once a quarter, Paul leads a workshop called a Life Advance. One of the skills taught is Self-Management. All of us have an inner critic. It’s called by many names; the accuser, the saboteur, the negative self. We fall many times into being critical of ourselves – critical of others – critical of the world around us. The inner critic is the narrator of your thoughts who travels along with you throughout your life, lending its interpretation to your experiences. This Saboteur is not the negative thoughts we think; he is the source of those thoughts. This skill helps us bypass, censure, bind this critic/accuser and leads us to abundance and resonance.
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