A Good Word Wednesday #13

Good Words, Encouragement, and Hope for you today

Word of the Week

But first, a follow up from last week’s word: Change

Thank you Patty W., for reminding me about this quote:

“Be the change you want to be in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

Can’t believe I forgot to note these powerful good words. I even have the quote on a t-shirt:

Did you think of other good words or quotes about change you want to share?

Now, for this week’s good words: REST/SLEEP

As I was considering which word to highlight this week, I read the same scripture in two separate books about sleep on the same day. It got my attention.

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
    for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Psalm 127:2 ESV

And another good one from the Psalms about sleep:

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” Psalm 3:5: NIV

That sounds lovely… sweet, deep, long sleep. Honestly, I’m a bad sleeper. I wake up multiple time in the night. (If you are a woman of a certain age, you are well aware of the joys of wonky hormones.) I allow worries to creep in and keep my brain turning when it should be still. One thing that works for me on many nights is prayer. It allows my breathing to slow and my brain to attune to God and not attend to tomorrow’s “To Do” list.

I am not from a faith tradition that uses liturgy during public or private worship. But sometimes, I read liturgical prayers constructed with good words that strike a cord with me. This one, found in the Book of Common Prayer, is a short nightly prayer. It is one that brings comfort and peace and one I plan to memorize:

“Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.”

What scriptures or prayers help you sleep in peace?

And then when we awake refreshed to a new day, we can know, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Words I Recommend

1. Speaking of worship, I LOVE when our music at my church includes our cello player. When Haley plays, my eyes automatically shut and I just absorb the music. The deep notes and soothing soulful sounds simply lead me to a quiet solitary place, even though I’m surrounded by people. So, here is what is speaking to me this week, even though there are no good words, actually no words at all, in this instrumental collection. I searched on Spotify for cello music to play as I work or play before bedtime. I found Christian Cello - Calm, Soft & Peaceful. Search for yourself and find comfort in the moody tones of the cello.

2. While you are on Spotify, take time to listen to: From Bondage to Freedom, Episode 3: Courage to Break Free. Michele Rickett, She Is Safe CEO, tells the heroic stories of rescues, including her own.

3. Watch Michele share from her heart the purpose of She Is Safe and tell her story in her own good words. Click on the beautiful, new SIS film: She Is Safe story

4. A new book I’m looking forward to reading soon: Start with Hello: (And Other Simple Ways to Live as Neighbors) by Shannan Martin. She has written other books I’ve enjoyed including The Ministry of Ordinary Places. I feel like her new book will align with the ideas I’m including in my unpublished book, Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life from your Neighborhood to the Nations. I advocate starting with an introduction and learning someone’s name. Take a look at Shannan’s new book here: Amazon link for Start with Hello

5. A good blog that explores greatness. Stories for Global Good "Of Random Greatness" . This blog, from the archives of Stories for Global Good, was written in October 2020. It records this good quote,

   “Knowing that God is always compassionate, always king, and always loving in response to uncertainty in the world releases us from the fear that God will not come through during chaos and turmoil. We are most safe not when the details of life seem perfectly ordered, but when we are listening for the still, small voice of the I AM in the messy mundane of the everyday.” — Searching for Certainty, Shelly Miller

A Final Word

I will be traveling in a few days to Atlanta. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends I’ve worked with at She Is Safe through the years. I will be supporting their work by attending their annual gala on Friday evening.

I will stay over until Monday and spend some time in the office with Michele, Katy, and others as we share time in person, and not virtually on a computer screen. We will do some work (I’m writing a variety of documents for them), some dreaming, and most likely, share a few stories and a few laughs. I appreciate your prayers for travel mercies and the ability to share encouraging words at opportune times with those good people immersed in the ongoing need to shine light in the darkest places.

Until next week, share a good word with someone today.

Thank you for taking time to read my words.

Grateful for you. Have a great week.

P.S. - I’m in the thinking phase of creating a new website that features my writing and upcoming projects. Stay tuned.

P.S.S. — I’ve created a new writer facebook page, but haven’t done much with it yet. I will let you know when it’s ready for viewing. More news soon.