Welcome to Journeys In Grace! Today I am embarking on a new exciting addition with you and a few other brave hearts who are joining up for an on-line book club with Emily Wierenga and her memoir, Atlas Girl.       I am so glad you are here!

the power of his voice


 

Emily Wierenga poured her heart into a collection of words that follow her trail of discovery all over the world.  She is a gentle soul whose words weave the reader through the journeys she has traveled, inviting us to feel the cardiac pulsation of her living. Her story touches lives because it is real and it reveals a path to the Savior.

This book, Atlas Girl, it fascinated me even before I opened its cover to ingest the beauty inside. I was eager to see through her eyes, because I had been following her words as she penned them on her blog and facebook. Her  passion to bleed His love touched me. I wanted to read more.

And then the book club started. Excited to begin barely touched the emotion I felt welling up. I was ready for the gentle journey that may take me away from the mundane of each day as I got to meet someone new through their words. I wanted to follow her story and catch a bit of this heart-hope that she shares because a body longs to connect with others who are seeking hope, too. There is something about this pilgrimage that makes you want to be seen, to be heard, to be felt.

So I stopped to absorb and learn. I soaked up weighted words and paused to hear her voice speaking. And then there were questions for us to consider. Thoughts to share and ponder, possibilities to find our own voice, she said, to find our words to share with others.

It makes sense this seeking to spend words, as we reflect on His promises. His Word is alive and powerful.. so sharp that it divides the soul from the spirit and the joint from the marrow. (Heb4:12) His Word, sown deep into the recess of the heart is the patter we follow as His own. We become the word-weavers sowing our voice, resonating praise through each syllable lifted… or typed. Prompted by her challenge to share this voice in a new way, today I seek to here that quiet voice and pause to be filled.

 

 

Every moment bears precious worth when spent upon God,

Timelessness does not convey the transcendent weight it holds.

Mountains will crumble and valleys bend low

as our hearts yield in wonder and awe.

Surrounding each thought, bathing each word,

blending them both in the light of love,

In His presence is the fullness of time,

Your today and tomorrow secure.

Come brave ones,

You tired and hurting…Undone..

Come let him speak to the walls you have built.

Heed the call…listen to the Voice.

Pause as you wait to be filled.

 

 
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atlas girl book club graphic

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS :

  1. Have you felt your own voice was taken away from you or silenced, and if so, did it ever return?

For me, talking was a connection to my own thoughts, yet I was painfully shy as a child. Not with family, but with others.  My ability to use or hide my voice always depended up on my location and comfort. It wasn’t until I was an adult, really, that I felt confident enough to say those things that I really wanted to say.  It was after I met Jesus that I understood that my words were power-filled and I needed to heed that gift, because I would be accountable for them.

  1. Do you have a quiet spirit, or an extroverted one? What have you noticed about how the world treats introverted people, and how has this affected YOU personally?

I am certainly not an extrovert by nature, and my tank gets filled up when I am alone more than when I am with people.  I love people but I am intimidated by crowds. I think because I am wired for intimate relationship, you know one on one, with people. Connecting on the surface is just never really enough, I want to know that we are connecting when I talk with someone, deeply. 

Sometimes my need to connect, really connect, with others has allowed me to step into paths that I wasn’t meant to travel because I chose to please people.  I think that the world often sees introverted people in ways that miss the beauty of their personality, because we tend to judge what we see rather than invest time to discover what is underneath. 

  1. How does it make you feel to know the God of the Universe speaks in a quiet voice and that He tells us to “Be still and know I am God”?

Psalm 46:10…. I love this admonition of promise that He has given us.  Knowing that He is faithful to always complete that which He calls (1 Thes 5:23-24) reminds me this verse is a promise to my heart that I need to pause and pay attention to because when I do He will speak.  His quiet approach is that of a gentleman, always alert and watching to meet us, capture us with the splendor of His glory in ways that reveal the beauty of His character. It  always takes my breath away when I hear that gentle whisper breeze blowing truth in my heart and I recognize His presence.

  1. You have a heavenly father who honors your spirit: whether you’re naturally boisterous or you prefer to sit back and listen—all he asks is that you take time to hear HIS voice and obey His call on your life (thereby tuning out the noise of the world). How does knowing this affect how you view your personality?

This call of walking obediently is the key to hearing His voice correctly. Each time we listen and obey, we fine tune our ears to hear that calm, gentle, soothing voice more and more. There is no questioning if it was His voice because it is the one and only thing that brings the peace that passes all understanding with  it.  If there is no peace, there is  a guarantee that it is not Him. Even in the midst of the difficult situations, His peace fully sustains me.

 

 

Linking up with Emily at Imperfect Prose and the AtlasGirlBookClub 

Each week Emily is providing a link up here.  I encourage you to join along and find the promise of hope that is hidden  in the words you are called to share.