Author Archives

Norma L. Brumbaugh

Inspirational Writer, Author, and Speaker

PO Box 6432, Chico, CA 95927
nlbrumbaugh@gmail.com

Keep a smile in your heart.

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You Must Separate Your Thoughts from Your Feelings

God loves you and wants to free you from the chains that entangle your soul. It may be that all you do is worship God and stand in amazement before Him, praising Him and singing your gratitude. That, alone, will enrich your soul big time.

But sometimes, it is not so easy to go deep with God

There are times when you may be feeling down and discouraged, unable to even utter a peep. You have not the energy. Maybe you are grieving a loss. You may not speak one word. You don’t have to say anything. You are not alone, you just feel alone. But you still will want to reach out to God and rest in His presence.

You sit there in the silence.

You are unable to remove the cloak of darkness you are wearing. The sad emotion hovers and fails to break free or dissipate. You remain sitting, but you absorb. God is there with you. His presence is comforting. The Holy Spirit ministers to you and there are whispers of refreshment. God ministers to you in your brokenness.

A week ago that happened to me.

I sat alone in a small, knotty-pine and cinder block, monastery chapel. My heart was heavy with concern and emotion. For one whole hour I prayed and contemplated and wrote but was unable to commune with God as much as I wished. My mind felt blank. I chose to speak words of praise and then I sat quietly in the stillness. Comfort gathered me in her embrace and I felt the peace of God wrap around me like a soft, flannel blanket. I went away glad that I had been there.

Despair remained and would not lift.

One day later I tried again to lift the veil and receive from God. I spent over an hour in my church’s sanctuary, praying and meditating for the same concern and praying for people in my local church assembly.

This time the words flowed.

My words of praise lifted to God. Every moment had a sense of God being fully present with me. My prayers were alive and totally focused.

What was the difference this time?

I don’t know except that I was pushing it through until I received relief and knew God’s presence in a real and comforting way.

I was seeking God’s truth until I could access it.

I cannot leave myself in limbo when it comes to spiritual matters, too much is at stake. Even though I have been at this many years, there are still times when I stumble and get it all wrong. We are emotional creatures. None of this surprises God. He holds our hand and guides us through the difficulty.

Our reactions can be all over the place.

When it comes to personal, interpersonal, and spiritual concerns, our emotional side and our intellectual side do not always see the situation the same. We want to latch onto the emotions, when we really should think through the situation by asking ourselves what is true, and what is the best possible solution. Separating our thoughts  from our feelings must be carefully managed. Each needs to be put in its proper place. What we know to be true is not always what we feel is true. Does this make sense?

Feelings must not drive the conversation.

Feelings are not wrong. We should never discount someone’s feelings, not even our own. However, sometimes feelings lie to us or distort the truth. When we take time to sort through our thoughts and look at them objectively, it will help us find a proper solution. I often ask God to show me what is true, because I can’t always discern what is true in a specific situation.

This is a mental exercise a person must equip themselves to do.

There are problems to work through that always benefit from an ability to sort and place the issues into the appropriate categories, thought and feeling. Feelings can hijack the appropriate action and cause us to react, which drives an emotionally heightened action.

Most of us have experienced this at one time or another.

Maybe we’ve written something we shouldn’t have, or spoken something we wish we could take back i.e. I wish I could eat my words! By thinking what is true in the situation, there will be greater clarity even in spiritually related topics and situations.

Much in life is a thinking game.

By thinking what is true in the situation, there will be clarity even in spiritually related topics and situations. For example, when we think it through and separate thought out from our feelings, we can then identify when a slight from someone else was not a rejection of us but was motivated by the other person’s own self-issues flaring up. We may feel betrayed when they meant nothing of the sort. The other person may have been defensive, argumentative, and aggressive or they may have been expressing the view from their own perspective and we took offense to it. This is why it is helpful to figure it out.

Feelings say it is all about you.

Truth tells you what is or what is not the true. You have to sort the truth out. Is it about opinion or is it more about them, or your differences of opinion? What am I really looking at? What is this?

What do I need to know?

I knew all that at the time, but it wasn’t helping much because the situation was complicated and involved. As I thought it through, with God’s help, I could see where I needed to change my attitude in particular areas. My feelings were dictating my reactions, consequently, they were imploding my sense of spiritual well-being. Even though I had tried, I could not completely let the thing go.

I went to God because He knows what I don’t know.

God knows what is best. He knows how to help us see what we need to see. I did not like the distance the problem had created in my spiritual life and with those who trust me as a spiritual leader and friend. I didn’t know what to do, and I , in honesty, told this to God. It is always best to be honest with God even when it makes you look bad. I’m convinced of that.

Yet God is helping me with this process.

I was leaning into Him. When something is wrong, you can’t just ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t exist. You must deal with yourself first, and then worry about others. (Parents, heed this) God directs our thoughts in a way that we can process spiritually and internally.

God’s Word speaks, and we draw upon it.

He uses godly people to speak truth to us.  God’s meeting me in the sanctuary is perfect proof that He is part of the solution. My time in the chapel cleared the way, opened the door. The communing with God came the next day in the church’s sanctuary.

What joy this brings to me.

Having a time of meditation is not a slam dunk. There are always deep-seated aspects to pause and consider. In the quietness I am able to slow down. I seek God and He meets me there. I praise Him and thank Him.

Get your praise on!

Seek God’s face. Know God’s love. Embrace God’s grace.

 

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Silent . Sacred . Space: The Secret Joy of Time Alone with God (5)

The Awe of Sacred Space

Her eyes alight in awe as she gazes into the globe. It is magical, like a winter snow scene in Toyland. The coordinated moving parts of each tiny figure, delight her. The train, as it moves in a figure eight, blows it whistle and chugs its pattern. She follows its movement as she takes it all in: the falling snow, the street lights, the horse and carriage, a church with carolers in muffs, top hats, scarves and waist-coats and singing Christmas cheer. The scene is from a different era and it is enchanting. Her parents, watching her, smile with matching delight, transfixed with the beauty of the moment as they watch the child’s wonderment. The moment is surreal, precious, one to be remembered and cherished.

One could cry.

The child remains transfixed by the mesmerizing scene. Her childish thoughts take her to that place inside the glass sphere where all is peaceful and quaint. Like entering a Thomas Kinkade painting, she wishes she could step into its scene to play in the snow, sing carols with the carolers, sit in the white-steepled church, stroke the horse’s mane, look up at the street lamps, and feel snowflakes dampen her face. The girl’s long sandy-colored hair falls forward in gentle wisps, resting on the curved glass as she remains still. Her winter nightwear is cozy, warm, soft to the touch. It is evening now and bedtime for her, but she can’t bring herself to leave the spot where her feet are anchored; not now, not with the magic in the globe calling to her, beckoning her into its silent joy.

You are like that child, your eyes open wide in wonder.

Gifts soon to be discovered now await you, compelling you to see them, saying to you, look here, isn’t this lovely? They are calling out to you to enter this place of enchanting silence, where you have never been before. You look around about you, soaking in the cathedral of beauty; the valley oak trees, the daffodils raising their heads to the sun, the hawks flying in the sky. You know it in your heart, this is something special. If only it could be real. If only it could be what it claims to be; if only it were possible like a tiny slice of heaven. If only one could keep this moment forever in the hollow of God’s hand. But it can’t be true. No, you think not. God does not work like that; we cannot enter His presence in the silence even if we wanted to, and we do want to, or even in the middle of His creation on a mountain bluff.

Or can we?

Does God allow His children to enter into His world, to see a little glimpse of His beauty, of Who He is? You think not, still not convinced that you can enter that imaginary place where special things happen to those who seek it. What would that be like?

It would be amazing.

Unlike the young child who cannot enter the snow scene, you, instead, are given the hidden opportunity to discover what seems highly improbable, impossible and totally unimaginable, which may, after all, be probable, highly imaginable and utterly possible.  God is eager for relationship and He can be met in the silence, in the quiet place, in the prayer that seeks His face to know Him. Only those who partake of its secrets can really know this is true. That is what we are here for, to show and partake of that which is real, genuine, and beautiful.  What you observe and seek is obtainable. The wonder can be yours. The delight can be experienced. God, the Father, the divine Parent in residence, is the benevolent Giver Who can make this happen for His children. He meets us where we’re at when we are ready to seek Him with our whole heart.

God desires relationship with His children.

* * *

 I invite you to enter a secret, silent, sacred space; a preserved, quiet, holy time. Miracles happen in this place, and you are part of the miracle. God has been waiting for you to unwrap His gift; you have only to request it. He offers you more than you have ever wanted before because this time you are asking to be put into the scene, into the story, your story, into the place where God makes things happen for people who live centered in Him. You are on the cusp of a game-changer, where spiritual life meets human life and creates a vital new dynamic. It doesn’t seem possible? You’re right, miracles never seem possible.

But some dreams do come true.

Come along and look inside the globe, see the secret, sacred place where God is found. Experience the love of Him and all that He offers to teach you and to give you. Best of all, you will get to know Him as a caring parent who has your best interest at heart. God desires to know you and for you to know Him in a deep and profound way through the gift of relationship, in a child with Parent relationship, a human with Divine relationship, or as an unsure struggler in a loving Redeemer relationship.

. . .