In Quietness and Trust is Your Strength

Back from Part #1 of the Sabbatical, preparing to head out on Part #2.

For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said,

"In repentance and rest you will be saved,

In quietness and trust is your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

I am being wooed by Someone who knows me intimately and loves me deeply. The Lord is breathing new life into me and lifting me up in so many ways. God has made it clear why this sabbatical needs to be months instead of days or weeks. I was completely fried before Sabbatical Part #1. I am already in a much, much better "headspace" than I was, but God has far, far more ahead. Please keep praying that I will rest and receive in Sabbatical Part #2.

So much excellent input, so many pages of journaling, so many hours of prayer, but I know I have only begun to scratch the surface. So much to read, study, learn, and process. But what I need most right now is to just BE. Be a human being instead of a human doing. Be still and know that He is God.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

There are basically three parts to this extended spiritual sabbatical:

1.         Decompression—letting the tight springs uncoil, letting the dust settle, retreating to stillness.

2.         Receiving—exploring, learning, enjoying, and unpacking all God wants to give and teach me.

3.         Reentry—How does God want to use me in the next season of ministry? What is my voice to be?

I am actually still mostly in the decompression stage. Although there are truly wonderful blessings along the way, this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. God keeps saying, “Stop. Don’t rush this. There is a reason why I am giving you months instead of days or weeks.” A quote shared by a friend has been so helpful: "Don't reach the conclusion until you come to the conclusion".

Jesus’ fingerprints are all over this sabbatical. God is sending me back to the most meaningful places in my life. He is assigning some of my favorite locations. He is giving me precious silence, ocean, mountains, wildlife, and sprinkling this sabbatical with wonderful friends and other strategic encounters along the way.

I am only able to do this because of the amazing, incredible, stunning generosity of friends who have opened their homes for me to use, given toward this sabbatical, helped me with complicated travel logistics, and provided in so many ways for this much needed prayer pilgrimage. How can I ever thank you?

A huge thank you to the Sabbatical Prayer Team who have listened and prayed for me through the highs and lows and wows and blessings and bumps of this journey so far. Having this family behind me has helped me process each step and has reassured me on so many levels to know that people are consistently praying for me.

Hang tight and stay tuned: I will be back in November (which will be here before we know it). I’m excited to see how God will use this sabbatical to teach all of us. In the meantime, I have to share this song again, since it keeps echoing in my head: https://youtu.be/qbEB0QFsqN8 

Jesus draw me ever nearer,

As I labor through the storm.

You have called me to this passage,

And I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;

Keep my spirit staid and sure.

When the midnight meets the morning,

Let me love You even more.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Let the treasures of the trial

Form within me as I go

And at the end of this long passage,

Let me leave them at Your throne.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

(Keith Getty / Margaret Ellen Becker)

May this journey bring a blessing to ALL of us.

Much love,

Linda

Hitting the Pause Button

Hi friends:

Getting ready to leave on sabbatical. A million details to finish before I leave. And a million other details will be left unfinished because there is no such thing as closure in ministry. I’m hitting the pause button so I can reboot and return with renewed energy, vision, and strength. 

I’m

• Eager

• Scared

• Depleted

• Exhausted

• Overwhelmed

• Ready to hear from God

• Longing to linger at Jesus’ feet

• Excited to see what the Lord has for all of us

This is not a vacation, although I will be in some beautiful places and with some beloved friends and family. I will walk in a rhythm of solitude, community, and ministry. God will set the agenda.

There will be

• Glorious rest

• Divine appointments

• Dark nights of the soul

• Hours of reading and study

• Blissful enjoyment of creation

• Deep connection with Scripture

• Pages upon pages of journaling

• Peace that passes understanding

• Struggles that knock my hip out of joint

• Hilarious encounters with various people and animals

• Precious gifts from God for me alone that I will treasure in my heart

• Stories and teaching and experiences and photos that I will bring back and share with all of you

Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;

All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

Psalm 42:7

I need to pull away to align my soul with the frequency of that still small voice. Sometimes God is in the strong wind. Sometimes God is in the earthquake. Sometimes God is in the fire. Sometimes God is in the sound of a gentle blowing.

So He said, " Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-14)

I am praying that this prayer pilgrimage will be a blessing for all of us. Thank you for your patience, flexibility, support, encouragement, prayers, friendship, companionship, participation, and believing in what Psalm One Ministries is all about.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. (Romans 1:8-12)

May we all be strengthened by this adventure!

Grace and peace,

Linda

May This Journey Bring a Blessing

Greetings from a full desk:

Tackling stacks of ministry details and preparing to leave on an extended sabbatical. So much to do before I hit the pause button.

With everything going on in the world, this doesn’t look like a good time to go anywhere. But this window of opportunity  is all I have, so I am stepping forward. If I am ever going to do this, the time is now. Why on earth would I go on a sabbatical now?

I want to finish strong.

I can take this sabbatical and return rested, renewed, strengthened from time spent at Jesus’ feet. I can go away to rest, write, read, study, pray, seek, reboot, refuel, and replenish. I can pull away as Jesus did, then minister far more effectively out of God’s agenda, God’s Spirit, God’s power.

Or I can quit.

But He won’t let me.

And I don’t want to quit.

I don’t believe God is done with me, or with the work of Psalm One Ministries.

The last few years have taken quite a toll with illness, caring for and losing both parents, and the stressful, toxic, and combative upheaval in the world and the Church. I don’t know how many years I have left, but I’m fairly sure there are more years behind me than ahead of me. I want to use the them well to invest in eternity.

• I don't want to serve out of the meager dregs of an empty well. I want to pour out from rivers of living water.

• I don't want to teach from my limits and flesh. I want to be an arrow pointing to the Almighty God.

• I don’t want to lead from a place of exhaustion. I want to help people hold onto the Lord of Life.

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:4-5)

This song continually echoes through my head. https://youtu.be/qbEB0QFsqN8 

Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer (May This Journey)

by Joanna Carlson, Margaret Becker, and Moya Brennan

Jesus draw me ever nearer,

As I labor through the storm.

You have called me to this passage,

And I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;

Keep my spirit staid and sure.

When the midnight meets the morning,

Let me love You even more.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Let the treasures of the trial

Form within me as I go

And at the end of this long passage,

Let me leave them at Your throne.

May this journey bring a blessing,

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)

May I finish strong. May I be found faithful. May this journey be a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith, and may I take you all with me.

Much love,

Linda

Sabbatical:

I need a team of faithful people who will travel with me (vicariously—Do not start packing!) and pray for my time with Jesus, safety, all the logistics. In return, you might be blessed and possibly entertained by occasional emails from the road, which might include wacky stories of weird adventures, divine appointments, whispers from God, and a photo or two. If you are willing to pray, reply with “Sabbatical Prayer Team”.

I will be using my savings and donations from people who want to invest in this sabbatical. To give toward this journey: https://www.psalmone.org/donate  Be sure to choose sabbatical from the drop-down screen or otherwise indicate. Checks should be made out to Psalm One Ministries and mailed to the address below.  We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization so all contributions are tax deductible.

Psalm One:

We need financial support to continue the work of Psalm One. God continues to open doors and use us to teach the Word and strengthen believers. Please keep investing in our ongoing ministry: https://www.psalmone.org/donate 

New Dates!

2023 Pastors’ Wives Soul Care Retreats

We have just returned from the most incredible “Sisterhood of the Fishbowl” Soul Care Retreat ever! Absolutely tremendous. God met us and lifted us in so many ways. What an amazing time of prayer, the Word, friendship, sharing, encouragement, rest, and so much laughter my face still hurts.

https://www.psalmone.org/pastors-wives

• February 3-5 Cincinnati, Ohio

• February 24-26 Green Lake, Wisconsin

• November 3-5 Location TBA

2023 Refocus and Refuel Retreats—Cincinnati, OH

For men and women: https://www.psalmone.org/refocus-and-refuel

• March 3-5

• May 5-7

• September 15-17

• November 17-19

Note: Dates may change and events will be added as my schedule shapes up, and other logistics shift. If we’ve learned one thing in the last two years, it’s being flexible. “Instead, you ought to say, ’If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’" (James 4:15)

See you somewhere along the journey.

Linda Kline

Psalm One Ministries

6344 Inverness Way

Mason, OH 45040-2053

513-226-0025

gtlinda7@gmail.com

www.psalmone.org

For Donations:

P.O. Box 653

Mason, OH 45040-9998