Awesome. Not just some awe. Lots of awe.

I’ve been on a Prayer Pilgrimage…

What's a prayer pilgrimage? An extended, intentional, unhurried, uninterrupted time of prayer, contemplation on the Word, journaling, and resting at Jesus’s feet--preferably somewhere remote with more animals than humans. I occasionally need to be out of “ministry mode” for a prayer pilgrimage in order to be renewed for ministry.

“Silence your body to listen to words

Silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts

Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating

Silence your heart to listen to your spirit

Silence your spirit to listen to His spirit

In silence, you leave many to be with the One.”

Mama Maggie Gobran

This journey was in Alaska. Those of you who’ve been there know Alaska is stunning, spectacular, and larger than life. But I think the word that describes it for me is AWE.

We have diminished the word awe by calling everything awesome. Graeter’s ice cream is awesome (and it is). This shirt is awesome. That basketball game was awesome. Awesome parking space. Awesome new shampoo.

But genuine awe halts me when I see something that could only be the creation of God. I am immediately reminded that I am not in charge—and Someone else is. There is Someone far greater who sits on His throne, who is not forgetful, overwhelmed, or worried, or wringing his hands. As I wandered around Alaska with my Bible and journal, I was awestruck, stopped in my tracks by the work and presence of God. Moved to silence, stillness, tears, worship, confession, singing, celebration, even dancing (when no one could see me). Training to be attentive. To read about Jesus as I travel through His creation. To pour out my heart before God and record His whispers as I listen. To watch a bear by a stream or an enormous moose munching in the meadow. To befriend a 2500 pound stellar sea lion. To join the early morning bald eagles by the water. Everything points to a Creator and Redeemer. Everything points to the glory of God. This is what renews my soul. It leaves me in awe, being still and knowing that He is God.

Photography has become a powerful spiritual practice for me. Photos can never do justice to the splendor. Photos cannot capture the beauty of Alaska. But photography slows me down and helps me become attentive. I share photos with you in hopes that they might inspire awe, hope, joy, reverence, fun, smiles, beauty, and something of the reality of God.

These pilgrimages help bolster a genuine unshakable joy that gets me through the dark days, the hard times, the conflict, and splintering. I remember the moment on last year’s sabbatical when I looked in the mirror and realized the light had finally returned to my eyes. I have a lot of brothers and sisters right now whose light has been dimmed for so many different reasons. I want the light to return to our eyes. At the end of the sabbatical, I heard God saying the sabbatical is not over. Weave it into your life.

How do I keep following Jesus on this a long obedience in the same direction? Life can wear us down. This adventure was a spiritual shot in my arm, but life is not lived on the mountaintop. Walking with Jesus is 99% hidden, invisible, long-term, and ordinary. We need to build the things into our lives that will keep our heart alive no matter what hits it. I need rhythms and patterns of solitude, community, and ministry in my life. I personally need a prayer pilgrimage, a weekly Sabbath, spiritual practices that fuel my soul, and friends with whom I can discuss the deep things of God.

Do you want any of these woven into your life? Join me.

• Could your soul use some feeding? Some rest? Do you need to let the dust settle? Come away with me to a beautiful and quiet setting in Cincinnati for the September 22-24 for a Refocus and Refuel Retreat. For Men and Women. More info and to register: https://www.psalmone.org/refocus-and-refuel  NOTE: I’ve been out of commission and running behind, so Early Bird pricing is extended until Monday, September 11th.

• Could you use some time in the Word and some encouragement to keep your head, heart, and hands following hard after God? Join us on Tuesdays: https://www.psalmone.org/tuesday-night-bible-study For Men and Women.

So grateful for my team on the prayer pilgrimage. Once again, thank you for coming along, for listening, and for praying.

Much love,

Linda

P.S. I am going to start selling some of my photos, so you will be able to hang one of your favorites on your wall. Let me know if you would like the details as soon as I get it set up.

My Alaskan friend warned me I might not see any wildlife at all. I only saw grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, goats, muskoxen, sandhill cranes, swans, beluga whales, harbor seals, orcas (Killer whales), bald eagles, stellar sea lions, tufted puffins, guillemots, willow ptarmigans, porcupines, horned puffins, cormorants, sea otters, humpback whales, Arctic ground squirrels, greater yellowlegs, and other assorted creatures.

A pair of cleats?

Been thinking a lot about what it means to be a paraclete, to need a paraclete, and to paraclete one another.

(Before I go any further, I apologize to all my Greek scholar friends as I anglicize “paraclete” as a noun and verb. I hope this doesn't cause you to twitch too much.)

Parakaleo: “to call to one’s side, exhort, console, comfort, encourage, alleviate grief, intercede, help.”

We immediately think of the word as used to describe the amazing Holy Spirit and everything He does in our lives. I love returning to the Farewell Discourse (John 14-17) as Jesus tells us about the essential Helper. But it is also the perfect description of how we live out the “one anothers” of Scripture.

How can I be a paraclete? What do I bring to the table? What fish and loaves can I contribute to the body of Christ and to a world in need? What gifts do I bring?  A lot of hungry seekers and new believers are trying to figure out what it means to know and follow Jesus. How can I come alongside and paraclete those who want to grow?

For many of us--both individually and in community--we are coming out of a rough period. Some people are deconstructing their faith. Some people are reconstructing their faith. Some people are doing some much-needed remodeling and tweaking. How can I be a friend who is willing to sit alongside someone’s wrestling on the roller coaster?

Coming alongside. Continually inviting and encouraging people to experience a closer connection to Jesus. Not pushing someone to fit my mold. Not dragging someone along who is not ready. Offering the “hug and slug” we all need to keep us from straying like sheep.

“We urge (paraclete) you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thess 5:14)

Opening the Word, not to beat someone up with it, but to let God do the judging and nudging. Inviting people to taste and see that the Lord is good. We have been studying Matthew on Tuesday nights and I have learned so much from watching Jesus interact with people. If the people in the Bible study are learning a tenth of what I am, we will be changed.

“O magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt His name together.” (Psalm 34:3)

I am so blessed to be in community with people who support, encourage, and point me to Jesus. It's far too easy to slip into apathy and lose our focus. I keep saying it: We need one another. This life stuff can be challenging. Don’t try this alone.

“Therefore encourage (paraclete) one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thess 5:11)

Much love,

Linda

• The Cincinnati Refocus and Refuel Retreat is coming up soon--September 22-24. This is for Men and Women, anyone who desires a closer walk with Jesus. Everyone is welcome, but this getaway is especially worthwhile for those in ministry to pull away and make sure everything we're doing FOR God is OF God. Space is limited and the Early Bird rate ends September 7. For more information and to register: https://www.psalmone.org/refocus-and-refuel

• For friends Down Under: I will be returning to Australia and New Zealand to minister in 2024. If you are interested in sponsoring and hosting a Refocus and Refuel Retreat (48-hour soul care retreat), a Day of Refreshing (6-hour retreat), teaching, speaking, consulting, or other ministry for men and women, please contact me to discuss the possibilities.

Prayer Pilgrimage

Hi friends:

Five years ago (has it really been that long?), my father was declining quickly in the devastating last stages of Alzheimer's. I was driving 200 miles round trip once or twice a week, helping my sister care for both aging parents. (We lost Mom at the end of 2020.) My whole life was compressed into two packed sections: Psalm One Ministries and the ministry of caring for my struggling parents. In the midst of some of the hardest days of my life (I know so many of you have been there), I heard God saying, "Come away with me." My first response was, "No way. I can't. Can't you see I'm totally overwhelmed with everything going on here?" But He kept calling, beckoning, inviting me away. To a remote place. To a place with more animals than people. To a place near the sea. To extended silence, uninterrupted companionship, and unhurried time at Jesus' feet. To a place where He and I could wander in prayer far away from the unrelenting stress, grief, and exhaustion of my life here.

Life has a way of reminding us that we are not in control. Our limitations, failures, and disappointments teach us that we are not all that and a bag of chips. Things happen every day that were never on my agenda. Some waves threaten to overwhelm us. Some of life is just incredibly painful no matter how you cut it.

I would not have survived 2018 without that prayer pilgrimage. God knows me intimately, and knows exactly what I need for the days ahead. I took another prayer pilgrimage in 2019 and planned another in 2020—which I will finally embark on in August. This has become a non-negotiable aspect of what I need to do the ministry. If I am going to invite others into solitude, silence, and life-giving renewal, I need to respond to that invitation myself. My ministry must flow out of a place of surrender if I am to pour out Jesus instead of Linda.

What have I learned through these prayer pilgrimages?

• He is El Roi, the God Who Sees.

• There is one Savior, and it is not me.

• We can too easily become a ministry machine or an empty shell in the midst of a world full of urgent, loud, and conflicting demands.

• God reigns in eternity, and He is fully capable of running the world without me for a while when I step away to sharpen the saw and let him do a few necessary renovations.

• I serve an indescribably amazing God of extraordinary love, mercy, compassion, power, creativity, humor, rest, and power.

A prayer pilgrimage is not a vacation. I love fun getaways with friends, but this is intentional time alone with Jesus. It's not a holiday. It is a long obedience in the same direction. It is choosing extended silence and solitude, seeking God, and following Him as the dust settles in my life and I surrender to His open-heart surgery. It is filling all my tanks for the journey ahead.  In many ways, it is a fast from all the scaffolding that is not God. It will most likely involve some dark nights of the soul, heart-rending loneliness, transforming work in the spirit, deep study, much-needed insights, indescribable joy, amazing encounters, exploding worship, divine appointments, and perhaps a few hilarious stories.

Please pray:

• For travel logistics, safety on planes, trains, automobiles, boats, and especially out on the rugged road.

• For provision. It's really expensive to travel alone, but that's kind of the point of all of this.

• For my health. I have several limitations and chronic conditions that can be a challenge on the best of days, but especially thousands of miles away from home.

• For meaningful and delightful encounters with people, animals, and especially with Jesus.

• As some are aware, I know you should not approach wildlife, but wildlife doesn't know it should not approach me. I tend to have lots of close encounters of the animal kind. Pray for safety with whatever I encounter that may have fur, fins, flippers, feathers, or fangs. What could possibly go wrong in the wilds of Alaska?

• For a few special photo ops as I wander with my camera, journal, and Bible. My good camera died on the sabbatical, so I have coughed up for a new one. Photography has become a powerful spiritual practice for me, and the photos may provide some joy to others.

• As I trust God for His next marching orders. Where might He be calling me next? What open doors of ministry might He have for me? What invitations lie ahead? How can I share what He has given me? How might He use my teaching, writing, photography, discipleship, counseling, consulting, and connections?

• That I will attentively listen to the Lord--that I will hear Him and obey.

On the road again…

Grace and peace,

Linda

I realize most of you are unable to pull away for an extended prayer pilgrimage like this. God is probably not calling you to do it. It may also sound absolutely horrible or so boring to some of you. Part of my goal is always to bring some of the lessons and treasures back to you vicariously through the Bible studies, retreats, soul care, speaking, teaching, writings, scripture pictures, and wacky "tales from the road". So please join us as with come alongside one another in this adventure of living in the Kingdom. All Psalm One events (except for pastors’ wives gatherings) are for men and women, lay and clergy, single and married, any age, anyone who desires to draw closer to Jesus.

Psalm One opportunities:

Ø  Join us for your own mini prayer pilgrimage at the Refocus and Refuel Retreat. A semi-silent getaway for Men and Women. September 22-24 or November 17-19 in Cincinnati. (Spoiler alert for the Aussies and Kiwis: Lord willing, Down Under in 2024.) Your own room plus acres of beautiful creation to roam. Time, space, silence, teaching, spiritual direction, and rest as we respond to Jesus 's grand invitation of grace. Spending time at Jesus’ feet individually and together. Don't be intimidated if you've never done anything like this before. You will have materials, direction, and the encouragement of others who are seeking God with you. My prayer is always, “Lord meet us where we are and take us where we need to be.” For more information and to register: https://www.psalmone.org/refocus-and-refuel

“Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone amidst non-stop interruptions? It was so refreshing to have the opportunity to listen to God's speak through His Word without interruption and pour my heart out to Him in prayer! I came home feeling light at having given the burdens of my heart to the Lord!”

Ø  Every Tuesday at 7:30pm ET: The Psalm One Bible Study. For Men and Women. We gather with friends from anywhere for Bible study, and the locals meet for dinner and fellowship. We are currently in Matthew, and you are always welcome to drop in. To stay in the loop to receive links and resources: https://www.psalmone.org/tuesday-night-bible-study

Ø  Thursday night “Sisterhood of the Fishbowl” just for Pastors’ Wives. This group has been a joyful lifeline for so many. An oasis in the week where we can gather with friends, share our roller coaster lives, laugh quite a bit, and receive a spiritual boost. Thursdays, 7:30pm Eastern Standard Time. To stay in the loop for these online gatherings, resources, and encouragement, sign up at the top of this page: https://www.psalmone.org/pastors-wives 

Ø  Soul Care Retreats just for Pastors’ Wives:

Life in the ministry is wonderful, weird, and sometimes very woolly. Come away to a fun and encouraging getaway with others who understand life on the front lines of ministry. Mark your calendars now to join us our next getaway.

• Cincinnati, Ohio: February 9-11, 2024

• Green Lake, Wisconsin: April 19-21, 2024

For more information and to register: Scroll down on https://www.psalmone.org/pastors-wives