“We are hurried and harried, surging from one agenda to another, while life with Emmanuel passes us. . . . . Even amid the pain, God spreads a table for us in the wilderness, providing for us in our suffering. Surprisingly, gratitude that grows naturally from present moment awareness can become the way we scoot up to His table.”- Summer Joy Gross
“He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”- Psalm 46:10-11 (NIV)
Summer Joy Gross concludes Chapter 10 of The Emmanuel Promise as she encourages us to practice stillness to ground our senses as we enter the on-ramp to discovering Emmanuel’s presence. Therefore, Summer titles the following exercise Monday Morning Practical: Ten Minutes of Stillness. This method consists of four steps.
1. Focus on one sense at a time. For each sense, take one minute to experience that sense. Most significantly, follow this one rule — no judging or meaning-making. As a result, you purely focus on receiving the sensory information available to you.
2. Open all five senses at once. After you finish cycling through each sense, spend a full minute opening your awareness to all five senses simultaneously.
3. Name the simple things that bring you joy. Tell Jesus the present experiences for which you give thanks. Also, Summer exhorts, name the points of joy around you.
4. Just rest in Jesus. Enjoy the present moment together. Enjoy the company. Because what you experience, Jesus experiences.
In conclusion, Summer cites neuroscientist Daniel Siegel. Siegel asserts:
“Mental presence is the state of being wide awake and receptive to what is happening, as it is happening in the moment, within us and between the world and us. Presence cultivates happiness.”
In other words, Summer notes, we must be present ourselves to experience God’s presence. Like Moses, in the burning bush of the present moment, we sit before the I AM with our shoes off. We no longer need to strain or fight for joy.
Today’s question: What gratitude grows naturally from your present moment awareness? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A world of beeps and buzzes”
