When has this happened before?

When has this happened before?

I'm sitting in my living room.  Reese is asleep.  Nicole and her girlfriends have just headed out garage-saling for the morning.  I'm alone with my coffee and an unfortunate access of Tastefully Simple cinnamon mini melts.  There was a great storm last night, and has lingered into this gray morning.  The dampness is seeping in through the open windows with the fresh new air.  Birds and critters are adding their songs to the atmosphere.  I wonder if they're rebuilding nests, scavenging for food, or just excited about the new day. Anyway, it's nice to be sitting in a quiet place (sans distant traffic and jet sounds) for a change.

I'm sure my Mentor Gathering friends can agree - as can any of you who have gone to a great retreat, conference, or even vacation - I've not had much time to put into practice what I was so hoping to adopt from my time away from "life."  When I returned from Ocean Grove it was back in the groove, back in the swing of things, back on the horse, back to life back to reality.  So today, 3 weeks later, this unexpected margin is a very welcomed change of pace.

To not lose any more precious time, I'm gonna log off quickly and I'll expand on the idea of Silence & Solitude later.  A few thoughts for now:

Brennan Manning stated over and over again that the most important spiritual discipline in his mind was silence and solitude.  It was spending time in quiet reflection and meditation on God, His Word, and His character.  I know we've all heard that before.  However, I think (hope & pray) it really sunk in this time.  Even in the hustle and bustle of married life, full-time ministry, and parenting a 2-year-old, I am compelled to do this.  It may not be for an hour a day.  But even 10 minutes of quiet will do me good.

My hope is (if I get a full night's sleep) to get up at 6:30 and find some time then.  I was able on the retreat to get up at 5:30 and catch the sunrise.  So 6:30 shouldn't be to difficult, as long as Reese sleeps like she is right now!

OK, more later.