{soulful, beautiful hand art created by Annie Barnett. Be SmallStudios}
There’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
But, I’ve been afraid to begin.
I’ve been afraid because the internet – social media – gives my heart an allergic reaction.
I don’t want to be part of the noise and quite frankly, all these images, challenges, tips and advice rushing through the stream of online information makes me feel anxious.
It’s a very noisy and crowded space. And it overwhelms me. It takes me away from that quiet place inside me. It makes me wonder if I’m doing it right. It makes me question the life I have in my hands and I don’t know how to spend my moments.
I’ve been on the journey of learning to rest.
Learning to listen. Learning to be loved.
And one of the ways that God has loved me so powerfully when I lead the Spiritual Whitespace Retreat in Nashville was sharing the journey openly and honestly with others.
The good and the bad. The beige, the in-between, the doubts and the questions.
And somewhere within all that mix, something real happened.
I experienced what’s it’s like to be known — by sharing the journey.
So, I think about us and our little community here on Faith Barista.
And I want for us to be that for each other.
Kindreds on the journey.
But I’ve Been Worried
I’ve been wanting to share the #spiritualwhitespace prompts that have been bringing my soul invitations to rest — to draw near to God — and to stay in those pockets of nearness with you.
And because we can’t be together in the skin for now, we can still journey with each other through instagram, facebook and twitter.
But, I’ve been worried.
Would you think that I’m just joining the fray of noise among the social media static?
Would sharing our #spiritualwhitespace moments turn it into something we do — rather than an experience to rest and enjoy the quiet?
I’ve been struggling with this.
And yet, God has been using you — to hold my heart — to choose to be present — rather than what’s easier for me. To hide and disappear.
God has been using you to bring this desire into community.
You’ve been sharing your #spiritualwhitespace moments Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
And every time I view them, I don’t get any allergic reactions.
In fact, my heart smile, quiets, and at times, my heart is happy — and it often tears just a little.
Your moments speak to me, touch and encourage me.
And I feel less alone on this pilgrimage.
Pilgrimage
There is a kindred on Instagram who was enjoying a #spiritualwhitespace quote I shared named AGirlCalledPilgrim. We exchanged just one or two comments with each other. But, I felt a kinship on this spiritual journey to find rest.
The word “pilgrimage” is one I deeply resonate with.
Later on, I saw Annie Barnett (Annie is the soul-talented artist who created all the hand-art on FaithBarista) share a Pilgrimage word art of Psalm 84 you see at the top of today’s post — that soothed my heart and brought me into a beautiful moment with Jesus.
And I realized that God was giving me permission to be present with you — my fellow sojourners — to make this world a more beautiful place, by journeying our pilgrimage of rest together.
My One Wild, Daring Desire
So, this is my wild and daring desire: let’s say Yes to Rest together as a community during the week.
Here are the #spiritualwhitespace prompts on my heart this week — to say #YestoRest with Him.
I hope these prompts inspire you to try one. Or spark your own #YestoRest this week.
Share your #yestorest #spiritualwhitespace moments as you feel prompted.
Let’s make this world a more beautiful, restful place.
Let’s bring quiet into our online space.
Let’s help each other say #yestorest.
Choose the quiet.
Choose to be loved.
Choose to rest.
We are sojourners — on the same journey.
We are kindreds, listening to the Voice of Love, drawing closer.
Closer to Him.
Every day. As is.
~~~~~
Is God prompting you to say YES to REST in some small way this week?
Pull up a chair. Click to comment.
We are pilgrims on a journey. This is a quiet space for you and me.
~~~~~~
29 Comments
Dear Bonnie,
I believe we all have to decide what to say ‘yes’ to and what to say ‘no’ to, so we won’t get overwhelmed. The internet can be a challenging pathway to navigate sometimes, but ever since I’ve been visiting your weblog, I’ve noticed a calmness, a togetherness, that can probably be only ascribed to Jesus and a bunch of kindreds teaming up to keep it that way, despite the trials and tribulations we may be experiencing (some more or less than others at any given time). One of the first posts I read from you utilized Biblical Scripture and storytelling in such a way that it seemed I could actually see and feel the mist from the sea as we journeyed together spiritually in the same boat in Christ. I still see this site as a serene place to gather, and wake Jesus up to calm, or maybe even prevent, some of the storms we are facing on our journey with Him. Praise the LORD Who loves and cares for us 24/7.
this is joy, lisa. thank you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga3DmPRPAQQ (Oceans by Hillsong United)
Beautiful Bonnie, thanks for sharing your heart which reaches out to many including me in this side of the world ◇ Brisbane, Australia. Your writing resonates with me as I travel on an hour journey to and from work in the city, God has been so kind to me through you as you use Scriptures powerfully which blesses me – definite gem to me.
laura! waving hello to you in Australia. it’s one of the place my husband eric & i would LOVE to visit. my favorite animal is the koala (tied with golden lab puppy). 😉 i’m soul happy we are kindreds on this journey together… keeping each other company… even on your commute. #thankyouGod
The fear that invitations can morph into “to-do lists” which rob us of the gift the invitation offered … Yes. It is valid. But, even if some of us go “productive”, or all of us do sometimes, He weaves that into our journey and learning of what rest really is and how we uniquely pursue and find it. The Internet is like chocolate. Good. Very good. And, it can be misused, overused, etc. Yet, were it not for the internet I wouldn’t even know of you or your book. The value in any thing lies in how it is used. Let’s use the internet to bring encouragement and to spur one another along in finding rest. Just keep following those nudges, sweet Bonnie. They bless us who gather with you as fellow soul- journers.
oh, you had me at… “chocolate”… 😉 soul-journers… you’re speaking my soul language #soulbeautiful
I agree, Bonnie – it is refreshing, and restful, to see the little glimpses into what gives others soul rest. Thanks for the way to share on Instagram (and fun to see two of my “spiritual whitespace” photos from there in this post!). And yes, your blog is a peaceful place to come to – thanks for sharing your heart and your journey with us … and encouraging us to pursue rest!
i feel the same about seeing you on IG… for you are God’s rest.. your presence, sweet cherry. you are #soulbeautiful
Bonnie your invitation to pull up a chair, your prompts, have been so helpful for me; reminders to make time daily for my soul to breathe. Please continue to invite us through the social media connections; your voice is similar to the Spirit’s, a whisper that could be overlooked or ignored but one that if we take time to pause and listen we will be blessed.
lisa, as you prepare for this thursday, my heart’s wish is that you will feel and hear the Spirit’s voice encircling you as God’s little girl, #soulbeautiful, adored, as is. just be you. and your presence will be the gift He’ll give through you to those women. as you are to me.
I totally agree with you! There is a lot of noise out there…especially on Twitter and Facebook. Instagram seems to be quieter though. Maybe you could built a sign up for the WhiteSpacePrompts to be emailed? But I understand that social media is a necessary evil of building your brand. I am struggling with that too, and I wonder if I am going about it all wrong…
oh, this is definitely a heart/hot button for me. 😉 i may have to write a post about this… i feel “branding” is something that we discover, as we walk by faith to become known by God and others. if you’re looking to start a business, then branding is definitely something you need to do customer research, to figure out the needs and market oneself to meet those needs. But, if you’re heart is life change, then i would not focus on branding. i would focus on living your journey, and in exploring, uncovering and honestly following your own desires, promptings, struggles, you will become a living invitation to what God is doing in your life… keep sharing your story and your voice, Jeri. we need them. 🙂 #kindreds
Exactly! I was quick to jump on the social media bandwagon because everyone said you HAVE to connect, connect, connect. But I have realized that in doing so my heart hurts. And that is not what I write about, nor is it my journey. So, I’ve said goodbye to one social network and truly considering doing that to another. You’re right…it’s not a brand, it’s my journey. I am going to continue doing what I am doing and try not to be concerned with my “brand”, although being a graphic designer, it is hard. LOL #KindredsAtHeart 😉
I never feel the “social media allergic reaction” when I read your invitations to rest. You keep pulling me and drawing me to a place I know I need to go more often, but struggle to give myself permission to step into. You are like a friend grabbing my arm and dragging me along to a wonderful place that you can’t wait to show me. Thank you. Really. Thank You.
oh, happy is my soul! #soulbeautiful i see us #kindreds laughing and enjoying conversation to wonderful places… so glad you don’t mind me pulling you over with me on this journey. lol. thank you, Karin.
Oh how I am learning to find my own spiritual white space. Mostly it is when I have been “cornered” by The Lord into a area of losing total control( just like you with an anxiety attack that I just can’t make go away, or for me yet another medical procedure when I still haven’t fully recovered from the last one.) How faithful is our Lord! He is teaching me to rest in Him alone , and never once has He abandoned or left me on my own. Thank you for your raw honesty. It makes us love you , the real you… So much. You are a dear kindred spirit, sweet Bonnie.
i’m so bewildered and soul happy by how i’m finding #kindreds like you on this journey, Barbra. just bewildered and amazed! #soulbeautiful
Dear Bonnie,
Thank you so much for your tender heart and well-chosen words. I so needed to be reminded to pause, be still and send time with the Lover of my soul. Your honesty and transparency helps me feel comfortable with my own pain and struggles. Oh, I would love to meet you in person someday. maybe you can speak in a Ladies Retreat here in Southern California?? That would be awesome! I love your book and I am re-reading it, highlighting it and particularly learned from the chapter on clutter.
Thank you, Bonnie and hope to meet you someday. I have relatives in E Sobrante and a dear friend in Pinole in Northern California. God bless you my dear sister in Christ!
I would love to come meet you… if I’m invited to speak in Southern California, I’ll be the first to jump up and down. I went to UCLA, so a part of me is SoCal. for sure! 🙂 soul happy you’re a kindred here, Yvonne #kindreds #soulbeautiful
I took a day retreat last week which sounds kind of crazy since I live alone. I went and got a nice motel room, took my books, some good snacks and had a lovely 24 hours. I came home Sat. and went to church yesterday, a movie and came home to the quiet, other than a phone message from someone wanting to give me vegetables. I realized I wanted to sit in stillness and rest before a crazy week started. I gave some serious thought to how I keep the Sabbath and realized I don’t want to talk to people about their problems or deal even with how to get produce. I finally called the person and said I would get back to her today and we could make a plan. It felt so good to have one more day ‘turned off’ from the world’s noise.
OMGoodness! I love, love, love hearing about your #spiritualwhitespace — literally {squealing} inside with joy for you, Mary! SO good you did it. for you. for God. Jesus withdraw OFTEN and regularly from people… so we can be recharged and refreshed in a way that can only come through nurturing his soul. give yourself permission to turn off certain hours during the day or even a day, as needed. 😉
I love how you write Bonnie…even your words slow my heart rate down, and gets me to rest. 🙂 I need to be in a state of ‘rest’ or slow my life down at least once every day! I only have my emails to deal with daily (which still keep me busy for a couple of hours). But they also include scripture, encouraging blogs, refreshing devotionals that also helps me to find ‘rest’ even on the internet. I do not do Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or any other media. If I did any of those, I certainly couldn’t find the time to ‘rest’…spend time with God and take long walks on my long driveway.
Blessings to you!
ah… soul special to have kinship on this soul journey of faith, susan. #kindreds soulbeautiful
I welcome the white space Bonnie. I welcome the prompts to quietness and soul care. If we can allow social media to become one of those places to find and understand what it means to experience that kind of deep rest rather than being a place of more noise in our lives and a peace stealer then I’m so encouraged. I’m so in on that. In my busy work week when I do what must be done, I long for that place where I can just “be” and know that I am loved beyond any push from outside influences to be ambitious or be productive. I welcome the white space and soul care. Thank you!
oh, thank you for sharing your heart in all this, kristie. it makes me step out knowing there is kinship on this journey of the soul together. soul care… you’re speaking my soul language. 🙂 #kindreds #soulbeautiful
Hi Bonnie
Yet again your journey and writing resonates with me. As I’m starting to pursue my writing more seriously, I don’t want to lose whitespace in the social media vortex. I think you’re right. We need to choose; to be intentional about our time and attention. Thank you for that reminder.
By the way, have you heard of an Australian band called Sons of Korah? They set the Psalms to music. They have recorded a beautiful version of Psalm 84 which you might enjoy. You can listen to it on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGZgopQNya0
Blessings
Ann
Hello Bonnie!!! Just had to click over from my email to say I love this! Someday you will likely get a long overly-wordy email from me sharing how reading your book is touching my heart and the dreams it is stirring. 🙂 But for now I just say YES – I resonate with so much of what you said here. And I love this idea and the prompts. Can’t wait to start participating more. It’s like counting gifts has been for me… even if I’m not posting all the time, just having the whitespace prompts and a community to share with means I’ll be more on the lookout and will have more ideas of where to find the moments and to savor them when I can. Thank you for following the Spirit’s prompting of peace.
Thank you for your post Bonnie. I discovered your blog while searching for help with perfectionism. Currently reading your blog is whitespace for me. Jeanne