A decadent day

Hello from the Embassy Suites in Columbus, Ohio. Tonight is my fifth night here, and I am staying until Tuesday. I have an air conditioned-as-cold-as-I-want-it, two room sweet suite all

to myself, and I am soaking it up.

I attended a three credit class here at a Trinity extension: Xenos Christian Fellowship. [by the way, if you google that, you can get to pages and pages of downloadable teaching from years of great speakers] The class was entitled "Theology and Practice of the Spiritual Life." When I saw the description in our Trinity Evangelical Divinity School catalog, I knew I had to take this course. Then I discovered that it wrapped around a conference here with an emphasis on Bible study and Bible teaching. And the cherry on the top of this delightful treat? Kay Arthur was one of the featured speakers for the Summer Institute conference.

Meeting Kay Arthur is was on my bucket list.

We arrived Wednesday - about 25 of us in the class, and thousands for the conference which began that evening. To my surprise Kay Arthur was in the audience for the Thursday morning lectures. As soon as I saw her I made a bee line over to her, gave her a hug, told her I was a groupie and got my photo with her. I told her the story of how when Jake was a preschooler he would watch Barney on TV and then announce, "It's time for the lady!" He would play in the family room while I watched Kay for an hour and took copious notes while paging through my Bible. She ignited a passion for God's Word in me that has not and will not subside. She is one of my Spiritual mentors.

During her talk she told us she is 76 years old. Hmmmm. Would you ever ever guess that? You would not guess it from listening to and watching her, either. She was all over that stage, and her energy and passion were unparalleled. I will tell you that she is *very* photogenic. She looks a bit older up close and personal, but gosh... God is keeping her young and spry.

What a thrill for me. I bought a brand new leather Inductive Study Bible, and had her autograph it. She wrote,

"Grace dear ~

May this be your treasured tent of meeting with God - Exodus 33:7-14 and 2 Timothy 2: 1-7. Love, Kay July 23, 2010

It brings tears to my eyes to read that. I taught the pentateuch, and remember being so touched in Exodus with the tent of meeting, and how Moses lingered there. I remember teaching that each of us could enter the tent - that God awaits us.

The intense three days ended yesterday. Afterwards I was mentally numb, but managed to review some homework assignments, and organize my millions of notes. I shopped a bit - the puttery aimless kind of shopping that you only do on vacation. And then I slept. A lot.

Today I did one of my homework assignments. This is the description:

The observance of a three hour focused solitude. Find a time and a place that will provide for uninterrupted attention on the inner life. You should take a Bible and perhaps a journal but that is all. Prayerful meditation on Scripture and Spirit-led examination of the heart should occupy virtually the entire time of solitude. it will be important for you to be very intentional about how you will use this time. Don't be afraid to have something of a plan in place ahead of time. Be prepared to adjust your plans in response to the Spirit's direction but do not enter into the solitude with no sense of how you plan to use the time. The solitude should take place after we have discussed solitude in class. Write a one page report on this experience telling how the time got spent and what possibilities you see for the observance of similar solitudes in your future.

I find it hard to imagine a homework assignment that I'd prefer doing. My report is below.

So much to blog about. My blogging has petered out since Paris - so sorry. But I'll be back. Life is good and full and I am so blessed. Blessings to you all. -g

Preparation: Staying in Columbus for a few extra days allowed me needed conference decompress time, and an opportunity for the observance of this solitude. The night before my planned solitude I read from The Gospel Primer, noting on paper a list of verses to ponder. This included a few whole chapters, so I was secure that three hours would be filled. I am also newly convicted to use M’Cheyne’s method to get a broader sweep of Scripture. (I tend to take small bites and chew them long and hard!) This incredibly user friendly daily application was previously downloaded to my iPad but never started, so I wrote down the Day One chapters on my note pad. The morning of the solitude, I showered, ate, sorted notes, and cleaned up my room in preparation. I reread my notes on the lecture “Against the Flow.” I put my Blackberry and laptop in the front room of the hotel suite, and set up my supplies in the quieter back room. This included my (brand new) Inductive Study Bible, my colored pencils and pens, and some blank pages of notebook paper. I readied with a water bottle, tissues, and a sweater. I began. More days than not I spend an hour with the Lord in quiet solitude each morning at home, so I looked to this time with anticipation, and knew the time would fly.

Result: A blessed time. 11:02 to 11:18 a.m. was preparation. [Hebrews 11:6 to Mark 9:24 to James 4:7-10 to James 1:17.] 11:18 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. was confession. God had a lot to discuss with me! [2 Cor 10:5-7; James 1:17 (confessing that I really don’t trust that He knows what is *good* for me); and then all of James 4.] I found that most of the sins that God was bringing to mind were dealt with in James 4. I thought I was done and then asked Him again (and again) “What else Lord?” 12:15 to 1:40 p.m. was spent on M’Cheyne’s four readings. LOVED IT. Then I still had time so I went to Romans 5, because I had noted that Milton Vincent said that Romans 5 saved his life. (page 94) What a rich text. Preaching the Gospel to myself. I began to outline a teaching for an upcoming retreat on verses 3 to 5. Verse 5 brought tears as I realized how much I need to rehearse to myself that God loves me and pours His love into my heart. The retreat teaching took me to Deuteronomy 30 which God has given me as my life message. I had never used it attached to Romans 5:3-5 so I loved that. At 2:25 p.m. the Amen. I truly love being in His Word.

What I learned: I’m really practiced at the solitude, the journaling and the Bible intake. It is completely natural. Yet I realized that I read the Word with teaching in mind. I would like to have my guitar and a few songs to add to my worship in this time. Or perhaps Scriptures that go over the attributes of God. I need more worship and adoration. (How do I turn off the teacher in me?) I also realized that having my Blackberry OFF and the internet connection OFF is key. I realized that recently my daily morning hour with God has included dealing with some outside influences delivered through technology. I plan to incorporate M’Cheyne into my morning hour which will mean moving *lesson study* to another time. I will aim for a three hour solitude once a month, and put the next one in my date book each time. A full blown retreat like this luxurious six nights in this hotel once a year will also be my goal. I LOVED THIS ASSIGNMENT, and I learned a lot about my habits and how I can further sweeten my times with the Lord.