Time at the Feet of Jesus

by Giles Armstrong | President

 

One of the best parts of a SonScape retreat for our guests is time to be with Jesus. Unfortunately, many in ministry get so busy doing things for Jesus that they have little time to be with Jesus. But this is not a new phenomenon. Two thousand years ago we read in Luke 38-42 about a woman named Martha who also got distracted and missed Jesus.

 

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42).

 

 

So why is it so hard for us to be like Mary and so easy to fall into the Martha syndrome? I think it’s because for many of us if there is one thing that drives us almost insane, that we cannot stand, one thing that makes us uncomfortable, it’s . . . silence, stillness. These are disciplines God gave us to connect with Him. In Psalm 37:7 we are told, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.” And in Psalm 46:10 we are told, “Be still, and know that I am God.” But instead of using silence and stillness to connect with God, we use them to punish our children. No wonder we dislike silence and solitude!

 

We don’t like to be still and silent, and it’s not a modern problem, although I suspect that technology has not helped us any. Look at Martha and Mary. Jesus comes to their home. Mary is content to be still and silent, to be with the Lord. Martha can’t do that; she is busy and becomes “distracted and upset at many things.” So it is with us. Jesus is in the midst of our life, but we become distracted and upset at many things. We live in a Martha world. It’s so busy, our lives are so full, but the truth is, we like it that way. Because a busy life makes us feel important, valuable, and it gives us a sense of worth. For many of us, Jesus is not enough. We feel we need something more than Jesus to validate our lives – we need a busy schedule. We fall into the trap of believing that if we are busy, then we are important because we are needed. We live life with little to no margins. Remember in school, the margins were for the teacher to make comments about our work. Do you have margins in your life where there is room for God to speak in? Mary and Martha both loved Jesus very much, but Martha didn’t realize that in her desire to serve Jesus, she was actually neglecting him. She was so busy at doing things for Him that she had no time to spend with him. Like Mary and Martha, our encounter with Jesus is all about choices, the physical and the spiritual.

 

THE PHYSICAL CHOICE

This is the choice Martha made. You see, custom in her day demanded a meal for a guest, so she set herself about the task of preparing one. Yet Jesus was not looking for someone to feed Him, but for someone whom He could feed.

 

THE SPIRITUAL CHOICE

This is the choice Mary made. In the eyes of some, she could be criticized because she chose not to bring out the china and the potato casserole. But she wasn’t being lazy, she just made a choice to be with Jesus.

 

What will your choice be? No one else is responsible and no one can steal that decision from us. So, the lesson we so desperately need to learn is that what we do with Jesus is far more important that what we do for Jesus. It’s all about the choice. Mary is mentioned three times in the Gospels and each time she is at the feet of Jesus. We need to:

 

Divert Daily

Withdraw Weekly

Abandon Annually

 

When was the last time that the presence of God made you forget what was going on around you? Whose feet are you planning your schedule around, yours or the Savior’s?

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Our 2023 retreats are filling up. if you know of someone in ministry that could use time away with Jesus, please direct them to our website: www.sonscaperetreats.org. If they’re ready to sign up for a retreat, please direct them to www.sonscaperetreats.org/registration/. Maybe even gift them a retreat!

 

Please be praying for our first ever US Spanish retreats this summer.

 

Thank you so much for supporting the ministry of SonScape Retreats

and creating space for leaders to sit with and hear from Jesus.

 

 

 

The SonScape Experience

by SonScape Alumni

 

Ben Hayes

In ministry, it’s easy to feel guilty for taking much time off to refresh or even relax. SonScape has changed my view on this. Getting to spend a whole week away being served and poured into has been incredible! Though it won’t always look just like this, it has convinced me to take time (significant time) off to pray, play, and be with my wife. Lastly, through God’s use of Angel and Giles, SonScape made visible areas of unhealth in my life and equipped me to admit and deal with these. I’m so grateful for this week and already have a long list of friends and organizations to recommend SonScape to.

 

Becca Hayes

Our week away as a missionary couple provided a time of rest and relaxation mixed with an opportunity to be fed the food our hearts needed. For the first time, we left our kids for 7 days and could focus on our own growth individually and as a couple.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Pete Hoglund

Ministry is relentless. We often live under the weight of personal or others’ unrealistic expectations. It seems that pastoral ministry is a weight that will eventually crush you if you are not purposeful about feeding your own soul first. How quickly we believe or behave or operate on human effort. I broke. I needed a safe place to be with others (along with my wife) who “get it.”

SonScape provided the grace and truth and space and time to begin to unpack past hurt and trauma that those outside of ministry would have just rolled their eyes at or shrugged their shoulders. The teaching, the space, the reprieve away helped to clear the ground and get a new trajectory for DEEP CHANGE.

I cannot recommend this ministry and retreat highly enough and I will intentionally refer ministry colleagues to this resource for renewal and fresh hope in serving our Savior and King, Jesus Christ.

 

Becky Hoglund

This has been such an important week for us as a couple and for each of us individually. It is so easy to drift away from the truths and rhythms that we teach our congregations and forget that God’s love applies to us as well. This week at SonScape I have been reminded that it is okay for me to be who God made me to be and that His love for me is so deep and not dependent on what I do or don’t do. It has also been SO GOOD for me to see my husband feel safe to process some ministry hurt and to truly begin a time of deep healing. Thank you so much for your ministry to us!

 

 

 

An Update on Larry and Barbara Magnuson,

Retreat Leaders for Over 20 Years

by Larry Magnuson

 

Pain is a part of life. We as Christians are not exempt. The difference is we have a God who walks with us through even the most painful of circumstances. After almost three years of caring for Barbara in her rapid decline with Frontotemporal Lobe Dementia / Pick’s Disease, we needed to place her in a memory care facility for her own safety and care. God provided a place just ten minutes from our home staffed with amazing caregivers, many of whom are believers. While Barbara is still rapidly declining, she spends much of her time helping, encouraging, and loving on the staff and residents. As many of you know,, Barbara is the love of my life and I am incredibly grateful for the 50+ years we have had together. I visit her daily and our kids come as often as possible. Barbara has not lost her humor, her grateful spirit, nor her love for Jesus.

My good friend, Jimmy Dodd, shared a story with me that reflects my feelings toward Barbara. He said the President of a College tendered his resignation due to his wife’s Alzheimer’s disease. The board hoped he would stay on and one well intentioned member suggested that his wife no longer even knew who he was. The President’s reply was beautiful. “She may not remember me, but I remember her.”

Thank you for the many cards, words, and prayers given us across these last months. They mean much to us! I am learning how to lean hard on Jesus as we walk this part of the journey of this life.