Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

  • Home
  • About
  • DISCLOSURES
    • Amazon Affiliate
    • Book Reviews
  • Published
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Commit Poetry
    • Dared

still saturday: a buffer zone of silence

June 21, 2013 By Sandra Heska King

silence

click photo to enlarge

When you approach Me in stillness and in trust, you are strengthened. You need a buffer zone of silence around you in order to focus on things that are unseen. Since I am invisible, you must not let your senses dominate your thinking. The curse of this age is overstimulation of the senses, which blocks out awareness of the unseen world.

The tangible world still reflects My Glory, to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear. Spending time alone with Me is the best way to develop seeing eyes and hearing ears. The goal is to be aware of unseen things even as you live out your life in the visible world.

~Jesus Calling, June 15

mist

click photo to enlarge

 

Silenced and stilled,

Sandy

 

Welcome to Still Saturday where we pause after a busy week, move in quiet pilgrimage, maybe linger a while in some still place, and soak in the beauty of images and words. We’d love for you to join us. Get the details on the left, grab your favorite button, and link up below. We all love to hear if something especially speaks to your heart, but please don’t feel pressured to comment. Simply take some time to gaze long and drink deep.



Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Mia says

    June 22, 2013 at 4:01 am

    Dear Sandra
    This is so true and important. This reminds me of Elijah who was looking at all the BIG things of God, but that is just it; just things! But His heart and Presence are in an intimate still, small voice! Oh, that we would have a quiet heart before Him!
    Much love XX
    Mia

    • Sandra says

      June 22, 2013 at 8:02 am

      Yes, Mia. And it’s in being still long enough to really see the small things, the small miracles, when we can really see a big God.

  2. Patricia @ Pollywog Creek says

    June 22, 2013 at 7:17 am

    I think she nailed it when she said, “the curse of this age is the overstimulation…” I’m grateful to be living the rural live, but even then, our home is filled with various electronic distractions. I NEED that buffer zone. Love knowing you are reading “Jesus Calling” too. Love knowing my sisters and I are on the same page. =) xox

    • Sandra says

      June 22, 2013 at 8:07 am

      I don’t read it faithfully every day. I picked it up again after my sister gifted it to me after I thought I’d gifted it to her, and in a God-twist, we get to gift it together to someone else. 🙂

  3. Sandra says

    June 22, 2013 at 8:11 am

    I love seeing all your beautiful faces and photos in the links up there. I love your words, and I love your hearts. I love how you all hunger for the stillness, too. How you all long to see Him in a deeper way. I love being on this journey with you.

    • Sheila Seiler Lagrand says

      June 22, 2013 at 2:52 pm

      Oh, sweet sister, thank you so much for this place you’ve created. See how it gathers us, holds us here, together, grateful together for the still?

      God has used you mightily here. Thank you for being His.

      xoxo

      • Sandra says

        June 23, 2013 at 5:49 pm

        I’m so glad for that. So glad we can stop and just breathe, to focus on seeing deep with more pairs of eyes.

  4. Pamela says

    June 22, 2013 at 10:11 am

    Jesus Calling has been such a blessing in my life. Those words, “a buffer zone of silence” connected with me. I relish the silence in the noisiness of life.

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 5:51 pm

      A beautiful book. I love how she sees–and hears.

  5. Michelle DeRusha says

    June 22, 2013 at 11:50 am

    I was so grateful to be immersed in God’s creation when we were in Utah a couple of weeks ago. My prayers consisted of, “Wow!” and “Incredible!” over and over again. It was a gift to be away from the constant barrage of media, and quietly immersed in the natural world.

    {glad to see your blog is healthy again!}

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 5:53 pm

      I read somewhere that one of the astronauts (maybe Buzz Aldrin?) talked about the gray and the black and the white of space–except for earth’s spinning color. When I just stop and think on that, I sit in total awe.

  6. Linda says

    June 22, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    I read that the other day and just exhaled a long breath. We have spent countless hours in doctors’ waiting rooms for the past few weeks and somehow the waiting is as exhausting as doing too much. I am looking for the stillness in the midst of waiting.

    • Sheila Seiler Lagrand says

      June 22, 2013 at 2:50 pm

      Oh, Linda. I’m sorry. Praying.

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 5:58 pm

      Praying for relief in the waiting, and for your husband’s successful surgery and end to pain. Love you so, my friend.

  7. Kris says

    June 22, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    man. I needed this today. A bufferzone of silence. I’m stepping away, hunkering down for that quiet. I want to meet God there. Thanks, Sandy. this is a needed reminder of intentionally seeking stillness.

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 5:59 pm

      Praying you’ll sense His presence in an even deeper way, Kris.

  8. Shelly Miller says

    June 22, 2013 at 7:00 pm

    I’ve seen quite a few quotes from Jesus Calling today, thinking about how inspired by the Holy Spirit her words are, that they are truly timeless. It’s good be linking up here Sandy, it’s been a while. I’ve missed it.

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 6:03 pm

      Goosebumps. Don’t you wonder what God’s trying to tell us when this happens. I love seeing you here, Shelly.

  9. Laurie Collett says

    June 22, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    So true — we need silence to cultivate seeing eyes & hearing ears! Thanks for hosting & God bless!

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 6:04 pm

      Sometimes it’s hard to see or hear clearly in the clutter.

  10. Lyli@ 3-D Lessons for Life says

    June 22, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    This week, we looked at the end of II Corinthians 4 in a Bible study I am doing… your post ties in nicely to how God has been speaking to me this week. Thanks, Sandy!

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 6:04 pm

      Awesomesauce!

  11. Nina says

    June 23, 2013 at 4:10 am

    Silence as a buffer zone is what I need – that is said in a wonderful way … in order to see and hear Him- to listen – not to be distracted by everything else … Such an encouraging lines, filled with gentle whispers of loving kindness!

    • Sandra says

      June 23, 2013 at 6:06 pm

      This is why I so often have to leave everything and go outside. Nature holds its own distractions, but in a good way.

  12. Amanda says

    June 26, 2013 at 8:30 am

    Hi Sandy! I always look forward to your posts and this link-up! We are definitely overstimulated with so much technology facing us daily…we do need to step away and take time to be still and find God’s majesty surrounding us!! 🙂 Thanks for the gentle and beautiful reminders each week!! Have a blessed day 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. still saturday :: psalm 34 - UpLIFTing Words says:
    June 22, 2013 at 11:56 am

    […] […]

  2. Take … learn … find rest! | The T2 Women says:
    June 23, 2013 at 7:06 am

    […] with Spiritual Sundays, Still Saturday,  Scripture and a Snapshot, the Sunday Community, Sunday […]

  3. Weekend Reflection: Summertime! says:
    August 18, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    […] Around here we remove our shoes and tour the stillness. Start with Sandra Heska King’s Still Saturday. Then drop by Deidra Riggs for The Sunday Community. You’ll join us, yes? We’ve […]

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Meet Sandra

I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

Get updates from the stillness by email

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Archives

Categories

Instagram Inspiration

sandraheskaking

Happy first day of fall from my backyard to yours. Happy first day of fall from my backyard to yours.
Just another backyard photo… Just another backyard photo…
From my backyard tonight. From my backyard tonight.
Just another sunset. Just another sunset.
“I would like people to remember of me, how inex “I would like people to remember of me, how inexhaustible was her mindfulness.” ~ Mary Oliver in “ A Little Ado About This and That.”
Current situation. Current situation.
“This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” “This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” ~ Thomas Wentworth Higginson in “Ode to a Butterfly”
🦋
We pulled all the milkweed because it just could not support all the caterpillars. They were eating it bare and most of them died because they ran out of food. This one butterfly found this one lone volunteer.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright futur "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ~ E.B. White (as quoted on today's page in my Franklin Planner)
"May you experience each day as a sacred gift wove "May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder." ~ John O'Donohue in "For Presence" from To Bless the Space Between Us
🌴
Tri-colored heron stalking breakfast in my backyard.
“. . neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes “. .  neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes. They are moving in a week. They say a family from Belarus bought the house. I hope they don’t care much for mangoes.”
**
“Beautiful Sweet Things” at https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/
"People do not grow old. When they cease to grow t "People do not grow old. When they cease to grow they become old.” ~ Emerson

It's been a while since I've written anything on my blog. Like 3 years. But I just wrote my first post on Substack. Come see?

https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/p/ten-years-ten-things
Spent a couple hours this morning with friends fro Spent a couple hours this morning with friends from @spanishriverchurch picking up beach trash. Little bits of colored and clear plastic, big bits of plastic, bottle caps, broken glass, strings, ropes, straws, socks, fast food containers, paper, cigarette holders and filters—and a couple unmentionables. Took extra care around the turtle nests. Last count was about 70 pounds, but there were also some bigger things like an abandoned chair and a plastic tent. And a big piece of burlap or something with a fishing lure and giant hook attached. D found a Macy’s gift card that he almost tossed in his bucket. But we brought it home to check the balance—$24.60! We should be able to turn that into something useful for someone. 😊
H Already dead, I am living my afterlife here in t H
Already dead, I am
living my afterlife
here
in the form of a human.
~ Xueyan from Time Peels All to Original White

Thanks to @tspoetry for introducing me to this beautiful collection via an Every Day Poems selection.
The cats attacked the window all night. The dog wo The cats attacked the window all night. The dog woofed all night. This morning we discovered the would-be burglar imprisoned between the screen and the glass on our bedroom slider. 

When I stepped out to release it (no bail), I was surprised by this brief bit of backyard beauty.
For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
#prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michigan #prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michiganstateuniversity
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faith Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ~ Psalm 136:1
A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana in the background until I downloaded the photos. That, I believe, is the one that got caught in one of the openings in the neighbor's chain link fence. We tried in several (safe) ways to dislodge it without luck and could think of no other option but to leave it. Somehow it apparently dislodged itself. We also believe this is the pair that was getting into another neighbor's garden. We haven't seen either one since the last cold snap, so we are wondering if they survived. 
🌱
Thinking some may have tumbled from their perches last night. Pretty sure it will be raining iguanas tonight since we are under a frost advisory. It's cold. And windy.
Just sing... sing a song... Singing our way into Just sing... sing a song... 

Singing our way into the weekend.
"We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramse "We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt is in the Wind
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Get the Mug

Embrace the life you have t s poetry mug

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy is available HERE.

I Read Light

TSP-Red button

bibledude-net



Sponsor a Child

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 Sandra Heska King · Site by The Willingham Enterprise, LLC on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Log in