Gentleness and Normalcy

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

This feels like a different type of Word for the Week entry! Mainly because the past few weeks of Sunday Mass have felt so normal. Which, in turn, feels unusual for me. I feel like both being on tour (which I was three weeks ago) and being at home feel comfortable and "typical" now. It's really comforting.

Three Sundays back, my Word for the Week was, “very small matters.” The context was the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16: “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones”

I felt the Lord asking me to stay true to my personal boundaries, and to be content in this season of sabbatical without rushing to pick up other projects. Even though I was on a previously-scheduled tour, I ended up saying no to a number of new invitations. Already, I’ve seen how those invitations are being presented again in healthier ways, and I’ll be able to say “yes” from a stronger position!

Then, two Sundays ago, the word that stood out (at our normal Mass time, at our normal parish in AZ) was “pursue... gentleness,” from 1 Tim. 6:11. In prayer over the course of last week, I felt the Lord inviting me to be gentle with myself.

I’ve been a runner since I was 16! I’ve gone running regularly, and kept up a very fast pace in so many aspects of life.

These days, I run maybe once a week. Even the weekly run is interspersed with walking. It reminds me of St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, when he writes about running so as to win the race. The next line, verse 25, says: “Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.”

I’m realizing lately that recovery is crucial in an athlete’s life. Whether from the normalcy of training or in the aftermath of an injury, recovery makes continued exercise possible. Is there anywhere in your life where you sense a desire for more rest?

Maybe that desire is the Lord inviting us to be gentle with ourselves, even if it’s in the “very small matters.”

In closing, the word I’m carrying with me from Mass on Sunday is, “the vision still has its time.” The reading from Habakkuk reassured me that in the midst of all this gentleness and even as I’m pacing myself, God is still unfolding His promise in my life. I’m not going to miss out on what He has for me by resting a bit more. Quite the opposite!

Amen. :)

___

Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

What Does "Quiet and Tranquil" Mean?

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

Another Word for the Week entry! But first, a confession: It has been even harder than I anticipated to re-acclimate to the tour life.

Momentum is such a huge part of my job as an artist. It has to do more with my intuition than with specific metrics. To gain momentum is more difficult than to keep it. But to start, stop, start again is the hardest. That is exactly what it feels like at all times recently. “We’re going! Oh, wait. Maybe we’re going.” It’s a fragile place to be. So that’s the backdrop to this reflection.

Last Sunday, I didn’t attend Mass. I felt under the weather with a head cold.

And I must have been a bit delirious whenever I read the readings. On the rare occasion that I need to stay home from Mass, I would normally read through the liturgical scriptures. I have no idea how I came to find this verse, but somehow, sometime around Sunday, I came upon this Biblical phase:

“quiet and tranquil.”

I’m smiling really big now, and also shaking my head. I do not know how to be quiet and tranquil for very long. Or at least, I don’t feel that my life reflects these traits well. But the words have long appealed to me. Even when I imagined my future, as a kid, I thought of this verse:

“First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior” - 1 Tim: 2:1-3

I figured, even as a child, that I could never have a family and a career as a recording artist, and a “quiet and tranquil” life. But here we are. I have a (quite dynamic) family, a robust music career, and... And I think God is calling me to be quiet and tranquil.

I’m convinced it starts in the heart. And also, I think God is asking me to not get nervous when a few days or even weeks are more mellow than others. He’s asking me to let go of my idea of “momentum” — in my marriage, motherhood, career. Instead, to welcome the idea of rest.

God shows us how to rest. Which is kind of at odds with a modern praise song that says of God, “You never stop, never stop working!” I love the song. But doesn’t rest implicitly happen as we stop working?

Anyway. Somehow the Lord spoke to me through my delirium this week, at a point when I needed to take a few naps per day. And maybe He’s calling to you in the midst of you grogginess, too. Let’s ask Him to show us?

“Lord, where are you bringing the gift of tranquility to me? Help me to welcome all of your gifts, including that of quiet. Thanks for answering before we even ask. Amen.”

___

Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Sara Chacon
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Song Every Sunday,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

God Believes in Us

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

Sept. 13 was our second time at Mass as a family since the pandemic hit. It felt a little like watching a sporting event! We sat in the bleachers. Our new parish can fit 200 people, socially-distanced, in our gymnasium, which includes the upper-level seating. My kids were ecstatic; Mercedes said it was her first time being in a balcony at all.

My attention was mostly spent on making sure our kids:
-refrained from stomping on the bleachers
-minimized the movement of switching seats with each other
-kept their masks on
-didn’t yell

Even in Mom-mode, various parts of the liturgy still hit my emotions. My overall take-away from Mass was “believe.” I didn’t hear the word, per se (although we definitely recited it in the creed). As I explored what the Lord wanted me to do about the word last week, there were a number of times when I felt convicted to trust that everything is happening in God’s time!

My family is at the start of this new season, in our new home, in a new way of sharing art and faith. Every segment of life right now is like a dream come true. And yet! Part of me feels really antsy. That’s usually the case for me as the seasons change. I want to share what we’ve been given...now!

As that word “believe” came again and again to mind throughout the following week, I was able to believe that we will share these when the Lord allows. Then I heard this new song by Justin Bieber (yeah) that seemed to bring a new light to my Word for the Week.

The lyrics on the bridge of Bieber’s new song “Holy,” says, “I know we believe in God, and I know God believes in us.” I’ve been mulling over that line in wonder since yesterday. I’m a bit blown away. 

Sometimes faith has felt like a one-way street for me: God calls, I believe. Through those lyrics I was able to rejoice in the thought of God’s belief in us. Maybe when I respond to His voice, God also believes that I will be able to do all He asks of me. Maybe He’s cheering me on, too. That image is more cyclical for me, less linear. And I love it. What a beautiful sphere to be part of.

Is there anything that you happen to feel antsy about today? Maybe it’s an unpleasant feeling. Or maybe like me you’re simply excited to share what you’ve been given. Either way, I’ll invite you to imagine how God believes in us, in the midst of our hopes, dreams, and restlessness. His Word is ever ancient, ever new: “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.” -Genesis 1:31. 

___

Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Kim Moline
Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Sara Chacon
Kelly Wesaw
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive exclusive rewards, signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

God's Gifts Are Irrevocable

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

Two weeks ago, I went to our former home parish for the last time. I attended Mass with our eldest, Jamal. We didn’t say goodbye to anyone afterward. (We have two parishes that we belonged to on that side of town; we know far less people at this parish than at the other. Plus, everyone was masked.)

It was the first church we walked into when we moved to Arizona. This parish has many, many strengths, especially the music! And while we didn't form a strong sense of community, there was a gift in being able to slip into a pew unnoticed from week to week. There was space to receive. As Jamal and I left, I felt deep gratitude for how the Lord filled us since we first arrived.

The word that stood out to me was from Romans 11:29, “The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.”

The two weeks since then have been a blur. We moved out of our rental house and into a home of our own (about an hour away)! We started our kids in virtual school, and we have prepared them to return to school in person next week. I also realized and admitted that my live concert events are not likely to return at all this year, and perhaps not until next fall.

All the while, the Lord has been painting a new picture for me of the gift of faith. I’ve been realizing, as I shared in my previous Word for the Week entry, that I must not place my worth in my faith. Although faith is the means that the Lord provides to trust in Him, it’s his love that defines my worthiness.

As we transition in many ways as a family, it seems the Lord is allowing me to absorb this new knowledge. Last week, humorously enough, I didn’t really have a Word for the Week. I “sort of” had home church (meaning, I reviewed the weekend readings from my house), but it wasn’t a transfigured moment of faith.

So the Word for the Week from two weeks ago has continued to ring in my heart. “The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” The Word has assured me that the gift of faith is still in my soul, strong and available when I need it. In that knowledge, I feel compelled to rest in God’s love. To lay my head on my husband’s chest, to draw our children into an embrace, and to simply feel God’s love for us.

There will be other days to work hard in faith. There will be storms to weather and battles to fight. But this week, today, right now, my soul gets to rest. If He’s calling me to rest, then I won’t lose out on any of the gifts He’s given me. Not the gift of community, or faith, or music, or anything else.

It’s good.

___

Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Kim Moline
Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Sara Chacon
Kelly Wesaw
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive exclusive rewards, signup at amandavernon.com/patron.