Taking a Sabbath Day

Once upon a time there was a family who booked every day of the week, became totally drained and irritable, and couldn't figure out to fix it. They said yes to too many service activities, to many get togethers, and tried to fit in extra curriculars on top of it all. They were exhausted, taken advantage of, and tired of living every day like a race to the end.

I know that our family is not the only one this story is about. We want others to be happy. We want to serve. We also want a chance to breathe from time to time and make sure our family is healthy both mentally and physically. One day I read this passage from Exodus:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11

God, the one who made every living thing and breathed out the stars, works for 6 days and then takes a day off. God took a day to rest and we were not. God even tells us to take a day off and we ignore Him. Maybe we think we know better or maybe we don't want to waste our limited time on earth. But is it a waste? When I am weary, exhausted, and irritable no one is getting my best. If I am constantly thinking about the next thing for me to do then no one is getting my full attention. But, if we take one day a week to rejuvenate our minds, bodies, and spirit, we can serve and work in gladness, giving our best.

We realized we needed a Sabbath day in March. We had to wait till May for our commitments to be over so we could begin taking one. Unfortunately, our Sabbath day was the most booked day of the week, Wednesday. Adam has 2 days off a week, Sunday and Wednesday. Many people think of Sunday as the Sabbath day. That doesn't work for us because we generally serve in our church or are support raising for our mission trip on Sunday. Wednesday was once booked with Bible studies, Awana, and youth group. Now it is the day that we take life slow and easy. We don't work, serve, or run errands unless it is an absolute necessity.

What do you take out? Everything we have chosen to take out has been a good thing to do. Mostly everything that is vying for our time is a "good thing". If we take on every good thing because it is "good" we become like the sad family at the beginning of my post. We need to stop letting others place their expectations on us or to feed us guilt so we will say "Yes". Let's all lighten the load on ourselves and take a Sabbath day!

Do you take a Sabbath? What day do you take it? If not, when do you think you would want to take one each week? If it is good for God, it can only be that much more good for us!

A Life of Miracles: A Book Review

When I saw the description of this book I knew I needed to read it. What I didn't know was that God would use this book to speak to me and my family. Most good books I simply devour, but this one has not been the case. God has put on my heart when to read this book and when not to. I have simply been following His nudges.


Don's family is following God's calling in their lives. As a missionary preparing to leave for the field I relate so much. In the book Don says, "God puts yearnings in our hearts that we cannot always define, and He brings these longings to life in His time. But, to be honest, it can be pretty depressing and miserable as we wait." This is where we are at right now. I entirely agree with Don. Sometimes I, as he does in his book, wonder why on earth God needs me in a certain place at a certain time or why we can't just go to our Montreal mission field now, because we are ready. This book has been a great reminder of how important it is that we continue to follow and obey God every day, even when we would rather go back to a "normal" life at times.


I am not done with the book, though I am about two-thirds of the way there. I look forward to finishing it so I can share it with my husband. When I was having conversations with God about another child, he led me to a chapter with a similar story (more about this event here: http://www.morgansbubble.com/hope-for-a-child/). When I felt like no one else has ever had to struggle with moving back in with their parents, there was another chapter of this book. It has been such a blessing and encouragement to have had the chance to read this book. My hope is that God would use this book to encourage my husband and others as well.


Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Train

Did you know that cats can be trained? Even if it's only to use the litter box.

Mister (5) made this lovely and very light picture of a train car for this week's theme. He had a blast with his first try at using a compass.

What a novel idea...artwork on what was once my art blog. I have been thinking a lot this week about how "arting", as Mister puts it, has somehow disappeared from our life in the last year. It was gradual and that may be the reason we didn't notice it. So today we are back to illustrationfriday.com for the weekly art challenge.

I forgot how wonderful it feels to just draw. My mind is completely focused when I draw, something I have not had for a while now. I have started to think about it a lot this week. I have been thinking about my Etsy shop as well. Before you think to yourself, "Oh, yes, The Crazy Elephant is a fantastic little pad shop and is providing an ecological choice for women all over the world," that is not the shop I am talking about. If you did not know that this blog was originally started as an art blog, you may also not know that my first start on Etsy was an art shop.

It is a funny thing how other parts of our life sort of take over and some of your favorite things can suddenly be gone. This has been happening to me. I have gotten so focused on homeschooling, homemaking, and missions information that all else has gone by the wayside. It is probably the reason I am becoming a frazzled mess. I some how removed all the fun from my life and started hyper focusing on the things I previously listed. I can tell you it is driving my family nuts and needs to be put to a stop!

I prayed and prayed to know what I needed. Bible reading wasn't doing it, not changing anything wasn't doing it, art is the missing link for me. I never realized how important it is to me till now. It clears my head and helps me to go into other activities with purpose and focus. It is so hard to read and study my Bible when my mind is spinning with other things I need to do. I need a pencil in my hand so that I can use that focus to come closer to my awesome God!

What about that shop I mentioned? I started The Crazy Elephant as a way to support my art. Instead it took over all my time and energy and I sadly dropped the art shop. About 2 years ago I did a huge crayon roll custom order for a birthday party and as I looked at the party pack that was coordinating the rolls, I thought how I would love to do that. Well, that has obviously gone on the back burner, after 2 years you would think it would have burnt by now.

Out of the blue on Monday I woke up thinking about it. It was the only thing I could think about and when I went online to edit a listing at The Crazy Elephant, I saw they set up, this week, the ability to put downloadable files in the listing. To put it simply, the customer can download their files directly from Etsy when they purchase a computer file. That was exactly what I needed to be able to sell printable party packs efficiently whether here, or on mission.

I am still planning things out and of course I have a lot of art to catch up on before I open up said shop. I also have to figure out a name. I am planning to do printable party packs that would include invites, bunting, cupcake toppers, ect. Right now I am thinking something along the lines of Bubble Prints, but I really have no idea at this point. I do know that I am planning to do giveaways as I get the sets together so I can get some feedback and word of mouth started. In the meantime, I'm off to make some art!

Dream Prayers

Last spring I was doing a bible study with some wonderful ladies from church. We were discussing that when you are awake in the middle of the night it is a perfect time to pray for whoever or what ever is on your mind. Of course, I have been praying that way ever since. I don't normally get the chance because I have been blessed with night long sleep. Last week I was awake at about 3am several nights in a row. The last night I did not wake up, but I still prayed.

I had a dream that there was glowing script written on the air (think Star Wars holograms). I was scanning this list of names and prayed for 2 of them. I have no idea who these people were. I could barely pronounce their names. I guess it was incredibly important that these people be prayed for for the Holy Spirit to make it happen in this way. Whoever they were, I am glad someone was looking over them that night!

God Made Me

*For the men that read my blog, this is a warning...I will be discussing "lady issues"*

I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me this last week! For those of you who don't know I went to the doctor last week and then waited patiently till yesterday for an ultrasound to see if I have fibroids. It was incredibly uncomfortable and I left with no information at all, which was very disheartening. This morning I got the call from my very confused doctor. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he had no idea how my body works. My ultrasound came back perfectly normal. He thought maybe my uterus felt enlarged because it is tilted abnormally, but no, that wasn't it either. He said I look absolutely and undeniably normal in every way and to have fun on our journey to try for another baby.

God told me something very important today, "I made you! If I wanted you to be just like everyone else, I would have made you that way!" No doctor will ever be able to figure out why Aunt flow will visit for 3 solid months or not show up for months at a time. It is just the way God made me. There is no medical reason why it is uncomfortable to have pressure on my lower abs, the main reason that I don't like wearing jeans. God made me this way. He did not make a mistake and there is nothing to fix, as proven by internal photographs.

This has been an "a-ha" kind of day. I need to stop thinking about my body in light of what is "normal" and start doing what is best just for me. I have always disliked shopping because I rarely find things that actually feel comfortable for me. It is time for me to start focusing on what actually works for me. I don't have to wear what everyone else wears. I don't have to exercise the same way. And I will never have the same "flow". God made me ME and not someone else! We should all learn to embrace and work with the ME that god made for each of us. Why do we all try so hard to be the ME that God made someone else? If he wanted me to be you, then he wouldn't have made me ME!

Switching It Up

We had our phone call last night, so it is time for another missions update! The big question was, do we want to do a short term mission trip first? The answer is, YES!

This changes the look of our year by so much it would be scary if we didn't have complete faith in God. The short term process is much shorter and there is less funding to raise. So here is what our new outlook looks like:

Our rep will be getting with some other reps and supervisors to get a set idea of what we will be doing, where, and for how long (we are hoping to do 23 months). Till this is done, there is nothing for us to do but continue slimming down our house. 

Then we get our application package. Our rep said we could get it done in 2 weeks if we hunker down and focus on it. Then we send it in and it is reviewed and accepted based on our new reps work load. that could be 2 months or more.  

Next budgets and job descriptions are finalized and we go into the training/support raising phase.  

Then we leave. 

If it only takes 6 months to raise the funds, there is a good chance we will be saying Merry Christmas form The Netherlands this year. This is a huge change from the 1.5-3 years till we leave that we were anticipating with the long term trip timeline. There is a very possible potential that we will be leaving in 9 months. While it could take longer, I am planning for 9 so that we will be prepared for whatever may happen.

I will try to answer some of the questions we have been asked recently.

Q: What about the house and the dog?
A: We are not making any decisions on those till we hit the fundraising phase and we are locked into our trip. That being said, we will likely sell the house and poor Tucker will most likely need a new home.

Q: Are you crazy? Adam already has a good and reliable job!
A: We are going to be working for God! You can't get a better, more caring, and rliable boss than that. Fith has always been our #1 spiritual gift and we intend to fully use it in this. We are going all in with God and couldn't feel more comfortable with doing it.

Q: What is happening with all your stuff?
A: Most of it will be sold, donated, or given away. The big stuff we will worry about when we are locked in, like the house. We will store a very, and I mean VERY, small selection of things with family.

Q: What are you going to bring?
A: Clothing, a small selection of homeschool materials, bibles, Kindles, studio equipment, and a very small selection of personal items. We fully intend to start from the beginning when we get there.

Q: What does Little Guy think of all this?
A: He is really excited! He can't wait to be a short term missionary. Just the title makes him feel better. Long term sounds like forever, and short term sounds short. He has decided that he can handle a short term trip, even to say good-bye to the house and Tucker.

Our little house is all a-buzz about this exciting new turn around. We are all on board and planning for the future. We will be doubling our efforts to unload stuff and clean things out. It is also time to let our vollunteer activities know what is coming up, so they can prepare too. Mostly, we are just praying for wisdom and strength during this enormously changing time in our lives.

Thoughts and Prayers

What do you even say on a day like this...We do not have any cable channels and I tend to just do work on the computer. Suddenly on Facebook there comes post after post about something terrible that has happened. One of my friends made sure to leave a link and now I am in the loop, not that it is a happy place to be. I have been praying for the families involved in this horrific shooting. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through!

This kind of news is so hard to process. We are already living in a country where people keep to themselves and avoid strangers. Stories like this can only heighten our fear of others. Not a mother in this country will send their child to school on Monday morning without a twinge in their heart, because you just don't know, you just don't. For our family there is only one reason that we won't worry as the number of "safe" places diminishes and that is God. We are confident in our faith! We know that even if the unthinkable were to happen that God will hold us and keep us. He is our hope in a world that is crashing down around us. We do not need to be afraid!

This is the Stuff

Here is a great video for your Sunday! What a good reminder that God uses all the little annoyances in life to help shape us. Enjoy this song as you look for your keys to head out the door this morning.

Mother Mary

I just finished Beth Moore's Esther study with my mom's group. It was excellent and a recurring subject was that we have been put in this time and place for "such a time as this". What time that is...well, I don't know, but I thank the Lord that he does! I just pray that the path I am going down is the one I am meant to be on, bumps and all.

The study really got me thinking about destiny and the path God has laid out for me. I always thought maybe I would be like Esther and have some huge role to play, or maybe I would become a great missionary like Paul. When I think about God's plan for me I sort of assume it will be grand, the kind of thing that is written about and remembered. Just being a godly wife and mother couldn't possibly be all there is to it.

Right about then is when my thoughts went to Mary, you know the one, she gave birth to Jesus Christ after all. What did Mary "do"? She carried a son, granted a very special one, that she raised to adulthood. She was a mother! When you really get down to it, that was her one path. So I realized that maybe my path is small in the grand scheme of things. I care for and teach my son, raising him to be a Godly man. It could be that the foundation I lay, that feels so small to me, could be what builds something great down the line.

So, when the laundry starts piling up and homeschooling gets trying at time, I am going to try and remember that God knows where the path is going. As long as I keep following and trusting in Him I will get to the destination. Someday I will get to see how it all played out and laugh at how mundane I thought it was, when really it was the stepping stone!

National Day of Prayer

Today is the national day of prayer! It is the perfect day to reflect and talk with God about all of your concerns and praises. In our town we have a meet me at the flag pole prayer session at the high school, a city wide prayer walk starting at city hall, and a prayer service hosted at our church for the community. Take some time to see what is going on in your nick of the woods and spend some time with the Lord today!