The Realization of the Noisy Fridge

Seeped into a necessary God-sabbatical this weekend, I sit here in the quiet of a noisy refrigerator. That has been the only thing that has disturbed the past 24 hours' quiet and contemplation. I have never known 24 hours to go by with quiet, peace, reflection only disturbed by a buzzing refrigerator.

And because I rather like the lack of static right now, I am doing what I've wanted to do for years:

take a break. 

I took a break in the real world this weekend and now I'm taking a break from the online world this next week. I will not blog, facebook or twitter from tomorrow (Sunday) until the following Sunday. Due to work and other necessary obligations, I will be checking email.

I do this out of obedience to God's call to be present for my family and my own desire to have more presence for my family. 

Often, having more presence in the real world means having less presence on-line.

That is something I've been railing against, not wanting to accept in my heart, for a long time. 

But too much has happened in the past 24 hours to have me continue railing against that truth, against God's calling me to rest and find joy in the home. 

So while the writer/sharer-part of me yearns to blog pages and pages about everything God has placed on my heart this weekend and all the incredible blessings and nervous nail-biting that have resulted in deciding to take and live Ann's dare...

I'm going to leave it at that and say:

Blessings upon your next week. May you listen to the whispering in your own spirit and heed it. May you hold your loved ones close. May new wounds heal and old ones fade. 

I would love to leave you with this blog entry from my dear blogger-friend, Michele-Lyn over at A Life Surrendered.com. It talks about margins and the need for space, the need to breathe. 

Until next Sunday, the 9th...

Sighing a long, deep Amen...

* Picture most definitely and proudly taken from Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience and in prayerful hope that it is suitable to share with you, for it does relate so very much.  

What I Know Now Thursday (done on Friday)

What I Know Now...

I know that I'm going to miss my stepkids when they go to their mom's house this weekend. I know that I take their presence for granted too much during the time they are here. I know I focus too much on being on time, on doing things the right way, doing things without [them] yelling, doing things quietly.

Fast, quiet, on-time, correct.

These are not qualifications Jesus has for us.

He'd rather us go very slow and have time with Him than have a clean-enough house or be 5 minutes early for school every  morning.

He'd rather me hug my kids and shower them with love and compassion and mercy.

I know now that I don't do that as much as I'd like

I don't do that as much as He'd like.

So Lord, give me grace for the lost mitten after a thousand other lost ones.

Give me grace for a child trying to get out of going to school.

Give me these 5 minutes to write focused on You

and then give me the rest of the morning to be focused on You and them.

Lord, this I pray.

Give me grace to forgive them and myself.



Linking up with Sarah Mae at SarahMae.com for What I Know Now Thursdays (except I'm doing this Friday morning)

(http://sarahmae.com/2012/10/leaving-the-99-for-my-one-what-i-know-now-fresh-blog-start-day-11/

Hurrying through Not Hurrying: a Needful Listen

Hurry makes us hurt. Ann Voskamp, author of "One Thousand Gifts," wrote that in her book. I've talked about that book more than any other on this blog. Today, Ann was on my favorite radio program, "Live the Promise." Listen to it here. 

I felt inspired by the program to, indeed, slow down and savor the season. To bend low like the Wise Men, not climb that ladder high like American culture tells us to. I wanted to come home and

stop
sit
sing
sip

I wanted to

love
listen
lean

Instead, I walked into a house full of homework and rushing to get dinner made so this one could go to Confirmation class and then rushing and fretting because the youngest was having a meltdown over dinner and then rushing to get him calmed down enough to get the 2 younger ones to their Awana clubs.

And now I am rushing to write this blog entry because it is burning inside of me, this longing to slow down and yet I'm rushing, rushing, rushing to slow down. And yes, Heavenly Father, it is hurting.

I want to scream at myself - Haven't you learned anything? What did you listen to on the radio?

Or I just want to scream.

Husband is picking up the younger two from Awana which enables me to go to our church's 7:00 Midweek Advent Service. Ironically, that's why I'm rushing to get this blog entry done. So I can go to that. And once there? Will I rush, too? At church? Really?

Advent is about

waiting.

Waiting for the birth of Christ. Waiting for Grace. And as Ann says on the program, Grace is not just about doing good deeds so we get into Heaven. No, it's so much more than that.

To find out what Ann says, listen to that program. I want you to so very badly.
And then come back and tell me what you think of it. And remind me of what it says.

Because I think I'm going to need reminding.
A lot.

Bless you during the beginning of this Advent season, the season of waiting, of slowing down, of breathing in the breath of the child born in a tiny manger. He had so much to hurry toward, you would think. I would think. Saving people, saving the world. But He didn't hurry, did He.

No,
He didn't.