Unplugged....

It's the fourth commandment....

"Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy."    Exodus 20:8

A day of rest and worship...to be set apart from the other days....something different....a day to be refreshed again....a day to do no work....

But how can a modern-day family observe the Sabbath in a world of totally busyness and distractions?

How can they "meditate on God's Word" when the Internet is so readily available in the palm of their hand....just a click away from everything....and yet nothing of high importance....

How can they "be still and know God" when their phone/iPad beeps for their attention whenever someone posts a new status on Facebook or a sports team scores....

How can they "practice hospitality and build others up" when the stores have so many good sales going on this weekend....

A family can do it if they chose God over the world. 

But this choice and this life are a battle....a fight to follow God and His commands. 

The world and your enemy does NOT want you to win this fight. 

...he wants you busy....

...he wants you distracted...

...he wants you shopping for more and more earthly stuff...

...none of which will satisfy....

So, our family took a Sabbath "unplug" afternoon to try it out. All electronics (iPad, iTouch, Wii remotes, xBox controllers, TV remotes, cameras, Leadpad, Ninendo DS, etc) were put inside a plastic tub on Sunday afternoon from 12-6pm. Everyone was to first work on their weekly Bible lesson. Then everyone could listen to music, play outside, hang out with family, read books, play games, listen to the Twins on the radio or hang out with your pets, etc.

Without all the interruptions and distractions, the whole family seemed to get along better (less fights for attention) and one of the kids even mentioned at the dinner table "Everyone seems happier today". Not bad for the first attempt!  The interesting part was getting back into the week on Monday and noticing how often we used the things just the day before we weren't allowed it. Funny how this might creep into something more....

So why rest one day a week anyway? Why does God command us to do this?

First off....God did.

"On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work."  Genesis 2:2

Second....God blessed it.

"Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."  Genesis 2:3

Third....it sets you apart from the world and you will be refreshed.

"It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.'"  Exodus 31:17

Fourth...it passes on your faith and shows the importance of the Sabbath to your kids.

"Tell the people of Israel: 'Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy." Exodus 31:13

Finally...you will strengthen your relationship with God and He will grant you great success.

"Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly.Then you will find joy in your relationship to the LORD, and I will give you great prosperity...."  Isaiah 58:13-14

So, are you up to the Sabbath Unplug challenge?

I encourage you and your families to give it a try....unplug and be refreshed!

It is well.....

Oh the waves they crash....

This endless sea of turbulence and trial seem to never end.....

It was Easter weekend....a time to rejoice in the new life Jesus has given me....yet I failed to lift my eyes from the troubles all around me....

A severe lack of sleep did not help....

5 days of nausea, dizziness and intestinal discomfort had put me in a weakened state as the weekend approached...

And yet...someone was whispering to me....

...like a lighthouse shines through the fog....I had just to look and listen.

Monday morning

I had heard a song in my dream....."It is well with my soul...."

....I woke to an answered prayer. She had slept through the night! It has been weeks....

Then I checked out the lyrics to the song that was in my dream....

...I wept as they filled every piece of the puzzle that is going on right now...

...I had begun to miss my old house and the comforts we had there....

...the quiet, familiar surroundings that I no longer felt....

...I was clinging to comfort and forgot I need to be clinging to Christ....

...oh, such a slow learner I am....

But today I say....."IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL"

The sound of laughter and the power of music....

The sounds of laughter in the house again....

...oh, how sweet the sound....

...when cries of frustration, envy, self-pity and anger have raged in this house for too many days .....

...her spontaneous, contagious giggles are so beautiful as they reflect off the walls and fill the hearts of those that hear them...

...my spirit soars at their sound....

The only other way that I find that instant "pick-me-up" is through music....

....lately it's been either Matthew West or Chris Tomlin....

....but it usually only takes about 3-4 measures and I'm taken away.....

...away from my problems, my stress, my current crisis....

...my soul dances with the notes as they speak to a deep part in me that LOVES to sing....

...the part that my heavenly Father made special....

....connecting my soul to His presence....

....AMAZING....POWERFUL....INTIMATE.....

...oh, how sweet the sound....that saved a wretch like me....

...I once was lost...but now I'm found....was blind but now I see....

Character Development.....

Okay....I think I need a break from my character development for awhile.....you know those mornings when you wake up and want to crawl back into the covers and not face another battle. Just to have a break from the challenges for just a day, okay maybe a week...a month perhaps...?!!

And yet, it is in those hard, dark moments that the whisper comes. That sweet song of love that picks me up and carries me through the storm yet again. Oh, how I have come to love that tender soul music....

In Hebrews, Chapter 12 it begins....

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."


This eternal encouragement came to me last week as I worked on my weekly Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) lesson. Oh, how it expressed exactly how I was feeling. 

That this race was marked out for me to travel....

....not to travel alone...

....and not to focus on the cracks in the pavement...

...but to look up....

...to look to Jesus to hold me through. That is where my strength is....

I almost can relate to Paul when he wrote in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 12....

v10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Do I like these hardships...no way....do I wish them to stop....yes, please! 

But do I treasure the closeness I have felt the LORD hold me through them, without question!!!

That has been the best part....

....to be filled with the Spirit....

....to endure the trials stronger than I was the day before....

....to SHINE during the storm....that is my goal...

Waiting.....

"Patience is a virtue"....."Good things come to those who wait".....

I know the sayings but I'm still working on being cheerful in the waiting.  

I like to plan and organize things so that means there is usually a time frame when I think the thing "should" get done. A desire to "check off the box" and complete the task.

But now there is area in my life which I have no control over and I am learning how to wait....and it is not easy....

I want to see the suffering stop....I want God to help and heal her....but His timing is not my own.....

It doesn't mean that it will never happen....it would just be easier for me and our family if it just "got fixed" now.

But maybe it isn't a "quick fix" issue....maybe there are many layers and walls to tear down, brick by brick so that a new foundation of love can be rebuilt.

It takes time to rebuild....it also takes courage and strength.....for the attacks are great but the battle so important to be fought and won....


"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:9

"A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people." 2 Timothy 2:24


I am realizing that I don't have enough courage and strength right now on my own.....it is time to ask for help from the source of strength....there is no other way to rebuild these walls....only to talk with the Master Builder.....

"May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus." Romans 15:5

Lost in beauty.....

Ever see a sunrise that totally took your breath away?  

You found yourself memorized by the different colors painted in the sky...there was a peaceful awe as you gazed at something so amazing you just couldn't put it into words....

I find myself noticing more sunrises and sunsets lately....stopping to gaze just a little longer than I would before.....with a sense of longing for a place I would rather be....somewhere beautiful, peaceful.....somewhere without fear and pain and sorrow....

We were made for so much more....made to live in a beautiful place with dazzling colors filled with life and love. That's what draws us to these displays in nature.....drawn into a peek of what is to come when we stop and take in those small glimpses of heaven that we are shown in the skies from time to time.

Remember to stop and look.....this world is so distracting and it wants nothing more than to keep you too busy to look at the skies....too busy to think about what life could be...was meant to be....if only we would stop....and remember....

Choosing Joy....

I always thought joy was just a feeling....like being super happy and smiling....you know "full of joy"!

What I am learning is that joy is so much more.....

I also find it interesting that the only time I ponder what joy really is, is when I feel it missing in my life....those days when I start crying for no reason during a bedtime story....the times when whispers of the past are heard and the memory breaks my heart in two...leaving me in despair and searching for a way out..... 

When my heart cries out for more joy....that is when I ask...what is JOY and where does it come from?

Maybe it's this time of year....when the days are short and the sun is behind the clouds. The season of Christmas is over and now joy has to be fought for each day. To obtain it means we need to want it...need it....desire to have that calm delight in the moment....that is JOY.

"Joy is the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright. It's also the determined choice to praise God in every situation. Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life."  from Kay Warren's book  "Choose Joy"

Today I choose joy because without it, my life is empty. It lacks that glimmer of something beautiful which makes my days different...better....lighter. 
  
"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."  John 15:11

"But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you"  Psalm 5:11

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore"  Psalm 16:11

"Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"  Nehemiah 8:10