Sabbath

It's been a crazy few months. Days and weeks go by and I find myself wondering, "What have I been doing?" I make lists and check things off the list, but why does it still feel I haven't accomplished anything? Like I'm spinning my wheels?

I was refreshed today to re-read some thoughts on taking a Sabbath. It seems so simple, but so difficult to accomplish. What does a Sabbath look like for me? It's NOT leisure, for leisure to me is draining, unfulfilling and absent of anything sacred. I need to know, not just what to avoid, but what to pursue. What can I do to refresh my soul and what do I need to avoid that whithers it? So as I ponder these things I am reminded by Mark Buchanan in his book "The Rest of God" the reasons for Sabbath and what I need to be pursuing:

"Real Sabbath, the kind that empties and fills us, depends on complete confidence and trust, that is rooted in a deep conviction that God is good and God is sovereign. There's no rest for those who don't believe that. If God works all things together for good for those who love him and are called to his purposes, you can relax. If he doesn't, start worrying. If God can take any mess, any mishap, any wastage, any wreckage, any anything, and choreograph beauty and meaning from it, then you can take a day off. If he can't, get busy. Either God's always at work, watching the city, building the house, or you need to try harder. Either God is good and in control, or it all depends on you."

Thankfully it doesn't all depend on me. God's got it under control, it's when I mistakenly think that I have any form of control that I get weary.

And a final quote from Mark Buchanan about what it is I need to pursue:

"God is always speaking. . . but we're not always listening. We don't make the effort and so fail to go boldly into his throne room to receive what we need: a word that can pierce, and cut, and heal. Here's the paradox: If we don't listen, we never enter his rest. Yet if we don't enter his rest, we never listen."

Mother's Day 2008

Erin and Lindsay - May 1994

Erin and Lindsay - May 2008

Great memories were made this Mother's Day 2008. On Saturday morning at 8:00 am my family took me to breakfast. I was amazed that my two teenage daughters would agree to go so early on a Saturday morning. But that is all I knew about the day, that we were going to breakfast and then we would do something else for the rest of the day. After yummy bagels and chai tea at Panera, we got in the car and Tim and the girls started reciting all the things they thought about doing on this mother's day. They included train rides to San Diego or Santa Barbara, and other fun outings, but they finally decided they wanted to re-live the many days we spent at Disneyland as a young family. We had so much fun going to all the rides that were the girls favorites, and they introduced us to the "Fast pass", which is a great addition to the Disney experience. Who doesn't want to "cut" in line? It had been at least 10 years since Tim and I had been to the magic kingdom. Although much of it was the same, we oohed and awhhed at the new additions, and reminisced about the things no longer there (the people movers, the sky buckets, etc). We walked until we could walk no more, then we got an ice cream and sat on a bench and people watched for a while. We got stuck on the Indiana Jones ride (who hasn't?), and had fun talking while we waited in lines. The record line wait for this day was 60 minutes for the Nemo/Submarine ride. It was a good ride, they improved it quite a bit, but we weren't convinced afterward it was worth a 60 minute wait (there are no fast passes for that ride). Over all it was a very fun and memorable day. I was so blessed to realize that my two teenage girls still like to hang around us and do silly things like go to Disneyland. What more could a mother ask for then to spend a day with her family at the happiest place on earth!