Weary!

Butterfly on flower!

I have a confession to make, I'm weary! It was less of a weight last week, but this week it's full blown heavy! Let me look that up real fast to make sure I'm using the right word. Yep, it's the right word. Feeling or showing tiredness, esp, as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep. For me this means; more than necessary physical or mental effort. I think I can throw in emotional and spiritual effort too. 

I found it very interesting that in talking with my spiritual director he suggested that I look at weary and ask why it's hanging around. 

Have you ever thought about doing something like asking your weariness why it's there? Well, up until a few years ago, ok it may have been months, I had never thought about doing anything but begging God to take it away from me. 

So I've been asking weary; What is your intent here? How long is the duration going to last? What do I need to do to make you go away!?

The answers I seem to be getting are: Invitation, as long as it takes, pay attention.

I'm going to do more asking. I'm also going to step back and see if the view is any better from back there.
  

Recharging!

"You are now running on reserve power and your screen has been dimmed. Please plug in your power adapter to begin recharging the battery. OK?" - Message from an Apple Computer.

Kinda says it all doesn't it? We get to a point in our life where we have got to recharge. There is just no way around it. Some, who ignore the message, will find themselves in the hospital, undergoing forced recharging. It's slow, often painful and costs plenty.

So why don't we heed the messages? For me, there's a part of me that thinks, if I can just keep moving, pushing through, I'll get it all done. It's a lie, straight from the great lier of all times. But I find that I listen, then I find that my reserve power is running low. 

My Mini is the same way, she has a reserve light with sound that goes off when the fuel is getting low. Granted, we can go another 70 miles, which ends up being about a week, on that amount of gas. The point being, someone better be listening to the message.

I challenge you today to allow yourself to be refilled, in whatever way that looks like for you. It will need to be purposeful, intentional and kind.

     

Napping!

Do you fight against napping? I have to admit, that I do. I don't really know the reason but I have spent most of this day trying to figure it out! In other words, I'm looking for someone to blame.

Napping, at the onset, seems like such a waste of time! I mean, stuff could be getting done, people could be ordered around, dogs could be washed, yard work done, something cleaned up, you know...work!

But, after a day of an hour and 44 minute nap I have to say... I needed it! I want to know who came up with this, and I want to tell them, Hey, Nap dude! Thanks, good job! Nothing got done during that time and after the said nap, I can say I don't care! Here are a few reason's why!

1. We drove to Memphis on Friday to pick up the newest member of our family, "Lil Whls". That's 2 1/2 hours there, sign your life away, and 2 1/2 hours home! BTW, we put the top down in Forrest City and got a mad wind/sun burn, which sucks the life out you. 

B. I had to get up at 4 am on Saturday to drive to Fort Smith for my Practicum I class. That's 2 1/2 hours there, learn lots, eat a taco, and 2 1/2 hours home!

III. Sunday is a work day at the Preacher man's house. I have found out that a Preacher really does need a nap.

Y? Well, I'm getting to the place where I believe God wants us to rest. Napping has been voted in as resting. See, God can speak to you when your well rested, he can speak to you any dang time he wants, but we hear better when we're rested. That might be why so many people don't hear from God, they haven't slowed down enough to rest in His presence.

Do you have a porch swing? I know why God made porch swings! So we could rest with Him, in rhythm and at a slower pace with nature. The back and forth of the swing is enough to lull you to nap time isn't it? Have you ever been upset and sat in a porch swing? Whoa Nelly!! Now that's just crazy motion! However, if you will wait it out, the swing will begin to melt away your issues so that nature and God can take over and bring you comfort.

I encourage you to nap! I also call you to the porch swing where life slows down and God speaks, or at least we are able to hear from that place of rest. 

Resting

It has cooled off and I am loven being on the back porch! I just can't get over how I have missed not sitting in a pool of sweat!

I'm sure, like the rest of the country, you know that school has started back. Less than a half a block away is our elementary school and behind that and down the road a little is the high school. We have one of the best kept secret roads in Sherwood that runs right by the house to the schools. Needless to say the teachers know about it and we can see their parking lot from the porch. I can tell you right of the bat that teachers are paid well by seeing what they drive! And it seems that they can afford speeding tickets too!

Why do we have to get in such a hurry? I was talking with a neighbor last night and she was telling me about how she wishes it was November already. If it could already be November, I would have already lived through all the changes that are fixing to happen, I would be on the other side. When we think like this, we miss out on the blessing that are going to happen today. I understand where she's coming from, I get sucked into that thinking too, but I'm learning that now is the best place to be, if your really there.

With Preacher man preaching on the Sabbath and keeping it Holy, it really helps to start to see why God wants us to rest. It's so hard for us to let go of what we feel must get done, even on our Sabbath. God commanded us to rest! Think about that for a minute, women. When are you resting? I told Preacher man for years before he was Preacher man, that we could rest in Heaven! Don't get me wrong, there is a part of me that would love to just sit around and do nothing. 

God wants us resting, I believe, so we will let down our walls. Then, He might be able to speak with our hearts. When we take the time to just sit and Be, we are slowing our whole self's down so that things can get in. That's why people who have lost a spouse have to stay busy, cuz they don't want the memories to  surface and their hearts to start hurting again. What we forget is that God is there ready to help with that if we would but ask. 

When we slow down and take time to look for God, we will find Him! If you start your day by talking to God, ask Him to show up somewhere during the day, and then you start looking. You will stay in the present and not be ready for November to already be here. You will find God in nature even if you live in a city. You will hear his voice when a friend takes the time to talk, in a song on the radio, or when the door is held open for you. 

Come into the silent presence of God and ask for the light in discovering the traces of God's presence and absence in our life.