I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God.   Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 Solomon, with all his wisdom, wealth, and power, made this determination:   That the gift of God is learning to be content.   Contentment comes when we recognize the beauty of the everyday ... something I like to call "living lives where the sacred and secular collide."   Ann Voskamp ... [Read More]

Remember when I shared that rest is often a sudden stop?   Today, I'm embracing that truth.  Yes, there are still boxes to unpack and laundry to do and an empty fridge and pantry and the list goes on and on ... but I'm choosing rest today. In fact, I'm choosing to leave this house so I am not even tempted to do anything else.  {That speaks volumes about my personality, I suppose ... I have to remove myself from the temptation to keep pushing through and get it all done.   It's real here, ... [Read More]

Physical rest has proven elusive the past few days.  I think our boxes are rabbits in disguise - they seem to be multiplying exponentially.   And somehow in the midst of all the chaos, I lost my bearings.   Consumed by the immediate task at hand, I fell into that old trap of "must. get. this. done." Funny isn't it, how God works sometimes?   Leading me to write this series on rest while we've been packing, moving and settling in to our new home has shown me just how independent I remain.  How ... [Read More]

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28 If we were to rewrite this verse to reflect the truth in our lives, it would most likely say, Come to Facebook, all who whine and complain, and your friends will join you in your pity party. Sad, isn't it?   When we are heavy laden, when our labor feels in vain, when the days have worn us down, the first place we share our burden is with the masses on Facebook rather than the Lover of our Souls. Is it any ... [Read More]

But there is something, in the Jewish Sabbath that is absent from most Christian Sundays:  a true cessation from the rhythms of work and world, a time wholly set apart, and, perhaps above all, a sense that the point of Shabbat, the orientation of Shabbat, is toward God. ~ Laurie Winner, Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Disciplines After reading Buchanan's thoughts on Sabbath and the comparison between the Exodus and Deuteronomy commands, I found Winner's book, Mudhouse ... [Read More]