Good Stuff
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 It’s taken a month of quarantine for me to move my fingers over the keyboard. 1 Month. Like many of …
Tag: rest
I’m Not Responsible
I received a text from a friend filled with concern. She saw some things a mutual friend was doing and it broke her heart. She knew life wasn’t found it that space but didn’t know what do. Have you ever been there? Have you ever …
The One About Contentment
I was thinking about the new year and all our goals and aspirations. There’s something about newness that inspires. Something about a fresh start propels us into action.
While I believe in that whole-heartedly, I began to wonder that if and when we meet those goals we’d actually be happy; we’d find contentment.
So, I came to Sarah and let it all out. I mean, all of it. I sounded harsh at first (thankful for her grace), but I needed to get it out. I truly believe that if we can’t find contentment in today regardless of what life looks like, we will not find contentment when we reach our goals. I dare you to take a chance and listen to this episode.
Whether you are in the middle of your resolution journey or haven’t even started yet (or, you have no intentions of starting anyting), this episode is for you!
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Faith Funk
Ever been in a funk? Everything in life is fine. You are chugging along nicely. Kids are doing well. Family is in good standings. Your job is moving in the right direction. But, something doesn’t feel right. You can’t pinpoint exactly what is going on. …
Empty Space
I don’t know about you, but I do not like empty space. I am a filler. Hand me an empty calendar, and I will write in all the things for all the days with color-coded pens. Give an empty schedule and I will fill that …
Rooted in Faith so Self-Care Becomes the Norm
Self-Care. A 2018 buzz word. We all know taking care of ourselves is important; a necessity. No one can work from a depleted spirit. We are all searching.
Searching for rest.
A break from the busy.
A break from the news.
A moment to relax and breath.
My husband typically works from home. When he does, we often meet up in the kitchen throughout the day and chat. I usually start the conversation by asking him how his day is going. One of his more frequent responses is, “If I can get through this week, things will settle down.”
Have you ever said that?
Just get me through this season and life will settle down.
But, it never does. Things are always busy.
We know that taking care of ourselves is necessary. We know that we are no good to others if we try to serve them from an exhausted soul. It’s time to take self-care from an activity we put on our calendar once a month to do to something that is weaved in and through our daily lives.
“So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing in thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
Colossians 2:6 starts by talking about how we received Christ. If you are a Christian, you have received Christ. When you receive him, you have full access to his power. Every one of us received this power the moment we said yes to Jesus. No one has more Jesus than the next girl (even though it may seem that way). Jesus is in you. All you have to do is access him to receive his power. This leads to his strength which gets you through those busy times. That power that you have full access to, leads to rest in the chaos. He is your root; your footing.
In order to make self-care the undertone of our life, we must learn to live in him. Colossians 2 talks about this. This means we pray ALL THE TIME. We talk to Jesus in the car, in the shower, while making dinner, when your kid tells you about their latest Fornite victory. Talk to Jesus. He is your friend. Just like you would pick up the phone and text a friend, talk to Jesus.
If we are going to find rest, we also need to make time to be in our Bibles. I know, life is busy and reading the Bible is complicated. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t matter what this looks like. Just be in the Word. I remember when my boys were babies and I didn’t have a spare moment. I did, however, have one of those flip calendars on my kitchen counter with Bible verses on it. That is how I got my daily fill in that hectic season. There is no assignment for how much or what you need to read. There is no due date. Just read.
Read to connect with him.
Read to rejuvenate your soul.
Read so that life is breathed into your lungs.
Read so you are rested.
Colossians also tells us that we are strengthened in our faith, through our faith, and by our faith. Our faith is what strengthens and sustains us. Our rest when life gets rough. Not too long ago, my dad had a stroke. A couple days later, my husband traveled for a week for work. Life felt heavy and hard. But, I am here to tell you that my faith was my strength during that time. I remember getting to Friday when my husband got home. I threw on my jammies and laid on my bed around 6pm. Daddy was home and there was someone else my kids could call on. I remember laying there thinking, “I made it through. I made it through a traumatic experience and survived a week of single parenting (Props to all you single parents. You are heroes!). Not only did I make it through, but I wasn’t depleted. I actually felt rested. Rested because I leaned into my faith to see me through.
The last thing Colossians tells us is to be overflowing with thankfulness. A while back, a friend challenged me to keep a gratitude journal. If I am being honest, I wasn’t too keen on this idea. For one, I am not a good journaler. I know I should be seeing that I am a Christian and apparently that’s what Christians do but I’m not. I also saw it as one more thing to add to my to-do. What I noticed after this conversation, however, is that I started to mentally take a tally of the things I was grateful for. And you know what? It shifted my perspective. No longer did the negative chatter take precedence in my thoughts. Instead, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness which shifted my perspective to him ushering in rest. Gratitude changes our perspective which leads to rest. Gratitude helps us to see those God nudges that happen when life seems hard and chaotic. Gratitude focuses our attention away from the hard and back onto the Savior. When our focus is on the Savior, our rest rushes in and we are practicing self-care.
We know there is chaos in every season. It’s inevitable. In order to be rested and prepared for the crazy, we must be rooted in our faith. We must have these strong roots in our faith so that self-care and rest become the norm. It becomes a part of our daily lives. Being rooted in our faith energizes us for those moments when life overwhelms us. When we are rooted we can rest because our rest is found in him.
When we are rooted in our faith…
We don’t question who we are because we know Whose we are.
We don’t struggle to believe because He is real regardless of our circumstances.
We find rest in the chaos because He is our steady.
What is grounding you?
What sustains you in the busy?
Where do you find rest?
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Chasing Go With The Flow
I’ve read many blog posts and articles about how we as a society “chase busy.” I’ve also read posts that tell us how we need to start “chasing slow.” We talk about balance and how we need it, but know it’s unattainable. My husband often …
Discouraged
Oh, man. Discouragement crept in and made himself comfortable. He pitched a tent, blew up an air mattress, got his heated blanket, and hot cocoa and cozied up next to me. He started jabbering away in my ear spewing all his lies but making me feel like I was talking over coffee with a friend. I fell for his trap and started believing every word.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19
The discouragement became the encouragement. I was searching and straining to be filled and instead, allowed a bate and switch to occur. I enabled discouragement to take the reigns and he was off. You see, I was looking to the wrong things and in the wrong places to be filled. I was looking to myself, my abilities (or inabilities), my friends, my family, and this world to fill my needs, wants, desires, and to be my encouragement. When, the only way I can be completely filled, completely encouraged, is through the Lord.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
I was casting my burdens in the wrong lake. I put the responsibility of relieving my pain in the wrong hands: in my own abilities, in others, in my circumstances. And I came up even emptier than before. I felt like a child lost in the grocery store panicking and pacing trying desperately to find my safety and relief only to continue to lose my way.
I was trying desperately to sustain an unfulfilling season in my life by passing the baton of control to discouragement and not the true Encourager.
God has placed a desire in my heart and in yours, too. We seek, fight, and work out that desire usually with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. It is easy to find discouragement when our lives do not match our dreams. We continue to chase after that desire like a novice trying to run a marathon without any training. Instead of chasing on our own, we need to delight ourselves in Him so we can truly find out what that desire is that He has placed within our hearts. It is only in this space that we will find true encouragement; especially when pursuing those dreams.
I have to stop finding my encouragement in myself, in others, or the things of this world. On a side note, I will say, a good hair day or the perfect avocado can really encourage a girl on a crummy day. I digress.
Discouragement breeds when we look everywhere but to God for encouragement. Encouragement, fulfillment really, is only found in the Lord. The rest will leave us disappointed.
So, when you check that post to see how many likes you got, or you cook that meal waiting for praise from your family, or you wear that cute outfit waiting for the world to acknowledge your beauty, or you write that post, or post that video waiting for it to go viral, remember that your worth, your value, your encouragement does not rest in these things. It rests in the Lord.
…but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Love & Blessings,
Meg
