Making resolutions?

T'is the last day of 2012. Time to look back through the journal to see what progress or what weaknesses lie exposed. Do you review the year as I do?

I started the year exhausted, working 10-14 hours, 6 days a week, on my dissertation. Once that was done, I partied. I've never celebrated as joyfully as this year - the dragon was slain, the un-doable done.

Then I rested. My journal shows a lack of momentum for months afterwards. I was so mentally drained that it was hard to focus. So I did very little. I puttered. I played piano. I painted a bit. I read a lot of nonsense and light fiction. I watched Korean dramas and followed Spy and Arrow on Hulu+

In November things started to heat up again. "Take up your bed and walk already!" was the message I heard during devotions. I started Monvee (from "mon vie," a spiritual discipleship program hosted by our church) and began to read enriching books. Someone added me as their accountability partner and a friend coached me through some sessions of a "Get Unstuck Bootcamp." (Click here for the website.) I added some exercise classes.

And suddenly I was in motion again. Thank God!

My 2013 resolutions are intended to foster spiritual life, better physical health, strong relationships, and mental vigor. Real Simple says we need 4 tips to keep our resolutions (click here for the full article):
1. be specific
2. make goals public
3. substitute "good" behaviors for "bad"
4. keep track

I don't have any earthshaking goals. It seems that keeping the ones I always choose is hard work enough:

• read more scripture
• pray and wait in expectation
• be more grateful
• read and write
• do art
• be hospitable
• and work hard at whatever is at hand

What is your most desired resolution for 2013? Why?

Read more:
*Some wandered in the wilderness lost and homeless. Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. 'LORD, help!' they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.

Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things" Psalm 107:4–9

*My eyes fail with watching for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” Psalm 119:82

*Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27

*Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. James 1:22  

*May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Moravian Prayer: God of endings and beginnings, may we bring glory tonight as we close this year and begin another. May our faith in your promise remain strong as you breathe your spirit upon us.

Gracious and giving Savior, forgive us when we withhold our power. Forgive us when we act on the behalf of a brother or a sister. Let us be fed by worship this day and go out to be your hands and feet. Amen.

What's in your head?

After 6 months of waking with an empty mind and no agenda, my head is full again. This morning, it was full with:

• The calendar is packed this week. Do I have the gifts ready for my friends, the material studied for the discussion, the appetizer ingredients ready to prep for the party? Bzzz.
• Are my workout clothes clean and laid out for the morning session? Bzzz.
• Our daughter comes home today. How will her body respond to Seattle weather? Is the bed made up? What else can we do to make the room comfy? Bzzz.
• A daughter-in-law, our daughter, and I visit the spa tomorrow. Are our Groupons in hand? Bzzz.
• Husband's work party? Do I need to do anything but show up?
• Next Monday's turkey dinner? When to set up tables? How shall I decorate them? Are the serving dishes washed? When to thaw out the 22 lb. turkey? When to make the stuffing? Bzzz.
• Are the gifts wrapped for Sunday's family Christmas? Bzzz.
• Oh yeah, I'm a writer and speaker. Are the presentations close to edited so I can send them off before conference deadlines? Bzzz.
• I babysit our 1 yr old granddaughter Fridays. We have to move the crib from Kirsten's bedroom to another room before K arrives today.
• etc.

There's a lot of buzzing in my brain.

I'm sure your head is as full as mine is, spilling ideas into the day. How can we manage the details that flood us in such seasons of celebration and change?

• Schedule quiet time - at least 15 minutes of reflection and prayer - each morning before the whirlwind begins. This settling of the heart allows us to align ourselves with God no matter what the tugging and pulling of obligations throughout the day.
• Watch and listen to how wise and godly friends and coworkers handle the pressures. Copy what is good and ask for advice if you're getting overwhelmed.
• Take time with your calendar to sort and prioritize. Write detailed agendas for items that require advance preparation. Schedule NO more than 3 evenings out per week, say the experts.
• Cut cut cut! anything and everything that doesn't serve your priorities. Some years require intense focus, while others let us drift through holidays at a measured pace. (Last year's journal, while I was in the thick of writing my dissertation, reports many more no's than yes'ses. That was the only way to stay sane and keep moving forward. Everyone survived and I got the work done.) 
• Give away stuff that doesn't serve you as you clear and declutter. Got old cameras? Clothes that don't fit? Seattlites, the www.bigbuetruck.org (or 800 - 992-2060) will come to pick it up from your porch. Maybe your kids have been eying a favorite teapot or piece of furniture. Do you really need it? Give it away with a smile. (See, you feel lighter already!)
• Enjoy the pleasures of the season. The meaning and blessings of Christmas - God with us! The visitors! The lights! The decor! The ribbons and wrappings! The clean house in which guests feel welcome! They all require effort ... but nothing is free (according to my mother). Since we work so hard, let's relish the results.
• Focus on the good things. Peace on earth, goodwill to those around you. Share God's love in every way that comes to hand. Forgive those who have hurt you as God forgave you when you hurt Him. Hug and kiss your family. 
• End each day with a prayer of gratitude. God is good. He gives us the night and rest. Let's not squander it in worry and sleeplessness. Morning is coming and your head may but full again.

Read more:

*One day Kish's donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, 'Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.

... Finally, they entered the region of Zuph, and Saul said to his servant, 'Let's go home. By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!'

But the servant said, 'I've just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let's go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.' 1 Samuel 9:3, 5–6

*Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Psalm 84:3

*But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV

*So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9

Moravian Prayer: O God, when we are weary, you invite us to rest. In our anxiety and busyness, let us take your invitation seriously today. Make us stop. Let us rest in your embrace from our labors and be renewed. Amen.

Oh so quiet!

Today's the weekday American Christians normally call a day of rest. Except that most of us go-go-go-full-steam ahead after church. We've bought into the culture's religion of "more is better," and our Sundays are spent running errands, catching up on the 101 to-dos, and "DOING" rather than resting.

The students on the Holy Lands tour remarked how awful it was that Israelis worked six days a week "and only have one day off." Ahem. Note to self and students: that's one day less than most of us work. After our 5-day workweek, we fill up our weekends with duties, activities, and emotional highs and lows. Then we're exhausted rather than refreshed for the week ahead.

What would it actually feel like to unplug all the technology, phones, and computers, not to drive, and to set aside time for friends and family? Restful.

Our son and his mother-in-law flew in this morning from Montana, visited here long enough to have breakfast and pack Melissa and Kinsey's things, and scooped up the young mom and baby (who have been here since Tuesday evening).

A day of rest

Our house feels quiet. The Vitamix is washed (used to make baby food this morning). The toys are picked up and put away. I can hear the washing machine swirling water through Melissa's bedding. The dishwasher is rinsing the breakfast dishes. The filters in the fishtanks are bubbling. I'm listening to the click of the baby food jars as they seal (yum: 1. mixed veges and potatoes; and 2. mixed veges, beets, halibut).

A few things still sit in the entry, waiting for our youngest son's trip to return his brother's car. Jono will take lunch over and eat with Timo, Melissa, Marilyn, and Kinsey, and return to them any left-behind objects.

My pedometer reads 11,000 steps - and it's not yet 11am.  Kinsey, the dogs, and I have already done our walk (7:30-8:30pm) and I have no more duties to fulfill today. Usually we'd be in church but I am resting. I'm seriously taking the rest of the day off.

We act as though this happened...

I am utterly grateful for a God so good that he designed a day of rest. He's no sloth, lazing about the universe doing nothing. But he's not a heathen god or idol who is never satisfied with our worship and efforts. He's also not an American taskmaster, demanding more effort and more production until we drop in burnout.

Knowing our human inclination to "do" rather than "be," he graced us with the Sabbath - a day of recuperation, enjoyment of his presence, and connection to other people. Thanks be to God.

 I'm unpacking that gift today!!! My Sabbath ends at 11am tomorrow. YAY for rest!

Read more:

*Behold, here I am, let him do to me as seems good to him. 2 Samuel 15:26 (NASB) 

*The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name — he is holy. Psalm 99:1-3 NIV

*Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

Moravian Prayer: We covenant with you, O purposeful Providence. Your will is written in our lives and works and is lived out in the world you created and saved through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hello hello! beautiful rest

Do you remember the transitions after reaching your goals? I'm in one of those heavenly lulls after a steep climb.

"So what are you doing now?" people ask me.

It feels like I'm doing nothing. The pressure is off, though I'm writing, mentoring, and planning events (a reception, 2 summer reunions, and a couple of occasions between).

The list of to-dos is long and getting longer. But the deadlines are weeks apart and I get to decide how those goals are reached. YAY.

I love seasons of productive rest. I've checked everything off the must-dos today and it's 6pm. Supper dishes are done.

PJs and feather duvet it is! I'm off to watch a few episodes of a Korean drama with a cup of peppermint tea and leftover tinned chocolate Christmas cookies. Those of you with kids will never know how sweet this time of life is until you get here :-)

... Just sayin' ... "You were right, Mom. This really is the best time of all."

Read more:

*God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands. Genesis 31:42

*Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord lightens my darkness. 2 Samuel 22:29

*Christ says, "I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness." John 12:46

*Paul wrote, Be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Moravian Prayer: Christ Jesus, let your light continue to be a beacon to us as we move from darkness to the hope and joy and peace of your light. Illuminate our way with your grace. 

Steadfast Lord, show us of small vision that our work for you is never in vain. Show us you are our rock and we know we can trust in you forever. Amen.