May I encourage you to consistently rest. Build into your schedule to have a rest day. It doesn’t have to be Sundays.

I remember growing up – my mom always said Sundays were for rest so she didn’t fix big meals. I don’t remember what we did for lunch. Dinner on Sunday’s was home-made popcorn & milkshakes or malts, depending on the ingredients we had.

As a single mom I clung to this same idea…however, since popcorn makes me feel not so hot and the milkshakes always made me sick (hello, food allergies!…) the tradition didn’t stick. but the concept of rest did.

My rule: I don’t do anything I have to convince myself to do, anything feeling like work.

• If I WANT to do laundry, then I do it.
• If I WANT to clean the bathroom, then I do.
• If I WANT to clean out & organize the pantry, then I do.
• If I WANT to sit and read for hours, then I do.
• If I WANT to make a painting mess & clean it up, then I do.
• If I WANT to work on the computer for something personal, then I do.
• If I WANT to color for hours, then I do.
• BUT, if I at all don’t want to do something – I DON’T.

When my two were littles – I decided I WANTED to be with them. I WANTED to play, color, read, watch something with them. It was my pleasure as their mom to just be with them. It wasn’t a have to do. Of course, as they’ve gotten older this changes and looks differently. Lately, I don’t open email on Sundays. Somehow it is my time vortex, I open it because I think I want to and before I know it – I’m on 15 work bunny trails.

Just giving myself permission to have one day in the week I allow for what I WANT to do made all the difference when my children were littles and now they are grown – it still makes all the difference. It still does. This year because I’m the driver again for any of Christine’s activities and she starts the week at 5pm on Sundays. Saturdays are my new Sabbath Rest day, and I still don’t open email on Sunday.

Please, pick a day for a Sabbath. Spend some time with just you and Jesus.

His time is flexible and if your rest day is Monday, He’ll meet you then.
If your rest day is Tuesday, He’ll be 15 minutes early.
If your rest day is Wednesday, He’ll be rejoicing you have a rest day planned.
If your rest day is Thursday, He’ll love you just like on all the other days of the week.
If your rest day is Friday, He’ll waiting.
If your rest day is Saturday, He’ll be so excited to spend time with you.
If your rest day changes each week, He’ll never ever have a schedule conflict.

I promise, you won’t ever, ever regret the habit. and, you’ll find your mental refreshed state you’ll actually get more done when you have the next “normal” day. If it’s too daunting to “lose” a whole day – start with half a day. My recommendation – go cold turkey. I think you’ll find the longer you incorporate this “practice” you won’t even think it makes any sense to try to work 24/7 anymore.

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Because blogging can take a lot of time – when life gets tough it can be the first thing to be dropped.

Once a bit of time slips in between posts, it gets easier to “let it go”.

Then – it’s so overwhelming to start again.

Yet, there’s an aching miss to go along with “not blogging”.

Kind of like “If you give a moose a muffin” (Alaska’s version of “If you give a mouse a cookie”) – but it’s in reverse. While there has been nearly a year of absolute silence in this space, our family life has been far from silent.

I have missed coming to this space, but …. what is there to even say? Does it count for anything I have continued to write posts in my head – just never actually wrote or posted them? Unfortunately, no. I hope as I start writing and processing again, the memories of the last year will come back.

In a nutshell since the last post:

•  my son was a Senior in high school. (yes, he homeschooled and loved it! but, oh my – wrapping up last school year was so different. the knowing I would no longer have any say in his classes. the knowing I only have two years left of being involved in my daughter’s classes.)
• he applied to and was accepted for his one & only college of choice. (SO excited for him)
• my daughter had a truly horrific sophomore year of high school. (what is there to say? It’s excruciating to watch how awful teenage girls can be to each other. I am so proud of her for holding strong to what she believed to be true & right <- also the reason she became the “bad” person.)
• my son graduated in May. (my daughter & I are struggling with the pain. enough said for now.)
• he had the privilege to go on a mission trip with our church team. they went over to run the VBS for the kids of all of my brother & his wife’s fellow-missionaries in the Philippines.
• he was only home a total of four weeks this summer. (TOTALLY not enough time for our last “normal” summer!)
• this was a campaign summer. (which means life does not operate on any kind of healthy mental schedule. I was the campaign manager/planner/graphic design person)
• my son left August 2nd, 6:05 am; he and a buddy drove down to College. (can you say international road trip with a best friend – an epic way to start your college life! … but it also meant he left a week and a half before he had to be at school – which was a week and a half before classes started, for Cross Country.)
• the above mention campaign was our fifth election cycle, the first with three challengers (only one was really a concern, due to lack of activity from other two). oh, the ugliness of politics! dad refused to ‘play dirty’ – the other guy’s lies were believed.
• because the campaign is over, there are A LOT of changes ahead.
• my son has now been gone to college twice as long as he was home after graduation. (oh, the pain! <-BUT he now has less weeks away than he’s been gone before coming home for Christmas. not that I’m counting yet…)
• my daughter has started her Junior year of high school. yes, we are still homeschooling. she is enjoying three dance classes this year.

Anyway, here’s to “new” beginnings. A new start to getting my processing out in writing.

After a nearly year and a half break from writing, I’m excited to take the Write 31 Days challenge and to develop the habit of writing again. I’ll be linking up in the Family Life category – it’s time to write out some of “my story”. I was already thinking it was time, but I’ve been fighting it … for nearly a year and a half now … it will take a bit to get back into blogging again, but I’m taking the risky jump and saying, “Lord, I’m willing”.

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