Sabbath

I have been reading Tim Keller's book King's Cross. It walks through the gospel of Mark and I am learning and seeing things in new ways. In one chapter he talks about Sabbath. I never really knew of the concept of taking a day of rest until college. At that time it felt very legalistic, almost as a means of people being better spiritually...like it was worth a lot of points to God if you didn't do homework on Sundays. So I didn't ever really give it much thought.
I enjoy doing less on Sunday and having time to think about the sermon on Sunday or just relax and not worry about the coming week or responsibilities. But I hadn't really thought about it in the terms that it is written about it Mark. It is the story from Mark 2 when the Pharisees accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath because he and his disciples have gathered grain. In response to their accusations Jesus goes and heals someone. And says that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And I think that is saying it all. That the Sabbath, this time of rest was made for me....that I need it and therefore he has made it for me.
The word Sabbath means "deep rest, deep peace...a state of wholeness and flourishing in every dimension of life." Keller writes, " Jesus means that he is the Sabbath. He is the source of the deep rest we need. He has come to completely change the way we rest. The one day a week rest we take is just a taste of the deep divine rest we need, and Jesus is its source." 

I don't observe Sabbath to check off another box but to enjoy the creator and lover of my soul. I need this deep rest and deep peace.

Observations

This afternoon I went to the Post Office, which for those who know me know that this may be my least favorite errand. Well, I was surprised when there was nobody in line, so I was already in a better mood. Then the post office lady who was next to the guy helping me starts singing along with the song playing overhead. Now the song was a classic: Cher's Do you Believe in Life After Love, so I can see why she was so enthusiastic to sing along :). What I loved was that she didn't care. She didn't care that I was right there, that her post man friend was right there and then that some other people came in after me. She didn't care that she didn't have a great singing voice. She was feelin' it so she was singing to her jam. I was touched and inspired by her reckless abandon. At least enough to keep thinking about it and write about it here.

Taking it Back to the 80s

Growing up in New Orleans it was hot. Really hot. Like walk outside and sweat immediately hot. We sometimes got the treat of a Snow Balls (think better than a Sno Cone and way better flavors). But more likely we had homemade popsicles. My memory is that we would get to make Koolaid and take turns picking the flavor and then pour them into our popsicle molds. The best part was at the end you got to drink the melted part from a little straw. Well, I found some popsicle molds on Amazon (for a steal too!) and decided I wanted to take myself back to the 80s.
Tonight after a game of tennis in the heat I enjoyed a delicious popsicle (especially since Las Paletas was closed)!

Fun colors!

My favorite juice to make them with so far. Thanks TJs!

And enjoying the last drop! Very delicious!

Grace

When I finish a book, especially one I liked, I usually am in withdrawal for a few days. I miss the characters and the story and I need a little in between time before I pick up a new one. So in those days a lot of times I pick up books that are like old comfy sweatshirts to me...these would be things like The Hiding Place or Traveling Mercies. So Anne Lamont has been on the list lately...you can read a chapter here or there without having to read the whole thing. Now, if you haven't read her work, she is a little crazy but I am a big fan of her stuff. The following is one of her quotes from Traveling Mercies:
"I do not at all understand the mystery of grace-only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. It can be received gladly or grudgingly, in big gulps or in tiny tastes, like a deer at the salt."

Restless

St Augustine said this: "for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. ...Oh! how shall I find rest in Thee? Who will send Thee into my heart to inebriate it, that I may forget my woes, and embrace Thee my only good? What art Thou to me?"
My heart has this tendency to feel restless, to want more, to not be satisfied, to have this idea of a perfect world that I think I should be living, to always want something different than what I have. I do not like this restless feeling. I wish it would leave on its own or that there was some simple way to just be able to enjoy the moment I am in.
I have found myself feeling more restless lately. I know I desperately need to find rest in the Lord, to listen to his voice...to allow it to inebriate my thoughts and to sit there in that alone.

Showering the Mama

Last weekend we had a baby shower for my good friend Deidre (or D as I call her).

Decorations and of course tons of food. We had a sweet group gathered to celebrate. It is crazy to be a part of all of this with so many good friends. First, I can't wait to see if it is a boy or girl (I think boy!). And then I can't wait to watch them become parents!
 
And of course she got showered with presents for the baby.

The registry at Target was broken, so she got 3 Bumbos!

Not much longer to wait...

Jubilate Deo

At camp we sing this song on Sundays. The words are the Latin "Jubilate Deo." It it is that simple. Sung in 6 rounds (think sweet high little girl voices) and when it ends everyone stays silent. The translation is Praise be to God. The song ends by singing Hallelujah. But in rounds you hear that 6 times over.
Anyway, it always gets me to thinkin....what am I giving praise for? So that is my question for you today...are you giving praise to God and what for?

Amazement

Sorry, another art history lesson. But I just can't help but be amazed by what they were able to create and make hundreds of years ago. I was flipping back through my pictures and have still been reading some of Vasari's art history. I was reading the chapter on Brunelleschi, the architect who designed the dome on the Duomo in Florence.

There is really no way for me to capture in a picture the grandness of this dome. It is huge! Here it is from far away...gives it a little perspective.

So for the history lesson. The church itself was rebuilt in the late 1200s-early 1300s. But they didn't complete the dome at that time. The church went without the dome for over a hundred years. Then they held a competition to see who would be the architect for the dome. They spent a long time debating this, not believing in Brunelleschi's ideas because they were centuries ahead of the time. But he finally won and had to use a little trickery to show Ghiberti (the guy who got second and was helping on the build but wasn't actually helping at all and had no clue what was going on) needed the boot and made this amazing done. It is constructed with big iron chains, had an inner and outer portion to the dome (which is cool because you can walk up the steps inbetween these domes to the top). He created a way to hold up all those tons of weight of the stones so they wouldn't topple on each other...oh and he had to figure out how to hoist all that stuff up that high. He also had a whole working area set up that high so that people didn't have to come down to get food or water or wine...they could just stay up there all day and increase productivity.  He was a genius!
Here is a cool image from USC that shows the structure.

Anyway, besides being amazed by all that went into it I loved getting to admire its beauty.

Back, but...

I am back from camp, but I won't leave you hanging with what we sing at the last meal. This is the breakfast prayer:

God has created a new day
Silver and green and gold
Live that the sunset may find us
Worthy his gifts to hold.

Everything about camp sings simplicity and that is one of the reasons I like it. It is like stepping back in time in some ways...all the tradition of camp makes it seem like time has stopped. The girls sing songs that you can tell were written decades ago. They meet every day for assembly where they all do coordinated dances to certain songs (think songs like It's Raining Men, Amy Grant, Rockin Robin). Some of them even have names that are from the 1940s (oh that may just be the Southern influence:).
I sleep essentially outside and fall asleep to the sound of crickets and frogs. I do my nursing work and then I read or talk or simply sit and enjoy what is around me. Why is it so hard to do that in normal life?

More Camp

For health and strength and daily bread
We praise thy name, O Lord
Amen

Camp

While I am here at camp I thought I would just post some of our meal time prayers. I love the sweet simplicity of the words. Here is our dinner time prayer/song
Lord of life the fountainhead
By thy hands must we be fed
As we bow in gratitude
Lord we thank thee for this food.
Amen

Summer Reading

I always love reading, but especially in the summer. Maybe it reminds me of sitting at the beach or reading for school, but I feel like I go on a reading surge during the summer.
My favorites so far this summer have been re-reading Les Miserables and this cute story called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (I know, longest and strangest name ever). Les Mis is and will always remain a favorite...such a beautiful picture of grace over and over and over again.
And the Guernsey story was a great find. It is a book of letters after WW II between a writer, her friends, and the new friends she makes who lived in the German occupied Channel Islands during the War. Very interesting, very cute. I was laughing out loud but also pulled into the stories that unfolded.
I was very hesitant to read The Help mostly because I had heard mixed reviews and it is so popular and I don't always love the popular fiction. But it was better than I was anticipating, so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time.
Now I have moved on to the 13th Tale...a rec from my sister. So far so good.
Hopefully everyone else is enjoying some good summer reading too. It is good for the soul.

Living in the Promise...

And stop worrying about the future.
This is what I have been realizing today...actually there is a lot that I have been realizing today. But, lately I have been really stuck on the future...thinking about what I should do with my career life, what I would desire out of my personal life, realizing that some dreams I have always had for my life are being laid aside thanks to my RA. This is the tip of the iceberg, but it amounts to a lot of thoughts swimming through my head that relate to the future in some way or other. I have been focusing on trying to figure all these things out, wishing that there would just be a yellow brick road leading me and yet again not enjoying the uncertainty of life.
When I focus on the future I miss out on the promises of today. I miss out on the things that are right around me. And I put too much pressure and value on myself.
In Exodus 10, the Lord speaks to the Israelites about the Passover, the last plague, and what will be the time for them to depart from slavery. These are some interesting preparation portions of the chapter: "Eat the flesh (of the lamb) that same night (that it is killed) and they shall eat it with unleavened bread...you shall not leave any of it over until morning...you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste." He was calling the people to be ready and to live in the promise...not to save leftovers or plan for tomorrow, not to wait for their bread to rise, just to eat and be ready to go if the Lord should call them. Instead of calling them to plan or prepare he was saying, I will give you what you need for the journey, I will lead you, just be ready.
I know I will face this challenge over and over, but I hope to remember some of this and live in the promise and put my heart and mind at rest as I trust the Lord for my future.