Sabbath Simplicity

After several of my friends recommended this book to me, I finally took the hint and started reading it yesterday. The book is called Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent. She talks about Sabbath Simplicity, and reading the book is like breathing fresh air. I have read less than 50 pages, and it makes me want to put aside my to do list, all my worries, and just sit at the feet of Jesus.

The book is centered on the following scripture in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The yoke mentioned in the verses historically meant a rabbi's interpretation of how to apply God's law, or how to live it out. She quotes Rob Bell, who I know some you know and love, and those of you who don't know Rob Bell, you can find his podcasts at Mars Hill Community Church. He really has a way of explaining things that I never could quite get. In this verse, Jesus is saying that his way of life is easy.

Sabbath Simplicity is a God-focused life rhythm of work and rest. It means to live your life the way that Jesus would, and not in some kind of cheesy WWJD (What would Jesus do?) way. Connecting with God begins with changing our focus and our pace. The first step is to slow down your life's pace so that you can be fully present, mindful, intentional, creating space & to notice where God is working and to join Him in that work.

Even if you don't believe in God or follow Jesus, I think we all miss something in life when we live with our focus on either the past or the future. Slowing down and being present would make this a much better world in our everyday workaday lives. The goal of life is NOT to do as much as I can as fast as I can. Sometimes I just need to hear that over and over, and take the time to appreciate my blessings and what is going right in the world. I know that there is a lot going wrong in the world, but not EVERYTHING is going wrong. While I don't want to live with my head in the sand, I do want to take the time to enjoy what I do have: my family, especially my husband, and my children.

Yippee!!!

G and I got our hair done yesterday. G has a cute chin-length bob. My hair is a shag and I'm trying to grow it into a long shag.

Oh, and I've been invited to the beach for a week. So the kids and I will be having a great time. Poor N has to work. :-(

Hair, Hormones & other Girl Stuff

G wants us to have the same hair color, and I'm actually thinking about it. Every time I let my roots show, I have more and more gray hair. I am graying really fast, and I'm scared to let my hair grow all the way out now because I think that I'm at least 25% gray and I'm only 35. I was reading something the other day that has pretty much convinced me that I am in peri-menopause or at least the stage right before menopause. All my symptoms point to my progesterone is decreasing. Oh the joy of being a girl.

Actually, I just screamed ...

... at C "Boy, get out of the kitchen or I'll hurt you!" Of course this was provoked. I swept and mopped the kitchen floor, and then half an hour later, C pulled a baggie of cinnamon sugar off the counter and sprinkled it all over the floor. I was right there watching him with mouth hanging open. I got up, figuring it was my fault for not putting the baggie away when I was finished using it, and swept the floor. While I was sweeping, C pulled a spice bottle out the pantry, which was open because I had just pulled the broom out of it, and opened the bottle and started pouring it out. That's when I grabbed the bottle and pointed to the basement stairs while screaming .... I try very hard not to scream at the kids, but I honestly think that that would have tempted the most patient souls, and God knows I am not the most patient of souls.

Just another boring blog entry (he he)

I don't have anything to say that would generate lots of debate and comments. I don't really think about politics most of the time. What do I think about? Knitting, knitting, with a little crochet thrown in. I am not sure if this makes me really cool or a geek, and I don't think that I care because I really found something that gets my creative juices flowing.

I have been working on knitting 2 socks at one time on 2 circular needles. It is working out well, except that since I only had one ball of yarn, I had to work from the inside and the outside ends. This means that the yarn keeps getting twisted on itself. Once I finish, I am going to start knitting a pair of black cotton blend socks. I got the yarn in Texas, and I think I am going to try a little cable or lace pattern. To date all of the socks I've made have been simple ribs.

I am still working on the cabled cardigan. I have half a sleeve and the collar to finish. It has been difficult to work on because it is a heavy winter cardigan, and it is Spring. ah well...

I am also taking a class on designing and making a sweater from the top down. This is really exciting because I'm learning all about using stitch patterns in design and shaping.

I signed up for a crochet bag for June. It is really cute, and there is a picture of it on this website:

http://www.interweavecrochet.com/

I really like to have 3-4 projects going on at a time, so that if I get stuck on something, then I can work on something else until I can figure out my problem or get help as the case may be. On the other hand, if I start more projects, then I start getting this feeling like I must finish something. Knitting just seems to make me more zen.