"And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”" ... Exodus 33:14
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Sheesh! Sit down on your red couch to watch a few X-Files reruns and suddenly it's 9 days and no blog posts later.
Heh.
No, really, probably twice (thrice?) a year my mind needs a true vacation--this was one of those times. You know, what with --
the car accident,
the paperwork from said accident (Tom and I regularly lose paperwork for breakfast),
our dreadful, humid summer that I barely survived (I've sat here basking--recovering--in glorious, cool Autumn with deepest gratitude),
and-- to (mis)quote Michel from Gilmore Girls-- the way "people are acting especially stupid these days." 😉
And more I'd rather not mention now. Perhaps later.
Anyway, this homemaking gig! You'll never hear ol' Debra begging for personal days off. No, she just takes 'em.
Oh, of course housework never ends (and if you think about it, I'll never be able to retire), but I can tweak the work, move it around and play lots of the clean-the-house-during-tv-commercials game--and still get much done while feeling vacation-y (how good this feels). Or I postpone some of it.
I like that, too.
Technically, though, I'm aiming to live with my mind on vacation. You know, with my brain consistently at rest (on an imagined beach, maybe?), whole flights away from --
worry
dread
frustration
complaining
discontentment
and wanting what God does not want for me.
Yep, I believe God enables us to disentangle our minds from worrisome junk and stuff which is, frankly, none of our business. That's why I keep this verse on my blog's sidebar, 24/7:
"...and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands..." ...1 Thessalonians 4:11
It's like a map to peace, especially these days, what with people 'leaping in where angels fear to tread' and then gasping, "Oh no! Where did all this stress come from, anyway?"
Messing in others' business = the stress of being over ones head in No Grace Land. Scaaaaary!
Instead, I pray to become an expert at deciphering what is my business and stay far from what certainly is not. (Gee, there's millions of not-Debra's-business stuff out there!)
And may I remember there's peace and grace only when I get the differentiation right.
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Oh, and when voices in my head said stuff like, "Your so-called Mind Vacation is just an excuse for laziness and isolating yourself," I shut it up with truths like this --
"Every season is not a growing season. Every season is not harvest. There are seasons of watering, seasons of planting, seasons of pulling up the weeds, and fertilizing the ground. These are important seasons. They are times of testing where God is seeing what you’re made of. Are you going to keep a good attitude when you’re not making progress? Are you going to do the right thing when you’re not seeing growth? Have faith and patience." .... Joel Osteen
(And I would add: 'there are seasons of resting the soil' which yes, is A Thing.) 😉
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My friend, Ann, shared this cool quote at Facebook.
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Oh, and could you please pray for a friend of mine? She's a 'charter reader' of this blog--has faithfully read here all these 14 years--and the doctors told her she has cancer. Oh dear.
But we can all pray for her and believe, truly believe, for the very, very best.
Thanks so much!
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"Walk ... with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love." ... Ephesians 4:2
5 comments:
You are so blessed. I wish I could just stay home and not have to deal with people. Not feeling well today and I have to teach a sewing class at 5. 😟 Sending love and Prayers to your "charter reader."
Awww... praying you'll feel better by 5:00, Robin, and that the people will pleasantly surprise you this evening. Hugs, Debra
Debra, I am not sure if your car accident involved another driver. But here is a good hint: We kept a notebook just for the insurance/accident paperwork. I used an old notebook and put blank paper in it and also some sheet protectors. Also one of those zippered plastic pouches to hold paper and pen and such. Adding paperwork as we got it and any notes on phone calls etc. Document anything at all..in case. Ask how I know! Make sure everything has a date. I had sections for work related papers, the accident reports and also medical etc. It sure helped. At the negotiations they said we would not get paid for time off cause we did not have authorization on this or that. Well I quickly pulled it out of the notebook and we got paid. :) So many other times we has to refer to papers through out the months after the accident and i knew just where they would be.
I read the message about your reader needing prayer and will be doing that for her.
In these wild and crazy days of news we all need to be able to take a mind vacation. Turning off the tv and any feeds is a very good idea. :) No one is perfect [including us for sure} ! and we need to be less snoopy of others and keep our minds on our own business. We all complain there are not enough hours in the day to do what we want to do...well start doing what we really want to do and stop budding in on others problems. .. ... :-))) Sarah
Hi Debra,
I agree with the mind vacations. I have spent most of this week in the recliner watching Netflix because of back spasms and general not feeling well. I beat myself up for this continuously because Dennis gets stuck doing my work on top of his job. He never, ever complains.
I know I am very blessed.
I will definitely be praying for your friend.
Blessings,
Betsy
Sarah--thanks! Actually it's the older paperwork I have trouble with. I tend to either file it all in a drawer or I don't keep every single receipt of every bill we get--we wouldn't have room to walk! And of course, it's the older, thrown-away receipts we end up needing. When something does come up like an accident, we keep all the paperwork regarding it in one big manilla envelope and that makes it easy. Thanks for praying for my friend and for reading here so often!
Oh Betsy! I'm so sorry to hear that your back has been hurting again. Please do all you can to just rest your mind and tell it that God understands when we're injured and He doesn't expect as to run around and do everything like normal. Thanks so much for praying for my friend!
Thanks, Ladies! Blessings, Debra
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