Out my Window: Overcast day
Enjoying: Sarah Clarkson’s nightly chat, the kindnesses and connections of our church family (past and present), Zoom
Listening to/Watching: I am a fan of Jo Saxton and she was recently on Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love podcast. It was interesting. Definitely gave me some things to think about. http://jenhatmaker.com/for-the-love-live-episode-04-jo-saxton I also stumbled onto Sarah Clarkson’s nightly video. I am loving her calming voice, encouraging thoughts, and sharing of a poem and a psalm. I have added this to my evening routine. On fb her page is SarahEClarkson and IG it is Sarahwanders… she is the author of Book Girl which I highly recommend. It is full of wonderful book lists and life interactions with books. Seinfeld and Monk are our go tos for viewing lately.
Reading: Hoping to get my review for Leveling the Church: Multiplying Your Ministry by Giving It Away by Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield done today. I started reading Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire Jen Hatmaker (April 21). I haven’t really read much this week due to other circumstances that arose.
Pondering: Lent with this virus and the death of our close friend has felt heavy and forever. Each day feels so long and yet we are already entering into Holy Week. I have been pondering whether I want to be intentional celebrating Eastertide like I did last year. I learned about the 50 days following Easter from Tamara Hill at the Sacramental Life https://www.tamarahillmurphy.com/blogthissacramentallife/eastertide/2019/4/18-3?rq=practice%20resurrection It is a time to practice the Resurrection life.
“Put another way: feasting is a discipline, too. We take in the good with gratitude and contentment without making an idol of the gifts. This requires us to depend on the Creator as much (maybe more so) as any other spiritual exercise (TamaraHillMurphy May 1, 2017).”
I spent the 50 days following Easter practicing the discipline of feasting. https://inkblotlife.com/2019/04/22/practicing-resurrection-day-1/ That also feels heavy right now with the grief of this season and the world we are living in, but it also seems right and true. Disciplines are not always easy and their purpose is to strengthen us and help our vision and purpose to be clear. That is something I do need right now. My brain feels too fuzzy and my heart feels too full. This would be an act of defiant joy which is really what Christianity is. Celebrating the victory of Christ over sin and death as well as bringing the Kingdom here to Earth as it is in heaven are acts of rebellion against the prince of this world. So I am pondering what I need in this season for my soul.
Learning: I already know this, but something I need to figure out in this season, I need loose structure. I bawk against too much structure, but I do need some to function well. When it is up to me to create it, I have to be intentional. When I am not, like during this season, I get slammed by the waves or chase squirrels. This week I plan on developing a loose schedule. I plan on being more intentional in moving, reading, writing, connecting, and serving. I know these things do not happen as regularly as I like and need without a plan.
Home Life: Just the basics. Didn’t choose to complete any of the projects. I did get the house cleaned up more than usual, since we were having overnight guests. Baking and cooking have been the home life focus. One of my ways of coping and loving people is feeding them, so that has been happening regularly.
Fitness and Mental Health: My knee/IT band is not healing as quickly as I would like, so things look very different than I would prefer. I got outside some, and am trying to do some the things I learned in Physical Therapy when I hurt my other knee/IT band. Mental Health has been about trying to connect and encourage people during this weird season. The baking and sharing is part of that move. It gives me some sense of being able to “help”.
Giving Thanks: Home, provisions, little kids and their love and joy, generosity of people, kindness and consoling words of friends and family, chocolate, able to connect with a grieving family, technology, mail still available, my boys, my husband, my friends, church family past and present
Inkblot Life 