I mentioned in my message this weekend that Stacy couldn't take an entire day where she paused cause our family would be in pretty bad shape if she did. As I mentioned though its not a day off, its a time of honor and gratitude to our heavenly Father who is our Provider. Over the years she and I have wrestled with this principal in both our lives quite a bit and she has found ways to Sabbath that I think might be helpful to you wives and mothers out there who constantly feel pulled, so I asked her to share.
just wanted to give a little insight on what sabbath can look like in the life of a wife and mother in this crazy world we live in!
i believe that in order for things to be centered appropriately on giving God gratitude while realizing He is our provider takes purposeful PAUSES in our day to day operations. scotty explained this weekend that as a wife and mother you really can't take a sabbath from that role and if you do (which i have tried before...) all chaos and disorder occurs. you are then left to double up the next day what was left undone the previous. i was however thinking about that statement and i wanted to express to all you woman who are wives and mothers that it is crucial to your health and the health of those you are placed in front of to take care of... that you PAUSE daily...
granted we can't take 24 hours to PAUSE as i mentioned above but we can create a daily glimpse of experiencing a grateful PAUSE in the midst of our hard work. for a long time in this marriage mothering thing i thought you had to run on all cylinders all the time and thought this was normal. its like a circle that never ends and you are constantly trying to figure out different solutions to the same demands that occur constantly. then i realized that is not how God wants us to function at all. God wants our hearts and have them directed towards him in praise and adoration and wants us to realize he will take care of us and provide for our needs. we push that aside because we don't have "time." we care more about what others think in the way we manage our home and how we parent our children and how we treat our husband. we push off our MUCH NEEDED relaxing time for ourselves. why do we run ourselves ragged and never do things that help us physically, emotionally, spiritually????? as a wife and mother i do believe that God wants us to sacrifice for our family but not to treat ourselves like a piece of nothing. love being in the role of wife and mother and love yourself by taking care of yourself. the next most important step of it is to invite God in during that time. enjoy the "me" time with Him-- lavishing love and gratitude on Him. he is the one whom all the credit is due.
i highly recommend making a list of things you like to do that fill you up emotionally....this list will look different for every person but i promise that it is a crucial thing to do and then apply. i have applied this rule to myself and i try my best to PAUSE a bit each day with the things that fill me up. however, one thing that i have learned (and will be tweaking) after the message this weekend on sabbath(which is crazy cause i have heard many messages on sabbath....scotty is good at his profession huh?) is my perspective on what i will be concentrating on while having my "me" time. rather than just using it as a chill- catch my breath from washing dirty underwear, scraping dried oatmeal off the kitchen table, or breaking up fights i am going to intentionally thank God for how grateful i am for Him and all the ways i am better for knowing Him.
sabbath will get pushed out of the schedule if you don't concentrate on making it a priority. it brings health to your soul and restoration to your relationships and betters your walk with the one who created you.
also, make sure you don't label this time and feel guilt from it. this is what i run into ALL THE TIME with woman. its junk. my children know what it means when i tell them i need my "alone time" and scotty does as well. they know i need it and they understand why, and guess WHAT?? i don't feel bad about it at all. as a result it allows me to show them that when this PAUSE does happen in my days God will get the glory. i will tell them how important He is in my life and i want to concentrate on Him and all He has provided for me. in turn i will show them as well as myself how being grateful is a conscience effort of appreciating God's love for us and He really wants us to accept and cherish it.
so start planning your PAUSES girls!! you may have the title of wife and mother but first you are a woman who was created by an amazing God that has a special plan for you and loves you for more than what you can just produce and work at. don't lose perspective on value, honor and gratitude. get your "alone time" filling your tank and thank him in the midst of all the aaaahhhhh!!!!!
k lata
stacy
time to light a candle (except i may have to get rid of the one im currently using because scotty and i think its slowly poisoning us each breath we take while it is burning) and do nothing.... ;) and hopefully it won't be as awkward as it was at church this weekend. :)
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