Looking Forward to 2015

It's that time of year.  Whether you make resolutions or not, this time of year can be one for reflection on the past and planning ahead to the future.  I always make sure to take a few hours by myself at a coffee shop to ponder and pray before diving back into the regularity of daily life.  For 2015, my planning and goal setting will revolve around this wonderful new book, Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Loveby Sally Clarkson.  I will take the month of January to ponder what priorities God has for me, in my unique family, situation, and with my unique gifts and talents.

Here are some of the things I consider in the areas of marriage, parenting, homeschooling, health, homemaking, and ministry:

 -What went well last year?

 -What is God calling me to change?

 -Which routines are still working for our family?

 -Which routines need a tune-up and which can be dropped?

 -What friendships does God want me to invest in this year?  As finite humans, we can only sustain and deeply invest in a limited number of people- listen for those God would have you focus on this year.

 -What books do I want to read this year?  As a book hound, I've found that having a list keeps me on track to read some challenging classics as well as the just-for-fun reading.  I keep this list on the app, Good Reads and refer to it regularly.  

 -What crafts do I hope to complete this year?

Once I spend time praying over these things by myself, I share what I've learned with my husband as well as ask for his input for the upcoming year.  This is a special time of looking forward together and discuss goals for our family.

Another thing I try to do now (or at the start/end of a school year) is to ask my children some questions.

  -What have we done recently that you really enjoyed?  (I focus on homeschooling, but could apply to any area of their life.)

 -What sports are currently holding their interest?

 -Which friendships would they like to invest in more deeply this year?

 -Is there anything I can do differently to help them in their chores/school/family routines?

 -What would they like to learn about this year?

By asking these questions, I am listening to my kids' current interests and can tailor our calendar to include some of them.  One year, they both mentioned wanting to learn more about dinosaurs so we spent an entire week doing nothing but dinosaurs.  It was a special time of fun and learning in our home.   One child was also able to articulate that he didn't like being rushed.  I now try to slow my own words and actions and also to include more "cushion" into our day to accommodate his need for a slower pace.

Taking time to plan and pray gives me focus and intention to move into a new year.  "Where there is no vision, the people perish."  Proverbs 29:18.

Check out #ownyourlifebook on Instagram for some beautiful photos of ways other people plan to own their lives in 2015.

What do you do to move intentionally into a new year?

http://www.sallyclarkson.com/ownyourlife

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Sacred Rhythms

As you know, I am a book hound.  (Side note: found a "new" used bookstore a couple weeks ago.  it's heaven.)



This week, I'm halfway through Sacred Rhythms as a counter to the frenzy and anxiety that accompanies this season.  I've been struck many times by the conviction that the spiritual disciplines are right and good.

I know that I tend toward busy and distracted and must-be-productive, but to be reminded that these are near universal traits of Western Christianity is comforting.  Even more so, I need to hear intentional ways to counteract these tendencies to bring me closer to the heart of God.

While reflecting on a time of retreat, Ms. Barton writes,

"All of a sudden I was awake and alert to a level of overstimulation and exhaustion that I had come to associate with normal Christian living.  As I let my emotions flow without censoring them or trying to talk myself out of them, I could feel the weight of Christian expectations that I had been carrying around unawares." 

Are you carrying Christian expectations unawares?  I do.  Usually I don't realize it until I get to the point of no return- depressed, overwhelmed and so very cranky.  As I learn and grow in Christ, I realize more and more that I need to take responsibility for myself by moderating my energy and adding in times of refreshment to my life.

"Constant noise, interruption and drivenness to be more productive cut us off from or at least interrupt the direct experience of God and other human beings, and this is more isolating than we realize....Solitude is an opportunity to interrupt this by turning off the noise and stimulation of our lives so that we can hear our loneliness and our longing calling us deeper into the only relationship that can satisfy our longing."

Solitude.  Scripture. Prayer. Honoring the Body. Self-Examination. Discernment. Sabbath.  New thoughts on traditional practices.  This has been good for me.

How will you add in some Sacred Rhythms to your life this season?

Creation is Better

A few weeks ago, as I drove home on the freeway tired and blurry-eyed, I realized that the lights and billboards and buildings all combined to create a rather Las Vegas-like effect of garishness, it was so harsh.

I don't usually notice because that's just the way it is - you know how the postcard from your friend becomes invisible once it's been on your fridge for a month - and it's not so much that it is invisible but that it's commonplace, part of the background. When the backdrop of your visual landscape is the antithesis of people and tranquility, it brings a backdrop of anxiety to your soul.

I think this is one unconscious reason why I love the ocean so much. When you sit at water's edge, your entire field of view is God's creation. His hand was the meticulous crafter- and it is very good. Except for the occasional surfer or boat, there is nothing you can see that wasn't directly created by God; nothing 6 degrees of separation from God. (God made the tree and the tree made the pulp which made the paper which makes up poster on the billboard).

Somehow, even the boats are more a part of creation than the landscape of the mainland. Maybe that's because they are transitory- there are no permanent man-made buildings to obscure the beauty and rawness of the ocean. That's why for me, a raw diet of nature to indulge my eyes and ears brings me so much closer to God. I need some every day if I can get it.

Even if you live far from the ocean or wilderness, find yourself a tree, a meadow, a creek, even a playground with some grass and soak in the beauty that God made. Of just turn your head upwards and absorb the sky, the clouds, the birds. Take your eyes off the concrete jungle, the lights, the billboards, the glare of this world and turn it to His wonderful creation. Let that turn nudge your heart to Him. Colossians 3:2.