Simple Sundays

Do you remember Sundays as a child?  For me, they were simple and slow, especially at my Grandpa Coons' house.

Sundays were meant for church and rest.  And that's just what we did.  The most exciting thing was discovering whether or not Grandpa was taking us out to eat for lunch after church.  (Oh, how I miss those plate lunches at the Cadillac and the Kings Table buffet!)

As a child, I didn't appreciate rest.  In fact, many Sundays I probably complained, at least internally, from the lack of anything to do.  We'd come home from lunch and just sit around, maybe nap.  If it was during the school year, the afternoon meant a long drive home.  If during the summer, it meant hanging until evening service.

Now that I'm grown, I love nothing more than a peaceful Sunday.  Over time, I've learned to protect this day and try very hard to schedule nothing on a Sunday afternoon and even more so in the evening.

Quite time with God on Sunday morning, just me, my Bible, and a steamy cup of coffee before my family and the world wake up, is one of the highlights of my week.  For the rest of the day, a perfect Sunday includes Church, lunch, a glorious nap, more Bible study and longer journaling, and a simple evening with the family.  I find my moments with God, on this seemingly unscheduled day, are all the better because of my unrushed pace.  There are no other commitments, no expectations of my time. I long for this peace.  And I think my appreciation and gratitude of this simplicity has only recently occurred to me, or at least my realization has been heightened.

Sure, there are a laundry list of things I could be doing (laundry one those unpleasantries), but I figure I have all week to accomplish them.  I remind myself that even God himself took a break. 
               "and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done" Genesis 2:2
And as my sister, Angela Thomas, would say from the Brave study I'm reading, "I'm taking a Sabbath!"

Now, if I could just get the kids to appreciate this precious break....but it will probably take them as many years to do so as it did me!

You've gotta read this!

Don't you just love a good book?  You know, the kind that sucks you in, where you can't wait to turn to the next page?  Or, where you feel like the author has peeked into your life because the pages seem so real? 

Do you prefer romance or action?  Self-help or inspiration?  Historic or worlds that seem to stretch the imagination?
Want to know something?  You can get all of this from one book!

Now, I know I'm teetering on sounding like an infomercial, but this too can be yours.  All of these stories and more can be found from the only book you'll ever really need- the Bible.

My daily readings have just jumped out to me this week and revealed so much.  After each reading, I find myself wanting to go further, dig deeper.  I hear God speaking to me and I'm soaking it up like a sponge.  And, I guess I want to shout it from the rooftop too! 

What's so amazing to me is that the story never ends.  You could never read this book and just be done.  Even a passage that is so known, you can recite it without looking, can speak to you again. 

They say a good book is one you'll want to read over and over and this is so true about reading the Bible.  Years ago, it was something I wanted to check off as having done it, to have read it front to back.  What I've learned is that as long as you're breathing, you should be reading.  If you open yourself up to hearing what God wants to say, even something as familiar as the 23rd Psalm has relevance, meaning, and wisdom. 

Tonight four simple, yet powerful, words jumped out from that familiar song... "he restores my soul."  And it had great meaning to me because of the women's Brave study I'd attended just a few hours before.  It was all about being weary and finding rest in the only place that would truly give you strength and restoration - with God.  So to come across this scripture, on this night, was just like the last piece of the puzzle.  A God wink, whispering, "I'm here, just come to me!"

Are you with me or am I totally rambling now?  Have you ever just stood in awe of the presence of God? Humbled and amazed that he took the time to show little ol' me something.  Thankful that I paused to hear it.  And excited to seek him tomorrow...and the next day...and the next.

Wishing you a joyous, God-filled week!

Brave.

I've never been the girl surrounded by a big a group of friends.  Sometimes I stand in amazement at Tina, who to the outside world can seem somewhat quiet or shy, but has dozens of friends.  It was difficult for her to weed down a friend list to invite to her last birthday party.  That was never me.

I solidly had one "best friend" from elementary to high school.  By the time middle school arrived, I branched out a bit and had a good handful of friends.  It wasn't that I didn't want more, it just seemed difficult for me to make friends easily.  At least more than what I considered to be 'high friends' - the familiar faces you'd chat in class with but never hang out or sleep over.

Perhaps it's because I can be perceived as shy.  And anyone who knows me well, will tell you that is just not the case.  As one friend put it, I'm an onion.  Those true friends, angels God has put in my path, just had the bravery to peel back my layers.  And I was brave enough to let them.

Even now, as an adult, who often longs for a few BFFs, my list of friends is rather short.  Tim is my best friend, something I love about our relationship, but as a woman, I still wish for a female version of that role.  Someone to shop or go out to eat with, someone to confide in, someone to just be a silly girl with.  Sometimes.  And then at other times the thought frightens me.  Because being that close to someone other than family opens myself up.  Scary vvulnerability.

I have been blessed with new friendships and close relationships since moving to EHBC.  I'm continually amazed at what God has brought into our lives through this church.  Strong women, faith-filled families, and I'm grateful for each smiling, caring face I've come to know. 

But my preacher put a kink in things when he asked me - and others in our group - to find an accountability partner last night.  Someone you could open up to, share with, pray with.  That's difficult for a girl who hasn't a long list to chose from.  I'm trusting God that he'll send someone my way or reveal the friend I'm meant to have in this role.

Timely that I'm starting a women's bible study tonight, appropriately named - BRAVE.  I'm excited and eager for the class.  And I'm boldly going into a church full of females, many of whom I don't closely know, and putting myself out there.  Bravely submitting to whatever God has in store.