A City Life For Me

Psalm 42:11

Something that I have been learning about recently is the practice of Sabbath.  I always equated the practice of sabbath  with the Lord's Day.  My husband preached from Luke 14 a few weeks ago, and in that passage we examined the sabbath principle.  Because Sunday is one of our biggest "work" days as the church staff, it's hard to think of Sunday as a day of rest like it was when I was growing up.  But I have also been realizing that I cannot maintain the speed and pressure of everything on my list at this season of life, so looking for a rest day has been in the forefront of my mind. The word for sabbath  just means seventh, so a true  sabbath would be on Saturday.  Again, this is not practical for our family as a lot of ministry and ministry preparation for Sunday takes place on Saturday.  This has led me to evaulate what and when we could do to create a culture of rest in our home on a different day. We had been taking a half ...

This post has been brewing for a couple of years now.  I guess I’m finally brave enough to voice my thoughts.  But I have been censored and edited by my husband, who is much gentler and more forgiving than I. Through many of the recent posts floating around Facebook and Instagram (my favorite social network these days), it has become apparent to me that the celebration of Halloween is no longer taboo for many of my Bible believing friends.  I am personally very disturbed by this. Why is it that a holiday which is so evidently associated with evil has become something which Christians feel they can or have to participate in?  Why should we even celebrate it in an alternative manner? These verses are continually coming to mind: Ephesians 5:11 – “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15 “…for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  and what communion hath light with darkne...

Fridays are for writing for five minutes.  Only five minutes.  Stream-of-consciousness style. Like you did when you were in 9th grade.  Write and see what comes out. There’s no right or wrong.  {Hosted by the Gypsy Mama } 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Today’s prompt is: expectation Go. I’ve been trying to change my expectations for the day by changing a habit.  It’s a simple thing – something I have known I should be doing.  But I have always found an excuse or a reason why I won’t do it today.  I’m talking about getting up before my kids.  It was easier when I just had Elaine.  If we both slept in, no big deal.  But with two kiddos, I am finding that is it vital to my day’s perspective to rise before the children....

Well…I started writing this on Thursday.  Now it’s Friday.  Such is life with two little ones. Today I am thankful for Elaine.  In a different sort of way.  Let me explain.  When I was in the teen group, my youth pastor preached a series called “Crowded to Christ.”  He used the lives of several Biblical characters to illustrate that sometimes God places people or circumstances in our lives just to “crowd” us to Himself.  The one example that I recall was Jacob.  His name means supplanter , yet he didn’t really face his deceptive ways until he came face to face with another deceiver – Laban.  When Jacob looked at Laban it was like looking in the mirror. God has been showing me some things about myself through Elaine.  The things she does…the attitudes she shows…that bother me the most, are the very things and attitudes that I find myself struggling with on a frequent basis.  I guess you might call them my besetting sins.  So...