Down time. It is something we all need. Some of us need it more than others. Some of us are more adept at handling the endless array of events and to-dos that life throws are way at a breakneck speed. Some of us thrive on the intensity while others cringe at at the schedules that lie ahead. Some have learned to cope with the chaotic pace of life better than others, to a degree, but deep down, we all desperately need down time...for our peace of mind, for the calming of our nerves, to touch base with our feelings and sort out our thoughts, determine our needs, our desires and dreams, to remember who we are, and what we are about...for our health, our sanity. Life is not meant to be rushed through and why would we want to? It will end soon enough! It's not just about "stopping and smelling the roses" and "enjoying the journey", but about finding quiet moments alone to sit and think. Time to take a deep breath...inhale, exhale, just sit and live.
I can only go so much. Then I need time to come home, get things in order, take care of what needs to be done, then unwind. I may grab a coffee and my journal in the morning, I may sit quietly and think in my cumfy chair about what is coming up in the day ahead and prepare myself, or pray quietly about concerns in my life. I may curl up with a good book or cuddle under a blanket and watch a mindless show. For me, home is my refuge, my safe place to unwind, the place where I am comfortable. I love to socialize, visit new places and have new experiences, but amidst all the rush of life and all the endless tasks life presses in our faces, I think we would all be better off, even kinder and more tolerant, dare I say enjoy life, if we had more time to regroup, sit quietly, contemplate, unwind, and find our equilibrium. Time to breathe.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
My Love Affair with Books
I LOVE books! I could just devour them. I think books are one of the most worthwhile and wonderful creations man has come up with. Call me old-fasioned, or possibly odd, but I love the feel and texture of a good book in my hand! One of my favorite places to visit is a bookstore (I mourn the days of the quaint mom and pop stores) and my dream would be to have a library in my own home filled with rows of books in dark bookshelves and cumfy chairs. But alas, such is not meant to be at this time.
I also love that my children love to read. To me that is one of our greatest accomplishments as parents (if we can actually give ourselves credit) because it insures that their learning and pleasure will last a lifetime. If I would let them, they would sit for hours reading, tuning out the rest of the world, oblivious to the passing of time. But lets face it, balance is also important. My children see books and they just grab them up just to have them in their hot little hands. My pocketbook trembles when my kids show up after a search at a bookstore with a stack of books in their hands and eager, hopeful smiles on their faces. They know I'm a push-over where books are concerned.
To me books are the true source of learning...the fundamental teaching tool. Not only does reading expand your vocabulary naturally, improve your spelling without ever having to do a worksheet, and enrich your imagination, it creates a world you can enter into to escape the stresses of life and at the same time relax your mind, calm your nerves and soothe your spirit. Books can open up worlds you would otherwise never know or experience. They take you to far off places and distant times. They allow you to make friends with people you will never meet and live a life different from your own. Books stoke your natual curiosity by exploring any area of interest. It's like having the world and its experts at your finger tips. Anything you want to know you have access to and can learn about.
In books you come face to face with the perspectives of other people. They stretch your mind by causing you to think outside your own realm of ideas and biases and consider that of others.
Books also encourage and uplift you in your faith by sharing the knowledge, insights and experiences of others. Most significantly, God's written Word allows you to know and commune with the Creator of the universe. It grants you the priviledge or having a relationship with God and lets you in on the purpose for your life and the way to live it.
What I love about books is that unlike schooling, they allow your education to never end. You learn and grow, expand your mind and your outlook as long as you living. I never want to grow stale or stagnant and books afford me the opportunity to either go deeper within myself or just beyond myself. I wonder sometimes what would happen if we just gave our kids books to read, piles of them and a world of choices, and called that "school". Would they be worse for wear? Is that not how it has been done in the past by some great minds? Read and live, explore, experience and read some more. Or pehaps write about it, but that is another topic for another day.
In real life I do fall prey to treating books as a guilty pleasure. Something that can only be partaken once all my "work" is done. I'm striving to rid myself of this notion. I'm seeking to set aside time everyday for reading. Not just a few stolen moments here and there, as I have always done, but chunks of time. Why would I put last on my list, something so worthwhile? If it is so calming to my psyche, so enriching to my life, so stimulating to my mind, why would I not consider it as important as cleaning the floor, doing laundry or watching TV? It makes me who I am, allows me to be a better person, and keeps me forever growing. If I want this for my children, then surely I should set this example. Take time for yourself, reading is worth it!
I also love that my children love to read. To me that is one of our greatest accomplishments as parents (if we can actually give ourselves credit) because it insures that their learning and pleasure will last a lifetime. If I would let them, they would sit for hours reading, tuning out the rest of the world, oblivious to the passing of time. But lets face it, balance is also important. My children see books and they just grab them up just to have them in their hot little hands. My pocketbook trembles when my kids show up after a search at a bookstore with a stack of books in their hands and eager, hopeful smiles on their faces. They know I'm a push-over where books are concerned.
To me books are the true source of learning...the fundamental teaching tool. Not only does reading expand your vocabulary naturally, improve your spelling without ever having to do a worksheet, and enrich your imagination, it creates a world you can enter into to escape the stresses of life and at the same time relax your mind, calm your nerves and soothe your spirit. Books can open up worlds you would otherwise never know or experience. They take you to far off places and distant times. They allow you to make friends with people you will never meet and live a life different from your own. Books stoke your natual curiosity by exploring any area of interest. It's like having the world and its experts at your finger tips. Anything you want to know you have access to and can learn about.
In books you come face to face with the perspectives of other people. They stretch your mind by causing you to think outside your own realm of ideas and biases and consider that of others.
Books also encourage and uplift you in your faith by sharing the knowledge, insights and experiences of others. Most significantly, God's written Word allows you to know and commune with the Creator of the universe. It grants you the priviledge or having a relationship with God and lets you in on the purpose for your life and the way to live it.
What I love about books is that unlike schooling, they allow your education to never end. You learn and grow, expand your mind and your outlook as long as you living. I never want to grow stale or stagnant and books afford me the opportunity to either go deeper within myself or just beyond myself. I wonder sometimes what would happen if we just gave our kids books to read, piles of them and a world of choices, and called that "school". Would they be worse for wear? Is that not how it has been done in the past by some great minds? Read and live, explore, experience and read some more. Or pehaps write about it, but that is another topic for another day.
In real life I do fall prey to treating books as a guilty pleasure. Something that can only be partaken once all my "work" is done. I'm striving to rid myself of this notion. I'm seeking to set aside time everyday for reading. Not just a few stolen moments here and there, as I have always done, but chunks of time. Why would I put last on my list, something so worthwhile? If it is so calming to my psyche, so enriching to my life, so stimulating to my mind, why would I not consider it as important as cleaning the floor, doing laundry or watching TV? It makes me who I am, allows me to be a better person, and keeps me forever growing. If I want this for my children, then surely I should set this example. Take time for yourself, reading is worth it!
Friday, November 25, 2011
We Were Made To Praise Him
We were created for the sole purpose of praising God. It's really that simple. Our lives were made to praise God. Every fiber of our being longs to know God and praise & worship Him. He is so deserving of our praise that we cannot help but worship Him with all that we are. We praise in word, in deed, in song. We praise with our talent, our time and our very lives. Our chief purpose is to praise Him. It is easy to forget, to get distracted or to put it off for another day, but we must remember our higher calling, what is truly important, and that is knowing the God of the Universe and living lives of worship.
Now I teach my kids that the reason they were made is to love God and tell others about Him so that we can bring as many people to heaven as possible. Heaven...our true home, our eternal home, our intended destination. God desires that all be saved and we are here on earth to reach out to the people our lives come in contact with; people who might not be reached if not for us. That is our real job. But perhaps, lives that are overflowing in praise to God, lives in awe of Him who holds the universe in His hands, who spoke it into existance, and yet who loves us so deeply that He gave his only son to save us, perhaps lives that are radiant with praise are a testimony of themselves. We need not try to tell others of our faith, our very lives will reflect it. It will ooze out of us and we will be hard pressed to restrain from telling others about the Great God we serve! Lives full of praise to God radiate God's glory, overflow with His love, extend Christ's caring hand, live out their faith & make a difference. How can they not? How can a life steeped in praise to God not reflect who He is? His peace amidst life's trials, His direction and purpose, His unassailable joy no matter what? Lives of praise...so simple, so natural, so powerful. Stop. Be quiet...each day. Take the time to think on Him, read about Him, praise Him. I believe lives will be changed...mine and yours.
Now I teach my kids that the reason they were made is to love God and tell others about Him so that we can bring as many people to heaven as possible. Heaven...our true home, our eternal home, our intended destination. God desires that all be saved and we are here on earth to reach out to the people our lives come in contact with; people who might not be reached if not for us. That is our real job. But perhaps, lives that are overflowing in praise to God, lives in awe of Him who holds the universe in His hands, who spoke it into existance, and yet who loves us so deeply that He gave his only son to save us, perhaps lives that are radiant with praise are a testimony of themselves. We need not try to tell others of our faith, our very lives will reflect it. It will ooze out of us and we will be hard pressed to restrain from telling others about the Great God we serve! Lives full of praise to God radiate God's glory, overflow with His love, extend Christ's caring hand, live out their faith & make a difference. How can they not? How can a life steeped in praise to God not reflect who He is? His peace amidst life's trials, His direction and purpose, His unassailable joy no matter what? Lives of praise...so simple, so natural, so powerful. Stop. Be quiet...each day. Take the time to think on Him, read about Him, praise Him. I believe lives will be changed...mine and yours.
Making a Life
There is so much to do each day. So many trivial things can fill your day making you essentially lose your day...each day, every day, leading up to a lifetime of not truly living, but just doing. Doing the mundane. It takes a concerted effort to pause and take some time to breathe, think, be quiet. It takes more of an effort to stop and smile, to fully listen with your eyes, ears and mind, and to plan what you actually want to do with your day, not just have to do. It takes courage to let go of some of the things on your endless to do list and choose instead to do something worthwhile, meaningful. It doesn't have to be something magnificent. It can be simple, and quite often the simple is better than the grande, as long as it is something worthwhile to you. Play a game with your kids, laugh at their jokes, listen to their stories with full, undivided attention, go to their "restaurant", read a good book on the couch with your 10 year old, do a puzzle, take a walk and enjoy the sites, write a poem or write a friend.
It also takes a purposeful effort and introspection to look at your life and see what you really want out of it, how you want to live it, and what God intends for your life. It takes determination to set aside the mundane and chose instead those things that have more meaning and value. I think in slowing down, in discarding some of the trivial items, you can choose those things that make a life, truly a life and not just a list. And in doing so you will find peace, purpose, direction and a life worth living. Jump off the treadmill and make time for your life. You only have one to live.
It also takes a purposeful effort and introspection to look at your life and see what you really want out of it, how you want to live it, and what God intends for your life. It takes determination to set aside the mundane and chose instead those things that have more meaning and value. I think in slowing down, in discarding some of the trivial items, you can choose those things that make a life, truly a life and not just a list. And in doing so you will find peace, purpose, direction and a life worth living. Jump off the treadmill and make time for your life. You only have one to live.
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