Month: September 2018

Stop is a verb

/ Waiting Not Nellie / 12 Comments

I had mistaken the definition of stop. It’s clearly a verb. It’s an action word.

Stopping is not passive. It doesn’t just happen. So why do I expect it to?

In my world, stopping only happens with intention, planning and prioritizing.

The school year has hit our family in full force now. My kids are in big and busy years, but different this year is that I’m in school too. I’m in an intensive, full-time professional program. You should see the reading lists for my classes. Oh my word! So. Much. Reading.

It would take almost no effort at all to justify stopping any attempt to seek, find or practical Sabbath this school year. Everyone would understand. But, God has put it so strongly on my heart, that I can’t let it go.

Instead, I’m doing the opposite and have explained to my children that we are trying something different this year. We are calling a stop to all school work for Sundays. I want, no… I need one day a week where I’m not doing it, not thinking about it, and not nagging my children about it.

Let’s be honest, this isn’t going to be easy and we may not manage it perfectly. We are going to have to be diligent, intentional and focussed the balance of the week… and organized (which I am not). But, having the boundary in place is our best chance of actually keeping a day of rest.

Do you have boundaries around your Sabbath practice? Are there things you have to be intentional to stop or to start? I’d love to know how this works in your life. Join in the conversation. Comment below, or jump over to our Facebook group, where we can chat.

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Smart and Simple Solution #3

/ Waiting Not Nellie / 10 Comments

Today, I made myself a Sabbath Basket. I’m calling these simple solutions for a reason… this might be something everyone BUT me already had figured out! It’s super simple, but I expect it to be a significant solution to my rather scattered approach!

I am a random (scattered) thinker – and as a result, I don’t have a lot of routines, structure, or systems that stay the same for very long. My house gets pretty scattered, my bookshelf is very scattered, and things often end up in very strange places. Let me be real and honest for a moment and confess that I lost the same cup of coffee four times today.

So as I was looking for solutions that might help me do better at keeping my Sabbath focussed, I decided to start by just gathering things up for easy access.

My basket is filled with things to pull out both for my Sabbath times, and for my daily devotion time. And, I also picked a spot in my house to keep it – our house is small and I haven’t had a designated quiet space for myself (I didn’t even have a bedroom of my own until July!). Today I picked a corner to try and use consistently so I have a space with everything I need ready to go.

I put a Bible and a notebook in there, and a pen for taking notes. (My Bible looks a little worse for wear… but, this isn’t about being pretty!)

I put a very simple short devotion book in, and also two of the next books that I’m hoping to finish reading.

And I put in a colouring book, and a few art supplies. I am not super artistic, but I feel like space for creativity is important for me when trying to get my brain into a place of stillness. Colouring seems to engage just enough of my brain that I can really settle.

It’s important to note, all of these items were in my house. I didn’t have to go buy anything, I just had to think intentionally and gather things up.

I’m curious, do you have a basket or zone in your house that you designate for quiet times? What helps you focus? I’d love to have you comment below, or come join the conversation in our Seeking Sabbath Facebook group.