This-is-a- test. What is your Rhythm of Rest?

It’s the holiday season! Time for this, time for that. Time to make space in our lives for others. Where do you find the rhythm of rest?

As I continue to research the chapter of Rest for the upcoming publication of my book, I have found three reports that are very different.

My smart watch- the scientist-the Lord.

My smart watch on Thursday, 11/21/2024, from 8:32 pm- 3:20 am, says I slept for 6 hours and 48 minutes; eighty nine percent efficiency, with an actual sleep time of 6 hours 3 minutes. Too few hours for the doctor recommended 7-8 hours. I was wake 43 minutes (10%), REM sleep 17 minutes (18%), Light sleep 4 hours 15 minutes (64%), and deep sleep 33 minutes (8%).

According to sleep expert Matthew Walker, What Happens to Your Body and Brain if You Don’t Get Sleep, so much can go wrong. Wow, in four minutes and 49 seconds, my whole world of wakefullness has a new perspective. Should I adjust my rhythm to science or find peace in the unique pattern of my body?

I’ve noticed, Thursdays seem to be my catch-up on sleep day. Once a month a Thursday rolls around and I must take a nap well before my normal midnight hour.

What is your rhythm of rest?

I also noticed in my studying this week, that Jesus also had a rhythm of rest. Just after receiving notice that his friend John was beheaded, he withdrew to a remote place to be alone. But the crowds came and he healed them. Everyone ate and was satisfied.

It wasn’t about the body healing or resting. He was more concerned about caring for the people and feeding them. More than five thousand received compassion, healing, and food, according to Matthew 14: 12-23. Then he dismissed the crowd, after sending the disciples away. Then he went up on the mountain to be alone and pray. Well into the night he was alone.

In my day to day rhythm of wakefullness, sleep, and rest, may I remember not all the ills that may happen with lack of sleep, but I have peace in the compassionate care of others.

May this be a holiday season of compassion for us all. Then, when the crowds are gone, we rest.

Always grateful,

If you don’t remember, did it really happen?

Short-term memory can be tricky at times. Its a question of does my mind/brain think this action warrants priority. Or should this action be pushed to the back.

My recent frenzy involved rushing to the local library after I received a late notice on two books. My initial thought- I don’t have these books. So I looked at my stack of books and confirmed, I don’t have these books. So off to the library I go.

The kind person at the library desk confirmed, yes, you should have these books. They were checked out on your card on this date. Then the awesome mechanics kicked in and my mind/brain had this wiring of communication to remind me, yes, you did pick up these books. Remember they are in the car.

So I humbly left the library, walked to my car and looked behind the driver’s seat. There they were, two books taken out three weeks ago. It’s funny, after seeing these books on the floor of the car, it all came back to me. From the leaving the house, to going into the library, to taking the books off the shelf, to placing them behind the driver’s seat. The whole recall was there, now brought to the fore front of my memory.

Do you have these memory gaps?

It is easy for the mind to forget the actions taken when it is clouded with all the rush, multi-tasking, and routine.

Thank the Lord for his wisdom and guidance in preparing us to fill the gaps and prioritize him above the busyness of life. The instruction to remember…

That we read his word daily.

That we take the communion in remembrance of his sacrifice.

That we pray without ceasing.

May I never forget to put him first.

How do you fill the gaps?

Always grateful,

I can be stupid at times. How about you?

I learned early SMART goals are the matrix for planning. Working in the world of business, be it non-profit or for-profit, there are reports and the required outcomes to be met.

Specific- Measurable-Attainable-Relevant-Timely= SMART

Today, I realized I can be very stupid at times. SMART goals are not just for business; they are for life!

I agree with Merriam-Webster- the matrix is something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form. All the stress that can originate when I delve into the unknown of someone else’s goal or mission is very real. The matrix of only planning in the work place made me realize, yes, I can be very stupid sometimes.

My husband studies the word more frequently than I. One morning last week, he brought Deuteronomy 30:19 to my attention. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that your children may live.”

In my inquisitive self, I went for more context beginning at Deuteronomy 30:11 and beyond 30:19. There it is- SMART goals for life!

Specific– walk in obedience today

Measurable– its not too difficult or beyond reach

Attainable– the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart

Relevant– that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him

Timely– today, everyday.

The Lord has shared his plan so that I am not only smart but also intelligent. There is a sense of peace knowing God is in control. There is a sense of expectation knowing, there will be blessings and curses. There is intelligence in knowing what God has planned for us is not too difficult. There is wisdom being guided and led by the Lord.

The goal and the mission has not changed from the beginning of creation to now. In this matrix of life experiences between the heavens and earth, I hope that when my final report is due, the outcome is good, very good.

In the humbleness of being me and the grace of his child Jesus Christ, Today, I seek not to be stupid.

Always grateful,

Hide & Seek

I remember the fun game of hide and seek as a child. I also remember the spanking and the talking to I received when the game was not so fun for my family.

It was a beautiful day with two “friends” playing outside. When we heard my aunt calling for me, they suggested I hide. I watched from under the porch through the lattice as my aunt went up and down the street calling out my name. I began to feel the mind and body telling me this is not good. But there I stayed to gain the ongoing friendship of my childhood peers.

I felt that feeling more recently, the panic my aunt must have felt when she could not find me. The game of hide and seek remains a fun game through the generations. As I played with my granddaughters in our home, there was one we could not find. The one that prides herself on hiding well. We looked and looked again, in the closets, behind the doors, under the beds, in the toy chest. We checked the doors leading to outside, they were still locked.

Where could she be? Then my mind and body began its process to manage the fear through a rush of hormones and other synapses. Then I called out- “This is not fun anymore, where are you?”

At the playground, I watched as two of my granddaughters, once again, played hide and seek. From my view I watched as one hid, finding much fun in her hiding place. I watched as the other called for her sister in hopes of finding where is she. I yelled to the one seeking, listen for her voice, follow where her voice is coming from. But she kept going further away from the hiding place. I begin to feel her concern of not finding her sister and ended this fun game of hide and seek on that day.

But the honest expression of a child is most reflective when I look back over my life and know the love my family had for me and the necessary discipline to keep me on the right path. When we settled in the car, one sister said to the other, “I was starting to think someone took you and I was scared.” And the other responded, “I’m sorry.”

By the way, that one that prides herself on hiding well. She was under the bed. Her excitement, in letting us know she saw us looking but we didn’t see her, was fun for all of us ( admittedly, fun after the fact).

Are you the hider, the seeker, or the observer?

All these hide and seek experiences reminds me that the Lord, Jesus Christ seeks for us. There is no hiding place that our God does not know. As he sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, may you be blessed in seeking and finding him everyday. Rev.3:19-21

And when your mind and body comes to its senses, may you also seek forgiveness and come out of your hiding place.

Always grateful,

The 4 Seasons

History most definitely repeats itself! Its an historical event that occurs every year but I am fascinated by the seasons. Fall in all the beautiful colors and Spring, the beginning of new life. The winter snow and the summer heat, are all fascinating events of the created earth. A Saturday drive admiring the foliage is a beautiful and fascinating event.

Daily writing prompt
What historical event fascinates you the most?
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