"Snap Shots" from My First Week at Work

Okay, before I get into my post, can some one please explain stick chickens to me? I genuinely do not understand. But I laughed, lol! (And, no, these aren't found at Chick-fil-a. I ducked into Tractor Supply to get out of the rain after work, haha.) I have so many questions. But Tractor Supply has cute layering shirts for somewhere that I didn't even realize sold clothes, hahaha. (And I promise my hand is as cold as it looks in that picture... lol.)

As of last week, I am officially a part-time cashier at Chick-fil-a, and while the transition felt rather intense (especially the first morning I was on my own), I also feel like after just one week I already have a good understanding of the rhythm and am already settled in a good bit - I was ready for this. (And learned much faster than I expected, which has been such a relief to my perfectionistic self... haha!) I know several of you have shown interest in what I am doing, and so I thought you'd enjoy hearing a little bit about the highlights of my first week :).

• First off, major thanks to my Mama, who rescued me the first morning as I tried to iron my uniform and 1. it wouldn't iron and 2. instead the iron was leaking water all over it. I had about 12 minutes to get out the door and was already past the anxious crying stage and at the resigned despair stage when I called on her, but she turned things around so fast and so well. It was honestly amazing.
• Soooo, I briefly considered a job at a coffee shop before applying to Chick-fil-a, but decided against it for several reasons. But get this, the first thing I was trained on at Chick-fil-A... was making iced coffees. Y'all do not know how funny I find this.
• My trainer also showed me how to make shakes quite early on, and she was in shock at how well she thought I did. And the very first strawberry shake I made went to a sweet older lady who popped up at my elbow thirty minutes later just to tell me that it was the best shake she'd ever had (I then admitted to her that it was my first strawberry one, haha!). Coffee, ice cream, and people. If this job description doesn't fit me, I don't know what does. Haha!
• I work with some really great people! I feel like I've already made a few friends. Especially one of the girls who took me "under her wing" if you will, during my first solo day, just to encourage me and fill in some of the gaps, she was so sweet.
• The highlight of my morning shift was when an elderly gentleman heard about the discount for his senior coffee and he was so excited and touched like I had just made his morning with a gift. It definitely paid me back for the panic I felt not knowing how to do the discount the first time it had been ordered, haha!
• The little kids that come up for refills and trading in their toys for ice cream cones are definitely some of my favorite customers, I love all the smiles!
• Yesterday, I had to stay at work just a few minutes late. After I gathered up my belongings to leave, I was heading back to the front of the store when I saw a familiar face. "Mr Robert?!?!" I asked, as I came out the door. My uniform threw him off for about ten seconds, and then his face just totally made my day as he recognized me! Mr Robert was our fill in choir director in Virginia (yes, I said Virginia!), and it had been years since I had seen him! He's moved here to be near his brother, so I shouldn't have been surprised to see him... but I was excited!

It's definitely been a change that we're all getting adjusted to, I think. While my hours aren't long, I was gone last week four days in a row, and the 3rd day, Joey looked at my uniform and asked me, "Why do you always leave?" His little voice made me so sad <3. But now this week he wants me to work as soon as possible, because Mama told him that one morning when I work, she'll take him shopping, sooo, I believe I may have a fair weather friend on my hands, haha ;).

On the whole, I am enjoying it. I definitely feel like it was the right decision and that the Lord is going to use this chapter of my life to grow me and bless me, even though it's one I didn't see when I "skimmed the pages" before. And so I am grateful :)!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Bri <3

A Journey of Rest, and a Task Unexpected

"There is no end to the choices we must make daily, nor a limit to how weighty these decisions can seem at times. Even small decisions sometimes have large implications - and we fear we lack the ability to choose wisely... but today's crossroads aren't meant to highlight our own wisdom or ability to stay on course, but rather to reveal where we place our confidence." - "GraceLaced"

"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." -Psalm 9:10

"God assures His people, promising, 'I am with you.' He doesn't promise victory on their terms, safety according to their ideas of comfort, or a timeline that makes sense, but the Lord is faithful to tell His children that He is near, ever present, and carrying them." - "GraceLaced"

I've talked many times this year about how the Lord has been taking me through a journey of learning to rest, and what that has meant. How it didn't mean working less, but trusting more - working less through myself and more to follow Christ, even if where He led me didn't make "sense" or appear to be my first choice of where to be.

One way that this journey has taken me around a previously unexpected bend, was my decision to apply for a job. I have never been opposed to having a job - I believe we can serve God wherever we are, as long as we do it with a heart grounded in his word and eager for His glory. I have run my own small business, and done several volunteer "jobs" outside of the home, and I have been seeking out an opportunity to become a caregiver for the disabled for several years now.

It wasn't applying to a job that caused me to have to really trust that God had a plan for my life, but the fact that it wasn't the job I had in mind. I have hoped, for years, to have that very certain job of respite care giving. Over the past couple of years, as I dig further into the requirements for this field, I find more and more that it's not something I can just begin. I need experience working with the disabled in a professional setting, I need RNA certification, I possibly need to have worked with children professionally, as well, among other things. The problem is, I couldn't just jump into those things, either. They will require money and prepration. And, though I fought for a long time - at first, subconsciously, and then, as I realized what was really going on in my mind, back and forth with myself - because, in a way, I think I felt like taking any other job was giving up on my dreams, failing my calling.

But slowly I began to realize that it wasn't at all. If I took this step, I wouldn't be giving up. I would be preparing. Investing. Moving closer and growing into who I am meant to be.

And so, with a lot of wise encouragement from my Mama, and a lot of wise counsel from my Daddy, I prayed that I was taking the right step. I looked at my options. I weighed the pros and cons. I made a decision. And I applied. And then I prayed even harder - prayed that I had made the right choice, that God would close the door if I hadn't, and prayed that I would serve Him well by serving others, even if it was not where I wanted to serve long-term.

And after two long days of wondering if I had done the right thing, not because I thought I was wrong, but because it was the biggest, most life-changing decision I had ever made, the ball started rolling - and fast. It was so neat to watch God at work, showing me again and again that He just wanted me to be willing to follow where He was leading, even if it wasn't easy, wasn't where I expected to be. All He asked of me was a willing heart, and He would provide all that was needed to do the work.

In ways that I would never have designed on my own, but which have already blessed me in so many ways!

Rejoicing in Christ,
Bri

A Peek into my Journaling Bible

 

I have been asked about my bible journaling, what it is, what I do, and if I would mind sharing some of that with you all a couple of times, and I thought that would be fun to do for my post today :)!

 

Mama and Daddy gifted me my journaling bible for Christmas a few years ago <3. I had seen this new thing called "bible journaling" going around the internet (especially Pinterest) for several months, and when Mama sneakily asked it I thought Tori would be interested in this, I said I didn't see why not - that I would love one, if I wasn't afraid I wouldn't use it (because I have a bad habit of not starting things that I don't know I'll get perfect). Well, I ended up with this gorgeous bible, and I have loved it! While the perfectionist in me still often creates my design in pencil before making it permanent with ink, really, there are no rules! Bible journaling is a great way to gather prayers, scripture memorization, creativity, notes, and questions all in one place, and it's so nice!

I admit that, though I love to use my journaling bible for "bible journaling" (more word art/artwork to illustrate verses), that's not always my favorite part. You know what is? Journaling bibles come with so much SPACE. I can scribble notes all over the page, or underline words without other words getting lost. For someone who takes as many notes as I do, it's still not enough and I also keep a "sermon journal" (also used for personal study) in my bible case, but for those little notes or extra-special notes, the room in this bible is amazing!

A lot of the time, it's just simple little things that I will do in my bible while reading or right after church, but just taking two or three minutes to work on a visual to go with a thought/sermon helps it stick so much better for me, and I love that!

But when I sit down to my personal bible study, I like to do something a little bigger, when I have time, with the verses that stand out to me, and usually that is some word art of one of my favorite verses from my reading :). 

While I'm not much of an artist, and I prefer word art, I have done artwork a couple of times. 

 

Or I combine the two :)! Typically if I am doing something more detailed, I lay a paper under the page I am working on, and place another sheet over it when I finish, for about 24 hours, so that there is no ink rubbing off/leaking through on the other pages :).

I know that this might seem like a somewhat boring page to others, but I poured over this genealogy visual for about an hour, and it is honestly one of my favorite things I have done so far. I also did the other major genealogy list from after the flood, and it is just so neat to be able to see these while I read through the chapters <3!!!

This is another of my favorite ways to use my journaling bible! I drew this partial map on Ephesians' cover page. It has all the main map details on it from wikipedia, but then I am able to add in notes as to where in the bible those surrounding places are mentioned, and things like that :)!

I love to use gel pens because the colors are gorgeous <3! But I also have a thin line black ink pen that I am obsessed with because I can fit twice as many notes using it as opposed to a regular one ;). There is truly no right or wrong way to go about bble journaling (I mean, I just showed you a small sample of my own here, you can't get a full grasp of how different the pages in mine can look from each other!), and I love how it helps me stop and digest, if you will, what I am reading!

Do you have a journaling bible, or are you interested in getting one :)?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

The Post that... Isn't?

Once there was a girl who knew exactly how the rest of her life was going to go, and she could do literally everything that should be done, all the time, and she wouldn't stop until she had.

Except... not really. Even if she thought so.

Fast forward 3 or 4 years, and I remember Tori sitting at the desktop one day, reading an "Oh My Disney" article, when she called out to me, "I don't know what a "Type A" person is," (which, by the way, is the first clue that this was a few years ago... she doesn't have to ask me what things mean now, and, in fact, I ask her quite frequently ;)), "but you're one of them."

Fast forward 3 or 4 years more, and not much has changed.

Via Pinterest

Mama: "Bri, this is soooooo you and me." ^

Yes, yes it is. Mama has never let me forget the time that we had a clog in our kitchen sink that we weren't able to clear out until the wee sma's of the night, and I promptly started washing the weekend baking, lunch, and supper dishes, at 3 a.m., as Mama and Tori begged me to go to bed so we could all work on them together the next morning when we were rested and more efficient. Does the logic make sense? Of course. Did I listen? Of course not. I was started. Now I HAD to finish.

And that's always how it is. Just a few weeks ago, my Aunt and I were texting each other about our busy Saturday, and I challenged her to see who could have the most done by 8, with one requirement to win; When 8 p.m. got here, we were supposed to stop and rest so we would be awake and alert and refreshed for church the next day, whether we were done or not. I texted her at 8:03 to let her know that not under any circumstances was I stopping when I was so close to done. (After jokingly texting her at about 5 in the evening to ask, "WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS?"... haha ;)...)

All that is to say, I had good intentions to not worry about posting this month, to just do it when I wanted to/could - to be inspired to post but not forced.

And now we've hit day 20, and I only have 11 more days to go, and I literally can't let myself fail now. I'm tired and I don't feel like I have anything to share tonight. I am reminding myself that now would be the perfect time to practice that "resting" I have been talking about a bit. But have I mentioned that I'm still on that journey of learning to do that? And here is proof.

Because basically... here is a post saying I won't be posting today. Oh, the irony of being a Type A.

But hey, this is the last thing I'm going to do today, even though I hoped to vacuum, so maybe I am making a tiny bit of progress ;)?

Thoughts at Midnight

Here it is at 11:47, and  I am just now starting my blog post - again. This seems to happen each time I do this blogging challenge. I start the month really good, but by the 10th, it's getting just a little hard to keep up with. For a couple of weeks, I ask myself, about every other day, why did I sign up for this? It's harder to fit in than you may think. But about the 25th, I am going to be so close to the end, that I will realize that I can really do this, and I'll finish well... it's just that a lot of times the things that you feel are important or worthwhile are hard, too, you know? This carries over into all areas of life... and that's okay. In fact, it's wonderful! It shows us what is really important. It shows us where we might be holding on too much. It allows us to truly appreciate the end result. Often, these things remind us just how much our Heavenly Father cares about ever single little detail of our lives.

My day has been full, busy, insane and yet at the same time, very meaningful. Did I mention it was full? Just last Wednesday morning, I had absolutely no plans whatsoever for Friday. But today "has been another epoch in my life", and it was so neat to see how a lot of things worked together. Personally, I had a lot that happened - some of it quite unplanned by me, and some of it somewhat unexpected. But all of it so obviously planned by Someone down to the very last detail. The Someone who made the universe plans my life by every detail; why is that so hard to realize sometimes? Why do we need reminders at times? And yet, on the other hand - how gracious of the Lord to send us those reminders. Aren't you glad that He repeatedly draws us to Himself in so many ways?

So yes, my day was full (and was, apparently, the 21st anniversary of my first road trip, according to my Gramma, who drove my Granny and Aunt Donna down to meet Isaac <3). And a lot of the upcoming days may be full. I really, really wanted to write every.single.day. this month, because it's going to be the last Write31 challenge, and I wanted to know I had "finished well". Am I still going to aim to finish well? Of course. But my life is in a season of change right now, and that's okay. If I miss a day, I'm not going to stress about it. God has given me things to do, and I want to do my best. Sometimes, that best can take twists and turns - the journey takes stops along the way that you didn't plan on your road map. And sometimes, the unplanned adventure is just as useful or enjoyable as the one you started out on. So while I always want to do my best, I also need to learn that sometimes it's best to be "best" at a few things instead of "stretched" between a lot. So if I have to drop good things to make room for better things, that's not just okay, that's wonderful.

But don't think you'll get rid of me completely if that happens... because, remember, rest, don't quit ;).

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Words of Simple Black and White

It's a quiet Sunday evening, and I really don't have a definite post plan to share today. My mind has been spinning all day; thinking about the sermon series on the raising of Lazarus that our Pastor has been holding at church; thinking about the best way to make up an order, and the best way to force myself not to do handwork for a couple days when I'm done; thinking about our old friends in VA, about stories and bends in the road.

It's been a day to just be on. Not do, not worry, not rush, not force, but just be, if that makes any sense to anyone's mind but my own.

I've enjoyed fellowship, and worship, and biblical teaching at church, crocheted, and written because I couldn't help myself. But right now I don't really feel like writing shareable words... they so often fall flat.

That's the thing about writing. I love it. I love words. I love thoughts and feelings. I love connecting through language.

But sometimes the written word just doesn't hold the tone that the spoken words would have.

And even worse, sometimes, once you put thoughts into words, they lose their beauty. Sometimes the composition in your head simple can't be rearranged into correct grammar without feeling broken.

"The words just cannot match internal rhyme;
When they go from mind to sight,
They lose their luster,
Stop their step.
Gone the gray between the shadows,
Gone the color framing light,
Suddenly arrested motion,
Now turns to simple black and white."

And so, though many of the things that played through my mind today will be shared on my blog and in my words or writings later on, right now, it's just a day to be on. There is time to share all these things later. Right now, I have little siblings around me who are eager to be loved on. To empty my drawer of old toys, to be read to and played with, who will sit with their chins in their hands, mimicking me, as long as I will let them stay, and turn my blog post writing into a chance to find out what all the letters say again. "Where is the X? What does that say?" Right now, words aren't as important. And that's okay.

How I Prepare for a Week Long Internet Break

It's no secret to those who know me that I do a lot of work on the internet. Between my shop, my blog, keeping up with long distance friends, and all the other little things that seems to constantly be more and more dependent of the internet now, it seems like there is always a reason to be sitting in front of a screen. It's honestly exhausting, although I never realize just how exhausting until I have taken a bit of a break and notice how much more I am enjoying everything happening around me.

The truth is, the internet is not a bad thing - but distractions and interruptions can be time consuming and bombarding.

Think about it. You go to start supper. Your recipe is on your phone or laptop. You open your phone to retrieve the recipe from your inbox, and end up checking email first. Then you pull up the recipe and start to work. You get a text message and since it's right there, you just answer it really quickly. Then the conversation changes to something that you don't know too much about, but sounds intriguing, and so you might pull up a research page to read while you cook... and soon every thing is taking twice as long and you haven't enjoyed the experience of making a meal.

It happens to me all the time - or some other variation of that might. When I look for a pattern, or when I start looking for things for a blog post or a graphic. Nothing I am doing is wrong; but it may be the wrong time. And so I try to multi-task, but I'm not nearly as efficient at it as I may think (or, more likely, just as efficient as I feel, and that's not a good thing).

I first started taking "internet breaks" about 3 years ago, and I can't tell you what a difference even 1 day fully offline can make in my sanity level. Back then I could take a whole week off at a time... I admit that I miss that. Haha! Nowadays, it's much harder; the last break I took, I scheduled days to come back to check email, so I could stay on top of my etsy shop, and the length ended up being cut short, because I had some work that came up that took a couple of days to complete, and by then I was out of time. But that doesn't change the fact that it was wonderful to be off, even for just a few days (and partially for a few more). I honestly don't do it enough!

The thing is, though, that you really can't just ditch the internet, even for just a couple days (I do ditch it on Sunday frequently, though, so, I guess one day is usually possible ;)...). It takes quite a bit of planning beforehand, and over the years I have gotten into a pattern of what I need to do before I leave for a week - and I am actually not missed at all, truthfully. It also doesn't hurt my shop stats - this is the first fear of all small online business owners.

The way I do this? Work like crazy for two days beforehand (lol!) doing a lot of scheduling, for the most part.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive to do extra work so that you can do less work; but trust me, it's not. When you sit down with an agenda once, I am pretty sure there is 75% less distraction and time spent than you get when you sit down to do the same thing in small batches 5 or 6 times in a week. Or at least it feels like it. I mean, for me, just opening photoshop on my computer can take a couple minutes sometimes. I could open photoshop once and edit all my pictures/make graphics/templates all in one sitting, or in little chunks through my week, which could add ten minutes opening time to my week. It's not much; but that's just photoshop! The same thing applies to each website, browser, or program I open.

Over time, I have put together a check list that I go through every time I feel like I need a bit of a break from the constant pull, and I thought I'd share it here with you today! Your list will look different depending on what demands you have, and how much of a perfectionist you are (I literally organize my desktop photos before I get offline...). But I find it helpful to be given ideas that I might not think of ahead of time, and the more prepared you are, the better your efforts will be!

Schedule. Schedule your blog posts for the week. Schedule business page updates for the week. Schedule as far out as you can - schedule through your intended break, and, if possible, the day after, so you have time to catch up afterwards, as well. I try to draft any Etsy listings that need to go up, too. Unfortunately, you can't schedule listings, but if I have done every thing but hit publish, it usually takes five minutes to scan my inbox for urgent emails and post the listing, which lately I have been doing about every 2 days, given my shipping estimates.

Print patterns and recipes. Neglecting to do this is usually the only thing that messes up my plans - usually because I forget what all I need. So it's helpful to have a plan for your week off before you take it. What new foods do you want to try? What project are you going to work on with your extra free time during the week? I almost always end up crocheting, so I try to decide what I want to crochet ahead of time, so that I can print the patterns I might need. I also make and print any templates I want to use to make a new canvas design.

Think long and hard about what little things typically take you extra time because you forgot it during your work time. For me this is things like updating my Etsy announcements, cleaning off my camera card (so that I can take pictures without having to open my laptop and getting distracted), placing orders, sending links I promised someone... cleaning my desk top so that I know it's done, even though I tend to just deal with it if I know that I'll be opening my computer again within 12 hours... it doesn't make much sense, but it's nice to have done when I come back!

Answer emails. I might go weeks without answering an email, but for some reason I can not know that I am leaving for a week and leave people unanswered. It's rather handy... if my email gets too full, I make myself get ready to leave, hahaha. Here's a little tip: I like to draft emails as I answer them, and then send them all at once when I finish the last one - it may sound silly, but it's much better if your goal is to have a clean inbox when you are done. Nobody can reply before you get through answering the 5 other friends, if they haven't received your email yet ;).

At this point, I can be all set to ignore everything for the week, if I like. Typically, though, I do things like make a couple of graphics for KBR, post on Instagram, and catch up on any blogs I haven't been keeping up with - things that I don't have a set time for, and could easily skip for a week, but like to have done as recently as possible, just so that it's not a temptation/nag on my mind as having not done it for a while. I also answer texts, if I plan to take a break from my phone as well. Usually I don't count texts as online time (although I try to answer them just once a day, it possible, when I'm on an internet break), but sometimes my reasoning for not touching my devices is not that my brain needs a break, but that my wrist does... haha. That will change things a bit, because texting is actually more of an issue than typing for me at that point, so I might ditch my phone as much as possible, too ;).

My suggestion? The first internet break you take needs to be short, just a day or two. This will help you identify where your unexpected need-to-plan-aheads are, without making you feel like you failed the first time. After ironing out those, it's much easier to take a longer one!

And if there are things you truly can't leave, schedule when you will check up on them, and for how long! For me, last time, I checked email + my business page replies once every 2 days, and responded to my texts for the day immediately afterwards, then got directly back offline :).

Do you try to schedule regular time offline? What tips do you have?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Commanded to Rest

We looked yesterday at how rest is a command in scripture, and how it better ables us to to obey other commands (we specifically focused on joy, but there are so many other areas it touches, as well!). Today, we'll look at that command a little closer.

In one of my favorite passages about the taking of rest, the disciples have just come back from their ministering around the area, "proclaiming that people should repent". They are eager and diligent to give Jesus a full report of all that they have done for Him since they were last with Him. But there are people every where, and Jesus sees that His disciples need a break before they continue to serve. He commands them to rest, and they obey. We aren't sure how long this rest is, or whether they really had much more than a bite to eat and the quiet of being on a boat away from the crowd, able to talk to Jesus, who came with them, without interruption, before they jump back into work, because the crowd follows them. But we do know that Jesus knew that rest was important for them, and that He cared for them, so I am confidant that they were refreshed before Jesus landed, and, having compassion on the people, started serving, and asking His disciples to help, once more (Mark 6: 31-34).

Most of our timelines in life are found in the pattern of the sun and moon; our year, our month, our day, our seasons, the tides. They all depend on these "neighbors" in our home, the Milky Way. But were did the timeline of our week come from? Where did we get a seven day week? That comes directly from scripture, and Genesis 1-2, where God created the universe in six days... and created rest on the seventh.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." (Genesis 2:1-3)

He then makes the observing of this day of rest a holy day, and lays down His expectations for this day to the Israelites when He brings them out of Egypt: "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places." (Leviticus 23:3)

Jesus explains to the Pharisees in Mark 2:27 that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

And here in these 3 verses we find the balance to this command of rest. The Sabbath was created
by God,
for man,
to the Lord.

Over and over, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we are given examples of how the Sabbath was "a day of rest for the people", but "a day of worship for the Lord". And the reason for this is simple; when we worship the Lord, we come into a deeper fellowship with Him, and when we are abiding in Him, our hearts find rest; when we are resting in the Lord, we have the strength to serve Him and those around us; and as we work for Him, through Him... we find ourselves ever more grateful for who He is, and ever more desirous to worship Him.

Our week was set up to give us this natural rhythm of savoring Christ and sharing Christ, but it also happens on a smaller (and larger) scale all through out our lives. We give our bodies physical rest every night, but there are times that we take additional rest when sick or suffering from too-short nights too often. The same should be true of our Sabbath rest. We have a time set aside to habitually worship and spiritually rest, but we also must learn to come and sit at His feet when we are "weary with much care". To remind our hearts to be still; to learn of Him; to feast on the truths of the gospel.

There are different ways to do this at different seasons. Bible reading, prayer, hymns, extra scripture study, online sermons, edifying books. It may depend on your resources at hand, the time you can make available, and the level of your need. But He is always there to carry your burdens, to still your spirit, to bring rest to a troubled sea of doubt. And He does this for us - to His glory.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27)

Joyful Rest ✽ Restful Joy

"Joyful rest, restful joy".

To be honest, I'm not sure where the phrase came from; but it's been going through my head frequently over the past several weeks, since it first came to my mind. The more I think of it, the more I feel like it is the best short and simple description I can give of a lifestyle of rest. Simple, at least in it's wording. But, like most things that are worth any thing, once you dig deeper, it's not really simple; and that makes it all the more worth it.

Joy is often seen as happiness. Rest is often seen as sitting down after a long day. And, while those things may often go together, in reality, they are not connected. Happiness and the ability to slow down can depend on our circumstances, but joy and rest are actually a command from God; these are qualities that believers are supposed to be known by...

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against these there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)

"Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is: and walk in it, and find rest for your souls..." (Jeremiah 6:16)

And I have found that these two things often feed each other. When I purposefully make the decision to trust that the Lord is working His perfect will in my life, and that He will use me for His glory; that the bends in the road can be used to serve Him just as well as the straight path I expected to travel; I find it exponentially easier to be content and joyful where He has me.

On the other hand, when I take the time to rejoice (which is a form of purposeful worship), no matter what my circumstances, then I find that I am instantly better able to look at my circumstances with a peaceful heart, rather than an anxious one.

Joyful rest, restful joy.

Trust, worship, obedience.

Because the one who died to save my soul can be counted on to know the best use of my life.

Because the one who saved me from my own life of sin, not because I was worthy, but because He is merciful, is worthy of honor.

Because a sinner made new, bought by the blood of the Lamb, has no way of paying back our Gracious Lord, and so out of our debt of thankfulness, we obey Him to show Him our love.

And He in turn uses our obedience to bring us closer to Him, and into a deeper Joy and Rest than we have ever known.

How kind He is!

A Lifestyle of Rest

I already shared about this quite a bit earlier this year, but I have some plans to do a mini series about rest in the midst of the bigger series of miscellaneous posts, and so I felt like I should share an "introduction" post, even though it may sound like a rehashing of thoughts I have already shared here in bits and pieces.

As many of you know, my word for 2018 has been "Rest". At first, my idea was simply that I was going to choose to rest in fact that the Lord knew what I needed in my life, and not to stress over when things would happen; I knew I could fill my resolution list with things I *wanted* to do, but wasn't sure would be brought about in my year (life?), or I could admit that I don't know everything and could rest in the Lord's path for me. This is something I constantly have to bring myself back to... but I know for sure that I made the right choice. It is so much better to purposefully be reminding myself that God's timing is better than my plans, than to realize that the time is not right for something I was reaching for, and feeling like I have failed when, in reality, because I believe I am where the Lord wants me at this time, I am not failing, but obeying.

Slowly, I began to realize that resting took work; and that there were practical ways that I could encourage myself to rest. Sometimes, resting actually means working harder for me... the truth is, I am prone to procrastinate because I feel like I have to do everything perfectly in one session. This is not really a good thing - it means I constantly have something nagging at the back of my mind, and that means I never really feel done. I made a decision to purposefully keep on top of my to-do list, even when it was hard, so that I would have moments of being "done", when I could mentally rest, as well resting in God's plan.

Then, as I looked at how I was using my extra time, it dawned on me that resting didn't mean that I didn't have anything to do. Being ahead of my to-do list often meant that I had extra time for extra work - work that I seem to find extremely refreshing. I truly believe that we are meant to be creative and productive, and I found that it was very fulfilling to me to use that extra time to cook, to garden, to learn, and to invest in others. As I started being more purposeful to fill my spare time with things that would last, I found that it was simple to do things like pull up a sermon or do an extra bible study, but it was truly the most refreshing thing that I could be doing at those moments when I was ready to give up for the day.

And once again, this word began pointing me again to grow closer to Christ. I started finding little rabbit trails to the word rest - trust, surrender, worship. So many other things were wrapped up in the word rest as I was striving to live it out.

Within a matter of weeks, I realized that I wasn't committing to not worrying as much about my future. I was committing to a totally different mindset. One that looked ahead to eternity, not to the here and now. One that was lived with purpose, not to fill up the day.

So it's been an interesting balance of the practical and the eternal.

It's meant that when I can tell that I have worked so long that I am becoming frustrated (usually on technical shop things), I make the choice to put up the work and do something else (even if it is more work). When I have some free time, I work ahead of my to-do list. When I feel like my brain is scattered over a dozen problems and it's weighing down my spirit, I purposefully fill my mind with God's truth in some way or another. When I feel led to do something, I do it no matter how uncomfortable it might make me (this is honestly the hardest resolve to keep - but it has been so rewarding!).

And it does take some balancing. A friend sent me these lines last week, and I loved them:

"When things go wrong, as they sometimes will:
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill:
When the funds are low and the bills are high:
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When all is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit
Success is failure turned inside out:
The silver lining on the clouds of doubt:
And you never can tell how close you are:
It may be near when it seems far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit."
(John Greenleaf Whitter)

Rest - in the Lord. Not to give up, not to turn a blind eye to things that might be hard, not to pretend all is well. But to obey, to surrender, to live for eternity. Rest. So you can better run the race with endurance.

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3