Rest

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else.
 - Colossians 2.2

Work is important. We go through our workdays busy tackling tasks and solving problems. We stay focused on those things that need or demand our attention. We skip lunch breaks and rush to get something important done.

But now it's the weekend. And a long weekend. The only thing on your agenda should be:
- Rest

As important as work is, rest is just as important. We were not made to go-go-go endlessly. We were made with a built-in day of rest, the Sabbath, in which God commands us to rest.

If you find yourself thinking about work, or reading emails for work -- stop it. Don't make lists in your mind. Don't fret about something you forgot to do. Don't worry about what tasks you have to do in the coming week.
Instead, if you think about work, divert yourself right away and go pick up a book to read. Or go take a walk. Take a nap. Play a game. Write a letter. Make some tea.

Rest.
Let your mind wander and your imagination run free. Let the colours of possibility dance in your head. All the dreams that sat idle during your busy week need some air to breathe. Consciously relax your muscles to release the tension from the week. Say prayers of thanksgiving. Let the creative thoughts burst from you without restraint.

This is your mission this weekend. Rest.

Oh Bother

I found this daring little cross-stitch piece at a thrift store at the Covered Market in Oxford, England. I love it because Pooh Bear brings back many childhood memories of the books, the television show, and all the stuffed animals I had, not to mention my nickname given to me by my parents when I was a baby. Pooh Bear was created by A. A. Milne, a British writer who wrote the Pooh stories for his son, Christopher Robin, who was the boy in all the books. Milne wrote more than just the stories about Pooh. He wrote some other delightful books for adults with charming wit and humour. I found a few of those books while in England, on other trips.
I also love this little piece because, well, Pooh is writing.

Oh bother!
(That's something Pooh says a lot)

I think part of the essence of being a writer is learning to see beyond oneself and to pay attention to details around. As much as it is essential to listen inside and pay attention to the inner voice (especially for poetry), when we forget that there is so much beyond ourselves we are slipping down a slope of ego that can easily be detected in the tone of the writing.

Something I always loved about Pooh in the stories is how he enjoys the little things. Of course, he is a bear of little brain, and he craves honey and sometimes has a one-track mind to food, but he is perfectly satisfied by spending time in his humble abode, talking with his friends, and taking walks through the hundred acre wood. For taking a walk outside among the trees and bees is the best place to think.

By opening ourselves up to the grand story that is bigger than us, we open up our eyes and begin to see the beauty in all the little things. We live more simply and some of the most enjoyable things are the most simple. We don't see these things as our own, but as a gift from above, where there is an eternal sense of story that can show glimpses while we are here. So when we think about things, we should think in the direction of thanksgiving.

Or as Pooh would say -
Think - Think - Think

Light Prayer

Lord -
You are gracious, loving, and full of grace that You bestow upon me, lest I forget.
Forgive me, for how easily I falter and forget.
Let not these sour memories stay in my heart.
Allow them to diminish like the sun setting outside my window.
With the new day, let the light bring a fresh perspective. As if it were all new to me.
Worries, stress, and doubt are road blocks to Your grace.
Help me knock them down and fear not.
Help me listen to Your word, long sitting on my heart with a forlorn cry for me to really listen.
Words -- sink in.
Love -- sink in.
Melt my cold heart and soften my serious face into a gentle smile.
Your words are the light of my life.

Lemon Sugar Cookie

Creativity is contagious
Pass it on.

- Albert Einstein 

Sometimes you just need to make a cup of coffee, eat a big lemon sugar cookie, and partake in reading something delightful that offers some inspiration. In this case, the early afternoon was growing very stormy and unsettled outside. So, here I was with a lonely lemon sugar cookie.

The only logical addition to the party was a cup of coffee, and then after that something to refresh the mind in the way of Trouvé, a magazine about the creative lifestyle. I just got this magazine and started reading it. My thoughts were then filled with some lovely words and photography and I wondered to myself what life would be like if I didn't enjoy this kind of thing. You know - reading, writing, drinking coffee, thinking. What on earth would I do with my time?

Perhaps I would dislike being alone so I might venture out into the community a lot to try to meet people. Maybe I would be involved in many organizations. Maybe I would be a different person, seeking social situations. Maybe I would have a ton of friends, with activities planned for everyday. Maybe I'd be married.

I remember when I was in college and there was always some social event going on and the buzz around the dorm would be about it. Rarely would I go to such things. The social events made me uncomfortable. Being forced to mingle with people and come up with things to say was exhausting to me. I usually planned my escape from the moment I got there.

I might be someone good with words, but it is the written word that I am good with. Not the spoken word. That is more of a challenge for me. But I also think I am who I am for a reason. I realized later in college that I didn't have to like those events and I didn't have to go. I grew to like who I was. I got an inkling that I was someone who valued a few close friends, and would much rather partake in a small outing than a big social event. That is part of what molds me, and it wasn't something that I needed to try to change.

So on days like this, where I contemplated going out to try to be more social, it was a fluttering thought like a butterfly that pauses around some blades of grass for a moment, and then darts off. It is fleeting. I don't have to wonder what it would be like if things were different because I am so blessed that I can spend time doing these things I enjoy just as I am.

The Wind in the Trees

Sometimes I sit in my quiet home and just listen. My gaze wanders past the curtains and outside where heat and sun swirl. I let the loud silence wash over me. It is usually when I am trying to collect my thoughts into something coherent that I do this. Or when being alone feels lonely.

Because sometimes being alone doesn't feel lonely, but sometimes it really does.

It is when the air feels constricting and full of emptiness. The birds seem to have relocated for no songs can be heard. Thoughts in my own mind wander but don't dive into anything deep. The kind of meandering that falls off the trail and loses the path.

Not having information and losing the path in my thoughts makes me wonder what I am doing wrong. I need information.

Truths dwell in my heart and my focus is affixed suddenly. A gusty wind moves the branches of trees and I watch them toss about. What is the power that moves such large branches? Not one of us can control the wind. It is invisible and yet we see it through other things, like the rustling of trees. A long skirt tugging around your legs. The invisible air grazing past your neck.

In my life there are times where I feel like I am not moving forward. I sometimes doubt myself and my abilities. A standstill is something I fear, but I feel deep inside that a wind is moving me. God is in the wind.

It can be a gentle nudge, or a gusty-wind-tossed push, but since God wants what is best for me, in all situations I have to trust. Let go. And trust.

Book Spree

For the past several days I am been on a book spree. When I get on a reading kick, there is no time for anything else. I finished reading a book last night. And then I read a whole book this morning. Later, I finished another book. And then I started a new one.

It is my solution to the problem of the heat outside. What else is there to do? It's simply too hot to be out there where it feels like 102 degrees and the humidity drains you. The errands I run make me hot and exhausted.

So my eyes race across the pages of books, gobbling up the words and turning pages quickly. Some books just don't need a lot of time dedicated to them. They can be read quickly and their usefulness is then retired. On the other hand there are some books that need to be savoured like a rare dish that is full of flavour.

Some books just require a taste and you get it. The rest you can fly through.
The books that need some thoughtful musings are the ones to chew on. No quick taste can fully immerse you in the wisdom and depth of the book. It needs time and thought.

I have room for both in my reading regime. When I am feeling flighty and my attention span short, I pick up an easy-read. When I crave depth I open the book that requires my brain to be wide awake. That is why I am always reading at least a few books at the same time.

Can you value one over the other?
I sure can, and yet even a quick read is better than watching television. Books bring you into an imaginary world that your mind populates with your own interpretations as you turn the pages. Your imagination gets to run through open fields and isn't shown what it has to see. You get to imagine it.

Tea Brings Us Together

After my first trip to England in September 2009, I started my evening tea ritual. I began trying different teas and scouring antique shops to grow a collection of teacups. Bone china as delicate as tissue paper sits in my china cabinet and gets pulled out when I feel like being fancy. Porcelain teacups are more handy for everyday. 

I really enjoy serving tea. It is something so simple - leaves, herbs, or roots and hot water. But it is a gesture of hospitality.

While in England I had the best tea I've ever tasted. The English know the art of making tea. How to pour the water over the tea, and steep the tea for different amounts of time (depending on the type of tea). So, I followed this process and imitated until it became my second nature. You will never convince me that it is proper to drop a tea bag into a cup of hot water. You can call me a tea snob, I know.

I read about tea and tried many kinds to discover what I like and what I don't. And collected more teacups. I soaked in all the knowledge about tea that I could. I learned about the differences among black tea, white tea, green tea, and red tea. I discovered which teas are best when you drink them straight, and which teas taste best with a touch of milk or honey.

Then, I started having people over for tea. Family and friends. I would carefully set out the delicate teacups with a tiny teaspoon for stirring (if milk, honey, or sugar was needed). I would get out a teapot if I would be making one kind of tea. And tea would be served, with the accompaniment of good conversation.

Fast forward to the present and I have various long standing traditions with some friends to have them over for tea. It has become part of my way of being hospitable. It is my way of inviting people into my life in a deeper way. To have them come to my little home and sit together gathering good talks as the tea steeps. Sometimes there is food involved first, but not always. There is something special about slowing down and taking tea together. As the steam rises the conversation lingers. I love the intentional nature of the whole process.

Unless you are Alice in Wonderland, you don't stumble upon a mad tea party with a hare and a hatter. But a tea party is such an inviting situation, so it is no wonder Alice wandered to their table. 

The Story Goes On

On solid rock
I stand;
All other ground
is sinking sand.
Trusting in the Lord
with all that I am.
The Lord is my solid
foundation.

Our future hope is a story that goes on and on.

Joyous in comfort of our own, we miss out on the potential of the grand story continuing if we stay cuddled up in our own brokenness that we hold onto for whatever reason we tell ourselves.

We were made for more than this.

God doesn't mean for us to stay sheltered in this cosy spot that be have made for ourselves. How can we help others from here? How can we grow from here?

Get out there and take that chance. Challenge yourself with something that has been put on your heart. Something you know will be good for you. To take yourself out of your box of comfort, you are letting yourself face and conquer something that will help you grow your character. It will give you the chance to let your light shine for God, as others notice you stepping up to the challenge.

Take it on, and don't worry. God is right there with you, every difficult step of the way. You have solid rock under your feet.

On Prayer

For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it.
- C.S. Lewis

If we pray for something to happen, and then it does happen, how do we know if it wasn't going to happen anyway, whether we prayed for it or not?

Isn't it interesting how God gives us a way of talking with Him, through prayer, to ask, to request, to put our worries on Him, and yet in His infinite wisdom, He certainly doesn't need us telling Him what we need or what should be done. God sees all. God knows all. Surely our requests are obsolete in some sense because they are like one tiny drop of water in a grand waterfall. And yet, even though we are tiny, God wants to make it personal with you, and me.

The point is not that we are able to change God's mind or tell Him what is best, but that in our prayers we submit to Him and let go of ourselves. In recognizing God as omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent we draw ourselves to His presence and know that whatever may befall, He is the God of it all.

Breakfast Date

 

I am on a breakfast date with myself this morning. I woke up knowing I needed to get out of my tiny home to let my thoughts wander, and a good way to do that on a very hot Summer day is to go downtown to Mitchell's Coffee Shop. It is Saturday morning but there is no farmer's market today, as August is just too hot, they take the month off.

The coffee shop isn't too busy. I order a coffee with soy milk and order biscuits and gravy because this breakfast date needs something special that I don't normally do. As I sit here taking my time, more people come in and I pick up on some strange conversations that fall to the background of my mind as I write.

It could be that I am invisible here, sitting at this round table by the wall toward the back. It could be that not one person sees me as I sip on coffee and scribble away on these blank pages. I sink into these thoughts and the time to do this is soothing like ointment on my soul that longs for more time to indulge. The shadows that have been lingering are cast away and my heart is opening.

The coffee sitting before me on this table is really good. With soy milk swirled in, it has a perfect blend of coffee and soy milk. The sunlight brightly illuminates the big front windows, and the heat outside stays outside. The coolness of this cosy place melts into me, allowing me to enjoy hot coffee and warm food.

I used to come here every week for lunch when I worked downtown, and in those days (which seem like ages ago) coming here was my escape from my day. It was a short hour of reprieve that was the thing I looked forward to the most. I had serious contemplations of hiding there for the rest of the day rather than walking back to work. Thankfulness wells up inside me now because I have a very different way of thinking about my work day these days. And I still love coming here when I have the chance, but my mood is not to escape from my day, but an indulgence in something sweet that I enjoy and take time to do.