Looking Back and Moving Forward

Hello Friends!

Happy New Year!

I can't even believe we are on the brink of another year gone. I was about to throw away our old calendar when I decided to look through the events that graced our families' lives. It was such a walk down memory lane! It was filled with pediatrician appointments in the early months of Kaylee's life. I often had both girls at the same appointment :) Then the events moved to MOPS, playdates with dear friends in Delaware, and then end of April was our providential trip to Wisconsin.

Wow. A year has already gone by.

A year ago, I was severely pregnant and miserable. Every muscle ached, I was big beyond belief, and I was done being pregnant. Abby spent overnight at my parents' house (oh to have babysitters again!) and James and I went out to dinner. Little did we know that was the last quiet night we would have to ourselves for a long time! Ms. Kaylee Joy came just a week later and we've been running around ever since :)


Wow. A year has already gone by.

Where has the time gone?

What have I done with my time? What difference have I made? What have I learned?

“Time is a relentless river and it rages on, respecter of no one.

And the only way to slow time is this: Enter fully into the current moment and the stream of time slows — slows — with the weight of a soul’s full attention."

-Ann Voskamp (www.aholyexperience.com)


So, I move forward, running into 2011 because that is what's next. I want to be in the present and to soak up the here and now. I want to die to self and be looking outward. 


2011 will be a big year. Isn't every year? I just want to be ready.


Wow. A year has already gone by.


Father, make life not just pass me by...

Christina

0 comments

Photo Book 1

Click here to view this photo book larger

Christina

0 comments

Something's Cooking...

So I have been dreaming about the yummy desserts I will be making for Christmas. No, seriously, I have! So I wanted to share them with you. If you want any of the recipes let me know!

Pumpkin Cream Pie (from the amazing Pioneer Woman)
Sugar Cookies
Homemade Snickers
Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a secret ingredient )
Cheesecake

What are you baking for Christmas? Share the love!

Christina

0 comments

A Nothing Day

In celebration of a day of being snowed in, I decided to link up a Christian comedian video. This is Tim Hawkins, which some of you may already know of. This brought lots of laughs to James and I while we enjoyed a lazy day at home. Wisconsin was hit by a huge blizzard! So hope this brings a smile to your face :)

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9M9C2FNU

Christina

0 comments

How to Rest-the Conclusion

Well, friends, it's been a wonderful week of focusing in on the subject of rest during our often busy and hurried lives. I continue to be challenged in this area and will be long after this series is over. I hope you have been encouraged and enlightened. I believe Wayne Muller has very relevant and encouraging things to say to all of us!

Drumroll please...

"Let us remain as empty as possible so that God can fill us up."-Mother Teresa (pg. 179)

"At our best, we become Sabbath for one another. We are the emptiness, the day of rest. We become space, that our loved ones, the lost and sorrowful, may find rest in us. Whenever two or more are gathered, there am I in the midst of you. Not fixing, not harming, not acting. Quietly empty, we become Sabbath, where the sorrows of the world are safely poured and gently dissolve in the unfathomable immensity of rest, and silence." (pg.183)

And that, my dear friends, is what it is all about. Learning from God and giving to others. It's not that complicated, really. We need to allow ourselves to be vulnerable with God and with others. It's the only way to true heart health.

Let us ponder on what in our own lives "remaining empty" looks like. What it looks like for me will be different then your life. Maybe it is actually taking a Sabbath-a day that is set apart from the rest. Maybe it is watching less T.V., spending more time in fellowship with others, etc... the list goes on and on!

All I know is that I am not running away from the healing of my soul. I can't! Why would I? for anywhere else I will find death.

And that is the end of the story :)

May you find true rest..

Christina

0 comments

How to Rest pt. 4

Well it's been a busy one around the Gilliland household today. I finally got to go shopping for 3 hours this afternoon to stock up on groceries, Christmas stuff, and lots of other things we have been in need of.

I've been continuing to ponder how I am "resting" during such a crazy season of my life and also the busyness of the holidays. It's a most difficult thing to achieve sometimes. I think what Wayne Muller is wanting us to take away from his book is an act of being in a state of rest. Almost a calm during the storm. Does that make sense? Anyways, I digress...

"There is a Taoist saying: 'To the mind that is still, the world surrenders.' Sabbath mind is a mind that can be still, a mind that can rest in delight. A day of rest, a moment of prayer, a time of meditation, these disrupt the pattern of desperation that infects our thinking, and allow us to be able to see the healing that is already present in the problem." (168)

"He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." Psalm 23

Let God restore your soul tonight and every moment...

Christina

0 comments

How to Rest pt. 3

So we've come to the hump portion of our little series. Can't believe how fast the days have gone already!

"Although we purchase twice what we did in the 1950's, can we honestly say we are happier for it? Do we sense that our neighbors, friends, and family are more at peace, joyful, at ease? Do we feel in them a palpable sense of well-being and delight? If not, why not? Our cars are faster, our telephones reach farther, our computers are everywhere, our dishwashers are more efficient, our armies better equipped..we have in short everything we ever wanted. Or do we? The Sabbath is a revolutionary invitation to consider that the fruits or our labor may be found in the restful and unhurried harvest of time. In time, we can taste the sweetness of peace, serenity, well-being, and delight. The truth must be told: With all the money in the world, and no time, we have nothing at all." (pg. 101)

James and I have never really had money our whole married life. We don't know what it feels like to have an abundance :) So, for us, it is easy to think that money will make us happier and more fulfilled. If I can just get that one thing then I will feel better. What a lie! For there is always something we don't have that we think we want. It never ends.

I have been overwhelmed by all the stuff that people will purchase now that I work in retail. We literally unloaded a 2500 piece truck today. 2500! Just so much stuff that will soon be discarded and forgotten about once the holidays are gone.

True joy is always found in a moment, a time of rest.

And on that note, I am going to take a nap :)

Christina

0 comments

How to Rest Pt. 2

So we revisit another small nugget of wisdom Muller has written in his encouragement for us to rest. This one really hit me as it may for you also:

"There is astounding wisdom in the traditional Jewish Sabbath, that it begins precisely at sundown..Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages, or get out this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop. Sabbath requires surrender. If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop-because our work is never completely done...Sabbath dissolves the artificial urgency of our days, because it liberates us from the need to be finished." (pg. 82-83)

Sheesh! Isn't that convicting? It is for me because I always have a to-do list that seems to mock me as I frantically try to get it done each day. But you know what? it never gets done! Maybe for one day I will have a clean sheet of paper but something always manages to get back on the list. Thus, a bad cycle emerges with the ever-striving need to be finished.

I love that Muller says that it is artificial, this need to urgently get through our days. It's not real! It doesn't have to be that way. It's like God shakes His head at us because in the end He whispers to us, "I've already taken care of everything, my child."

So take a deep breath, relax, and know that God has taken care of everything.

Rest today

Christina

0 comments

How to Rest Pt. 1

I recently started a book on rest called, Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight In Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller. It is phenomenal! Ironically, I haven't been able to finish it due to my work schedule and the busyness of the holidays. After a rest-filled weekend, I felt convicted to incorporate rest into my daily life more then I have been doing. I mean seriously, who isn't crazy busy right now? Do you honestly know anyone who isn't running around like a chicken with its head cut off?

So this week I will be taking snippets of wisdom from Muller's book to share with you all as a challenge to myself. Maybe you will find it helpful as well. May we all learn more about this thing called Sabbath.

"When we know the seasons of things, we can feel their timing, their readiness. There is less pushing, more waiting to see what is necessary...When we live without listening to the timing of things-when we live and work in twenty-four hour shifts without rest-we are on war time, mobilized for battle. Yes we are strong and capable people, we can work without stopping, faster and faster, electric lights making artificial day so the whole machine can labor without ceasing. But remember: No living thing lives like this." (pg.68, 69)

May we not rush our own seasons and want to always be somewhere we are not. I have heard it said that what God has for us next usually doesn't feel rushed or forced; it just happens. I believe that to be true! So enjoy your God today. Enjoy your season of life for it will change and be constantly evolving.

Shalom, my friends

Below you will find the link to the book I am referring to in case you are interested :)

http://www.amazon.com/Sabbath-Finding-Renewal-Delight-Lives/dp/0553380117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291661953&sr=8-1

Christina

0 comments

Ah...

What a refreshing weekend! I needed this more then I knew I did.

It was a weekend filled with community with friends and fellow believers. We had caregroup Friday night, a church comedy drama that James oversaw on Saturday night, and then church events tonight. It was truly a Sabbath weekend. Target was nowhere to be seen throughout the whole weekend! Yay!

It makes me remember what truly feeds my soul: fellowship, Godly fellowship. I have been without for awhile it feels like. I feel great! I feel ready to tackle the week and the challenges that it holds. So remember, don't forget community. God made it so we could be fed in the best way we can this side of heaven.

Night!

Christina

0 comments

A Motherly Kind of Post

This Bible is awesome for Toddlers :) I was just reading the whole O.T. to Abby today in one sitting. She loves it! I am amazed of how simple the stories are. It is also so simple that oftentimes, it reflects how life should be. You have a problem, then you pray, then God answers it. The end. This is repeated over and over again throughout the Old Testament in this Bible. It is simply stunning.

Of course we know there is a lot more to it then that. But is there? Sure it oftentimes is not in our time frame but doesn't God eventually answer our plea? How I wish I had a simple faith like Abby and Kaylee will have. I want to just believe that God is going to take care of me always and in every way. I still struggle all the time with fear and doubt, too much striving, and not resting in Him.

Maybe I should read the Toddler Bible version more often...

Christina

0 comments