Tag: rest

bath time!

To end this month on health, why don’t you draw yourself a well-deserved warm bath. Go ahead and light some

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candles, get our your bath salts,

Be generous with yourself.

 

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Embracing your season

As you probably know, I’m pregnant. (Woohoo! Praise God! Very exciting indeed!) Right now I feel very pregnant… I’m bigger, way bigger, than I’ve ever been in my whole life. But it’s a joy and delight to be in this season I’ve always longed to experience.

The crazy thing is that I have been fighting this season or living in denial for some time now. What I mean is that I tend to want to do more and think that I have more energy than I really do. I have the same expectations of myself during this season even though my sleep isn’t as sound, my body is changing tremendously as it participates in the beauty and mystery of the creation of a little human, and my husband and I have plunged headlong into the steep learning curve of preparing to enter parenthood._MG_9212

All my life, ever since my earliest memories, I’ve yearned to be a wife and mother. When I became a wife, I felt like I had received one of the greatest gifts in the love and joy of being one in life with my husband. I didn’t know I could choose to love another human being so much. And NOW my heart is already exploding with love for this precious one forming inside me and I haven’t even met him or her yet! Anyway, what I am getting to is the fact that this is such a beautiful, unique season and yet there are a gazillion things pulling at my heart, time, energy, attention and all I want to do is focus on what’s most important.

None of us have to be victims to all that contend for space in our lives. Today, I caved. I broke down in tears over the phone with my parents because I was overwhelmed. I didn’t realize that I was letting all the distractions win. I was giving space to all the little things that don’t really matter that much!

What season are you in? Are you embracing that season or are you fighting it? Are you celebrating the beauty that God’s knitting together in this unique time in your life?

Maybe you feel like your life is only ho-hum right now with nothing super exciting going on right now. You are in the valley that makes up the majority of life. What you do with the mundane consists of the bulk and substance of what it means to worship God in the ordinary. How are you living worshipfully today?

Maybe you are dating someone special and you’re on a journey of discovering if this will develop into engagement and marriage. You are cultivating a vulnerable plant that needs nurturing, time, and attention. Even if you don’t move forward with this person, there are important things to learn through this time of discovery. Don’t let those lessons pass you by!

Are you engaged and getting ready to enter into a marital covenant with the man you love? Engagement is one of the most intense times when details and potential distractions fly at your face from all directions. Make sure you remember what this time

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is mostly about: preparing for marriage, not just the wedding day. Enjoy the giddy delight of celebrating the commitment you are about to make! Marriage is a ridiculously delicious and amazing gift from God… especially when we treat it the way He wants us to.

Whatever your season, identify where you are and lean into it, embrace it, roll up your sleeves and do the work required to excel through it. Take your deep breath as you sit back to enjoy the ride. Life is a series of seasons. If we run the race of life the best we can in each season, we will get to the end with greater satisfaction. Being that I just truly woke up to the fact that I am in such a beautiful season that requires a new focus, I outlined some steps that led me to this revelation. Maybe it’ll help you recognize and embrace your own season.

Remember the BIG picture

Our lives are a fleeting vapor. We are like the flowers of the fields that are here one day and pretty soon are gone (Psalm 103). Who do we think we are? God is the only sovereign, almighty One! He’s the One that holds everything together (Colossians 1). We are invited into His big plan of knowing Him, making Him known, and advancing His Kingdom. We have the joy and privilege of being His kids. Let’s not freak ourselves out over all the small things. Instead, we get to do our best and bring those things to the Lord!

Humble your heart

So many times, it’s pride that tires us out! We run and run and run thinking that in our own strength we can accomplish all that we think we need to do. Granted, we all need to be diligent and disciplined, however, we need to live life with the sober understanding that apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:1-8). Again, who do we think we are? My mom would often remind me: “Cristina, you aren’t the messiah, Jesus is. You are a servant.” What a difference! Let’s humble ourselves and remember that we are only ordinary by ourselves. It is Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)… He’s the one (not us) that makes us extraordinary!

Let God’s grace cover you

We mess up. We stumble. We learn through scraped knees and embarrassing moments. God’s grace is big enough to cover each of us. Thankfully, we can laugh at some of those memories now that we are on the other side. Sometimes, though, we still wince when we think of the foolishness we’ve committed. God’s in the business of making all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Let Him pick you up from your shame. Let Him dust you off, and affectionately slap your little rear end signaling you to get back in the game. He calls you more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37).

Stop. Rest.

Sometimes we need a breather. Sometimes we’re straight up tired. We need a time out. Take it! There’s nothing wrong with sitting the bench for a chance to refuel, regroup, and get ready to jump back in at the right time.

Listen and Prioritize

One of the best ways I improved as a soccer player was when I asked my coach during breaks “What could I be doing better?” Thankfully, my coach was good at affirming me, but I truly wanted to know what I could improve. We need to do this with our Heavenly Coach. God sees the whole game. He sees things we don’t see and knows our strengths and weaknesses. Listen to Him. Especially in those time outs, those Sabbaths, take advantage of the opportunity to listen well to the One who knows best. Let His priorities be your priorities. If you get back in the game with your own agenda, you are hindering your team, but if you humbly cooperate with the Coach’s agenda, everyone on your team wins!

Now get out there and give it your best. Be in the season you are in.

a new month

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Photo courtesy of Casian Babut.

You might have noticed that I haven’t been blogging much during the month of October, and, for my distance, I want to apologize.  To be perfectly honest, I’ve had a challenging month and I went into a bit of a hibernation.  I plan to tell you about it more later, but in the meanwhile I gladly welcome November!!!  We will be focusing on the theme of “GRATITUDE” this month as we prepare our hearts for that beloved day that many associate with turkey, football, second helpings, colorful leaves, and warm drinks: Thanksgiving.

I don’t know about you, but I am overjoyed to dive into the holiday season.  Last year, my husband and I decided to take things very slow and even “undercommit” during Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I am so grateful that we spent our first married holiday season that way so that we could savor every moment and truly wrap our hearts around the meaning of each celebration.  It was as though we were enjoying a twelve course meal over a long evening and able to delight in every bite… simply because we made a decision to be deliberate about remembering the purpose.

This is my prayer for you over the next two months as we celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s:  Jesus, we thank you for your love that is exquisite and spectacular – far better than anything else we could ever experience or desire.  Thank you for lavishing on us your grace, kindness, and faithfulness, even when we are not aware of your generosity.  Please help us to wholeheartedly engage with you during this season of celebration.  Please give us an acute awareness of your presence no matter what we have going on over the next couple of months.  Help us to choose you… every day.  We love you, Lord!

without chocolate

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one of my chocolate-free desserts during singleness

Several years ago, a dear friend of mine gave up chocolate.  She was like an older sister to me. I thought she was crazy for forgoing chocolate.  She decided that she was going to fast chocolate until she met her husband.  This girl loved her chocolate, and she would feel the sacrifice.  She was going to use the desire to eat the yummy treat as a reminder to pray for her future husband.  I probably tapped her on the back and said, “Good for you. I hope you feel like it’s worthwhile when all is said and done!”

A couple years later, I helped her pack for her honeymoon the night before her wedding. She was giddy and overjoyed to marry the man she loved so much.  I had met him for the first time at the rehearsal dinner (since we lived states away) and I was amazed by how God answered her diligent, persistent prayers.   She totally prayed for this man and I was amazed at how specifically God answered in her husband to be.

At the marriage ceremony the next day I sensed the Holy Spirit pressing upon my heart to do a chocolate fast of my own.  I wanted to plug my spiritual ears and pretend that I didn’t hear that divine instruction (because I really liked to be able to eat chocolate)!  However, I was curious to see how God might use this fast in my own life.   The chocolate cupcake served to me at their wedding reception was the last taste of chocolate I had before I got married.  I was one month shy of going 5 years without chocolate.

Footsteps
date #3 when the chocolate fast first came up in conversation

A funny little side story takes place at a picnic at the beach near the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach.  My husband and I were on our third date.  He had prepared a pretty sophisticated dinner using his backpacking stove.  When it came time for us to have dessert, I could tell he was especially excited.  He pulled out fresh strawberries and chocolate.  I was cringing inside because I knew I needed to hold to my fast, but I already really liked him and didn’t want to be rude.  He proceeded to melt the chocolate in fondue fashion and as he prepared the strawberries for dipping, I had to tell him.  I said that I was on a chocolate fast and I would normally be ecstatic about the dessert he made, but I can only eat the strawberries.  He looked at me intrigued.  Of course, he asked what I didn’t want him to ask, “Why are you fasting chocolate?”  I told him that I didn’t feel at liberty to share, but that I was excited to have some yummy strawberries.   Fast forward about a year.  We were driving somewhere and he told me that he still didn’t know why I was fasting it, but he told me that he wanted to join in and pray for me as I continued my fast.  Several months later, he proposed and asked me about the fast.   I finally told him and he was, of course, delighted.  We broke the fast together the day after we got married… with chocolate dipped strawberries on the balcony of our hotel room.

I share these stories with you to share my own experience of God answering prayers and I share to encourage you to take up the discipline of fasting.  The main point is to not feel condemnation or pressure to fast a certain amount of time or way.  Be gentle with yourself as you learn and grow in the fasting discipline. The goal is to grow in your yearning for the Lord and to be drawn into His presence even more often than normal because of the repeated reminder that we need Him.  Whatever it is that we are fasting: food, time, finances, talking, media, whatever it may be – we are meant to draw near to Him with a sincere heart.

As you seek to dig deeper into the discipline of fasting, here are some resources that might be helpful to you:

I would encourage you to read all you can from the Word (search fasting at www.biblegateway.com) and meditate on His Word.  Remember this is not a legalistic exercise; it’s a relationship strengthening discipline.  His love is so GREAT towards us!

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousnesswill go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”  Isaiah 58:6-9

changing seasons

Recently, I returned from a much needed vacation in Curacao.  All week long, I was reminded that God commands us to rest. As we prepare for the autumn season let’s be intentional about incorporating rest into our daily, weekly, and yearly schedules.  This video shares more about this concept of rest.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPi-Qu3vyI&w=420&h=315]

I couldn’t help but share some photos from our time away:

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(Yes, the water was really that blue.)

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Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

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