Dwindling Summer Vacation Daze & Mom Tip #1

Summer always seems to go by as fast as it comes. Ours isn't quite over, but we can feel the end is near.

Last season we were vagabonds, camping, visiting, and living in temporary housing near family and friends in Northern CA. I worked at my early "birthing" grounds there on a temporary nursing contract while in between homes. Just another "Barlow" adventure! We zipped back to Texas in time for school to start, but our transient status hung around until we were able to locate and move into a new home late fall.

It was a bit of a stretch even for our adventurous standards, so by the time we settled back down, a year of recouperation went into effect.

This summer relaxation is the order of the day. We've enjoyed simple things: the beauty of nature around our new home... a pack of wild kittens pieced together from our neighbors' excess...nurturing and taming them into cuddlebugs ...out-of-town guests...horseback riding...blueberry picking...setting off our first annual overhead fireworks show...watching fireflies and meteor showers under the stars. Did I mention writing?? I've squeezed it in here and there along with my studies. Oh, and pies! Pies, pies and more pies, apple pies, berry pies, peach pies and more! The kids have come to expect fresh pie at least once a week, and will eat it as fast as I make it.

We've learned to enjoy everyday adventures as much as grand ones of the past.

Rebecca's Mom tip # 1-- "Simplify Life"--

--whenever and however you can. Some seasons are busy, others we make that way because we are just so used to it. Restoring the rhythm of family life is important, and slowing down is part of it.

Even Jesus himself took time for rest and worship and friendship. Knowing how short the future was, he could have rushed madly around healing as many people as possible 24 hours a day or teaching incessantly, but that wasn't what his Father called him to. He sent him here to restore "peace" in our world. He modeled that for us intentionally in his daily life and then topped it off with a redemptive lesson in sacrificial love.

Slow down...simplify...make pie!

Either the rhythm is naturally falling into place around here or this weeks' heat wave is finally getting to them, but my kids are actually getting EXCITED for school to start up in a few weeks--go figure?

A Lifetime of Adventure--Part 1—Let’s Hit the Road!

“Therefore my dear friends…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. ( Phillipians 2: 12-13)

The funny thing about being a christian, is that no matter how long it’s been since my spiritual quest began, how close I've grown to God, or how much I love and trust Jesus Christ for setting me free--there is and will always be another “challenge”!

I like how this passage reminds us that our salvation continues to be “worked out with fear and trembling”. Isn’t that SO true? I turn a new corner every week in life and find something new to “work out”, don’t you?

Why FEAR and TREMBLING, I ask?? Doesn’t God promise peace and rest, love and hope?

What then does anxiety, or for crying out loud- sheer panic have to do with it?

Well, I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty much what happens to me when I step out of my natural comfort zone—my “built in” sin nature tendency towards self-preservation, control, and fulfillment of personal desires starts SCREAMING, “no, no, no, no ,No…!!”

Salvation isn’t stagnant. It begins a journey with an adventure around every corner and a treasure behind every hill.

Hence my challenge to you and myself—no matter what comes along, let’s lay ourselves down --past, present and future! Yes, with some nail-biting and knee knocking, and at times even a great lack of sleep, but with the hope and knowledge that the God of heaven, who created us, is working things out for a good purpose!!

If he would die for us, then why not trust that his plan, rather than ours, has the most good in mind? Let’s give him the freedom to help us…and in doing so, find our own!

Ummmm, yeah...once you begin, the list of things you can apply this to does get longer and longer each day! Pretty much everything goes:

Writing- sure,
Work- yep,
Marriage- of course
Parenting- don’t even get me started!
Friendships- check,
Family Matters-check
Health- check, check…

and the list goes on and on and on and on!!!!!

The exciting thing is, that in every area we’re laying ourselves down, there will be an end result better than anything we, silly selfish people, could ever have coordinated or planned. I know, I know, some of us are pretty good planners and co-ordinators, if we do say so ourselves—even so, would any of us DARE to compare with perfection????

Well, it's time to hit the road in one way or another—send our “selves” packing, drop to our knees before God, get moving in the right direction, whatever sacrifice of pride that it takes, cause…hey, the adventure’s just barely begun!!

Today, I'm working on laying myself down when it comes to teenager's, who insist on believing that
the "dish fairy" is going appear and miraculously move their discards from the sink to the washer. LOL =)
(Mind you I'm not endorsing a lack of parental guidance, rather the "attitude" that happens to come with mine!)

What’s on your list this week???

In Peace-

Rebecca

Introducing My Newborn Blog-with a Splash!

"And we, who with unveiled faces all REFLECT the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Welcome to my writer's blog!

While mainly you'll read about my writing exploits here, my hope is that whether you're a writer, a reader, a parent or a friend...you will laugh, relax, be encouraged and refreshed.

I also invite you to join me on an intense adventure I've recently begun. The mission is: seeking to lay down...who you were...who you are...and who you hoped to be...so that you may truly reflect God's grace and his unique design for your life on a daily basis.

Please drop in on the comments and share YOUR latest adventures!

Blessings--Rebecca