We are wrapping up a glorious week on vacation with 24 family members, with half of them being kids! It’s been exhausting, but it has been rejuvenating. There is something about being out of your normal schedule that makes you enjoy your family all the more!
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I recently stumbled upon the Belong Tour site, and I’m so glad I did. This short post was an encouraging reminder to me that there is only one place I need to find my identity.
“Titles are safe. They’re easy. I’m a teacher. I’m a photographer. This one word tells you who I am. But for most of us, that word or label is going to change at some point. And at that point, if we’ve pasted that one word or title over our whole selves, super-glued it there, bedazzled it so that it’s the one thing people know about us, when we have to rip off that label, it will be so painful, so completely disorienting. And so this is what I’m learning: wear your title or role very loosely. And wear your identity—as a child of God, as a thoughtful friend, as an attentive listener, an avid researcher, whatever—with great confidence.“
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I’m always looking for new summer recipes. This one from allthingsthrifty.com is a keeper!
Simple and delicious.
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Sometimes it is hard to find the time for community. As a busy mom, teacher, and friend I want to be more involved in the daily lives of those around me, but I’m just worn out and spent at the end of the day. Wouldn’t it be great if women could create some time to be supportive of each other?
“God created us for companionship with real people. We were born for community, love, help, encouragement, and the blessing and intimacy that comes from close friendship with others. Consequently, fellowship with like-minded women and men is essential to our spiritual health, and to our well-being in the Christian life.”
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Sometimes I can get so involved in my own story, that I forget to have a larger view of my circumstances. This was a much needed reminder to slow down and live the story written for me, instead of longing for someone else’s.
“We all have been given roles in a story that is about something so much bigger; it just isn’t about us. After all that living on the back row, afraid of stealing God’s glory, a reality check is in order. Who am I to even think such a thing? As my friend Christine Caine says, “Who am I to dare think, that on my very best day, I could even take one little piece of the glory of God?”
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Coming off of vacation, I am hoping to ride the wave of decreased screen time for the summer and into the fall. These ideas from becomingminimalist.com are great to continue happy hearts and turned off televisions!
“Implementing just a few steps right away will help you implement the others. Television viewing is a momentum-gathering behavior. The more you do it, the more compelled you are to continue (advertisements have that effect on viewers). But the opposite is also true. The more you turn it off, the easier it becomes to keep off. You’ve just got to start somewhere.”
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Enjoy your weekend!
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