The Wisdom Hour (mid-afternoon)

“The Wisdom Hour embraces…the impermanence of this life.  It is the hour Jesus died and gave up His spirit (Mark 15:34).

This hour is the prayer for wisdom to help us live like we’re dying, which we are.  Imagine the fearlessness we’d embrace with this understanding.  Imagine the risks we would take, the love we would share, the forgiveness we would not withhold, the dreams we would chase.  With evening approaching, we pray for perspective on this short, fleeting life…and offer our gifts to the world, understanding we only have a few years to share them.”

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

Let me never be put to shame…

Be my rock of refuge,

To which I can always go…

My mouth will tell of your righteousness,

Of your salvation all day long,

Though I know not its measure…

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,

And to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Psalm 71:1, 3, 15, 17

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The Hour of Illumination (noon)

“At midday, we honor the hour Jesus embraced the cross…Like Him, we recommit to giving our lives away…

We self-inspect our hearts for violence we harbor – toward ourselves, family members, coworkers, community, those who are different.  We offer our hands and words as agents of justice.

(By all means, enjoy this pause outside with your face turned toward the sun.)”

A few weeks back, our pastor talked about laying our Isaac down.  He said for him, it is more than a one-time thing.  Rather, all day long, if he looks down and sees his hands clenched, he opens them.  Over and over.

That’s a great explanation for giving our lives away.  Releasing control.  Letting go of violence.  Offering the short puff of air that our lives are to Him for His purposes.

“Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?

Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who does not lift up his soul to an idol

Or swear by what is false…

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

The LORD mighty in battle.”

Psalm 24:3-4, 8

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The Blessing Hour (mid-morning)

“This pause has two emphases: the first is mindfulness of the Spirit’s abiding presence…At this hour, the opportunities are still endless, making it the perfect time to invite the Spirit.  This pause can redirect our morning from ‘efficient’ to ‘inspired,’ before the day gets away.

Second, the Blessing Hour is about the sacredness of our work.  Whatever our work looks like – an office, raising children, working from home, a classroom, ministry – we ask the Spirit to bless us with creativity, composure, inspiration, love.”

I experienced this pause with a friend yesterday and my youngest this morning.  I love turning our attention to inspired “before the day gets away.”

Yes, let’s do that.

Let’s follow His lead throughout our days.

If you’re curious, I’m interested in doing a traditional Shabbat meal Saturday night.  I reread the Stress section of The 7 Experiment, took a few notes, and have put it away.

I want to do my own research on the topic.

I want to see what the Word has to say about the Sabbath and why it matters.  I want to Google some ideas about it.  I want to talk to the professor that comes to my Fall Avoidance class who was raised in an orthodox Jewish home.  I want to hear what Shabbat meant to their family.  I want to reread the actual 7 book and copy re-frame her experiences for our family culture.

I’m excited about this.  I want to welcome real rest from sundown to sundown each week and teach our children the rat race isn’t the point.

“…Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them,

‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'”

Mark 6:31

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Source

Have you ever walked into someone’s home and experienced peace?

I have.  That’s how I want to live.

I know it has little to do with the surroundings (though the above, along with a cup of coffee and some books, looks like a little slice of heaven) and so much more to do with the culture and attitude of those in the home.

What are your favorite things about the most peaceful home you can think of?  What are the qualities you admire in others you consider at peace?

My favorite people are not trying to hide their imperfections.  They are comfortable with who they are.  I can borrow from their serenity and feel comfortable being myself, too.

And homes/families I’m drawn to aren’t what might typically be considered peaceful.  There is activity.  There are people in and out and hobbies and food and celebration and tears.

In a word, life.

Peace doesn’t mean no activity, no real emotions, never any drama.  But submission.  Submission to the One in control of all that.  Not seeking to reign in all the crazy on our own strength.

Source

In case you were concerned, my husband came to the rescue last night on the phone alarm thing.  He got it all figured out for me.

We chatted about the things on my list as well, and decided we want to work on helping the boys wind down before bedtime.  Often that routine goes out the window in favor of wrestling or a video or (in warmer months) riding bikes or playing with neighbor kids right up until showers.  So if we took a little more time to chill and maybe do more reading, the drama could lessen.  Then again, Fun is an unspoken priority in our home, so we may just need a little more balance.

Another thing we want to work on is a chore chart for our kids.  We really are not good at consistency in chores (or allowance for our oldest for that matter – though he rarely remembers to ask for it, anyway, which I consider a success.  Money shmoney).

Anyone out there have experience with a great chore chart system?  If it is simple and visible I’m all ears!

We have some financial goals, but in the words of my somewhat more private husband, “You’re not going to put this on the internet, are you?”  He is a saint.

I’m also halfway done with my Calendar/Goal center.  This is so exciting I’m not sure what to do.
Now for consistency in keeping up with it…

If you’re nosy like me and want to know the categories, they are:

1.  Calendars

2.  3 month goals for family/home, ministry, fitness and writing

3.  Character traits I want in front of my face constantly

4.  Pinterest recipes to try in the next few months

5.  Workout class ideas to learn

6.  Things to further investigate

Been going well with the 7 Sacred Pauses, but then again we’re only 3 pauses into this journey!

I thought I would share the first one, straight out of The 7 Experiment:

1.  The Awakening Hour (dawn)

It’s time to begin our day in glory…Do we need to awaken to joy?  Forgiveness?  We enter a new day where our lives can become a living praise.

The boys and I rode bikes and scooters and they drew in their notebooks outside this morning until we saw this:

They are starting to want to do this on their own initiative; go out and watch the morning dawn.  (It’s easier when that happens closer to 7:00!)

A couple we learned from overseas had heard a great prayer they passed along to us: “Jesus, help our lives draw our children to the Banqueting Table of Your Love.”

I love that.  Not preaching (though there are times for that).  Not pressuring.  Just drawing them to His love.  I hope the glory of the morning always does that for their hearts.

Do you need to reduce any stress in the morning hours?

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It may seem crazy, but when I wrote the blog post from this morning, I didn’t realize today was the last day of September. And a new month was starting tomorrow.

And what a perfect time to do a stress fast!

Except: I need to figure out a whole bunch of things.  This will stress me out.  Hmmm.

1.  How do I set an alarm on my (cheap) phone so I don’t forget the 7 sacred pauses?

2.  What does this look like for the rest of my family?  I have no intention of pushing anything on anyone.

3.  Are we going to be diligent to observe the Sabbath (Shabbat) in October?  If so, what will that look like for us?  Anything different?

4.  God has already been reducing and eliminating in our family schedule.  But what else needs to go?  Anything intentional need to be added?

5.  Talk through with Dan about what stressors we have in our current routine…morning schedule?  Evenings?  After school routines?  Weekend stuff?

6.  I’m getting a calendar system like this set up for myself at home.  Which begs for a look at some goals: family, personal, ministry, relational, work.  (Can I just say how grateful I am that other non-type-As out there share their solutions? Thanks, Anne!)

7.  I know one thing that would reduce stress: no raised voices for a month.  Jesus give me strength.

8.  Oh!  I know a goal I want to come out of this month; I need to figure out how to get iTunes off old computer and put it on new computer and update my iPod.  3 Categories: Exercise songs, Class songs (I lost all my Cds for teaching classes…I don’t want to talk about it), and Calming music for solitary walks or stretching.

Doesn’t this month sound wonderful?

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I like how God times things.

I’m going to jump into a beautiful, soul-edifying section in the book The 7 Experiment.

If you haven’t heard of 7 or this companion guide, I recommend.  My favorite part about it (well, one of my favorite parts) is the way she approaches it as “a sinner’s repentance, not a sage’s manifesto.”

She describes herself as smack in the middle of the American pack and needing to simplify many things in her personal life and family’s life.

It reminds me of something our pastor said Sunday.  “There are air categories and ice cream categories for a blessed life.  Ice cream categories are things we like that feel like blessings to us, but we don’t need.  Air categories are the fundamental basics of what makes a blessed life: relationship with God.”

And that doesn’t always look like a blessed life.  After all, our Master pointed to a group around Him and shared with His disciples that people are blessed if they mourn, are persecuted, are poor in spirit, and are meek.  That looks much different than what the world considers blessed.

For our family, 7 helped us experience the truth of that.  Taking away some of material blessings for a even a short time was a good discipline in what matters most.

The next section is entitled “Stress.”  She invited readers to observe the “7 Sacred Pauses” of prayer and really live out the Sabbath.  There are a million ways to live with less stress.  I’m going to chat with you about some.  And one reason is because when our small group went through this the first time, I totally bombed it.

So this is my re-do.

With accountability.

Won’t you join me?

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