Forgive
my hiatus from writing last month. I can't possibly explain how busy (and, dare
I say, stressful) my month was. And, I guess it's okay to admit that I've
dreaded the following confession. Just for the sake of updating the 7-Faithful,
last month (spending) was an utter failure in the Beaudoin household. I kind of
considered glossing over the summary of our experiences, leaving out the
gruesome details, but I suppose it would be more honest (and, endearing,
maybe?) to tell you that we completely fell off the wagon. We started off with
the best of intentions...then, we started to relax. Surely we can spend at
this restaurant. After all, this is the way our families spend time together, we
said. Our travel fund kind of turned into a travel splurge. And, by the third
week, we sort of gave up. If I ever doubted how solidly I was rooted in our
overwhelmingly consumeristic society, I was reassured last month. If any of you
doubted my normalcy and personal struggle, I hope this is a clear picture that
I am living in the exact same world as you are, and I am the worst offender of
living excessively of us all. And, so, here we are at an impasse. We could call
it quits, remembering this as a time when we gave away some stuff and
significantly diminished our wardrobe. Or, we could press on...knowing that, in
our weaknesses, Jesus is the most strong. Even when we fail to listen to His
call to lay down our riches to follow Him, He continues to beckon. So, press
on, we shall...
The
Month 4 Challenge is one that I've really been looking forward to. It is most
certainly the least tangible month in the entirety of 7, but it is the one area
that I continually fail in. Month 4 deals with the reduction of stress. So,
here is the challenge:
- · Observe the Sabbath from sundown on Saturday until sundown on Sunday. I mean, really observe the Sabbath. No house-cleaning, no obligatory activities that are not innately stress-free, no cooking (can't say I'll protest that one). Complete observation of the Sabbath.
- · Observe 7 times of prayer everyday. Those times are as follows:
o The
Night Watch (midnight, or 12am)
o The
Awakening Hour (dawn, or 6:00am)
o The
Blessing Hour (midmorning, or 9:30am)
o The
Hour of Illumination (noon, or 12:00pm)
o The
Wisdom Hour (midafternoon, or 2:30pm)
o The
Twilight Hour (early evening, or 5:00pm)
o The
Great Silence (nighttime, or 9:30pm)
During
these prayer times, our family will be reading through Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. Essentially, where every other month
was grounded in the physical expulsion of excess in our lives, this month is
all about ridding our lives of time wasted on stressful activities.
This
month couldn’t come at a better time for our family. At one point last week, I
sat on my couch and looked around our house in wonder. My son was crying for me
to hold him. My husband looked worn out. There were dishes in the sink, in the
floor, on the mantle. Laundry was piling up, my checkbook paperwork was spread
out in front of me…right beside my “To-do list” that was a mile long. I just
breathed in and put my head in my hands. I made the choice to book my life so tightly, and my husband and son are the ones to pay. This can’t possibly be what God
intended life to look like.
So,
this month, we will be tackling our craaaaaazy schedules, and taking time to
continually re-center our lives with the One who numbers our days. Every other
month seems sacrificial to me. This month is a breath of fresh air. In 7, the book, Jen Hatmaker saves this
month for last. We broke the rules and stuck it right in the middle. It’s time
to let our lives follow a rhythm that predictably turns our attention toward
our Lord.
I’m
kind of excited.
No comments:
Post a Comment