Hey Lovlies,

Sorry for going MIA there for the past four days.  On Thursday, I was in what seemed like simple fender bender, a driver distracted by his phone rear-ended me and my kids.

The next day I was sore all over, dizzy, and nauseous.  I was so sure I had a concussion, but thankfully, my doctor ruled it out, she did tell me to REST, apply heat, take my meds (I really, really hate taking medicine), and REST (she seriously stressed this twice.  I love my doctor, she knows me well).  So, I’ve been semi-bedridden these past few days, only leaving the house for the grocery store and church.

So…what have I been doing?

Reading:

A Table In the Wilderness by Preston Yancey

I’m nearly halfway through this book and I wish, oh how I wish, I had this book when I was younger.  At the beginning of my Freshman year of college, my Christians Essentials teacher named, Mrs. Edwards gave some of the absolute best advice zealous and idealistic young believers could have ever received, “At some point in your Christian walk you will, not you may, but WILL have something called the ‘dark night of the soul’.  God will seem far from you.  He will seem silent and you will pray loud, emotive prayers at the ceiling and they’ll fall back on you.  At least, you’ll think they are falling back on you.  This is completely normal and expected for you to grow.  Keep walking through the dark night of soul because eventually day will break and you’ll see God was there all the time.” This was such good advice, I wrote it down and memorized it. It served me well two years later when I found myself heartbroken and confused when the man I thought, and prayed over, and  was going to be my husband, broke up with me. I wish I had these words from Preston though:

“If you’re like me, you read Scripture only when you can’t bear not to, because your best friend is going to ask if you’ve been keeping up and you can’t lie to him.  And you’ve already stopped praying, because it feel like the most pointless and unproductive use of your time. You look around and see all the shiny happy people you seem to be hearing God…and wonder if you’re the crazy one.”

Preston’s book is full of wisdom and gracious candor and I have, “Me too!” written on the edges to too many pages.

Watching:

The Voice.  I know.. I know…every year I say I’m not going to then they suck me back in with their heartfelt back stories of the contestants or the judges’ witty banter or the promise of an epic battle.  This year Pharrell and Gwen Stefani are judges so how could I not watch.  This is my favorite girl right now:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLlFhDEGJFU]
ohmygoodness, her breath control and tone!!! I can’t wait to see what Pharrell does with that voice.

Planning:

After my post, “Saving my Daughter From the Single Story” went live over at A Deeper Story something really unexpected happened:

[vimeo 108944318 w=500 h=888]

SurprisingTrinity from Osheta Moore on Vimeo.

So…I’ve been planning our magical weekend in NYC. I’m looking on AIrBnb for a place for us to stay and I checked on buses from Boston to NYC and if I book them now it’s only $20 for each of us round-trip.  God is really making this thing happen and I’m so grateful.

I’m still very sore and I can actually feel when the ibuprofen and muscle relaxers wear off, but every time I have this imposed time to rest, I realize how very important it is to carve out time for sabbath, relaxation, and dreaming.  It’s been a gift to me that my husband and kids have picked up some of the slack for me while I’ve been sore, but I wonder how can I create a culture of rest for my family?  We used to be really good at it when my husband was a pastor– Monday he rested, Friday I rested, Saturday we rested as a family.  But now, that he has a standard 9-5 job and I have my own business, we’ve let our schedules overtake us, to where now these simple pleasures of reading good books, watching amazing talent, and dreaming big dreams feel like a stolen luxury.  Maybe, God is showing in the aftermath of my accident that rest is more than what the doctor ordered, but what the Father designed us for.

Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.

Mark 6:31

Seeking Shalom In The Soreness,