Speaking of simplicity...

A little gem from my favorite poet; it goes so well with my previous post:
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"I Have Found Such Joy"
Grace Noll Crowell

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things - old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

Saturation Point

sat·u·ra·tion point – noun

Definition: “Limit to scope for expansion: the point at which no more can be added.”

I don’t know when it happened, exactly, but somewhere along the way I seem to have reached the saturation point when it comes to material possessions. And not just in a physical, running-out-of-places-to-put-things sense, although my storage closets do seem to require “No Vacancy” signs these days. This feeling of “No more, please!” goes beyond a mere lack of shelf space. The concept of an uncluttered, simplified lifestyle resonates with my soul; I long to live more simply in the midst of this modern existence. But I’m still trying to figure out how to make that a reality, practically speaking.

It’s gotten to where I almost dread Christmas and my birthday because I know I’m going to end up with more stuff… stuff that has to be put somewhere. Now I know why so often, when older people have birthday celebrations, they put on the invitation: “No gifts, please.” I’m not that old, but I understand getting to the point where things become a burden instead of a joy. It’s like, the first piece of cake is delicious, but if you were to keep eating and eating…you’d eventually be sickened by the thought of another bite. Too much of a good thing and all that.

I own more than many people in the world…so much more than I need. My perfume shelf is full, my jewelry box is full, my closet is full, my bookshelves are more than full…I have more pretty stationery and cards than I’ll probably ever be able to use in my lifetime. I’m running out of storage space in the kitchen, and the garage is overflowing. I am in need of nothing – and save the occasional new book or DVD release, I want nothing.

We remodeled our home a couple of years ago, and when it came time to clean out the closets I happily tossed items into a huge bin to give away, glad for the chance to simplify and de-clutter. Yet even though we got rid of a lot, and we own less than many other people I know, it still seems like we just have too much.

Has anyone else reached the “possessions saturation point” or am I the only one feeling overwhelmed by the stuff I own and longing for more simplicity?

If you're happy and you know it...

I just love this picture I took in Jerusalem when we were there last year...it always makes me smile!

Lake Tahoe and a letter from God...

I just got back from our church's annual Women's Prayer Encounter. A prayer encounter (or prayer summit, as they are often called) is when a group of believers goes away for a few days to seek the Lord and His will for their lives, to worship Him, to draw close to Him in a way that's hard to do back home surrounded by the noise of our daily lives. There's no speaker, just a leadership team of facilitators who meet before each session to pray about how the Spirit will lead our times together. There's lots of worship through song, lots of Scripture, lots of tears, lots of joy! The bond of love that is formed and strengthened with our sisters in Christ is something the world could never hope to understand. Truly a blessing!

So I, along with about 90 other women, went up on Friday to a beautiful conference center right on Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side, and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather or gorgeous scenery. God's creation is stunning!

As part of the day yesterday, we had what's called a "Code of Silence," where we go out for an hour or so and are not to talk to anyone else -- just get alone with God somewhere and see what He wants to say to us. I sat on some steps overlooking the beauty of Lake Tahoe...sparkling blue waters, with the stately pines surrounding it and the majestic mountains off in the distance. It was an amazing backdrop to my time with the Lord...

Speaking of time with the Lord, that is something that I've really neglected lately. I mean, I think of Him throughout the day, and read His Word when I find the time...but had really gotten spiritually lazy and out of the habit of spending focused time with Him and in His Word, just being with Him and listening to Him. I was feeling really convicted about that, and during my quiet time yesterday afternoon, I remembered what I'd recently heard a speaker recommend. She said that often when she's alone with God on a personal retreat, she'll take out her journal and a pen and just ask God to write her a letter, praying that she'll be open to hearing what He wants to say to her. I decided I'd like to try that, so I got my pen out and just prayed that God would show me what He would say to me if He wrote a personal letter just to me.

Before I knew it, the words just started to flow. It wasn't "divine inspiration" or anything mystical like that...just His Spirit prompting me with words from His heart to mine. I know what He wants from me...I just needed to hear it from His perspective! He reminded me of how much I miss out on when I don't spend time with Him each day, and how much He loves me and wants to just "hang out" with me, so I can get to know Him better. After I finished writing, I really felt that I needed to share it with Alice, our lead facilitator, so after last night's session I sought her out and read the letter to her. She felt strongly that it was something that would benefit the other ladies in attendance, and asked me if I would read it at our final session. I had sensed she would ask me to do that, and I was prepared if that's what God wanted me to do!

So today at our final session, Alice asked me to stand and share the letter that God gave me. I wanted it to be an encouragement to all of my sisters there that God desires the same thing from them, and loves them just as much. I was only a little nervous...a few times I noticed my hands starting to shake a little, then I thought about the Spirit just kind of surrounding me like a hug and wasn't nervous anymore. I found out later that my sweet roomie, Cathy, was praying for me while I shared -- I had a suspicion that might have been the case! :-)

Anyway, after the session, so many ladies came up and told me how much they appreciated me sharing the letter, and that God had used it to convict or encourage them. Several ladies asked for copies, so I decided to post the letter here on my blog so that they could come and re-read it and maybe print it out if they want to. I pray that it is an encouragement to you, and that we will all be drawn to desire to spend time with Him more and more, and not to keep Him waiting while we go about our daily lives. He deserves so much more than being put on the back burner, and I pray that I will give Him the position and priority He deserves in my life! Thank you for praying for me in this!

So here's my letter from God. Of course, my version says "Dear Sarah," but I've made it generic so it can apply to any woman who reads it!

God's peace and joy to you,

Sarah <><

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My Dear One,

You are beautiful to Me. More beautiful than gorgeous lake Tahoe or the majestic pines surrounding it or the snow-dusted mountains in the distance. You are special -- you are Mine, and I make no mistakes. I made no mistakes when I created you, and I am making no mistakes in how I'm allowing the circumstances of your life to play out. I do all things well.

I love you -- so, so much, my darling girl. I know you feel defeated in those areas of your life that seem so hard to change, those habits that are so ingrained in you, those ruts that seem so hard to get out of. But be encouraged, my dear -- I am available. I am here. I want you to come to Me for the strength and motivation you need. I want to help you. But first, you need to come to Me.

Head knowledge alone isn't going to help you change. Neither can you rely on the fumes of past experience with Me. My mercies are new every morning. Each morning that you fail to spend time with Me, you miss out on the "something new" I had for you that day. Make Me a priority, dear one. I am worth it. And when you begin to do this, all the other things will fall into place. You'll have the energy and motivation to do all that I've called you to do. You'll be less inclined to fill your mind with things that crowd My Spirit out. You'll rediscover the joy of your salvation. Just come to Me -- every day; make Me a priority.

It's really as simple as that. Don't try to complicate it with feeling like your time with Me has to be spent a certain way. My Spirit will guide and direct our times together. You only need to come. I long to develop our relationship -- it's what I died for, this privilege of fellowship with you. Yes, you will know Me fully in eternity. But don't miss out on the joy of choosing to know Me better here and now. As the song says, this world is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing Me.

Don't dwell so much on your failures -- dwell on Me instead, and all those things will fade in the light of Who I am. I love you so much. I long to bless you beyond your wildest dreams with true spiritual blessings in Christ. All I have is yours. I stand ready to give you so much good stuff -- eternally good. All you have to do is ask. Come to Me -- I'm waiting. Don't keep me waiting for long.

Your Faithful God

Do it again, Ben!

I have to share this adorable video my sister Anna filmed of Ben making Aaron laugh!

Currently reading...

The Great Omission by Dallas Willard.

What a thought-provoking and convicting book...this book is all about learning to be Jesus' disciple, or apprentice...learning from Him how to live the Christian life. It's about learning to incorporate the spiritual disciplines of solitude, silence, and fasting, among others, into our lives on a consistent basis. I'm not very far into the book yet, but it's one I need to read slowly, to pray through.

One thing he pointed out is the heresy that we can just enjoy forgiveness at Jesus' expense (have Him be our Savior) and then have nothing more to do with Him (not have Him be our Lord)...he referred to people who do this as "vampire Christians," telling Jesus, in essence, "I'd like a little of Your blood, please. But I don't care to be Your student or have Your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see You in heaven."

Definitely a lot to think about and pray about in this book! Any of Willard's books are highly recommended!

It's so sad that so many Christians go through life with little to no understanding of the deeper Christian life available so readily to all of us, if we'd just choose to pursue it. I, for one, don't want to miss out on this great adventure, which is like nothing that the world has to offer!

Jesus is alive!

Happy Resurrection Day, everyone! May your heart be filled with joy as you ponder anew that because Christ died and rose from the grave, we have the awesome gift of forgiveness and eternal life with Him! May your celebrations with family and friends tomorrow be blessed!

And our future will be more wonderful than we can even begin to imagine!

Happy Spring!

I'm so thankful for a creative God who enjoys lavishing such beautiful gifts on His children!

Daffodils

by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;

A poet could not be but gay,

In such a jocund company!

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Unwelcome tasks...

I came across a great quote today:

“NO unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.” -- Alexander MacLaren

Since my to-do list is full of "unwelcome tasks" that never seem to get crossed off, this quote was a good kick in the pants for me today. Maybe I'll go clean out the fridge (and clean the fridge shelves, too) -- why should it disturb my tranquility any longer?

What are some of the unwelcome tasks you could accomplish today?

Pictures!

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...

Modesty

I recently discovered a blog called The Rebelution, written by the twin younger brothers of Joshua Harris, who wrote the well-known book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. These guys recently conducted a modesty survey of Christian guys (geared at helping Christian girls understand how the way they dress affects their brothers in Christ) -- they'll be releasing the results of the survey on Valentine's Day, but in the meantime, they're posting some of the responses they received from Christian guys who took the survey.

This post from a brother in Christ gives a great analogy to help us as women understand how important modesty is. The site seems to be geared to younger, single Christians, but I think that the importance and value of modesty applies to us as women our whole lives long. I love a good analogy, so this post was really encouraging.

I strive to dress modestly, but from time to time I need to stop and evaluate my wardrobe...and my reasons for wearing certain things. I look forward to reading the results of the survey at The Rebelution, and being reminded of my responsibility as a woman to dress in a way that would make it less likely for my brothers in Christ to fall.

Fake snow

My cat, Gilligan, loved sleeping on the fake snow under our Christmas tree (gotta have fake snow to go with the fake tree) so much that when I took the tree down, I didn't have the heart to take away his new favorite bedding. So I stuck the snow in a box under our bed, and now whenever we can't find Gilligan, we know exactly where to look. "Gilligan's sleeping in his snow box again!"

Cats are cute. You have to humor them.

Christians and Entertainment

I came across this great article at a blog I stumbled upon today. The author (another Sarah!) expressed my thoughts so well on this subject that I am just going to link to her post. What are your thoughts?
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WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY GENERATION?

What’s happening to my generation? (Long pause for thought) Our society has become a wicked society, like the days of old, like those mentioned in the Bible, like Sodom and Gomorrah, and like the wicked nations God wiped off the earth. Many young people constantly poison their minds and their spirits with lust and evil thoughts, evil entertainment. Where anything goes as long as it’s labeled “art” or “a movie.” Do Christians no longer know how to discern between good and evil? ...click here to keep reading

I love being an Auntie!

It was so great to spend 10 days with my sister Anna and her family following the birth of my nephew Aaron on Dec. 5th -- I love these little guys so much! Ben has such personality, and is so smart! I can't wait until he starts talking. And Aaron is just so sweet and new...I can't wait to see his personality develop over the next few years!

















And of course, I miss Anna already. It was a privilege to get to help her through that first week with two little ones at home. She's a great mommy.
















Hopefully I'll get to see them again in a few months when we go back up for my cousin's wedding. I really wish we lived closer!

You know you're in California when...

...it's December 5th and you hear the ice-cream truck driving up and down the street with its annoying little jingle.

Seriously, in Portland that would be seasonal work. Here? They work year round.

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In other news, my sister had her second baby this morning! I was supposed to be there for the birth, but he came a day earlier than planned, so... not much you can do about that! I'm flying up tonight...

Here's little Aaron Edward (8 lbs. even, 20 in. long) looking all newborn-y. It's the only picture I have so far!

What a cutie!

So I got to hang out with my nephew Ben all last week -- it was great! He's developing quite a little personality!

Here we are enjoying some mindless entertainment...



















I think this kid is advanced for his age...he sat here with his mommy for more than half an hour coloring. How many almost-18-month-olds have that kind of attention span?

















Of course, he deals with the normal toddler temptations of forbidden fruit (in this case, the computer room). I'm sure he'll soon figure out the door-opening thing, and that will make life a lot more interesting for his parents!



















I am very excited to fly back up to Oregon this coming week for the birth of Ben's little brother, Aaron!

Ahhh...the lovely liquid sunshine of Oregon!

I'm currently visiting my sister in the lovely state of Oregon. And I'm trying to figure out what all this wet stuff falling from the sky is...oh yeah, RAIN! I remember rain! :-) All kidding aside, we do get rain in Sacramento (although we've had some lovely, sunny weather there recently). Oregon wouldn't be the beautiful, green state that it is without all the rain, though, so it does serve a purpose!












I'm loving hanging out with my nephew, Ben, and getting to know him a little bit. He's much more fun now that he's almost 18 months old (last time I saw him was in June). Here's a recent pic of the little cutie:

















I'm thankful for my family, and for the opportunity to spend time with them this week!

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

I couldn't help it...I gave in early this year! My favorite Christmas songs have made their way into my daily listening repertoire, and my head is full of visions of sleigh rides, chestnuts roasting on open fires, and of course, a silent, holy night in a little town called Bethlehem.

I used to wait until after Thanksgiving, but now it's more like the beginning of November. So I get two whole months of Christmas music! And I love it!

How about you? Are you listening to Christmas music yet?

Happy Birthday, Little Brother!!

It's hard for me to believe that my brother Nate is 27 years old today! I'd like to share a poem I wrote about him when I was a senior in high school, oh-so-many years ago:

"Little Brother"

I was three and a half when
they brought you home from the hospital.
The third child.
The first son.
My first and only brother.
Sweet, chubby babyness.
I held you in my three and a half year old arms;
my baby brother.
Up through the reckless toddler years,
the motorcycle, He-Man, and G.I. Joe phases.
Now you are thirteen;
athletic, strong.
No longer my baby brother,
but many memories to cherish.
And more memories to make.

And we have made many great memories together since that poem was written...all-night, spur-of-the-moment drives from Sacramento to Portland, exploring the small towns in the foothills outside Sacramento, traveling to Israel and Egypt, movie watching and board game playing, shopping at Whole Foods Market, discussions about the Bible and Christian living, playing with the best cats in the world (Skipper and Gilligan), and the list could go on.

Nate is one of my best friends, and I count it a great privilege to be his sister. He loves the Lord with his whole heart, and desires to live a pure and godly life. He cares about others and seeks to serve them. God has great things in store for him, and I can't wait to see how God is going to use him in the years to come!

I'm also excited that Nate is moving back in with us at the end of November (he lived with us for a few months when we first moved here in 1999, and again for about seven months a couple years ago). He makes a great housemate (and I like having someone to help me carry in the groceries)!

I love you, little bro. Thanks for being you!

The Love of God

As a writer, I love this last verse of the hymn "The Love of God" --


Could we with ink the ocean fill,












And were the skies of parchment made,












Were every stalk on earth a quill,












And every man a scribe by trade,


















To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.