Fresh food, fresh rest, fresh me…

Soooo….

yesterday I had the first Saturday off from show business in I don’t know how long…I mean, the first Saturday off, from show business, in which I didn’t just get it off because I had something else scheduled…literally, OFF. Off. Off. OFF.

aaah.

How many would agree with me that sometimes when we have “off” times, we schedule them to the brim, and then we end up feeling far worse?  Well, for ONCE, I didn’t do that…but it took a personal struggle to get there…

Friday morning dawned with thoughts of “have-to’s and should-do’s and I-just-don’t-want-to’s”….I was pooped out and tired and just needed a break, and I needed it right now thank you very much!  I cannot wait until Saturday!  So, in my fleshly wisdom (I hope you are paying attention to my careful wording), I decided not to do anything but rest…sounds great, right?  No workout, no computer…and guess what else?  No devotional time….(this is when we cue the old-time detective show music…dum da dum dum…dum da dum dum DUM!!!! And in this case, perhaps that should be spelled D-U-M-B.)

Yep, as almost always happens, the days I choose to put off my devotional time, I end up making everything worse, only to go back and do my devotional later (haggard, tired, stressed and desperate) and find that it WAS PERFECT FOR THAT DAY!!!! 

Basically, my devotional on Friday told me to Rest in God (Psalm 62:5) and pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17)….guess who prayed herself through the rest of the day, headache and all?  As much as I possibly could, I kept turning my thoughts over to the Lord, and He got me through that day…I wonder what might have happened had I done that in the first place?  I imagine I would not have allowed certain things to stress me out, I would have chosen the right kind of rest, and the things that I HAD to do (like my job, which I usually love!) would not have been nearly so difficult…

So, here is where the story starts getting more refreshing…as I mentioned before, the next day was Saturday, my first Saturday off from a show in about a bajillion years…

In my flesh, I am a total type “A” person…make that, a total type “A” person with a guilt-prone nature, an accomplishment-guided mentality, and a people-pleasing habit…which means I was sorely tempted to make my day off into a gargantuan to-do list.

But I didn’t.

I got up and went to my devotional time.  I thought of things I might want to accomplish, and then I would bring my mind back to my devotions.  I would write down things and lists I might consider doing, and I would turn them over to God.  And when they came back, I continued to go to God and listen to HIS voice reminding me to consider what would bring me the MOST PEACE, MOST REST, MOST JOY…to not be afraid that I would get carried away, but be reminded that He was right there with me, even in the planning of a day off, and that if I would just commit to stillness with Him, it would all turn out…not to be afraid of the clock, or this list…and to choose the most important things…for I have the mind of Christ, and a life lived in the Spirit, gratifies the desires of the Spirit…and my Spirit just keeps saying, “rest”.

Romans 8:6 New International Version (NIV)

⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

Galatians 5:16 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Now, does that mean my personality was magically transformed, and there were no problems whatsoever in carrying out this floating-on-a-cloud mission?  Don’t make me snicker-snort, please.  (Or, do.  Laughter doeth the heart like good medicine…Proverbs)

Anyway.  There were moments when I looked at the clock and thought, “oh boy, I was hoping to be further along by now”…but there were also moments when I realized, “Hey!  I have gotten a few things done that bring me peace and a smile, and it is only such-and-such-o-clock, and I am not stressed out!” 

(Sidebar:  what did I get done?  Some laundry, some house straightenin’, some food preppin’, etc, etc…Here are a few pics of the food prep just for fun…it is sooo much easier to eat healthily if you have it ready for yourself…I cut up some fresh veggies {zucchini from our own garden!},

made some home-made hummus  –I have 3 or 4 different recipes I use.  They are all very similar: a mix of beans, nut paste/butter, healthy fat, seasonings, and lemon juice.  Yesterday I used the one from Kristen Feola’s “The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast”; you can try it here:

http://www.ultimatedanielfast.com/2010/01/want-snack-have-some-hummus.html

Yummy, beany, herby goodness!

Started soaking some almonds for almond milk, and started soaking some broccoli seeds for sprouting…which will be so rewarding later!)

In the end, I DID get a few things done that I needed/wanted to do, and THEN AS I PROMISED TO MYSELF, I got to take a rest. A real rest…I took myself off down to the swimmin’ hole (yes, I am using the vernacular I mean to use), utilized a spirit of self-discipline to take a vigorous walk nearby before grabbing my outdoor yoga mat, a towel, a good book, my water and larrabar, and heading to the creek for a nice little lay-around…

It was my kind of heaven.

I even met some folks with a wonderful campsite, who happen to have gone to school with one of my cast members…a few hours from here!  Fun, small world kind of moment!

I found a quiet spot, waded in the cool water for a moment, and then settled down to just.   be.   still.

Psalm 23 just kept coming to mind.  I was certainly resting beside still waters (they may have been flowing, but compared to the craziness of a show business/tourist town, and even just what goes on in my own head some days, believe me, they were beautifully quiet and still!)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.

Eventually, I did need to return home to get ready for a social engagement (well, La-dee-da, right?) …a lovely house party that was designed as a benefit for a WONDERFUL organization:  Table Rock Freedom Center,  a non-denominational, faith-based recovery residential program for women.  I highly recommend visiting their page and offering your support! Click below to learn more:

http://trfreedom.com/wordpress/

It was to be a lovely evening with my hubby and various friends/acquaintances/new friends-in-the-making with great Cajun food and wonderful music!  Thank you, my darling friends and hosts who honored Table Rock Freedom Center this way, and for opening up your home to all of us–and inviting us, even!  And to the musicians, I already told ya’ how wonderful you were…thank you again for sharing your talents with us! 

(I won’t share the names just so folks can remain anonymous if they wish…)

Back home and an attempt to wind down with a good book in bed before a full Sunday of fun planned…more on that next post…(stay tuned!)

Cuz how many of you know the enemy likes to get ya’ riled on a Sunday?  Better rest up…and Rest in Him…and pray continually…

Praying for you all who have taken the time to read, and thank you!!!

Love,

Robyn

newsflash!  Having a local giveaway this week…Leave a comment below with the answer to this question, and you will be entered into a drawing for a yoga mat bag!  You choose the color (light green or maroon)…

Question:  What kind of beans are called for in the hummus recipe Robyn used today? (you can use any kind of white bean, but what kind does the actual recipe ask for?  –and guess what?  I used what I had on hand, which was different…but the question is fun!)

leave me a comment below, and your name will be entered into the drawing to be held on Friday, June 17th!  (local/Southwest Missourians only, please –I can hand deliver–,…unless you are willing to pay the shipping charges, or are coming near to visit, which is fine by me!)