Storing the Word

A friend of mine says that when things are getting a bit off in her world, she asks herself whether she's been taking her vitamins and memorizing God's Word.  Those two things inevitably make the biggest difference in her overall health.

For so many years, I considered memorizing Scripture as "optional"--something I would do when things settled down in my life .  And interestingly, the fruit I was producing matched the amount of Scripture I had committed to memory:  none.

Then, my church set out to memorize Galatians.  Not just one or two verses.  Not even just a chapter.  THE WHOLE BOOK.  And because my small group was "all in," I, as the leader, decided to be "all in."  The accountability in Scripture memory paid off, just as it does when it's set up in other areas of life.  I can't say that all six chapters were committed to memory, but a lot more were committed to memory than if I hadn't tried at all. 

Two years ago, my family and I decided to memorize Psalm 91.  The benefits of that have been innumerable.  That one psalm has come to mind hundreds of times since committing it to memory, and I've been able to share portions of it with friends during times when they needed protection.  Having that psalm in my memory bank to draw on when I am fearful has been so powerful.

Yet, despite how powerful that Scripture memory was, during 2012, I didn't set out to memorize any new Scripture verses.  Unfortunately, the failure to set a goal meant that I settled back into status quo.

I resolved to change that this year.  I set out to memorize Psalm 34, and I'm already three verses in.  But I'm changing course.  Ann Voskamp has challenged her readers to memorize several chapters from Romans.  Initially, I thought, "That's not something I want to do; I've already chosen my single psalm to memorize, and that's what I want to do."  How very mature of me.  The real obstacle was that it sounded like a big chore, and I was playing the "lazy" card.

But now that a friend has jumped on board, I'm feeling peer pressure in the most positive way and have the accountability that I need.  Despite the fact that I'm almost four weeks behind, I'm going to try to play catch-up and tackle this big goal.  And much like the large project that I just finished up at work by doing a little every day, I need to focus on little chunks at a time and not on the fact that there are THREE CHAPTERS. 

So we'll see how the next forty-eight weeks go.  At the end of that time, I hope to say that I have stored more of God's Word in my heart.

The Past & The Present

2012 came and went without a single blogpost, other than the Christmas letter that I just cut and pasted on here to make sure I remember some of the key highlights.  If you were kind enough to drop in during my blog sabbatical, thank you for your loyalty and patience.

My co-worker had a baby last year, so that meant lots of writing at work and resulted in no motivation to write after hours.  Most nights I didn't even turn on my computer.  Some of that "offline time" was filled with studying.  I enjoyed completing Beth Moore's study on James and her study on David - Seeking A Heart Like His, as well as Randy Alcorn's study on Heaven.  But I wish I had made myself capture some of the "dailies" here.  I will try to be better about that this year, but I can't make any promises because some new deadlines at work have already cut into my attempts to get on here earlier this year.  So, I may resort to trying to capture a month at a time. 

What I'm Pondering This Month:
I listened to Francis Chan's talk at Passion 2013 and was struck by what his church looks like now:  5 to 10 minutes of worship; 5 to 10 minutes of prayer; 2 hours of door-to-door ministering to those in poor neighborhoods, asking what they need and praying with them; and gathering back together to tell stories from the day.  The focus is on making disciples.  It has me wondering if the American idea of "church" has become a little too consumer-ish. 

What I'm Listening To This Month:

 

A friend treated me to Chris Tomlin's new cd, and it's been on repeat in my car for a while now.  Every track is exceptional, but "Lay Me Down" and "Sovereign" are two songs that I keep going back to, along with "God's Great Dance Floor."

 

I've also found a new radio station called 88.3 The Journey, which seems to be a mix of KLTY and KCBI, two Christian radio stations in the Metroplex.  The Journey is based in Keene, so it's coverage isn't the best as you head north or west of the Metroplex.  But it has virtually no commercials and lots of good music, along with snipits of sermons.

 

What I'm Reading This Month:

I have four books started right now, which is very unlike me; I'm normally a one-book-at-a-time kind of gal.  Before the college football season kicked off, I started two books--The Meaning of Marriage and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How to Listen So Kids Will Talk (which received high praise for working on adults, just as well as kids).  And then I got a great deal on Barefoot Church by Jen Hatmaker's husband and started it, along with Undaunted by Christine Caine.  I'm hoping to get some good reading time in over the next few weekends if work eases up.

 

So, that's a short update to kick off my return to the blog.  I'm not going to presume that anyone is still checking this, but if you are, what are you pondering, listening to, and reading these days?  I'd love to hear.

Christmas Letter 2012

Christmas greetings!

            As I sat down to write this letter, unsure of how to start, a glimpse of the spiral next to my computer with my “gift list” caught my eye.  I started my “gift list” around this time two years ago after reading Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts — A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are.  Since then, I’ve listed not just 1,000 but almost 3,000 gifts that the Lord has blessed me with.  And through this process, I’ve learned to notice the little things in each day that I know He intended just for me because they speak to my heart.  Some of the highlights from this past year include:

·         Finding just the right person to give my Christmas Jar to last year.

·         New friends the Lord has placed in my path, many of whom are much younger than me (it’s such grace that they even think I’m relevant or interesting!).

·         Getting the opportunity to host family and friends several times over the summer because I’m still in my house.

·         Financial provision when, in a three-week span, the air conditioner in my house was struck by lightning (which was not covered by the warranty) and my more-than-twelve-year-old car retired.

·         Being able to attend three Longhorn football games.

·         My mother’s retirement after 43.5 years at Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital.

·         Continuing to find treasures in His Word that encourage my heart, like this from Habakkuk 2:3:

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

·         Having Erin home for Thanksgiving for the first time in five years.

·         Anticipating giving my Christmas Jar to someone in need this Christmas.

Ann Voskamp writes, “All’s grace,” and encourages readers to give thanks in all circumstances.  So I’m slowly learning to identify and be thankful for those things that are hard to be thankful for, like when the Lord uses something to humble me or gives me circumstances that I wouldn’t have chosen. 

I hope that you and your family have experienced abundant blessings from the Lord throughout 2012 and that you take time during the seasons of Advent and Christmas to thank Him for all of the little ways that He has blessed you as you celebrate the ultimate Gift, the birth of Jesus. 

                                                                                                Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                Alyssa

Keeping the Sabbath

As I've been reading through The Chronological Bible this year, I've been struck by the emphasis on keeping the Sabbath. Over and over again throughout the Old Testament, God chastised His people for failing to keep the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:13-21 & Ezekiel 20:12-24)

Isaiah even mentioned that there was a blessing for keeping the Sabbath: "Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:2

And this emphasis on the Sabbath carried over to the New Testament:  "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." Hebrews 4:9-10

This isn't the first time I've felt a prompting about observing the Sabbath.  I read a great book on observing Sabbath rest and tried to incorporate that into my life, as I wrote about here.

But somehow, I let it slip away. I let Sunday become just another day for doing chores and running errands after church. And I didn't notice for a while that the hurried feeling I was experiencing during the week corresponded to having let my Sabbath rest slip away.

One of the key things that our pastor has preached on since starting this new church is that observing the Sabbath can be like a "snow day" (a time of rest spent with family or friends, enjoying God's creation without having places to rush to) and that we can have a "snow day" every week if we will set aside time and observe the Sabbath.

I've been reconvicted that it is important for me to NOT treat this day as just another day. It is holy and set apart.  It's about trusting God with my time and about realizing that my errands and chores can wait.  It's also about reconizing that the Sabbath was designed to honor God and to provide rest.  Soul rest.  And I know I could always use more of that.

It's been almost a month of Sundays now since I set out to observe the Sabbath, and I see a difference.  I don't have strict rules because that's not what this is about.  Instead, it's about being intentional with my time--giving my time as an offering--and being willing to see how He wants me to spend it.  It's a "restful journey," which won't make sense until you try it.  So join me next Sunday and see what you think.

Summer Wrap-Up

A few weeks ago, I posted on here about how the summer was flying by and how I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out. I included a link to a list of "101 Bits of Summer Fun," and I used that as my springboard. Since then, I've managed to have quite a few bits of summer fun. Here are some from the list:

*Stay up late (I did this several times in order to finish books.)

*Read a book, or seven (See the right-hand margin for recent reads.)

*Write a letter

*Plant something (Unfortunately, the hibiscus had a short life due to the drought, but most of the vinca is still thriving.)

*Eat breakfast for dinner

*Go to the library (I checked out The Mountain Between Us.)

*Take a class (I took 2 at Arthur Murray--thanks to a Groupon--and learned how to waltz!)

*Sing a song (I did this in the car, but I counted it.)

And then, I made up some of my own:

*Attend worship led by Kari Jobe (Amazing!)

*Plan a reunion with my small group (We met for dinner each month, which was a lot of fun.)

*Attend the opening night of The Help (This was worth going on a week night!)

*Try a new restaurant during restaurant week (Eddie V's in Dallas was fantastic!)

*Attend the Longhorn Rally at Joe T's (It was fun to see all the burnt orange and get an update from Coach Brown on what to expect this season.)

I'm blaming this summer's record heat for the fact that I didn't attempt more. Most nights, after walking in the 110-degree heat from the building to the parking garage and climbing the stairs several flights, I just wanted to come home and sit under a fan. So next summer, or maybe even this fall, I'll be a little more proactive and reach out to others by working in a soup kitchen, baking cupcakes for neighbors, or taking books to the children's hospital.

Peace in Austin

The traffic southbound on I-35 is always a nightmare, but the three hours are worth the stress once I arrive in Austin. Every time I arrive, a sense of peace settles on me.

I can't explain why Austin has this effect on me. I don't know if it's because it was the first place I lived on my own after college. Or if it's because it has the best restaurants in the whole state. Or if it's because my favorite football team is there. Or if it's because it's close enough to home to feel like I'm with my family. Whatever the reason, I try and find opportunities to get to Austin whenever I can.


[The view from my hotel room was a view of the building I worked in many moons ago.]

I was just there at the end of May through the beginning of June, but I took the opportunity to spend the night there on my way to a conference in San Antonio. And while I was in Austin, I managed to try a few new places.

First stop on this trip = Lunch at La Patisserie, which has earned rave reviews for their macarons. The lady at the counter was the friendliest cashier I've ever met, and she was thrilled that I correctly identified their sweets as "macarons," not "macaroons."





After some shopping at Kendra Scott and a few of the vintage shops on South Congress, the heat demanded that I make a stop at Sno Beach. There's a reason that Austinites mark their calendar each spring for the opening day of this place.





Dinner was take-out from Hyde Park Bar & Grill, known for their fries, and then I also grabbed some breakfast treats from Quack's Bakery for the next morning.



I got to hear the executive pastor from Mars Hill preach at The Austin Stone, and then I headed to Driftwood, Texas, to grab a bite to eat at the world famous Salt Lick BBQ. The BBQ lived up to its legendary status, but I wasn't a fan of their sauce.



After more stressful southbound I-35 driving, I arrived in San Antonio, right when the Cowboys were there. They were staying at the Grand Hyatt, while I was at the Hyatt Regency. Their buses were visible at all times, and they received a police escort whenever they traveled throughout the city.



The best part of the conference was catching up with two of my grad school friends and trying new restaurants with them. Here we are at Paloma Blanca after eating some great fish tacos and delicious tres leches cake:



Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures when we were at Paesano's, Druther's Cafe & Catering, Dough, or Tre. But I did snap a photo at Boudro's of the chicken with guacamole risotto, which the waiter told me not to get because he thought I should get a steak:



It was absolutely delicious! And I'm glad we ignored all of his dessert recommendations.

On the way back, Austin called my name again. This time, I tried my first trailer food in the form of cupcakes from Hey Cupcake.





And when I returned, I went on a diet. THE END.

Hitting One Thousand

It's been right at seven months, and I've hit 1,000. One thousand gifts, that is.

I haven't been good about posting each gift here. Part of that is heat-induced laziness, and part of that is intentional because some of the gifts are too personal and make sense only to me.

But even when I wasn't posting them, I was capturing them in my spiral. And more importantly, I was on the lookout for the gifts throughout my days. The discipline is now firmly ingrained in my daily routine.

And since I'm not up for retyping all the easy-to-understand gifts sans the too-personal gifts, I thought I'd post a list of what I've learned from this discipline:

1. Some days, gifts are easy to spot; some days, they aren't.
For whatever reason, I have an easier time spotting gifts when I do things outside my daily routine, like taking a trip or going to a new event. But without fail, I spot a few gifts every day.

2. I really like food.
More of my gifts revolve around food than I'd like to admit. I'm thinking that it had something to do with the fact that I had the chance to try a lot of new restaurants this summer. And in my dreams, I'm a restaurant reviewer.

3. My list of gifts has become a great place for jotting down and remembering answered prayers.
I love being able to capture God at work like this.

4. Waking without an alarm clock (i.e., getting to sleep in) came up as a gift about every weekend.
I realize that if I had children, this would be a rarity. And so I view it as a gift.

5. Messages from family and friends via mail, email, text, and phone are not taken for granted.
God often encourages me through my family and friends, and I treasure that.

6. I should never admit that I love numbers or was once good at math.
I looked back at the list a few months ago and caught this: 343, 345, 344, 345, 346. So, it's possible that I hit 1,000 a long time ago and just have it misnumbered.

7. I still need to work on viewing the hard times as eucharisteo and giving thanks and capturing it among my gifts.

I'm already working on my next 1,000 gifts and hope you are continuing on this journey or will start if you haven't already.