Our Sabbatical Weeks and How You can Create a Period of Rest for Yourself

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 RefreshHer6 Comments

My sweet husband made this breakfast feast for me on the first day of our sabbatical!

You may never have a sabbatical, but at the end of this post I’m going to share how you can create your own times of rest on a weekly basis, so keep reading!

As of yesterday, July 1, my husband and I completed our month-long Sabbatical. Wow. Our hearts are so full of all the things the Lord has done during those precious 30 days! You can be sure that I kept a journal each day to recount what was happening, what we were doing, and how the Lord was speaking to my heart.

I thought perhaps you would be interested to see how we spent some of our days. I mean, what do you do with 30 days of no ministry when it normally fills every day of the year?

We got outside. We got to choose the month for our sabbatical, and we chose June for a couple of reasons – one being that we love summertime and being outdoors. We took opportunities for drives to beautiful spots where we saw the hand of God. Here it is beautifully displayed in this double rainbow at Watauga Lake!

We enjoyed celebrations. The first day of June was Tennessee’s birthday. Jonesborough is the oldest city in the state, so the governor here came to speak briefly to the large crowd that gathered. The Oak Ridge Boys were there to sing the anthem and a couple of their oldies. It was the perfect beginning event! They were really popular in 1981, the year we were married, so their songs were pretty nostalgic. Anyone remember Elvira?!

So patriotic and fun to enjoy Tennessee’s birthday at an outdoor event!

We rested and read. We spent about five wonderful and quiet days at a lake cottage friends of ours graciously loaned to us. There’s no Internet; that in itself makes it a vacation! The beauty surrounding the cottage is always breathtaking and so relaxing!

One thing I prayed about were the books I should read. The Lord clearly led me to each one – even the fictional book about a pastor who takes an interim pastorate at an island church. There were so many parallels in our lives. But just having time to read was so wonderful!

We invested in our marriage. My husband chose a month-long devotional for couples that he found on-line and we read it together each day. It was on the love languages. You would think that at 40 years, we would each know the other’s love language, but this was a real learning time for both of us! Just having time to talk as a couple with no distractions, to read this devotional and pray together was another huge blessing.

We visited churches. Each Sunday we visited a new church in the area where we were. That was a blessing and also a time of learning. When you’re always in your own church, you don’t see your blind spots. As we visited other churches, it made us aware of things that might need change or adjusting in our own church. The preaching and worship (in most cases) were a true joy.

Now, how can YOU create your own regular period of rest in order to refresh yourself and be ready for the work ahead? Remember that we rest so we can work. It’s easy to think “I’ve worked hard; I deserve a rest!” But God’s directives to His people were that they would rest on the Sabbath so they could work the rest of the week. I began taking a “Sabbath rest” early last spring. Here’s my formula for refreshing myself each week:

Choose one day a week for your Sabbath. For ministry families, Sunday is generally the busiest day of the week, so my day is Friday. It doesn’t have to be Sunday. Choose the day when you can really rest.
Determine to spend quality time in God’s Word and prayer.
Keep your busyness and chatter to a minimum.
Decide what kind of things will fill your time. This doesn’t mean filling your day with busy things, but if you normally are doing work with your hands, then choose things that would work you mind. Read, work a puzzle, memorize a passage of Scripture. If you are normally working with your mind, do work with your hands. Work in the yard, organize or clean, work on a project.
Rest. Allow yourself time to sleep in and/or take a nap.
Get outside. Take a walk, ride bikes, go swimming. Sit outside and read.
Spend time with those that will aid your rest.This isn’t the day for planning events or giving counsel. Spend time with others who will refresh you and you them.
Plan ahead so your meals will be “easy” meals. Either prep a meal ahead and have it ready for the oven, or go out or pick up carry-out.

Does this Sabbath rest appeal to you? Does it seem do-able? I’d encourage you to pray about it and ask the Lord to help you come up with the best plan for you and then implement it as soon as possible!

Refresh yourself with a Sabbath rest!

It’s the Little Things That Help

June 30, 2021June 27, 2021 RefreshHer8 Comments

Ever heard that it’s the little things that count? It’s so true!

I look at people who spend an hour or more working out at the gym and I groan. That’s just not my style of working out. Instead, I choose to walk the country roads of my neighborhood. I also do a 15 minute calisthenics routine in attempt to tone my muscles. While I might not be making the fast strides that those folks at the gym are making, those little times of working out do help.

I don’t spring clean my house each week, but every day I do something. I may dust or mop the floors, clean the windows or scour the kitchen sink. Also each night before I go to bed, I make sure that things are tidy and put away. I might not clean everything all at once, but those little jobs keep my house in order every day.

Each morning for years I have read the Proverb for the day (there are 31 chapters, one that can be read each day of the month). It doesn’t take long, but since I’ve made this a habit for so long, I can finish many verses before reading it. Those little times of pouring God’s Word into my heart haven ingrained those practical truths into my heart.

Memorizing Scripture passages takes time and I can only memorize one verse at a time. I might only get one or two verses a week in my memory, but eventually I get the whole passage memorized by doing little bits, one verse at a time.

I attend women’s conferences twice a year and they are a blessing, but in order to help my spiritual growth, I create my own little daily “conference” by listening to Revive Our Hearts and Love Worth Finding. That little time of hearing God’s Word while I get ready in the morning has probably done even more for me than conferences!

It really is all the little things that make my life richer – especially in spiritual matters. It’s a reminder to me that I have no excuses for not doing what is right! It doesn’t require BIG amounts of time (though when I can take more time, I want to take advantage of that!). It really only requires making habits of doing little things consistently to have a life that is fulfilling and fruitful.

When I look and see a tiny little bit more of a toned arm or a clean kitchen, I see how rewarding those little things were. But even more rewarding are the little things that push me towards being like Christ. They all matter. They all make a difference!

Are you taking time to do the little things? If you’re not in the habit, pick one and watch the difference it makes in your life!

dessert · Pie

Hand-Held Fried Apple Pies

June 28, 2021June 27, 2021 RefreshHer11 Comments

When I was growing up, summer picnics almost always included a special dessert made by my mom – Fried pies. She usually made Peach Pies, but another flavor we all loved were the Apple variety. They are made with dried fruit that has been cooked and sweetened. The dried fruit keeps the filling from being too runny and seeping out. The pies are fried in butter just until they’re browned nicely on all sides. They’re not especially pretty, but man oh man, are they good!

If you’re having a picnic for July 4th, maybe you could start the Fried Pie Tradition for your family!

Here’s how they’re made –

Buy one bag of dried fruit -peaches or apples. (One bag makes A LOT of pies! You’ll usually find these where the raisins are in the grocery store. Place the fruit in a medium-sized pan and add water and cook over low heat until the fruit plumps up. Add sugar to sweeten to your liking. Cook until fruit is soft. This takes a while. Cook them slowly. Set aside.

Either make your own pie dough, or you can use store-bought. Roll dough out and cut out circles, about 4 inches in diameter. Place about 2 tablespoons (no more) on half of the circle. Fold dough over.

Crimp edges with a fork.

Melt half of a stick of butter in a skillet and melt over medium low heat. Add pies and cook in batches,turning to brown all sides.

Place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb extra butter.

These are super good warm, but they’re also delicious at room temperature!

Note: You may need to add butter as they are frying. In between batches, I wipe the pan out with a paper towel so the butter doesn’t turn too dark and color the pies before they start to cook.

These are so great for picnics because all you need is a napkin. It’s a hand-held pie; perfect for on the go!

Wouldn’t this make a great addition to your Fourth of July picnic?!

From my country kitchen,

Refreshment · summertime

Live Each Day of Your Life

June 25, 2021June 24, 2021 RefreshHer20 Comments

One year I made a greeting card for my son-in-law’s birthday and wrote on the inside,

“May you live every day of your life.”

Some folks just don’t know how to do that. Do you? It simply means to get the most out of every day – to enjoy the moment! Do you know how to do that or do you merely slug your way through each week and each month of the year? Do you know how to seize the moment? My husband is so good at this and he helps make our days so enjoyable because of it!

If you’re not following what I’m talking about, here are a few examples ~

Take a nap when a rainstorm brews up
Stop for ice cream when you’re on your way home from church
Enjoy a free outdoor concert on Friday night instead of staying home to watch television
Make a run to get french fries – even though it’s after 10:00 pm!

A good way to give you some ideas for living every day is to look at what the National Days are and take your cue from them. This Thursday is July the 1st. Listed below are some National Days for the month of July:

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July 1 – National Creative Ice cream Flavors Day – You could whip up a batch of homemade ice cream and try a new flavor!

July 4 – Of course we know it’s Independence day but it’s also National Barbecue Ribs day! Don’t grill hamburgers!

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July 6 – National Fried Chicken Day – Go out for your favorite version of fried chicken!

July 10 – National Kitten Day – If you’ve thought of adopting a kitten, today would be the day to jump on that! Or you could visit a pet store or just buy a special toy for your cat!

July 15 – National Cow Appreciation Day – You could:

Make chocolate milk for your children
Take them to Chick-Fil-A where cute cows pictures are everywhere!
Cook hamburgers or steaks out on the grill

July 17 – National Peach Ice Cream Day – You could:

Make your own homemade ice cream
Stop in and order your favorite flavors at an ice cream shop
Buy a half gallon and a box of cones at the grocery store and invite friends over

July 22 – National Hammock Day – Dig out the hammock and set it up in a shady spot!

My twin sister and her granddaughter know how to enjoy the hammock random style!

July 24th – National Tell an Old Joke Day – You could:

Take your children to the library and let them check out joke books. Let everyone find one to share at suppertime

July 24th is also – National Amelia Earhart Day – Why not go to the airport and watch planes take off and land?

July 29th – National Lasagna Day

July 30th – National Cheesecake Day

July 31st – National Father-in-law Day – Do something special for your father-in-law today! If nothing else, just give him a call and tell him you appreciate him!

So, go ahead and live today, Friend! The Lord gave you this day. Honor Him in all you do, and enjoy the day He made. The greatest joys are eternal ones, found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Without Him all of life is simply vain. When we know Him we have fellowship with our Savior, times in His Word and prayer, Scripture memory, and fellowship with believers, to name just a few of the eternal joys!

I’m looking into creating a holiday of my own – National Comment on a Blog Day. It’s today! So why not stop in and say hello and tell me you were here! It might not make your day special, but it will sure be a blessing to mine! =)

Thanks for taking time to read! I do appreciate you so!

I hope you’re making plans to be refreshed in your local church this Sunday. As my husband told someone this week, “You can’t practice all the One another’s if you’re not with one another!'”

Live today!

ministry · Spiritual Refreshment

The Wrong Way To Serve

June 23, 2021June 21, 2021 RefreshHer4 Comments

ATTITUDE. Ever have one? You know what I mean. It’s that annoyed reflection of something in your heart. Someone pushed the wrong buttons, pushed you once too many times, or pushed you harder than you cared to be pushed and then – the attitude happens. It’s not pretty.

I know of which I speak because I can be the Queen of Attitude at times. I hate to admit it, but if I’m honest I have to tell you it’s true. I had one just this week, and guess what it was over? Ministry! I got tired of carrying other people’s loads, of doing “more than my share” (who decides how much is more than my share?), and being pushed to the limit. Oooo – that button got pushed and out the attitude came. The good thing was that the Lord convicted me and after a time of stewing, I made it right. However, the Lord wasn’t done teaching me the lesson He wanted me to learn.

Yesterday in my devotions, I was working on memorizing the last two verses in Philippians 2. The background of these verses is that Paul had sent a man by the name of Epaphroditis to the Philippians and Epaphroditis became sick to the point of death. Why was he so sick? Verses 29-30 tell us:

Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:
Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

Epaphroditis was taking up the slack of the Philippians; doing what they hadn’t done and became so sick while ministering that he almost died!

Paul says in verse 29 to “hold such in reputation.” Hold a man like this in high regard. At that moment in my quiet time the Lord brought the truth to my heart that this was a man who worked and ministered so much that he was at death’s door! My work took me nowhere close to that kind of sacrifice! I see no sign of an attitude in Epaphroditis here either! It says that he was full of heaviness because they learned he had been sick. He was probably the kind of man who tried to cover his weakness, work through whatever pain he might have been experiencing because there was a cause here – the love of Christ- and that constrained him to keep on.

I was very convicted by this man’s life, and repented of my sin and my attitude. There is a balance to strike, and I asked the Lord in my quiet time to help me hit that balance – work, rest, respite. It’s necessary so that we don’t burn out.

As you serve in any capacity, whether it’s full-time or as a layman in the church, guard your heart against the “A” word. Let’s make sure we’re serving the Lord with a sweet spirit; the kind in which the Lord would “hold us in reputation” like Epaphroditis. His work was “the work of Christ.” Too often my work is “the work of Denise” done with an attitude and won’t be rewarded in eternity. “Oh, Lord, may my ministry be Your work, done in Your strength, and done for your glory!” Ahhh, there’s the right attitude!

Anyone aside from me need this reminder today?