life beyond the well…

Tag Archives: Life


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Learning to Sit Still

I’m kind of a busybody.  I don’t know that I always intend to be, but I think it started as a kid.  For the first 8 years of my life, I was an only child, and I had to find ways to keep myself entertained.  I think it’s also because of my parents stressing the value of working hard for everything that you have and the value of earning your success.

So, I enjoy working hard and staying busy.  There are many things that interest me, and my work (both with my job and with graduate school) keeps me busy.  So, on most days I have a to-do list that reaches somewhere from here to heaven, even after checking things off.  My to-do lists have to-do lists.  It’s actually quite ridiculous.

But now I’m on break.  So, I’ve decided to put my to-do lists on hold and actually “break”.  I had no idea that this would be so difficult.  Like, I seriously had to FORCE myself not to do anything on Saturday but go to the grocery store and go get the oil changed in my car.  While I know that taking time to rest is important, I didn’t think I would struggle to do so.

The truth of the matter is that by failing to rest regularly, I’ve done myself (and those who are in constant contact with me) a disservice.  We need rest.  Our minds do, and our bodies do.  So often we get into the habit of just working all the way through- pushing through the pain and fatigue until our bodies shut down.  That’s happened to me for the past 2-3 years that I’ve been at my job and it’s horrible.

So, I’m using part of this break (if not all of it) to learn how to sit still.  As much as I love being busy, I need to love resting.  I’m not going to be good for anybody if I don’t learn how to take care of me first.  And while it sounds selfish, it’s completely true.  If God can take time to rest, surely I can as well.

Here’s to finding more balance, taking time to rest and observe a Sabbath, and being a better, healthier me.

Until next time…

 


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Friday Favorites- Intangibles

I decided to start doing a weekly series on my favorites because I felt that it would help me be reminded of all of the things I have in my life that I’m grateful for. Each Friday, will have a different “theme” for my favorites. I’ll start this week with “intangibles”.

While “intangible” is defined as something that is “unable to to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence” (courtesy of Dictionary.com), I’m extending that definition to include things that cannot be purchased. It’s my blog. I can do that. And without further ado…

  1. Family- I think my family is comprised of the best people God could have given me. They keep it real, they love me, they support me, and they let me be me. I have yet to discover the limits of their love for me, and quite frankly, I don’t think it exists.
  2. Faith- Perhaps this should have been first. Oh well. My faith is the glue that holds me together. When all fails, I can rest in my faith.
  3. Hugs- I don’t know that I was always a hugger, but I have definitely become one. As a teacher, I give out at least 7 hugs a day. Sometimes the kids need it. Sometimes I need it. Many a hug has brightened my day.
  4. Silence- I enjoy silence and being alone with my thoughts. I’m a processer by nature, so I enjoy having time to decipher what I think and feel and why I think and feel a certain way. So much of my day is spent in noise and conversation that by the end of the day, I’m grateful for an opportunity to just “be”.
  5. Love- There aren’t enough words to describe this feeling. Life is incomplete without love.  And in the words of the old hymn, “…when nothing else could help, love lifted me…”
  6. Friends- I think that I have the best ones, but I’m obviously biased. If you don’t have people in your life that are there for you through whatever and who care enough to tell you the truth, life can be really hard.

So that wraps it up for my first round of Friday Favorites. Until next time…