Finding Holiness in the Holidays

Starting November 13th @ 7 p.m.

Are you seeking to foster rest, relationship, and renewal 
in yourself and in your family's holidays?

To capture the sense of unique, special, set aside moments 
when you all are reflecting on timeless events  
instead of racing through the urgent?

It’s November, and I bet you have started your holiday planning!

Or, you haven’t and you might feel a little panicked on the inside!

But, this season can be your best holiday season yet!  Come on in, sit  a while with me at my kitchen island.
I’ll get the coffee {or tea}, you grab a stool.

Sugar?

Creamer?

How about splash of home made vanilla?

The house is quiet {yes, this is a “MNO” – mom’s night out, child free event!}  Because I really want to know what is in your heart, and sometimes with littles bouncing in and out, it is just hard to allow ourselves the luxury of a little vulnerability.  I take a sip of Lively Colombian, and ask you,

“What is your ideal holiday moment?”

Maybe that special evening spent decorating a REAL Christmas tree, with lights and colored paper chains, the fragrance of the forest delicately scenting your home?

Could it be a beautiful home cooked meal, served on china passed through generations, with good coffee brewing and rich desserts lining the kitchen counter, inviting every. last. person. to give up the diet and indulge and languish around the family table?

Is it you, your husband, teens, and littles together with the soft glow of candlelight on their faces, singing “Silent Night” at your church’s Christmas Eve service?

Maybe your dream is more somber, a desperate hope that you can make it through the season because it is the “first” holiday after your life was changed forever?

Perhaps your dream – this year – is that your family will be brave enough to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, and not be pulled into an overwhelming schedule of holiday events?

In unison, we both draw a breath in, then exhale long…

 You and I both know that any one of those “perfect moments” come only as we spend an incredible amount of time and energy planning and preparing plus “perspiration”…

Your family enjoys the fruit of the labor, but we both just got overwhelmed thinking about it!

Well, let’s turn and face this holiday season together!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this year, instead of becoming overwhelmed during the holidays, you finally get the opportunity to develop a new set of rhythms and routines which allow you and your family to be refreshed and reflective?!  Imagine knowing the principles of sacred rest that will carry you into next year!

In “Finding Holiness in the Holidays” you will “tune into” and learn:

♦ about “Rhythms of Rest”,

♦ about God’s illogical methods of multiplying whatever we give Him – YES!  This includes “time”!

♦ about creating an atmosphere of awe and expectation and spaciousness for ourselves and our families.

♦ about intentionally putting “holiness” {set apart time} in the holidays.

♦ planning for your “nos” as well as  our “yeses” to activities and events.

What you get:

♦ guidance from a seasoned counselor and fellow learner {me}

♦ weekly conference calls in which I lead you through the assigned chapters and reflection questions from“Rhythms of Rest”{the calls will be approximately 1 hour long}

♦ call recordings (with lifetime access) that you can refer to anytime – day or night!

♦ training and immediate application of how to hear God’s voice

♦support from like minded people throughout the entire holiday season who will pray you through this    process and beyond

♦ a private facebook group to share questions, ideas, struggles, and hope.
   (This group will remain open as long as you need it with unlimited access to its content}

♦ a safe place to try out, practice and perhaps even fail and to be loved anyway

♦ no distance or schedule limits to your ability to access the group – available whenever it is convenient for you

♦ the opportunity to create an intentional holiday season that will bless your family and save your sanity!

♦ permanent habits of revitalizing rest that you will take into 2017 (yes, this is the best part!)

♦ BONUS 7th week conference call after Christmas weekend to check in and recap your journey in finding holiness through the holidays

♦ and much more!

What you need for the group:

♦ a copy of “Rhythms of Rest – Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World” by Shelley Miller {click hereto go toAmazon}

♦ a Bible

♦ a journal

♦ a quiet place

♦ a heart determined to find what it means to “Sabbath”

♦ an eager expectation of meeting with God!

This class is for anyone who:

1. ♦ is overwhelmed at the thought of the holidays coming
2. ♦ who thinks they don’t have time for an online group!
3. ♦ desires to create beautiful memories by being intentional
4. ♦ struggles with carving out time for herself
5. ♦ is ready to change how they move through their holiday season
6. ♦ wants to find a group of people who will embrace the stumbles
   and failures of the process of “change”
7. ♦ thinks that self-care is selfish
8. ♦ knows that realistic change happens in the context of relationships
9. ♦ wants to build a habit of refreshing herself {as well as others}
10. 
    
11. 
    

If you are ready to let go of perfectionism and are open to finding friendships that will last into eternity, it is time to make the leap and enroll in the “Finding Holiness in the Holidays” group!

All this for less than the price of one group therapy session!  

Sign up now and get ready for a transformational holiday season!

1 EZ payment of  $48
Lifetime access

The classroom is now closed...
However, you can still get access to the recorded conference calls and 
bonus downloadable material for the discounted price of $20.

Just click the "Buy Now" Button to be taken to the purchase link...

"Lord, Your Will Be Done!" (A call to prayer and war)

You all know, "greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4)...and yet this doesn't say that we WON'T have to go through circumstances that will test - and PROVE - this truth...

Today is one of those days for me...we are doing a homeschool co-op: you know how it is, people are out sick, classes have to be combined, things seem to be changing hour by hour - a teen boy ate (yes I said ATE!) a dead cricket in his class - the teacher reported great distractions as a result...computers are mysteriously restarting for no reason in computer class...someone mentioned there must be a gremlin here...

I think God is using all this to remind us that we need to be alert and aware right now...be in prayer, expose and pray for ambushes against the plans of the enemy. We cannot ignore the war going on in the heavenlies right now...

So people - if your day has been a bit strange too, please join me in praying "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven!"

Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World

I was introduced to "The Sabbath Society" and Shelley Miller several years ago by a simple Google search.  The Lord had been drawing my heart into the contemplative life; and I myself desired to radiate peace instead of the constant harried feeling that was my constant companion.  I knew God had instituted Sabbath as the final crown to His creative passion, and so the word was my search.

From the beginning, Shelley's words brought grace, peace, and a time of satisfied fullness of spirit.

But it wasn't till I became a member of the launch team that I really applied fully the lessons Shelley was teaching us - and I can say I have learned much and God is bigger in my heart and more reflected in my life than before I put Sabbath into practice!

So it is an honor to be part of the launch team for the book that was birthed out of her own journey to discover Sabbath, and that she shared with those following her and now has been released for the rest of you!

If you have thought Sabbath was: 

an Old Testament construct only, 

a legal requirement to the Jewish people,

a nice idea that would never happen for you,

something that only happens on Sunday,

something that only happens on Saturday,

just one more thing laced with rules and restrictions,

another Biblical concept you could fail at,

a reason to avoid learning about rest...

Then get ready to learn what Sabbath really is...

A reminder to pause and let our hearts be focused on what is important...

A release from perfectionism by focusing on the only One who IS perfect...

A reminder that we belong because we are already accepted...

A pause for prayerful listening, even for a few minutes, 

that brings everything that is important back into focus...

An interchange with our Creator—it’s a choice, 

an elective He hopes you’ll pick first from the list that is keeping you busy...

and so much more!  Consider getting a paperback copy to sit with, mark up, devour and digest.  It promises to be a very close friend to your Bible for your quiet tiimes!

Page by page, chapter by chapter, you will be invited to savor the very best portion of your life with God and His rich desire to relate to you personally.  There is no condemnation, nothing to conform to - just a reissuing of God's invitation to come to Him and find rest for your souls...

Rhythms of Rest is available NOW - you will put it on your book shelf right beside your Bible and "1000 Gifts" - I highly recommend it...http://amzn.to/2dFBtLV

#rhythmsofrest

A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted - Slow Time Sabbath

"Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."  (Mark 2:27 NLT)

A Blessing for One Who is Exhausted
 John O’Donohue

Take refuge in your senses,

open up 
to all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain

when it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of colour

That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself. 

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.

Learn to linger around someone of ease

who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually you will return to yourself,

having learned a new respect for your heart

and the joy that dwells far within slow time.

God Will Rewrite Our Story...Plus 5-Steps to Healing Hurt HeARTs Prompt

Each one of us has a story...

Every day we are "writing" that story in the way we live our lives.

Some days we do better writing than on other days...

Unlike an author that writes with pen and ink, or even types, we cannot throw what we have written away...or what someone else has pushed in and written what they willed on our story

Over the course of time, our skills improve.  
We meet people who help us along the way.
People become a part of our story whether we invite them into it or not.
Challenges, joys, griefs, fellowship, laughter, dancing, births and deaths;
mistakes and successes; transformations and inspirations....

All are transcribed on the pages of our lives...


The good parts; the painful parts; the parts we regret eventually...


Everything is there - nothing can be thrown away or erased...


But there is another Author.  The One who has written upon all of history.  

When we submit our "manuscript" to Him, and let His careful eye read;
He doesn't erase.  He doesn't reject.  He doesn't throw away.

2 Corinthians 3:3

He rewrites.  He writes over the places that need help.  He writes over the pain and mistakes and regret and doesn't remove their fact...


By His writing, He redeems our story. 


Nothing is removed - it is reframed and written by the Author's hand to reflect what He knows is true.
And as He writes, a miracle occurs...

We begin to see as He does, and we begin to co-author our stories with His...
Just as in any good story, there is a beginning, a climax, and then the end...
Between the beginning and the end, there must be a conflict...


Healing Art/Healing Journaling Prompt
 
 (Please read through the entire entry before you begin.  This will give you a better experience as you will know what to expect as opposed to 'just winging it'!)

In my last post I shared a spontaneous journaling piece I had done that morning. As I was writing that blog entry, I remembered this technique I had tried several years ago, journaling on top of journaling to make interesting marks on art...I don't believe I ever published anything with it, as I was still practicing - I still like the look of it - and the idea of "abstract journaling" comes to mind...

The "look" is abstract; or modernistic if you prefer - but it isn't random.  In putting new writing on top of the old, we are becoming co-authors with God, rewriting our past with His promises and truth - His words coupled with the act of writing will help cement His promises in our hearts (not to mention that you will end up with something that looks very contemporary to use in your art, or just keep in your journal.)1

Supplies:

Prepared art journaling page or plain journal - even just a sheet of paper of choice
writing tool
a Bible

Step 1:

Prepare to write.  Close your eyes and breathe in and out slowly three times.  Still your mind.  Ask the Lord for His Presence and guidance for this prompt.  Pay attention to what comes up in your mind:  is it an image; words; an emotion felt even in the body?  Jot down 3 - 5 words that will help to remind you of what came up at the top of the paper or journal you have with you.

 Step 2:

Using free writing (quickly writing the stream of thoughts and ideas flowing through your mind without regard to proper grammar or punctuation), write the words that come to you concerning the topic found in Step 1.  You might want to set a timer for around 5 minutes for this portion, so you don't get bogged down in possible negative thoughts or memories.  This is just a suggestion, not a hard, fast rule!  Remember that healing art is supposed to be fun!

Once written, do you need to step away for a few minutes to ground yourself or regroup?  You can drink a cup of tea or coffee, take a short walk, move around for the duration of a favorite song or two.  These activities help to get you "out of your head" and into the present.

Consider if you want to do the next part of this exercise now or wait a while or even wait till tomorrow.  Any decision is perfect for you - and waiting may give you more time to 'hear God' for His promises and purposes and healing words for what you have written.  You may want to take time to search the Scriptures for specific verses that apply to what you have written (trusting that the Holy Spirit will "illuminate" the one's He specifically is leading you towards)

Step 3:

Return to your journal entry and begin to write over the top of your previous writing any words, promises, quotes, verses, etc.  that you believe the Lord is saying to you about the topic.  You can write in any direction!  For my piece, I turned my original journaling upside down and then wrote over the top of it.  I got some nice upstrokes and downstrokes over the course of my page using this method.  Write as much as you like.  If you run out of new words to cover your original writing, just begin to repeat until all of your original entry is covered.  Or, if you have more new words than old, you can stop when the old is covered OR begin a third layer of writing!  Fun!  And the Lord may speak something to your heart about these layers covering your original!



Step 4:

Add extra embellishments if you like.  I noticed swishes and dots (from dotting my "i's" and "js", and I had space to add embellishments and liked the way it turned out.  (Plus, it gave me some additional practice with my dip pen!)






Step 5:

You might want to do a little reflective journaling about what you learned through the process.  Consider documenting the words, scripture, quotes and promises that you used in your overwriting to keep them as a legible way to remember what God has written over your heart!


Need some ideas for God's promises?

Check these links:

Promises that speak to fear and anxiety 
Promises that speak to worrying 
Promises that speak of God's love for you 
Promises that speak to times you feel overwhelmed 
Promises that speak of God's compassion and mercy 
Promises that speak of His constant presence 
Romans 8 is a tremendous chapter of the blessings we have because we are God's children.
And finally, a list of "I am" through the promises of God verses (also known as our identity in Christ) 
 
Blessings!
Cindy