Remembering the Sabbath

So now that the semester is over, I'm not grading students' papers throughout the weekend. I never realized just how much time I spend grading over the weekend until I don't have papers to grade. It's then when I realize how nice it is to actually have a weekend- an end to the week- a time of rest.

I'm the first one to say that I (more often than not) don't remember the Sabbath. The weekend is a time for me to catch up, and I pile the tasks onto Sunday the bulk of the time. I recently read a blurb in the Kraft Food and Family magazine. It mentioned that if you don't feel like you ever have a weekend, try getting all of your tasks you normally do on the weekend finished during the week. It may seem like more of a hassle to add more to your ever-growing list during the week, but the benefits of having a relaxing and restful weekend will outweigh this in due time. "Huh," I thought to myself. "You know, they're right about that." I decided to try out their technique last week. I did the laundry on Thursday and went grocery shopping right after work on Friday. These are both tasks I usually do on Saturday mornings. Isaac helped me pick up and clean on Friday when he got home. Granted, I didn't have papers to grade or classes to prepare for this weekend, but still- I was amazed at how nice my weekend actually was- in essence, that it existed at all.

Then, I really started to use my brain, which can be rather scary at times. At one point I literally thought, "Oh. Yeah, so God did talk about resting on the Sabbath, now didn't He?" This is of course something I have realized before, but why did it take the Food and Family magazine to get this through my brain this time? I'm not too sure, but I know that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him. And so now, the hard part comes in to play: remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy- every Sabbath. So hold me accountable friends!

This weekend, Isaac and I saw Prince Caspian for free! Thanks to our dear friend Kim and her church for allowing us this privilege! The movie was great, although there were some differences from the book. All is well however, because my favorite mouse Reepicheep was still included in the adventure. Ironically enough, in Sunday school we talked about when we feel God is absent. Look to Prince Capsian for thoughts on this subject. I don't want to write too much about the movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet. And for those of you who haven't read it: read it.

On Sunday, we have our first church service in our new building! God is faithful and our church body is so very excited about meeting together as a congregation in one service instead of three. Oh unity! Pray that the transition would be smooth and that our focus would remain on the Lord. Because we're moving into a new neighborhood, pray for the hearts of those families who will be living close to our new church building. Pray we would be willing to share His glorious name with those individuals and the rest of our community.

In other news of God being faithful, you should check out my friend Glenna's blog. What a wonderful story of His unending love!

Oh yes, and please pray for us at work. The busy season has indeed begun! We just received verifications for eight Burmese individuals. That makes a total of 52 refugees on whom we are waiting to arrive. We're bound to get more verifications in the next few months, so pray for our small staff of four to serve these people well!

"But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." -Psalm 86:15

I'm Getting Too Old for This...

Really. I am exhausted. Since April 23rd, I have driven through the following states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas (that's 20 percent of the nation!) and spent a ridiculous 55 hours in the car. I think I'll walk everywhere from now on.

I did allow myself a "mental health day" yesterday, and I must say, it was quite refreshing. I slept, read a few books, did the laundry, and tried to recover from our momentous journey to Florida. Here's the run-down:

We left Columbia Thursday evening and spent the night in Sikeston with Isaac's parents. Friday morning, we drove to Jackson, where we picked up my cousin Beth. She's a freshman at Union, and while we were waiting for her to get out of class, I got to visit some of my favorite Union employees. We first surprised Ms. Juanita, a lady I worked with my freshman year and who took me out to lunch each year on my birthday. Actually, when I moved to Missouri, she sent me money on my birthday to go out to eat. She is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I know. We next surprised Dr. J, who was working in his displaced office. The entire School of Christian Studies had been relocated to another building because of the damage in Jennings caused by the tornado in February. As many of you know, I am borderline obsessed with this man. He was after all, my professor, advisor, employer, pastor, small group leader, and surrogate father during my years at Union. He is one of the most ridiculously silly men I know, but also one of the smartest and awesome as well. He's always ready to bring a little "somthin' somthin'" as he puts it. He also generously gave us a few books off of his shelf, something which has almost become a tradition when I stop by and visit him. Our final visit was to see Ms. Wanda, whose son actually filmed our wedding. I also worked with Ms. Wanda my freshman year, and while in her office, I also got to see the "post office ladies." These two women become vital to Union students, as you find yourself begging them to give you good mail. After hugs all around, we picked up Beth and headed home to the fun that awaited us.

Saturday, my most awesome mother earned her doctorate in education. I have honestly never been more proud of her, which is pretty hard because I'm always proud of her. I don't mean to brag, but I seriously have the best mom ever. Just ask any of my friends. They all love her. I mean, not as much as I do, and they love their own mothers too, but she is without a doubt the coolest. In fact, one of her aliases is "MTM," meaning "Mom the Magnificent." This started out as a joke, but has more or less become her identity over the years. You know about that old adage that you become your parents? Well, I don't mind it one bit when people tell me I'm just like my mother. In fact, it makes me rather happy. She's my hero, lame as it may sound, but true nonetheless. We also can't overlook the fact that I look exactly like her anyway (she being the prettier of the two), so even if I didn't want to claim her, no one would believe me that we're not related.

As proof of my mom's unadulterated awesomeness:

Dr. Mom!

Erik, Mom, Jenny

The whole gang at her graduation.

We also celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday on Saturday! Her birthday is actually in April, but since the entire family (minus my cousin Michael, who was as usual playing about a gazillon gigs with his band) was in Pensacola, we had the birthday celebration then. It was a relaxed affair, but it is always good when the family is together. I love my family. A lot. And as I've mentioned before, I most definitely have the cutest grandparents in the whole wide world.

"We always thank God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the that you have for all the saints." Colossians 1:3-4