NEW TOPIC AND OTHER PLANS

Good morning, Ladies! Hey, listen, thanks for your votes on our next topic. Fifteen of you weighed in and came up with the following line-up for future posts. By the way, Maeryn wanted to call and tell you herself -- she LOVES the phone -- but her version sounds like "ooh-de-wah -- bye bye -- ga ga doo -- daddy -- ma-ma-ma-ma all gone . . " You get the idea. So here it is from ME:

 Your first choice was frustration over not being able to nurture some very important sides of yourself, which we need to pay attention to now so habits of balance and rhythm will become second nature in the future (when life gets even more crowded, if that's even possible) We'll spend time on that one first. It's actually something I'm  constantly working on myself so we'll do it together.

    Letting go of the past came in second so we'll do that one right after "sides of ourselves". Using social media without losing ourselves was a close third, so that will be our focus following "letting the past be the  past."

    All of this planning (I love planning!) makes me think about a spring blog retreat. I'm looking at my calendar and seeing that my weekends until June are literally booked and yours probably are too at this time of year. So what do you think about an early summer one, maybe just the night of June 22 (a Friday) since your summer weekends are probably full of vacations and outdoor entertainment. What do you think? Then we'll do a full fall retreat NOVEMBER 16, 17, and 18? To sweeten that prospect, there is going to be a Facebook FanPage Party sometime soon, complete with  Scavenger Hunt. I know not all of you are on Facebook, but  it's an option for those who are.

Okay, on to our topic!

I think for most of us the challenge is not figuring out what sides of ourselves we'd like to nurture more. We proved that in our last post, yes? We are a veritable chandelier of prisms.

The challenge is TIME. 

When can we do these lovely things for ourselves when we have school, homework, activities that are going to help us get into college (and which we enjoy when we're not stressed out about them), jobs (from chores and babysitting to those 20 hours a week at Chik-Fil-A), church responsibilities, family stuff, and a social life?

We could do the old exercise where you keep track of how you spend your time every fifteen minutes for a week and then look at where you might be wasting it, blah, blah, blah. I've tried that and frankly, it takes too much TIME! On the rare occasions when I've actually completed it, I've ended up looking at it and realizing I'm not WASTING any time. Most of the time, I'm even multi-tasking -- answering business calls while I delete junk email, making the bed while I'm brushing my teeth, filing my nails while I'm waiting for the tea water to boil. Besides, a little "time-wasting" can save your sanity. When my brain is deep-fat fried at the end of the day, vegging in front of a couple of re-runs of NCIS keeps me from flushing the cat down the toilet because he's eating the daisies out of the flower arrangment.

Yet the thing is that we reponsible human beings always make time for the things we think are really important. I could also have you look at all you do and cross off five things that don't really have to be done. If you're like me (and I suspect you are) you'd have a hard time finding something that could be eliminated without somebody saying, "Uh, hello, what happened to you tutoring the fourth graders in math every Wednesday?"  Honestly, if you said to them, "I gave that up so I could take a weekly hike by myself," can't you just see the eyebrows raising? That's where we get the idea that taking time for ourselves is selfish.

In my experience (and I've had to do this many times) the first thing we have to do is have a genuine shift in feeling. We have to believe that taking the time and using the energy to nurture neglected sides of ourselves is not only important, it's absolutely essential -- and it's even Biblical. That's what our first set of exercises is for. 

Over the next few days -- let's say between now and Monday the 9th -- see if you can do the following. Any time you want to check in here with observations and conclusions, feel free. You don't have to wait   til Monday. And, of course, as always you can run things past each other, discuss them, all that. You're so good at the rules now I don't even have to remind you what they are.

Okay, here we go:

    (1) Read I Samuel 16:14-23. At the risk of sounding like a Sunday school lesson, what side of himself did David nurture that wasn't necessarily part of his job description as a shepherd? Does that speak to you in any way? Are there any other Biblical figures who pursued parts of themselves that they didn't "have to"?   Martha's sister Mary comes to mind. In fact, doesn't Jesus actually say something about that to Martha?  Just wondering if that has anything to do with what we're talking about.

(2) Observe yourself when you're tired from all the stuff you have to do and stressed out because you can't get it all done and cranky because there's no time for just being you. Come up with a description or email me a picture to post. Here's mine:

    (3) Write a brief definition of selfishness, using a specific example (or several). Like this:

                Selfish is pretending you didn't realize that was the last Oreo or that you're asleep so you don't have to answer one more little  sister question, or volunteering to sit at the kids' table so you don't get saddled with stone deaf great-aunt Gertie.

We'll regroup Monday. I think there's going to be a lot to talk about!

 

Blessings, my friends,

 

Nancy Rue     

                 

Comments

[Katie]

When I think of Bible chracters who took time to nurture themselves, Paul comes to mind, writing in Galatians: "But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie." I think it's interesting that Paul, after being saved, didn't immediately jump into ministry and fame. He didn't even meet with the other apostles! Instead, he went off by himself for years just to be with God and learn more about his faith. I really admire that, because I'm often tempted to just "get stuff done," instead of taking my time and listening to God first. Just a thought...

Selfish, for me, is intentionally disobeying God-just because doing what's wrong is easy, convenient, or painless in the short run.

[Trinny]

OH.MY.GOSH. I have not been on here since..o.o do not ask me..
anyways im here to say a quick prayer request >< thanks so much
<3 <3 <3

[Trinny]

Oh my word I am so sorry about the last comment >< thanks so much
LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE A GREAT EASTER!!!

[Trinny]

Okay i give up sorry lol maybe its just my computer anyways im so very sorry for posting so much..o.o

[Nicole]

Hey, it's fine, Trinny! Good to hear from you.

Wow, Katie, that is such a good point. Like, really good...I never thought of that before. How often would I rather turn to a human being instead of God? When I'm all confused and worried and stressed, why wouldn't I want to go to God and pour it out to Him, 'cause He's the only One in this life who can really and truly understand me, be with me, and show me His perfect plan for me.

I'll have to think about those questions the next couple of days. And, I just gotta say...I love the cranky cat! ;) Love and blessings to you all!

[Abbie]

Wow, I'm so excited for this! I'll be sticking around for a while, I think. :)

Like Nicole, I'll be giving these questions a couple of days of thought. Happy Good Friday, everyone! (Thankyou, Lord!) :)

Abbie /// XOXOX

[*Rachel*]

Hey hey beauties! While I was on spring break, for some reason my computer wouldn't let me comment, but I could read all the posts and comments put up (I've come to accept the fact that I am completely at the mercy of technology errors). So first off, YAYYYYYYYY for the Whole Guy Thing!!! I can't wait to see how it turned out, especially since we all got to contribute so much to this project. I can't wait!!!

Also, thank you thank you thank you to Mrs. Nancy and all you girlies for picking this as our first topic! I've been struggling with this for a long time, and I think I'm finally ready to tackle this issue and get to the heart of it with all of you on my side. Soooo, without further ado:
1. Talk about having many sides! Not only was David a shepherd (and had the whole chosen-by-God-to-be-an-incredible-king thing going on), but he was an exceptional soldier, great public speaker, and good-looking to boot! But to the king, his main value was his skill at playing the harp (which I have always had a weird longing to learn how to play). Just by picking those thin wires with his (apparently handsome) hands, David was able to rid King Saul of his evil-spirit-induced fits of rage.
Dang, talk about a teenage heartthrob! Reading through this story the first time, it kind of made me jealous to think of all these amazing things David had going for him - that is, until I started thinking about my own life and appreciating the fact that God has given me far more than what I deserve (which is nothing, to begin with, me being just a small sinful creation of His and all). I am absolutely inundated with blessings, opportunities, and gifts every single day. But a lot of times, it feels like I can't make the most of all of them because there are so many people in my life demanding so much of those gifts: mainly, my time. 7 hours of school, 2 and a half of soccer, 3+ of homework, and there goes every single one of my days. Half the time I think to myself, "God led you to all of these circumstances, and for now, you have to trust that He won't stretch you past transparency." But the other half, I'm convinced that my priorities have been messed up, that I need to cut back on it all to keep myself from falling into the mold of the emotionless "get stuff done" robot that so often overcomes me. One thing's for sure though: ALL the time, I wonder if I'm doing any of this right, or if I'll look back on these years and shake my head and wonder, "What the sam hill was I thinking?" I know, pretty melodramatic for a 15-year-old girl, but it's true.
2. I sent my pic and description to Mrs. Nancy, so hopefully you girlies can see it later :)
3. Selfishness is eating the chocolate you were secretly saving for your brother, or staying in your room to read for the last half hour of your day instead of spending time with your family, or skipping morning prayer for one more swipe at the snooze button because you feel like you haven't gotten enough sleep in weeks, or putting half-effort into homework and practice because you just can't think straight.

I have begun to believe that my posts compete with each other over which can be longest without my consent. :) Anyways, I hope you lovely ladies have an amazing Easter weekend, and know that I love and am praying for you always!

Love and Blessings,
*Rachel*

[Therese]

I got baptized!!!! I am so happy I did it, I was really nervous at first but now I feel great! :D Thanks for all the prayers!

Happy Resurrection Sunday girls! <3

[Melody]

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic blessed day and eat lots of chocolate :)

That's awesome Therese! :D

[Katie]

That's so exciting Therese! What a great day to be baptized!!

Happy Easter girls :)

[Melody]

Her girls! Could you pray for a friend of mine? Her name is Madelyn and I met her this summer at the dance intensive I went to. All summer she ate very little and obviously lost weight. Now I only see her through facebook, but I just saw a picture someone posted of her and she literally looks skeletal. It really scares me how skinny she is. Please be praying for her.

[Katie]

Melody, my brother has a friend from middle school who is also struggling with a very serious eating disorder and we're all really worried about him. I hadn't seen him for months but even in that short amount of time, he had lost so much weight and was literally skin and bones. We're trying to get him help. I will be keeping your friend Madelyn in my thoughts and prayers. What she's going through is so scary!

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