When you just have to take some time...

Taking a little Bloggy break --it seems to be a trend as of late. Maybe it's just that we need to remember that we need to remember to breathe --that some days are too crammed full, even with good things, that we quite literally forget to inhale deep and feel, well, any of the things... or perhaps all of this access to all of our lives is more weighty and wearisome than we think... or maybe we're all just tired and all the Bossy Lists just need to be banished every once in awhile?

Maybe we simply forget that in all of our offering out grace, we must also offer it inward, to ourselves.  We must give ourselves permission to not always DO... but sometimes, whether it be for an hour or a day... a week or a month... sometimes we just need to be reminded to just BE.

If you have sipped on anything yummy with me around these parts much at all, you know I love me some Bossy Lists.  I love a busy schedule and honestly, I am blessed that a lot of my 'busy' is truly relational and include 'meetings' over coffee or connecting with a friend for a walk.  It has not always been that way, but as a Mama to an Only who has just flown the nest... I have been finding more and more time on my hands... it has slowly increased over the last several years.

Honestly - you Bloggy Mom's with multiple Littles who are still, you know, little... you amaze me with all that you do! Sometimes just reading about your days make me want a nap!

I know the striving to do all the things right... the drive for perfection, or at least Pinterest-worthy days -even in the pre-Pinterest times. I have lived through the temptation to just keep the momentum going... to not slow down... to press through (insert whatever it is you are pressing against right now) and move on to what's next.  And of course, there are days when that is the only choice you have... or at least the only good choice. So press on and move on and keep on keepin' on is what we do.

But there will come a time, a moment passing by you in slow motion, dripping in beauty and grace and just a little bit of magic.  When you notice it, it's then that you are given a real choice to Just. Slow. Down.  To breathe in deep... sit back (lay down!) and relax!  

Ann with no 'e' talks about finding those moments by counting gifts and I agree with her completely, but these moments can also show up unexpectedly even when you are in the midst of not counting... but instead in the midst of chaos and busy and all the things going wrong and it can seem like an impossible thought - to just take a minute to breathe.

I hesitate to say this because I know how it can be twisted and mis-taken... but there are times when you just have to take some time for you.  There are moments and opportunities that will come that may not seem to benefit any else but you... but benefitting you, I promise, will benefit others around you.

L'Oreals "Because I'm worth it!" and the old saying, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" come to mind.  I have written before about the power and necessity for Mommy Time Outs and Lisa-Jo just wrote last week about why every mother (parent) needs to learn to say I'm sorry and I know it's not always easy, but sometimes - if we will give ourselves grace, and grab those magic moments when they come, we can save ourselves some self-imposed time-out's and the need for (some of) the apologies.

I wrote a bit about slowing down last month... click here to read the whole post, or just read this:

"As much as I talk about Busy... I am not a fan of it. Especially when it is a self-imposed schedule and full of things we are not necessarily called to be doing.  Sitting in silence can help change our perspective, slow our heartrate, and find the rhythm of our Song once again."

I slowed down for a minute... but hey, I've things to do! You see? I know how it is! This is real life, ya'll!  But with my girlie moving out and my days empty(ish) and quieter... I'm trying to balance a sense of sadness that I know is valid and true, while fighting off the heaviness and temptation to simply fill up my days.  To take up the space.  To boss me around a bit! To add noise to my silence, even though I just wrote about how it is in the silence that we can find the rhythm of our Song.  I hear the melody singing softly... 

So last week, I 'scheduled' in some down time.  This was a revolutionary thought that came to me many years ago and it is priceless! (You're welcome!)  I went for a drive simply to drive... no destination, no agenda, no Point A to Point B. I drove around our gorgeous Valley and drank in Beauty that is always surrounding me, but often I just don't see it...

It was refreshing and relaxing and I revelled in the silence. (And honestly, it took way less than an hour!)

And this week, rather than keeping my 'normal' writing routine... I saw a magic moment and I grabbed it, with a book in one hand, and an iced latte in the other. I read a fiction book... just for the fun of it. 

And I did it all in a single day.

"You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are." (The Fault in Our Stars, John Green)

This... this is why we must take those moments when they come.  Because when we rush through them and give in to burdens and busy and all kinds of bossy we can become lost in all our doing and forget that what we are called to most is simply to be --to be who He created us to be. And yes, life is hectic and bills must get paid, laundry (unfortunately always) awaits... but if you take care of you... you will be a better version of who He has made you to be!

You will breathe in deeper, exhale slower, and be filled with His Presence and if you lean in just a little, close your eyes and open your heart... you just may hear the faint sound of singing!

Here's to you... here's to taking some time (it may feel like it needs to be an hour or a week to regain your sanity, but it can happen in one short meandering drive, one matinee, one lunch date, one stroll or intense workout, one long hot shower...)

Here's to the Silence, and (re)learning our Song!

"The Lord your God in your midst,The Mighty One, will save;He will rejoice over you with gladness,He will quiet you with His love,He will rejoice over you with singing.”                                                                                Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

P.S.  I'm linking up with:

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

and Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday