Genesis 2:1-3 (NKJV): "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
In the Old Testament, the seventh day, or the Sabbath as they called it, was Saturday. When Jesus rose on the third day after His crucifixion, it was Sunday, and that became our new Sabbath, our first day of the week. Many people long for Saturdays to catch up on the things they didn't get done during the week. But, in Biblical times, especially in the Old Testament, Saturdays were to be Holy days, they were not even to walk any long distances. I don't remember exactly how far, but it seems like they couldn't walk more than two miles on a Saturday. Can you imagine people with Fitbits back then watching every step so that they wouldn't walk further than two miles on that Sabbath day? They weren't to work - and if they did, they could be stoned for breaking God's Word to rest! Remember how angry the Jewish leaders got at Jesus when He healed on the Sabbath! Oh my!
I do try to catch up on things on Saturdays that I didn't get completed during the week. Mainly because of work, but also because after working, I'm tired. Of course there isn't much that I do outside of work; my life is really kind of dull right now. Other than this personal study and my own personal Bible reading, I'm not involved - and our preaching is not happening again until November. I do need to get a message or two completed before then instead of waiting until a couple weeks before to start. Of course I say that every year as well.
But Sundays, I do try to leave those open for 'rest'. For worshipping the Lord. For being with family and/or friends. For doing things I enjoy. Hubby has said a few times something about doing laundry on a Sunday and I refuse to let him. He's home all week; there is no reason it needs to be done on a Sunday. If he can't get it done on his own during the week (because he doesn't feel like doing it), then I need to be given back the task and I will get it accomplished. He only does laundry like every 10-12 days so it isn't like it's a major project. He just makes it one. There are only two of us. Sigh. Of course, my cooking meals for us is not working. :-)
Today, Saturday, I will begin to put things in my suitcase for Jailbreak on Tuesday. Not that I need to, but just things I want to be sure not to forget. Like my hiking boots and my hat, just in case we get some hiking in. After all, our airbnb is backed up to the forest so perhaps there are trails we can walk. I want to get my first week finished in my study. I started it yesterday for day 5, but I want to write out the scriptures and with work time, I had to stop and didn't get it finished. I want to be able to reflect on the scriptures and not just read them. How did you do with the questions yesterday? Just curious. I'm sure hubby will suggest we go to breakfast after we come out of our study, but I think I will put him off until mid-afternoon and do an early dinner at Olive Garden. I still have a gift card we can use. Which means I'll have to cook breakfast, more than likely, but I can fix scrambled eggs, toast, and oatmeal and that is a good and healthy meal to start the day with. Especially cause I put nuts in the oatmeal, and honey to sweeten it with. Hubby likes his raisins, but I like the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.
I was to go to Wickenburg and Tempe with my Needles of Hope group this morning, but I cancelled out the other day. And I am still glad I did. It would have been fun to go, for sure, but I am still coughing some and still am not 100%. I don't really feel like listening to women chatter and I'm sure the car will be full! Ever have one of those days where you really just prefer quiet versus chatter of people? Besides, I love my time alone with God in the mornings and don't like to shorten it. One good thing about our Jailbreak trip is that we rented the airbnb with 3 bedrooms so we each have our own room. Which means I can get up early as usual and do my quiet time before the others get moving about. I simply must have my time with Jesus each morning, or my day isn't complete. When we go to Indiana it is usually harder as we are guests of family and our early time of 4AM is usually 7AM their time so they are up. I just can't make myself get up any earlier.... so have to switch to evening, and then it throws me off and sometimes I forget until already in bed! But God still loves me and understands.
Oh - the June 3 issue on the meeting I worked on and stressed over last week? Imagine my frustration yesterday morning when I brought up the President's calendar and clicked on the 6 hour meeting that kept us from doing this meeting on May 20th.... and found his executive assistant had dragged an EMAIL into the 6 hour time slot..... and that the actual meeting it was about had been scheduled on May 13th! Which means, his calendar IS open. Now that was at 8:30AM yesterday. I immediately sent an email to EA to please double check that calendar (this is the third time I have asked her to confirm he could not do May 20th).... and as of 5PM last night, she had not responded to my request. I shared that info with my boss.... so once I get the confirmation we can use May 20th, I will have to send an apologetic letter to everyone and tell them 'sorry for the inconvenience, but conflicts have been removed and we can use the May 20th date that everyone had already blocked their calendar for - and I hope it was still available'. This is one of the reasons I go crazy some days. I can't do anything until his EA removes the block and confirms we can have May 20th. Her boss is critical for the meeting. UGH.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV) "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose."
This scripture just came to mind as I was relating the story of this meeting. You want to know how God has already brought good from this issue? As I shared earlier in this blog, hubby had stopped by my door as I was dealing with my frustration and I commented about retirement. For the first time ever, hubby actually LISTENED to me and my comments about retirement. He asked if I thought we could really manage on two social security checks. It will affect me more than it will him - he lets me keep my check currently as he doesn't need it to pay bills. I buy groceries, all gifts, my own medical expenses, my own car expenses and I save as well. If I don't have a check coming in, I will have to relinquish that check to him to pay the bills with. Therefore, I have no problem with finding a part-time job so that I can have spending money. Work a few days a week and play the others. Yeah, I could do that. But what I am saying is that perhaps this issue needed to happen so that hubby would listen to me, and will seriously think about letting me quit working. I may still wait until 2025... but it needs to be my choice, and not because I am forcing the issue. Yes, with my check we can do a lot of things now we never have been able to do before because we dropped our expenses when we sold our other house. And it will be a drastic change for both of us. But I'm willing to make it work. I just need to wait for God's timing, and not mine.
Sometimes we need to just take our hands off our desires and let God bring things about in His timing. The waiting isn't always easy, but God always provides just what we need when we need it.
Blessings!
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