A Day of Rest

So I've been thinking just recently of the day of rest. We read in Genesis of how at the end of the 6 days of creation God rested from His work. Now I'm wondering, how exactly do you rest? And what does it mean? Does it mean literally not doing too much and just relaxing and being well lazy? Or simply just taking a break from that which you normally do and doing something different? What does the Sabbath Day really mean? In today's Christian world we've taken it to mean Sunday and going to church and what not. Particularly in a small town like the one I live in, basically everything shuts down for the day, with the exception of restaurants and even then some of those don't open until noon or sometimes later. In my own church, sometimes it seems that if you work on a Sunday you're almost looked down upon as committing some huge sin. I'm still trying to work out how I feel about working on Sundays even if it is usually in the evening. Even if I get a day off during the week, I'm still expected to do some form of housework or something physical to make it look like I accomplished something in the day and didn't just waste it. Especially for the sake of my dad, who thrives on work and getting things done. It's llike if I don't work or do anything at all I'm not fulfilling my duty in the house or in society in general. And what is work? Something that you get paid for, or something that involves using your own muscles/physical strength to accomplish something? Or some combination of the two or something completey different? I don't fully understand exactly what God created the Sabbath to be or what it was for, but I know that sometimes people need vacations from normal life just to recharge and rejuvenate unused parts of the mind and body otherwise those muscles become stagnant and dead. So anyways that's just my random thought of the day.

Through forgotten convictions
Misplaced affections I'm losing the sound of your voice
...I wanna get back to where it all began
when I would long for only You...
Starfield-Can I Stay Here Forever

If Life was for free

As of late I've realized that I have it pretty good. I get all my meals paid for/ for free. I have a roof over my head for free, a bed to sleep in and clothes to wear. And I have very few real chores that need to be completed daily. While I like to claim I'm not lazy, I'm beginning to see that I'm pretty care-free. As of right now, I'm struggling with still being dependent on my parents for everything (not quite everything but close). I know of people whose parents make them pay rent once they turned 18. So in truth I have it really good. I mean I think it's the end of the world when I have to move out of my room for a short period of time whenever someone comes to our house for a while. So now I'm wondering if this is a reflection of my Christian walk? Since I'm being so dependent on people lately am I becoming less dependent on God for things? In a sense would becoming independent make me more dependent on God for the things I need just to make me sure I'm not poor and vulnerable in the world? Am I basing my very being on my friends and having money so I can go out and do things with them? Sadly, I'm beginning to notice this. Or is that a good thing? Maybe not good in some ways. But good in others. I have often said that I don't love money, and that it's not a major thing in my life. But now, I'm beginning to see that it's becoming more of a worry for basically hanging out with friends and while that's not a bad thing, it's becoming what I'm depending my oh so important social life on. And I think that's when it becomes a bad thing. It's as if the things we do requre money and if you can't make it then it feels like you're "out of the herd" so to speak. Even though I doubt I would be out of the herd, it's just that fear that I would be.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Words

As of today I've decided that I really like words. Words create pictures in my mind and cause my imagination to stretch its limits. (Sometimes into overkill but nonetheless...) This statement coming from the girl who reads quite often and who read in class in the junior high days shouldn't be too surprising. Words tell stories. I love stories. (that's a no brainer...) Some stories have waaaayy too many words than needed, others have too few. When we read Hamlet in English Lit last semester our teacher informed our class that it was so crazy long and what not because in the days when Shakespeare wrote it, he was being paid for every word that was written. Man if I was paid for every word I wrote in any given essay in my Grade 12 year alone, I'd probably be a millionaire or something. Yet half the time, the stuff Hamlet says in his soliloquys is just repetitive of something previous. Looking at society today, have we really changed at all? With all the technology and what not that's out there, communication is faster and easier than ever before. I was thinking just a little while ago about Heaven. When we think of Heaven we often think of it as being one big party and being able to see people of every different ethnic group and origin that there ever was. At least I do...But wait a minute. Do we ever think about the God who lives in heaven? Won't there be experiences where there's no words left and we just worship GOD? I mean we're gonna be in the very presence of an almighty, holy, perfect God. And our puncy human minds can't even fathom perfect holiness because we're soo imperfect. So this weekend as we go about, I'd like to challenge everybody out there who might be reading this to think and consider the Words of God. I think they're more meaningful more full of hope than any words anyone could ever speak.

Some can write a sonnet
to describe in silvery words
The rising and the setting of the sun
...Cause when I try to speak from my heart I don't know where to start...
When it comes to You I'm speechless...I can't find the words there'll never be enough
I'm speechless
Avalon-I'm Speechless

Hobbies

Are hobbies old-fashioned? It just seems like nobody around here has a hobby of any kind. Just random things that we like to do every so often. Like cooking. Nobody really thinks of cooking as being a hobby. Although I have decided that I quite like baking. Made my first pie yesterday. wOOt. Turned out pretty well if I do say so. Oops sorry that was 2 days ago...It was pretty much gone by yesterday...Desserts never last long in our house....except ice-cream. Probably cuz my mom buys those big 2 Litre tubs and my dad is usually the only one that eats it on a semi regular basis....But anyways...back to hobbies. What's even considered a hobby? I'd like to think playing piano is a hobby but at what point does it get to be somha'tething more than a hobby? I"ve decided though that I really want to learn how to knit. I learned once upon a long time ago. I helped my sisters make a baby blanket once. They did much of the work though I think I did like 2 squares to their 20 each. Slightly exxagerated there....But nonetheless. I think I want to try knitting again. Unfortunately due to lack of time and money and vehicle, I can't make it to Yorkton to pick up the supplies that one needs to get started and what not. Sigh. Oh well. One of these days maybe. Another thing I want to try one day is making jewellry. Although I'm not exactly known for being artistic at all. Just to try it might be fun. And anyways what is wrong with being old-fashioned. I think there's a sort of beauty in the old fashioned stuff that you can't find in all this new fashioned stuff you see around stores these days. So we will see how these aspirations/inspirations pan out. Hopefully I'll be able to try at least one of them by the end of the year....

toodles
alissa

Week in Review

So this week has been pretty wild. It started off with a day off. That was good. I actually got a full weekend off from work for once. So we went out to Asessippi and had a farewell party for Ashley since she is currently either still on her way back to school or is already there....Some good times there. Went boating, got flung around on a tube. Fun times. Then on Monday I thought I didn't have to work but then Arvella called and told me I was working that day, so I was a whole 10 minutes late for work. Not fun. I totally thought I had that day off but apparently not. Oh and I think I already said somewhere or other that I wanted to go to camp at some point this summer REALLY BAD and was so saddened that I had to work instead of going up to camp. So I had requested that to have like 2 days off in the beginning of the week just to go and work in the kitchen. So....on Sunday I also discovered that it was Peewee week, which is for campers who aren't quite old enough yet to go to Junior camp but want a taste of camp experience. And since I had requested days in the beginning of the week I was horrified that I would have days off only to use them in like cleaning my room or something. But then I got my schedule for the week and found out that I had days off around mid week and didn't have to be back in town until Friday afternoon. I had days off that made it perfect for me to go up and counsel for peewee week. It was such a cool God-thing and can only be classified as such. No such thing as 'coincidence' there. So within 2 days I was going to camp. It was so sweet and all I can do is thank God for it. So ya. It was an interesting week. Lots of stories. I love camp. And so that concludes my story of the week of God's awesomeness. And I'm not gonna go into another story just now as I will likely run out of room so till next time have a gooder and watch out for grounddodgers!

luv n hugz
alissa