Hi friends. So happy your here.
Well we never do know what a week will bring us do we.
My sister Jen is sporting a new hip thanks to falling head over turkey last Tuesday on her afternoon walk. She’s recovering well with plenty of prayer and good medical care which we are all so grateful for. As for me I’ve been learning something new this week and while its never fun to be a beginner or to be starting right at the start, I’m thankful for new opportunities and for the distinct whiff of possibility in the air.
So if its been a bit of week your way as well, I’m here to offer you a comfy seat, your favourite drink and a cool cloth for your brow.
I hope this’ll help as well
A Good Word
A Good Look
Breathe deeply, sip slowly
Find more of this loveliness HERE
A Good Idea
Accept the Gift of Rest for Yourself
Today I sat with my morning latte, sipping it slowly at 9:30 while dirty dishes teeter and soiled laundry languishes until later. Dinner will be whatever one can find.
I decided last night that half of today I would rest. I would not exercise and I would not get things done. My phone’s “do not disturb” setting is on and my ringer is off.
This season has been bursting at the seams with tasks and busy-ness. And while much of it has been good, it’s felt as if the “un-cancellations” of the pandemic + our typical spring schedule have conspired to wear me slap out.
Note: they have succeeded.
This rare moment of stillness gently takes my chin in its hands and asks, “How do you feel?” I answer without hesitation, “Like I cannot move.”
Why am I telling you this? Because I know I’m not the only one. We live in a culture that does not honor limits, that considers busy-ness a badge of honor, that worships productivity as a sacred virtue.
I’ve been studying the book of Genesis this year and in one of the first few weeks I learned something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about: Rest is what set God’s people apart. They were to be known by others as a people of rest.
Note: this is not how we are currently known.
In her book, Rhythms of Rest, the late Shelly Miller wrote that “the day God chose to rest is the first time he names something holy.”
Yet here I am on a Monday, trying hard to shake off the guilt for receiving something God has called holy.
If you need someone tell you it’s okay to press pause, to take a nap instead of doing the dishes, to say no to a good thing because you are at capacity, to spend cash for a sitter so you can sit outside with an iced coffee and stare at the sky, to take a day or three off so you can get your wits about you—consider this post your permission slip.
Sabbath has to show up differently for each of us depending on the season and our vocation, but no one can force you to take it. Only you can accept the gift of rest for yourself. And if it’s a gift you need like I do, receive without guilt, knowing it is both good and holy.
A Good Read
Let it Be Awkward
What if it’s terribly awkward?
That was my first question when a filmmaker told me he wanted to conduct a video experiment with my song “To Cry for You.” His proposal was simple: “I’ll just ask people to let me film them while they listen to the song.”
I’m shy. I’m Canadian. I’m deeply uncomfortable with displays of intense feeling. So, you might ask yourself, why did I record a song about crying in the first place? It couldn’t be helped. In a season of deep loss, I wrote “To Cry for You” out of the discovery that constantly fighting my tears was beating up my soul. Though I’ve tended to view grief as something to be avoided at all costs, the song documents my journey towards understanding that grieving is a necessary and even beautiful form of loving – – – – keep reading
Why We Speak More Weirdly at Home
When people share a space, their collective experience can sprout its own vocabulary, known as a familect.
I celebrated my second pandemic birthday recently. Many things were weird about it: opening presents on Zoom, my phone’s insistent photo reminders from “one year ago today” that could be mistaken for last month, my partner brightly wishing me “iki domuz,” a Turkish phrase that literally means “two pigs.”
Well, that last one is actually quite normal in our house. Long ago, I took my first steps into adult language lessons and tried to impress my Turkish American boyfriend on his special day. My younger self nervously bungled through new vocabulary—The numbers! The animals! The months!—to wish him “iki domuz” instead of “happy birthday” (İyi ki doğdun) while we drank like pigs in his tiny apartment outside of UCLA. Now, more than a decade later, that slipup is immortalized as our own peculiar greeting to each other twice a year – – – – – keep reading
and this one from my fav Cup of Jo
Do you have a garden? Or trusty houseplants? We asked Cup of Jo readers to share photos of their green spaces — ahhh, it feels like a deep breath — and here are 14 inspiring spaces…
“This is my first time living in an apartment with a balcony. Having a personal outdoor space has been life changing and a huge help for my mental health during quarantine. It’s my favorite place to work during the day and read in the evenings.” – – – – keep reading
That’s it for this week friends. Hope its been sweet.
Have a beautiful weekend, rest up, do something you love xx
Water Into Wine 
Wow rest is a gift. I like this. Also guilty for taking it.
Regards Inge
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Rest is a part of honouring God and acknowledging we aren’t super human and we need all that he supplies.
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