Saturday Mornings

There’s something sacred about Saturday mornings. They are typically a day without work and come with a slower pace. Growing up, I loved Saturday morning cartoons and being able to stay up late on Friday night. I’m finding myself today wondering about what future Saturday mornings will look like for my little family. Last week, we walked to the farmers market for breakfast and it did my heart well. Today I’m curled up in bed holding a sweet, snuggly, sleeping boy waiting for the husband to get home. This is just about as perfect as it gets in this season (only thing better would be if the husband was home!).

When I think ahead, I hope my kids will jump on the bed on Saturday mornings and make time to snuggle even when they’re a little older. We will make it a family affair of slow mornings with big breakfasts and lots of play.

Oh sure I realize when I’m in the thick of it that it won’t look as perfect or idyllic as I see it now and that’s okay. There will probably be arguing over who sits where or who gets to eat the first pancake.

And how does all of this tie into my “becoming the beloved” series? Well. Saturday mornings remind me that I love days doing things I love with the people I love even when it’s not perfect. In the same way, being the beloved means I can come to God and show up in this life with all my messes and still find myself having a good Saturday morning curled up in bed eating pancakes. Even on the days where I’ve spilled the syrup or dropped a plate or forgotten to get the juice. I can still come and be accepted and loved. And we can still find joy in it all.

Full

My heart is full.  Saturday proved to be a perfect, full day.  I woke up thinking and tweeting: “sunny saturday and no plans as of yet. not sure how I feel about that…”

I started out by staying in bed for a bit and then going outside to embrace the sunshine.  I read and got a tan while laying on a combo of a sleeping bag, blanket, towel and three pillows with music playing in the background next to six different books (Wide Awake, Out of the Salt Shaker, Her Name is Woman, Christ In You, The Bible, Inner Healing).  I even had a blank canvas, paints, a journal, pens, and of course sunglasses.  I like to be prepared/going inside and up the stairs to get something is not an ideal interruption.

Somewhere along the way I decided to pile all my stuff on my stairs in case I decided to return to my spot on the porch after I made delicious sweet tea.  Sweet tea makes my heart happy and feel like summer.  Though, I never did make it back to lay on the porch.  Instead, I helped (Josh–a volunteer here for 10 days) make a sweet video in iMovie.  I am so using that to make some fun stuff.

Then I intended to go on a walk (with Jace), which was delayed due to hanging out and chatting.  Eventually, we (Jace, Allen, and I) made our way to the pond where we saw some poor, sad, dead frogs while discussing how dirty the pool looked and how we needed to get gloves before trying to shimmy down the zip line.  After the walk, we (Jace, Allen, Jen, and I) jumped into a game of Settlers, which made my heart happy since we hadn’t played it yet.  Then dinner, hanging out (most/all of the interns plus the volunteers), playing guitar on an adorable little guitar, talking about life, laughing, time for prayer (for Tara’s family–pray for them too!), and then we ended the day with watching Wolverine.  I even stayed awake and got in some discussion about how some characters have some bitter roots!

Thus, the day ended with the thought and tweet: “what an awesome full saturday that is ending with a full heart 🙂 praise God!”  I am so thankful for the people God has put around me during this time to walk with me and build me up during this time of re-learning, un-learning, and learning while embracing who I am in Him!

Women’s Conference

Headed to a Women’s Conference in QwaQwa today!  I’m excited to see what conferences are like here and get a chance to spend some time with the Thrive ladies as well as everyone else.  I’ll let you know how it goes. Enjoy your Saturday and sleep in for me since I couldn’t!

Ragamuffintop Week 4

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Bike: 15.1 miles at 1 hour 7 minutes 8 seconds–13.4 mph average and 21.7 maximum mph 

-Perfect.  Peaceful. Calm. No car accidents either.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Walk/run: 30 minutes

Monday, June 16, 2008

Walk/run: 45 minutes (Walked 20 minutes, Ran 10 minutes, Walked 5 minutes, Ran 10 minutes)

Biked: 4.7 miles at 21:25 minutes–13.1 average mph and 20.4 maximum mph 

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Walk/run: 40 minutes (Walked 15 minutes, Ran 20 minutes, Walked 5 minutes)

Biked: 5.8 miles at 24:07 minutes–14.5 average mph and 22.4 maximum mph

–This triathlon might be a bit hard 🙂

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Happy Birthday Bj!

Walk: 20 minutes

Run: 20 minutes straight yay

10 Minute Pilates–Waist Slimmer: 10 minutes

Thoughts: My roomies’ boys are going to think I work out all the time…they keep coming over when I don’t know they’re coming…awkward… 🙂 good times!

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Run: 25 minutes

Walk: 10-15? I didn’t keep track well.  I also walked to the beach if that counts. 🙂

Thoughts: I’m bored with life.

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Took the day off 🙂 Went to work and then drove home (aka Alex).

 

Final thoughts: I started trying to drink more water toward the end of the week.  I’m going to do that again this week and also try to watch or log how much I’m eating.  Although, I don’t want to become crazy obsessive about logging, but I feel doing so would be beneficial since I really don’t keep track.  Other than that…I’m planning on continuing to train! 🙂 yay

Spreadsheets and Totals

I feel old.  I’ve spent my Saturday morning making a budget spreadsheet.  Yep.  Pretty exciting.  In reality, though, I really think this will be freeing and help me see where my money is going and how I can be a better steward (I totally believe we are to be good stewards of our money).  I don’t want to spend recklessly and if I don’t know what I’m spending I won’t know if I really am or if I’m spending reasonably!  Any tips for saving and spending and budgeting?  Do you budget?  I’m all ears seeing as this is a new thing 🙂

Planet Earth

I am loving on God’s creation lately.  Saturday night consisted of an amazing night filled with leftovers, brownies, banana bread (minus the middle…special baking by a certain boy), “Planet Earth”, friends, Target, and seat warmers.  We watched the Ocean and Desert episodes of Planet Earth.  The filming blew me away and I’m still in awe.  Now I just want to travel all over!  Who wants to come!?  Then, at church, the sermon started out with a comparison of the Sun and the Earth.  Incredible numbers and visuals. I  am astounded at how many earths would fit inside the sun–I’d tell you the exact numbers, but they’re too big for me to remember.  Go wikipedia them 🙂  Anyway, creation has so many neat things and I love it!  Probably why I love running, walking, hiking, biking, waterskiing, stargazing, meteor showers, sunsets, sunrises, and all those other outdoor activities.  Now if only the cold temperatures would go hide so that summer can come right in!