Multi-Tasking Mamarest | Multi-Tasking Mama

Gratitude in Hard Places

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:02:17 +0000

Living with chronic illness has taught me many things.

Utter, complete dependence on God. {Psalm 70:5}

The finite nature of our life. {James 4:14}

How our bodies are designed to need true Sabbath rest. {Isaiah 58:13-14}

That everyone has a thorn in their flesh, mine happens to be dressed up as lupus. {II Corinthians 12:7}

Knowing all of these things doesn’t make the excruciating pain go away. It doesn’t remove the bone deep fatigue that plagues my day. Knowing doesn’t help me remember appointments or be less distracted.

But, knowing helps me maintain perspective.{Colossians 3:2}

And being grateful for the everyday little things {like the opportunity to sneak in a nap} and the miracles {I’m still alive} keep me focused on what is truly important.

Seeing the good can be hard through the dark lens of illness. It requires a conscious effort to look for the positive and maintaining a connection to the Vine.

I had the privilege of being interviewed on the Family Health Matters radio show about living “Chronically Well” today. You can listen below:

Listen to internet radio with Bess Blanco on Blog Talk Radio

This post is linked here:

{day 8} Rest

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:25:45 +0000

Image by Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr

Life is wearing me out. Plain and simple.

Good things.

Bad things.

Happy things.

Sad things.

All things sapping me of energy {physical, emotional and spiritual}.

This sets up the perfect storm for a cluttered heart.

Sometimes, our hearts need rest, just like our bodies.

Sometimes you need a day in your pajamas, with your Bible and a hot cup of tea.

Sometimes you need a day with the windows open and your favorite blanket tucked around your legs.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ~Psalm 62:5-6

Sometimes you need to put knees to ground and lay prostrate before God.

Sometimes rest only comes when we have emptied ourselves to the point that the only One that can fill us back up is the One with the Living Water.

I need rest. My heart needs rest.

Does yours?

*This is day eight in the 31 Days to a Clean Heart series. You can read post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post 5, post 6/post 7 by clicking on the links*

Can you hear Me now?

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:44:37 +0000

There have been several times in recent years that I have been forced to rest. When God has allowed circumstances to stop me in my tracks.

As I type this from my bed, unable to walk or drive due to a fall {that resulted in a nasty, as yet to be determined completely, knee injury} I realize…

I still haven’t gotten it.

My Type A, fix-what-is-broken, unable-to-set-boundaries self is broken again. The outside taking the hit for the battle that wages inside.

I have time {lots and lots of it} to read through my old prayer journals and realize how truly thick headed I am. Each time I have been in this place before, I have purposed that I wouldn’t need to be here again. That I got it.

That I got the need for rest.

The need for balance.

The need to pursue that which God wants me to rather than every good thing that comes my way..the good versus God.

The need to recognize that “no” is a complete sentence.

Life created an “I can do it myself” mentality deep in me that is darn near impossible to shake. It was a coping mechanism for a young girl being bruised and betrayed by the world. It is not as useful to the grown-up, learn(ing) to rely on Jesus version of me.

I am drawn, yet again, to my life chapter Isaiah 58.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. ~Isaiah 58: 13-14 (NIV) emphasis mine

Can I be completely honest? I know the value of a Sabbath, I even blog about it. But, my head knowledge doesn’t always make it to my heart. Something happens and I rationalize why problem A is more important than rest. Why problem C can only be solved by me. Why problem Z requires immediate attention.

The part I leave out is inquiring of God EVERY time an issue crosses my path.

Not assuming that because the problem is in my path He has ordained me to solve it.

Not assuming that I have all the answers.

Not assuming that He will provide me with energy He didn’t ask me to spend.

Not assuming that I can just push through this one more thing and then time for rest will magically appear.

I have to make time. I have to honor His way and observe Sabbath, whether it is a whole day or moments here and there. Sabbath is necessary. He created us to need down time and quiet time and rest.

So, I am here. Again. Praying that this time I let God be all that I need. That I take time out to be still when I don’t have to. That I let God heal the parts of me that compulsively need to go, go, go and do, do, do rather than just be.

For some reason, this is a hard lesson for me. I want to get it. I really do.

Rest is holy

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:29:07 +0000

Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Sometimes in the every day we forget to rest.

Pause.

Reflect.

In the every day of pursuing passion, managing the mundane and finding the places in between, time passes by and it is time for the every day to begin again and rest does not arrive.

Isaiah 58 is my life chapter. I tend to focus on the first twelve verses.

Living out my true fast to the neglect of context.

Verses 13 and 14 hold the key to avoiding burn out, keeping {at least a thin} grasp of sanity and I have been forgetting, ignoring…

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 58: 13-14

God, our loving Father, set the example from the foundation of time. On the seventh day He rested.

It is in the resting, the times of quiet and nothing being planned that He can really speak to me.

For all the good things I may do matter not if I am not also drawing near to Him in times of rest.

Moments of holy rest.

Moments of quiet on the back porch with fresh brewed coffee and the sunrise.

Moments of sitting on comfy sofa with boys growing up too fast and listening to the grand standing of youth.

Moments of slumber that refresh not just my body but my soul as well.

Moments of writing in my journal, conversations between me and the paper and the Author.

I need rest, friend!

Do you?

I would love to share this rest seeking journey with you. Click here to receive posts directly to your inbox.

Unplugged

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:56:45 +0000

It was serene.

It was relaxing.

Time spent reveling in the uniqueness of my children and the sheer handsomeness of my husband.

Time spent laughing with friends and playing board games.

Roasting marshmallows, making smores and chatting by the fire.

Watching my boys stoke the fire, enthralled by every spark and ember.

I unplugged this weekend and it was a gift I intend to unwrap more often.

This post is linked to Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Holy Rest

MELISSA, MULTI-TASKING MAMA — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:57:00 +0000

Rest is holy.
That is a difficult concept at times for this multi-tasking mama! Most of my life I thought that my worth and value was directly related to my contribution to the world- be it through my performance as a mom, a wife, a friend, an employee, a volunteer, a daughter, granddaughter, sister, and you can insert any other role here that I have played and forgotten about…and it wasn’t until my illness and subsequent inability (at different points since my diagnosis) to do any of those things that God has taught me the meaning of my true worth. We are valuable simply because we were worth dying for. We are valuable simply because God loves us and chose us as His own. It is not my job to be valuable or to set out on a quest to become more valuable. It is simply my job to accept that I am valuable to God, no matter what. What a gift.
And, we are so valuable to Him that he wants us to rest. From the beginning of time, He designated a day to set aside for resting- the Sabbath. I am not speaking of a legalistic day where no work can be performed; neither do I desire to to argue about what day God intended Sabbath to be observed. I am talking about “the Sabbath” that is spoken of in Isaiah 58.
If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (verses 13-14).
God made it clear throughout the Old and New Testament, in passages such as these, the importance He places on rest. The Hebrew word for Sabbath is “Shabbath” meaning to rest from labor. The word rest basically means the cessation of activity. It’s funny to me how so many thousands of years ago, God knew that this world was just going to keep getting busier and busier and that, in order for his people to maintain their closeness to him and with fellow believers, they would need a day to rest. To cease the mundane activities that distract us. To pause and spend time with the one who gives us life.
We are to call the Sabbath a delight. The Message Bible refers to it as “a day of joy” in this passage. God wants us to find joy in spending time in His word, fellowshiping with other believers, refilling our spiritual cups. Focusing on who and what is truly important- our Heavenly Father and our relationship with Him.
This passage in Isaiah also offers a promise. There are many times that God uses the “then” proposal with us in his word. If you do this then I will do this. Can it get any easier to understand than that? God is literally telling us how to find our joy in Him and explaining the benefits of listening to his will in our lives in the “then” scriptures.
So, do you have a sabbath? Do you find time for holy rest amongst the chaos and multi-tasking of life? Do you set aside weekly time to let God fill your cup and meet your needs? It is so worth it. Starting my week off with a full cup is such a contrast to those times that I let something else sneak in and steal my sabbath. Join with me and call the sabbath a delight- rest and focus on our Lord.