Sunday Sentiments

 

It's been a busy August here in the Shaffer household. The pace at Love INC has picked up, which is a very good thing, but it's also kept us hopping! 

We had a little getaway with my family last weekend to celebrate all the milestones. Yesterday I served at a women's conference at our church. I had a writing assignment to complete as well, and I've been working on a retreat I'm speaking at next month.

Ironically, they chose my Be Still topic for their retreat. 

It was one of the first retreat topics I ever wrote and is still one of my most favorite to share. But I've noticed God always schedules it when I need the reminder more than anyone. 

Isn't He good like that?

Even in all the busyness of the past few weeks, I have been grateful for the opportunities He's given me to be still in my everyday. 

I've been sneaking away into the office almost every evening to do my Bible study at my desk, where it's good and quiet and I can focus on the words. Ryan and Lexi spend that time out in the living room, watching TV or playing together, and I'm able to sit, uninterrupted, and truly be still. 

We finally were able to put our porch furniture back out this week (sprinklers can be pulled farther back now, so the furniture isn't living in a constant bath) and we sat out there for a sunset, being still while we listened to crickets and random neighborhood dogs.

And you know what else we did this week to practice being still?

A picnic lunch.

We took a picnic lunch to work and drove to a park to eat and then watch the clouds. We stretched out on a blanket for every spare minute we had in our lunch hour, and we watched all the clouds as they rolled by. 

I appreciated every moment of that lunch. I loved being with Ryan, but I also loved just being. 

If you haven't taken time to be still lately, I encourage you to carve out some time for it. It is refreshing to the soul!