Rest is the new hustle.

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

The commandment that literally tells us to remember to take a day to rest as that is holy.

Isn’t it funny that it’s the hardest thing to do for most of us? We don’t live in a 24/6 world, it’s 24/7 for everything! We work as much as we can (another post on that to come…),  we check emails, we run errands, we shop, we clean, we rush, we hustle. Even better, the thought of laying around all day (especially for us momma’s), doing nothing, cleaning nothing, nothing nothing — is the definition of LAZY, not HOLY.

We should all, even without the center of spiritual or religious principles, strive for a 24/6 life. Imagine what you might discover in those 24 hours of rest and reflection? I’m excited to go deeper into this- but that will have to wait for now. To get you started, read 24/6 by Matthew Sleeth!

I’d like to share our Monday’s with you. In the wedding industry that we work in, Thursday-Sunday is BUSY BUSY time. Monday’s, they’re our stop day. We stop. Work stops. Cell phones, emails, cleaning, schooling, kids chores, outdoor work (and we have 8 acres- there’s ALWAYS work to be done!), getting out of our jammie’s, brushing our hair, making beds… it all STOPS. And guess what, the world keeps going.

I don’t care how dire it is, I don’t work on Monday. I don’t even look! Especially being a mompreneur, this was SO hard! What would happen?! My business would CRUMBLE if I don’t get to it right away! (Insert an apocalyptic scene happening in my mind starting with that one email from a bride that sat… unanswered… for 24 HOURS! The horror!!!)

Do you have any idea how amazing it is to reserve one day, EVERY week, where nothing is expected of you? Of your kids? Your home, can just be. Your kids, can just be. You can just be. You can spend time in your Bible, you can watch tv, you can lay outside and listen to the magic of the silence, you don’t have to run to any store, anywhere. You can nap. You can think. You can meditate. It’s glorious! Every single week. It makes even the worse of weeks that much more tolerable– because Monday is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let me tell you about my Monday-

It started last night, I stayed up late last night watching Trailer Park Boys (admitted, LOVE that show!) with the hubby. It was nice to cuddle in bed and watch tv (we never get to do that) and stayed up way past my bedtime.

So this morning, I slept in. Until 9 something, my 3 year old came in eventually, snuggled me, I dozed back off again.

I eventually got up, still in pj’s, and ate some leftover oatmeal on the stove that the 11 year old had made. Dishes everywhere… who cares.

Sat on the couch, tablets going, Xbox running, coffee sipping… noticed the dog hair collecting by the baseboard, then quickly dismissed it.

Did the 5 year old’s hair, she wanted a ballerina bun. We could do any number of girly things and make her day- I think we’ll paint nails later.

I ‘got dressed’ in my ‘fancy’ yoga pants, old t-shirt and put a bobby pin in my hair. Boom, done. The 11 year old got dressed, the 5 year old is in a nightgown she outgrew months ago, and the 3 year old preferred to be dressed and have her hair done. No mom nagging to get dressed/brush hair/teeth/clean/chores/school….

I felt the need to write, this blog is fun for me and not work- so I’m typing here. Kids are playing Xbox with their family in CA, grilled cheese sandwiches are to be inhaled here shortly.

We’ll finish our day off with some time splashing in the pool, a nap, a small dinner (we made our big Sabbath feast yesterday), goodnight yoga with the girls and some time to myself to sip tea and spend time in prayer tonight after the kiddos are sleeping and the house is quiet. Lots to mediate on and a heart to keep open and listening.

Just be. Listen to the birds, snuggle the kiddos, put off anything you don’t want to worry about. It’s a beautiful day. It is holy. †

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1 book homeschool?

We all want the best for our kids. Every parent would agree on that. (Well, dear lord I hope so at least) But sometimes shouldn’t we stop and question what THE best really is? It’s not a one size fits all, of course. But some things we do make me wonder… I won’t go in to all of those things (that’s too many posts to count) but I have a discussion about one- Homeschool. Specifically for believers of God.

We homeschool. Our oldest went to public school for Kindergarten and 1/2 of First Grade. He had AMAZING teachers (who we still connect with and love) and went to a wonderful, American suburb, picture perfect school.

We pulled him out, and have struggled with figuring out the “right” homeschool groove ever since. He starts 6th Grade this upcoming September. And from any time spent reading homeschool blogs, Pinterest searches, etc… the struggle for the “right” homeschool plan is a common struggle.

With years of struggling, changing, growing, success and failure- I have a new thought. (New to me, I do not claim creation of this way too basic idea.) What’s the point of our current ‘view’ of children’s education? What is it? To educate our children so they can grow up to be successful adults, good citizens and to find good jobs/get into a good college. Something along those lines, right?

As followers of Christ and believers of God (be it Christian or whatever label you prefer), isn’t our #1 concern  to be sure that we are focused and center on the word of God and constantly striving to follow the footsteps of Jesus? I think we can all agree if we are honest with ourselves, we know that to truly be one with God and following as best as we can, we need more than just a weekly church service. A 10 minute devotional. A memorized prayer before dinner time. What do our children need then?

What if our children’s education consisted of just one book? What if the Bible was TRULY the center of your child’s (and your) day? Week? Life? Imagine no stress over curriculum, over worksheets, over quizzes and non stop feeding information that could or could not ever be needed in their future life. (How much of your 13 years of schooling do you ACTUALLY use in your day to day life? Come on… it’s a small percentage.) What if that time was dedicated to something that we as believers know is a HUGE part of the core we all want to see more of? I’m not going for crazy, sheltered brainwashing of children across the world. But a focus on building a solid foundation based on the Biblical knowledge vs the “normal” school curriculum.

With this one book, you kids will learn to read, learn to spell, learn history, critical thinking, math is everywhere. Morals, character, the list goes on! The best way to learn and understand more about what you’re reading- honestly? For the kids AND adults– What’s In The Bible by Phil Vischer! Not kidding- this series is AMAZING! We buy them digitally on Amazon, can watch on our TV and the kids have them all on their Amazon tablets! The hubby and I can sing you most all of their songs. And we have learned more from those videos than a lifetime of church services and private Christian schools. I’m not kidding.

For those of you thinking that discarding our current view of curriculum and schooling, I strongly recommend you pick up some books by The Moore’s and read thru them! You can get used copies for pennies on Amazon, they’re sure to open that path to transform your thinking.  I’ll have to go more in depth on just those books alone one day, we’ll wait for now though. (Your welcome)

So, abandon everything you’ve thought you need to do to homeschool your child. Everything. Instead, read the Bible together. Ask questions, pray, meditate, teach your child to spend silent time thinking over what you’ve learned or just keeping your heart and mind open to hear the Lord (even if it’s just by way of hearing the birds sing) and watch What’s In The Bible together. (You can even watch the creator of the show’s podcast to give you more insight to faith & culture- such an amazing podcast!)

What do you do for the rest of the day? If you spend 30 minutes- 1 hour in the Bible, another 30 minutes – 1 hour watching What’s In The Bible, a bit in meditation… well- that leaves a TON of the day to play outside, pull out the board games, bake, garden together, cook a homemade meal, have a multi course lunch, nap, catch fireflies, paint your nails, blog (haha) and force your husband to do podcasts… you know. Stuff like that.

Maybe this will be the first time that YOU actually read the word of God from start to finish? Maybe this will open your heart to see what the Bible ACTUALLY says vs what we’re kind of blanket taught to believe. Imagine that… imagine all that could come by ACTUALLY putting the Bible as your core- in theory AND practice.

Worse comes to worse, your kid isn’t so hot at multiplication drills or fractions and the periodic table of elements but they can quote the Bible and pull examples from the lessons from the Lord to reference their day to day life. I’m not the hottest on all math or periodic elements but I created and run a 6 figure business while keeping a full home- I think we can manage without those tidbits.

We’re taking the summer off, we’re enjoying other things right now. Come September 1st- our only plan for curriculum is the Bible. That’s it. And I’ve never looked forward to a school year as much as I am right now! Thoughts? Been there/done that? Standing up to tell me how ridiculous this is and I’m going to ruin my children’s futures? One way to find out… 😜

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

We’ll go ahead and leave the intro, compliments of WordPress. But that’s really what it is- the first blog post.

I have had family blogs, a way to keep in touch and send photos of the kids and our life out to family and friends. Then MySpace and Facebook came into the world and the blog seemed a bit redundant and harder to keep up with. I have a usually neglected business blog that gets over-posted when I have a few spare moments and the inspiration nagging feeling strikes.

I started writing a journal. Nothing daily, or even weekly. But a written account of things that I would like to leave to my children and their children. A physical copy of something to leave a piece of me behind, I’m betting that my great-great-great-grandchildren will not stumble upon an old laptop in the attic and spend the afternoon scrolling through years of Facebook posts to see what life was like way back when. Just a guess.

But, there’s a great big world out there that I’d like to communicate with. That’s where this blog come in.

There’s a lot of really bad things in this world. I think we all pretty much agree on that. But our society has really placed them into categories- you’re either a pot smoking, tree hugging, Godless, liberal hippy OR you’re a baby seal leather wearing, cheeseburger guzzlin’, God fearin’, ‘Merica proclaiming conservative. That’s how it’s pretty much always been (my life anyways, hitting 30 this year). Give or take a little, but you get the main idea.

I think there’s a lot more in a third category though. Those that are becoming wise to what’s going on around us. A back to the earth movement again, one that has become aware to the mass destruction to our planet, the corrupt political system where your vote really doesn’t matter, mainly because of the horribly corrupt corporations that will stop at nothing to win their new award of greed, the lie’s of continuous war- including the drug war that has destroyed more lives than we could count, a school system that is failing our children and destroying their futures, the largest group of homeless veterans and a disgustingly high rate of suicide, a country of nearly endless wealth- when millions around the world starve to death, churches that don’t seem to understand- and clearly don’t teach- the simple truth written in the Bible, marriages falling out of style quicker than the latest fashion trend, a worship of celebrity and country over Jesus and love, food and water that we let corporations poison us with regardless of the numerous scientific studies screaming the dangers, a pharmaceutical industry that will stop at nothing to keep natural healing methods far away from the average human being, the list honestly goes on and on.

Maybe you don’t care. Well, you may say you care, but it’s not enough to reach down into the depths of your soul and scream bloody murder until you cannot resist the urge to make a change. A change at home, a change at work, a change in your community and beyond.

But maybe you do. Maybe one thing tipped you off, and before you knew it there was another, and another. That’s how it happened for me.

I wanted to feed my kids better foods. Then I watched a documentary on sugar. Then another food documentary, then another, then another. I started learning more about plastics and the damage their doing to our health and planet. Then the chemicals in our daily products (soaps, shampoos, cleaners, candles…). Then the rise in police shootings of unarmed Americans, the rise of the warrior cop. The corrupt companies blocking the knowledge of genetically engineered food. Seeing miracles happen literally right before my eyes when prescription drugs were thrown out and cannabis was replaced. Reading each word of the Bible for myself and seeing SO clearly what I never had before- I always relied on the general consensus of the church without fact checking for myself, all through a lifetime in church and private schooling. The movement that can happen in one’s soul when the Sabbath is honored and enjoyed. The awakening that can happen when you truly give your path, your being, your future to Jesus and say “Guide me. Take me where you want me to go and use me for the greater good. For YOUR greater good. Whatever that path is, I am ready to do whatever it takes. To leave my home, my worldly possessions, my company that I’ve built if needed. I am willing to leave it all for the bigger picture. The picture that puts God first and shares that message and this awakening with those that need to hear it.”

People are good. People deserve to be forgiven, loved, helped, encouraged. I want a way to do more of that. Maybe starting by sharing some of the things I’ve found and extending a hand of friendship and encouragement. Maybe it will turn in to more, a way to meet with people and share as a group, a chance to serve those unloved and cast out on a larger scale, maybe one day an opportunity to open our home and invite people in to support and encourage in their own enlightenment. Maybe.

Either way, this is the first blog post. I will continue to share, to hopefully encourage and help, to connect on a larger scale in hope of a greater good. This will be a real account, sometimes messy, unconventional, against the grain, not easily received, and even wrong. I’m human, I’m fallible, my house gets messy, laundry piles up, my kids look like cavemen, I slip, I get tired and snappy, and even give up. But I’m given a miraculous gift each and every day I wake up- the gift of the present. The gift to pray for strength and forgiveness, and then to start all over again.

So welcome, I hope you stick around and that something shared here may help you in your walk, on your path. It’s a beautiful world out there, you just have to get out of your head for a minute.

 

With gratitude and anticipation,

Heidi

striving for a wave of inspiration to overcome your healing home †

[Photo credit- beautifully simplistic garden photos of nature & balloon release compliments of Cheyenne Schultz from a mutual client’s wedding ♥]