A Role Model for Change #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!



June 17 p182

Q. Who has shown you how to handle change courageously, thoughtfully, proactively? How have you followed their example? Is there any area of your life in which you need to consider making a change?

A. I guess my parents. I never really thought about it because they kinda lead by example/forcing us into it :). We moved several times throughout my growing up years. My dad changed not only jobs but entire lines of work. My mom went from a stay at home mom to a working mom and has gone through several job changes. All of that to bring us to a better place in life, either because something wasn't working, was going to stop working, or something else would work better.


I don't know if this is because of the upheaval, or just my personality, but I am e type of person who thrives on change. If everything stays the same I get bored. So I have followed their example. My husband and I have moved 3 times in our almost 7 years of marriage. We've had 3 kids. I tended to switch jobs fairly regularly when it wasn't working for me anymore (now I am a stay at home mom). My husband has had a couple different jobs in that same 7 yr period, and we weathered the unchosen changes well. We have also gone through the sad changes of losing loved ones. I started a blog that didn't have a specific theme so I could change what I wrote about. We started a small hobby farm. We are constantly remodeling, rearranging, and redecorating our home. We are constantly working to make sure our lives are well lived.


Honestly as far as future changes, I think we are good. We will continue the constant changes of home and family. But for the big things I think we are in the right place right now. One specific thing I need to work on changing is organization. And we are working on what exactly God wants us to do mission wise.


What about you? Do you handle change well? Is there anything you need to change?

What Connects Me To God #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!


June 9 p 174

Q. God is endlessly creative in how he shares his presence with each of us. And the specific way he chooses to connect with you matters. What is the tie that binds you to God?

A. Peace, quiet, alone time, time with people, deep conversations with girlfriends, loving my kids, sometimes some songs, deep abiding faith and love, my garden, my chickens, obeying, seeing God working in circumstances

The list above is what came to mind when I asked myself how I have seen and felt connected to God lately. As you can see it is widely varied. I was trying to figure out what one thing binds me to God and realized that it is not one thing, it is many things. I see God all around me, in many parts of my life. And he speaks to me in many ways, in the quiet, through the voice of a friend, in my garden, through my husband, etc.


But there is one thing that really ties my to God and that is inside of me. One of my spiritual gifts is faith. It took me forever to realize that that is a spiritual gift, not something I learned, but something I was given. But I have it. It is deep inside of me, and no matter the circumstances in life or around me I still have it. I believe in God, I believe that he is there, that he loves me, that what he says in the bible is true. I believe. That's it, I just believe. I can't explain it, I didn't put it there, it is just there. I have absolute faith in God. And that is the tie that most binds me to God.


But I am so thankful for all the other ways he speaks to me too! How do you connect with God? How does he speak to you?

How do I feel about my body? #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!


June 5 p 169

Q. How do you feel about your body? Do you feel connected to it? Do you feel respect for it? How do you nurture it? How do you challenge it?

A. How do I feel about my body? Hmm this is an interesting question. I've never really thought about it. I think most of the time I feel that my body is just there. It just exists. It is what it is. Except when it doesn't work right or hurts, then I feel annoyed at it or whatever hurt it. A lot of times I groan from being achy but I still don't really think about my body. It is just there and it is me so why would I think about it as if it is something separate? So yes, I feel connected to it. (Shauna talks in the devotional about feeling disconnect between her body and her soul).

Do I feel respect for it? I'm not sure if I respect it, because like I said, it is me. I respect myself, I think we'll of myself so in that way I respect my body, because it is part of myself. I don't usually feel thankful for my body because it is just a part of me, like I said. But now I am thinking about several friends and family members who have bodies that don't work like mine do. Sure there are times when my body doesn't work the way I want it to, but I have full use of all my limbs so I should be thankful for that. Thank you God for my body.

How do I nurture it? Well I try to eat healthy. I sleep as much as my body and my kids and my schedule will let me. I don't do much exercise besides chasing 3 kids around. I need to stretch more, I get stiff a lot these days. I work outside in the garden with fresh air. I get as much peace as my kids will let me :). I don't know, is all that nurturing my body? It is nurturing me.

How do I challenge it? The same way I challenge the rest of me. I do what i think is good to do for me. Have I ever specifically challenged my body? Not that I can remember. Other than pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. Does that count?

Physical Difficulty #savoringtimewithGod

I am going through the devotional book Savor, by Shauna Niequist with my women's bible study. I thought the questions were so great and thought provoking that I wanted to share them and my answers with you. I would love to hear your answers in the comments or if you blog about them too please post your link in the comments!


June 4 p 168

Q. Have you ever run a marathon, or fulfilled some other physical goal that pushed you beyond what you had thought you could do? What did you learn from that process?

A. Well I gave birth to 3 babies. And nursed them.

Before the first one I thought it would all be fine and easy. I was planning to have an epidural and breastfeeding is natural, right? I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't know how hard it would be. When my epidural didn't work right with my first two I learned how excruciating labor and child birth could be. At one point with my first I honestly wasn't sure how I would make it. But I did make it, and went on to birth 2 more children. I learned I am capable even if it is horribly hard. I also learned that I can endure horrible pain for a short time period as long as there is an end in sight. But even in that moment when I can't see the end I would still choose to do it all over again for my precious children. I guess I learned how strong I am?

Nursing babies took a whole different level of strength. I wrote about this before, but Nursing my first was incredibly hard. It was very painful. Problems with latch and neither of us knew what to do. In the beginning, for the first several months I daydreamed at every feeding about switching to a bottle. I sometimes wished that the doctor would find a medical reason for me to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula. (That sounds horrible, and I cringe writing that, but it is true). There were times I honestly didn't know if I would finish the week nursing. But I made it through. I made it to a year nursing both my first and second (still working on my 3rd). It started being easy sometime between 3 and 6 months (I can't remember for sure when, that whole time is a little fuzzy). Again I learned how strong I am. I can make it through. I learned to take the hard things 1 thing at a time, (I will make it through this one feeding don't think about the next one). I learned that pushing through one hard thing may make the next one a little easier (the 2nd and 3rd have been easier for nursing, one naturally and 1 with the help of a tongue tie being clipped). I learned that it is ok to lean on something to help you make it through (I doubt I would have made it through without nipple shields, I've used them with all 3 and they are a life saver!). I learned that hard things are only a season. I learned that God is right there with me through those hard seasons