Taking It Slow on Sabbath 4/19.10

At the end of every Sabbath I find myself feeling like it was the best one yet. It's true. Every day just gets better and better as we continue this journey. I can't really say that I understand why that is. I think it's because we are discovering the rhythm of these days more and more. But bottom line has got to be that God is just blessing faithfulness. . .blessing obedience. And it's crazy good.

4 months ago when we started this journey we were just jumping in almost blindly to what this day was going to be about for our family. There was a strong sense that we needed to be obedient to God's Word, but I had a lot of questions as to how it was really going to play out. We have had some really tough days where everyone was in a bad mood and we just had to fight through the hours. But all of a sudden the rhythm is coming. We are expectant as an entire family towards what the day beholds. Value has come to every hour. We are noticing God in so many moments. I think we are all taking longer, deeper breaths and just moving a little more slowly, but with purpose. And God truly seems to be in all the moments. . .because we are allowing him to be there with us and we are delighting in his presence. Super cool and really, really hard to explain in words. . .I guess you'll just have to give it a try. :-)

Today's destination was Chautauqua Park in Boulder. We were all really tired from a long weekend as we moved into the day so we decided to do something really easy. We stopped at the doughnut shop on the way and loaded up on sugar and coffee and chocolate milk. Then we just drove to a park in Boulder, got out of the car and explored. (I hope you enjoy the pictures above.) In the middle of it all we found a little table and after "de-bugging" the area we all read from Psalm 23 and then scattered to find our favorite tree to sit under and talk to God for a while. It was really fun to watch the girls go for it - find their tree and sit quietly talking to God. We played some more after that and then headed home to spend the rest of the day in the sunshine of our back yard. The girls got creative and Kevin and I read and just sat together listening to their laughter.

Another peaceful Sabbath that really did bring rest...

Spring Has Sprung - Sabbath 4/12/10

This was a really great day for our family. There is just something about working hard, getting dirty and finishing a project together. Today was all about enjoying creation and preparing for spring.

We started the day in bed. . .sleeping for a really long time. No one woke up until like 10am, which was pretty amazing. Then Kevin cooked breakfast and we sat down to read the Bible together. We read from John 3 when Jesus was teaching Nicodemus what it meant to be born again and how to live by the Light and not in the darkness. And of course, with 3 little sisters, we had plenty of opportunity to reinforce that lesson as the day went on. It's amazing how much darkness tries to invade when you are trying hard to follow the Light. Sabbath is becoming quite full of teachable moments. But it's good.

Anyway, from the pictures above you will see that we had a great day despite moments of fussiness that inevitably come. Emma, Claire and Olivia were hard workers. They all got to pick their own flowers and vegetables and in the end we were all proud of the results of a day spent together in the backyard as a family.

My Basketball Stars

Another basketball season has come and gone. Claire and Olivia are well on their way to becoming stars. It's the Kentucky genes in them!!!!

The FLAMES with Coach Kevin (I helped, too, but never seem to get in the pictures :-) )



The ATOMIC BULLDOGS

Great season, girls! Watching you improve and work hard with good attitudes is such a blessing.

Preparing for Spring and Getting Our Last Tastes of Winter

This week, Sabbath was a day of saying "hello" to spring and with any luck, "goodbye," to the snow of winter for a while. The melt is coming slowly but surely in the mountains. Green is peeking her head through the earth and even though I have loved the snowy winter, I am more than thrilled to feel the sunshine on my face yet again. Monday's in shorts and flip flops will be welcomed by all of the Colon girls who have braved the snow with boots and coats for 3 months now as we have entered into Creation and all that Colorado has to offer.




This week we started our day in Boulder once again. I believe we may have just found the absolute best breakfast place on the planet!! The Original Pancake House


Next we went across the street to McGuckin Hardware where we stocked up on baskets and buckets that we plan to use next week for planting flowers and our mini garden.


Then we loaded up again and set off for Mud Lake. A fifteen minute drive through the canyon and we were there. I continue to be amazed at how blessed we are to have such beauty and opportunity to experience it all around us. We ended up hiking for a while and then taking a break to sit back and pray together. There is something so cool about talking to God while in the quietness of nature. And then you add your family and it becomes a moment you don't ever want to end.
















Throughout the day we spent a lot of time talking about good attitudes and peace...2 things that seem to always be at the forefront of conversation in our home. At breakfast Claire discovered this written on a board near the entrance of the restaurant. It's quickly becoming out family motto. . .

ATTITUDE
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company. . .a church. . . a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so is with you. . .we are in charge of our attitudes.

Charles Swindoll

Easter 2010

Quick Lesson on Sabbath for Ya #1

(Note: These are actually Cliff notes for Kevin, but I have a feeling you might enjoy learning as well. I hope it challenges you like it has me)

So this book seemed quite appropriate to be reading this year. Thanks a lot, Pete, for the recommendation. I'm only about halfway through it, but already I've gained a huge amount of perspective and affirmation about what we are doing this year as a family by faithfully observing the commandment of Sabbath. Here are some of my favorite thoughts so far.

*Sabbath rest is entered when we refuse to be bound by complexity or drowned by despair. We enter delight only as we gaze equally and simultaneously at creation and redemption, in spite of the darkness that surround us and constantly clamors to be truer than God.

*Sabbath rest is not an option; it's a commandment.

*Sabbath is a holy time where we feast, dance, play, have sex, sing, pray, laugh, tell stories, read, paint, walk, and watch creation in its fullness. Few people are willing to enter the Sabbath and sanctify it , to make it holy, because a full day of delight and joy is more than most people can bear in a lifetime, let alone a week.

*Sabbath is not about time off or a break in routine. It is not a minivacation to give us a respite so we are better prepared to go back to work. The Sabbath is far more than a diversion; it is meant to be an encounter with God's delight.

*We often fail to create a day of delight because to do so compels us to stand against the division, destitution, and despair that often holds us captive the other six days of the week.

*We would rather settle for distraction than open our hearts to what seems beyond out wildest dreams.

*We are driven because work brings us power and pride that dulls our deeper desire for delight.

*The core of delight is out capacity to worship, to create and enter beauty as a reminder and anticipation of God's goodness.

*Worship is knowing that transforms us because we can barely take in the beauty, let alone speak to the Creator and hope to be heard. To say, "thank you, thank you for including me in this moment," and then to hear the Creator say in return, "no, thank you for joining me in this glory, for celebrating with me my glory" is the truest essence of Sabbath.

*The only parameter that is to guide our Sabbath is delight.

*Delight requires the courage to be attentive, intentional and diligent. It will not happen without planning and preparation.

Is that plenty to think about for now? That was only the first 2 chapters! More to come.

Three Kings Day 2010

In the Caribbean, Three Kings Day (also known as Epiphany) is an imported tradition that originated with the Spanish settlers. For centuries, the children have celebrated the holiday in the same manner as their ancestors before them. Traditionally, January 6 is celebrated as the day in which the Magi arrived bearing gifts for baby Jesus and it is the day when the island children receive their gifts. It is a tradition older than Santa Claus.

Since Kevin and his side of the family is from Puerto Rico, this is a fun tradition that our family has always celebrated. And it has become quite meaningful over the years to our girls. The bigness of the Christmas season has passed and yet they get to carry on the celebration just a bit longer with one special night of gathering grass for the camels and leaving it outside at the front door for them to eat, only to wake up to a very special gift that the wise men leave symbolizing the gifts they gave to Jesus in return.

This year's celebration was lots of fun as usual. The girls made letters for the wise men, left food for the camels (look closely at the pictures. This year the camels got to eat caramels and peppermint) and the gift the received was pretty cool if I do say so myself.








And just last week we got to go as a family to enjoy the gift in Denver. . . Mary Poppins the Musical




It was SUPERcalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Family is so just so great!

And if you are a Mary Poppins lover like us, you've gotta watch this clip from the musical. . .my favorite scene. BEWARE - You'll be singing it all day long!
(FYI - you can skip the very first part where the man is talking - go straight to the good stuff at 0:56)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VNGIQ51aiw

Scenes From Sabbath (Catching Up)

My blogging skills have failed me the last few weeks. We have been having some great, great days, but I have not been so disciplined in sharing them with you. So, heres' a little Sabbath Day catch up for you. . .

We have spent the last 2 weeks outside. I'm so happy that spring is slowly but surely coming to my Colorado. The first pictures below are from Estes Park. On this day we started our journey and decided to make stops all along the way and discover God at each stop. Stop one was at an overlook off of Highway 36 as we drove into Boulder. Stop 2 was at the Humane Society and stop 3 was in Estes Park where we grabbed a Starbucks, followed by fishing Claire's retainer out of the Starbucks trash can :-) , and taking a long walk along the creek, ending at the library(of course).







This is by far my favorite picture from the day. Claire quickly fell in love with this dog at the Humane Society. I have to admit, he was big and beautiful and I think he took to Claire as quickly as she did to him. It was one of those moments where I found myself wishing for 100 acres of fenced in land in the foothills. He would probably be sleeping on our front porch right at this very moment. When asked later in the day how she experienced God at the Humane Society, Claire quickly answered that she "felt the way God cared for the animals who didn't have homes because he made her really care about and love Tucker." I absolutely LOVE the heart that God has given to my Claire. It is big and expressive and full.

Last week, once again we had a big breakfast and packed up for another adventure. But first we sat around the table with the girls and read from Romans 12. Everyone took turns reading verses and Kevin taught the girls along the way. In case you haven't read it lately, Romans 12 is Paul talking about being Living Sacrifices and how to live as believers in Christ with verse 18 being one of the big teachings of the day. . ."If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Very appropriate for 3 sisters, don't you think? Mom and Dad, too. But by far, this was the girls favorite. . . verse 20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." And all day long they quoted it this way. . . "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. AND IF HE HAS A KNIFE - RUN!!!" Quite smart, don't you think??

Anyway, after Bible time we piled into the van and the road took us to a yet hike just outside of Boulder on a trail called Bald Mountain Scenic Area.





The girls requested a short hike this time, so Kevin found a one miler with a beautiful lookout at the top where we had lunch. Little did we know there would be such treasure to be found! Take a look!!











Can you guess what tiny part of God's creation these might be???



Newly hatched lady bugs!!!!! They were everywhere!! I have never seen anything like it. There were millions at the top of the lookout - everywhere you looked. Amazing!




We ended this day in pajamas. . .well, at least the kids. Emma, Claire and Olivia each got to invite a friend to Chickfila Pajama night. Free food! Lots of little girl giggles. So much fun!









Blessed.