Where did the swimsuits go?

September is almost here.  Did you hear me?  September is almost here!  Agh!!!!!  Not ready.  Not nearly ready.  Our summer was a mix of quick-unpack-now-repack interrupted by change-the-sheets-the-company-is-here pandaemonium.  The cabinet door that broke in June is still broken.  The laundry pile is belly-button high.  My nightstand is littered with quarters, stray buttons, clothes that need mending, single earrings and half-finished crafts (you know, the kind you start because you think you have a free day and then you remember you have to go to the dmv, so you hunt down your sleeping bag because who knows how long that's going to take).

I'm not ready.  I have not made a new life schedule.  I haven't even started my summer reading list because I'm still reading the book I started in March.  Yes, March.  I haven't made a menu plan.  Mail is piled up on my desk.  Lucy still thinks her nose is inside her ear because we didn't study biology this summer, and pinterest is already displaying Thanksgiving crafts (can we all just agree not to pin those yet?!).  My ideal life is not in place yet!  September cannot come - and yet, it will.


How about you?  Are you back to the backpack shuffle?  Is the boss ready to implement a thousand new ideas, aka late nights forever? Do you have piles around your house waiting for attention?

It's overwhelming.

So, here's my plan:

This year, I'm going to make it a point to practice some spiritual disciplines I often ignore:
Sabbath, Solitude, Seasons and Service.

Sabbath - rest. remembering.
Solitude - retreat. respite. reflection.
Seasons - patience.  allowance.
Service - the least of these.

Usually I practice these in a cultural way:
Sabbath = wine + an episode of Midsomer Murder
Solitude = "ME" time: i.e. pinterest, reading, tossing Lucy to Noah.
Seasons = hurry to the holiday
Service = the introvert version of a social life "Getting together for expensive coffee with my great friend was volunteering my time."

Follow along with me as I explore new ways to experience God in these disciplines and start practicing for an eternity of peaceful and restful creativity.