The Seven Pauses

     Ok - Stress Month. I figure there should be plenty of stressors over the next few weeks. Andy and Elisabeth will be getting ready to go back to school. I'm trying to get two businesses off the ground. We are adjusting to one (guaranteed) income. There's more, but you get the picture. Our family has its fair share of stressors, just like yours. And I'm so ready to finally implement the Seven Pauses. Let me explain.

     We will have seven particular times throughout the day to deliberately take our focus off ourselves and place it on Christ. We will use the layout given by Jen Hatmaker (who credits Seven Sacred Pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr). The seven pauses are as follows:

The Night Watch (midnight)

The Awakening Hour (dawn)

The Blessing Hour (midmorning)

The Hour of Illumination (noon)

The Wisdom Hour (mid afternoon)

The Twilight Hour (early evening)

The Great Silence (bedtime)

     The Night Watch will probably be the hardest to keep, but I'm looking forward to that one. In 7, Jen says "The Night Watch advocates for others in a dark night of soul: the suffering, abandoned, oppressed, lonely." Readings for The Night Watch: Psalm 42, Psalm 63, Psalm 119:145-152 

     The Awakening Hour - beginning the day with thankfulness and praise. Readings: Psalm 19, Psalm 95, Psalm 147

     The Blessing Hour has two purposes. The first is remembering the presence of the Spirit. The second is remembering the sacredness of our work - whatever God has called us to do. Raising children, working at the office - wherever God has placed us to use our gifts; despite what we may be tricked into believing, our work is a sacred calling and whatever it is He has given us, we should do as "working for The Lord not for men" (Colossians 3:23). Readings: Psalm 67, Psalm 84, Psalm 121

     The Hour of Illumination - remembering Christ going to the cross and asking Him to fill our hearts with with His light so we can be a beacon in our world. Readings: Psalm 24, Psalm 33, Psalm 34

     The Wisdom Hour "embraces the themes of surrender, forgiveness and wisdom, and the impermanence of this life". It is seeking wisdom to live with urgency, knowing our time here is limited. Readings: Psalm 71, Psalm 90, Psalm 138 

     The Twilight Hour - expressing gratitude for the day and transitioning from the hustle and bustle of the day into the evening. Readings: Psalm 34, Psalm 139, Psalm 145

     The Great Silence - evaluating the day and praying protection over the night. Readings: Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Psalm 134

     In addition to the seven pauses, we will also be intentional about observing the sabbath. Our culture doesn't allow for rest. Between work, school, extracurricular activities, and even sometimes church activities, our families are pulled in so many directions, we can't catch our breath. This isn't what God intended, friends. Worship, family time, time spent with God - these don't belong on a to-do list. Our family is going to begin guarding a specific day as our sabbath. We will worship, rest, and enjoy spending un-rushed time together. 

     Sigh. I'm looking forward to it. Anyone with us?

Hi, my name is Jennifer and this is the blog I have neglected...

     Well. It's been a while. Like, over 2 months. But I have some good excuses reasons - and I will get to them shortly. But, first, a recap of Media Month (May):

I really missed Bob Newhart. That being said, our family wasted much less time watching TV and we took some walks and read a bit more. We watched some VeggieTales and What's In the Bible? in May. If you aren't familiar with the What's In the Bible? series, you should be. Phil Vischer is the mastermind (and a whole slew of voices) behind a crazy cast of puppets making their way through the Bible. You will learn about such things as the canon, the cycle of apostasy, and the difference between ethical and ritual laws. Maybe that doesn't sound awesome to you, but I promise you, it is! They are fun and full of truth; the Gospel is presented exceptionally well in a kid-friendly way; and my family absolutely loves them. Go check them out - www.whatsinthebible.com - and, no, I have not been paid to say any of this - these DVDs are really that good. :) All that to say, what we did watch in May served to grow us in our faith and knowledge of the Bible. (Confession: we cheated one night and watched Fiddler On the Roof. I had a migraine and felt like poo. Sue me. Besides, Tevye talks to God all throughout the movie - so that makes it spiritually uplifting, right???)

     So...that was Media Month. During May, Andy and Elisabeth both had end-of-the-year school activities and there was a lot going on at church. June brought with it Sunday School promotion, VBS, and a 12 day oversees mission trip. Life has been crazy around here. But that's not all that made it nuts. At the beginning of May, I resigned as the preschool ministry director at our church. After 8 years of serving in that role, I decided to come home and change my focus a bit.

     I want to be able to spend more time on being a wife and mommy, on running my household and making it a place of peace (not chaos) for my family. Our home is open (through DHS) for adoption and our family dynamics could change at any moment. Having me work from home will provide a more flexible schedule and allow us to more easily make adjustments as needed.

    Work from home? Did I say that? Yep! I have two things (other than taking care of my family) that I will be doing from my home. My first new venture is baking! I love it! You can check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CupcakesAndWhatnot to see a menu and pricing. Between now and September 30th, mention this blog post and get 15% off your order! :)

    My second business venture is something I am very excited about for numerous reasons. I am an ambassador for Noonday Collection. Noonday Collection is a company that carries jewelry, scarves, bags, etc., - all handmade by artisans around the world. Noonday has provided a marketplace for these artisans' work, thereby creating income and helping boost the economy in impoverished areas. I talked about orphan prevention a few months ago (read it here), and Noonday is a way for me to get involved in a cause that is close to my heart. Another cool thing about Noonday is that when a person hosts a trunk show, there is an option to use it as an adoption fundraiser. I love this company! We are working on both ends of the orphan crisis: helping first families provide for and keep their children AND helping cover the cost of adoption for those children who need second families. Awesome.

     As I am just getting started with Noonday Collection, and since it isn't extremely well-known, I am going to do a little giveaway! Go visit www.jenniferhostetler.noondaycollection.com, check out the products, read some of the artisans' stories. Then - comment and tell me what your favorite piece is and why AND share this blog on your Facebook page. (You can comment under the blog OR where I shared the blog on my Facebook page.) The prize? A $50 Noonday Collection gift voucher! Remember, you have to comment AND share to have a chance to win! The deadline to enter the drawing is 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 14th, and a winner will be randomly picked Monday, July 15th. I'll notify the winner via Facebook.

     And now, back to 7: ironically enough, next up on our 7 list is stress. I know. Anyhoo, June was supposed to be Stress Month (bwahahaha) but in the mad chaos that was May, I never had a chance to get it all planned out. Sigh. I will sit down and get it all figured out this week - Stress Month begins Sunday. You heard it here first, folks. I need some online accountability to make sure I get this done. ;)

     I'll be back soon with the layout for our next 7 experiment... Until then, check out Noonday Collection (and maybe try a cupcake)!!!