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)!!!

May = Media Month

Well, May is here and that means it is the long dreaded awaited media month. I have been looking forward to this month knowing it will be good, but dreading it because I know it will be hard.

I am an American woman, wife, mom - I carry a small computer in my purse (otherwise referred to as a smart phone or a leash). I use it to text, update my facebook status, pin recipes and crafts I may or may not try, check my email a bazillion times a day, and look up random trivia online - all while pretending to be present with the people who are actually in the room with me.

In addition to my iPhone, there are movies, TV shows, and Wii games that desperately need my attention. Sometimes their cry for attention can be louder than that of my daughter's. "Shh, Elisabeth, I'm trying to hear this." "Hang on, babe, I'm checking my email." What am I teaching my child? Father, forgive me. And thank You for not shepherding me like I attempt to shepherd my child.

Before you assume I am on my phone and watching TV 24/7, let me assure I am not. We don't even have cable, for crying out loud. (It is amazing how much time one can waste on Hulu, though...) We take family walks and play games together. But screen time takes up far too much of our time. And my personal little screen takes my attention (and heart and affections) away from those around me far too often. This month will be different - and will hopefully put us back on track to handling the media around us better, long term.

These are the "rules" this month:
        - Facebook - work-related only (and that is legit, people!)
        - Pinterest - retrieving recipes/ideas I've ALREADY pinned for a specific purpose
        - Movies - limited to 2-3 nights this month (Saving them for when all of us have had long days and just need to crash - please tell me other families have those nights!!!)
        - Wii - only when all three of us are playing and interacting together
        - iPhone - calling/texting only - no web surfing/shopping/time killing

You know what I will probably miss the most this month? The Bob Newhart Show. No joke. I will miss Mr. Carlin's toupee, Howard's stupidity, Bob's dry humor. I like to watch it while I work out with my kettle bell. Sigh. Bob will be waiting for me in June. (And I'm somewhat ashamed to admit, in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Thank goodness Biggest Loser isn't on right now!")

What I won't miss this month: the stories my husband and daughter are telling me because I won't be on my phone while "listening" or an extra hour of sleep because I didn't choose to watch one more episode. I could keep going but I think you get the picture.

I fully expect May to be the second hardest month of the whole 7 experiment. I mean, (and I probably shouldn't say this out loud) but can anything be harder than food month??? Something tells me, though, media month will be a very close second. Hard. But fighting addiction is hard. I think I just realized that as I typed it: I am addicted to media. News, stories, shopping, shows. Addicted. It's time to break the addiction. I'm fighting back this month; going to battle. My time with screens steals from my time with God and my time with my family. And. I. Let. It. Happen. Over and over again. No. This is NOT what I want - for me or my family. It's time to break the chains that I put on myself. Hard? Yes. But hopefully a "good hard".

Here goes.

April = Clothing Month

I'm just going to go ahead and say it and get it over with: spending month didn't seem to be too difficult. I feel like it should have been harder. Andy says it's probably because we "cheated" during the Branson trip and because we aren't huge spenders anyway. My best friend says it's because after food month, anything will seem easy! I'm sure they're right. Plus, I didn't even let myself walk around Target and see those red clearance stickers that always call to me and end up in my basket, whether I need the merchandise or not. It's been a good month, just not exceedingly difficult.

Cue clothing month. I've debated how to work clothing month. I don't want to fast for fasting's sake and I have already pared down my wardrobe considerably, thanks to possessions month. However, the overall goal of the year is a simplified life. I can't tell you how many days I try on three pairs of pants and four tops before deciding on an outfit and walking out the door. And then I come home and find them laying all over the bedroom because there wasn't time to put it all away. But not in April. For my "going out of the house clothes", I have settled on three pairs of jeans, a pair of red pants, 4 t shirts (Compassion International, VBS, Awana, and kidz ministry), a black sweater, a 3/4 button down, and a short sleeve button down. The three pairs of jeans is only because one pair is actually a bit too small, so I'm challenging myself to get into them. Two of the t shirts are "uniforms" for some events this month and the different tops are allowing for crazy April weather. I'm not limiting my shoes because I don't generally wear a ton of them anyway. Undergarments are considered freebies, as are my running clothes (I am running a half marathon on the 20th).

I am hoping to spend less time worrying about what I am wearing and how cute (or not so cute?) I am going to look. (Although I just realized I don't have anything pink to wear this month. Sad day. It's a good thing my running shoes have pink on them and glow in the dark. Yes, you read that correctly.)

Thus begins the month of less laundry and dramatically reduced clothing choices. And hopefully I'll learn a little something about focusing on caring for my heart and attitude more than my outward appearance. Month four starts: now!

This blog isn't about spending...

Andy and I were able to attend a Lifeway Festival of Marriage this past weekend. It was so nice to get away and actually *gasp* get to converse with my husband! Brandon and Jen Hatmaker were a couple of the speakers at the conference. Jen, you'll remember (I'm sure!) is the author of 7. While I was tempted to chunk the book her direction, I gathered myself and instead asked her to sign it. I also acted a bit stalkerish and got a picture with her. I like her.

The Hatmakers first did a general session about the way God moved them both in a certain direction and on how to follow Christ, not just as individuals, but also as a couple. And how to lead your family that way. Their breakout session that followed was spectacular: Marriage + Adoption. Right up our alley. For those reading this who don't know, Andy and I felt the call to adopt shortly after we got married. We heard and committed to that call, but we were still in college. Then Andy went to graduate school. Before he graduated with his Master's, we had Elisabeth. To make a long story very short, 9 years of marriage, a kindergartner, and a hysterectomy later, we have taken steps to be ready to answer this calling. About a year and a half ago, we missed an opportunity to provide a home for a little girl who went straight from birth at the hospital into DHS custody. We decided then in order for us to be ready at any point, we needed to open our home through DHS. Funny, actually, because I ALWAYS said I wouldn't go through the state. You know what they say about never saying never... At any rate, our home officially opened for adoption in early August.

Some interesting things came out of the Hatmakers' breakout.
1) We don't want to limit God in how He wants to use our family to provide a home for children who need one. International, private, state - we are game for any avenue He chooses to use.

2) As we broaden our horizons overall, we also need to broaden our DHS terms. I emailed our social worker last night and increased our maximum age by 18 months. (As a side note, we did talk with Elisabeth about it before we contacted our SW. This is a family deal.)

3) The concept of orphan prevention - something that had never crossed my mind. I get so caught up in my own perspective, I sometimes forget that I don't see the whole picture. Many children are "orphaned" (without parents) not because their parents are dead or don't want them, but because they can't take care of them. I can't even begin to comprehend having to choose to keep a child in my home, knowing I can not feed or clothe her, or to send her to an orphanage where I won't get to be with her but I know she's cared for. An awful, inconceivable choice. Despite my blindness to this problem, it happens. A lot. And before we all go put on our self righteous hats, these parents more than likely aren't lazy. There is no work. Or they aren't being paid fairly for their work. So what can I do? I live in Arkansas. I am far removed from this issue. Or am I? I think not as far as I would like to hope. It's in our country, too. But what can I do?

While we were at the conference, we picked up a Compassion International packet. We are now supporting a little girl in India. She lives with her mother and father; her father works when work is available and her mother takes care of things at home. A measly $38 a month will ensure she has food, clothing, education and chance to hear the Gospel. And it means she will be able to live with her parents. There are companies like Noonday and Land of 1000 Hills that provide women work and fair wages. And dignity. Despite what we may think, there ARE things we can do. It might take a little research. It might cost a little (maybe a lot). But we can be part of the solution.

Jen said there are seven Christians for every one orphan. This is sad and embarrassing. But adoption is only half of the answer. It catches the problem on the back end; let's stay back there but stretch to the front. Let's work to alleviate the problem. Be a mentor for teen moms. Seek out companies that pay fair wages. Support a Compassion International child. Be Jesus to the least - on the mission field AND in our own backyard. Radical? Maybe. Worthwhile? Absolutely.

This is what I desire: Please, Jesus - soften my heart, open my eyes, and use me.

Spending Month Begins

Actually, we are a few days into spending month; I just haven't had a chance to blog about it yet. Spending month is all about consumerism. It sounds like such a dirty word. We all like to think we are above it, but I don't think we are. It's not just people who don't know Jesus, either. American Christians have grown comfortable in our freedoms and cultural excess; in many ways, we can not be easily differentiated from the world. I'm guilty of it, I know. Just last month I saw a pair of pants and a shirt that I HAD TO HAVE and within 24 hours of discovering them, I had them in my closet. I didn't need them and I wasn't out looking for them. I saw them, wanted them, bought them. Done. Granted, I very rarely do that. However, if I keep doing that, I'm going to be right back where I started in January: my house crammed full of so much stuff I don't even know what I have. No thank you.

This month, we are consciously limiting our spending to specific places/things:
1) church
2) bills
3) Elisabeth's school
4) Kroger/Walmart (groceries/necessities/gas)
5) Hobby Lobby (if I get a cupcake order and need supplies)
6) Subway and Truly Asian (We know we have a few very hectic days, so we built in a couple of "cheats" this month. We know we can get nutritious food fast from Subway and Truly Asian is a stellar Asian restaurant owned and operated by friends of ours. We know we can get quality REAL food there while supporting a local family business.)
7) emergencies (doctor, vehicle, etc.)

My friends Target, GAP, and Shadrach's didn't make the list. If you see me wandering through Target, make sure I'm not carrying anything to the check out, ok? Thanks.

When it comes down to it, I don't want to look like the world. I want my marriage to look different because of Jesus. I want my parenting to look different because of Jesus. I want my spending habits to look different because of Jesus. I want my closets and cupboards to look different because of Jesus. Sound crazy? Maybe. But I'm pretty sure Jesus never said, "Follow me so you can live like everyone else and then go to heaven." Nope. I should look different. Just money and things? Nope. What else can I do with my GAP and latte money? Give more to charities. Save for Angel Tree this Christmas. Give more to church. The possibilities are endless, but not our bank account. It all comes down to priorities and the heart. I want my heart to more easily follow Jesus and not the things my eyes see.

Just like possession and food months, I hope we come out of this one with a new perspective that sticks with us. Here we go.

The End of Food Month

Today is the last day of food month. This month has been hard and we have cheated more than I thought we would. Overall, though, we have done well. The biggest thing we have come away with from food month isn't as much spiritual as it is physical. We have eaten well this month. Good foods, whole foods, real foods. Our bodies have responded well to this and we are excited to continue it. I've already blogged about that, so I won't go into it in detail. We are going to take better care of our temples. We are going to rid our diets of processed junk as much as possible. (I, for one, am super excited that my smoothie tomorrow will have berries in it instead of just a banana! And I'm going to try to replicate a pasta from the Cheesecake Factory for dinner...)

March awaits us tomorrow with a new challenge: spending month. Our spending will be VERY limited to a few places. I'll post the list tomorrow (we are still working on it!). Spoiler alert: Andy and I are leaving town for a couple of days and we will most likely call a short hiatus on spending month so we can eat out and enjoy a latte or two... Here's to a new month!