Touring the Historic Adventist Village, Part 2

As promised--here is part 2 of our Historic Adventist Village tour!  Hope you are enjoying joining us via video film!

~Susan

Happy Sabbath!

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

How can another week have flown by so fast?  I have so many things on my "to do" list that never even got touched, let alone completed.  In fact, as I take just a minute now to reflect on my week, I find myself hard pressed to even remember ANYTHING that I did do this week!  But I am tired, so I know whatever it was I was doing, I must have done a lot of it! ;)

But that right there is something I am SO thankful for.  Sabbath comes whether we got our "to do" list done or not.  It comes whether our house is clean or dirty, whether the laundry hamper is full or empty, whether my desk is piled high (it is!) or clean and organized.

Jesus looks at us and says "Stop."  Not, "Did you get all your things done?"  Our Sabbath rest is not dependent on if we "earned" it by completing our list.  It is ours because it is a gift.  Paid for by God Himself.  You can't get any higher up than that!

I am tired.  It has been a little bit stressful this week.  Sunday marked the one year anniversary of my beautiful mother-in-law passing away so unexpectedly, and my father-in-law just passed away last month so we are still adjusting to him being gone as well.  My van broke down and left me stranded,  but then of course acted just perfect when the mechanic went to look at it.  I have found myself running too much and not pausing enough.

It's time to stop.

Sabbath is here.  Deep breath in.  Out.  In.  Out.

I am SO glad it is Sabbath!

I wrote down two special thoughts in my quiet time journal this week that were especially meaningful to me this week, and I thought I would share them in case anyone else needed them this week as well.  The first one is this:

"The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God.  This word imparts power; it begets life.  Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One.  It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God."  Education, by E.G. White, p. 126

I need that.  Every command is a promise.  Re-creating the soul.  I need every single part.

The second quote I wrote in my journal this week was also from the book Education.  It goes like this:

"Not a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Christ, to sit down in companionship with Him--this is our need.  Happy will it be for the children of our homes and the students of our schools when parents and teachers shall learn in their own lives the precious experience pictured in these words."  Education, by E.G. White, p. 261

I need this one too--not only pausing, but sitting down.  I think since I am both a parent and a homeschooling teacher I better sit down for twice as long.  I need all the re-creating in the image of God that I can get!  I need all the rest I can get!

May you sit down this Sabbath, in companionship with Him.  I'll be there too.

~Susan

Touring the Historic Adventist Village, Part 1

Hi Everyone!

It's taken me a while to get this on here (don't have much time to blog!) but finally it has happened.  This summer, one of the activities our family was blessed to be able to do was tour Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Some of the buildings were originally built right here--in Battle Creek, while others have been moved to this location.  A few are newly constructed in the historic style.  Anyway, my wonderful son Austin filmed the village as we went around on our tour and put his film into shorter parts so they would be easier to share.  So I thought I WOULD start sharing them--and here it is, part 1 of 5.  Hope you enjoy the tour!

~Susan

Are you resting?

Hi Everyone!

I have been thinking about rest lately.  We all get SO busy--and even though it is usually busy with all good things, it is busy none the less.  It is GOOD to be busy, to a point.  God created man for work, and people who do not have anything to do when they get up in the morning often find themselves sinking into depression if this goes on for too long.

But even though "keeping busy" can be good, it is only good to a point.  We need "busy," yes.  But we need "rest" too.  God knew what He was doing when He gave us the Sabbath every week!  Even doing "good things" on the Sabbath, and helping others can sometimes end up tiring us though.  I think that is why Jesus told us to come to Him.  The Sabbath is wonderful--and He made the Sabbath for us.  But it is only when we take the gift of the Sabbath and use it to come to Him that we are refreshed.  On Sabbath, and every single other day as well.  He is the one who carries our burdens for us.  He is the one who can guide us in what work we need to pick up--and what work to set down, that He has not asked us to do.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

I will give you.  I.  It isn't something that Susan has to do.  It isn't something that Susan has to earn.  It isn't even perhaps something that Susan deserves.  But it is something He gives to Susan anyway.

Free.  A gift.

Because He loves me.

I don't want to rush around too busy to open His gift--too busy to notice or care.

No.  His gift of rest is to be savored.  Opened slowly.  Sniffed.  Smelled.  Touched.  Felt.

Have you opened His gift of rest today?  Have you spent time with Him?  If not, why not?  You will never regret that precious time together.  Savor it slowly.

~Susan

From My Journal

Hi Everyone!

I have been thinking about words today quite a bit.  It all started this morning when I read a blog post by a friend of mine about words.  Right after that, I read a quote in my quiet time reading that "happened" to be on the exact same subject--words!  Makes me think that it was NOT a coincidence!

Anyway, I have been thinking about this quote all day, and thought I would share it with you here.  I confess--it sort of makes me want to take a piece of tape and put it across my mouth, just to help keep me from using my words in the wrong way!

"Every day of Life is freighted with responsibilities which we must bear.  Every day, our words and acts are making impressions upon those with whom we associate.  How great the need that we set a watch upon our lips and guard carefully our steps!  One reckless movement, one imprudent step, and the surging waves of some strong temptation may sweep a soul into the downward path.  We cannot gather up the thoughts we have planted in human minds.  If they have been evil, we may have set in motion a train of circumstances, a tide of evil, which we are powerless to stay.

"On the other hand, if by our example we aid others in the development of good principles, we give them power to do good.  In their turn they exert the same beneficial influence over others.  Thus hundreds and thousands are helped by our unconscious influence.  The true follower of Christ strengthens the good purposes of all with whom he comes in contact.  Before an unbelieving, sin-loving world he reveals the power of God's grace and the perfection of His character."
                                                          Prophets and Kings, E.G. White, p. 348

How powerful our words are.  Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.  Create a new heart in me, O God!

~Susan