tiny tennies

These baby sneakers were on display at a 

children's clothing store in Corvallis.

I loved their colors and abstract shape combinations.
Plus, they were just so cute!

Watercolor and acrylic ink, 4"x6"

paper hat boy

basketball boy

sabbatical meditations

 

I have discovered that the word "sabbatic" (at the root of "sabbatical") means:

"of, relating to, or appropriate to the Sabbath as a day of rest and religious observance."

 

The Hebrew term "Shabat Shalom" is a greeting meaning "peaceful Sabbath"

which people would exchange on their day of rest: "peace while not working".

I suppose these two ideas are the goal of our summer.

 

I have never experienced such a prolonged period of not working.

I sometimes feel antsy and distracted, thinking about the future

or just about what I could do next, or I've delved into researching random ideas.

Sometimes I manage to just relax and chill out, or to sit still and listen.

 

Mostly, I've slept. I sleep and sleep and sleep some more.

There have been energetic moments and good time with the family.

However, since the kids went away with my parents this week,

leading to another layer of sabbatical removal of responsibility,

I've realized how thoroughly exhausted I am.

 

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

(Psalm 91:1, NLT)

 

Eric seems to be slightly more energized than myself, but he is also laying low.

The words that resound around the edges are "wait on God."

I've contemplated what this waiting would look like.

 

"Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

(Psalm 27:14, NLT)

 

In daily life, waiting is very straightforward. You wait for the bus.

The way this is practiced is by moving your body to the correct geography

(i.e. the bus stop) and then staying put -- not moving too far away from that location.

 

I think we have stepped into this initial form of waiting. We have moved ourself

out of work and all of its locations and expressions (excepting the mundane elements

of daily survival). We are waiting. We are not sure what form our bus will take.

 

There seems to be another layer of waiting on God which has to do with listening

in stillness. I trust that God will take our meager efforts at this and speak loudly

enough for us to hear through all our distractedness. It seems that this kind of

waiting may extend into our return to normal life. Hopefully that normal life will be

somewhat different from the way we left it as we take hold of our days more dependently.

 

"Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly."

(Psalm 5:3, NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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corvallis highlights

 

Here is a small sampling of things we enjoyed in Corvallis.

First off, I may have mentioned that the park was just minutes

from the house we were staying in. We played a lot of basketball.

There was a cherry tree in the back yard.

A cherry tree!

We headed out for coffee most days (where the kids opted for mango

smoothies) and played board games a lot -- mostly Ticket to Ride.

We headed to downtown Corvallis several times for shopping

(the kids discovered a rock shop that needed multiple explorations),

and for eating pizza, hot dogs, and gelato.

 

There was also the beauty of walks and drives in the rain,

the sound of rain on skylights in the middle of the night,

spending time with friends from home while away from home,

listening to dance mix late at night on long stretches of road,

watching more movies than usual, and the quirkiness of

cooking for four. All in all, it was very quiet, restful, and refreshing!

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