An actual Saturday

8:36 p.m. Today's project was to sleep in somewhat, since I stayed up until almost 2 a.m. on the Mary Kay website logging in my sales from the night's big spa party, adding new customers, and processing payments to my account. Of course there was a rather cursory cleaning effort, kind of a "lick and a promise" as my grandmother would put it. Products needed to be reorganized, at least to the point of moving items to my office. And who wouldn't work off their hyperactive feelings of success by eating up some of the yummy snacks that were leftover and needing storage? I was wound up enough to post some thoughts as well just after midnight!

Seven o'clock came bright and early, so Steve put the dogs out and I thought came back to bed. But I guess while I went back to sleep, he showered and got dressed. About 9:00 I came back to the land of the living, and we went on with our usual morning of devotions and breakfast, sprinkled with bouts of cleaning and laundry--must have been 10 towels piled up in a corner from the pedicures the gals enjoyed Friday night.

It was the first classic Saturday we'd enjoyed in a long time--wandering around in my jammies, while Steve got started mowing the back yard. I finally put myself together and continued cleaning and washing up inside. I also had several text conversations with my sales director Laurie about making the most of the contacts I'd made this week.

Like it used to be on Saturdays in less hectic time periods of my life, projects presented themselves. I started my "Killer Chicken Soup" from ingredients I'd frozen a few months ago, because I'm going to be writing down a recipe for it to give to class attendees at Heart to Home on October 25th. Wendy Simmons, a chef manager at UC Riverside, Kay Wardell and I will be teaching "Welcome Winter with Delicious Soups." Wendy will teach her recipe, and the class will sample all three soups.

I'd also been meaning to program my daughters' phone numbers into my Freedom Alert system, so that one or both would be automatically called if I press the 911 button on my lanyard. (Really press it, not accidentally bump into something and have to quickly cancel the alert)! I got the okay from Heather and told Heidi about it when she and Pavel popped in later in the evening. This lanyard is critical for me, because Steve can no longer dial a phone, nor would he grasp what was happening if I were to choke or have a coronary or stroke.

Since I had the time, I sent an email to all of my kids warning them never to get a flu shot, because we have Guillame-Barre disease in our family, and the flu vaccine can be a trigger, according to our family's Dr. Guzman. The Lord was so good all of the years before 2011, when I got this news, because we never got flu shots--and the seven of us almost never got the flu either. I can count maybe twice in 20 years!

The Lord does use both miracles and means to save His people from threats to their lives. But our utmost trust must be in Him. We could substitute Ferraris and Lear jets for the modes of transportation mentioned in Psalm 20:7-8, but the point is made:

Some trust in chariots, and some

in horses;

But we will remember the name

of the LORD our God.

They have bowed down and

fallen;

But we have risen and stand

upright.

Sleeping in should cause an abundance of energy, one would think, but about 1:30, I found myself irresistibly drawn to the hammock that beckoned from between two Chinese elms in the front yard, nicely hidden from the street. I found a pillow and a comforter, laid them out, and ahhh, so nice. I pushed off to get the swinging motion going, and enjoyed shade, privacy, a perfect breeze, and even a fine mist from the sprinklers in the far end of the front yard sending their fine droplets on the breeze... even the dogs lay quietly on the other side of the wrought iron fence. Thank You, Lord!

Type A people like me tend to think that we're not alive unless we are getting things done, getting things done. If I've finished things for the day, I'm working on things for tomorrow or next week. But God gives and even orders His children to rest, to regather oneself spiritually, mentally and physically. Jesus said,

Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

And we need not worry about the condition and fate of our souls, either, if we have trusted Christ for our salvation instead of our "good deeds." Hebrews 4:9-10 says,

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

So we (for the most part) had a fine, restful, companionable day--an actual "Saturday."