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I struggle with rest. There's so much I need to do, and even more I want to do, and oftentimes I find myself committing to a whole pile of stuff while I'm feeling super energized only to burn out halfway through the stack.

At which point someone inevitably tells me to rest.

Something I was convicted of recently (via my sister) was keeping the Sabbath. Our modern, Western Christian culture sees the Sabbath as a lax rule, if a rule at all. If we were to take out any of the 10 Commandments as not applicable today, it would be the Sabbath. The others clearly refer to sin, but if you break the Sabbath, no one's going to see that as sin.

But... shouldn't we?

After all, isn't sin at its roots just disobeying God?

God said, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," (Exodus 20:8) and, "This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord;" (Exodus 16:23) and, "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death." (Exodus 31:15).

A holy day. A day of solemn (or complete) rest. The breaking of which was punishable by death.

Not a day of going to work or doing non-necessary chores or catching up on school or crossing things off of that massive To Do List.

Does this mean we should rest every Sunday and make sure our jobs are Monday-Saturday? Should we go to stores that are open on Sunday and support that practice? Should we cook or clean or should we be getting all of that done the day before?

I don't know, so I'll leave that up to your interpretation. Personally, I'm working on applying that conviction from my sister by trying to rest on Sundays specifically. I don't work on school or projects or chores. I try to spend time with God and my family, doing activities that energize me instead of drain me. Does it always work out? Nope. But it's a start.

When do you rest, Reader? What day do you set aside as holy every 6 days? How long has it been since you had a day of solemn rest?

Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man. I take that to mean that the creation of the Sabbath was a way of God taking care of His humans. He made us to need rest, so He gave us a perfect plan for when to get that rest. Keeping the Sabbath isn't just a rule to keep us out of sin - it's for our own good. Try it for a month. See how you feel. You never know how much it might help. <3

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"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

-Exodus 20:11 (ESV)

Updates

This month has been amazing ^_^ Hanging out with friends, volunteering at A Night to Shine, driving 6 hours to visit with some long distance writing friends (and getting stuck for an extra day due to weather complications...), going to another friend's house the night I got back so we could fly to Oklahoma the next day, spending a week in Oklahoma (during the week of record lows over there, I might add... -17° windchill 0_0), and coming home to catch up on school and work for a week.

Also I found out when I got home from the first trip that we got two more kittens. Surprise!

Overall it's been a good month. I have very much missed all the friends I got to visit (and am now back to missing them...) so it was good to hang out. I also got to attend a Full Gospel Bible conference for a whole week which was quite the experience and gave me a lot to think about (and work on).

Books/writing-wise, the outline for my Author Conservatory project was submitted to the graduation board on Thursday. If they approve, I'll move into drafting and finally get this thing on the page. If not, I'll make more tweaks and get there eventually. XP A lot has changed in the story, but in good ways. Keep your eyes peeled for sneak peeks and other fun goodies... ;)

Song of the Month

A friend introduced me to this artist last month and I'm addicted...

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Boots - Flashfic

Dragonskin.

I brushed my fingertips across the supple leather, my touch lighter than air against its smooth surface.

What was he doing with dragonskin?

I glanced at the corner of the shop, where Pa was examining a man’s worn boot and trying to coerce him into simply purchasing a new pair instead of going through the trouble of a mend.

We’d been cobblers since my great-grandfather had sailed here, trading the unforgiving storms of Trylaria for the harsh desert climate of Muldune. Boots never lasted long against the coarse sand and scorching sun. And if you turned your back on one for a mere minute, a powerful gust could sweep it away forever - or bury it in a foot of sand, never to be seen again.

But no one had dragonskin. There’d have to be a dead dragon for that, and those didn’t exist. Live ones, yes. But no one had ever killed a dragon. Ever. And even if someone had, if they dared to make something as common as a pair of boots out of the beast’s hide, the dragons of the world would rally and slaughter that man and his entire nation for the dishonoring of their kin.

Such was the loyalty of the dragon packs.

So… how in the flaming dunes did a six-year-old boy get a hold of a pair of dragon boots - what’s more, a pair his size, that he was willing to trade for a couple loaves of bread and a bushel of apples?

I withdrew my fingers as the boots flared with heat beneath my touch. What reminded me of dying embers rolled beneath the surface of the leather before fading back into a dull, unassuming brown.

I rubbed my fingertips together, staring at the boots. Dragonskin.

Abrupt wind tore through our market tent, taking my breath away and clawing at our awning. I shoved the curly frizz that had escaped my braid out of my eyes and shielded my face against the sharp grains of sand that pelted at my face.

Sudden gusts were common. Except this time it didn’t stop.

I frowned up at the blue abyss above me. Strange for a consistent wind to pick up like that. Pa seemed to notice the oddity as well and stopped examining the customer’s boot as both turned their eyes to the sky.

The awning ripped away from the poles and disappeared into the desert with Pa shouting after it.

I glanced at the boots as the customer dashed off in the direction of his wagon and spooked mules and my pa grabbed at the sheets of leather hurling off the table to join the awning in its escape.

“Rhen!” He spat sand from his mouth. “Sandstorm! Grab what you can and take cover!”

I barely made out his words over the howling of the strange wind, but I jerked a nod and reached for the dragonskin boots.

And paused.

Because it struck me how small the soft scales making up the leather were. Soft scales. Small scales. Dragonskin encasing the feet of a child.

No.

The word zinged through my body like a scorpion's sting as I realized what was going on.

This wasn’t a sandstorm.

It was revenge.

Scorching heat melted the sand around me into glass as my world went up in flames.

A Smile for Your Day

Words from the Wise

"A writer is a world trapped in a person."

-Victor Hugo

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth! ;)

~Joelle

(P.S. Psst! If you head over to my site and find the Subscribers Only page, here's your password to get inside (copy and paste the bold parts and the asterisks) *IamAUTHORized* ;) Hop on in there and have fun!)