I had a slow Sunday today. I woke up not feeling great, and decided to stay home from church, lunch plans, etc. Little did I know, that this slow Sunday would rejuvenate me in ways I didn't know I needed. Let me tell you what my slow Sunday looked like before I briefly tell you why I've needed to be rejuvenated...
- Drank coffee: Freshly brewed coffee in the french press with one drop of Cinnamon Bark essential oil (from Young Living 😉) in the coffee grounds. Let me tell you, this has been a game changer for my fall/winter coffee. Combine that brewed coffee with warm, frothy milk and a little sugar. SO GOOD.
- Listened to worship music: The This is: United Pursuit playlist on Spotify is my favorite playlist right now. The majority of the songs bring tears to my eyes at some point, and I just love filling my apartment with this music. Some of my favorites include Lay It All Down, Let It Happen, Through and Through, Set a Fire, and so many more.
- Watched a sermon: If you know me, you know how much I love Annie F. Downs...and basically any content that she puts out such as books, podcasts, sermons, Insta posts/stories, etc. Anyways, I remembered that she had semi-recently preached at Cross Point so I went to find the sermon. I ended up finding a sermon called Working Hard at Rest that she did in July rather than the most recent one, but guess what? It was exactly what I needed to hear. It was about rest. Rest, and more specifically, practicing Sabbath, has been on my radar for awhile now, but I'm really feeling seeing the need to prioritize it. This sermon was the first part in a series called Lazy River, and I am excited to watch the rest of the series.
- Started a new book: I bought a book before I left the States called You Are the Girl for the Job by Jess Connolly. I've been following Jess on social media for awhile and when she started talking about the release of this book, I kind of tuned it all out. Why? Because most days, I DO NOT feel like I am the girl for the job. For this "job" in Romania. For most "jobs" that I get assigned to here. You get the idea. And honestly, the thought of reading this book scared me because I know how how much scripture Jess uses to back up her writing and teaching...and I know that I can't argue with God or the reminder that He says that I am, indeed, the girl for the job. I've been wanting to start a new book so I picked this one off of the shelf today and WOAH. It's exactly what I've been needing.
- Diffused some oils: To start the day, I diffused Grapefruit and Jade Lemon oils, which woke me right up and helped me to start my day. You probably don't know this because I haven't shared too much about it online, but I started using Young Living essentials oils in May 2018. I was such a skeptic when it came to essential oils, and truly thought that Young Living was just another pyramid scheme trying to sell me something I didn't need. After following a few oil users and doing some research, I decided to give them a try. I bought a Premium Starter Kit from a woman named Mary who was, at the time, selling PSKs in an effort to fund her family's international adoption. I'm a sucker for a good cause. But man, oh man, I can't even begin to tell you (at least not in this short blog post) what using oils, and other Young Living products, has done to support various areas in my life...physical, emotional, etc. More on this at another time...or feel free to contact me if you're curious about oils. Yes, I am being "that person" at this current moment 🙋 Not sorry.
- Put a load of laundry in: After the sermon about rest and Sabbath, I decided that I would try to make today a bit of a Sabbath. In the sermon, Annie says that Sabbath is rest and worship. While washing one's duvet cover may not seem like rest, it actually allowed my mind to rest knowing that I wouldn't be putting it off for yet another day.
- FaceTimed with a special young lady: I was able to enjoy about 1.5 hours of absolute joy while on FaceTime with Larisa, one of the teens who was in the It Takes Courage program for three years. She is now off at university in Germany (studying social work!!!) and it was so so great to hear all about her new adventure. It continues to be such an immense privilege to invest in the lives of young people here in Romania. This FaceTime call was good for my soul.
As I'm sure you know by now, this is the view from my balcony. |
Morgan Harper Nichols |