Just Breathe...

Just Breathe…


Today was just one of those days, and we all have them. The dogs were wild because I believe they sensed the coming storm. I had gotten a new plug in air freshener and it leaked all 9over the counter last night. What a mess! Then it took forever to wake Harley up. He was dragging even though he had 10 hours of sleep. I had to make him rush to get dressed and make it to the bus stop in front of our house. We made it with 3 seconds to spare. The bus pulled up, I said I love you and took a moment to breathe.

The wind was blowing really fast yet the air was still warm. I let the dogs outside and we all went to the back yard. As they played keep away with Harley’s baseball glove I took another deep breath. I looked up and watched the clouds rush past. It was amazing to see how fast some of them were moving and every once and a while I’d get a glimpse of the sun beaming through the clouds. It was a beautiful sight.

I took a moment to just pray as I breathed in and out. To thank God that I was able to get up, that Harley was in my life, that life was fun, that creation was breath taking, and that God loved me even on hectic days. It is truly miraculous what a moment with God can do.

Today just breathe. Stop and thank God for all you have in your life. I am truly blessed. Thanks also for all those who continue to touch my life. May the love, light, and hope of God be upon you today and always.

Blessings, Kristi

The Rat Race

It is hard to believe that six weeks have already passed. I find myself struggling once again with the rat race of life. My plate is again filled with meetings, activities and events. There are lots of things going on and still more to do. I find myself struggling again with time with God. But I am better than before. It just is so easy to get caught up in the rat race.

Today I found out that my cousin passed away. He was just 21 and they believe that it was an overdose. He too was caught up in the rat race of life and when things would get to much for him he turned to drugs. What to you turn too? I pray that it is not drugs or any other thing harmful to you. It is hard for me because I see those around me in pain and I know he was in pain too. But as Christians we need to rely on one Greater than ourselves.

So a little while a go I was stressed trying to get alot of things done especially my talk for tonight at Wednesday night dinners. When I realized I need to just be with God. So I went outside and sat in the church playground. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing around me. I just took a few mintues to sit in God's presence. Boy what a differnce it made.

I know each of you are busy trying to get everything accomplished but stop a few moments and spend time with God. I know it will make a difference.

Blessing,
Kristi

My Mind Was Racing...

This journey has been such a blessing but the other day reality bit me. Harley likes school and loves riding the bus each morning. I had spent time with God, gone grocery shopping and had cleaned the house all before 10:00 am. I was on my way to have a massage and things were going great. When I noticed I had missed a call from Jerry and he needed me to call him back. So I did my mistake. He called me and to let me know he was going on vacation when I got back. I said “O.K no problem.” He wanted me to preach, “O.k. no problem.” Then he mentioned other things like Wednesday Nights, Centre College and other up coming events.

In a matter of moments my serene day was gone. One call sent me into frantic thinking. I knew that I couldn’t wait till I got back to find cooks for Wednesday nights and I needed to see what supplies we had for the Centre welcoming table. My mind was racing. My massage therapist said “You are so tense.” I could feel it too and the weight of everything hit me.

You see my old self kicked in. In fact I even went to church afterwards to get the ball rolling on Wednesday nights and other things. I have this need to make sure everything get done. But it also made me realize that keeping Sabbath is so important. We all need rest. We all need God. I had to take a deep breath and pray. I could feel my heart start to slow down.

So many of you can and do multitask every day of your lives. You work, work, and work. It’s who you are. I so get that. Yet God calls us to take the time to rest in him. Resting in God will help us to tackle everything that comes our way.

Take a time out today and just breathe. Rest in God. Feel God’s love for you.

Peace, love and happiness always,

Kristi

the journey

These past few weeks have been a whirl wind and it is hard to believe that this journey is almost over. But it is almost over. I say that with joy and with some regret.

During these weeks I have learned a lot about myself and the importance of Sabbath in my life. God wants everyone to take time to look to him for rest and rejuvenation. You would think that in my line of work that would not be hard to do. I live, work and breath God. It is a big part of my life and who I am. Yet, I often gave away so much in the name of God; I forgot that I too need to be filled by him. I was running on empty. My life was out of balance and so was my relationship with God. We, God and I needed time together and very often God got pushed aside in my need to be needed.

For me to be the best minister I can I need to make my relationship with God a priority in my life. My Sabbatical has allowed me to do that, to just be with God. I have had time to rest in his arms and feel God’s presence in my heart. It has changed me and it is hard to explain. But I feel different. This past Sunday I went to two different church services, and then spent time at Loretto with the nuns. In each place God was there.

You see I love my job. I really do. I love the people, I love the work, and I love God. It is a gift. Yet I forgot that his most important gift was that of relationship, our relationship. I had let other things come between us. This relationship is the most important relationship in my life and I have to devote time and effort to it. It is the reason I exist.

God invites you too on a journey with him. God desperately wants to spend time with y you. Reclaiming the Sabbath in your life is a good way to start.

Blessing to you all…

Kristi

Life is Good!

My life is good! That's the truth! My life is good or should I say blessed. God is such a good God. When I think of the wonderful friends and family that I have... I think God is God. When I look at Harley... I think God is Awesome! When I experience the amazing little moments with God, I think... God Is Alive!

I am amazed as the weeks continue through this journey. I was not sure what to expect during my Sabbatical. Heck, I have not had a long break off of work since high school. It has taken me awhile to let go. To let go of the feeling that everything needs to be done right now. Let go of the hurriness in my life. Let go that I have to fix everything! It has been hard but very freeing.

My most important discovery though has been about myself. I Kristina J. Stuckel am a work alcoholic. I thrive on the hurries of life and work. Not being part of work has been a real struggle. I love working at the church. I love the people. I have a great job. But after some soul searching I have found out that I am not balance. Work plays a major part in my life. I lived and breath it. It consumed 90% of who I am. And that's not healthy. Life is a balancing act and I need to find the balance in my life.

Harley has helped with some of that, but I need to do more work. You see when I am balance with God at the center of my life the church will get a much better minister. So I need to work on that by restructuring how I live and breath. That is where Sabbath comes into play. God ordained and made it holy. Now we as God's children need to reclaim it in our lives. It is going to take a while, at least for me!

Just Breath

Take a few minutes to write down a list of everything you do from house cleaning, work, anything that consumes your time. What are the important things? What are some things that consume your time unnecessarily? What part does God have in it all? Look at your plate and see if you are balance~heart, soul and mind. Most of us are not. After this take a few minyues to sit in God presence, soak up his goodness, and rest in his arms.

Blessing to all!

Kristi

A Pools' Reflection.

Well it has been a crazy week! Computers have not worked, Harley is getting ready to start Kindergarten and slowing down for me has been hard. Especially when I think of all I need to do at the church. Staying away is really hard.

Yet even though it is hard I have tried my best to do it. So Harley and I we have been pool bums the last two weeks. On those hot humid days nothing is better than going to a pool to cool off and relax. Harley has become an incredible swimmer he is amazing. At the beginning of the Summer he could hardly swim. Now he is going down slides, going off the driving board and swimming across the pool. I think he is part fish. It is a joy to see him swim! What a way to spend a hot day.

Many people have asked about my sabbatical Finding Sabbath in My Life. I believe I am still finding it little by little. The other day I was staring at the reflection of the sun on the pool during break. It was amazing how bright the reflection was. As Christians I believe that we need to be like the pool. We need to be reflections of God's light to those around us and the only way to do that is by spending quality time with God. Time with no distractions. That is Sabbath.

Church does not count!!! There are always distractions at church. Kids are moving around, people sleeping and all those microphone problems. It is not quality time. And once a week is not enough to be filled. We need to just breath more. Set out to spend some time with God today alone. Take your bible, read a passage and just breath. Try to spend 1/2 hour with God and see if it changes things.

May God's love shine bright in your life.

Shalom,
Kristi

Sometimes It Is Hard

I am finding it hard to not go to work. I know some of you think that I am crazy. I have been tired, worn out, and been in a mad rush for the last several years. Yet after two weeks I am ready to do something. I have been reading my books, spending time with God, and with Harley. And it has been wonderful. Yesterday I had a day alone while Harley was with his father and I got bored, restless wanting to be on the go. Slowing down is harder than I thought because I have to reprogram my way of life. I have to take the urge of hurry out of my life.

I mention this to someone while at Wal-mart and they just laughed and said it would get easier to adjust as time went on. They also suggested that by the time I adjusted to this new way of living it would be time to go back to work. She is probably right. Yet it still is a learning curve I intend to work on.

Today was a new day and I had a new experience at a new church in Danville. It is so different being there just to be feed. I really enjoyed it and it gave me a boost for the day and the week.
Harley is back so my time is limited.

May the grace of God be with you this week!

Kristi

Just Breath

Well it is hard to believe that two weeks are almost up. As you know the first two weeks I spent with Harley at the beach. It was wonderful and together we made some cherished memories.

This journey of Sabbath as you know was for me to Find God's Grace in my everyday life. And it is harder than I thought it would be. Because it takes practice. I am working with a spiritual director who asked me some difficult questions. One main question was "What is the deepest desire in your relationship with God?" That's a hard question and I had to ponder it a while.

I realized that there are times in my life that I feel God's Spirit not only around me but in me. The relationship between God and me is the core and everything else matters less. During this time, even when things don't go as plan I have a deep sense of peace. Yet often because of my busy schedule and my own laziness I forget to focus on that relationship. Instead I worry about the other things. There seems to be so much to get done and I have to hurry. I am always in a hurry.

Harley has probably heard me say lets go we need to hurry at least 1000 time since he has moved in with me. We always seem to be in a rush. And when I hurry I lose focus on my relationship with God. I try to fit God into my busy schedule but most times God loses to other things. The other day at the beach Harley said "Don't we need to hurry? We are going to be late!" He too has already learned about being in a hurry. I am sure most of you can relate.

I remember in a movie remake of Cinderella called Ever After starring Drew Barrymore. There is a point in the movie when she is going to enter the Ball. She just stands there before she enters trying to get control of herself. She holds her hands around her stomach and whispers "Just Breath." Taking this breath calms her down and gives her the courage she needs.

Breathing is important. It is essential to life. In the Beginning God breathed life into humans. his very breath is in us. Have you ever been so busy that you say to yourself just breath. Do it now. Take a deep breath and let it out. It is amazing the tension just seems to oozes away. During this journey I am going to offer some suggestions that will help you and me to just breath and spend sometime with God.

I am going to do this exercise in just a little while and I hope you will too.

Peace to you!
Kristi


Just Breath Exercise
Take just a few minutes and sit down.
Take a deep breath and release.
Do this a few times.
Then just clear your mind.
And just sit in God's presence.

God's Amazing Grace

Yesterday I was blessed to go to church and worship. No pressure of things that needed to done, things to check on or people to see. It was just God and me.
In fact I went to the drive-in church at Daytona Beach. (Harley and my nephew Josh slept in.)What a different feeling having church in your own car. Yet my windows were down, I could feel a soft breeze and I could hear the people around me singing in their own cars. I was filled with God 's spirit. The church field was packed and the week before they had over 50o in attendance for two services . I guess God's church can come in many faces.

This past week at the beach has been such a blessing for me. Because of Harley I have met a variety of people from a variety of places. One little girl, I call Gabby touched my heart. She was 10 years old and she had Downs. She had a smile on her face that could light up any room. Her younger sister told me that she danced, did gymnastics, and was a cheerleading, but her sister couldn't do anything because she was special needs. Gabby did not understand that she was special needs. Instead she told me all her favorite shows, her favorite singer was Hannah Montana and that she loved all the shows on Disney and Nick. Gabby thought her life was great! I wish I saw my life as good all the time. She told me, I was her new friend and that she loved me. she touched my heart.

In my heart children with special needs teach us many things. The way they see the world, the way they love people, the way they can bring a smile to your face. Gabby taught me about God's Amazing Grace and love for all humankind.

Take a moment to be with God. It is amazing what it does to your soul.

POEM
No place to go...

No place to go...
No place to run...
Spending sometime with God and his son.

Its been so long since we have spent sometime
just God and me in our prime.

I have been so busy that's my excuse.
My time with God, has not been used.

Yet now I am not in a rush.
I have some time to stop and hush.

No place to go...
No place to be...
Now there is time for God and me.

Time to listen, laugh, and cry.
with Jesus by my side.

It truly is amazing you know.

No place to go...
No place to run
Spending time with God and his son.

Peace,
Kristi

I am in a hurry!

As my sabbatical approaches I am in a hurry to get everything done that needs to be done.
There are so many loose ends that need to be completed before Monday. I hope I can get everything done including my sermon for this Sunday. It maybe a short one. Well keep me in your prayers. ~ Kristi

Getting Ready

Well, I am counting the days to my Sabbatical. Fifty-one more days! It is hard to believe it is so close. Of course I have a millions things to accomplish before July 19.
Harley has started t-ball and next week swimming lessons. It is amazing how fun it is to watch a 5 year old discover new things in this world. Many people tell me how blessed Harley is too have me in his life but they are wrong! I am the one blessed. He has added so much joy and love to my life, it makes me cry. To see the world through the eyes of a 5 year old boy is amazing and astonishing. Harley has a wonderful outlook on life and I always learn something new.
Church is going great but there are lots of things to do. I am currently getting ready to preach this week and next. Also getting the Young Disciples Drograms and Mission Trip in order. So in between work and Harley's activities, I can understand why people are so stressed out! That is why we need Sabbath. you might ask what is Sabbath? For me, Sabbath is taking the time just to ...be...resting in God's presence... basking in God's goodness. We all need sabbath but it is so hard to find it with our busy life schedule.

My hope is that during my sabbatical I will reconnect with sabbath and find way to add it into my daily life routine. Peace to everyone! ~Kristi