Time to Rejuvenate

I’m off to spend a day in the mountains with wonderful friends—a day of renewal and revival. What more could one ask for? It’s what all of us need from time to time in order to rejuvenate and keep moving forward in the realm of Truth.

Leave a comment and tell us what you do to rejuvenate yourself.

I'm Still Rejuvenating

We’ve been so busy lately painting and repairing and getting our basement ready for new carpet. They finished the carpet yesterday and everything looks so nice. Today we’ve been putting everything away. What a job! But I’ve been simplifying and that feels good. I’ve taken three huge loads to DI and many more than that to the garbage. We moved here eleven years ago so I can still remember the reasoning used to keep certain things. This time I find myself saying, “If I haven’t used it in eleven years, I’m not going to use it!” And out it goes.

One other thing that has been a problem all my life is that I like too many things. I like to cross-stitch, crochet, macramé, knit, sew, quilt, and so many other things. Over the years I’ve collected a lot of things to do with these kinds of projects. So the other strange thing this time around is that I find myself thinking things like, “I’m so old now I’m never going to get back to this!” and so out it goes.

It is strange how life changes and how a person changes as she grows older. I like this simplifying and narrowing down my interests. Now I just need to do this in other areas of my life. Slow down. Simplify. Declutter. Organize. It’s all part of my rejuvenation. I like this. It’s October and I’m still rejuvenating! What a good feeling.

Friends!

At the beginning of the year I shared with you that my word for the year is “rejuvenation.” I explained that instead of a goal, I pick out a word and then everything I do I apply the word while doing it. For example, if I’m working in the garden, I think rejuvenation and do all I can to rejuvenate the garden and myself through the work. I love this because it doesn’t add work or stress to my life, it just enhances all of life.

But one of the things Mr. J. and I wanted to consciously rejuvenate were old friendships. Partly because we moved eleven years ago, we haven’t seen some of the people who have played an important part in our lives. So in January we made a list of the people we wanted to see again and the most amazing thing has happened. They just keep showing up in our lives without us doing anything.

Mr. J’s father died when he was only twelve years old and there were a few men who stepped in to mentor and help him. One of those men was especially instrumental in guiding and nurturing and after we married we became good friends with he and his wife. They moved from Bountiful before we did and we haven’t seen them for about twenty years. Well, four weeks ago they called and told us they were in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by. We had a wonderful visit and arranged to go out to dinner with them later. That later was last night, and again we had a marvelous evening eating dinner and then driving up to the cabin they are building in Midway. Renewing old friendships, seeing the beautiful view from their cabin, catching up on all that has happened in the intervening years, and just being with people who have played such an important part in our lives was amazing.

This isn’t the only time this has happened since we choose to rejuvenate. It has been like a miracle. The people on our list keep turning up and we are enjoying every minute of it. There are still many people on the list and I’m looking forward to rejuvenating more friendships. It is always nice to make new friends, but there is something deeply satisfying about being with people you have known for many years.

As Proverbs tells us, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel” (Prov 27:9). And I would add that simply "being with old friends rejoices the heart."

A Lesson From Adam and Eve

Happy New year everyone! I’m eager to see what this year brings. The future is full of hope.

To start the beginning of the year I was reading about the beginning of the world—specifically Adam. I love the story of how Adam and Eve worshipped God by offering sacrifices to the Lord and after awhile an angel appeared to Adam and asked, “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me” (Moses 5:6).

This verse is a good one for me to start the year off with. I am good at obeying when I can see why I should. But I struggle sometimes when I can’t see why I should do something. But Adam just did what he was told to do—trusting that whatever God told him to do would be for his good. I’m going to work on that more this year!

The angel then told Adam why he should offer sacrifice, “This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.” The angel then went on to tell Adam that because of this amazing sacrifice that would happen to save him and all mankind he should “do all that thou doest in the name of the Son” (Moses 5:7-8).

In my efforts to rejuvenate this year, I’m going to remember this verse. What it tells me is that everything I do and say should be considered a prayer or offering to God and should be done in a way that I can close my words or actions “in the name of the Son.” If I approach life with that attitude, I can’t help but be rejuvenated.

Rejuvenated!

In the first five verses of Psalm 103, King David praises the Lord and urges us to “forget not all his benefits.” The author then lists some of these benefits saying that the Lord forgives our iniquities, heals our diseases, redeems us from destruction, and crowns us with love, kindness and tender mercies. That is an impressive list that causes much gratitude and rejoicing, but King David goes on to state one more benefit that is not as commonly thought about. His last benefit is that the Lord satisfies us with good things so that our youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
Eagles are referred to in the Bible more than any other bird which may be related to the fact that an enormous amount of eagle mythology has been perpetuated throughout history. Ancient myths claimed eagles could fly close to the sun, burn off their feathers, then regrow new feathers. Modern myths are just as absurd claiming that eagles come to a point where they can choose to die or to undergo a five month reclusive period where they lose their beaks, talons, and all their feathers but emerge younger than before.
Perhaps David was drawing of the ancient myths when he used the metaphor of being renewed like an eagle, but more likely he realized that eagles live longer than most birds and molt yearly so that they constantly are growing and replacing their feathers. This is, after all, a kind of rejuvenation which keeps the eagle a flight and looking young. Whatever source David drew upon for his metaphor the important thing for us to realize is that the good things that come from the Lord will renew us.
Many people today pay a lot of money to look and feel younger, but as King David recognized, when we draw close to the Lord and partake of all the goodness he offers we feel and act younger and more vibrant. Like the eagle who yearly grows new feathers, we are literally rejuvenated by partaking of the Lord’s goodness!