It’s Sunday night and my husband is at the grocery store for me.

He offered. I gladly accepted.

It’s quiet here. And I was thinking about you. About today. Today I wore a dress that my mama bought me. It’s long and flowy and navy blue. And I wore dainty jewelry and braided sandals.

I wore my hair up and to the side.

There’s just something about feeling beautiful. Not perfect. Just lovely.

I wanted to take a picture of it. But I was worried that you might not think I was beautiful. Even though you are loving and wonderful and I’m so glad for each one of you.

I really care that you think I’m beautiful. And then I remembered something I had shared in church this morning. In church where we are talking about how deeply grace cuts and how completely grace heals. That healing cut, you know?

Last Wednesday found me in the Atlanta airport. In one of those lose the battle and win the war moments, I was shuffling through all the traveling bodies searching for milk.

I’ve been doing some real work on my heart and how I eat and what I eat and how I work my body and I was feeling good. I had on my favorite flowy tank top and my most favorite worn in jeans. They were rolled up just so. I felt comfortable in my skin.

Until I looked over and there was this perfectly beautiful, awesome, I’m-sure-she-bakes-cookies-and-runs-5-miles-everyday-and-keeps-her-house-spotless-and-look-at-her-adorable-outfit woman. She was really pretty.

My shoulders slumped under the weight of feeling very homely next to her loveliness.

But. And I believe this was the Lord. A question whispered by me.

Who says? Who says that I’m not beautiful, too?

It was the loudest whisper I’ve ever heard, still filling my ears with it’s wooshing and rustling up my heart.

The One who is a Master at forming and who lovingly whistled sweet songs over me as He looped and stitched me together? He is who decides on beauty. So I walked a little straighter. And I took this picture even though I hate pictures of myself because I never feel pretty in them and I worry that others will look at all my faults. Also I forgot to put lipstick on.

Brick by brick. Brick by brick He is starting to rebuild my undoing.

Edit: I so appreciate all of your sweet comments. I am going to receive them without swatting them away because I know the heart you gave them in. But. I hope, too, that wherever you feel homely or burdened by comparison you hear this whisper louder than any other thing.

Sometimes I like to think that I am still a young mom. But I think I am really a youngish mom. There’s no crib in my house. No diapers. No bottles. No diaper bag. No regular nap schedule. I don’t even have any sippy cups.

So I want to say something to you as someone who is almost both feet into the school age years. Your life will change.

Where you are right now? It’s physically exhausting. It’s late night feedings and blowouts. It’s early morning breakfasts and morning naps. It’s temper tantrums. It’s “No touch” over and over again until you start to think about how funny touch sounds and then you realize it’s time for dinner and you don’t think you can stand up one more minute. It’s opposite napping schedules. It’s carrying the world’s biggest bag with a million compartments but somehow you still can’t find the wipes when you need them.

It’s also baby smiles and dimples. It’s being able to rest your little one in your lap because he doesn’t come up to your shoulders. It’s not stinky shoes yet. It’s sweet, sweet baby breath and that first smile that you make yourself a fool over so you can see it again.

It won’t always be this tiring on your body. Soon, your work will be the work of the heart. And, that? Well. It’s tough stuff. But the physical makes way for the emotional.

So. How do you find the restart to your day when every minute seems taken up with meeting needs?

1. You take what you can get. Maybe there is a natural break in your day. Mine is right before my older two get home from school. Here’s how I know it’s ripe for hitting the refresh: I’m plumb wore out. I want to rush out of everything. I’m ready to check out and looking for anything to fill me up. Also. It’s when I get yell-y. Unredeemed, that time looks like me running after a bunch of things (hello, internet) that can’t really fill me up so that when it’s time to be focused, I’m restless.  Maybe it’s naptime for you or mid-morning or just any old time.

2. But maybe you have to take what you can make. If it’s fifteen minutes while one is sleeping and the other one is watching tv, you can make that time listen to you. Maybe you lay on the couch. Maybe you find a quiet corner and read or stare or try to get the oatmeal out of your hair. Maybe it’s while you are washing dishes and you play some kind of music good and loud.

3. Whatever you get, take it and be thankful for it. Fifteen minutes spent wishing they were thirty instead  is not life giving. Five minutes can be enough if they are used wisely. Know what gives you life and what is just a band-aid for your restless heart. Treating the symptoms is not the same as treating the cause.

4. Don’t aim for perfection. Starting a new day in your heart and mind does not have to look the same everyday. When you feel about to give out, press in. Start over. However you can. For me, the goal of starting a Second (or more) Day is to be present, not to be perfect. I’m trying to use that time to do two things: eliminate things that would distract me from being present and refresh my heart and mind so that I can be focused on my children. I don’t always get to do both things. I certainly don’t get to do them perfectly. And sometimes? I have to put my head down and push through. But, usually I can find at least five minutes to step away and focus back on what’s important.

Here’s the thing. Right there in the midst of your hands-on, scheduled out kind of days, I want you to know that I see you. And I want you to know that I see the light for you. I believe for you that even if your day is overwhelming and exhausting and full to the brim, there is redeeming and refreshing available to you.

Edit: As a sweet friend was sharing something with me, I realized there was another thought to be borne out in this process. Parenting will always be hard and sharpening and unexpected. There may be seasons or circumstances that go seemingly unchanged. That battle? For heart change when the externals don’t? It’s even more important. Sometimes hard things stay but God’s refreshing stays even longer.

Full disclosure: this is a picture I took of a vintage photo I found.

Hi.

It is 1:24 pm on Monday afternoon and I’m giving myself 6 minutes to write a post.

I have loved hearing from y’all about your Second Day. Listen. I’m being bossy. But you need to know about your Second Day. It’s just that good. It didn’t start with me but I’m so glad I know about it.

Yesterday? Yesterday I started my Second Day at 7:30 pm. We went to Austin on Wednesday. We got my sister all married up. I didn’t take one real picture. We boarded a plane in dark and rain yesterday morning. And we set foot in our sweet hometown at 4:30 yesterday. It was a long and hot five days. But, good. But, hot.

I had cleaned and scrubbed up our house and put some sparkle on it before we left. And do you know that by 7:30, even though we hadn’t done really any living in it because we basically walked in, turned on golf and laid around talking about how tired we were, it was a hot mess? So I started my Second Day. It was kind of awesome. I washed off all  the sharpening of two two hour flights. I took a deep breath. I discovered that we didn’t actually finish the math packet that we thought we’d finished. I shuffled said math packet assignee down the steps and we finished that thing. And, then. Then I watched The Amazing Race with my husband even though Bopper and What’s His Name weren’t in the running anymore.

The thing about your Second Day is that it is just about the best way to physically walk out redemption and love. I do it because I love my people.  It always makes me appreciate what is before me and many times it gives me grace eyes to see beauty instead of failure in my First Day.

It’s never too late in the day. Maybe you need to start your Third Day? Or your Fourth? There’s not a moment that is beyond God’s redemption and refreshment.

It’s called your Second Day and my beautifully hearted friend Jessi taught me about it.

At the very moment when you are just about to give out but your day calls for you to give more, make a shift. Start your Second Day.

Apply it this way: Back up a few minutes. I shoot for 30. Or 60 on a really, really everything is right in the world day.

Split your back up time in half. First, do some things that bring you peace and prepare you for what is next. I try to do as many as I can of those everyday things that suck life and marrow out of me if they are left undone. You know the drill. Dishes. Tidying. Clean off the desktop. Write that email. Do whatever it is you do with that pesky spreadsheet (I don’t know because I am one of those weirdo right brained people). What you want is to trick your mind into thinking that things are fresh instead of mind tired and frizzled hair feeling. Just trust me.

Now. For the second half. Do something that is only life giving. Maybe you read. Maybe you write. Maybe you pray. Maybe you draw. Maybe you walk. Maybe you listen to music or nothing at all. Maybe you’re an extrovert and you do extroverty things (I wouldn’t know because I’m one of those stubborn introverted types). Whatever your thing is that makes you feel full and alive and at rest. Do that thing that speaks to your heart.

And then? Then you start your Second Day.

Shifting like this has brought some kind of fierce refreshing into my day. Oh, there are days where I just put my head down and steamroll through. That’s ok, too. There’s victory there. But the days when I get to walk through my little Second Day rhythm are becoming quite the treasure.

Will you try it? And will you come back here and share about it? I’d love to know.

Today done flat wore me out. My hair is going every which direction and my words aren’t good anymore and every response I’m making is clipped with frustration. Because where am I in the midst of this? Of the powdered sugar caked on the counter. Of the popcorn covering the kitchen floor. Of the papers strewn about the dining room. Of the Zaxby’s drink from two days ago that’s still sitting on that table in the den. (Thank you for Zaxby’s, Lord. You know I love it.) Of deadlines unmet and receipts unreconciled. I don’t even know if I have clean underwear for tomorrow. And there’s that book, magazine, whatever that I’ve been wanting to read for days. I think it has jelly on the cover.

I’m thirsty, ever so thirsty, for refreshing. And this stony heart, the one that I was born with? It keeps telling me that I’ll quench my thirst reading just a few blogs or in five minutes checking my email or two minutes more on facebook. If I can just sit down.

But there’s only One who ever broke stony rocks and made water come spilling and trickling out. And that is You. If it’s not You then I’ll just be parched.

And so I will wash the powdered sugar off of the counter because it’s work you’ve given me to do. And I will answer that 7 plus 7 is 14 even though I do NOT want to. I will do that paperwork that has been waiting for three weeks. I’ll even do the laundry.

And I will look for you. In every single thing I do, I’ll look for you. And I’ll do it because you gave it to me not because I have to be good. If this is the work you’ve given me then You are in it. And I’ll believe that even though it is work, because You are in it then even this stuff of my hands can be refreshing. If I don’t give in, then you’ve promised I’ll reap. I’ll reap and I’m believing that it will be margin. It will be refreshing gifts from You to my heart, things that give me life.

Amen and Amen.

Whatever your 3 pm looks like, maybe you have a verse or encouraging truth that you turn to. Would you share? I’d love it if we lifted each other up.

I did something I haven’t done in a good long while yesterday. I took an honest to goodness sabbath day. We worshipped with our church family and then I came home and stayed in this one spot for a good remainder of the day. I read books and magazines. I had hand drawn pictures delivered to me. I also got shot with nerf guns and had to help break up a few wrestling matches gone wrong. That, my friends, is what we call pure T wrastling. But we were all here and we just stayed here.

More than ever, I am realizing that priorities don’t simply happen. I have to make space for them. Except sometimes I don’t and them I’m totally perplexed by the fact that I’m caught up in doing a whole lot of stuff that isn’t life giving.

I am also convinced that our four year old LITERALLY (Chris Traeger) lays himself flat in the dirt and then proceeds to roll and frolic in it. The other day he came in and there was dirt swirling off of him. It’s a sight, to be sure.

I’ve also been writing more thanks to a dear friend and every other Tuesday morning with her. We read. We write. We share. Some of it trails over here but some of it I’m holding on to. I’ve been a bit unsure about what this space is supposed to look like. Yes, still. But last week I took some time to ponder: why do I keep coming back to this place instead of keeping it all close? It helped to think intentionally.

Also! I always dread Monday when it’s the late afternoon on Sunday and the best light is almost filtered out. It’s the early mornings and the other non-weekendy things. But! Something happens on Monday mornings. I don’t know but that I’m really loving them for their fresh starts and new goals and hopeful breezes.

My pocket perfect moments come after a long day. I feel the tired in every bone.

And as I gather up random papers scattered throughout our house, I find it. A piece of my precious paper that she requested to perform an experiment with a jar of water and a tiny flashlight. Looking to create rainbows.

A chart labeled: “Yes, Renbo” and “No, Renbo.” Her scratchy hash marks making my mind run ahead. She had scrambled outside and in. Sought rooms filled with light and rooms shaded from the clear, afternoon sun.

She sat down across from me filled with the joy of having run after her creativity, making something she loves. Her eyebrows lifted to the tippy top of her face and her toothless grin crept wide. Her deep brown eyes basins full of stories over time, space, feelings.

She always asks to look for the rainbow after a storm. Always.

I never even think to.

This moment? My rainbow.

And later as I fold her fancy new basketball shorts, the deep and bright purple ones, I wonder at something so small. That something so small could cut so deep.

It’s a healing cut and this rainbow of a girl is teaching me to believe in my Promise Keeper and His grace toward me.

Our friend, Lynn, took this beautiful picture of our girl. Thank you, Lynn!

And an answer tip-toed over my brain. Something I’d heard in Bible study yesterday.

Because He is enough and He knows better.

I look around and I see so many people walking beside me under the burden of why.

Why the loss, Lord?

Why the pain, Lord?

Why the infirmity, Lord?

Why the poverty, Lord?

Why the no, Lord?

When You could split open the sky and make everything ok. Why?

Better. It’s the most painful answer I’ve ever had to stand under.

It doesn’t feel better to walk through pain and know that He could have stopped it. It doesn’t feel better to know that He saw the pain coming a long way off and in His love He watched it walk right up and make itself known to my heart, ripping and tearing and stomping it’s way through my life.

It doesn’t feel enough when the very, absolute thing you wanted most in the world is ripped from you. It doesn’t feel enough when you don’t even know how next will come or when. It doesn’t feel enough when you just plain don’t know how you’ll get what you need.

But it doesn’t change anything. He is enough and He knows better.

And that is why I sit down in my favorite chair on a bright spring morning. I listen to the birds chirping and I surrender my why to Him.

Because even though He is enough and He is better smarts like the dickens, it also heals.

And in just enough time, I might not know why but I’ll know Him more: enough and better.

You feel this? Share if you’d like.

Here’s how I view Spring Break: Oh, goody! No rushing in the morning! We. Don’t. Have. To. Go. Anywhere! At all.

Here’s how my kidlets view Spring Break: What are we going to do next? Hmmm?

Unfortunately they do not buy into my homebody philosophy. And so I will try to provide a few fun things to do and then we will scurry home for afternoons of rest. Our oldest, especially, would flit from one thing to the next if I didn’t take up the banner of guarding our time. And I would be perfectly content to not leave home for an embarassingly long time if he didn’t speak the love language of people all the time.

I have lowly goals for this week. I would like to finish painting my kitchen chairs yellow, a project I started last summer. I think?

Also. I would like to catch up on my ironing. I don’t know why. Somehow I feel like I have accomplished something when everything is ironed. Of course, I rarely test this theory.

When it comes to housekeeping, I am the weakest link. For two weeks, I was a gold star cleaning lady when it came to our house. But, you know what comes before the fall. Last week? My house liked to say she was a hot mess. On Saturday, I got a bright idea: family cleaning morning! We picked out a movie on Redbox. And then the idea was to clean like crazy until we were all done at which time we would watch our treasured up movie. In my mind, it was going to be fabulous. It was something less. But we did it.

And! We finished the desk. Here it was fresh off the curb:

And here it is after some paint and a new top. My dad had the plywood, trim and stain already and I had the paint. I believe the total investment came to $1.00.

I am not even lying when I tell you that we lived with the table just like that, right across our dining room and major walkway in our house, for at least two days.

I want to remember how yesterday, in the quiet of a rare peaceful homework time, I heard the hum of water running.

“Little One?” I called. “What are you doing?” He was washing the red bits of crayon off of his yellow crayon. His little nubbin hands wrapped around that fat yellow thing. So assured.

I want to remember how our wiry oldest one pulled TWO! new library books out of his bag. His words spilling out so fast.

And we broke the teacher’s rule. One whole book start to finish before the next one. But that shelved book smell and the crinkle of the cellophane wrap and the promise of adventure were too much. I want to remember the bright blue of his eyes and his smattering of freckles all filled with the the hope of something new.

I want to remember how it feels to be close after sharp words and bruised egos. When the hurt is still raw, it helps more than anything to be close-pacing my breathing to my husband’s.

I want to remember how 11 years have changed him from wisp to solid and how he breathes so steady. I want to tuck away how a morning walk told me that it wasn’t all that important and the soft breeze of the fan felt fresh when I said no to hurt and yes to healing.

I am storing up. Stashing away the ruby toned moments that I so often overlook in my listing and in my perfectioning. They sparkle, shimmer, shore up.