What Time is it for You?

What Time is it? For you? For me? For us?

September often brings new beginnings and a shift in seasons. For many a new year of school begins. It has been nine years since I taught school and my daily times and rhythms were determined by the school calendar. This September is definitely a different one for me.

Making a calendar page in my everyday journal is still a therapeutic and consoling process for me. Each month seems like a fresh start, full of possibilities. This month I’ve chosen colors that personally symbolize rest, peace, and hope. Painted papers, Washi tape, round monthly tabs, and banners with the month’s name are my consistent design elements for this year. Having these design elements to include each month provide me with a framework to work from, and freedom to work on the calendar page as I choose in the moment.

Working in my “Rest” journal I jump to the acronym for “T” Time.

I’m posting “Time” first because our Everyday Journals Facebook group theme for September is “A Time for _________.” We each can fill in the blank and share with the group.

For me this month is a time for resting in the quiet of God’s love, to be still and know God, to learn to rest in the mystery of not knowing what is next.… It is exactly opposite of what I have traditionally done in September. Instead of working harder to achieve something, I sense it is time to learn how to work from rest.

Hosea 6:23 talks about restoration and living in God's presence so we will know him. This is what I want in this season.

"In just a short time he will restore us,

so that we may live in his presence.

O that we might know the LORD!

Let us press on to know him.

He will respond to us as surely

as the arrival of the dawn

or the coming of rains

in early spring."

Hosea 6:23 NLT

• What time is it for you?

• Do you have a word of the year that is being lived out differently this month or season?

• What do you want out of this new season?

A Time for Everything - Ecclesiastes 3:3-11 NLT

3 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.2 A time to be born and a time to die.A time to plant and a time to harvest.3 A time to kill and a time to heal.A time to tear down and a time to build up.4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.A time to grieve and a time to dance.5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.A time to embrace and a time to turn away.6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.A time to keep and a time to throw away.7 A time to tear and a time to mend.A time to be quiet and a time to speak.8 A time to love and a time to hate.A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.