Summer Reset AND What I'll Be Up To

It's that time of year again.  The time of year when we tend to reset and enjoy God's Glorious Creation with warm summer breezes, sandy beaches, pristine lakes and amazing sunsets. 

I know I've shared it before, but I am more Karen in the summer than I am any other time of the year.  lol.

The definition of reset as shared by Google's dictionary is to "set again or differently".

Last week I went with my daughter to have her TMJ situation evaluated.  Much to our surprise and happiness, the dentist's office was nothing like you'd expect.  We drove up a long driveway past a manicured lawn to what must have been a house at one time.  As we entered in, soothing music was playing and it had a true spa-like vibe.  I felt like I was accompanying my daughter to have her hair done, not going for a consultation over a scary situation.

I was more taken by the name of the office - ReSet.  I mean it made perfect sense.  People with TMJ have issues with their jaw coming out of place, just like my daughter.

As the doctor explained the process going forward, I was impressed by their non-invasive and thoughtful approach toward resetting the jaw.  In fact, the protocol for resetting a jaw to what should be it's natural resting place, takes months of training the jaw even once the acute displacement has been rectified.  The jaw's natural bent in TMJ patients, if left untreated, would be to go right back to the displaced position because whatever situation caused it in the first place such as tooth extractions, history of braces, etc. still exists and has changed the physical make-up of the jaw.

The first phase begins with a special disocclusion mouth guard to be warn as much as possible, morning and night, which holds the mouth open to help to relax the jaw muscle with the hopes of the disc sliding back into place.  In the second phase, the patient is fitted for an orthotic that is worn over the bottom set of teeth essentially building up the teeth to be in the proper position to fit with the top teeth to temporarily encourage the mouth to reset to it's natural, God-given jaw alignment.   The dentist explained that this is important because the third phase is a permanent form of dentistry where the teeth are bonded and built up according to the natural jaw alignment the orthotic brought out.   It wouldn't make sense to permanently alter the teeth if the dentist didn't know what the natural bent of the jaw would be, hence the time spent using the orthotic.

As human beings, life happens, which can alter our natural bents.  Most children are just born happy go lucky without a care in the world because all their needs are being met by their earthly parents.  But then as that child grows up they may suffer a tragedy or a trial which alters their personalities forever.

As adults, we inevitably suffer loss, and dare I say, a hardening.  Like a tooth extraction, people leave us whether through death, moving away or estranged relationships which can leave us sad or embittered.    Some people try to apply braces through alcoholism, drugs, sex, food, spending, all in an effort to self-medicate, trying to reset back to their happier days.  Essentially, trying to apply the permanent bonding before wearing the orthotic, and making things that much worse.

As Believers, we have a Constant who lives inside of us, the Holy Spirit.  He never changes and never needs to be reset.  However, too often with the distractions of the world, WE need to reset.

Thanks be to God, we don't need phases before getting to the final bonding where true resetting happens.  We are already bonded to Christ through His blood and NOTHING can alter that fact.   We have been set differently through Christ Jesus at the moment of salvation from sinners to redeemed.  We are new creations in Christ Jesus.

However, we can lose sight of that through the trials of life and the distractions of this world.  And that's where WE need to reset -- to focus on God through Prayer, His Word, His Promises and His Blessings.  Like the orthotic, it may take some time to reset.  What is it they say about a habit, it takes 30 consecutive days to establish.  If we wear the orthotic every day of intentional focus on God, we will see with each passing day our joy returning, and we will expose that we were bonded all along.

In a practical sense, I believe God gave us summers to indeed reset back to Him, a season of Sabbath to reconnect with our God.  Summertime brings day trips with picnics and times at the beach; walks in the woods, vacations to sit back and relax, to cease from working and enjoy all of God's blessings.

And I intend to do just that!

After hours of searching for a lake house, at the last minute I might add, the Lord led me to a newly renovated home in New Hampshire.  The kitchen and living room have views of the lake and there is a huge deck overlooking the lake. The house has its own private beach with fire pit and we have our own dock.  I am sooo excited!  We are going to bring our canoe and just enjoy disconnecting from the world, reconnecting with each other and most especially setting aside distractions to reset with our Lord.  My husband and I love to read while we are on vacation and typically, you will find us reading historical biographies of Believers who have gone on to be with the Lord or other edifying books. I searching now for the book I will read.   And, of course, we will both be reading the Good Book!  :-)

We also have plans to go to New Jersey for my niece's graduation party.  And we are so excited that in the Fall, she will be starting college in our State!!  It will be so nice to see her and my brother and sister-in-law more often!

In August, I am tagging along while my husband attends a conference which is being held at the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire which is a magnificent hotel.  I plan on parking myself on the absolutely gorgeous wrap around porch which overlooks the mountains and read, enjoy the views, and thank my God for all of His many blessings.

The days ahead of the conference, we are going to stay in our favorite area, Woodstock, Vermont.  As soon as I cross over the border into Vermont, I literally feel a sense of calm come over me.

I kicked off my summer yesterday with a wonderful birthday BBQ at our favorite park that my daughter planned for me.  She and her husband supplied and cooked all the food which was delicious!  My daughter-in-law was able to make it to the party as well.  My son had to work extra hours and wasn't able to attend.   We played croquet and Kan-Jam and had the best time.

When we first got there, my granddaughter was sitting on the picnic table with her arm up on the table stretched out, she was moving just her hand up and down.  I could see her looking back and forth over the rock wall and out to the fields, taking it all in.  I asked her what she was doing, and she responded, "Mimi, I'm just so happy here."  It melted my heart and I shared in her sentiment...

In fact, you can see the peace and contentment on my face in the picture below.  I was taken aback actually when I saw this picture, as I could just see the joy I was feeling shining through.  I am sooo thankful to my family for making my day so special and especially to my daughter who planned the whole thing.

The Lord has blessed us with lots of nice plans this summer, and I praise Him for them.

Although I won't be participating in any link-ups for the next eight weeks or so, I will still be posting here doing a series called Summer in the Psalms where I will be sharing a Psalm, meaningful photographs, a few reflective thoughts and a related hymn to honor my Lord and give Him praise for the resetting nature of the summertime.

See you next week!

 *Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge now has an Instagram account.  Please click this link and follow me there where you will find daily, God-honoring inspiration. 😊 *

You might find me on these link-ups:

Grace & Truth, Woman to Woman Ministries, Inspire Me Monday, A Wise Women Builds Her Home, Spiritual Sundays, Soul Survival,  Good Morning Mondays, Tell His Story, Faith & Fellowship Blog Hop,   Tuesday Talk,    Faith 'N Friends,  Sitting Among Friends   House to Home  ,Wonderful Wednesday , Literacy Musings Mondays,Imparting Grace, Dance with Jesus,  Booknificent Thursdays ,  Fresh Market Friday Moments of Hope Wonderful Wednesdays , Tea & Word Tuesday Heart Encouragement Thursday Hearts for Home Messy Marriage Link-up Friday at the Fire Station Link-up Tune In Thursday Faith on Fire Link-up, Sunday Scripture Blessings Link-up, Sunday Thoughts, Writer Wednesday, Faith Filled Friday God Sized Dreams Link-Up Sitting Among Friends Be Thee Inspired Graceful Tuesday Link-up Aprons & Pearls Link-up Trekkingthru Link-up  Encouraging Word Wednesday  Grace Moments Link-up  Encouraging Hearts and Home Worth Beyond Rubies Seeking Sabbath Scripture and a Snapshot IHeart Verse Welcome Heart Kingdom Bloggers Outdoorsy Mommy Anchored Truth Tuesdays IHeart Verse Legacy Link-up