Down Time

Posts Tagged ‘Down Time’

Posted in WONDER, tagged clean up, Creation, day of rest, Down Time, re-fuel, recreation, Refreshment, regular routines, Rest, Spring Break, Summer on March 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ah, Spring Break! GetAttachment

I had been counting the weeks (ten) and days (forty-nine … work days) to this, since the completion of the Christmas Break!

Winter on the ~~wet~~ West Coast is definitely not my favorite season. There is nothing like …

rain,
followed by drizzle,
followed by rainfall warnings,
followed by showers

… to send me into dreaming of sunnier days!

But this break from the regular (rainy) days is about more than just weather, it is also about down time … a break from the regular routines.

This year I have the blessing of enjoying the break in a sunnier, warmer climate. It is so refreshing to wear open-toed shoes (to show off my first pedicure of the summer), shorts, sleeveless shirts and to be just a ten minute drive from sitting on a white sand beach.

As I read the Spring Break-related posts on FaceBook this morning I am reminded that a tropical destination, although wonderful, is not mandatory to enjoy this break.

People are cleaning closets and cupboards, having play dates and painting their homes, going for coffee and going to the craft store, doing a day trip and going on dates with their hubbies (and wives), shopping and shipping unused goods out to the thrift shops.

The universal experience is not the same, and yet it is. People use this break to re-fuel, to catch up, to clean up and create … basically it is a time of down time.

Down time is a vital part of healthy living. It does not require a trip to a sunny location, or extravagant plans, it simply requires a break from the everyday routines of life. It provides opportunity for refreshment, refueling, and recreation.

There was a time … once upon a time … in the beginning, when this rest and refreshment happened every seven days, modeled by our Creator, when He rested on the seventh day, after Creation.

In our busy world today, filled with work that continues (thanks to technologies) 24-7, recreation that is more like competition, and rest that includes purchasing groceries, doing laundry and mowing the lawn, rest is so needed.

So, if you have the benefit of a Spring Break, make sure that you are being refueled and refreshed … there are still thirteen weeks until summer break 😉 .

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Down-Time and Creativity

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged Creation, Creation Story, Down Time, Genesis 2, Life, Sabbath Rest, Wonder on September 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Last weekend I had a glimpse of simplicity, of relaxation, of down-time. And what flowed out of me in the quiet of the unhindered hours of that Saturday morning was far more creativity than I had experienced in a very, very long time.

It has made me think about how I live my life, and how I encourage and allow my children to live their lives. But, more specifically, how we construct our days, our weeks. What we fill our hours with. What we ‘do’. And what we consider to be relaxation, simplicity and down-time.

Although not just in the context of Christian living (but certainly, to a large degree, a huge factor in the Christian community), Christians tend to live as though we are fearful of uncommitted time. As though down time is, in itself, a sin. As though every moment of every day needs to be filled to the brim doing … ‘stuff’. But, I just do not believe it!

When my brain is empty of immediate pressures, commitments, and expectations … it is then that my heart and my soul are able to play a greater role. It is then that I can create. It is then that I can love better, plan better … live … better.

Today I was reading Genesis 1 and 2 to a young girl from China. Her English was limited, and her Biblical familiarity lacking. So, as I read the story to her, I explained each of the six days of creation.

And then we came to day seven … and God … rested …

Well, if that is not enough encouragement for us to take a break once in a while (maybe once a week? … just sayin’) I cannot imagine better!

But, you know what else I realized … God had probably been resting before he started the process of creating. And look what he was able to pull off having had a rest!

Now, I am not legalistic when it comes to sabbath rest … heck, for my hubby, who is a pastor, Sunday is NOT a day of rest. I am okay with grocery shopping, working, and playing cards (something my poor grandmother used to feel guilty doing on a Sunday) … if doing those things, on a Sunday, allow for Sabbath rest at another time in the week. But, I do believe that if the God who put the heavens and the earth together (in whatever form He chose to do it in) chose to rest one day out of seven, then we, mere mortals, could probably benefit too.

Try it! Try taking a day (for some, start small … just take half of a day … ) and enjoying Sabbath rest. Do things that make you smile, do things that allow you to stop and smell the roses, do things that fill your energy cup, do things that make your creative juices bubble, do … nothing.

See if taking a selfish break, from that endless ‘To Do’ list, makes you better at what you do the next day.

“he blessed the seventh day and made it holy,

because on it he rested

from all the work

of creating

that he had done.”

Genesis 2:2-3

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