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Posts Tagged ‘Rest’

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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Thankful For A Sabbath Rest

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged Genesis 2:2-3, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 11:28-30, Rest, sabbath, Sabbath Rest, Sunday, Tired, to cease, to complete, yoke on October 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Rest …

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing;
so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating.”
Genesis 2:2-3

What is rest? And, specifically, what is Sabbath rest? Did God choose a day of rest because he was tired from creating the world? Is a Sabbath rest still a part of the New Covenant?

When God had finished creating the world, and all in it, He set aside a day in which “he rested.” Why did He rest? Was God fatigued?

Isaiah (40:28) would indicate that is not so; “the Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired.”

So if God was not tired, rest, in this passage has a different meaning that we might first think. The Hebrew word used actually means to cease, to stop doing, to complete. This makes far more sense! Creator God had just finished the creation of the world and all in, under and on it. The world, as we know it, was completed, God had no more to add to it, it was done, and he ceased, rested.

After a month of school each weekday, laundry and taxi-driving kids each Saturday, church and football each Sunday, today is a day of rest for me. There is nothing that I have to do, there is no place that I have to go. It is a day of no expectations! It is a day full of possibilities! I could take my beast for a walk on the trail. I could sit and write a weeks worth of blog posts, I could read from the book that has been feeding my soul lately, I could play a game with the kids, I could make cookies, I could, I could, I could.

I struggle with understanding Sabbath rest. In the Christian life in which I live, the Sabbath is Sunday, a day to do something different, focus on God, spend time in His word, worship with other believers. But, I have to say, it is often void of rest; my definition (a day of no expectations), or the one above from Genesis (to cease). Since hubby works on the Sabbath, it is a day of many expectations, and because of my high energy in starting projects … and low energy in completing them, there is rarely a ceasing or completing.

In the New Testament (Matthew 11:28-30), Jesus speaks of rest, “come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will find rest for you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble and gentle of spirit, you will find peace for your heart. For my yoke is pleasant and light is my burden.”

Although Jesus is not speaking of Sabbath rest directly, I think there could be a hint of it in his promise. He is speaking of the rest that he can provide if we are under the yoke that binds us together. The yoke binds us to him, allowing for us to be connected to him, dependent on his leading (the meaning of rest in this passage).

Maybe, if we allow ourselves to be yoked to Jesus, the rest that we so desire will be available to us … all week long.

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Va-Ca-Shun

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged Adjustment, Break, Cannon Beach, Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center, CBCC, Rest, Vacation on August 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

As the van backed out of the garage, my mind went … blank. It held … nothing. And that strange, new experience … it felt soooo good!

Five minutes later I was checking Facebook, and emails, and blog stats …

Ten minutes later I was simply unsure of what to do with myself. There was nothing to do, and nothing to even think about …

Fifteen minutes later, I had gone through ALL of the photos on my phone. They were organized and some eliminated.

Twenty minutes later … exhale … va … ca … shun!

The trees looked greener (more green?), the sky looked bluer (actually, it was bluer … most of the summer, so far, it has been shades of gray), the terrain more beautiful and the mountains seemed to pop right out of the landscape.

Twenty-five minutes later my (UNdiagnosed) ADD (attention deficit disorder) became apparent when I state, with a loud sigh, “I’m bored.” Hubby looks at me, flipping up his clip-on sunglasses, as if I have spoken a bad word, a foreign subject, an abomination! I crawl back into my iPhone hole.

When life has been busy, when demands and deadlines are weighing you down into ‘survival’ mode, when the day to day has become mundane and meaningless switching gears into a vacation frame of mind can be a huge adjustment. But, oh how I am willing to make the adjustment.

The destination of this ‘vaca’ is, as every year at this time, Cannon Beach, Oregon … also known (by myself and my hubby) as ‘a little piece of heaven.’ We didn’t arrive until late at night (like around 1am), and yet it still was beautiful.

And what does this week of ‘vaca’ at Cannon Beach hold for us? Well, did I mention I am NOT going to be cooking (although I might have to push the power button on the microwave, if I want to have popcorn)? We are at a conference center (www.cbcc.net), and so we get:

amazing accommodations,

thought-provoking and funny speakers,

“awesome, interesting, fun, extravagantly amazing” (to quote a couple of students I know RELATIVEly well),

friendships from all over the Northwest, that keep going from summer to summer to … infinity (and beyond),

tasty, chef-prepared, beautifully presented meals,

and a beach (that you can walk to eliminate some of the delicious calories you’ve taken in).

I am so looking forward to adjusting to this!

This morning, I was awakened by hubby, already showered (Cannon Beach must be heaven, because he is NEVER up and showered before I get out of bed), kissing my lips and whispering “va-ca-shun.” No sweeter words could be spoken. So, I did what came natural … I hopped out of bed, and woke the kids, because it was breakfast time … and I was not cooking!

Yup! I think that I can really make this adjustment. It is going to be a great vaca!

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