~ resting up ~

I've been out of blog action for almost two weeks.  That's quite a stretch for me!  The Residence Conference weekend was a huge blessing… and then I took a few days to refresh and rest. 

Resting is essential to the rhythm of the spiritual life.  Not sure why I don't rest more!  God tells us to rest.  Jesus rested.  Jesus encouraged his followers to rest up.  The Sabbath was built into the pattern of every week.  And yet, as a pastor who has a flourishing ministry life, and a dad who has a flourishing family life, and as a husband who has a blessed marriage, and as a student who has a huge deadline on the horizon… I fail to rest.

So since Sunday morning, I have purposefully rested.  I have slept, played with my kids, and held the hand of my wife.  I've eaten well and done a few small projects to avoid laziness.  I've agonizingly avoided emails and facebook, phone calls and to-do lists.  And my heart is doing well.  

Tomorrow I'll be back in action, but with a determination to make rest a common trait of my week.  I've got to find a time outside of Sunday to consider a Sabbath day and to keep that holy.