Resting in the Lord

Here are some more pictures of our puppy. She has grown even bigger since these were taken. The last time we visited the vet (which was last Tuesday) Paisley weighed in at 47.5 pounds! Geez!!

This coming week is Jon's fall break and I think I'm going to take a little lesson from our dog and use my three days off to rest. My mind has been processing through life and lately I feel as if I'm running on auto-pilot so...it's time for a break. There is such a huge part of me that wishes I could put life on hold for a while and just sit at the feet of Jesus...but the gospel wasn't meant to be lived in solitude, holed away from the reality and struggles of real living (although times of refreshment and rest are necessary). The beautiful thing about the Gospel is that it is meant to meet you at your work desk or at home while you are cleaning the kitchen. It is full of wisdom that impacts your every day life and that sustains you when life gets heavy. I have been in a funk lately and my eyes have been so clouded by the stress of life that I forgot that God is my Comforter, an ever present help in times of trouble and nothing can separate me from his love. So during my three days off I plan to rest...to accept the gift of rest in Christ that can restore my soul as I sit (if only for a short time) in His presence.

So for now, as I am asking Christ to give me the strength to keep my eyes steadily upon Him, my worries and questions will be laid at the foot of the cross. In order for me to live out the Gospel in my life I will need times like this week to allow God to refocus my heart.

God you know how frail I am, and how prone I am to wonder and lose sight of You. Take these meager offerings of my tired heart and renew me day by day so that I can become more like your Son. Thank you for the blessing of living life in the trenches and giving me the chance to get my hands dirty in the midst of a broken world. Revive my passion to share Your hope with others and plant my feet firmly in Your word.

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That Incredible Christian
Chapter #33
How to Keep from Going Stale
Taking Time to Rest

(A.W. Tozer)

Sometimes our trouble is not moral but physical. As long as we are in these mortal bodies our spiritual lives will be to some degree affected by our bodies. Here we should notice that there is a difference between our mortal bodies and the flesh of Pauline theology. When Paul speaks of the flesh he refers to our fallen human nature, not to our physical bodies, which are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Spirit there is deliverance from the propensities of the flesh, but while we live there is no relief from the weaknesses and imperfections of the body. One often-unsuspected cause of staleness is fatigue. Shakespeare said something to the effect that no man could be a philosopher when he had a toothache, and while it is possible to be a weary saint, it is scarcely possible to be weary and feel saintly; and it is our want of feeling that we are considering here. The Christian who gets tired in the work of the Lord and stays tired without relief beyond a reasonable time will go stale. The fact that he grew weary by toiling in the Lord's vineyard will not make his weariness any less real. Our Lord knew this and occasionally took His disciples aside for a rest.

Prayer: Father, may I have the good sense to schedule time for rest. Forgive me for sometimes taking on too much and, as a consequence, failing to serve You well.

Scripture: "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'"— Mark 6:31

Thought: Jesus recognized the need of rest for His disciples. He still does! Rest is not an excuse for laziness. It is an essential for effective service.