Today was quite the day. Met with God in the morning through good fellowship. For that, I was grateful. We must have regular time to feed our spirits, souls, minds, and bodies. Today was a day of weighing decisions carefully, and living up "rest." I believe in rest. I believe in being productive within rest. Rest is not just a snapshot of a daily schedule, a quick nap in the hammock (but I don't have a hammock, sadly). Rest is one of the inheritances we get as prized children of God. If you are familiar with the book of Hebrews, chapter 4 will give you a lot of insight into the particular nature of this rest. A rested lifestyle. A rest entered into supernaturally.
Part of this rest means taking a sabbath. A sabbath is time not spent on anything business-related, or anything of entrepreneurial pursuit - in all abstract connotations, flavors, and angles of that word. It's taking a break to recharge and regear. It's also time to reflect on life and to enter into that hidden place with Jesus. It's a good place. It feeds me. It allows me to bless Him with spending time with Him. He loves that. I love it, too. A sabbath is so life-giving!
Too many of us don't respect or observe sabbath. We've been cultured not to. We've told ourselves that total productivity and striving will afford us more success and gain. Yet, is that really true? Freeze frame here. Slow everything down. We need sabbath. We need to recharge. You've heard of self-care? Well, this is it.
Part of my rest today included a quick note to those I love. Yes, I did go through social media avenues for this, though I much prefer old-fashioned snail mail, in-person chats, and eye-to-eye, voice-to-voice connections. Nevertheless, the outreach accomplished its purpose and I felt more filled for having kept in touch. Did you take time to reach out to someone you love today? In the evening I also took a walk with my dear husband in the salty-sea breezes of coastal New England. For dinner, a delicious freshly-farmed spinach salad was tossed, enjoyed with savory red potatoes steamed and quickly encrusted with Mrs. Dash salt-free spice. More reading ensued, along with blogging, and several episodes of Man Vs. Wild which features a personally well-respected survivalist, Bear Grylls. That guy subsists on snake 'sushi' and the harshest conditions - but at least he has his cameraman and crew to stave off the real chills!
LIVE FRESH: Take a sabbath. Don't fall into the quicksand of daily schedules and no break. Honor the fact that you need to recharge and drink deeply of good nutrition, fresh air, soul care, and time with the One who created you. This is your ticket to vibrance.
