Rest

I have trouble managing my time. Ever since I can remember I have struggled finding the right balance of time to spend in all of the items I try to take on. This struggle has become even harder since about September of last year. As I have mentioned before we have a new addition to our family and he was born in the middle of September. If you have never had a child, you cannot understand the way this little person wraps up so much of your time. Everyone kept saying things like "your life is going to change," "Things will never be the same," "You can say goodbye to life as you know it." I knew what they were saying was true but there was no way in the world I could have understood the completeness of what they were saying. This little man really does change life (and I don't want anyone believing that I think it's terrible because I love him like nothing else and I have only known him for 7 months!!).

A second change came into my life at the beginning of November. The church I work for was not able to keep me on full time, so my salary was cut and I had to find a second job. I now work 40 hours at a daycare and spend about 4 hours on the weekend doing ministry. Now that may not seem like much but that does not count all the hours during the week (and on the weekend) that I spend preparing for the ministry I do and to further my knowledge in this field. I spend a lot of time working, and lately I have found that I am almost always tired! I have been trying to find out why it is that I am so tired and finally it hit me (actually it "hit me" because my wife pointed it out).

I do not have a full day off. I work every day of the week. I cannot make plans for a full day with my family because there is not a full day I have during the week that I can take off. This is a bit concerning to me and I am currently trying to figure out a cure.

It is a necessity that we take a day off. As humans we cannot go full blast all of the time, our bodies cannot handle it. This was made very clear to me today. I took the day off work (at the daycare) so that this afternoon I could go see my youngest brother sing at State Contest (he did amazing by the way). I have not felt more relaxed in a very long time. Today was wonderful. I woke up, spent a couple hours with my son, then got to spend time with my wife and son as she and I sat and talked. We drove to Columbia, had some down time, spent time with family, heard him sing, drove back, had a couple stops along the way, I mowed for an hour, watched 30 mins of TV, spent more time with my son, and now I'm blogging about rest as my wife does a Jillian Micheals workout video.

Too often I have read about "Sabbaths" and not applied it to my own life because I am just more super than that. If I do not apply it to my life, my family will suffer and I do not want to see that happen. There are a few Sabbaths I want to see in my own life, and would encourage the reader to take as well. First is the daily Sabbath. Find time everyday (maybe just 30 minutes to an hour) to spend time relaxing and doing something enjoyable (reading a book, spending time with family, NOT watching TV). Second is a weekly Sabbath. It is important to take one day every week out of your normal schedule and do something you enjoy. Take the day and spend it with your family, go fishing, go to the mall, just find something that relaxes you and will rejuvenate you for the next week. Third is a couple day Sabbath. I would say this is required every 6 months. This gives an opportunity to reflect on the passed 6 months and look forward to the next. It will require turning off the cell phone and pulling yourself away from "it all." The last Sabbath I would say is pretty necessary is a yearly Sabbath. You take a week off. Go on vacation, visit friends, just shake off the weight of the regular work week.

God demonstrated the importance of a Sabbath and it is down right sinful to claim we don't need one and to never take time off. We are doing nobody a favor by not taking time away every once in a while. I would challenge the reader to start implementing these Sabbaths. Start with the daily and weekly and then work your way up from there. Do not let things come in between you and your time of rest, schedule it in, make it a priority. You and the people around you will be glad you did.