Learning to Rest.

God has given me some time to rest up and renew myself this weekend, which I am SO thankful for. I've simply had time to read, soak in His presence, enjoy His creation, spend time with my husband...and rest some more. Sometimes it is SO difficult for me to wind down after a long week. Yesterday I kept thinking, "I should do something", "I should call someone", "I should work on this...or clean that..." etc, etc. The Lord is teaching me how much I require rest...not only physically but spiritually! When I rest physically, I feel my spirit literally rest and fall into the arms of God once again. I am continually reminded that whatever I do is not by my own strength, but His strength alone.

Resting is actually an act of obedience. When I look up the term "Sabbath rest" in the bible, TONS of verses come up, all giving generally the same message: "Work six days. The seventh day is a Sabbath, a day of total and complete rest, a sacred assembly. Don't do any work. Wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to God." (Leviticus 23:3). There is so much freedom in knowing that God wants us to take a Sabbath...a day of "total and complete rest." In our fast-paced culture, it's so easy to feel guilty for doing 'nothing.' But the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, understanding us intimately, knows how much we require rest. I thank Him for that and that I'm learning to obey this command.

I still feel guilty sometimes...I fall back to the "I shoulds", as I think about all I need to get done: grocery shopping, picking up this or that, working on day plans, cleaning the house....and the list goes on. But as I learn to trust the Lord completely, I also am learning to trust that He knows what is best for me...for all of His people.

The Lord alone provides the rest we so desperately need. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." 

Serve the ONE

Writing has always been an amazing outlet for me. It is the best way for me to process how I am growing personally, especially in my relationship with Christ....which really directly relates to every area of growth in my life. I find that I usually feel most prompted to write when I have been reading and learning a lot and have some things to process. I spent the past 4 months going through the book of Ephesians...it's amazing how much more you take from a book of the bible when you take the time to go through it slowly... 3-4 verses at a time. I also recently finished a book called, "Kisses from Katie." An amazing, inspiring book that I feel everyone would benefit from reading. It's about a girl named Katie, who is now about 22 years old. Right out of high school she moved to Uganda for what she thought would be a temporary, one-year commitment to teach. But Uganda completely stole her heart and she now lives there permanently. She has...get this...adopted 14 girls from Uganda!!...and she began "Amazima ministries", which seeks to reveal Christ's love to the Ugandan people.

This book challenged me in MANY, many incredible ways, but I think the biggest thing I took from it was the importance of serving the one God has placed in front of me. My love and passion for Jesus is best shown in serving and loving others....whoever God's placed in front of me at this moment...my husband, a child in my classroom, a teenager at youth, my Grandmother who's losing strength, my sweet sister who lives across the country, a woman at church on a Sunday, a downcast cashier, a lonely friend.... WHOever God places in front of me...that is who I am called to show Christ's love to. It's easy to become discouraged when we look at all of the pain and suffering and hurt in the entire world...there is a lot of it. And I am just ONE person. BUT....I am here for a reason. You are here for a reason. God has a purpose for you in this day, in this moment. He desires for us to love and serve one another with radical love.

Jesus, may I serve and love you by serving and loving the ones you place in front of me each and every day. 

Love each other as I have loved you ~ John 15:12