Rest, Recover, Refresh

Life is busy! We move from one season to another at quite a pace.  GB stops in April and no sooner than you think – its September again.  This is a natural break and is part of the rhythm of what we do.  So, it’s the ideal time to take a wee breather, to rest, recover and refresh.  Taking time to do this is important in order to get geared up for the next session. 

Think of your own daily routine: you have a packed schedule; a full day; an excessive load of responsibilities; you know how easy it is to become tired and feel weary.  This can be dangerous and lead to burnout so rest, recover and refresh is essential.

Sometimes you are so busy that taking a break doesn’t seem to be an option.  You are afraid of letting others down, maybe you are short on time, sometimes you need to learn to say ‘sorry I can’t do that’ maybe you feel guilty when you say that and that you can’t do something, maybe you have conflicting priorities.  It can seem that taking a break is a misuse of time and that doing these other important things would be a better use of your time.  

But taking breaks is important.  Take time to rest, recover and refresh!

We are not designed to stay busy all the time. God declared long ago that we need a good rhythm of rest and work. 

Intentional rest is seen in the Bible and is a part of God’s plan for us.  At creation on the seventh day, God Himself rested from creating the world.  He set the precedence for us to follow.

Genesis 2 1-3…..

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

God rested, setting the example we should follow.

In Exodus 20 v 8 -11 we read of the 10 commandments and in particular…..

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Rest, recover, refresh is so important that it is one of the 10 commandments alongside  “do not murder” – that a big thing to take in – mind boggling!  It’s THAT important! It’s so important that we are commanded to do it.  It’s not just following his example – it’s also a command!

Jesus also took the time to rest – as the perfect role model, we should be following his example.  In Mark 4 Jesus sleeps on a boat despite the huge storm raging around him.  I don’t know how He could do that but He did.

Jesus knew the importance of rest, recover and refresh!

In Psalm 23:2-3 David says…..

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

Davd knew the importance of Rest, recover and refresh!

Don’t ever be afraid to take a break and value this rest, recover and refresh.

You need to look after yourself before you can help others.  In an aeroplane we are told to fix our own oxygen mask before helping anyone else if the masks drop.  This reminds me of the situations where you just want to dive in and save someone in difficulty but if you are not ready yourself, if you try to put the mask on the unconscious person and struggle to do so, you may run out of breath to put your own mask on and two lives are in the balance.  If you do it the right way round, then it’s more likely that the two lives would be saved.

You can’t serve anyone if you aren’t in the right place yourself so in order to serve others, you need to take proper time to rest, recover and refresh.

Photo by Sid Leigh on Unsplash

New Year – New Plans?

What would have to happen this year for you to consider it a successful year?

What is your definition of success?

What does success in your life look like?

It’s common to think of these things when it’s a New Year.  You’ve probably got some ideas of things you’d like to accomplish in the different areas of your life, but unless you set proper goals with an actionable plan, those thoughts are really just dreams with very little hope of being fulfilled.

The Bible gives good advice. Proverbs 21:5 “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” (NLT).

“Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.” (The Message)

The Bible is clear that we should make plans, set goals and do the work if we’re going to succeed.

Planning means that we prayerfully sit down, think through processes and outcomes that we want to achieve.

Shortcuts won’t get us to where God wants to take us.

While you think about the plans of what you want to achieve – remember that God has goals and plans for our lives. Do your plans line up with His?

We have our plans but are they God’s plans?

The thing is…..

God doesn’t need our plan for our lives, He is quite content with His plan for our lives.

God’s plan for you is wiser and kinder than your plan!  He wants more happiness and true joy for us than we think we deserve.  Seek out what God’s plan for us is because His plan is the only one that counts.

I came across this great illustration …..

Two hunters came across a bear so big that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out, almost ran into the waiting bear, hesitated, and then dashed back in again. The same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his companion in the tree frantically called out, “Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!” “Can’t,” panted Woody, “there’s another bear in there!”

Do you ever feel like fear is all around you?

Do you let fear be the main factor when trying to follow God’s plan so much so that you constantly feel worry, anxious, doubtful, and afraid of what is ahead of you?

God has not called us to live in fear. He has called us to stand strong in His confidence, knowing that He is in control! He has called us to live lives full of power, love and a sound mind!

Say no to fear!

Be more determined to put our hope in the Lord! Push past the fear, and step out in faith and seek out God’s plan for our lives.  Remember….

God doesn’t need our plan for our lives, He is quite content with His plan for our lives.

Psalms 27:1-3 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Peace in the Valley

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
     he leads me beside quiet waters,
     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

I love it when I find something new, a wee gem, in a well-known and well-loved Bible passage.

   “you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”

I normally think of being anointed with oil as God giving us a purpose and a calling.  But here’s a different image……  There are tiny flies that torment sheep.  They lay eggs in the sheep’s nostrils and these turn into worms which drive the sheep to beat their head against a rock, fences, even sometimes to death because the worms are driving them bonkers.  So, the shepherd anoints their whole head with oil.  The oil forms a barrier of protection against the evil that tries to destroy the sheep and gives them peace. The shepherd uses the oil to sooth, bring comfort and healing and peace.

Do you have times of worry worms / mental torment?  Does worry and negative thoughts invade your mind over and over?  Do you feel like you are beating your head against a brick wall trying to stop them?

Ask God to anoint your head with oil.  He has an endless supply!  His oil protects and makes it possible for you to fix your heart, mind and eyes on Him today and always!  When this happens, your cup becomes half full instead of half empty and it rises to the brim and even overflows. This may take a wee while, may happen immediately but it WILL happen!

There is peace in the valley!

Rolling Easter eggs

One of the things I did when I made a decorated boiled egg was to go to Belfast Castle and roll my egg down the hills with my brothers. We tried not to break them but eventually they did. One of my brothers even ate them – grass and all!

A few years ago in GB, we decided to hold an Easter themed night. One of the things was to decorate eggs, then with the left-overs, we had a rolling competition. We don’t have a hill to roll them down, so in the hall we drew a target and tried to get the eggs into the centre without breaking them. Needless to say, there were a LOT of broken eggs and a LOT of laughs!

So why do we roll our eggs at Easter time? It represents the stone that was rolled away from the tomb where Jesus was laid. It helps us to remember what Jesus did for us to give us the way back to God and to living a FULL life.

Halloween Memory Lane

People say that the kids nowadays have it easy. When it comes to Halloween, I have to agree. When I was young, we didn’t have pumpkins, in fact I doubt if I even knew they existed. So instead I carved a turnip. You can imagine how difficult that was. It took at least a week, I broke lots of knives and I’m sure I gained . Persistence was key.

When carved, I would add a piece of string, place a candle inside and lit it, replaced the wonky top and carried it around when I went trick or treating. Health and safety was a lot different back in the day.

In my first year in Ballysillan Playcentre, I decided to do this with the kids. Great fun but the smell after a week of ‘digging out’ was horrendous and it lasted for many weeks afterwards! Needless to say, this was a one-off never to be done again.

Persistence is also key when searching for peace in your life. You have to keep on ‘digging’ until you find it, but when you do, your whole life is lit with the love and peace of Jesus.

Photo by David Menidrey on Unsplash