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Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Trying to find Sabbath...
It seems like forever since my wife, Joanna, and I have been able to find a day off. We both work at the church, shes is a children's minister and I am a youth minister, and to top it off we are both going to seminary for our masters too.
We have set Fridays as our day of rest from work and school, and for the past year until 2012 we have been...ok at keeping it. It seems that in 2012 we have gone none stop with little light at the end of the tunnel. It is not that any of it is bad stuff, but when we find ourselves with a lack of time to rest, refuel, and spend time with God, then that is a problem no matter what you are doing.
I have found it hard in working at a church to find good ways to even take Sabbath as going to church well isn't always, although great and filling in other ways, we are in need of different ways of spending time with God.
In the past couple weeks, I have found Sabbath in music. I love to listen to music and play the guitar and sing, and I have had a renewed growth and time in music. Music is one of the best ways I have found that I connect with God. It helps my soul relax, let go, and just be in the melody.
Today was a little different. We finally had the whole day off, which was different in itself, but instead of music, I went outside,and I put out the hammock and just laid there. It was one of the first warm days of the year.
I had planned to journal, read, write, all sorts of things while I was out there; but when I got in the hammock...I just laid there. It was finally a time where I was simply being in God's creation and worshiping God through it; and worship in whatever way always fills me.
Now I am not one who sit still very long, but as I laid there, looking up into the two trees the hammock is attached to...I could not help but rest. After a few minutes, there came a cold breeze and as I was thinking I might have to go in, the sun came out and shined right at me. I warmed up immediately and it was as if God was saying, stay still a little longer. It was a beautiful moment and felt amazing.
I feel refreshed, renewed, and redeemed. I know that I need to do things like this a lot more, and my hope and pray is that we can be more aggressive about keeping our Sabbath.
What a different world it might be if we all took more time to just be with God in creation.
We have set Fridays as our day of rest from work and school, and for the past year until 2012 we have been...ok at keeping it. It seems that in 2012 we have gone none stop with little light at the end of the tunnel. It is not that any of it is bad stuff, but when we find ourselves with a lack of time to rest, refuel, and spend time with God, then that is a problem no matter what you are doing.
I have found it hard in working at a church to find good ways to even take Sabbath as going to church well isn't always, although great and filling in other ways, we are in need of different ways of spending time with God.In the past couple weeks, I have found Sabbath in music. I love to listen to music and play the guitar and sing, and I have had a renewed growth and time in music. Music is one of the best ways I have found that I connect with God. It helps my soul relax, let go, and just be in the melody.
Today was a little different. We finally had the whole day off, which was different in itself, but instead of music, I went outside,and I put out the hammock and just laid there. It was one of the first warm days of the year.
I had planned to journal, read, write, all sorts of things while I was out there; but when I got in the hammock...I just laid there. It was finally a time where I was simply being in God's creation and worshiping God through it; and worship in whatever way always fills me.
Now I am not one who sit still very long, but as I laid there, looking up into the two trees the hammock is attached to...I could not help but rest. After a few minutes, there came a cold breeze and as I was thinking I might have to go in, the sun came out and shined right at me. I warmed up immediately and it was as if God was saying, stay still a little longer. It was a beautiful moment and felt amazing.
I feel refreshed, renewed, and redeemed. I know that I need to do things like this a lot more, and my hope and pray is that we can be more aggressive about keeping our Sabbath.
What a different world it might be if we all took more time to just be with God in creation.
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