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November 26, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest from Schedule

Rest from Schedule

For most of us, there’s no shortage of commitments in our lives. If we look on the refrigerator, we can usually see some type of calendar or schedule that reminds us of our busyness. Kids’ activities, church events, deadlines, doctor appointments, school assemblies, games and everything else a family has pledged to attend.

Our schedules are exhausting. Just looking at them makes us weary.

I’m sure the apostles experienced exhaustion, too. They were forming the church. There was a world to reach for Christ and they took their assignment seriously. But I’m drawn to these verses: “With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” (Acts 2:46-47 NIV)

I sense a schedule of freedom as I read these verses. The apostles met daily in the temple courts and spent time having meals with their brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t sense a rushed pace. They did this with “gladness.” They praised God as they met. They were able to rest, truly enjoying this daily experience. It could have become a burden, but it didn’t.

We need rest from our schedules or they will rule our lives. Take a day and close the calendar, pull your schedule off the fridge, shut off the alarms on your phone and live apart from your commitments. Practice a full day of rest.

It may cramp your style. You might have something scheduled every day of the week. For us, in some seasons, soccer tournaments crept into our Sundays. We bowed to the schedule and attended. Before we knew it, every single day was ruled by our calendar . . .  even that one day we had hoped to give to God.

I would make different choices now. My priorities have changed. As my kids used to say, “Can I have a do-over?”

When my wife and I moved to North Carolina, one of the blessings was that our calendar wasn’t packed. In fact, it was quite empty. No church home, no friends, no social or family commitments. It was a clean slate that we were careful about filling.

One of the things we decided to do was use Sunday afternoons after church to explore. We spent a couple hours driving, hiking and simply enjoying our new surroundings. It felt so refreshing to be off the clock and have no agenda. We’ll have to learn to protect that time as our commitments start to grow.

How can you clear time in your week so you’re free from your schedule? Take a rest from the craziness that invades your family and life. You’ll find that slowing down is a good habit and a healthy rhythm. Build rest into your week.

Within that rest, meet with God. Pray together as a family. Worship with the larger family of God. Talk about the Lord. Give your spouse and children time alone with him. A day without a schedule is a day you can deepen your relationship with God and your loved ones.

What a novel idea.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Available from Amazon in Kindle and Paperback).

August 28, 2018 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Joy and Rest

Joy and Rest

The alarm goes off in the morning and the race is on.  You crawl out of bed at a turtle’s pace and make it to the shower.  As you run the upcoming day through your mind, your senses come alive. In fact, it becomes intense as you think about it.

Kids to school, Jamie to the dentist appointment, report due today for my boss, meeting where I’m presenting, two after-school practices for soccer in two different places, get dinner done tonight in time for Bobby’s lessons… just pick up burgers…

It’s no wonder that joy has escaped the average Christian.  There’s no room for it in the schedule.

But the problem is deeper than that. You don’t rest.  You’re chasing life, whether it be a full schedule with kids or activities of your own.

The truth is that anxiety, fear, rushing and striving take the place of joy.

Instead of kicking yourself and being disappointed in your lifestyle, here’s a suggestion.

Rest.

Yes. Rest.

“But I don’t have time!” you say. “You just described my life to a “t”.

Not a good excuse.  Jesus had one of the most demanding schedules I can think of and he found time to rest.  Even in crisis.

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’”  (Mark 4:35-38 ESV)

Can you rest when the constant winds and waves of life smack you around?

I think it’s time to change your schedule so there’s room for rest.  You’’ have margin in your life to recuperate, refresh and rejuvenate.  You must find the time.

Start today and carve out 20 minutes to rest.  It may come at lunch, where you simply go to your car and sit there, emptying your heart to the Lord.  Or even taking a nap.

Jesus invites you.  “”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

Give yourself permission to rest today.  And tomorrow.  And the next day.

We are finite creatures and we need the replenishing practice of rest. Without feeling guilty for enjoying it.

If you practice rest on a daily basis, I know that the joy of the Christian life will seep back into your life.

(Experience more joy when you read my devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days of Joy).

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