Time

Time....wow I am really realizing how important it is to take time for yourself.. It is so easy to get so busy with life, family, kids, church, worries, etc . That we dont take the time to relax, ponder, rest, ....do you know what rest means?

Rest:
*The refreshing quiet or repose of sleep (A good night's sleep)
*Refreshing ease or inactivity after a exertion or labour (To allow an hour for rest)
*Relief or freedom esp from anything that wearies, troubles, didtrubs
*a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquility (To go away for a rest)
*mental or spiritual calm or tranquitltiy
*to be quiet or still

How many of us can just sit for even 5 mintutes, maybe even one minute would be hard to sit or be still and not think about anything...just breathe? Could I do that ? Could you?
Do you know there are alot of verses that talk about rest?
Psalm 23 :1-3
1-3 God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Psalm 127 :1
1-2 If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn't guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don't you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?

Even God rested....don't you think that tells us how important rest is?

Genissis 2:2

2-4 By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.

I challenge myself and you to take 5 minutes today and stop. REST, relax and breathe...don't think about anything


Take your busyness, your worries, your stresses, your feelings, whatever blocks you from stoping and resting.....hold them in your hands lift them up and drop them in God's hands (don't take them back) Say God ..." I want to rest as you did, here are the things that block me from resting ...they are now in your hands and I ask you for your rest." Now be still and Know He is GOD...rest, breathe deep breaths, relax..tell yourself to realx...if you have tight muscles in your shoulders, neck, etc ...say " shoulders relax"
Take the time for yourself, it is so important not only to you but to God, your family, your work etc. When we take time for ourselves we will feel refreshed, renewed, energised, etc.

I challenge you to take time for yourself and see how you feel afterwards.....be aware of your feelings before and after....I know that it helps me continue on during whatever I am doing...I even do it better beacuse I took the time to stop and rest.

One of the first ways I did this......
I was painting (painting relaxes me) I never know what I am going to paint untill I painted it....anyhow I ended up painting a bird..and then I thought about the verse Isaiah 40:27

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind.

Then I thought about what it would be like to soar like an eagle.......I started imagining....
how quiet it would ...you breathe in a deep breath and slowly let it out,, you do this a few times , each time you feel more tenseion fall away... you relax, you breathe....there is no noise, just the quiet wind, you can look down and see the busyness, but it doesn't affect you because you are soaring, not flying soaring....your wings are spread out and you are just soaring...you then notice how beautiful the top of the mountains are,,,,then you see a beautiful lake...so you soar down over the lake ..you can almost touch it...it's so peaceful...so quiet...so beautiful....then you fly higher back above the trees, then you go even higher above the mountains....then you go even higher above the clouds...you can see for miles....the view is amazing you can see the sun setting and the colors are breathtaking...pinks, blues, reds, orange..... then you feel a light peaceful brezze flow through your entire being...you know it 's the breath of God....you've stoped, you've rested, you've soared....and in that beautiful quiet moment you will feel, hear the breath of God. This moment is Just for you alone....nobody else but you ...enjoy and rest.