Kindergarten was Right-We Need Rest Time!

 “God’s work is never done! So, I can’t take an entire day off because I am doing God’s work!” I heard that line from pastors when I was in ministry my entire career. I almost always heard it when I declined to do something because it was on my day off. One pastor was regarded as the greatest because he never took a complete day off. That line of thinking is unbiblical. God rested. Jesus went off by himself to pray. We are not greater than God. We must take time to rest. 

I am taking time today to rest. I am exhausted. even though I went to an amazing conference with my church this weekend, I’m still tired. I started tired. Part of my tiredness is my fault. I don’t always go to bed early. I’m trying to change that with my small Sabbath this weekend and extra day. I know better. I know that with rest I am a better person. Rest affects every area of our health, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. We must do what Jesus did when he was on earth and take time to rest. 

When we are tired, our emotional health is low. Many people become angry. Anger is not a sin. What we do when we are angry can become sinful. When we are tired, many times our anger leads to sinful actions. Our words may be unpleasant to others. Our attitudes may be horrible. Other people do not need to tolerate our emotions. As Christians, we owe it to the world to give others our best selves. We can only do that when we are well rested. 

Our mental health suffers when we don’t rest. I recognized that I could not think of simple terms or names when I was completely exhausted. I made silly mistakes with electronics or in my life. Those mistakes can be costly, especially with areas of driving. The Bible tells us to control our minds and to not conform to the patterns of this world. When we are tired, we conform because we cannot think clearly. Rest will give us clear thinking. 

Our physical health suffers when we are tired. I noticed I eat unhealthier when I am tired because I crave unhealthy foods. During the pandemic, many people gained weight. They were eating unhealthily because they were emotionally and physically tired. We can get hurt if we exhort too much exercise when we are tired. It happens to young athletes. Rest helps our bodies become healthy. 

Our spiritual health suffers when we are tired. We don’t want to worship God. We begin to question if God exists because life is so bad for us at this time. if we just take time to rest, we will have clarity of the life situations that surround us. When Elijah was ready to die, it was because he was exhausted. God gave him food and put him to sleep. He rested. He was ready to go. Rest helps our faith in God. 

So, how do we rest? First, we stop with the excuses. If you believe you do not have time to rest, find mentors that will help you find the time. These mentors can be in the same professions as you. They can be authors or coworkers, or those on podcasts. Although many teachers are tired, I have always found those teachers that are not tired and have a lot of energy. I realize that if I want to be that teacher, I must rest. 

Stop with the excuses of not setting a bedtime. Science has proven that teenagers need more rest. Science has proven that the rest comes going to bed earlier, not sleeping in later. So, what did the state of California do? They started high school later. It’s not beneficial. My students are still tired as many of them have to come to school early as their parents still go to work early. I realized that I’m just like my students. I want to stay up late. I must get into the routine of going to bed earlier to have more rest at night. 

Next, we must find what the source of our problems are with sleep. If you struggle to sleep, you must go to the doctor and find ways with your doctor of what the issue is. The last time I took my sister to the doctor for a small procedure, I sat right outside the sleep therapy area. In that area, they were testing people for their sleep patterns. We must lower our pride and get help. 

Finally, we must see rest as a spiritual act. If we have better attitudes and are mentally stronger with more rest, we will see the necessity of rest. God’s work can be done by someone else. Many times, God wants someone else to do the job. God needs us, and he needs us to be healthy. We do no one any good when we are unhealthy. 

Take time to take some rest. Give yourself permission. Take time away from work to just rest. It is not a day to run errands, but a day that you stop and rest. Find yourself doing better with rest. People around you will notice the different you when you are well rested. The world needs us; they don’t need mean tweets, but well rested Christians to represent the love of Jesus. 

Surviving the Hurricanes of Life

 Surviving the Hurricane of Life

It was the end of summer in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1979. I remember it well. The media screamed for days that a hurricane was approaching, and we had to take shelter. It was Labor Day Weekend. The media didn’t scare my mom, but because we lived in a mobile home, we had to evacuate. Hurricane David hit our city at 1:00AM. We were fortunate. We got the eye of the storm. Do you know the meme where the lawn furniture is knocked over? That was the extinct of the damage of Hurricane David for us in Daytona. It went out in the ocean, moved up the coast, and demolished a small town in South Carolina. 

Hurricanes are predictable, and yet, they are not. Their path of destruction can turn and hit an unexpecting town. The media screams for people to be prepared, but they also instill fear. Life has its hurricanes. In life, it is not if a hurricane will strike us, but when. From my own experience, I have discovered that with the hurricanes of life, we must be prepared, we must assess the damage, and we must ask for help as we have served others. 

Whether you have been a boy scout or a girl scout, you know one of the important part of the creeds is to be prepared. The only way we can face the storms in life is to have plans and materials in place. For a hurricane in Florida, people have working generators, supplies of water, and food stored for several days. For the storms of life, we must have our lives ready for the storms that hit us. We must be in prayer. Just because we pray, it doesn’t mean that God will take away our storm, but He will give us guidance of how to weather the storm. We know how to weather the storm when we are grounded in God’s Word. 

Being grounded in God’s Word is going beyond the sweet stories and understanding the context and how God works in the lives of humans. We must seek out understanding of passages that have been destroyed through the eyes of those who do not know or understand God. The way we do this is to read the Bible, take notes, read commentaries, and find people who understand the passages, either in books, podcasts, or real life. Real life relationships are also essential for preparing for a storm. 

Relating to people who care and understand your storm is critical for surviving the storm, and then eventually thriving. No one needs the mean tweets of people who either don’t exist or do not care about other humans who exist. We need people who empower us. Those who have been through the storms, empower and encourage us. Storms like cancer, actual storms that destroy our homes, broken relationships, or lost careers are survived with people. People weathering the storm with you help you with the damage and help with the clean-up, which leads you to healing. 

We must be ready for the after effect of the storm. Clean-up from Hurricane Ian will be immense. I spent a week in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city. There were so many church groups, humanity groups, and non-profit organizations that gathered for the clean-up to rebuild of the city. 

Before we could rebuild in New Orleans with the group that I served, we first had to clean-up the damage. I was there six months after the hurricane hit, and we were gutting homes and cleaning them out for people who did not have the financial means or the people to help them do that. When a hurricane hits your life, you must rid your life of the damaged goods that will hinder you from moving in the future. 

Your damaged goods could be physical ailments, broken relationships, loss of a career, or physical loss of material items. Those broken items can either be repaired or thrown out for new. I hate getting rid of items in my life that are sentimental or that I have spent time on creating and spending my life within them. In recent years, I have discovered that when I held those items too close, I was blinded with emotions that were harming and not open to what could be in front of me. 

We all have damaged goods that must be removed from our lives. We may have to employ the help of others to remove them. I have recognized in my life and in the lives of others that asking for help is a difficulty for many people. In New Orleans, the people had left their homes as is from the hurricane. Six months later when we were there to help, they decided to take our help. Our leader connected with agencies to find these people. Once we gutted out one home, a neighbor asked us for help with their home. It was eye opening to them that volunteers were there for them. We didn’t say, “No,” to anyone. 

We all must receive help when the hurricanes in life hit us. It’s not weak to receive help. It’s not socialism to have a group of people surround you and give you their talents, time, and gifts to help you recover from your storm. It’s humanity. In recent years, many have forgotten how to be human. Maybe it was the lockdown of the pandemic that created selfishness. If you don’t agree with people, you don’t get their help is a selfish and evil way to think. Jesus helped those who didn’t even believe in him. He fed those who were hungry and healed those who needed healing whether they followed him or not. We must be willing to receive the help, and when we have weathered the storm, we must step up and help those who are experiencing a similar storm. 

For those of us who are not in a time of a hurricane, we must reach out and empower and help those who are. For those of you who are weathering a storm, reach out for help. Many people in my social media have opened up about having cancer. They kept it to themselves for many months. Imagine the prayer warriors if they had given us their diagnosis from the beginning. People will not pity you. People will give you empathy. I have seen people connect people with doctors, lawyers, and new jobs because they were vulnerable and willing to allow others to serve them. 

We may not get financial help just because we are broke. We may receive advice. We may receive a way to find a job, or a job offer. For me, I discovered how to make my resume and cover letter better. I also discovered how to interview better. I did get prayer from prayer warriors, and it was from them that gave me strength. 

We all have storms in our lives. Reflecting on my life and the storms I had, I wish I had connected with others more and was more open about my status in life. Whenever I did tell people about my situation, I received good advice, friends, and prayers from people. I didn’t get pity. I didn’t get shamed. I got empowerment.

Hurricane Ian has hit. Let’s join in the effort to help those with their hurricanes to clean-up and move forward to thrive. Let’s help others and receive the help from others. We were not created to do life alone but in community. The church exists in community. The community can gather with one another and build you up. The help may not be what you want, (Many churches are financially strapped, so a handout of money may not be available) but it will always be what you need. For those of us not in a storm right now, let us be the church and serve those who are.