Thursday, June 17, 2010

Getting the Most Out of Summer

There is a certain irony in the timing of this new sermon series we're beginning this Sunday. It's a series about rest, sabbath, and stuff I mention below. It comes, however, at a time of extreme busyness. At Cedar Hills we're cleaning up after some significant water damage and we have a workday planned (this Saturday at 9 AM - hint, hint) to sort junk and toss stuff into a huge dumpster. Along with the cleanup we're gearing up for Vacation Bible School which starts on June 27th - just a week away. Rest seems out of the question.  Most of us constantly feel that sense of "There's just too much to do!" far too often.

But maybe that's God's point.

There are always more things to do. Sometimes those things press in so urgently that they simply must be done. But life can't be filled with what Charles Hummel calls, "The Tyranny of the Urgent." Not all the time. God knew such things about us when he planned the cycles of the body. He created us to need sleep and for our slice of the world to go dark for a portion of each 24 hours so we would ... stop. He hard-wired us in such a way that those who simply refuse to rest and play will eventually break down. It seems important to God, then, that we get this right.

So even in the middle of urgent things that are pressing in upon you and me, we're going to start this little message series. I hope it helps take away any misplaced guilt about taking time to slow down, rest, worship, remember God, spend time with family. Recharge.  There are many different kinds of retreat or rest are mentioned in the bible. There is the overall concept of Sabbath - which means “cessation” in the Hebrew. There are also great celebrations and feasts, prayer retreats, and other times when people of the bible stopped doing their regular work. This three-part message series will study different rest periods and look at the reasons for them.

So listen to God's wisdom and ... take a break! As if for us personally, the Wall Street Journal has an article today (June 17, 2010) entitled, Why Relaxing is Hard Work. Take a look at it (I snagged their picture - above - too...) and you can even check out their "Are you a workaholic?" quiz linked in the article.  Then, for a little over an hour on Sunday, we'll all simply . . . stop . . . and begin to consider God.
- Curtis