new (old) discoveries

So here’s where I am in my now 1 month journey into taking a regular day off, and making that day into a sabbath.

1.  I’ve actually taken the day off — a big step for me.   It still feels a little weird, and I’m not completely relaxed yet, and I still have to work at not working…but doing.   And, I think , the more consistent I become, the better it gets.   [ Anything you can  take from that in the areas that you're working on?]

2. As part of that, anything non- emergency I just say NO! to.   Period.   And for me, that means I have to NOT check work email, and only CHECK MESSAGES on my phone to see if it is an emergency that requires my immediate attention.  (If it’s an emergency, I go — Jesus healed on the sabbath, too.  But, after more than 20 years in ministry, I can now figure out what “emergency is, and respond accordingly. [ Anything you can  take from that in the areas that you're working on?]

3. THIS IS THE BIG ONE –  the ONLY THING THAT I MUST DO on that “sabbath day’ is have some extended time with God.   Most of you can get that during weekly worship – but weekly worship is a little different for me.   Oh, I worship in church; but I’m also “on,” and, thinking about the next thing, so it’s a little different.  And, I preach to myself first, and so the message hits me where I live, but again, it’s a little different.   

And I realized what I should have known…I was missing something.   Many times, I suppose, even though I was worshiping, and doing my daily Bible readings, I was almost more “DOING God” than PURSUING God.

SO, the only MUST DO on my day off has been turning the FIRST part of it into a personal worship time…pursuing God, seeking God, praising God, praying to God, LISTENING to God…

And you know what?   The rest of that “day off” is still a work in progress, but seeking God FIRST has really blessed me…and the rest of my day off.   [ I wonder, for those of you who's sabbath is the weekend, if there's something there that might be of help for you]

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