Take a Sabbath Rest

I didn't realize how busy I have been lately.

My dad called last week and asked what was wrong because I sounded sick.

One of the high school girls at flag football (my groovy friend Lindsey Marks) asked me Saturday what was up because I wasn't myself.

A co-worker asked if I was upset Sunday morning because I wasn't smiling.

Another teen, Michael Alvarez, asked if I was OK because I didn't look like normal self.

The funny thing is I felt just fine and thought I was being myself all along. It caused me to step back and take an inventory Monday morning of what all I had going on. Come to find out, I have been too busy.

It was all good stuff I was doing, don't get me wrong. Working in the church means Sundays are normally busy days. With the sports we have going on, Saturdays are normally busy also. That makes taking the typical "Sabbath" rest difficult.

The principle of the Sabbath is one each of us need to put in our life. The Hebrew word for sabbath is shabbat, which literally means "stop" or "cease". It means we must intentionally stop "doing" and take a break on a regular basis.

While I couldn't take a whole day off the beginning of this week, it is amazing what taking a few hours away for the purpose of just stopping can do for your energy level. When is the last time you had a sabbath rest?