Under the Rest

When my son was 4-5 years old, he and his best buddy liked incorporating me into their imaginative play. 

One of my favorite characters to watch them emulate was cowboys. They took a big blanket and made a tent by covering dining room chairs. They enjoyed being sheriffs and keeping the peace in their make-believe town.

Often, while I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes, I would hear them whispering. Usually, immediately after the whispers, one of them would 'sneak up' behind me and say sternly: "Put your hands up! You are under the rest!"

Somehow the word 'arrest' was never clearly understood to them - they heard: 'the rest.' After much laughter, they tied my hands behind my back and led me away to the jail.
In my task focused moments, this command to be 'under the rest' jarred me. How prophetic, how captivating was the command to rest.

Working hard came in my natural DNA from both parents.  I would tease my friend, Bea, telling her that I needed to trade the first two letters of my first name -  Do - for the first two letters of her name - Be!  Performance  was my middle name.

More often than not, my soul worked hard to live right, be right, walk right, talk right - I took literally the admonition to work out my soul salvation. I lived with soul exhaustion until I believed the rest of the Truth:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2: 12-13 (ESV)

 I did need to obediently live out the salvation of my soul. However, I was 'under the rest' when I believed that it is God who gives me the power to live in a way the gives Him pleasure...under His rest.  In His Presence, I rest.

Being faith-full - believing God - pleases Him and that gives me emotional rest.

God rest your soul...

Join me with others at today's Faith Barista Jam. 

How do you find emotional rest?

Take Five: Choosing Rest

As a child, I remember worrying about seemingly every.little.thing.

Will it rain today? Did I remember to bring my homework? What was that noise I heard?

As I grew into adulthood, the anxious thoughts lessened, but continued. Worry, worry, worry beset me - the more I tried to shed it, the more I worried about worrying!

Until I truly began to understand God's grace and provision.
Until I truly believed God's unfailing love.

TAKE FIVE
I missed a trolley that would take me to my destination from a parking lot.  I decided to walk instead of waiting for the next trolley.  What a restful choice! I strolled, took pictures, even sat for a few minutes to read. 

Rest for me begins with trusting the Lord. From that place of trust, physical and emotional rest come.
How does that trust look daily?

Psalm 23 guides us into rest.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want,
Each day, we have the opportunity to believe that all we need will be provided.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
We choose rest by being still on a regular basis. Restoration comes in various ways when we are still: listening to music, reading scriptures, writing what I hear, conversing with friends, walking in a park, and more...

He guides me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
As we trust in the Lord with our whole hearts, lean not on our understanding and acknowledge him, he guides us and teaches us the way to go.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Even in the most difficult situations, the Presence of the Living God brings life and light.


You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
When we trust the Lord, his strength sustains us.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
We cannot outrun, outlive, outlast God's faithful and powerful presence. Now that is rest!

Pull up a chair - pour a cup of your favorite faith brew and share about rest over at the Faith Barista Jam

Restfully yours,


Donna

Reframing Rest: Energy Monitor

Today, I enjoyed a visit with a dear friend.  We chatted; we laughed; we prayed; we listened; we encouraged one another.   As we shared life and laughter, I felt rested. 

After the visit, energy bubbled up in my mind and body.  I completed chores with ease.

Rest refreshes...

This summer, as I intentionally balance work with rest,  worry and hurry decrease.

Keri Wyatt Kent in her book breathe: Creating  space for God in a hectic life, asks:

"Does your life have rhythm?  Does it flow or move in fits and starts?"

In recent months, the rhythm of my life has flowed in fits and starts - busy work days; busier evenings, busiest weekends.  With fresh energy,  a new rhythm emerges  for me: work, rest, work, rest...

To help maintain this rhythm, I initiated the use of an energy monitor.

My energy monitor:

Resting in order

When I saw the butterfly images suspended from the ceiling, I  smiled.  Fun! The creative,  colorful, orderly arrangement called out REST for my information-packed  soul...  How delightful to periodically peek at the  suspended butterfly images  during the remainder of the public health summit held in this building. 

REST came in an unexpected way...

In what ways have you experienced REST this  week?

Reframing rest - it is happening now!

I took an unexpected break from blogging this week (deep breath).  I knew that I would be away at the National  Association of School Nurses (NASN) conference this week.  My intentions included finding quiet moments each day so that I could write blog posts.  Obviously, that did not happen.

What did happen?  In addition to hearing relevant and current clinical information, several session speakers spoke of:
deeply breathing and resting;
taking a sabbatical for the soul and balancing life and living my priorities;
asking for what I want and remembering to laugh and being grateful.

So, I breathed deeply and prioritized rest by:

enjoying conversations with friends and colleagues;

opening my eyes to beauty all around me (like the vibrant colors in the garment and jewels below);

laughing and learning and connecting;

breathing, deeply breathing...

The  result: I am dreaming big and opening my heart wider and thinking of the pathway of purpose that has brought me to today.  

In sharing my reframing project with friends at the conference, I found that many of them are also reframing aspects of their lives.  In my next post, I will share how my dreams are reframed.

What areas in your life are you reframing?

Donna

Deeply Breathing: Reframing Rest

By week's end, I longed for a quiet place where I could breathe deeply and quiet my body and  soul.  Hectic and hurried described this week.

As I browsed shelves at the local library, I saw one of the tools  I will use in this summer's reframing project

The title alone, breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life, caught my attention.

In the book, Keri Wyatt Kent, focuses on slowing, simplicity, and sabbath-keeping.   As I read, I look forward to the journey toward a reframed view of rest.