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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Break (02/06/06)
It’s time for me to take a break. Those who know me would say it’s time for me to take a break from taking a break, but I see it all just a little differently. And I need a break. I don’t need to slow down, I don’t need more sleep, I just need to step away from everything, and look down on my life from a mountain vista; a bird’s-eye view; a God’s eye view.

Rest is a very biblical concept; more than a good idea, it’s a commandment; it’s what the Creator Himself did. I do my share of Sabbath-ing, but I’m convinced that simply refraining from work, in the traditional, more Jewish sense of Sabbath, is not all there is to Godly Rest.

“Why are you just staring at the ceiling my seminarian wife asks me occasionally, like when she is in the midst of a long study session which, for me ended hours ago. Contemplation is the hallmark of a great Christian life, and so I consider it my Rest when I appear to be imitating some great marble statue. And I want more.

I need more. I am the antithesis of the hardworking, always moving, busy, urban 20 something just starting out in a career, but my rest lacks structure. My time hangs in a delicate balance between checking my ever-empty email inbox and finding new web-based computer games to beat. I am terrible at replying to the rare email I do get, and I am even worse at playing games online. I need a break from the monotony of a life that lacks self-motivation; I need structure and contemplation in my down time.

I have arrived at a point in my life where actively engaging in true rest would be more work for me then the usual day off rigmarole of sleeping late, large meals, NPR and cleaning house. But without rest, without that time for me to look at my life through a clear contemplative lens, the work that I spend the rest of my time on each week is just running in vain.

It’s time to take a break from the messy iniquity of life and experience the abundance of rest in Jesus Christ.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Connie Husby
02/15/06
Interesting reading and kind of hard to follow. Down time should be cherished, as God provides direction the more we become obedient to HIS word. Read the word daily and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you so you know without a shadow of a doubt, exactly what it is you should be doing with your down time. Search your heart and listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit. Don't be so hard on yourself. Keep writing and perhaps start journaling your thoughts, this could help with writing your ideas and passions. May God bless you, each day of your life.