Guarding Our Sabbath Rest

Today, I'm talking about rest! I've come to the conclusion that not adequately resting is as much of a national epidemic as obesity. And when I say "rest," I don't mean physical rest but mental rest. I get up and work until it's time to go to bed late at night, only stopping to veg on my phone or watch a youtube video (which is not actually resting, it's escaping). The weekends are practically the same since I work from home. Can you relate?

One of my favorite bloggers, Jess Connolly, posted something about this on Instagram a while ago. She said that she caught herself wishing there was a day during the week when we could all just rest, then remembered that, THERE IS! She felt convicted and I feel convicted, of forgetting to use God's perfect provision of Sunday. The Sabbath is not supposed to be just another hectic morning or a spare day to catch up on work before Monday. It's our job to work hard during the week, then rest just as hard...

While Sabbath rest is important, I am not of the opinion that we shouldn't attend church in order to preserve it. I believe that corporate worship with other Christians is a wonderful way to focus on where our rest comes from and is a reflection of our eternal rest. The fact that people have to do a little work to organize things is just the way it is. But, that doesn't mean we can't take measures to guard our rest. Unless we're intentional, it probably won't happen. Dare I say, we have to schedule it? God did.

For myself, making sure the morning is not hectic and stressful means getting in bed early on Saturday night so I feel rested the next day. It means preparing sufficiently so that minimal work is needed for clothing and meals on Sunday. It also means saying "no" to things I normally do on the weekdays. When I get home from service, my natural tendency is to check email and work on projects for my business. Sometimes I nap and watch movies with my family, but then I work some more.

I'm challenging myself to do the things on Sunday that I never get time to do during the week: take a nap, read fiction, write fiction, write handwritten letters, play games, call my grandmother, just be with my family and give myself permission to not think about any of the stuff on my plate. Maybe even (heaven forbid), turn off my phone. Basically, throw myself into the act of enjoying and being thankful for rest because it is His gift, because He has commanded it, and because I really need it.

What does your Sunday look like? Have you got this "guarding your rest" thing down?