A Pattern of Rest
I’m coming off of two weeks of MASSIVE conferences which means I needed to rest. I’m finally at the stage in my entrepreneur journey and life journey that I’m wiling to rest. It sounds strange to speak those words because I’m a high capacity doer that loves to work and create. I thought rest was for the weak but I’ve been proven wrong and wanted to share my journey.
About two years ago, I attended a conference and one of the sessions I participated in was about exploring a leader’s heart. It was incredible and I learned ten biblical principles for leading well and finishing well. All of the ten are important but one stood out because it WAS NOT something I was actively doing nor did I even know it was a thing.
As the speaker shared about the importance of implementing a pattern of rest I was convicted. Rest wasn’t a word I used. I come from a long line of doers, action takers, workers. I can keep up with the best of them and actually found some pride in my ability to do so. Time to give this a hard look. If Jesus regularly retreated from people to rest and find quiet time with God (Mark 6:31), I need to too. God called out the seventh day as a day of rest (Genesis 2 2-3; Mark 2:27). I had some adjusting to do.
My first few attempts to take an entire day of rest and no work were HARD. I had never done that before and found myself STRUGGLING to stick with it. The more I worked at it the easier it became. Two years in and I can say I look forward to my day of rest.
I’ve been asked a few times … so what do you do? For me rest and relaxation are all about creating. I might paint, write, use glitter. Anything that allows me to think and create is good. Lots of quiet time and music are pure heaven. For you it might be very different. You might want to sleep or read or take a walk. What feeds your soul? Whatever it is, that is what you should do. If you need a little more guidance, check out the image at the end of this article for some ideas.
Whatever YOU choose to do with your sabbath is between you and God. You know down deep in your heart what work is and what work isn’t for you. Let God speak to you and show you how to spend a day of rest. I have no doubt he will make it clear if you quiet yourself long enough to listen.
How to pick a day?
Don’t get hung up on making Sunday work for you if that day doesn’t make sense. In the beginning I tried to make Sunday my sabbath and it didn’t work well. So I found a day that did. For me that day is typically Thursday but how about for you? What day of the week is the least busy for you? How about the day that you are least needed? Consider days in your business that aren’t heavy shipping days or training days. I even have heard of some people starting their sabbath in the afternoon and implementing until the next afternoon so they don’t miss one full day in the office. There are so many ways to make a sabbath work for YOU and your schedule. The key is to do it!
I promise you will reap way more benefits than you think. It might take some getting used to but we were made to rest and refresh.
I heard a leader say that if you have to hold on to your business or your leaders you don’t have the right business or leaders. He said you should have to touch your leaders and your business but you shouldn’t have to hold either. This statement fits so perfectly into the idea of taking a weekly sabbath. If you feel like your world will come crumbling down around you it’s possibly you’re micro-managing too much or aren’t surrounded by the right people. I encourage you to take a SABBATH CHALLENGE. One day a week for an entire month, take a day or rest. At the end of the month, evaluate. I’m betting you will LOVE it and realize you’ve been cheating yourself out of something you were designed to do!
I will leave you with this one last thought. Rest is a weapon given to us by God. The enemy hates rest because he would prefer each of us to be stressed and occupied. Don’t buy his lies. Be still and listen to what God wants to share with you. We weren’t created to be stressed and occupied. Happy Sabbathing xo, Jenny
P.S.
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P.S.S.
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