Rest...

Denise George visited Mid-Morning today and gave us permission to rest.

Praise. The. Lord.

Do you ever feel guilty for resting? Feel guilty for saying no when people ask you to do things? Feel guilty for sitting when there are 210,000 things that demand your attention?

Denise said to knock that off. (Actually she was MUCH more eloquent than that, but that's the Bekah paraphrase. Even Jesus needed rest, she said. God ordained it.

And can I just tell you...I am so thankful for rest.

When I was growing up, my parents were very fastidious about keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest. They never made a deal out of it. In fact, the first time I really knew it was a purposeful things was when I was in the third grade and forgot to do some homework on Saturday. When I asked Mom for help on Sunday, she did help...and then gently told me that I wouldn't be allowed to do homework on Sunday in the future, because it was a day of rest.

Like any kid, I found the whole process of life coming to a screeching halt on Saturday to be quite an inconvenient. But as an adult, I'm so grateful for that precedent. I love Sundays so much now, because it's one day a week when I'm guaranteed to sit and...dare I say it??....rest.

I can take naps without guilt...take walks...scrapbook...read...write...cook...journal...whatever seems most restful to me!

But Sundays are just one day.

What if I dared to be more restful throughout the week? To say no to something in favor of extra time with the Lord or extra sleep?

It's a thought to ponder.

Meanwhile, I'm thankful for parents who set a rest precedent!