The first time I knew what ‘pause’ really meant was a few years ago when my friend, Shelly Miller, wrote about resting. My life was really hectic and I felt like I couldn’t breath. I was tired.
Something had to give.
Continue reading Day 17 – Pause
Tag Archives: rest
Less Haste Leads to More Abundance
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. Proverbs 21:5
Last Friday was the last day of our holiday and my heart felt a little heavy. The pace we had been living over the last month has been a slow one and it’s been satisfying to the soul to not be rushing around. The thought of going back to the hectic lifestyle we led sent my heart fluttering in a panic.
Continue reading Less Haste Leads to More Abundance
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Silence Speaks The Loudest
Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the LORD’s judgment is near. The LORD has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners.
Zephaniah 1:7
We live in a world filled with noise from the moment the alarm wakes us up in the morning with that irritating ring tone, to the kids screaming and shouting at each other about who got dressed first!
We leave the noise behind in the house only to be greeted by the hum of the traffic on the roads of people rushing to work. We switch on the radio to fill the void of emptiness in the car, only to be met with the noise of the world in the news.
When at work we are then bombarded with the noise of busyness around us…phones ringing…typing on keyboards…radios blaring in the background…machines turning away to produce things, as well as the noise. Noise is never ending!
I often pray to God in the midst of my noise to help me, but often I am confronted with noise inside my head and I end up hearing nothing. I think God is silent and He doesn’t want to speak to me.
When times get really hectic and the noise around me, and in me, gets too much I know it’s time to be in silence.
I take myself outside and go somewhere for five minutes to a place I know will be still. It’s only when I am alone with Him in the silence do I then hear Him the loudest.
I don’t need to shout above all the noise to be heard by God. God hears the faintest whisper of my heart. He hears yours too.
Why not take yourself out to be in silence. You might just be amazed at how loud God speaks in that moment.
I don’t need to shout above all the noise to be heard by God. Share on X God hears the faintest whisper of my heart. He hears yours too. Share on XYou can find me on Instagram logging my time spent with God using the hashtag #5minutesabbath
I wrote this post as a response to the Five Minute Friday word prompt “silence“. Click here to see what other people wrote when they were prompted with this word.
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Finding a rhythm in my rest
For the last couple of months I have mentioned a great book a few times called “Rhythms of Rest” and how it is helping me to see how good rest is. I mean, resting is just as good as taking a pill! It’s the best medication that we can have.
Mind you, it’s fine me saying this now, but just a couple of weeks ago I must admit, I struggled. Why? Because I was in pain.
“But that is when you should rest, isn’t it?” I hear you say!
Yes, it is!
And did I?
Erm…No!
When life is going well, advice is always easier to take on board. Situations seem to sail along quite calmly. However, when the tide changes and the seas get a bit rougher, that’s when it’s hard to see the clear skies ahead.
A number of weeks ago, I had a great week making time each morning to read devotions and pray. During that week, I was really productive in getting as much done to prepare for the weekend…trying to get all the washing done (including folding it up and putting it away!) running all the errands that needed running, getting food in, cleaning the house…this was all in between working a full time job and having kids. I think you get the picture.
What was so important at the weekend that I was breaking my back getting all this stuff done? I was preparing to have a full day of rest on the Saturday.
Yes, you did read that correctly…A FULL DAY!!
Shock! Horror!!
To think a busy, working mum with 3 kids could actually do that. But I did…and it worked.
Kind of.
Don’t get me wrong, the day was fantastic. It’s what happened the following days later.
My mind was fully refreshed and charged up after a day of rest, but my body was nudging me quietly and telling me something completely different.
Was I listening? Was I paying attention to the little signs?
Of course I wasn’t. I’m a stubborn northerner and I think I know best. Anyway, things needed to be done so there was no way that I could stop.
What happened though, was that I had done so much back-breaking rushing around during the week to prepare for one day, that I didn’t notice how tired I was really getting. I mean, tired to the point that I was struggling to stay awake.
After my day of rest, I went straight into rushing around again preparing for the next day of rest, which was to be a week later. In all the rushing around and not listening to my body, guess what?
Crack! I did my back in. Doing what? Unloading the dishwasher. Of all things! Seriously!! Pain shot through my body. How ironic that all the back-breaking work I put into having a Sabbath day actually made my back crack!
I really struggled the week that followed. To the point that I was walking like some old woman with a zimmer frame. I couldn’t lift anything. Every time I sat down it hurt. Every time I stood up it hurt. Every time I tried to walk it hurt. Even sleeping in bed hurt. Suffice to say, I think it hurt!
In Shelly Miller’s book “Rhythms Of Rest”, she writes about how we need to take baby steps towards achieving our Sabbath and how not to feel guilty in doing so. She makes a whole heap of sense in her book, but unfortunately, like the true Northerner I am, I still really wasn’t taking it in. I have learnt the hard, and painful, way of trying to rest with a rhythm .
Do you know what my problem was? Why my back went out? I hadn’t actually made rest as a rhythm. The title of Shelly’s book really hit me at that point. Sabbath is not just about one day, or a specific day. Sabbath is spending time with God – whenever, wherever, and however. It doesn’t matter if I spend 10 minutes sitting on a bench thinking, or if I spend 10 minutes having a little snooze.
Seriously? Sleep? Yes! Why not? Oh how that was such a revelation to me.
When we make a special meal for someone, sometimes it’s not the first time we have tried to make it. It might be 3 or 4 times before we perfect the dish, using different ingredients each time. It’s kind of like that with Sabbath. We are creating a special time with someone and it takes time to get the right ingredients, and plenty of trial runs!
I loved that day I had, spending time in His presence with my family. I wanted that day again so much. It’s just not going to happen though. Not at the moment in the season that I am in anyway. Having a young family, a job that has a lot of pressure and is very physical, outside commitments, my health, home stuff and being a wife, I struggle a whole heap.
I am slowly learning that not everything can be done at once. I am also finding, just like my life, that I need to adapt more. I need to be more flexible with my time and not to restrict myself too much.
Shelly covers all these issues, and a whole lot more in her book. She shares encouraging stories and practical advice in a way that really helps to restore your soul. If you are finding, like me, that you are struggling a little and you need a bit of guidance, then may I suggest that you get her book. It’s available right now through Amazon.
She has been doing a book tour in the US over the last couple of weeks spreading the message of her much needed book. She is coming back this week and will be launching her book in the U.K. very shortly.
She will be starting on Saturday 12th November with a book launch at the church I attend at St Barnabas in Kensington. If you are free, why don’t you come and join me and hear what she has to say in person. Believe me, in this busy world that we live in, her message is what we all need to hear.
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Rhythms Of Rest
A few weeks ago, one Sunday, our family was absolutely wiped out. Why? Because we did too much! It was a hard week that week with the kids going back to school and my husband going back to work. I was getting into a new rhythm too of getting up early, getting things prepared and doing the school run. Over the summer, I had no worries about having to get up before the kids because there was no rush to get anywhere. Well, apart from going to work that is. But I had an extra hour in bed. ONE WHOLE HOUR! That’s like a lifetime to any mother I think.
My body is taking a little longer to adjust to the early morning routine now though. I am taking the kids into school earlier so that I can get into work earlier. The idea is that I can leave work earlier too, so that I can get time at the end of the day getting the little bits done that’s needed for home. Trying is a bit of an understatement though. It’s more like I am running a race, and I have an elastic band around me that is constantly pulling me back from reaching the finish line.
We also had an event that we needed to go to on the Saturday with the brass band that we play in. This meant that we were going to be out of the house at midday and not return for another 13 and a half hours later! We did about 6-7 hours worth of travelling altogether. So yeah, when we woke up Sunday morning at 6:30am we just wanted to hit that snooze button just a few more times! How we managed to leave the house at 8:15am to get ourselves to church I don’t know. I think that God must have been driving.
You are probably wondering why I am arduously undertaking fitting in so much during the week when I can spread it out at the weekend. (I think a part of me is wondering that too if I’m honest). I aim to change though the way that I do things for one reason – SABBATH! I want to enjoy some time at the weekend where I can rest with my family, and with God. I want to be able to do the things that I love doing. I don’t want to be rushing around trying to get things done that really no body cares about. I mean, seriously, what will my kids enjoy more…me playing with them, or me making sure that their clothes are clean? I know which one I would rather do.
Starting a new rhythm though is not easy, but with the help of Shelly Miller’s new book “Rhythms Of Rest“, it has given me a little more grace to make it easier. Her book is being launched on October 4th and is available for pre-order NOW!
Photograph taken by Kris Camealy.
