Ok, I'm reading the Gospels this year.
I long to have a better understanding of Jesus and the things that are close to His heart. It's been so refreshing to read and re-read the stories of His amazing life. I've been intrigued by the fact that most of what He did (that which upset the religious leaders) was to perform signs and heal on the Sabbath!
So, I've taken to finding books on the topic of Sabbath. Some for historical insight and others for personal discipline. I've really been enjoying The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan.
Here are some quotes, some food for thought ...
"Sabbath-keeping is more than time management. It is a fresh orientation to time, where we think with holy imagination about how the arc of our moments and hours and days intersects with eternity."
"For only those who number their days aright gain wise hearts. Only they become God's sages: those calm, unhurried people who live in each moment fully, savoring simple things, celebrating small epiphanies, unafraid of life's inevitable surprises and reverses, adaptive to change yet not chasing after it."
"God is Lord of our days and years, and HIS purposes and HIS presence often come disguised as detours, messes, defeats."
"One measure for whether or not you're rested enough is to ask yourself this: How much do I care about the things I care about? When we lose concern for people, both the lost and the found, for the bride of Christ, for friendship, for truth and beauty and goodness; when we cease to laugh when our children laugh (and instead yell at them to quiet down) or weep when our spouses weep (and instead wish they didn't get so emotional); when we hear news of trouble among our neighbors and our first thought is that we hope it isn't going to involve us - when we stop caring about the things we care about - that's a signal we're too busy. We have let ourselves be consumed by the things that feed the ego but starve the soul.
Busyness kills the heart!
Busyness makes us stop caring about the things we care about."
"My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered the interruptions were my work." (Henri Nouwen)
3 comments:
I know there are deep thoughts there, and it was a serious, profoundly motivated post, but when I read the title I thought "we had the first part of God, and now here's the rest of Him. There was a little bit in the beginning, and now we get the rest. " Silly me.
I do love that last quote, though. I've tried hard to make that my motto in life...not to be disturbed by the interruptions to my work, because the interruptions are my work. Thanks for the reminder!
I resonate with Henri Nouwen - especially when it comes to task vs. relationship. I often feel the people are interrupting the comletion of my task. I'm sure that makes the people feel really good - NOT!
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