Sunday Rest... Quiet Rest

"There is a place of quiet rest...
near to the heart of God..."

The words of the song remind us that quiet rest is found in becoming near to God... and that is done with personal time spent with Him. Nancy Leigh DeMoss has written a good book to help us understand more about this, and to address some of our excuses or hurdles faced when attempting to carve out a little "me & God" time in our busy lives. If you're looking for more motivation, I highly recommend this book!

THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION:
The God of the universe created us for fellowship with Himself. We realize this and long for that personal intimacy with God, but it often seems out of reach. Nancy Leigh DeMoss sheds light on the process of coming to know God intimately. In, "A Place of Quiet Rest" Nancy shares from her heart and life how a daily devotional time can strengthen your relationship with Christ. She addresses the common frustrations and pitfalls that most of us encounter in our devotional life, and makes practical suggestions for overcoming them.

Experience that place of quiet rest... everyday!

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Sunday... Resting and Reading...

Sundays at our house are for resting. We pare down our schedules, and cut out the work load and to-do lists. Not even our son with special needs requires a reminder. It's just what we do.

Attending church, napping, reading and quiet times together... these make up our Sundays.

Even in a restful day it is important to focus on one thing at a time. And today's one important thing is God's word to us, the Bible.

"Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk. "

Psalm 119:105 (CEV)

Restfulness is not laziness...

Sometimes in today's world, we walk a fine line... or think we may. We say we know of the value of a day of rest, but we fear that we are teetering towards laziness if we take more than a few hours "off". Most parents find there is no time to spare or waste, and we as parents of children and adults with special needs find it particularly true. Our experience is that the world has been rewarding hard work and focus while penalizing laziness (or sloth) for a very long time. We may fear that our restfulness is to be treated as slothfulness, and find ourselves juggling responsible work with the need of rest.

I ran across this from Dr. James D. Hegedus, and find it helps put things into perspective...

"Sloth is not restfulness…There is a difference between laziness and restfulness. In the world in which we live restfulness or what the Bible calls “sabbath” is a very healthy necessity. Sloth is not lingering long over lunch with a friend, or strolling aimlessly through the woods with the person we love, or spending a day doing nothing because the demands of your job are about to do you in, or moving through a weekend without the fret of hurry, purpose, or chore, or spending an hour watching a sunset or listening to the sounds of nature, or spending whatever time alone in silence to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God."

So let's try to remember...

Sloth is laziness...
restfulness is not.

My prayer today is that you find time to spend in rest and silence... to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God.

"For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased
from his own works,
as God [did] from his."

Hbr 4:10

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Sunday Rest...

There is a place of quiet rest... near to the heart of God.

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

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Thankful Thursday

I'm continuing to enumerate the things for which I've learned to be thankful. Not necessarily tangible things. Some of these things are things for which I have only recently realized my thankfulness. And others are things for which I am only just beginning to understand the magnitude of my thankfulness.


This past week, I've been so thankful for...

1) the impact of rest on a weary, aging body
2) the joy of relationships with warm and encouraging friends
3) the friendship and loyalty of a brother who chooses to continue to be helpful - cheerfully
4) my husband's growing love for me, and for each additional day we have together
5) the beauty of the ocean's tides and that visual definition of "unending" - reminding me of God's unending love forever washing over me
6) the opportunity to share a smile with someone else
7) the very LIFE found in the words of the Bible, and for my freedom to own my very own copy

"Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,"
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Proverbs 30:8

Sunday Rest...

My Faith has Found a Resting Place...

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,

He’ll never cast me out.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s Name,
Salvation through His blood.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.


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(It's also on CyberHymnal.)

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"Now we who have believed enter that rest,"

Hebrews 4:3 NIV

Rest... and Relaxation...

Last Friday I had planned to upload photos from various stages of my son David's life. He's had numerous challenges in life - these pictures show him having fun, making faces, working hard, and goofing off - all through the stages of his life. Things didn't go exactly according to plan... but I did get started on the scanning process, and those photos will appear on the blog EVENTUALLY. : )

However, THIS WEEK is time for resting... for Mom and Dad, and also for David. He is attending camp for adults with special needs at a wonderful site in Alabama. You can check on the web for photos of the camp and campers this week on their website... Camp ASCCA. What a great group of campers, counselors and staff!!! Thanks, Camp ASCCA, for the fun the campers will experience, and for the respite for parents and families.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

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Sunday - Rest for Your Souls

There’ve been lots of times in my life when I have been overly tired. When it happens to me, there never seems to be any one thing that led up to the exhaustion and weakness. It just seems that a number of things have happened, or have piled up (things needing to happen!) and suddenly I feel overwhelmed because of “spinning my wheels” for days, achieving nothing.

Some people experience this exhaustion from their physical labor, some from jobs in which they labor with their minds. Others experience a similar exhaustion from dealing with difficult people, and still others from dealing with difficult circumstances. Some families have difficult dynamics, some careers offer unbearably demanding schedules, and some individuals have extreme challenges. No one is immune... we’ve all experienced exhaustion. And probably each of us has thought (at least once) that there was nothing we ­did to bring on the levels of exhaustion we've experienced.

The truth, however, is that there probably is something we did not do which perpetuated the tiredness that led to exhaustion. Did we rest? Did we take time off regularly from the” loads” we carry in life? Did we look for solutions, observing how others have dealt with the same things? Have we asked others questions about how they find restfulness during their rapid-fire stress-filled days? Have we sought the Lord’s way in all of this?

The tiredness we experience physically (as mentioned above) typically pales in comparison to the soul-weariness that is faced by those who haven’t learned to go to the Lord and His Word with all of their plans and their needs. Believers and unbelievers alike can face this soul-weariness. It’s a bottom-of-the-pit experience, where you can feel bound both physically and spiritually… thinking that God is so far from you, thinking that you can’t stop anything you are doing because it is “needed”, thinking that no one knows how to help you or cares to walk alongside you, thinking that you are “in it alone”, and that there is no end to the weariness - no way out.

God’s Word tells us differently. God gives us direction for our lives. And it’s there for us… if we’ll only read and contemplate His Word. Will we follow?

"This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls."

Jeremiah 6:16

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Sunday, and Rest

Rest is underrated. These past few weeks as I recovered from surgery on my toe, I found that rest is not a luxury; it is indeed a necessity which I have all too frequently ignored. I am not talking about mere sleeping (which is actually another necessity for life that I've taken way too lightly and far too often). What I am talking about is sheer REST. Rest is to relax, to take respite, to take a break or to STOP. Do we know how to do this in American culture today? I don't think some of us allow for this thing which the Lord says is necessary!

As a parent of a son with special needs, I often use the excuse that I simply do not have the time for resting. I get caught up in the long list of things "yet to be done". Everyone knows what I am talking about here. We all fall into this trap. The fact of the matter is that REST is more necessary than the items on the to-do list or the daily routine list for our child with special needs. The Bible tells us to rest on the Lord, to lean on Him, and to stop… or take a break. Moreover, it is explained to us that we must rest even during the busiest and most vital work weeks of our lives!

"Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest." Exodus 34:21

Sunday is the day I have chosen for resting. Prior to my recent surgery I haven't actually done much resting routinely… instead I have struggled with the things like my to-do list, and my son's unpredictable needs, and the rush of trying to get everything done on the weekend. While recuperating in my bed for two weeks, I have been impressed to WORK more at RESTING. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? It is not. Resting is actually something you do, as opposed to something that happens to you as you sit doing nothing.

Resting is trusting in the Lord and the Lord's plan for your life. That takes action! Resting is laying aside the things that you DO, and choosing to separate yourself from those things (and those lists of things!) and meditating on (or thinking about) the ways of God. That takes concerted action! Resting is releasing yourself from the driven pace, and relaxing. That takes a change of action. Resting is putting aside YOUR OWN agenda for HIS. That takes self-control… and that's action!

As Sunday arrives this week, think about putting aside your to-do list… think about RESTING, in Him.

"'Sabbath' means rest, and the meaning of the word gives a hint as to the true way to observe the day. God rested after creation, and ordained the Sabbath as a rest for man."
- D.L. MOODY, Weighed and Wanting