December 19

I'm not quite sure how it is already December 19. I really can't believe it's only 6 days until Christmas. Even though I have 99.9% of my shopping done--and wrapped, I'm not quite ready for Christmas to come yet. I have lots of cleaning to do and some errands to run and some last minute baking to do before my family arrives in the next few days.

Our schedule, like yours, I'm sure, has been horrendous. Joel's new glasses have been ready at the eye doctor for over a week and we haven't been able to make it over there to pick them up. The postman left a slip saying we had a package to pick up at the post office. Haven't made it over there yet, either! We've been running from one event to the next and even skipping a few just to get everything taken care of.

When did December turn into "Do way more than every other month of the year and try to enjoy the holiday season with a joyful, rested heart?" I missed that memo.

Simply put, it's not the way God designed life to be. God specifically designed a pause in our life that we all too often ignore. Even though it's not necessarily a personality "trait", I do think that it's a part of God's desire for us--to pause and take a day to rest.

He made the importance of pausing pretty clear at the beginning of the Bible when he created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th. And, if we were in doubt about the importance of that rest day, he included it in the 10 Commandments. Can't get much clearer than that. He didn't say a few hours of rest, he says an entire day. When was the last time I did that?

Don't worry, I am very guilty of working--a lot--on Sundays. It's my catch-up day for everything I didn't get done on Friday or Saturday. It's my day to get ready for the next week. Often I still find myself going to the grocery store on Sunday afternoons, even though I don't work on Fridays. How did that happen?

I don't really think God meant for us to just sit around and do nothing, although sometimes that is great. I think that God really intended us to do something different from our normal busy week. Take some time to rest--watch TV, play games with your family, do something quiet like sew or scrapbook or read a good book. Have a quiet time, read the bible, pray. Stop running around with your head cut off. And for me, it means I really should set aside my "To Do List" and enjoy some down time. Reflect on all that God has done for me in the past week. This may occur on Sunday, or it might be a Saturday for your family. I'm not sure it really matters, as long as you're doing it.

This year, Sunday is the day before Christmas Eve. You've got one last chance to take some time off before Christmas comes.

How will you be intentional this weekend to take time to pause before Christmas? What will you do (or not do) to help prepare yourself for celebrating Jesus' birthday?

Are you willing to set a "New Year's Resolution" for you and your family to take time to pause in 2008?

What does "pausing" look like for you and your family?

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:9-11 (The first 13 verses of chapter 4 are all very good about A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God)