People often ask me if I get tired of traveling. The answer is, “Yes, but God is so kind to give energy to serve, and joy at the time of serving.” It’s true. Being away from home a lot isn’t my favorite thing, but God uses it to remind me that this is not my true home. However, in His grace, He gives us time to come back to our home to rest in preparation for what is to come. How kind.
We are currently in that period of time during the month of August. Now that camp is over, we are “home” for the most part. We’re trying to be wise in our use of this month. We are seeking physical rest, time to study/prepare, creative outlets, time together as a couple, and time with family. It’s been a wonderful two weeks! Come take a peek…
How refreshing it is to stand in a stream and hear its bubbling song. There is just something about flowing, moving water that invigorates! It refreshes! If you’ve ever stood at a stream’s edge in the countryside you know what I mean.
Some time ago, I was given a handout entitled, “Twenty Ways to Refresh.” Due to the nature of my blog and my desire to refresh others in their heart, home and life, I gravitate to the word, “Refresh.” Harold Vaughan, the founder of Christ Life Ministries, is the epitome of Encouragement and he is the author of this list I was given. When we refresh others, we are pouring life into them, like that flowing stream does for us! If you’re like me and you have difficulty thinking of ways to encourage others, this list will help you.
Here are the first ten:
Greet people on Sunday mornings (at church) with a smile. It is okay to let your face say that you are happy to be at church. Go out of your way to say, “Hi.” Ask questions about the lives of others, and listen attentively.
Visit the widows and shut-ins of your church. Take an afternoon and visit three or four. Sit, talk, listen and be willing to look at their photo albums – all of them.
Have a mouth that is overflowing with grace and is slow to wander down any other road.
Show up each Sunday morning with a mental list of three or four people that you are going to find and minister to. Many of us walk into church with an attitude of, “I wonder who will minister to me today.” Nothing can be as drastically encouraging to a local church’s membership than a people united in the understanding that they are there to serve and love one another.
Be a Monday morning encourager instead of a Monday morning critic by sending your pastor an email detailing what you appreciated about his Sunday sermon.
Don’t rush out of church on Sunday mornings. Be one of the last to leave because you are taking the time to talk with everyone you can.
Often remind others of the benefits of salvation and the graces that flow from union with Christ. Let it season your conversations.
Routinely have a crock-pot meal or roast cooking on Sundays and spontaneously invite a visiting family or family in need for supper following the service. (See my Successful Sunday Dinner series!)
Seek out those visiting the church, get to know them, and introduce them to others. Find connections, and be a networker to the glory of God.
Aim to remember people’s names and greet them by name each Sunday. This takes work, but it can happen. (I go to my seat and write their names in my journal, with a brief description of the person!)
This really inspired and refreshed me! Which one of these points speaks most to you?
Conversational Respect in Marriage – Our words are clear indicators of our respect (or lack of it) for our mate. You can see how we show that in this post.
Refreshing Little Things – Here are a whole list of little ways to make each day more refreshing!
Creating Periods of Regular Rest – Even if you can’t have a sabbatical or vacation, here are ways to create regular days of rest in real ways you can actually do!
The Thin Ice of Despondency – We can all get to a place of depression and despondency, but here are some ways to push out of it.
Thank you to each of you who regularly read; I am so grateful! It is truly my heart’s desire to refresh your heart each time you stop in. I love hearing your comments, too! You encourage and also give some great ideas! I’m thankful that you would take the time to read my posts.
I would love to hear what you would like to read more of in 2022. Would you be so kind as to fill out this survey? It would help me know how to encourage you in this next year!
In 2022, what would you like to read more of here on RefreshHer?
Share one or more suggestions in the comment section. Thank you so much!
I pray this next year is full of spiritual refreshment as you read God’s Word and draw close to Him. I pray you’ll have daily joys in your home as you love those that enter its doors and serve with the love of Christ. I also pray that you life will be filled with the joy of refreshing others as you are refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
My sweet husband made this breakfast feast for me on the first day of our sabbatical!
You may never have a sabbatical, but at the end of this post I’m going to share how you can create your own times of rest on a weekly basis, so keep reading!
As of yesterday, July 1, my husband and I completed our month-long Sabbatical. Wow. Our hearts are so full of all the things the Lord has done during those precious 30 days! You can be sure that I kept a journal each day to recount what was happening, what we were doing, and how the Lord was speaking to my heart.
I thought perhaps you would be interested to see how we spent some of our days. I mean, what do you do with 30 days of no ministry when it normally fills every day of the year?
We got outside. We got to choose the month for our sabbatical, and we chose June for a couple of reasons – one being that we love summertime and being outdoors. We took opportunities for drives to beautiful spots where we saw the hand of God. Here it is beautifully displayed in this double rainbow at Watauga Lake!
We enjoyed celebrations. The first day of June was Tennessee’s birthday. Jonesborough is the oldest city in the state, so the governor here came to speak briefly to the large crowd that gathered. The Oak Ridge Boys were there to sing the anthem and a couple of their oldies. It was the perfect beginning event! They were really popular in 1981, the year we were married, so their songs were pretty nostalgic. Anyone remember Elvira?!
So patriotic and fun to enjoy Tennessee’s birthday at an outdoor event!
We rested and read. We spent about five wonderful and quiet days at a lake cottage friends of ours graciously loaned to us. There’s no Internet; that in itself makes it a vacation! The beauty surrounding the cottage is always breathtaking and so relaxing!
One thing I prayed about were the books I should read. The Lord clearly led me to each one – even the fictional book about a pastor who takes an interim pastorate at an island church. There were so many parallels in our lives. But just having time to read was so wonderful!
We invested in our marriage. My husband chose a month-long devotional for couples that he found on-line and we read it together each day. It was on the love languages. You would think that at 40 years, we would each know the other’s love language, but this was a real learning time for both of us! Just having time to talk as a couple with no distractions, to read this devotional and pray together was another huge blessing.
We visited churches. Each Sunday we visited a new church in the area where we were. That was a blessing and also a time of learning. When you’re always in your own church, you don’t see your blind spots. As we visited other churches, it made us aware of things that might need change or adjusting in our own church. The preaching and worship (in most cases) were a true joy.
Now, how can YOU create your own regular period of rest in order to refresh yourself and be ready for the work ahead? Remember that we rest so we can work. It’s easy to think “I’ve worked hard; I deserve a rest!” But God’s directives to His people were that they would rest on the Sabbath so they could work the rest of the week. I began taking a “Sabbath rest” early last spring. Here’s my formula for refreshing myself each week:
Choose one day a week for your Sabbath. For ministry families, Sunday is generally the busiest day of the week, so my day is Friday. It doesn’t have to be Sunday. Choose the day when you can really rest.
Determine to spend quality time in God’s Word and prayer.
Keep your busyness and chatter to a minimum.
Decide what kind of things will fill your time. This doesn’t mean filling your day with busy things, but if you normally are doing work with your hands, then choose things that would work you mind. Read, work a puzzle, memorize a passage of Scripture. If you are normally working with your mind, do work with your hands. Work in the yard, organize or clean, work on a project.
Rest. Allow yourself time to sleep in and/or take a nap.
Get outside. Take a walk, ride bikes, go swimming. Sit outside and read.
Spend time with those that will aid your rest.This isn’t the day for planning events or giving counsel. Spend time with others who will refresh you and you them.
Plan ahead so your meals will be “easy” meals. Either prep a meal ahead and have it ready for the oven, or go out or pick up carry-out.
Does this Sabbath rest appeal to you? Does it seem do-able? I’d encourage you to pray about it and ask the Lord to help you come up with the best plan for you and then implement it as soon as possible!
I doubt I’ll ever forget the frightening experience of the accident. While we were dating, my husband and I both lived a couple hours from the ocean and we drove to the beach for the day in a borrowed vehicle. It was a sport Jeep – the convertible kind, perfect for the outing we were taking! However, all our fun turned sour when, in the middle of the day, my fiance’ ran into the car that stopped in front of us.
Crash!
A dented fender was the only damage, but there was damage to a vehicle that didn’t belong to us! You know that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when something like that happens? It led us to head home where my boyfriend worked hard at fixing the car the best he could before he had to return it and “fess up.”
That situation would have been sad if it was our own car, but because it belonged to someone else, we felt twice as bad about it being damaged. When you’re caring for someone else’s property, I think there’s a greater feeling of responsibility.
That’s how I feel about caring for my body. It doesn’t belong to me! I just read in my Bible reading this week ~
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you and which ye have from God, and that ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. I Corinthians 6:19, 20
When I read those verses, I was reminded about the responsibility that I have to care for this body that doesn’t belong to me. I feel a responsibility to the Lord to care for it in the best way I can (without going overboard!). I want this body to take me through all the years the Lord will give me with strength and health. I can’t control everything, but there are some things that are in my charge. So, I…
Eat a healthy diet
Maintain my weight so I can function without huffing and puffing
Get regular exercise
Get eight hours of sleep each night
Take a weekly rest from responsibilities
During the month of June my husband will be officially on Sabbatical (period of rest) from all his responsibilities at our church. I’m not on staff at our church, but I do many ministry tasks each week and am praying that I will be able to also rest with him. We will be close to home during this time. We love our home and find it the best place to rest, but we will take a few excursions not too far away. I will be blogging during this time, but I may be reposting some things from years past. I have serious doubts that most will even remember seeing these things before, so please stick around and check in Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I may even share a few pictures from our times of rest!
What are YOU doing to care for the body God has entrusted to you? Remember, you’re given the responsibility to care for it so it will enable you to serve the Lord well.
Which of the bullets I mentioned do you need to put into play in your life?
RefreshHer 