Listen and Watch, Hear and See
I think it's time for a vacation.
Or a short sabbatical.
Or some down time.
Or just no agenda for a bit.
Someone asked me the other day, "When do you rest?"
She had seen my schedule of the last couple of months which included, work at church, college classes, jackhammers in my house digging up a plumbing problem, the senior high mission trip to Louisiana, a house still in disarray for tile installation, training for a triathlon, the junior mission trip, and youth week activities.
Generally when I hit a wall, I grab some coffee and hop over it. Sometimes I take a quick nap and head off in another direction. I recently started keeping up with an online calendar that I try to put everything on, including time to sleep. I usually only get about five hours on a good night, so I wanted to make sure I didn't forget. The calendar sends reminders to my phone and I've got other alarms set on it as well. So it rings quite a bit. I've got about thirty various To Do lists because I write down whatever seems to be a good thought or idea. I've got an electronic task list that pops up whenever I look at my email or calendar. There are just two items there:
- Be Better.
- Do More.
This does not mean that I never rest. The beauty of what I do is that although it is time intensive, it is very flexible. I do manage to occasionally turn off everything; the phone, the alarms, the computer, the TV, even the lights sometimes and just completely relax. I try to do this at least once or twice a day, several times on a good day. Often this is the first step of some prayer time. It is like hitting a reset button. Prayer and a nap make me very happy.
I am not sure how long it has been since I've had a real vacation, but I am feeling the need for one. Not an activity-filled, non-stop agenda of how much I can squeeze into a trip. But some very real time off from everything. A chance to unplug completely. A chance to really relax. A chance to sleep until I can't. A chance to think slowly and deeply. A chance to watch trees and water.
When my faith became real, I was struck with a sense of purpose. God has a plan for each of us and I got right to work on mine. A big part of making sure we are heading the right direction is making sure that we take time to listen to God and watch for directions. I have learned the hard way that this not possible if we are constantly in motion.
So I'm about to take some time to listen and watch.
I'm excited to consider what I will hear and see.
Be Blessed!
Michael
Or a short sabbatical.
Or some down time.
Or just no agenda for a bit.
Someone asked me the other day, "When do you rest?"
She had seen my schedule of the last couple of months which included, work at church, college classes, jackhammers in my house digging up a plumbing problem, the senior high mission trip to Louisiana, a house still in disarray for tile installation, training for a triathlon, the junior mission trip, and youth week activities.
Generally when I hit a wall, I grab some coffee and hop over it. Sometimes I take a quick nap and head off in another direction. I recently started keeping up with an online calendar that I try to put everything on, including time to sleep. I usually only get about five hours on a good night, so I wanted to make sure I didn't forget. The calendar sends reminders to my phone and I've got other alarms set on it as well. So it rings quite a bit. I've got about thirty various To Do lists because I write down whatever seems to be a good thought or idea. I've got an electronic task list that pops up whenever I look at my email or calendar. There are just two items there:
- Be Better.
- Do More.
This does not mean that I never rest. The beauty of what I do is that although it is time intensive, it is very flexible. I do manage to occasionally turn off everything; the phone, the alarms, the computer, the TV, even the lights sometimes and just completely relax. I try to do this at least once or twice a day, several times on a good day. Often this is the first step of some prayer time. It is like hitting a reset button. Prayer and a nap make me very happy.
I am not sure how long it has been since I've had a real vacation, but I am feeling the need for one. Not an activity-filled, non-stop agenda of how much I can squeeze into a trip. But some very real time off from everything. A chance to unplug completely. A chance to really relax. A chance to sleep until I can't. A chance to think slowly and deeply. A chance to watch trees and water.
When my faith became real, I was struck with a sense of purpose. God has a plan for each of us and I got right to work on mine. A big part of making sure we are heading the right direction is making sure that we take time to listen to God and watch for directions. I have learned the hard way that this not possible if we are constantly in motion.
So I'm about to take some time to listen and watch.
I'm excited to consider what I will hear and see.
Be Blessed!
Michael
posted by McHonza at 10:24 AM
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