Sunday in church, the sermon that our pastor gave was about the body of the church. The passage was taken from 1 Cor 12. Each part of your body plays a very vital role in how your function. You cannot smile without your lips or the muscles attached to them. You cannot breath without your brain or your lungs working together. Every part of your body has a different function and they work together to make things happen. You can take this message a couple different ways. One, you have a role in the body of Christ. If you are not fulfilling that role it is time to step up and use the gifts that God has given you. Two, God designed you with a purpose in mind. He did not make you to be every part of the body. So if you are trying to play every part, maybe it is time to step aside and let someone else who was made for that part fill the role.
I know for myself that in the past I have tried to do everything. I had a ministry that I was a part of every night. While I absolutely loved it, I also realized that I was stretching myself too thin and I was not giving God the most important thing. Just myself. I was so wrapped up in ministry, I did not have time alone with God. However, I have been on the other end too. I have taken some time off from ministry and realized that God has given me gifts to share. Finding a balance is not always easy.
SPoH: Day 14 - Learning to rest. In our fast paced society, it is easy for us to forget that our bodies need rest. One of the ten commandments that were given to us is to work 6 days and rest on the 7th. Traditionally, the churches I grew up attending have encouraged Sunday as the day of rest. Some other churches encourage Saturday. I know some people who believe that you can make any day your Sabbath as long as it is one day a week. It's possible that there is more than one reason why God commanded this. One of them being that our physical bodies need rest.
There have also been studies to show that people who take even a 20 min nap in the mid afternoon have more stamina for the rest of their evening and are able to function better. What you must keep in mind when taking naps is that you do not want to sleep too long because you do not want your body to enter into a deep sleep at that time. You may find yourself later unable to fall asleep when you need to be going to bed.
One of the things I used to do when I was working in an office was take half my one hour lunch and take a nap. Maybe this is not possible where you work. However, if you can, I highly recommend it. You may even find yourself being more productive at work in the afternoon. They say that you begin to lose your energy about 8 hours after you wake up. If it is not possible then, take a nap when you get home just a few minutes to rest your body. If napping is not ideal for you, spend time in prayer and meditate on God's word or take a bath.
Rest on the Sabbath is important, but so is finding time to rest throughout the week. I hope you have found this blog to be encouraging and restful. :) For more on napping check out: http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/powernap.htm
PS Sorry for the delay in my posts. I have had a busy last couple of days. I'll try to catch up.
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