50 Weeks and Some "Biblical" Rest

Today my family and I head off for 12 days of vacation in Canada. As we packed and got ready to go, I acknowledge that I'm ready to go. It has been a great, but busy year of ministry and after 50 Sunday's straight, Susan and I are ready for some rest.

One of my concerns over the years revolves around a quote made by Gordon MacDonald where he states "What is strange about our general fatigue as a people is the fact that we are also such a leisure oriented society." This is definitely worth thinking about. We spend billions as a society pursuing recreation/leisure with a passion. In fact, we often wear ourselves out in pursuit of it. So here is what I'm determined to do over the next 12 days.

First, I'm going to pursue some recreation with the right perspective. Over the next 12 days I'm hoping to play some golf with friends, ride the Maid of the Mist with my kids, visit Fort George (a fort from the War of 1812), take in a Scottish Pipe Band Parade in Kincardine, canoe on Beech Lake and visit the Parliament buildings and war museum in Ottawa. As you can see, I'm not opposed to recreation, but it must be done with the right perspective.

Secondly, I'm going to pursue some "Biblical Rest". Here is how I've come to define Biblical rest (also taken from Gordon MacDonald's book entitled "Ordering Your Private World"

I'm going to close the loop! As God rested on the seventh day of creation, he took time to reflect upon what He had just done. I need to take time to reflect upon where I've been the past year. I need to evaluate what went well and what didn't go so well in my journey with and for God.

I'm going to recalibrate my heart! Just as a car needs a tune up after some diagnostic tests, so to does my heart. I need to get into the Bible and allow God to speak clearly to me through His Word and recalibrate that which needs tuned up after a busy year. To ignore the warning lights of a car can be disastrous and so too can failure to recalibrate/tune up the heart. But this requires intentional times of solitude/quiet and time apart from the daily activities of life.

I'm going to define my mission! Times of rest only last for so long and before I know it I'll be back at here within the Grace ministry. In order for me to effectively be all that God would have me be, I need to be clear yet again what it is He is calling me to. It's amazing how blurry our mission for God can get in the busy routines of life. I find myself sometimes forgetting it's all about Him and His kingdom. Biblical rest allows me the time to have God define for me yet again His mission/purpose for my life.

I'm looking forward to some great times of recreation and rest over the next 12 days and look forward to sharing some of the highlights as we go!