I’m giving you permission to rest. Yes, you can rest.
There are so many people giving us permission to hustle and work really, really hard. I love my work and I love working, but I also feel like we need to be resting. It’s not something a lot of people talk about, it’s not something we get permission to do very often.
So, if you need permission, here it is.
Mark 4:35-40 “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
There are many stories in the Bible about Jesus going and resting. He would preach to thousands of people then go away and rest. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, during a very turbulent time in Jesus’ life, he went away and prayed to God.
Resting can be going and talking with others and fellowshipping with them or prayer and worship time.
We can take steps back from business and rest. Jesus’ life is a great representation of how we can take breaks.
It’s super ironic that I’m recording this episode today because I took a nap today. It was one of those days that I took a step back and checked in with my body and asked myself how am I really feeling. And I laid down and took a nap. Maybe that’s not an option for you but it’s one of the ways we can rest.
From a biblical sense, rest is going to be taking time to read the scriptures, pray, meet with others, and worship. That’s Sabbath. That’s what we’re called to as a Christian – to practice that. It’s a practice that not only Jesus did, but other disciples and early Christians did.
I’ve been reading through Acts and it’s a powerful view of the early church and how they acted and interacted.
Another way we can look at rest is that it is a chance to do what fills us up and lights us up and fulfills us. That in and of itself will give us rest. When I sit back with a good book, I want to sit back and enjoy that book. For you, rest might be cooking or cleaning. Some people really enjoy watching videos or YouTube. Knitting or crocheting, anything that fills you up. For me, it’s also kind of restful to be with my children.
I wouldn’t say that resting is going to be working because we need to take time away from our business in order to rest.
The example we see in Exodus 16 is that God tells his people to rest. God gave the Israelites extra food the day before so that they could take a break from their work, which was gathering food.
What happens when we rest. When I rest I feel more creative, I have more clarity and I wind up feeling like I can do more with my time in progress and growth and doing what I need to do. I was able to take a nap.
How do you find time to rest?
You make time for it. Everything that is important you make time for. Now, I didn’t necessarily have a nap scheduled into my day today, but I did have margin scheduled into my day.
Boundaries are a good thing. They allow us to do more with the time that we have.
Margin is so important. It’s extra time and space in our schedules so we can have down time. We need to have it in our schedule because we stack appointments on top of each other and then don’t allow time when we need to take time to rest or take a break.
I want to encourage you to proactively rest and make time for that. Protect time to rest because burn out is one of the worst things that can happen. Take it from someone who has been there.
Two ways you can make this work – margin and boundaries. Make sure you’re doing what God has called you to and then create those boundaries around your rest and have margin in your schedule.
If this all seems great, I’d love to invite you to a productivity intensive with me. During this in-depth assessment and implementation, we will help you love your business again and allow you to be present with the people you love.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We’ll deep dive into what makes you light up, fills your heart and identify your priorities and how you can live them out.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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After 2.5 hours, you’ll walk away with a schedule that you love and have your mission and vision statements to give you a clear direction of where you’re going and what direction you need to take your business.
Ready to schedule? Click here to schedule a chat to see if this is the right option for you. I can’t wait to work with you!
