>Spiritual simplicity: rest.

>Chip Ingram’s podcasts (Living on the Edge) are some of my favorites, especially his recent series called Spiritual Simplicity. He talks biblically about how to go about simplifying your life by following two commandments: love God, and love others. He describes how when we’re so on-the-go all the time, we don’t have the time or energy to love God or others like we should. We don’t have time to bring our families closer in unity with Christ, and we don’t have time to cultivate a rich love relationship with Jesus.

It just confirms what I have been feeling for months now, that I need to slooowwww down. I’ve resigned from some activities, even though they’re good things. I’ve been approached with different opportunities to tutor or for extra work and have turned them down because I know that I don’t need to work more. I work full time, and my income is mostly supplemental. I don’t need more activity to make me stressed out.

I’ve found that since I’ve learned how to say “no”, I don’t have a high tolerance for being so crazy busy anymore, especially since I started my most recent job. I have a schedule of getting up around 5:30-5:40 (this week anyway, to do devotions before I’m even fully awake, haha) and getting to bed around 10. If I get less than seven hours of sleep, I’m sunk.

I need to have alone time to recharge. I mean, need. I get cranky and impatient when I don’t get this time. I don’t necessarily need to be reading the Bible or praying for all of my alone time, but I need silence. Sometimes I clean, sometimes I read, and a lot of times I sew or knit. It’s my chill time.

I honestly don’t know how I made it through college relatively unscathed. I was so incredibly busy literally all of the time between work, school and homework. Oh, and somehow maintaining a good relationship with Aaron that whole time.

I’m so glad I’ve learned how to say “no”. And I do find that I am a more patient and compassionate person, because I have energy left at the end of the day (or most days, haha).

Spring break is next week. I have a list of things that need to get done sometime in the next three months, some of which I will do next week. I consider cleaning and cooking as part of my chill time, simply because I’m able to be comfy at home.

The Lord created the Sabbath for a reason.. He’s ordained rest for us!

Sleep on that. 😉

Yeah, like that. Kittehz really know how to relax.