26 Ideas for Holiday Rest

With Thanksgiving in 2 weeks and Christmas in 6, stress begins to mount in many hearts and homes these days. Take the offensive. Be prepared. This is a simple list. Read it fast. Read it slow. Keep it near. Each gem is a gift straight from God’s heart to ours and is a great foundation for the New Year ahead.

1. Attend to the moment. In it – seek His face. Linger, listen and know you are loved.
2. Breathe.
3. Celebrate. The big things, yes, but the little things. The dance of a falling leaf. Catching a lightening bug. The scent of a candle. The thoughtfulness of a friend.
4. Delight in _______________. (You get to fill in the blank)
5. Enter into the Secret Place. Often.
6. Five minutes. Go outside every day for five minutes. Sit. Be still. Know that He is God.
7. Go. GO! GO!!! Rest is about rhythm. To really enjoy God’s rest, we need to be running hard – not a guilt- driven race, but one that is Spirit-led. Run – through the mundane and the miraculous, the tedious and the triumphant. Then, rest well.
8. Hebrew days. The Hebrew day begins at sunset. The day begins with rest, then moves into work. There is a gift for us today in this truth.
9. Insecurity robs us of rest. What lie or lies chain you to overload and exhaustion?
10. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my ways are easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 Do you believe him?
11. Kick an evening habit that robs you of sleep.
12. Laugh. Laugh out loud . . . every chance you get. Joke: An apple a day will keep the doctor away, especially if you throw it hard enough.
13. Morning. Greet the morning with a kiss, a song and a prayer . . . even if you have to drag yourself to the coffee pot first.
14. Need. Independent as we are, we hate to admit we have a need of some kind. When Jesus walked this earth, he had very real needs. There is no sin in that. I would guess he had itches that needed to be scratched and blisters that needed attention. We know he needed sleep and food and rest. Jesus needed rest.    “. . . Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.”  John 4:6
15. Overload. It’s familiar territory, but there’s a cost. Who pays the price tag for your exhaustion?
16. Price-Tag. There is a price tag for our unrest but there is also a price tag for our rest. We will, at times, disappoint ourselves and others when we honor our boundaries, limitations and God’s design for rhythm. Will we honor God’s plan or buckle under the pressure?
17. Qadosh. When God described REST at its creation, he used the most majestic word for holiness he could use. “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (QADOSH!) because on it he rested from all his work . . .”  Genesis 2:2-3
18. is our favorite Run Hard. Rest Well. letter in the alphabet! Replenish. Renew. Restore. Revive. Receive. Refill. Recharge. Refuel. There’s more. Can you add to the list?
19. Sabbath Celebration. As you prepare for your Day of Rest, ask yourself 3 questions. 1) How will I reconnect with God today? 2) How will I reconnect with those I love? 3) What will I do today to refresh, revive and energize myself?
20. Time. Is it our last obedience? Surrendering up the allocation of our time – our days and hours – is often a last frontier when it comes to living an obedient life in Christ. Want to join the ranks?
21. Up. While Jesus walked this earth, he often took a short hike up a mountainside to meet with his Father. Why? He was homesick and hungry for his presence. Maybe this week you can lace up your hiking shoes. There is power in an hour off the beaten path to meet with God.
22. Victory over fatigue came to Moses when he allowed others to help hold up his arms. We’re in this together, you know. When was the last time you asked for help? Exodus 17:8ff
23. The Word. God has a lot to say about work, rest and rhythm. Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? Start with Ezekiel 20.
24. Unrealistic eXpecations suck the life out of us. Today, name them. Claim them. Throw them away. Replace with grace.
25. You. There’s a good chance you are tired. The circumstances leading to our fatigue are often daunting, but more often than not, our fatigue is dramatically impacted by what we believe about work, rest and rhythm. I don’t write this glibly. Many of us are facing overwhelming circumstances.  Brutal and rugged might very well describe your existence existence right now. My core beliefs about RHRW were refined in the fire while our son, Joshua, was in hospice care and Joseph was in a hospital 3 hours away from our home for 7 weeks.  Psalm 61, 62, and 63 are wrinkled in my Bible from a thousand tears.
    Psalm 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.”
26. Z Z Z’s. Want to be smarter, kinder, happier, thinner? Go to sleep! Give yourself a bedtime. Try it for 7 days. Do you have trouble falling sleep or staying sleep?Check out this blog post on sleep. It’s helped a lot of weary people.

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