Even Jesus Had Alone Time

Do you ever feel this need to be alone? Are you ever just tired of interacting with people? Have you ever felt guilty about this or thought you had some psychological disorder because of it?

You are wired for alone time. Some of us are need more of it than others but I believe all of us it need it. Christ Himself would withdraw from crowds. Some time he did this to pray and other time I believe He did to simply take a break. God took a rest from the creative act on the 7th day. Why should we believe that we are any different. I believe one of the benefits of the Sabbath was to give humans a break from their regular routine. It was a day to be kept holy and set aside and in so doing we would receive rest.

Taking the time to rest can be hard for many of us. This is especially true when we are in ministry or have a huge servant's heart. We look around us and see so many hurting people and our heart breaks. We are willing to sacrificial love them no matter who they are or what they do. To a point this is a wonderful way to live. Yet there must be a balance. We must take the time to be with our families, friends and just ourselves (either in specific fellowship with God or just vegging out and relaxing).

When was the last time you took a break? Has it been awhile? If it has you take one. Some of you may not think that you have the time but I am willing to bet that you do if you are willing to rearrange some of your priorities and realize that if you do not take a break soon you will crash and burn.

When People Fail

Many of us have heard that if we do 'X' and teach some 'Y' then all will turn out great. That is not only not reality but it is also no what we see in Scripture.

There is no guarantee that when we share the gospel with people will receive it. There is also no guarantee that when we attempt to disciple or mentor that they will not fall away. We hope and pray that when we speak and teach that people will listen but each person has the option to ignore what we say. In the same way each person can ignore God and what He says. Of course there are consequences for those actions. I believe this is part of the lesson from the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13:5-9.

I know I have had many people who have rejected the words I have spoken to them.It breaks my heart every time. It hurts. It feels like a personal attack. I know in my head that is not me but God who is being rejected. The trick for me is bring that truth back to my heart.

I would love to hear some of your stories. When have your words been rejected? Were there specifics verses that helped walk you through the pain?

Living the Good Life

You ever have those moments in life when you realize that you are living the good life?

Today has been one of those days for me. I have gotten to spend all day long with my two precious boys while my wonderful wife has been at a Women's Conference. The day started off with boys snuggled up next to me in bed. At the time this was not so joyous because of the lack of comfort. In hindsight I can see how cute it was. Next we all got up and took Angie to the church for her conference. The boys and I went home, had breakfast, changed clothes and then went to one of the local parks to play in the snow. We were there for about an hour.

Next we came home in time to watch 3-2-1 Penguin and Veggietales on TV. Next came lunch. Then nap!

During nap I was able to wash some dishes, clean some clothes, sweep the kitchen, take out the trash, clean in the storage room and work on my Sunday School Lesson. About the time I was finishing this up Aiden got up in my lap to finish off his nap. Next, we all got ready to go play in the snow again (at Aiden's request). This time we threw a lot of snowballs at each other and built a rather small snow man (hey the boys enjoyed it).

To top things off Angie had a wonderful time at her conference. We are hoping she and I get to sit down and talk about all of the cool things she learned.

All in all today was just a really great day. Hope your Saturday was wonderful too.