Week 8 of Bible 180 and Rest

Hello, sweet readers!

Over the last few weeks I have really been TRYING to rest on Sundays, honoring it as a Sabbath. I avoid checking work emails, working on work and try to just relax, which isn’t all that easy. Yesterday, though, I think I might have finally mastered it.

There was exercise, church online, a few messages with friends, reading of the newspaper (yep– old school style) and then, deeeeeeeep sleep on the couch with one of our cats at my feet. And how could I move with her there? That just would have been rude!

At one point I woke up and saw that one of our sons was asleep on the living room floor. Later my husband confessed he had fallen asleep up in his office while reading a book. Ahhhhh. perfection. THAT was a good Sunday, friends.

There has just been so much going on, taxing our brains, taxing our hearts. Our Father knows we need to refresh, to recharge. And he gave us Sundays as that time. I am thankful to have been focusing lately on accepting that gift.

I hope that you are also able to accept that gift of refreshment, of Sabbath, whether it is on Sunday, or if you take it on another day for whatever reason. Rest.

Strife in our reading

Our reading right now, like the events of the day, is even taxing. There is SO MUCH strife, so much fighting, so much unrest in the Old Testament. It can be hard to process, hard to take in. Yes, there is a lot of beauty and there is always truth, but there is also heartache and a lot to digest.

The world IS broken. The world was and is in need of a Savior.

We are broken.

One thing that does seem consistent throughout all of the back and forth of the stories we are reading is that when people turn away from God they fall into great trouble… and that eventually the generations DO fall away, and then someone somehow figures out that they have fallen away and leads them back, but only after great strife.

Seeing it all back to back to back is so very clear, right? So what can we do with that?

As we wrapped up our reading this last week, it looked like David and Solomon might be on the right track. There was some solid advice passed from father to son. (I’m not going to give anything away here, friends.. you have got to read!!)

And with that, here’s the schedule for this week:

Week 8 check in

Before you go, though, please let us know how you are doing in the reading by leaving a comment. It seems we are in lots of different places now, which is just fine with me… as long as you keep reading. Please stay with us by reading daily, staying in the Word for the entire 180 days… and then let’s see where we each end up. :)

Your Sabbath experiences

And also– I’d love to know… Do you have a Sabbath day of rest? Do you try to tune out of work for a day or a few hours? Has it worked for you? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Please share in the comments.

Thanks, so much for being a part of our group. I’m glad you are here.

In love,


Comments

2 responses to “Week 8 of Bible 180 and Rest”

  1. Hello! I’m still trucking along at a snail’s pace but I’m going! Happy to be reading along with everyone.

    I do not do an official Sabbath, but I know rest is vital and important for my spiritual and physical health. We make going to church a priority and we usually rest on Sunday afternoons, so I guess that’s like a Sabbath. I would like to have my phone put away during the entire day on Sunday, to give me full rest!!

    I have made it a point to bring my physical bible to church so I do not have to use my phone!

  2. Thanks Amy for sharing your thoughts about the reading and the Sabbath. Totally agree with you on all the strife and fighting. Hard to take in and make sense of it all. Sounds a lot like what is going on right now in our country. Throughout it all God keeps calling them and us to keep turning back to Him and His commands. Wise words for us all! I try hard to keep Sunday as a day of worship and rest. Have a blessed week! :)

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