Daily Work & Rest:  Recognize, Restore, Recreate, & Retreat

Recognize:  Saturate yourselves with Scripture and prayer (see previous cards) in order to recognize your foundation for work and rest in God’s rhythm in creation and redemption: 

• Choose a text/thought from your morning reading/reflection
• Write it on an index card and stick in your pocket, purse, etc.
• Feed on it, pray from it, and be renewed by it throughout the day (bus, train, checkout line, etc.).

Restore:  Think of your 9-5’s as a means of gospel restoration with those around you. Interact and work with/for people to see them connect with the redeeming, restoring, and rest-bringing story of Jesus. 

• Think back for a moment to our Fall series, “Let Jesus Speak."  Each sermon title enveloped the story of a person that needed their malady to encounter Christ’s remedy.
• Write down “Let Jesus Speak” titles for co-workers, classmates, etc. and see them as Christ would (e.g., a rich boss enslaved to his $ and toys might be  “Jesus Speaks to a Man Owned By His Possessions.”).  You will soon see that your vocation is a means of bringing true Gospel rest to others.

Recreate:  Resist the urge to “hurry up at home” so you can get ready for the next day of work. 

• Jogging/exercising, painting/drawing, singing/playing an instrument, as well as cooking, eating, and drinking with loved ones (e.g., “weekly dinner parties during LOST”), are all forms of recreation that help us rage against the cult of speed and worry.

Retreat:  Trust God and unplug.  Phone, computer, and TV can be enemies in the early morning and late evening.  The small deck in front of my house, the large field behind it, and the sky above it are dear friends that help me to exhale and see life, work, and rest under the providential care of God. 

Weekly Work and Rest:  Connect, Disconnect, & Reconnect

• Connect:  Get a “vision for the week.”  Plan your work in order to keep from crowding out your “Sabbath day” with a Sabbath-less heart.  Take some time with your family to plot out your week with the daily rhythms (see other side) built into it.  Live for 7 days off of the work of 6!  
• Disconnect:  Plan your “rest activities” but don’t plan too early in your week.  You may be unaware of what kind of rest will be required (some weeks need more naps, others call for good food, good drinks, and good times with good people).  The important thing is disconnect from your workweek.  Don’t let take-home work invade this day! 
• Reconnect:  Let the Sunday worship service remind you that you work and rest because God works.  Don’t treat the worship gathering as a 2-hour religious box-check.  Rather, embrace it as a:
  • Call to manifest God’s kingdom when we connect with our week
  • Call to recognize God’s kingdom when we disconnect from our week.

 “...the delight of one (rest) often lies in the diligence of the six (hard work)...” 
- JR Vassar (A29 Pastor, Apostles Church, NYC — apostlesnyc.com)

Seasonal Work and Rest:  Stop, Look, & Listen

• Use major observances in our Christian year to reflect upon the gospel and slow down with family and church community.
• Think through the way in which you observe the Christmas holiday.  Have we given into a culture of worry and materialism?  How can you make this season about resting and celebrating the gospel?
• Use Lent as a season to repent of sin and thank God for the renewal of resurrection.  See Easter as God’s work done for us so that we might rest in him.   Don’t waste our holy-days in pursuing the trivial.

Yearly Work and Rest:  Getting Away with Purpose

• It is good to be intentional about annual vacation time so that it can be refreshing instead of exhausting.
  • Get away to a different location if time and finances permit.  A change of venue can refresh the mind.
  • Exercise—an active body is good for the soul, use this time to be active physically.
  • Read a book and tackle a topic of interest. For example, last year the Adhikari’s read Radical Reformission and discussed the topic of  Missional Living.
  • Talk a lot...life, marriage, family, God...where we’ve been….where we want to go...exhale together.  Have some fun together.