'Sabbaths'

'Sabbath' by definition means 'day of rest or religious worship.'  Many of us I'm sure have heard the term used to talk about a day of rest at the end of the week on a Saturday as a Jewish religious tradition, or as a day of rest at the beginning of the week on a Sunday for Christians, who traditionally go to church on this day.

Recently, I listened to a talk by Mark Driscoll who emphasised the importance of Sabbaths both with our relationship with God but also within our marriages.

Sabbath with our God
We learn so often through the Bible that taking time out to Sabbath (rest) with God is so important in our relationship with Him.  Since starting as a physio in the big scary world of work I have come to realise that hours in the day at limited and in scarce supply.  Trying to fit in all the different areas of life into the waking hours of the week can be extremely difficult.  Mastering the balancing act between 12 hour days at work, being a loving wife, spending devotional time with God, seeing friends, making calls to distant friends, going to church events, spending time with work friends, sleeping, eating, cooking, cleaning and every other thing you yourselves could think of that you might want/need to fit into a normal week is a balancing act I'm still trying to master.  So often in my life, taking a Sabbath with God or taking time out to rest with God and delighting in Him can quickly become the last priority on a long list of things to do for any number of reasons from being too tired to fully concentrate, to not being able to rest in God in a busy home, to forgetting how to spend time with God because it's been so long since actually doing so.


Jesus knew how important it was to take time out with God the Father and it is equally as important for us.  We need our Sabbaths with God in order to cultivate a God-centred life, so take rest out of our stressful crazy lifestyles, to realign our lives/priorities/thoughts/actions/desires with God and his divine plan for our lives, to become more Christ-like and also to fully experience the joy and delight available to us through our relationship with God.

There's a plus to the traditional Sabbath being on a Sunday at the beginning of the week, it's so that we can focus our hearts and minds on Christ and what he has done for us in rescuing us back to God before we even step foot into work on Monday morning; it's so we can have reassurance in the Hope that we have bang at the start of the week so that we don't have to endure that Monday morning feeling before the so-called hard slog of the week to come because we can be overflowing with joy; it's so that we can draw near to God and trust Him that He is with us in everything!

Sabbath with our Husband/Wife
Mark Driscoll as talked about the importance of Sabbathing with your spouse.  Over the recent months since getting married in November 2010 I have come to begin to understand the importance of taking a Sabbath with husband i.e. taking a rest/ a time out with him.  It is so easy when living together to see each other, eat together and sleep together but not actually grow together/ talk together/ spend time together and love each other.  Again the unique balancing act of life can get in the way as ever increasing disproportionate priorities swamp our lives.  However, one of the main things that was stressed to Chris and I during marriage preparation was that spending time together, just the two of us, will be one of the most important things we will learn in our marriage, and it will be one of the most valuable things that we should try to nail on the head.  We need to be able to take time and Sabbath with each other and this should be the next layer of the foundation of our marriage after the initial and continuous rooting of our marriage in God! These things in themselves should lead to a fruitful, loving and lasting marriage together in Christ.

Cherish Him

Ok, so I have been reading a book recently called 'Feminine Appeal' by Carolyn Mahaney.  Near the beginning of the book there's a chapter called 'The Delight of Loving My Husband' which is based on Titus 2 verse 4 'So train the younger women to love their husbands.'.  It helps us remember one of the vows we made on our wedding day 'to love and to cherish till death do us part.' The chapter asks the question about whether we even understand what we promised when we said this line.  To cherish means to hold dear, to care tenderly or to nurture, to cling fondly to, or treat as precious.  

'So how do we make our husbands feel cherished? Who better to ask than husbands?' The author proceeds to write some of the answers husbands said in response to the question 'What is one way your wife cherishes you?'  Here are some of their answers shortened for the sake of this blog:

• Little notes hidden around the house to open each day.
• Catch his eye in public with a smile and a subtle wink
• Greet with a warm hug or cuddle when he gets in from work
• Hang on his arm when you go out on a date- the message will come through loud and clear that you enjoy being with him.
• If he confesses a sin, communicate your love for him before bringing correction- He'll know you love him even at his worst
• If he sick in bed prepare tea, meals for him without him asking.
• Regularly encourage him in his walk with God and thank him for pursing God with all his heart
• Show up at his work with his favourite hot chocolate or coffee with some home baking
• Observe his life and his needs, listen carefully whenever he expresses the smallest desire for something.
• Pray fervent and faithful intercessory prayers for him.  Make your conviction that no one can care for him like his heavenly Father.

May these ideas spark your own creativity in cherishing our husbands.  And you may also be interested in knowing that when I asked my brothers-in-law the same question, one answered:

• breakfast in bed, which was amazing
• writing love letters
• post-it notes in the lunch box
• home-made presents

While the other said:

• 'well, my wife generally sends presents to all her brothers-in-law to show me that she loves me, so you could try that too I guess.'

... yes thanks that's great!! hehe.

If you're reading this and you have any other ideas on something you have tried that works then why not comment below :)

Ultimate power

About 6 months ago I was at home group and there were only 3 of us there that night but what we looked at actually ended up being a massive encouragement the next day...

The part were looking at was Ephesians 1:15-25 and it was talking about us having access to the power of God, the power which lifted Christ from the dead and which seats him next to God in heaven and which gives him authority over all things in this world both physically and supernaturally and THIS is our inheritance as believers and children of God.  We have the inheritance of Christ's power to keep us strong and standing against any challenge we face and any difficult situation we come up against... and that really is awesome news and an amazing truth to stand firm in!

New Blog

Ok so I took this list from someone else's blog and they took it from  John Piper@Desiring God; but I thought it would be a suitable introduction as to why this is something I would love to do.   So here it is, 6 Reasons to Blog...

1. To write.
2. To teach.
3. To recommend.
4. To interact.
5. To develop an eye for what is meaningful.
6. To be known.

So get involved, get ready and get reading,  I look forward to it :)...