Tired of Being Tired?

Nearly every morning, I say something to my wife like, “I am completely and utterly exhausted.” Even though I’m just waking up, I am completely exhausted. I’m sure all of us can relate. No different from most, I’m tired because I have too much going on. Mostly work related, but it's not like I don't keep busy in my personal life. It seems like we all have too many action items, too many meetings and too many goals.

Two weeks ago, Dianne and I spent some time at the Missouri District Church of the Nazarene’s Family Camp at Pinecrest Camp outside of Cherokee Pass, MO. The week was good for a lot of reasons, namely that it reminds me of whom I am. It does seem a bit like Mayberry and that’s a good thing. Oh, there are things to do, but mostly things that seem like Barney, Andy or Opey would be doing. Aunt Bee isn’t there, but Aunt Marty is. Most days are composed of fishing, shooting, church, dinner at the cafeteria and lunch at Dog N Suds. Lots of time for rest and reflection.

I’ve been thinking about what, if anything, I learned from Campmeeting and this Sunday, Ryan Wampler at The Crossing preached a message entitled, “How should a Christian approach the Sabbath?” The main point of his message was that God made man to require a Sabbath, but man’s focus on himself has lead to an exhaustion that can’t be resolved by his own deeds. He started off by talking about an article by Judith Shulevitz in the NY Times entitled “Bring Back the Sabbath”.
Her article is notable if for no reason other than this quote.

The Sabbath provides two things essential to anyone who wishes to lift himself out of the banality of mercantile culture: time to contemplate and distance from everyday demands. The Sabbath is to the week what the line break is to poetic language. It is the silence that forces you to return to what came before to find its meaning.

Ryan also asked a series of questions to address.
1. What kind of rest does God call for us?
2. How do I fit this kind of rest in?
3. Do I need to rest on Sunday?
4. Why Sunday and not Saturday?
5. What do I do if I have to work on the Sabbath?

In the next few weeks, I’m going to be working on these answers.

So Where Have I Been?

Great question. Where have I been and why did I leave. The answer to Question One - I’ve been busy with life. The answer to Question Two – I just got busy and a lack of discipline kept me from posting. But I’m back. Part of me is inspired by my cousins’ efforts at blogging – you can check them out here, here and here.

A lot has changed since my last blog posting in March 2005. A lot beyond just three plus years. I have a new address - we are now living in Columbia, MO. I have a new job – now working for an internet and catalog retailer of shooting and hunting products. We have a new church – we attend The Crossing here in Columbia – you can check out our church blog here. Thankfully, I do have the same wife…..Dianne is still trying to help me keep life together. We have a new dog – our 13-year old lab Dakota passed away last year and Gauge, a six-month old now, came to live with us in February 2008.

In my absence here, the St. Louis Cardinals have won a World Championship, the MNU Pioneers have won a NAIA Division II National Championship (and have now moved up to Division I) and the Mizzou Tigers were actually ranked Number One in Football for one week. Maybe I should go away more often. But now I’m back.