The God of Time

So I've been trying something new. (If you know me well, you know this is unusual.) My semester is going to be unbelievably crazy. I'm working full-time at the bookstore, taking nine hours (Greek, Psalms IBS, and NT Intro with Mulholland) and I have a wife and 3 boys that I would like to see as well, along with a few extra things as well. My time has to be well organized, planned down to the minute, no TV, breaks used efficiently, no time wasting!!

But in the midst of all this, I have been very intentional (and believe me, I have had to strongly remind myself when I wanted to get work done) to keep 24 hours of Sabbath beginning Saturday night and ending Sunday night as well as spending time in the Asbury Reader every morning. The times in the mornings have been amazing! It gets me ready for the coming day and I am meditating on the Word from the morning all day long! While I have feared taking a day away from work or study on Sundays, it has been a time of renewal and focus. It really does give me a better focus on loving God and loving the people around me when I do things differently on this special day. It sets my rhythm for the week and symbolically closes the previous week while focusing me on the week to come. The discipline has been an amazing change for me. I have felt less stress and have been able to focus completely on working hard 6 days knowing that the day of rest will come. A byproduct has been that I am more organized as well! WHO KNEW!?

God, thank You for the rhythm of Sabbath and for the chance to meditate on Your Word each day.