Day 124

Last weekend my Pastor, Robert Morris, taught a life changing message on one of the commandments that a lot people break every.  single.  week.

Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

While you won’t find very many Christians that are okay with having other Gods before God, making idols, taking God’s name in vain, dishonoring their parents, murder, adultery, stealing, lying, or coveting, you will find very many Christians that are okay with not taking a sabbath day.

I was one of those very many Christians until Sunday.  I knew God commanded a day of rest, but I never knew how serious He was about it.  I never realized that there are consequences to not taking a sabbath, that is, one day every week where you are scheduled to do nothing.  No work allowed.  For me that means no cooking, no cleaning, no balancing the check book, no Ken Blount Ministries stuff, and no writing.  For my husband that means no checking email, no mowing the lawn, no work related phone calls, and no ministry stuff.

The consequences to skipping sabbaths are not immediate so we tend to think that God’s okay with us not taking a day to rest, but He’s not.

In 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 you can read about the people of Israel being taken captive as slaves for 70 years!  Why?  Because they had ignored God’s command to let the land rest every 7 years.   The seventh year would come up and they had to decide weather to work the land or rest the land, and over 490 years with 70 chances to sabbath the land, they chose to work it instead…every single time.  They probably thought they were getting away with this skipping the sabbath stuff, but they weren’t.  It was all just adding up.

490 divided by 7 is 70 years!  They were held captive for 70 years so the land could enjoy the 70 sabbath years it had missed.  The missed sabbaths caught up with them.

Likewise, all of the sabbaths that we miss accumulate and will eventually catch up with us.  The consequences will become very clear in our health, our relationships, and our emotional well being.

I’m so thankful to have learned how important the principle of sabbath is at a fairly young age and I’m super excited about my sabbath tomorrow… I say tomorrow, because I am writing this on Thursday, so I can completely sabbath on Friday!

1. God didn’t make the Sabbath to be a burden, but a benefit! – Pastor Robert Morris
2. Really enjoyed taking the day completely off.
3. I learned how important the principle of taking the day off is to God.
4. Got to sleep in!
5. Gus let me pick him up and hug him forever this morning.
6. Enjoyed my time talking to Josh in the car on the way into Dallas.
7. North Park Mall at Christmas.
8. Gus got to see all of the Christmas trains.
9. Found Beau a perfect pair of shoes for her Christmas outfit.
10. Got a cute dress for me for 10 bucks.
11. Watching Prep & Landing cartoons with my little boy snuggled up on me.
12. Took a nap today.  Not a power nap, an actual nap!
13. Beau did not get hurt when she climbed all the way out of her crib when she was supposed to be napping.
14. The little ornery, proud of herself face Beau was making when she came marching out of her room.
15. A second good car ride conversation on the way to Southlake tonight.
16. Our Christmas production, It’s A Life & It’s Wonderful.  Always blown away by the talent at Gateway Church.
17. Got to sit by Josh tonight at church!
18. All of the people who made Jesus Lord of Their Life.  Lots of little kids up there tonight.
19. Thousands of people singing my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night.  It was so moving I couldn’t sing.
20. Got to have dinner with our sweet friends the Siegrists!
21. Gus got to see his favorite baby boy, Nolan!
22. Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.  Good stuff!
23. When I asked Beau what she dreamed about last night she said “Josh Hall”  I think it’s safe to say she has her first crush.
24. New Curious George episodes!  We’ve been George fans for four years and I don’t think they’ve ever made new episodes until now.
25. Very loopy, hilarious children providing ample entertainment on the way home from Southlake..
26. 27 years ago today my old friend and maid of honor, Charity was born!
27. The Drifters versions of White Christmas.  Impossible to listen to that and not think of Kevin McCallister.
28. Heard Gus talking after we tucked him in and we cracked the door to hear what he was saying… he was praying, just talking to God.  So sweet!

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