Are you Resting?

We are so busy these days as a society that it seems we never slow down. We have cities that never sleep, cable TV that is always on, and a to do list that never ends. I have small children and I can tell you from experience that there is always something that needs to be done. Always.

I get enough sleep at night. I go to bed around 9:30pm and get up on school days at 6am. On weekends, I stay in bed until 8am!! Sleep is not an issue for me. But sometimes I still feel like I'm constantly on "go" and never get a "break." Why is that?

Lack of rest. Not sleep. REST. People were designed to have times of rest. And most people used to take a whole day of rest. A WHOLE DAY. OF REST. Can you imagine?!

I keep working at taking my rest day. I love Sundays for this reason. Sundays I go to church, spend time with my family, and rest. Sometimes. I try. Really I do. But I need a refresh on this concept. Which means this blog is to remind myself. Take a break. Rest. You don't have to be "doing" all the time.

So what if the house is messy? So what if rug needs a good vacuuming? So what if you have errands that you could run? They can wait. Life doesn't wait. Rest. Live. Be.

One of the biggest things that I have done to cement Sundays as my rest day is to avoid scheduling ANY appointments on this day. Church is the only standing appointment and for me, it is very restful most Sundays (I work with children once a month at church; so that may not always be restful. LOL) I do not schedule any errands. I do not make lunch or dinner plans with anyone. As a family, we stay home, veg out, and do a whole lot of nothing.

The harder part for me is getting around the "I'm at home so I should take care of that house chore." I will admit that most of the time, I end up doing the chore. But then the day ends up feeling less restful and more like busywork. I need a mind-shift when it comes to this. Rest is rest. Chores are not.

So what would my ideal rest day look like? First, I could sleep in and get snuggles from my littlest. (that actually happens most Sundays!) Second, I could sit in my kitchen, drink coffee, and look out the window. Waking up slowly to this new day. Third, we would go to church and come home and have lunch. The rest of the day could be filled with reading, lounging, or movie watching with the kiddos. Early bedtimes all around for a good Monday start.

The benefits of a good rest day are wonderful. When you actually slow down, take a break, breath a little in your week, it does great things for your mind, your body, and your soul. It reduces stress, improves immunity, boosts creativity and mental energy, helps with focus, and improves your mood. It can actually help you be more productive on work days!

So here's my challenge for you (and me): Get out your calendar. Pick a day, any day of the week. Use a RED pen. Mark it out. That is your rest day. That is your "do nothing" day. And then, when you get to that day in the week, REST. Actually do NOTHING. Breathe. Stretch. Lounge. Veg. Rest. Be.

It will become your favorite day of the week. Trust me.