Taste of Home

The smell, taste, feel, and texture of a peach remind me of home. I ate one this morning, and the fuzzy skin on my lips brought tears to my eyes. In fact, I tell everyone that even the peaches and cream shake from Chick-Fil-A is Rosebloom in a cup. Everytime I cut open a watermelon too, the smell taste me back to childhood, and I can instantly feel a box fan blowing warm air on my legs. Something about those 2 smells makes me homesick for Mississippi in the summer. Summertime is the hardest. Sometimes I get so homesick, I feel physically ill.

But when I start to think about it, I don't really miss home so much. Things have changed, and I know it. What I really miss...are those days gone by. It's easy to start to get homesick when I think of how easy and innocent life used to be. Before illnesses...before I knew about conflict...before I realized that we are in a world at war. Those days are gone, and I'll never get them back. The memories are forever though, and I pray they never fade.

It's a big pill for me to swallow...knowing that things will never be the same again. But I have to be able to walk the walk that I've been preaching for months to my people. Isaiah 43 speaks of the "new thing." The children of Israel had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, but now they were in exile. God allows them to remember all that He has done for them and the wonderful ways that He had provided for them. And now in 43:18-19 he says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  In other words, "this is nothing compared to what I am going to do."

My childhood was wonderful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I enjoyed growing up, and now that I'm an adult, I appreciate all of the life lessons learned the hard way. I love that I was taught to work hard for everything that we have and to be independent and productive and to contribute to the Kingdom of God. But too many times, people look at their past a little too longingly. It's like walking forward while looking behind you.  You miss what's ahead!

I can appreciate the past, but I can also look forward to the future with confidence because God is doing a "new thing." I don't know what it is, yet, but I'm excited to see.

The Sabbath Rest

Genesis 2:2-3 “On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” NLT

I just didn’t see how this was going to work. I had learned during my first few days of my new lifestyle that weight loss really boiled down to calories in/calories out. And I realized that the more calories I burned through activity, the greater my calorie deficit would be; therefore, that would equate to more weight loss. But I was stuck this day because there was an internal struggle occurring once again. I knew that today was my Sabbath, a day my family worshipped together and rested from our work. But I was having a major dilema as well, trying to figure out if that meant exercise too. I mean, honestly, I had extra time on Sundays to work out, and I could really put some effort into it today! In addition, I reasoned that since I’d be spending time sitting in a pew and not up cleaning my house, there would be more calories that I wouldn’t be burning that day. It was decided then, that when I returned from church, I would work out. God understood after all. He wants me to care for my body!

I went 21 days straight working out, lifting weights, and having a calorie deficit of 1000/day until I realized that something wasn’t right. I was tired and sore, and I felt like I had an injury in my knee. But I kept pushing. Finally I resorted to the internet to search out my problem. I thought I was doing well, but obviously I had gone wrong somewhere. I kept reading over and over from multiple reputable websites where I needed to rest one day a week from working out in order to give my body time to recover and get ready for another week of physical activity. My muscles needed to repair, and I needed to be rejuvenated in my mind to face the mental battle I would have that week when I felt like giving up. Still not convinced that it was worth it, hesitantly I gave in to rest from workouts one day a week. To my amazement, that one day was I needed to restore me to my best.

God Himself rested. From the beginning of creation, He instituted a day of rest. This seven-day framework structured Israel’s week, with the last day set aside as holy. It was to be different than the rest of the week. The first six days they were to work and live unto Him, but on the seventh day, they were to cease from their labors and worship Him. 

In today’s society, we want to be seen as productive and responsible members of society. The demands on modern life keep us busy and stressed out, and we need every minute possible to accomplish as much as possible. But God didn’t design us in this way. He created us for work, but He also created us for rest. He even gave us time to rest! I find it amazing that a calendar week correlates perfectly with the way our bodies were designed.

I myself have chosen Sunday as my rest day. It’s a day of ministry for my family, which actually keeps us too busy to do much else anyway. Our day to rest from our jobs and other work comes another day during the week. Whatever day works out best to cease workouts is fine, but ensure that you’re taking that time to restore and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. You were designed for it!

Take some time and read the creation story as revealed in Genesis chapters 1-2. Soak in the refreshing knowledge that God has handcrafted us in His image. 

Encouragement for Today

Exodus 23:11 “but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest any volunteer crop that may come up. Leave the rest for the animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.” NLT

Psalm 127:2 “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” NLT