“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Our society is filled with stressed out people. I see it all around me. My kids are stressed, my grandchildren are stressed, my friends are stressed and at times, even though I try hard to keep my life stress-free, I am stressed!
Want to know who isn’t stressed? Anyone sitting in a rocking chair!
Recently I had the pleasure of visiting with a friend on her front porch. We sat in chairs and gently rocked back and forth as we rested and chatted about our lives. Sitting outside we were able to hear the birds chirping, we watched her children playing in the yard, and we felt a light breeze on our face, all while we enjoyed each others company. It was a little bit of heaven to me!
What is it about a rocking chair? I think it is our invitation to rest and simply breathe. It’s a way to take a break from whatever is stressing us out and be still.
I encourage you to take a break and remember to rest. God wants us to rest in Him and what better way to do that than sitting outside in a rocking chair enjoying nature!
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Even a picnic table under a shady tree….we have the power to choose to have quiet time…yet society tells us we are failures if we don’t do everything and have everything.
We spent time today sitting in the shade watching the ducks play in fresh cleaned water troughs. It wasn’t long but it was soul satisfying!
It is the simple things in life that calm me down…watching ducks play in the water would be top on my list!
I agree Tracy something about a rocking chair is so relaxing. I’m chilling this weekend drinking iced water with lots of lemon balm mixed in. What is it about all this stress – so much going on in the world that sheds darkness.
Then just in a glimpse this evening I had a roadrunner come visit. I was reminded that it’s those simple moments of wonderful I find rest in God’s creations. Sometimes I just wish I could bottle up those moments when everything feels overwhelming.
Sounds like a perfect way to spend the evening!
Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a sultry summer day. Enjoy.
Oh, there is definitely something about sitting quietly outside that soothes us. There is a reason so many homes have porches on them – we have just forgotten how to use them. Thank you for the reminder Tracy.
There really is something so relaxing about a rocking chair! My mother-in-law gave me one to use as a nursing chair after my daughter was born, and it would send us both to sleep. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing over at #FridayFrivolity.
I rest one day every week on the seventh day Sabbath as God did in Genesis 2:2,3 when He hallowed the seventh day to make it holy and distinguish it from all other days. It is a day my family and I look forward to every week from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday because the Bible says the evening and the morning were the first day, the second day , the third day and so on. The Sabbathis 24 hours where you enjoy God’s creation, fellowship with God’s children of believers, study His word, and be a blessingto others. Sure, you can do those things any day of the week, but there is only one that God made holy and sanctified as a day to remember in Exodus 20: 8-11. No sports, put God first. No shopping; prepare the day before and put God first. No worldly business or entertainment of any king, simply put God first. Why? Because the Creator of all heaven and earth said so. He created us and knows best what we need. Did Jesus lead by example in baptism, obeying the Father, and keepingthe seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath holy. Yes, indeed. Are Christians called by that name because they are followers of Christ? Yes we are. Therefore, let us not say the seventh-day Sabbath is for the jews only because before there was Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob there was the Sabbath. Before the 10 Commandments were written on Mt. Sinai, God told the children of Israel to collect manna on six days, but not on the seventh day. Why? God told them on the sixth day to collect a double portion for each household. Like a teacher, God had to show them what was lost and forgotten from the beginning of time– the Sabbath. God called a small nation to be the light to the world. They were to be an example and lead others to God, but the nation of Israel made the religion exclusive and kept it to themselves, then to make matters worse, they made the Sabbath a burden for anyone who sought to keep it by adding laws no man could keepisode and letting it become a day of burdens instead of a day of joy and restoration. In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders even accused Jesus, he Son of God, literally God in the flesh, of breaking the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3-15). If they only knew who it was they were speaking to… they should have known. They had the oracles and the prophesies. Do we do that today? Do we have the truth before us, but choose to obey man (who says to worship) on Sunday rather than God who said plainly and demonstrated in his living that the seventh day is a hold day of rest and it is better to obey than to sacrifice. Don’t confuse the Sabbath day that was sanctified in Genesis 2:2-3 with the Sabbath feast days and celebrations that were a shadow of things to come, pointing to Jesus the lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Those annual feast days or sabbaths were done away with at the cross when Jesus said, “It is finished” and the curtain separating the holy place from most holy place, in the sanctuary where the daily sacrifices took place, was torn apart from top to bottom without hand. From then on, there were no more daily sacrifices because Jesus, the only true sacrifice that could pay the penalty for all the world’s sin has accomplished His work. The Sabbath day that God told us to remember, for in six days we can work, but the seventh day is for the Lord our God, is not the same as the sabbath feast days. Don’ttake my word for it. I am only tellingyou what the Bible says. It’s upon every person to seek to know if something is true or not. All I know is that if it were not true, then Satan would not work so hard to change it to Sunday or suppress it all together under the false notion that Sabbath observance is legalism. If the Sabbath was good enough for Jesus, then it is more than enough evidence for me. God bless, seek the truth, and don’t give up. Jesus is coming again soon. Get to know Him now while the day is light for thexample night will soon come when no man can work. Go, and be a light to the world.
I apologize for some of the typos as I was typing on a little screen.
I like to keep a few books out around the house to remind myself to take a minute and rest, even if it’s just to read a page or two. Thanks for sharing with Simply Natural Saturdays.