BRIGHTWOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • Connect
  • Beliefs and Connections
  • Online Worship
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Need Help?
  • For Kids
  • Pastor's Devotional Blog

Slow Down and Gather

8/30/2018

 
Picture
One of the greatest temptations of modern life is doing more.  People are so busy.  We convince ourselves it is because we must be.  And sometimes we’re right.  But sometimes we are simply afraid of slowing down and having real, quality time with the people we love. 

In Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living, Shauna Niequist writes, “It's easy to be liked by strangers. It's very hard to be loved and connected to the people in your home when you're always bringing them your most exhausted self and resenting the fact that the scraps you're giving them aren't cutting it.”
God wants more for our lives. 

“Work six days. The seventh day is a Sabbath, a day of total and complete rest, a sacred assembly. Don’t do any work. Wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to God.” Leviticus 23:3 The Message

Complete rest is a Sabbath to God.  But God is often tricky in how He helps us do what is best for us.  Think about what happens when we slow down and put aside work.  God commands us to worship, reflect on God’s goodness and the things that matter most.  But, the slowly flowing hours also allow us to spend time with those dearest to us, to play games that keep us humble or to develop a hobby we can share with our grandchildren. 

The “don’t do any work” part of that scripture has gotten much more notice than the “sacred assembly” part.  Slow down and gather.  Gather with your family of faith.  Gather with your family of birth.  Gather with your family of friends and give those gatherings the slow attention that holiness demands. 

To read more about slowing down, consider reading Shauna Niequist's:
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
    Picture

    Author

    Rev. Jana Quisenberry is the minister at Brightwood Christian Church.  She's an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  A graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN, She now resides in Mt. Lebanon with her husband, two children, and dog, Sookie.  Pastor Jana loves the church, science fiction, and coffee.

    Affiliate Links
    Please note, links in the blog send you to Amazon, and a portion of the proceeds of the sale go to benefit the ministry of the church.  Pastor Jana only includes those resources that she endorses and that can be of benefit to your faith life. Thank you for your support. 

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016

    Categories

    All
    1 John 4:7-8
    1 Thessalonians 5:18
    Abundance
    Albert Schweitzer
    Art
    Attitude
    Baffled
    Bible
    Cats
    Challenge
    Choice
    CMU
    Code Of Conduct
    Committment
    Communion
    Disciples Of Christ
    Disney
    Donkey
    Dreaming
    Earthquake
    Eeyore
    Ethical Guidelines
    Faith
    Fall
    Family
    Fear
    Fear Is A Liar
    Fearless
    Fruit Of The Spirit
    Future
    Galatians
    Garbage Art
    God
    God's Love
    Gratitude
    Guidance
    Improvement
    Isaiah
    Isaiah 26:3
    Jesus
    Job
    Kahlil Gibran
    Kindness
    Love
    Marriage
    Matthew 6:33
    Maundy Thursday
    Music
    Mystery
    New Year
    Nobel Peace Prize
    Opportunity
    Parched
    Peace
    Philippians
    Possibility
    Prayers
    Provision
    Quote
    Religion
    Risk
    Sabbath
    Sad
    Scarcity
    Ships Don't Sink Because Of The Water Around Them
    Simple Things
    Slowing Down
    Snow
    Springs
    Summer
    Swimming
    Table
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    Theodore Roosevelt
    Vacation
    Valentine
    Values
    Warm
    Water
    Wendell Berry
    Winnie The Pooh
    Zach Williams

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from verchmarco
  • Home
  • Connect
  • Beliefs and Connections
  • Online Worship
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Need Help?
  • For Kids
  • Pastor's Devotional Blog