I just got back from a weekend in Branson with the ladies of Northland Baptist Church. The theme for the weekend was "Rest." Now, let me just tell you right now...I don't think I rested a whole lot over the weekend. We were up pretty late! But I did learn a few important things that I wanted to share.
First off, there are two types of rest. Eternal rest and physical rest...they very much go hand-in-hand. How's your life when you aren't focused on God? What seems to happen when you take matters into your own hands instead of relying on God? Disaster, stress, chaos, failure. Right? Our minds must be focused on God (and our eternity with Him) or else physical rest cannot come. Isaiah 40:28-31 goes through a few characteristics of us as humans and then of God. They are the exact opposite. So we can rest in the fact that when we grow faint or weary...God never grows faint or weary. He empowers the weak and increases our strength. Take a look at the beginning of Isaiah 40:31- Those who WAIT for the Lord shall renew their strength. God isn't just going to magically give us strength unless we wait upon Him and never take our eyes off Him. Therefore, unless we have our eternal perspective of rest in place, our physical rest will never come. So focus your eyes on Jesus! Hand the reigns over to Him and find his wonderful peace and rest.
Secondly, I met many amazing women. I had to keep telling myself that I wasn't there as a guest of someone, I actually belonged and was a part of this wonderful group. There was a variety of ages, stages of life and personalities there also. It was very loud...27 women talking, laughing, playing games...you can imagine. Instead of shopping Saturday afternoon, four of us "younger" ladies went zip lining. One woman commented about us spending money on zip lining..."My motto is- if you can't eat it, wear it or hang it on the wall, it's not worth it!" Pretty funny stuff!
All in all, while I didn't get much sleep...I did feel rested. There's just something about being with other ladies in a relaxed atmosphere that equals lots of laughs, secrets and tears. I truly enjoyed this weekend and I look forward to many more fun weekends with the great ladies of Northland!
First off, there are two types of rest. Eternal rest and physical rest...they very much go hand-in-hand. How's your life when you aren't focused on God? What seems to happen when you take matters into your own hands instead of relying on God? Disaster, stress, chaos, failure. Right? Our minds must be focused on God (and our eternity with Him) or else physical rest cannot come. Isaiah 40:28-31 goes through a few characteristics of us as humans and then of God. They are the exact opposite. So we can rest in the fact that when we grow faint or weary...God never grows faint or weary. He empowers the weak and increases our strength. Take a look at the beginning of Isaiah 40:31- Those who WAIT for the Lord shall renew their strength. God isn't just going to magically give us strength unless we wait upon Him and never take our eyes off Him. Therefore, unless we have our eternal perspective of rest in place, our physical rest will never come. So focus your eyes on Jesus! Hand the reigns over to Him and find his wonderful peace and rest.
Secondly, I met many amazing women. I had to keep telling myself that I wasn't there as a guest of someone, I actually belonged and was a part of this wonderful group. There was a variety of ages, stages of life and personalities there also. It was very loud...27 women talking, laughing, playing games...you can imagine. Instead of shopping Saturday afternoon, four of us "younger" ladies went zip lining. One woman commented about us spending money on zip lining..."My motto is- if you can't eat it, wear it or hang it on the wall, it's not worth it!" Pretty funny stuff!
All in all, while I didn't get much sleep...I did feel rested. There's just something about being with other ladies in a relaxed atmosphere that equals lots of laughs, secrets and tears. I truly enjoyed this weekend and I look forward to many more fun weekends with the great ladies of Northland!
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