R & R

The last few weeks have been very busy for me and my family. As a Pastor, the weeks leading up to Easter can be very eventful. There are lots of praying, planning, meetings, and reviewing. You see, we want the Easter Sunday service to be a home run. We want our regulars and our guests to leave that day knowing they have been in the presence of God.

Obviously, I am writing this after Easter. “So how was Easter service?” you ask. Our service was a success. God’s presence was felt. His Word was shared. People left knowing that God is alive and well. Overall it was a very good day. And this leads us to the week after Easter. This is the week to slow down a little and recoup. To do some follow up with those who need it.

It also worked out that my 11 year old is on spring this week. And with all the busyness that has taken place, we wanted to take a day and spend it together as a family. We picked Tuesday as our day and the St. Louis Mills Mall as our destination.

This mall offers a variety of places to eat, a number of outlet stores, glow in the dark golf, a movie theater, ice skating rink, and all kinds of other things. You can easily spend several hours there and not get bored (if you like the things listed above).

We opted to eat lunch, shop a little and see the movie The Croods. The food was food court food, so it was ok. My family had a good time going through the stores. I have a wife and two girls, so the shops they gravitated to seemed to target females over males. No worries tho, I spent some time sitting on a bench enjoying one of my favorite pass times – people watching.

I love people watching. I find myself watching how families interact. I get a kick out of how people dress. I will never understand baggy pants. I find myself watching what items people buy.  And sometimes I am left scratching my head asking the question, “What in the world would you use that for?” This is a great way for me to unwind after a busy period in my life. It gives my mind freedom to wander off and not be laser focused on getting some task down.

We all need this time of refreshing. Or to use computer terminology, rebooting. We all need down time. It is both healthy and necessary for us. Working is great. And working hard is even better. I am firm believer that our society greatly benefits from people who work hard. But on the other side, we need to rest hard too.

So, no matter what you do. Work hard at it. Apply yourself to it. Strive to be the best (fill in the blank) that you can be. Both you and those around you will benefit. And force yourself to schedule some down time. Give your mind and body a chance to revive itself with a little R & R (rest and relaxation). You will be amazed at what you can accomplish if you start taking care of your biggest asset – you.

And by the way, the movie was pretty good. And while I was waiting for my girls to finish in a store, I met a very interesting guy named Phillip. But, that is a story for another day.