Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ CHILL Already...

Do you ever have a day or portion of a day where you accomplish virtually nothing?

Do you feel guilty about it? 

Yeah. Me too.

What is that? 

If stress is one of the major contributors to disease, and a crazy lifestyle can be a cause of stress doesn't it make sense to just chill sometimes? I didn't feel all that hot on Saturday so I declared it a "sick day". My floor has a coating of dust/dog hair, my Christmas decorations are still up and I've got an article due on Wednesday. But I slept in til 9:30 and read most of the afternoon. And felt guilty. 

Of course, I was reading the book tied to the article, but I liked the book so somehow that, too, is guilt inducing. 

And I often don't take one of those breaks until I'm worn down enough that I don't feel good. What's wrong with that picture? 

At Bible study last night we talked about how difficult it is to stop and be still and listen for God in the chaos of the world around us. As we broke into small groups mine had to admit that we often realize that during prayer time our minds will wander and we are multi-tasking, actually making grocery lists and planning ahead for what needs to be accomplished tomorrow. And I have to admit that very often my time spent in the Bible is just because it's one more thing I have to do that day rather than the very words of life. 

All of this makes me feel dry and unstable. And it annoys me. How about you all agree to take ten or twenty or forty minutes to do something that drops your stress and fills you up...today.  I will, too. Great. Glad we had this little chat.