"Decompressing The Vessel"

Want to know how important it is to unwind, and have a regular day off, weekly? Well...put yourself in a situation where you'll be chased by a dog, every day, for 6 days straight. On the plus side, *shrugs* you know you'll get your cardio in. I like dogs, in fact...I'm learning to love them a little. I don't think that being chased by them holds the greatest benefit, and after being in that daily routine - sweatin' and screamin' while keeping their teeth off of me, I'd like to...you know...get a chance to stop running.

The full importance of resting cannot be honored with an hour nap, several minutes of just "closing my eyes," or anything temporary in like. The body, mind, and spirit must recuperate. Human bones have a need to cease strenuous movement, and we cannot stress the horrid, and constant attack on the mind. Accumulated stresses hasten deterioration, and we aren't supposed to work to exhaustion. Yes, hard work is necessary! Yes, our work ethic should be valiant! No, we aren't supposed to break ourselves while working.

The Bible in Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) says:

8. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.

9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

10. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

11. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

It is after we're rested, taking deep breaths, and able to exhale, that the mind finds clarity. How often do you find yourself saying, "goodness I need a day off?"

Going to the same, seemingly redundant, back cracking, and near intolerable job every day, will wear one's vigor and happiness down. You'll find yourself so depleted some days, that your favorite topping on pizza won't taste the same. Some of your coworkers' heads will start to look like punching bags, and your boss some days makes you want to put Clorox Bleach in a glass, mix it with Sprite, offer them a glass and say, "here goes nothing!" /410

I am a proud SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) man, raised by two parents who were both of the same religion, and reared my younger brother and I to follow suit. Our Saturday (Sabbath) is our rest day; a building collective of imperfect, flawed, and broken people came together weekly. In honoring God and fellowshipping with one another, we found rest, and celebration. Rest for you may look very different; some of our rest days were walks in a park, with ice cream & conversation. No matter what, we found rest!

Mark 2:27 & 28 (KJV) says:

27. And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

28. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Sometimes, we misconstrue the truth. To be honest, falsehood tends to be more embraced and sought after, to either impose an agenda, or place blame on another human being or entity. In regards to the Sabbath, many don't see the day off as a necessity, but don't comprehend their body's eager need to get rest.

The lie that's embraced is simply the notion that...they don't need rest. Of course one can overwork themselves for the "almighty dollar," until their fingers forget that they have joints, and start to feel like they're rusting. The question is...why?

Prove to yourself that you care about your body. Get some rest! Honestly, you definitely deserve it.