Making Time

Hello Again! It's been too long since I posted on my blog, so here you go :)
I was in New Orleans for the past two weeks which is why I wasn't able to write much. Actually, I believe I wrote a post or two while I was at the hotel, but once the actual National Youth Gathering began, I've busy every second of every day until right about now. So sorry for the break, but it's good to be back!

I haven't thought this post through like I normally do before I begin, so it might be a bit jumbled, but bear with me.

Have you ever made a To-Do list? I make them all the time. Especially when my life gets insane like it has lately. I actually make a To-Do list last night, and here are just a few of the things it included:
- Blog about ____,____, and ____
-Write out piano parts for songs
-CLEAN ROOM!
-Go shopping
-Read "Do Hard Things"
-Give old clothes and stuff away

As I was writing this, I got a little freaked out that I wouldn't be able to do all these things. I have to babysit a lot this week, and I usually don't have much free time while I'm watching the boys (although obviously I have some, because I'm writing this while babysitting. Zeke is to my left reading, and Silas is in front of me using up his videogame time). My life always gets like this and I feel like I'm hanging off a cliff. With each thing I check off my list, I pull myself a little closer to safety. Now I know there's got to be something wrong with being stressed out. Suresh, a missionary from India who visited our church recently, made a comment about how "everyone is in such a big hurry!" and I was basically thinking "well yeah we have tons of stuff to do!" But now that I think about it, doesn't he have lots to do as well? He's a missionary for goodness sakes! Talk about a stressful job- he has to be on the lookout for Hindus who want to kill him, always running from town to town to check up on the Christians there and preach the gospel in places where's it's not always known or accepted. It's a huge task to try to tell an entire country about God, but Suresh is confident that it will be done. Why?
I'm sure it has to do with trusting God, accepting God's peace, and making time for Him even when there's no time to spare. As far as my list goes, if I ask God to help me get everything done, it'll happen. I probably won't turn into a supermultitasker for a day and be able to accomplish everything as fast as my impatient self wants to, but I will get it done someday with God's help. I don't have to rush through life, worried that I won't be able to do all the things I want/need to, and then die. Honestly, some of the things that I stress out about doing aren't even that important. God will lead me through.
And if there's anything I learned this past winter when I had mono, it's the importance of rest. A well rested person can accomplish twice as much as someone who is tired and overworked, plus they will feel better. I haven't been good about this lately, but I'm going to try hard to get a good amount of sleep in the future. Sleep is a time for our body to heal and grow, and our minds to recharge and calm down.
Spiritual rest is just as necessary as physical rest, though sadly it's often looked on as a waste of time or just "something extra" that you can do. That's not true. Reading the bible on your own, doing devotions, and having quiet prayer time are some of the most important things you will ever do in life. We are supposed to remain in God, study the holy scriptures, pray in every circumstance about everything. The bible is the living, active Word of God, and it will help you in an enormous way, no matter how many times you've already read it. It's hard to live like Jesus if you don't know how Jesus lived. Pour your heart out to God, study his Words, and He will give you spiritual growth and healing.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.