
In reading 31 Days to Clean I was challenged with the idea – what will bring life to your home? As soon as I read the question I knew the answer for me – rest. Rest will bring life into my home: when I rest, it will bring life to my home.
Rest is so good for us, God constructed time and arranged it around us taking a day of rest. I’m reading “Celebrating the Sabbath” by Bruce A. Ray and since I have only just begun it I can’t recommend it one way or the other, but I found this concept very interesting – and I quote: “…natural scientists and historians have no good explanation for the origin of the week.” The author explains that we can observe the changes in the seasons by regular periods of warm, hot, cool and cold weather. Observations on the shape and movement of the moon have brought people to the conclusions of months. The sun comes up and goes down, creating days but there is no “historical evidence for the origin of the week according to Historians” unless you take Scripture as a historical source. “According to the Bible, we have the week because God ordained it, and indeed this is the origin of time and all its divisions.” (Read Genesis 1:3-5) Rest is a God thing.
I find it hard to close the office door or put away my to-do list because there are always things to be done. For those who are task orientated – as most of Western Civilization is – we are driven by completed tasks. We see value in the finished. And we won’t rest till we are done. But I don’t believe that mindset is in keeping with God’s views. In God’s mind there is a tomorrow, and there will be work to be done tomorrow, but he also requires us to rest. God would have us find that balance between work and rest – both are valuable, both have their time and place. Jesus confirmed this, saying that rest was for us, it was for our benefit.
So how can rest bring life into my home?
- Rest will rejuvenate me and I, as the woman of the home, influence the atmosphere and activity of the home. There is truth in the saying “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t no body happy!” My emotions, my energy, my attitudes will affect all in my household.
- Rest, or pause from work, will realign attitudes. Work, work, work gives the impression that our possessions or our projects are the most important. When we allow a pause from that we send the message that other things are important, maybe even more important.
- Rest will allow us time to enjoy the labours of our hands and in turn motivate to pick up tomorrow.

Over to you:
What brings life to your home? What changes do you have to make to let that happen?
3 Comments
Let me know your thoughts...

So true. My problem is more time management. I’m rather unmotivated and so I tend to “rest” (translate: laze around/fritter away my time) while my girls are in school and then once they’re home, there’s a frenzy of activity and I get uptight and easily frustrated because things aren’t getting done. I really need to break that patter and learn to take my rest once I’m DONE my work, which I need to get done while I’m home alone. I’m finding these Mary Challenges are really hitting my concience pretty hard in some unexpected ways!!
That is true – I guess that is where we have to find that balance that God did create work – He expects us to have dominion over our world (my world is my home). Check out my other post Managing My Computer Time – the principles I’m grappling with there (dealing with distractions and wasting time) may give you a starting point. Thanks for dropping by!
Rest. . .why is it that we know we need it, but tend to keep going until burn out? I too struggle with time management sometimes. I’ll check out the computer issue topic next: )