Tagged: rest

    I have no ease, I have no quietness; I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me.” Job 3:26   Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless—like chasing the wind. The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh. Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:4-6   Dressed in black leggings and a black turtleneck tunic, I pulled on black socks, black quiet-sole sneakers, and finished it all with a black mask and beanie. I was ready. Back flat against brick I crept… Read More

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord. Leviticus 23:3 Come visit me on Sabbath; The bed will not be made. My coffee cup will sit half-full; The table won’t be laid.   Sabbath is our freedom day, The one we do no work. We give ourselves permission To let the laundry lurk.   Alarms are silenced, schedules closed; We rise without the stress Of rushing out, of rushing in,  Of tidying every mess.   We gather with our family To worship and to hear The One who speaks on Sabbath  To all… Read More

Jesus responded, “You have the food to feed them.” They replied, “All we have are these five small loaves of bread and two dried fish. Do you really expect us to go buy food for all these people?” Luke 9:13 Ministry is thrilling, and sometimes exhausting. It is a beautiful privilege to give all we have in the name of Jesus. The disciples had just returned from what was probably months on a ministry tour, laying down their lives and seeing wonders and miracles through the new authority Jesus had given them. Dusty, tired, and happy, they couldn’t wait to tell their Teacher all they’d witnessed. Jesus invited them to spend time with Him and they likely assumed that meant time alone to rest together… Read More

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:3-6 Such a little member of my body, my toe. Unnoticed, except perhaps during a pedicure, when all is well. Small, but mighty painful, when broken. Who knew your… Read More

Your gentleness made me great. 2 Samuel 22:36   Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Great: of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average. Of ability, quality, or eminence considerably above the normal or average. Important or distinguished (New Oxford American Dictionary). Great is a banned word in my children’s writing curriculum. Overused, the word requires no imagination. Teachers encourage students to think of a synonym that is more precise, less ordinary. Great is… Read More

This is the revised edition of a popular post originally published on audreyfrank.org March 31, 2019. Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28). “I want to be an astronaut, but I still want to be a doctor, too,” she said, her beautiful brow crinkled in consternation. “Well, astronauts need doctors to care for them,” I suggested. “I know. But I’m not worrying about it. I’ve put that stress on Jesus. Is that okay? To give Jesus my stress?” “Yes,… Read More

@audreycfrank In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it (Isaiah 30:15). We so often fight against the rest God offers. Instead of repenting, resting in His sovereignty over our lives, quieting our souls and trusting God, we flee. And our pursuers flee swiftly after us. (See Isaiah 30:16-17.) The word for rest here is also used in Exodus 14:14, that famous moment when the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land, only to look behind them to see the Egyptians marching in pursuit with full strength. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14). How ridiculous the wisdom of God seems in the face of our… Read More

@audreycfrank We are desperate for rest. It was this great need that drove me to plan a vacation with my husband and three children to a remote national park this summer. No technology, just sand and sea. We unplugged for eight days and tried not to go nuts as we rediscovered how to do much of nothing. Over that week the many bumps and bruises caused by blind busyness were healed and hearts were renewed. As the vacation drew to a close, only one thing remained to make the week complete for me. It was the last morning, and I was determined to wake up and watch the sunrise. Our rustic little cabin rose on stilts along the dunes, offering a view of the horizon… Read More