Take a Sabbath (rest), or a Sabbath will take you.  That is the lesson I learned this week.  For about two weeks some kind of sickness has been chasing me around, but never quite caught me.  During that time I ignored two things that came back to haunt me.  First, I ignored my body.  It was practically screaming at me to REST.  Slow down a bit.  But of course I couldn’t do that.  Much was going on.  Much work to be done, VBS, Sermons, Visitation, etc.  There will always be much to do.  So I figured I can just push through, tough it out, and be just fine.  I argued with my body.  My body won.  Second and more importantly I ignored the command of God.  It is not for nothing that God tells us to take Sabbath rest.  He designed our bodies to need it, in fact setting the example for us before the fall of man by resting from creation on the 7th day.

So, I did not heed the call.  This week, the Sabbath I neglected took me over.  On Monday night I hit a wall.  Went to bed at 9:30 (1st time in years) and when I woke up Tuesday morning I couldn’t even get out of bed.  I was weak, feverish, sweats, headache, sinus aches, miserable.  For almost 3 days I couldn’t be out of bed for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.  It was the worst I’ve felt since I had mono in 11th grade.

Americans place much value on hard work.  I believe it is a perfectly fine value, and strive for it at all times.  Yet it is quite possible that we value it out of proportion.  We in fact wind up idolizing it to a place where we ignore the clear mandate to rest.  When we do that we are asking for trouble.  It may catch up to you in 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, or 20 years, but if you live a life without taking regular Sabbath rest then Sabbath rest will eventually take you.  It will bend and break you to the point where you are left without a choice but to listen.  I would far rather willingly do this then let it happen to me.  We ought to value hard work while at the same time valuing good rest.  Neither out of proportion.  Both under God and to His glory.  Work with all your might, and rest with the same vigor!

There are few times when I post something of an intensely personal nature on this blog.  Typically, however serious the post may be, it is more generic in nature.  Today I would like to ask a very personal favor of you.  One of mine and Brooke’s dearest friends found out last Friday that he is in the early stages of leukemia.  He is only 28 years old.  He was a 2 year missionary to China.  He is married, and is expecting his first child, a daughter, in only about 8 weeks.  If you go to Little Mountain, he spoke on a Wednesday night just this month.  Please keep he and his family in your prayers.  This week he began what will be a very intense treatment of chemotherapy, and on Wednesday he finds out if the cancer is possibly more advanced than they originally thought.  It is quite possible he will be admitted to the hospital on Thursday for an indefinite amount of time.  They need your prayers very much during this time.  Whether you know them or not, pray that God would heal him.  Pray that God would strengthen his whole family.  Pray for his wife as she carries their baby during this stressful and anxious time.  Most of all, pray with him, that God would be glorified through this.  He is optimistic, but these things happen in stages.  There will be optimism followed by deep anguish and anxiousness, and sometimes within the same day or hour.  I will keep you updated as we find out new information.  Thanks very much.This is my friend, Cam on the far left, standing next to his wife Lyn about a year ago. 

It’s strange being a pastor. I guess it would be anywhere, but especially so in a smaller church where you have the opportunity to get to know the people on a much more intimate level. You hear about places in peoples’ lives that nobody else really gets to hear. All the darkest parts of man seem to have a way of coming out. You see the best and worst. When I said “Yes” to the church I’m pastoring now, I had some knowledge that I was called to be a “Doctor of Souls.” That’s expected and really even the hardest parts are not surprising. BUT, I had no idea I’d be getting a Med school education at the same time. I’ve learned more about the inner workings and broken pieces of humans, along with more than I really ever cared to know about surgical procedures since I’ve come here. In fact I’ve learned I can communicate intelligently with doctors about a good many things now. People expect me to know about what’s wrong with their body. Is it always pleasant? No. Does it and should it come with the territory? I believe yes. SO thank you God for letting me be a doctor!