When I think about the more and less of life, I realize that I need to submit more and control less. Maybe it’s my nature, disposition, personality or the result from the family I grew up in, but I can tend to be fairly controlling. Submission is a word that’s so misunderstood and the question I ask myself is, what do I really control anyway?

The answer:  not much.  We really don’t know what’s going to go on from day-to-day. In the Book of James it tells us instead of saying I’m going to go to a city, establish a business and make a lot of money, we should say, if it’s God’s will I’ll go and do these things.

One of the things I’m challenging to any who are on a journey to live deliberately is to ask yourself, What do I really control anyway?  When we fall into the trap of thinking we control anything, we’re in trouble. In Ephesians 5:21, we are told to submit to one another. I’m learning not to try to control all the pieces of the puzzle on the table, but instead to submit to God’s direction. When you strive to be deliberate in your marriage, your business, your home, and with your family, you may find, like I have, that I need to submit more and control less. 

How about you?  Do you find that things you are trying to control the most, are actually spinning you out of control?

Most people seem to forget that even God rested. It wasn’t that God rested because he had scheduled to work seven days and finished early. God’s rest was an intentional rest. God planned to rest on the seventh day. How’s that for a Biblical concept? This is the important concept to grasp: Rest – or leisure – should be a part of your life. If you are not intentionally planning time to rest, you are not honoring God’s plan for your life!

To me, leisure is not simply another in God’s great and glorious tools to help you savor life. It’s even more important. It’s part of a natural God-designed continuum that travels from hard work to relaxation. Now, leisure isn’t the same as laziness or sloth, as some might have you believe. Intentional Rest is a planned, practical approach to making sure you are honoring God’s model for rest in your life.

Four Things to remember as you honor God and rest:

1. God’s plan for you intends for you to spend time with your family even when you are caught up with all the demanding work.

2. God’s plan for you makes room for you to go home on time so that you can kiss your children goodnight.

3. God’s plan for you includes time to leave the housework to the husband, while you spend some time alone, rebuilding, praying, worshipping.

4. God’s plan for you develops the space you need to regroup and rebuild your thoughts and ideas so that you can be effective for His kingdom.

One of the key things to remember about intentional rest is it requires good planning and really being intentional about it – not simply relying on accidental or happenstance circumstances to create your leisure opportunities.