Take a Break

I am just coming back from a 5 day vacation trip to San Diego with just my wife and I (no kids and 79 degrees everyday!).  It was a great chance for us to rest and recharge, while the kids were off playing with our wonderful grandparents who came up to Nashville, stayed, and took care of them.

My wife and I had a chance to talk about life, each other, where we wanted to go, what fun things we would like to do in 2014, how we could be better parents, visited a bunch of sites together, held hands, laughed, watched movies – we basically had an amazing just time!

This isn’t a post to make you feel envious about going on a vacation with just you and your spouse, but is designed to remind you of the fact that taking regular time to rest and recharge, especially with the most important person in your life is critical for a Real Christian Businessman.

Regular, periodic rest is vital to keeping yourself sharp and focused and a contributing person to your family, your business and your community.

You see, when we continue to press on, day in and day out, without any breaks, it grinds down our minds and does not leave any space to give us any new ideas. It robs us of patience, kindness, self-control and the other 6 Fruit of the Spirit (see Gal 5:22).

When was the last time that you actually relaxed and took a break? Just you and your wife alone for a couple of days?  You may be thinking that during the recent Christmas Holiday you were able to relax and slow down. I know for some, that is not always the case.  Buzzing around, visiting family, buying gifts, shopping after Christmas sales,  going to see Christmas lights (I hope you did that!) all ends up taking time and energy and doesn’t always give your minds time to reset.

God WANTS us to rest and reset.  He gave us the ultimate example of this through His son Jesus:

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 (NIV)

Take a minute right now and plan for some time with just you and your spouse.  Even if it is just an overnight trip. In the long run you will be much better for it.