Dear Ones
Happy Labor Day! Hope you are enjoying the holiday. This morning I baked cookies and did food prep, took out a few fall decorations, and am getting ready for a Birthday party we will have later this afternoon. It’s David’s birthday, the friend we walk with each day, and glad we can calebrate with him on the day.  We had a wonderful weekend and saw all the relatives at the lake and swam and sauned and had a picnic. My brother and sister-in-law surprised at church and we had them for coffee and scrabble too. Fun times! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Work, work, work! Do we ever feel our work is done so we can just relax and rest?  God has given us 6 days to work, but then he wants us to rest and we need to honor that. Rick Batzig, church planter, writes about the rhythm of work and rest and is a good reminder to us of God’s command as He says in Deut.5:15, ”Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
   Since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, labor has become more difficult and we eat by the sweat of our brow. It seems since that time that man has an unbalanced view of work and rest, and work is often done for our own glory rather than God’s. Rick writes how we have lost the idea of calling and jump from job to job and work to gain more things, rather than to support a family we love. It used to be that work had meaning but often today work is used to define ourselves. 
   Jobs today tend to be more demanding and if you want to reach the top, it seems you must consent to overwork. There are plenty of people under us that are willing to work the long hours and want to take our place.  Rick said that it used to be that the boss made about 10 to 20 times more than those under him but today he may make 100 to 200 times more. Job security is not good as jobs are quickly eliminated today if they don’t produce a big profit.
   Since many jobs can be done from anywhere because of our technology now, it is even harder to take time to rest. If we are working from home, it may be difficult to know when to quit for the day.
   God calls us to work but He also calls us to rest and He is our Sabbath Rest. As He said in Matt. 11:28-30 (ESV), “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.”
  Our souls need rest and we need to do our work for His glory and then enter into His rest of God. Let us ask Him to help us be in His rhythm know when to rest from our work.
   Challenge for today: Make it a habit to take a Sabbath rest and cease from work for a day.
Blessings on your Holiday and prayers and love, Judy