Today, my wife Suzanne has written a guest post for the blog.  Enjoy!
                     – Troy

Motherhood is not always pretty.  I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today.  There was spit-up down my sleeve, pale pink rug fuzz covering my shirt, a fine dusting of cinnamon from an Easy Bake Oven concoction and chocolate on my pants (the chocolate was from a Skinny Cow that I was eating in hopes that the few extra pounds from pregnancy would melt away.  All that melted was the chocolate).

I won’t mention my smudgy make-up, my hair that desperately needs a cut and my feet that desperately need a pedicure.  Has motherhood made me frumpy?  Perhaps.  As I looked in the mirror, though, I had another thought.  Maybe this phase of life is not the most glamorous.  It’s certainly not the most restful.  But my days are filled with the most adorable giggles, kisses and all sorts of new discoveries.  They are jam packed with everything pink and sparkly.  And I realized that although I may not look my best, my life is more beautiful than ever before.  I wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything.  Except for maybe a clean outfit…

At our services this weekend, we’ll celebrate what God is doing at our mission in Mkhombokati, Swaziland.  Please join us Saturday at 6pm or Sunday morning at 10:30am to hear about how you can get involved in one of the most exciting things happening in our church community. 

I encourage each of you to join us this Friday for The Experience.  It’s a great opportunity to connect with God through an extended time of worship and prayer.  The service will last about an hour, then we’ll head out to a local restaurant.  I really hope to see you there!

In last week’s message, we examined Sabbath (to listen, click here).  I asked the question, “Do you have enough faith for Sabbath?”  Do you have enough trust in God that you would be better off following his Sabbath pattern than working every day of the week?

What if Sabbath could be the necessary balance?  What if Sabbath could be a reminder to us that time is a gift?  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called Sabbath “a sanctuary in time.”  A day when we don’t clock in, but clock out.  A day when we remember that we were created for time AND eternity.

Sabbath isn’t easy.  If you’re like me, you may fight Sabbath at first.  Like the fussy toddler fighting sleep.  The child doesn’t want to take a nap for fear that she’ll miss something.  The irony is that if she simply took a nap, she would wake up refreshed with a whole new outlook on life and Legos.  But she fights sleep…

Like the cranky kid, you probably don’t want to miss a thing.  But what if one day helps you enjoy the other six?  What if one day helps you to excel at the other six?  I pray regularly for better time management skills. But what about a day when time management isn’t so important?  That may be just what the doctor ordered.

Years ago, I read a quote from our 35th president, John F. Kennedy: “We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”  The quote is a mandate for action.  Make the most of every possible second. Be intentional.  Work hard, play hard, pray hard—because time is running out.

There is a lot of truth in that quotation.  But is it possible to pay too much attention to the clock—guarding every second, managing every moment?    Is it possible to care so much for time that we never have enough?

I’ve taken on a landscaping project at our home, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the dirt.  My 5-year-old daughter Emma loves to dig with me.  She likes finding rocks and leaves and other “treasures.”  But her favorite discovery is always a worm.  It doesn’t matter that there are hundreds of worms.  She loves ALL of them.  In fact she loves them so much that she wants to collect them.  She holds them and pokes them; She places them in containers with dirt and leaves (to preserve their natural habitat, I’m sure).  But her love for the worm ends up killing the worm.

What if we do the same thing with time?  I’ve noticed I can squeeze every second so tight that I can become unproductive.  And when I pay too much attention to the clock, I stop truly living.  Maybe the answer is balance.  Maybe the answer is Sabbath…

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT POST