More Ways to Refresh Your Soul
21. Go to a farmers market, an art fair, or a music festival.
Soak in their wonderful offerings.
22. Put yourself in a new situation.
Do something you’ve never done before. At lunchtime, volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity site. Pound nails. Help build a home. Mentor a child. Go fishing. Bait your own hook. Try your hand at a pottery wheel. Eat sushi.
23. Look at your schedule.
Where can you downsize, delegate, or redirect? Take something off your plate.
24. Ask someone to be your “coach.” Someone who’ll invest in you.
Ask your coach to help you focus on your mission and vision.
25. Plant yourself in a small group.
Choose one that’s real and relevant; a place where you can find confidentiality, accountability, transparency, and encouragement.
Follow Jesus’ Example
There’s a perfect model of what it means to stay refreshed, renewed, and moving in ministry and it’s Jesus.
Jesus spent time with the 5,000, before the masses, who were looking to him, listening to his every word, and tugging at him. It was a long day. When the disciples alerted Jesus that it was time to eat, Jesus delegated the task to his disciples and also used the resources of a boy with a basket of fish and bread. Through a miracle, Jesus fed the 5,000.
Jesus didn’t spend all his time with the masses.
He moved to spend time with his disciples, always fully aware of the value of his team. He’d spend time with them, equipping them, asking higher-order questions, and serving with them. But Jesus didn’t spend all his time with his team. Jesus moved.
Jesus moved to be with close friends—brunch with Mary and Martha. Time to be, time to talk, time to enjoy a meal, and time to discuss life. Jesus was in relationship with people. He knew that friends are those we do life with. He understood that healthy friendships are sources for refreshment. But Jesus didn’t spend all his time with friends. Jesus moved.
Jesus moved to be alone.
He went to be with God—in prayer, to listen. Jesus experienced solitude, serenity, and simplicity. After his disciples had been preaching, teaching, and healing, Jesus told them to go to a silent place. Go and just be. Rest, restore, refresh. And Jesus calls out to you, his precious disciple. “Rest now, be silent, listen, clear your mind. And I will whisper to you. I love you.”
Jesus, in his years of ministry, demonstrated balance. He didn’t heal everyone who was ill, nor feed all who were hungry, nor perform millions of miracles. He moved as he was called to do.
Why do you exist? Why are you here on this earth?
You exist for no other reason than to be in a relationship with God and to be in a relationship with his people. Take good care of yourself. Refresh your soul. You’re a treasure.
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. —Habakkuk 3:17-19
Sue Lennartson is director of adult ministry at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.
This article was originally published on ChildrensMinistry.com, © Group Publishing, Inc.
