Last week, I went on this walk in the woods. Well, I was supposed to be on a jog, but then I saw the woods and I always have these lines in my head when I see the woods, this poem by Robert Frost, The woods are lovely dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep. Only I sort of rewrite the lines and they go something like this The woods are lovely dark and deep And I have dishes in the sink And I’m trying to go for a jog and get in shape But I think I’ll look for a turtle and some wildflowers instead. So, I was meandering through the wild woods, looking for morel mushrooms and keeping my eye out for a box turtle, all the while, talking to my Maker about the stuff just right there on my heart. Like how overwhelmed [...]

I see you there, crumpling up that sheet of paper, tossing it into the waste basket and wondering if anything good will come out of your life. Or if there will just be this broken record, repeating "failure" and "you don't measure up" and "you don't deserve anything good." I see the way you try. The way you keep getting up and dressing up and showing up and hoping that things don't screw up, again. You get so tired. You're running out of energy and it's had for you to enjoy your life. Do you mind to sit down for just a minute and let me tell you some things? Some true things? Some things that could perhaps restore your soul and give you some hope? Some things that could help you keep going and maybe even set you free? You really can cease your striving. You need soul-rest.[...]

You know what's amazing about rest? When you're resting, your face is all full of peace. Like, someone took a soft, warm washcloth and washed all the worry away. And all the stress. And all the trying-to-control.And the thing is, everybody in the whole entire world has to rest. No matter if you're a world leader or a millionaire, or just a common, ordinary fella without a penny to his name. At some point, we all have to relinquish control and quit striving and stop the stressing and just lay our heads down and get some sleep. Every last one of us. When you're resting, you just get to relax and be restored. It's such a good thing.We could live all our wide-awake moments full of this calm serenity. Because God doesn't get tired so He doesn't need sleep, and He offers us His Presence to be ou[...]