Rejuvenate
1.
Take a walk. Jesus, the disciples and
the early church leaders especially the Apostle Paul did a lot of walking. Walking can quiet your soul and help you draw
near to God.
2.
Pray the daily offices. In the early centuries, Christians gathered at
designated times during the day for prayer.
These prayer times, known as “offices,” are still practiced by many
followers of Jesus Christ today. Go to
sites listed on the Fairlawn West Spiritual Life page. This is probably one of the most unifying
activities of the whole Christian Church. The Daily
Office Praying the Hours of the Day
3.
Say “no.” Erecting good boundaries is a
critical behavior for all of us. Even
Jesus turned down requests. Doing this will give your soul room to breathe and to be made
fresh.
4.
Make friends just to be with people, not to use them for purpose to further
your life. Just enjoy. That kind of friendship creates the safety
and grace the soul needs to thrive.
5.
Take a fast from the media. We are
inundated with information daily. Both video and reading.
Sometimes we need to rest from filling our heads with insights and the pressure to “do it
all.” This is a contemporary way to do fasting.
6.
Exercise. This is critical to the health
of the soul as well as the body! A
healthy body enables you to open your life more to the presence of God in the
world.
7.
Laugh.
8.
Take a pilgrimage. Vacations are about
relaxation, mission trips are about serving, but pilgrimages are an outward
expression of an inward journey. Nearby
you can use Loyola
of the Lakes in Green or the Prettyman Retreat Center of the UCC Pilgrim Hills Camp
south of Millersburg. A setting that
some of our folks have done retreat at is The Abbey of Gethsemani
near
9.
Find a spiritual director. Not exactly
therapy, not quite coaching, a spiritual director offers something else: a
God’s-eye view of your soul. They help
us to recognize God’s movements in our lives.
You can seek out someone whom you think could fill that role for
you. Or you could check out these
settings in the
10.
Meditate on the Lord’s Prayer. The
Eastern Church has a tradition known as “hesychasm.” This is the practice of repeating a short
prayer, such as the Jesus prayer (“Lord have mercy” or the extended form, “Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) over and over. The goal is to focus your mind on God so you
can commune with God more intimately.
Many short passages of scripture are used for this kind of prayer, but
one of the most common is the Lord’s Prayer.
Try sitting in silence for five minutes, and then say the Lord’s Prayer
reflectively aloud. Afterward, center
your thoughts on one word or phrase and allow it to inspire your own prayers to
God.
11. Write
an encouraging letter. Proverbs 12:25
says, “Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up.” The proverb does not specify whether the
benefit is for the heart that receives the good word or the heart that gives
it. Take time to reflect on a person who
has blessed your life. After thanking
God for her or him, write the person a letter of gratitude and
encouragement. The exercise might bring
cheer to both of your hearts.
12.
Begin and end the day with a devotional time with God. All the hours of the day in between are God’s
also. It helps us to turn our days and
nights over to God with these times of devotion. These sites online are very good for
devotions: the classic devotional book My
Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, Daily Devotional
from The Upper Room, Sacred Space an online experience in
devotions from the Jesuit Catholic priests in Ireland.