True Rest

When I first started blogging nearly four years ago (WHAT?!? 4 years already!?) I really didn’t know what I was getting into.

I thought I would just be sharing a few Jesus-y thoughts and encouraging others.

Which I do. And for that I am grateful. But this online ministry gig is so much more.

See friends, it is a ministry to myself.

Not only do reading my words at a later date realign my heart focus and challenge me to find Jesus in my everyday, but I have also met some incredible friends here.

Some of these friends are still “just” URL– aka online. But a few have become IRL– In Real Life friends.

And I have hopes that it will continue.

I have been blessed to meet some of these gals in person and have a running list of online bloggy girlfriends to ~~stalk~~ connect with in person at some point. Several friends have escalated into personal prayer warrior status, text messaging, phone conversation and Skype/Facetime dates.

Other than general companionship, these girls encourage me and speak truth into my life, even when we are separated by years/miles/time zones.

I would love to celebrate ALL of my online girlfriends, but I am terrified of leaving someone out. So today, I want to share about one woman who spoke some encouraging truth a few weeks ago that has really stuck with me.

My friend Sharon and I joke that we are twin sisters separated by a few decades. Although we are in different seasons of life, we have very similar views on life and writing styles. On some weeks, we unknowingly write blogs with a common thread.

Sharon and I also are a little bit nerdy in that we love acrostics. She is always posting new words on her blog straight from “Sharon’s Acrostic Dictionary” and I just eat it up.

You might know that my One Word for 2015 is REST. Dear Sharon left an acrostic for the word REST in a comment one day, and it has now become foundational in my heart transformation this year.

Relinquish
Everything to the
Savior in
Trust

Is that not just the bomb dot com?! (Sorry. Pretty sure nobody uses that phrase much anymore.)

I knew starting this One Word journey that rest wasn’t just something physical. Sure, I have taken more power naps in the first quarter of 2015 than I have probably in the last 5 years combined, but rest is so much more than that.

To rest in spirit, I really do have to relinquish everything to our Savior in trust.

And for this lover-of-control, it is friggin’ hard sometimes.

Glad there are 12 months in a year and not just 4 or I would be in trouble.

Let’s take a deeper look at this:

Relinquish: Isn’t it interesting that rest requires work? What a challenging paradox. I popped on over to the “real” dictionary to see what this relinquishing was really all about and wouldn’t you know it… It fits perfect. Its a verb, which for all of us English gurus, means it requires action– something we do. The actual definition is even better: give up, let go, release, cast aside, renounce, or my favorite: SURRENDER. Oh snap, Jesus. #NuffSaid

Everything: Notice this word. It doesn’t say most things, a couple things, half the things– it says EV-ERY-THINGGG! All the things in my heart that make me twitchy, anxious, get me worked up and distract from truly resting spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. EVERYTHING.

Savior: The Lord Jesus Christ is the recipient of all my junk: My worry, anxiety, questions, controlling nature… He takes it from me and disposes of it, kind of the like the trash truck that comes by our house each Thursday morning. The kicker is I have to remember to take out the trash or it just stays there. Fortunately, Jesus SAVES me from myself- He reminds me daily that the Cross was enough. He will take away my junk and give me rest in return. What a trade!

Trust: It is absolutely no mistake or coincidence that four years ago when I chose my first-ever One Word, it was Trust/Dependence. Trust is foundational to my life with Christ. I can take hundreds of power naps and never change out of my yoga pants, but unless I am TRULY trusting him fully with my time, energy, life, ministry, family and finances, then rest will not come.

In truth, I haven’t totally mastered this acrostic yet, but Jesus is still working on me. I WILL tell you that I feel like I am back in a springtime relationship with the Lord. My heart is renewed. I release things faster, laying them at the foot of the Cross with trust the LEAVING them there.

I am so grateful for my God, my One Word and my friend Sharon’s acrostic dictionary. Because they are all working together to change me from the inside out.

Friends, I would love to hear how your One Word journey is shaping up. If you had an acrostic for your word, what would it be? Please share in the comments.

2015 is going to be a powerful year. I am excited to discover God’s best for me as I settle into a lifestyle of true rest.

Truly resting (most of the time),