Friday, January 26, 2007

Friday Five: Renewal

RevGal Matriarch Songbird says,
"In my office the other day, two church members asked about the boat on my table. I told them it was a gift from a seminary classmate, a reminder of the work and teaching of our professor, Kirk Jones, author of Rest in the Storm: Self-Care Strategies for Clergy and other Caregivers. He always reminded us that Jesus went to the back of the boat and took a nap.Not surprisingly, I could not find an image of Jesus resting. Preaching from the boat, yes. Calming the storm, yes. Walking on water? Oh, my, yes! But no one seems to want to picture Jesus taking his rest.In this week that looks unlikely to hold a complete day off, I am pondering renewal. List four ways you like to relax or give yourself a break. Then name a fifth, something you've never been able to do, a self-care dream.

Okay, since the writing muse is absent these days, I'll just tell you how I like to relax.

1. Read

2. Read while listening to calm music, maybe with candles around somewhere too.

3. Read in the bathtub, refilling with hot water as it cools, till my toes turn into prunes.

4. Plan to relax and read by taking a book somewhere out of my town. Sometimes it seems essential that I physically remove myself from the area I minister in order to more easily lay the thoughts, cares, concerns, etc. of my dear church family and my area aside.

5. Oooh, I have many scenarios in my head for relaxing. All of them require sunshine, and most require travel. I'd love to travel, and other than these 48 states, I have not. And of course the carry-on bag would contain a book.

5 comments:

Sally said...

love the book theme running through all of these- you can't go wrong with a book!.... excellent pics!

Unknown said...

I like the tub scenario, too!

chartreuseova said...

I love a long soak or a good book. But after all these years, I still haven't figured out how to read in the tub.

much2ponder said...

Pastor, you picked the very things I would have said...ha ha, except one. I love to light all the candles in my front room and just sit in the presence of God with some Shane & Shane, Jason Upton, or Misty Edwards playing softly in the background. Right now, that is my favorite way to relax. God is soooooo good.

Jeni said...

Seems like reading is the favorite mode of relaxation for those of us doing what - why reading your blog, of course!

Love books -magazines too - but books especially. I just bought two new Jodi Picoult books on Thursday for my daughter for her birthday present. Nice self-gift there too as once she completes them, I get to read 'em too! Yay, yay!