Today is a day I need the rest that Christ provides.  I have been dragging all day, did get some tomatoes processing in the making of pizza sauce, but as the time went on, I could feel the ole body complaining more than normal.  So, I will take a few minutes to rest and rejuvenate the body.

As I write, Carla brought in two boxes of pears, two more of peaches and with all of that – 100 pounds of fruit - she just got a call of some prunes that someone needs to give away.  I am not sure I will be getting much rest the next couple days.

In today’s world, here in America, it is easy to just go to the store and purchase the cans of veggies and fruit – and for that matter fresh fruit of some kind all year round.  In the long run it is probably cheaper when you consider the labor in growing, harvesting and processing; not to mention our water bill which triples at least three of the summer months of the year.

Gardening though, is an important activity for Carla.  It gives her pleasure and release of energy.  She enjoys the work and the fruit of her labor.  Much of what she grows is shared with others as well as processed and place in our pantry.

We process fruit and vegetables to take advantage of the garden and the gifts from others – as well as the in season prices for those items we don’t grow.  We know how the items were grown and in our case the knowledge that no chemical pesticides have been used. 

As I look back at Carla’s family and past my own to my grandmother here in Oregon and ancestors in France, I know that those people canned to survive.  Needed to have a guarantee of food on the table in the winter months.  They worked hard to insure their gardens were well tended.

They worked hard in the processing of the fruit.  They would can in the heat of summer, in hot kitchens, over wood stoves for hours on end. 

Today, I am in an air-conditioned house using an electric stove.  It is still hard work and still hot, but not as bad as those women who had neither.  Still, it takes a lot of time to grow and can your own food, but we feel it is worth it.

Mathew 11:27-29 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

There are times that come on us, as I feel today, when we are just tired.  Our bodies are telling us to slow down and take a rest – and fortunately I can do that, hoping to feel better later on, or at least when I awake in the morning.

Christ understood our need to rest.  He had to do it and He separated Himself so He could.  Often He spent many hours in conversation with the Father.  When we do that we find that our soul is not as burdened, that we are re-energized and ready to go forth in His service, once again.

Our bodies and our souls need time to be reinvigorated.  We need time to let the muscles of body and our mind relax.

Have you noticed lately, that it is almost impossible to find that restful time.  There is more and more a demand on a person as the world of technology improves.

Advertisements on TV tell us that with certain types phones, or whatever they are using, they can take TV with them.  Or they can watch movies anytime they wish – and they show these people in the middle of other activities doing just that.  Not to mention the hand held video games that are everywhere.

As we look around in any public place people are busy on their phones, calling or texting, not paying attention to anyone else.  They have to be connected at all times, or they feel lost.

People go on vacation, and because they have their phones they don’t leave their job.  They are forever checking e-mails, calling or being called from the office.  A lot of emotional energy is being used, with very little gain.

Because they can stay connected, they feel they have to, there is no rest.

I can remember, as a Realtor, a potential client was upset with another Realtor because he wasn’t immediately available – he was at a function and didn’t want to talk during that time.  So, he wanted me to help him, right now.  I was also in the middle of something, and told him he would have to wait for me to be finished – he went elsewhere.

That attitude is becoming prevalent in people’s lives; something needs to be done, and right now and I can’t wait until you have more time.  One of my fellow Realtors was trying to contact a Mortgage company and he was upset because the person didn’t stop talking to a client in his office and listen to this person’s concerns on the phone.  He even had the gall to start to chastise the person later; he was cut short when the man asked him how he would have felt if HE had been the one in the office.

Everybody feels the pressure, and, unfortunately if they don’t yield to the pressure you lose out.  There is a since of urgency in almost everything we do anymore.

Except when it comes to serving God.  Somehow He always gets put on a back burner – I am not sure how long that has been going on, but it was before my lifetime.

We don’t feel the urgency to proclaim Christ’s salivation; we seem to think there will be plenty of time.  We have been talking about the end times for centuries now, and He has yet to come – so we talk about it, but don’t really worry about those outside the circle, because there is time.  We have too many other things to do and don’t have time.

James 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists

We take our rests – as we describe it – from life, but we continually rest, giving no, or at the most lip, service when it comes to serving Him.  Meanwhile, satan doesn’t rest, he is continually active.  There are thousands of people who are against Christ, preaching against Him and persecuting, torturing and Killing Christians. 

He is making great headway around the world today.  All we have to do is look at headlines to see what evil exists, what evil persists, in our world.

It may be another 1000 or more years before Christ’s coming.  It might be another 1000 or more years before the anti-Christ who will unite the world against God will come, we don’t know.

What we do know is that every day people are dying without the benefit of Christ’s salvation and love.  For them, the end of time is today – and they will spend the rest of eternity in hell.

We may be tired, we may be discouraged with what satan is doing around this globe, the war between good and evil is not only ongoing, but satan seems to be making some real inroads.  We must turn ourselves over to Christ, who will encourage, build us up and give us the rest needed to go into combat for Him.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again