Do you ever find yourself thinking or even saying, “This is nuts!” Even though I have been blessed with the opportunity to trade the craziness of corporate life for the joy of following my passion ~ coaching, teaching, writing, and technical training ~ the chaos of life today still sneaks in and sets me on a treadmill of do-do-do. And for those like my husband and so many others whose livelihoods depend on surviving the madness of corporate America, the pace can be frightening. But it’s not just our jobs that keep us frazzled and running in circles. It’s often the events and problems of life that have our heads spinning; things like family emergencies, unexpected illnesses, unhealthy relationships, financial crises, and so much more.

How can we possibly find any joy in the midst of all this chaos? Just last week I was reminded of how critically important it is to make joy, peace and rest a conscious and purposeful decision in our lives.  My first reminder came during a coaching session with a woman I’ll call Sheila (not her real name). Sheila’s life is in turmoil. Both she and her husband are out of work and there have been a number of unexpected family crises that would make anyone say “ENOUGH!” She described her life as “chaos” and we coached about how she could find even a tiny bit of joy in the midst of her turmoil, especially when she feels powerless to change her circumstances. My second vivid reminder came right on the heels of the first, as I watched my husband’s energy and life just seem to seep out of his pores as he struggled once again through a ‘crisis’ at work. At my suggestion of using some of his accumulated vacation time to take a much needed vacation, he replied, “It’s just not worth it.” He explained that vacations only multiply the chaos once he gets back to work. Sad ~ but I remember being in that place all too well.

So, what do we do? How can we choose joy ~ choose rest ~ when the chaos of the unexpected or the demands of our everyday turmoil have us spinning so fast it seems impossible to get off the wild ride? Not surprisingly, the answer was given to us long ago in the plan set out by our loving Creator. One of His very clear instructions for us says: “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.”(Exodus 34:21 NLT) God knew we could not handle the stress and strain of life without a regularly scheduled break. But why does He say, “… even during the seasons of plowing and harvest”? It’s interesting ~ God knew our response to these loving instructions would be to say, “Can’t you see this is our busy time of year? I’ll take a vacation later!” But in His Word ~ Our Owners Manual ~ God clearly tells us we need to refuel and refresh regularly and often. Why?

First of all, because we need time to reconnect with Him ~ God is the One who can refill and re-nourish us. And physically, our bodies were not designed to run on high speed continuously without rest. But how many of us, in these days of constant communication, mobile devices and instant messaging, find it hard to even allow ourselves the luxury of a single lunch hour without email? We need to take time away, not only from our jobs, but also from housework – from yard work – from learning another computer program in our spare time. It seems we just don’t know how to rest anymore. And with all of our focus on health and exercise ~ good things to be sure ~ we’ve even turned our play-time into work. Yet, no matter how young or how healthy we are, everyone needs rest. We must all allow ourselves – even force ourselves if necessary – to schedule time to relax. We’ve become so accustomed to constantly doing what we consider to be productive things, we feel guilty when we take time to just sit on the porch for an hour, or watch an old movie on Sunday afternoon, or sit down with a good book. But God’s Word tells us to rest ~ to be still. He made us. He knows what we need. Perhaps we would benefit from following our manufacturer’s maintenance plan. We do it for our BMW’s and our iPads ~ are you not worth much more than these? (Matthew 6:26)

It’s up to you. How will you purposely choose to rest? What will you schedule time for on your calendar so you can renew and refresh? Don’t just pencil it in ~ write it with permanent marker! Make it a priority. Choose to take time to rest, and maybe ~ just maybe ~ you will find a little respite of joy in the midst of your chaos. Here are a few ideas just to get you started. See how many you can add that are custom designed just for you.

Schedule one day a week as your official Play Day. If it’s on your calendar, it’s expected ~ no more guilt! Plan some fun activities or a quiet get away for those days, so you are getting out of your normal routine.

Make Sunday truly a day of Sabbath rest. After you’ve refreshed spiritually by spending time with the Creator, let yourself watch a movie, or go hiking or visit friends ~ no work allowed! You may even want to make a “no cooking” rule on Sunday, unless that is a fun and restful activity for you.

Plan your vacations for the year. I don’t know about you, but for us, vacations often don’t happen simply because we don’t take the time to plan them. So think about the next 12 months. Can you get away on at least one week-long vacation? If so, where, when, with who? Plan it. Do it.

Plan 3 or 4 long weekends just for fun. If a week away is not in the financial budget or maybe even the ‘time budget’ ~ what about long weekends?  Look for great places to escape that are within a few hours drive of your home town. Or plan a weekend at home doing all the things you would do if you were a tourist visiting your city.

Make a list of the things that refresh you. I frequently ask my new life coaching clients to make a list of the things that drain them and the things that refresh them. Then we focus on ways to alleviate or reduce the “life drainers” and purposefully spend more time and energy on the things that are “life refreshers.” How about you? What refreshes you? Make a list. Decide to do those things often.

Now it’s your turn. How do you purposely choose to rest? We’d love for you to share your ideas with others by leaving a “Reply” here on our JoyBlog. Remember, life is a series of choices. Purposely choose rest… and joy… even in the chaos!