Relaxing

Psalm 27

I love memories. Today I’ve been remembering a perfect Monday evening from years back . . . .

The smell of homemade clam chowder greeted me as I walked through the front door. After kissing the kids and hugging the cook, I settled into my favorite chair, loosened my tie, and kicked off my shoes—just in time to watch the beginning of the game.

Our two youngest were upstairs fiddling around with a rabbit, two hamsters, and a guinea pig. Our older daughter was on the phone with her best friend, whom she hadn’t seen for at least two hours. Curt was sitting on the floor in his room strumming his guitar and singing “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” In between chopped onions and diced potatoes, Cynthia was doubled over with laughter in the kitchen as she tried to finish a chapter of Erma Bombeck’s latest book.

No amount of money can buy that feeling of incredible contentment, that inner sense of fulfillment, that surge of release and relief as the noise and pace of the world are muffled by the sounds and smells and sights of a happy, relaxed evening at home.

What therapy! How essential! And yet how seldom we really relax. It’s almost as though we are afraid to slow down, shift into neutral, and let the motor idle.

We place such a high priority on achievement that we actually feel guilty when we accomplish nothing over a period of several hours. This is underscored by the number of churches who literally brag about “something for everybody every night of the week”!

Relaxing isn’t automatic, is it? It’s a skill that must be learned. Here are a couple of suggestions to help you cultivate that skill:

Block out several evenings each month on your calendar. Make special plans to do nothing except something you (or your family) would enjoy.

Each day, look for times when something humorous or unusual makes laughter appropriate . . . then laugh out loud! That helps flush out the nervous system.

And when you relax, really relax.

A relaxed, easy-going Christian is far more attractive and effective than the rigid, uptight brother who squeaks when he walks and whines when he talks.

Each day, look for something humorous . . . then laugh out loud! It helps flush out the nervous system.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

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Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.