Refresh

How do you refresh yourself during these hot summer months?  Maybe it’s staying inside a little more often, possibly enjoying a cool glass of iced tea or sweet lemonade.  It may be feeling the dip in temperature after a more than likely summer storm.  Holding onto that refreshment may require adjusting your schedule for any physical or outdoor activity to the early morning or evening, especially for our senior population (I think that includes me).  Why, as children, did we never mind the summer heat?  My family did not even have the convenience of refreshing ourselves by staying inside, enjoying the cool relief of air conditioning.  We were lucky to have a small pool in our backyard where I spent most of my summers splashing about, most likely not even realizing how I was being refreshed by the cool waters.  Even today, that is where I feel drawn to, the cool waters of the ocean which is less than 10  miles away.  Even more convenient is stepping out to our back patio to take a swim in the refreshing waters of our own pool. 

When we feel refreshed, no matter what our solution is, we need to consider year-round, even in the cold of the winter, how to keep our souls refreshed.  I thought listing the many ways you and I can refocus and refresh our faith, whether we find ourselves in a season of feeling overwhelmed, in a season of dryness, or in a season of change and uncertainty.  Maybe you could also add your own solutions to the list too.  I would love to hear them!

1.  Set a time of day, it could only be 10 minutes, to stop and sit quietly, focusing on being thankful.
2. Open the bible or do a search on your computer and read a favorite scripture or bible story every day.  Make it a habit.
3.  Write your own litany of thanks to God  for all the blessings in your life.
4. Focus your day on doing good for someone else, especially your family.
5. Listen to some of your familiar hymns (you can find on You Tube search).
6. Attend your local church and participate by singing those songs out loud.  (that’s my favorite way of feeling my soul is being refreshed!)
7. Join a local or on-line Christian group with like-minded Christians.  You’re not alone!
8. Start your own prayer group.  “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst.”
9. Before you rest your head each night, refresh the day in your mind, telling God you’ll try harder tomorrow.
10. Be present!  Present to the fact that God made you in His image.  You are a miracle of His creation.  Use each day as a gift that we are given.  Don’t waste a single second.

So, those are just a few suggestions to hold onto when you are feeling in need of some refreshment for your faith.  A cold glass of iced tea is temporarily refreshing on a hot summer day, but the only lasting refreshment is our love and devotion of God.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.”  Psalm 19:7