Today seemed like a great time to spread the word about some resources that seem like they might be a great help in helping you get on the track toward staying spiritually fresh.
Time:
Take some time today or tomorrow to lock yourself in the youth room or somewhere else where you won’t be bothered, leave your cell phone somewhere else, and just spend some time listening to God. If you fall asleep, good for you! If some of your teenagers find that you have fallen asleep, good for them & not so good for you! Ha!
Books:
Of course there are many books out there that have been helpful to people as reminders about living a life in rhythm with God. These two have been helpful to me in this past year. (You can see my thoughts here & here.)
Retreat Centers:
Chances are good that you have a Chrisitian camp ministry within a couple hours of your home and the chances are really good that one of those camps will let you, a youth pastor, stay overnight or even for a couple nights for free! Take the opportunity that a camp is offering you to get away without distractions to simply rest and enjoy God’s presence.
Your Bible:
Of course, remember that book that you always turn to when you need another lesson for Sunday or Wednesday? Yeah, your Bible. I like this quote from Wayne Cordeiro on this subject:
My goal is not to study the Bible for an hour each morning. Rather, it is to let the Bible study me!
Might sound kind of hokey to some of you, but trust me on this one, it just might change everything for you.
___________
Chris Szulwach is a youth pastor in Liverpool, NY. Chris has 11 years experience as a volunteer, para-church staff, and as a pastor.
Blog – CoffeeWithChris.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/CoffeeWithChris
Related posts:
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
While I love reading, I find that books always seem to fall short in bringing any kind of refreshment to me. It is always the Bible that brings this about, and spending some quiet time reading and prayerfully considering what God is speaking to me. One other thing I have found to be of great help is exercise. Bodily exercise profits little, but it does profit. I find exercise helps me clear my mind of all the craziness that the day brings about.
Hey! Great thoughts there about exercise! Sometimes we forget that we are whole people; everything that makes up who we are is connected. That certainly means that caring for our bodies can help our spiritual life. With that in mind we should probably add eating right too.
As far as the books go, I was really just trying to say that those two books have helped to remind me & encourage me in my prayer and time in the Bible.
Thanks for sharing Ben!
I agree with the eating right. It should be added that I knew you weren't just trying to pimp books as well. My list of books I have most enjoyed and been encouraged by are:
• The Complete Works of EM Bounds on Prayer
• Biographies of great men who have gone before me (Moody, Paul, Mueller, Nee)
Great reminder about looking to some of the "spiritual giants" from history! Man, I've got to get back and read Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret again!