Are you on vacation?  If not, picture yourself there.  If it helps, picture some vacation advertisements – a family walking on the beach hand in hand.  A hammock and cold drink.  A mountain, or a city, or whatever means rest to you!

It feels good, doesn’t it?  It’s proven: in a study published in Journal of Occupational Medicine.  Three days after vacation participants reported fewer physical complaints, a more positive mood, and better sleep.

But vacation can’t solve everything.  The study found the big picture of life unchanged from vacation.  There was no change to general life-satisfaction.  Five weeks after the end of vacation only the extent of physical complaints was still significantly smaller as compared to the pre-vacation level.   Everything else was back to normal.      http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/3/167.full.pdf

So how do we really rest, if hopping on a plane, renting a cottage or vegetating at home just aren’t enough?

It means clearing our heads and hearts, but not by zoning out, bur rather by focusing them on something else….God!

We asked some people: what helps you clear your head on vacation?

Question: What helps you clear your head on vacation?  How long does it take to distance yourself from work?

Ryan Sim - December 12, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - The Night That Changed the Powerful

The Night that Changed Everything

Jesus is power, personified. The question is how will we respond to Jesus? Will we cling to power like Herod, or do everything we can to find and worship him, like the Magi? We all have some degree of power in our lives – over our own choices, over our dependents, over loved ones and others in our lives, or perhaps over employees and corporations. Given power, Jesus and Herod use it very differently, and Herod and the Magi respond to Jesus’ power very differently. How will you? The Magi responded in worship and service, and go down in history as first non-Jewish worshippers, first missionaries to the larger world. So today, with the same history presented to us, we are invited to decide how we will go down in history...as clinging to power, as knowing much but doing nothing, or as worshipping the true King of love and peace. Challenge: Give some of your power and influence to help others. One great way is to come to the Original Christmas Party and make a generous gift of toys to families who won’t have much at Christmas, but you can find other ways, too! Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party. Hope you're coming!

From Series: "The Night that Changed Everything"

In preparation for Christmas, our Daily Challenges are going to explore the lifechanging significance of Jesus' birth so long ago. It's more than a sentimental story, or a time for generosity, Christmas celebrates The Night that Changed Everything. We'll explore the original Christmas story from the Bible, and its impact on five kinds of people.

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