a mild obsession...

Yes, so...you hear strange noises coming from my living room at 3:30 am. It sounds like some strange alien language. Could we finally be getting contact from an alien race?! Is the parakeet speaking in tongues (though I suppose he does often sound like a record playing backward however and I've often wondered if he is some weird alien mutation of his own.Another blog for another time though)? Whatever could be that commotion?!
No, none of the above. Don't worry, don't even get out of bed, it's just me playing with my new mild obsession..."Animal Crossing" . And whatever could that be you may ask with one eyebrow raised. Animal Crossing is a cutesy-wutsey realtime 'strategy' game if you want to call it that. In the tradition of Sim City (without actually building anything though) kinda like neo-pets without the pet...you run around buying things and talking to animals who inhabit your town, planting crops, digging up buried fossils (yes fossils), finding paintings for the museum, catching bugs and a plethora of other strange activities. How could someone spend all night playing this game then 3 hours the next afternoon? Sound banal, something for your 4 year old brother? Think again, this game is a fairly entertaining way to uselessly pass a couple of hours. I won't spoil it for you. If you decide to rent or buy this game though invite another friend to come with a game card of their own and you can trade things back and forth and even visit each other's towns. My roommate and I were talking Saturday and she exclaimed in wonder and mild dismay at hearing I stayed up until 4 am playing this game. Perhaps these are not the halcyon days of yor when you were 10 and staying up until 3 am playing Super Mario 3 for regular ol' Nintendo. But I'll tell you what...right before I left last night for the evening I came out to the living room to hear a strange noise...kind of like an alien language...or a parakeet speaking in tongues...my roommate has moved into my village and left her blithely playing staring at the screen with a knowing laugh I walked out the door. I wonder what time she went to bed.

First Shabbat posting

Today is Saturday. The day I rest, think, pray and work as little as possible. I stayed abed until almost 1 pm and my brother called and said "You are still in bed? That isn't healthy! Sleep your life away get up!" Unhealthy? Yeah if you do it every day as a way to avoid the world and the work God has for you. What isn't healthy is the way we race around and insist that our 10 minute "God blesses and reading of the word of devotional books" is quality time with the Lord. I'm not one to talk. I'm as guilty as the next person in not spending time just listening for the Lord. I have friends that are pulled every which way figuring they have to be there for this person or that person 24 /7 because it is the right thing to do. No problem, you should be there for others as God leads you and show your love...but pretty soon if you don't take time to rest yourself and receive renewal from the Lord in your own Spirit there will be nothing left to give and all you will be giving is that....nothing...what is the blessing to others and yourself in that?
How many times ,though,through the course of our lives do we say " I wish I had time to rest to get away with the Lord, to do nothing but reflect and rest and become renewed!" This is what the Shabbat, the Sabbath, is. A time to enjoy friends and the things we enjoy; to forget about the cares of the week for a day and rest in the presence of God. Whether for you that means doing no work and turning on no lights (the traditions of the Orthodox Jewish way of celebrating Shabbat is to do no work Friday sundosn through sundown Saturday) or just kicking back and eating a nice big meal , watching movies, and hanging out with friends like I do. If it rests you do it and remember that even God took an entire day to rest. I refuse to argue whether Saturday or Sunday is the 'true' Sabbath. That is pointless who cares? Are you resting in God's presence casting the cares of the week on him? I challenge you to try taking a Shabbat day! Sure maybe I could get up a little earlier but I thank God for the Sabbath day. A command to rest!
So whatever rest means to you I wish you a Shabbat Shalom (peaceful Sabbath)!