The Monday Memo from John Stanko

775 - Work and Relax

i was looking through the archives and found this Memo 51 from 2002, one year after I started the Monday Memo. It was fun to read and reflect on what has happened through my purpose over the last 14 years, and I thought I would share it with you so you can be encouraged and lay out a 14-year-plan that will help you fulfill your purpose. Enjoy!

*****

People sometimes ask me how far in advance I determine the topic for each Monday Memo. There are times when I know early in the week, and then there are times that I'm not sure what I'll write until I start writing. This week is definitely a faith venture. As I begin to write, I am trusting the Lord for the topic. So let's have faith together that something good will happen as I write.

I am listening to the soundtrack from The Phantom of the Opera as I write. That music is among the most successful show music in the history of theater. I have seen the show in person five times, and I am ready to see it again. Andrew Lloyd Webber composed the music and Charles Hart wrote the lyrics. Why am I telling you this? Because these men changed the world by what they did and produced. I listen to their music, but also try to read great books, watch great movies, study great business success stories, and listen to great men and women because they all inspire me to achieve and produce. 

You have read in many Memos that I want to change the world. If God doesn't permit me to change the world, I want to change my world, that part of the world with which I come in contact. But that will not happen, indeed I cannot permit it to happen, in my own strength. It must happen like this Monday Memo is happening: by faith in God. Somehow I must learn to work and trust in God at the same time.

Many of you write me, anxious about finding your purpose, achieving your goals, having time, and knowing the will of God. I commend you for your concern, but you can't find or achieve these things through your own intelligence or energy. Relax!  How can you do that while still putting forth effort?  I am thinking of the verse that states: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).

I also recall what the psalmist wrote: "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves" (Psalm 127:1-2).

I encourage you to seek the Lord for your purpose this coming week. Work hard to achieve your goals.  Take some intermediate steps that will equip you for your ultimate success in something significant in the years to come. While you're seeking and working, however, I recommend that you learn to relax. That's right: work and relax. Those two things can only make sense together in a faith context, where you are working like everything depends on you and trusting God like everything depends on Him. 

If you can learn to do that, then you will have found the secret of success. Your life will unfold like this Monday Memo and God will use you and who you are to accomplish His will. I want to write, teach, and build just like I wrote this Memo: trusting in God to work with and through me. I hope you will do the same. Have a great week!

***

 

NEW BOOK: I am pleased to announce that the first volume of my Live the Word Commentary is now available for purchase off Amazon. This first installment is on the book of Acts, with Matthew to follow in the next month.

717 - Rest Stops

I am not sure why I am drawn to the topic of rest, but I want to include one more entry on the topic. I have been enjoying a season of rest, even though it is a busy time for me. It may seem like a oxymoron - I am resting while I work, but it's true. I am doing what I love and the sense of accomplishment each day is gratifying. Also, I am spending more study time in the Word than I have in years, and I am exercising five times a week. All that has contributed to my rest as I sit in my recliner, facing a busy day ahead while I write this Memo.

Last year I produced a daily devotional called The Leadership Walk (soon it will be available for purchase). It focused on many leadership topics, but every seven days I wrote something about rest (I called them Rest Stops during our leadership walk), which made it the topic with the most entries. I include below two entries from the 52 essays on rest from The Leadership Walk. If you are interested in seeing the rest of them (pardon the pun), you can check them out here. For now, here are two teasers from that series:

1. "All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless" - Ecclesiastes 2:3.

The wisdom writer described people who are workaholics, who cannot stop working and cannot enjoy the work being done. Even when they stop working, their minds are back on the work, which is not a pleasant experience, but one filled with grief and pain. Worry, anxiety, regret and anger can consume leaders, turning their rest time into an opportunity to run mental marathons. Leaders are especially prone to this type of experience, for the duties and responsibilities of leading people and organizations can lead to sleepless, restless nights. The writer of today's verse described this scenario as meaningless, futile and pointless.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Do you stay up nights or wake up early due to worry or anxiety about work-related issues? Do you find it difficult to leave work mentally even when you are on a long weekend or holiday? Then incorporate the following as a daily or regular ritual: Read Psalm 127:2, which states that God gives to those He loves even in their sleep. Then when you go to bed, take a day off or a vacation, say, "Lord, I put you in charge while I am gone. Watch over my work."

2."Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you" - Psalm 116:7.

The psalmist made an interesting statement in this one verse. First, he wrote that his soul needed to 'return' to its rest. That indicates that rest is the natural state for the soul. Second, the psalmist commanded his soul to rest. That means that rest is a decision, well within the capability of each person to enter and enjoy. Third, the soul is the realm of the emotions, so the rest the psalmist was referring to was not a vacation on the beach. Fourth, the psalmist reasoned with his soul, providing it with an important fact: God had been good to the psalmist. It helps to remember what God has done in the past so that any current turmoil or confusion can be put into proper perspective so that rest may be maintained.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Your Step today is to reflect on your state of unrest in light of today's verse. First, confess or admit if you have lost your rest. Second, reason with yourself and produce facts that enable your soul to be at rest. This will include going over all things God has done for you in the past. If He did those things for you in the past, He can do them again! Finally, don't act like you have no role to play in your rest. It is a decision no matter what you are going through.

I hope these are helpful. Have a blessed, rest-filled week!

********

KENYA NEEDS: Read my post Bricks that explains another business we have helped establish in Kenya. Then give online using PayPal or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

716 - A Deep Sleep

I visited a church this morning and the pastor preached an excellent word on Jonah. I was going to write about something else this week, but I had another insight into the concept of rest as he was speaking - even though that was not the focus of his message. I have also written in the past about what is called the Jonah Complex, which you can read on your own if you so desire. This entry will focus on another aspect of Jonah's story - that he was asleep when the storm hit his escape ship:

"Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep" (Jonah 1:4-5).

Jonah was trying to use rest or a deep sleep as a means to hide from the Lord and the consequences of fleeing his purpose!

Perhaps Jonah thought if he could sleep, he would not be conscious to sense any remorse or guilt over his rebellion. Jonah was so out of it that the captain of the ship had to awaken him and asked incredulously, "How can you sleep?" Perhaps Jesus, the captain of your ship, is asking you the same question:

• How can you sleep when you don't know how many more days you have to fulfill your purpose?
• How can you sleep when the God of the universe has given you an assignment only you can do?
• How can you sleep when there are so many depending on you to fulfill your purpose?
• How can you sleep when the world is dying and you have life?
• How can you sleep when you have known for some time that God has given you something to do?

You can sleep or retreat into rest if you are scared or if you are in rebellion, like Jonah was. You can try to play the rest "trump card," seeing if God will exempt you from service, but I doubt it will work. Contrast the idea of rest with Paul's testimony of what it took for him to fulfill his purpose:

"Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love" (2 Corinthians 6:4-5).

Dear friend, is there a storm brewing around you and you are in a deep sleep? Is the Captain asking you how you can sleep at a time like this? Are you fatigued not from action, but from inaction, missing the joy and energy of God to propel you through whatever you are assigned to do? The good news is that God isn't angry and He is willing to get you where you need to be, just like Jonah in the belly of the fish, once you throw yourself into the storm, just like Jonah, and trust God. I encourage you to read Jonah's story again in chapters one and two and then awaken from your place of rest to a place of action. I promise you God will give you all the rest you need, but first you have to earn and you cannot use that rest as an escape. Have a blessed week.

**************

ONLINE VIDEO: I posted two new Your PurposeQuest shows (number 5 and 6) to my online channel last week. They are both interesting interviews with two men who made a career transition based on purpose. They are worth the investment of time to watch.

KENYA NEEDS: Read my post Holy Underwear that explains some of the motivation for my work in Kenya. Then give online using PayPal or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8881, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

 

715: Rest is a Decision

This will be the last week I write about rest - I think! I keep noticing things in the Word on the subject, so if I see anything else this week, I will pass it on to you. If you have missed any of the past Memos on rest - and there have been five including this one, you can go to the site where they are posted and catch up. And now, for this week's finale.

**************

I have been basing my daily online devotional this year on the book of Psalms. There are five books in the entire collection of Psalms and the first book has a large collection of psalms written by David. Many of those psalms and poems depict David in trouble, calling out to the Lord for help. In Psalm 3, David wrote these words that caught my attention about rest: "But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side" (Psalm 3:4-6).

What caught my attention when I read those verses this past week was the fact that David had rest even though he was in a tough, pressure-filled point in his life. You get the sense that, while perhaps not 10,000 were against David (he was a poet and often used hyperbole to make his points), David had many enemies who were coming against him. Yet David was able to rest in spite of them all, and in the midst of them all!

This tells me, and it should indicate to you, that rest is not based on circumstances. You can rest in the midst of your enemies, and you can not rest if you take a vacation. The key is not the activity or lack thereof, it is trust in the Lord.

Why could David sleep so soundly? He saw that God was his shield. David prayed and God answered him (he persevered in prayer until he got an answer). And finally, David had made a decision not to fear even if there was an onslaught against him.

That last point raises another interesting aspect of rest. Rest is a decision on your part. Activity is not going to rob you of rest, but it seems in this context that fear will. I am facing a lot to do in the month of July and every time I look at the list, I get fearful. Will I be able to do it all? Will I do it well? What about more unexpected things to come? Will I be able to handle that? What about the finances?  When all those questions flood my mind, I stop and choose to rest. I answer them all with the mantra, "I trust you, Lord. You always help me. There is no reason you won't help me now."

For me, my "enemies" are not external, but internal. Yes, finances are an issue, but it's my fear of the lack of finances that will drive me to work and not rest. And then even if I cease from activities, my mind can worry and fret and I don't rest even thought I have stopped working.

My point in all this, and in the series since the beginning, is to get you to stop and consider that rest isn't based on what you are or are not doing. Rest is based in faith and as stated earlier, it's a decision. If you aren't rested, then you have some questions to ask to determine why. Yes, you may be very busy, but is your busy-ness connected to purpose or pursuit of money? You may take a vacation, but is worry or stress preventing you from resting? Are you sleeping eight hours, but waking up drained, dreading the day ahead?

I urge you to examine your expectations and sources of rest and make lifestyle adjustments not based on finding more leisure, but more purpose time. While you are at it, you can make a decision to trust the Lord as well. He has not failed you up to now, and He is not about to start. Have a blessed week.

*****************

ONLINE VIDEO: I posted two new Your PurposeQuest shows (number 5 and 6) to my online channel this week. They are both interesting interviews with two men who made a career transition based on purpose. They are worth the investment of time to watch.

714 - Rest: Escape or Refreshment?

I started this series on rest and I am really not sure why I did. It's not like people were writing me to ask about the topic or that I have taught or written on it previously. It is an issue I have observed or at least heard about as people have talked to me about fatigue, work and the spiritual implications of rest - including a legalistic interpretation of as little activity as possible. 

This week I was reflecting on Psalm 116:7: "Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." This is an interesting verse where rest is concerned. It seems the psalmist was previously at rest but had lost it somehow. He began to employ self talk, however, convincing himself that it was better to return to his rest than stay in his turmoil or anxiety.

The psalmist had to come up with some convincing reason to rest and he decided to reflect on and remember God's goodness toward him. The implication is that he should enjoy God's blessings or remember, if things are not good, that God would and could restore his fortunes as before. Therefore, he made the decision to rest (indicating that rest is indeed a decision and not an absence of work or presence of leisure).

I have listened to people over the years say, "I need a break and to get away from work, this place or these people." It always seemed to me that they were talking themselves into a downward spiral, convincing themselves that the only answer for their fatigue was "rest" or a cessation of activity. Whenever I hear that, I also think of Jesus who was tired and hungry until the woman approached Him at the well. When the disciples came back with food, they thought He had already eaten because He was so energized: "Meanwhile his disciples urged him, 'Rabbi, eat something.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you know nothing about.' Then his disciples said to each other, 'Could someone have brought him food?' ''My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work'" (John 4:31-34).

If you are so tired and in need of rest, are you doing the will of Him who sent Jesus and committed to see it through to the end? If not, they may be where your energy is going.

Keep in mind that I am not saying you don't need rest. Rest is not meant to be a refuge but an opportunity to recharge so you can get back in the game of work to fulfill your purpose and finish the work the Father gave you to do. Are you talking yourself into fatigue or into purpose? Are you using work as an escape or chance to replenish? I urge you to evaluate the source of your desperate and regular need for rest and, if it is to serve as an escape, to at least consider that you may be in the wrong work, work that is taking more from you than it is giving back to you. Thank you and have a blessed week.

****************

KENYA UPDATES: I posted two updates from Kenya that will keep you connected to the latest happenings there. You can read them here, then go to my website to make a donation or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help.

NONPROFIT CLASS BEGINS THIS WEDNESDAY: I start teaching a Wednesday night class on July 1 to help you start and run and a nonprofit organization. The class runs for five weeks here in Pittsburgh. IF you would like to attend, write me for details.

713: The Yoke of Rest

I’m back from my tour of Civil Rights sites in the southern part of the United States and it was a great week of learning and growing. You can read all about my trip on my travel blog and I urge you to one day make that same pilgrimage I just made. It will change your world.

Last week I interrupted my series on rest to republish a Memo that focused on a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now let’s pick up again on the rest theme and see what we can learn together this week.

***********

The concept of rest confuses many believers. A small minority maintains a strict observance of Sunday (sometimes a Saturday), refusing to do much of anything. Others maintain a worship tradition on Sunday, and still others see Sunday as a day for recreation or chores, and some even have to work. Last year when I did my devotional on leadership, I wrote on rest every seventh day and it is from that body of material that I am borrowing for this series.

Jesus mentioned rest in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Here are some thoughts I have about these verses:

1. Jesus commanded the listeners then and readers today to “come to Him.” The source of true rest is only available in Him, not apart from Him.
2. Jesus will “give” rest to any who come to Him, especially those who are weary and burdened. This does not seem to refer to a work condition, but a spiritual condition. True rest has its roots in spiritual peace, not mental or physical peace or lack of activity.
3. Jesus commanded the listeners to wear His yoke. What does this yoke indicate? It seems in this context to mean that the yoke is to learn from Jesus. The yoke is discipleship, learning a lifestyle and establishing a culture that is different than the lifestyles of those who have not come to Jesus. This yoke is the entire body of teaching that will only bring rest when it is obeyed.
4. There seems to be a connection between rest, humility and gentleness. Pride and agitation seem to take away rest and energy, even when you are asleep.
5. True rest is not physical rest but mental or internal rest, and Jesus said this is something you discover or find when you learn from Him.
6. Jesus said His yoke is easy and light. If your way is hard and heavy, then you cannot find rest until you trade the yoke you have for the one that Jesus has assigned to you.
7. This rest does not seem to be dependent on going to the beach or some other leisure activity, as valuable as that practice can be. Jesus knew about rest and He was saying the source of rest is in freedom from anxiety and the pursuit of wealth or promotion.

Those are just some thoughts I have from these verses. Do you have any of your own? If you do, please feel free to include them on the site where this entry is posted. I anticipate continuing this series next week, but the key issue is not my insight into rest, but your ability to find true rest and come up with a definition and practice that works for you and pleases God. I am coming home after a long trip with many stops, staying in a different hotel just about every night. Yet I am rested and rejuvenated, ready to face my purpose work this week. I hope you feel the same. Have a blessed week and get some rest!

*********

TRAVEL BLOG: You can check out my updates from my most recent trip "Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights Tour" at my travel blog. Then consider taking the trip next year on your own. It will change your life.

HOW TO RUN A NONPROFIT CLASS: I am hosting a five-week seminar here in Pittsburgh starting July 1 on how to start and manage a nonprofit organization. The cost is $250 plus the textbook and the seminar is five consecutive Wednesday nights. You can find more information here. If you are interested, drop me an email and let me know.

711: Rest From or In Work?

Thank you for your response to my summer request for financial help. About $500 came in last week, and I am grateful. There is much to do this summer and I ask for your assistance that will allow me to write, consult and minister in the U.S. and beyond. You can give using PayPal through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and now let's continue the discussion on rest that we started last week.

**********

Jesus was an authority on the Sabbath rest day concept, on that we all agree. It's just our interpretation of what He said that creates such a wide variety of practices. In Mark 2:27, Jesus is quoted as saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." This has profound implications, for the Jews acted like there was a special day called the Sabbath or Saturday that was holy in and of itself. They felt that God created man in part so that man could revere and serve this day and somehow that would please the Lord.

Jesus was saying, "No, no. You have it all wrong. The Sabbath exists as a benefit for mankind. Don't make people serve the day, allow the day to serve the needs of the people." Jesus said in another place when the Jews condemned His followers for plucking grain off a stalk on the Sabbath, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). Jesus came to rule the day called the Sabbath, which meant He had the authority to establish it for what God intended it to be.

I would present that rest is a concept and not a day. I know people who keep a literal Sabbath, but they are sour, joyless and return to work as miserable as they left on Friday. Their Sabbath was of no value to them. I do believe that worship needs to be part of your rest practice, but beyond that I think you can find rest and refreshment in doing what you were created to do. Rest was not to be refuge from the tyranny of work, it was to help you refresh so you can enter back into the work that God has assigned. That very work is rest and refreshment.

When Jesus was tired and hungry as reported in John 4, He sent the disciples off to get lunch. The Samaritan woman then came to the well and Jesus conversed with her, leading to her going home to get her villagers to come and see Jesus. When the disciples returned, they were amazed to see Jesus so energized and thought someone had brought Him lunch. He responded, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about" (John 4:32). Jesus was refreshed by fulfilling His purpose of seeking and saving the lost (see Luke 19:10).

My main point in this series is that your rest is not to rescue you for one day or for two weeks while on vacation from work that drains you, that you loathe and dread. That is not rest. Your purpose can make you tired, but it never takes more than it gives back. Your recreation should not be flight from work, but a chance to replenish your energy so you can go back to work, which in itself will refresh you. In other words, your rest is an ongoing process not a day or a practice.

If you look forward to your weekend as a refuge from misery, then you are not in your purpose. You have bought into the concept of a career and a career apart from purpose is draining. A career with purpose or purpose outside your career is joy that brings rest, not as you cease activity, but as you meet God in the midst of the activity. As we continue this series, I ask that you honestly reflect on the role and need for rest in your life and consider if you are missing the mark where the concept of rest is concerned. Thank you for reading and having a blessed week.

***************

LIVING IN A RACIALIZED SOCIETY: This was the title of a forum for which I served as moderator last February. In light of current events in the U.S., I thought it was important to post the two-hour session for you to hear. You can listen to part one and part two on my blog radio channel.

YOUR PURPOSEQUEST TV: I have four television shows posted online. Each one features someone's purpose story. You can watch them on my Vimeo channel. I also have all my radio shows archived on my website for your listening enjoyment. That show is entitled "Wake Up to Purpose."

LATEST BOOK: I released my latest book a few weeks ago at a creativity workshop entitled Unlocking the Power of Your Creativity. You can purchase it now in paper or ebook format.

#STANKOISMS: My latest book, #stankoisms: Wisdom for the Twitter Age is now available in paper or ebook format.

ANOTHER BOOK: I released another book recently  for which I served as the editor as well as being a contributing author. Leadership Essentials is now available in Kindle or paper format.

 

 

710: A Look at Rest

The summer months are beginning and I have lots of exciting projects and plans in place that involve writing, travel, editing, coaching and Kenya. I need your financial help to get through these months so that I can make them all I believe God wants them to be. Please consider a summer gift to my ministry toward my support. You can give through using PayPal through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and now let's talk a little about rest.

***********

Last year I wrote a daily devotional called The Leadership Walk. Every day I wrote about a topic relevant to leaders - decisions, change, integrity, goals and the like. Every seventh day I wrote about Rest, so while all the other topics got eight entries, rest got 52 and it was quite an eye-opening experience. The concept of rest and the Sabbath (or a sabbath) has been a divisive and controversial subject, so I approach it with some trepidation. Yet the subject has relevance for what we talk about in the Monday Memo - purpose, goals, and productivity - so I thought I would give it a go and see how much trouble I can get myself into.

First, the concept of a mandatory rest has always intrigued me. Teachers have said, and claim that the Bible directs us, to work six days and rest the seventh. That always begged the question for me: What if someone doesn't work? I mean what if someone is disabled and can't work; should they still rest? What about someone on vacation or retired? If they rest six, should they still "rest" the seventh day since they didn't work?

Second, the modern world has obliterated the concept of a Sunday rest day as we had when I was growing up. Should Christians become more like Seventh Day Adventists, who legalistically maintain a Saturday sabbath with no work and worship services? Should Sunday be observed so that we are known as First Day Adventists?

Third, does rest mean restrictions on certain activities, similar to what the Jews did? If it does, I wondered why that directive did not apply to church workers. If the pastor, song leader, ushers, children's workers were exempt from rest-day work restrictions, were there other exemptions? What about people who work as police, doctors and nurses, emergency workers, and military? Should Christians withdraw and avoid those occupations to keep a specific rest day?

I don't have time or space to address those issues this week, but I will share one insight I had last year. The kind of rest some people crave and need is because they are working in situations that take life and energy from them. They are not involved in purpose, so their work activities take more than they give. When you are involved in purpose, you may get tired but you will never get worn out.

I also concluded that rest is not a cessation of activities. If you are working in a Pharaoh-like job or for Pharaoh-like taskmaster, or if you are a worrier, you won't rest even when you aren't working. You won't find the refreshment you need because your mind can't rest and you can take a week or a month off, only to be right back where you were the first day back on the job.

I invite you to join with me as we look at the concept of rest over the next couple of weeks. I invite your input to the discussion, which you can post on the site where this entry is posted. Let's study together and see what the Lord will show us about this important but misunderstood concept of rest.

**********

LIVING IN A RACIALIZED SOCIETY: This was the title of a forum for which I served as moderator last February. In light of current events in the U.S., I thought it was important to post the two-hour session for you to hear. I did part one last week and will do part two this week. You can listen to it on my blog radio channel.

LATEST BOOK: I released my latest book this past Tuesday at my creativity workshop entitledUnlocking the Power of Your Creativity. You can purchase it now in paper or ebook format.

#STANKOISMS: My latest book, #stankoisms: Wisdom for the Twitter Age is now available in paper or ebook format.

ANOTHER BOOK: I released another book this past week for which I served as the editor as well as being a contributing author. Leadership Essentials is now available in Kindle or paper format.