fre·net·ic – /frəˈnetik/

This is my word for the day. I was having a conversation with my wife last week and I used the word frenetic to describe our pace of life lately. After arguing with me that it was not a word, I looked it up just to make sure and found the definition.

Fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way: “a frenetic pace of activity”.

That seems to describe the last few weeks for us. Between my responsibilities at church, my classwork for the seminary classes I’m taking, raising three kids, and everything else I’m involved in, this has been a busy time. I seem to go through stages in life where everything hits at one time and I over-commit. That’s why the blog has been neglected a little lately.

It’s a challenge to abide in Christ when you become too busy. We have a rhythm of life where we must balance abiding in Christ and being fruitful. I’m doing a lot of good things right now, but sometimes the good can keep me from doing what is best. Here’s a question that I come back to when I think about my rhythm in life.

Am I working from rest, or resting from work?

There is a huge difference between the two. In the Bible, our rest is considered an act of worship. Honoring the Sabbath is even part of the ten commandments. God calls those who don’t work, lazy, but He calls those who don’t rest, disobedient.  I’ve been too busy lately, so I’m looking at my schedule to see what can be cut out. Rest is important, and if I am to abide in Christ and be fruitful, I need to have a healthy rhythm of life.

Frenetic may indeed be a word, but it is not one that should regularly describe our lives.