Little dogs and sloth

As I sit here I have a little white dog on my lap. This makes it very difficult to type, but that's ok because I'm not really feeling the urge to write anything thought-provoking or insightful. So I'm getting a little lazy (slothful, if you will, if that's even a word). Which is interesting, because this morning I really didn't want to wake up. I had a dentist appt. and then had to go to work afterwards. I just kept thinking about how I didn't want to go to the appt. I wish I could call in. But even though I felt fatigued, I didn't feel sick, and I didn't want to waste my sick time unless I was really sick. But then I was thinking, what would I do if I called in sick today? I would lie around the house for a few hours watching stupid shows on TLC and Discovery Health. Maybe I would search the web at the same time and a few more hours on top of that. If I got really adventuress I might have done a load of laundry. But in reality, I would just be hanging out doing nothing productive, and not even "getting better" cause I wasn't really sick. And in the end I would be left with a crap load of extra work at work the next day.

So why do we so desire to do nothing? I don't think it's that way all the time. Most days I actually look forward to going to work because I love my job and I have so much to do. I want to accomplish something, and when I do accomplish that thing (finish a project, what-have-you) I feel a sense of pride in myself. Now I know pride isn't good (that's another blog for another time), but it's good to have moments where you are proud of yourself if you had doubts about your ability to do something. It gives you confidence.

Anyway, back to being a sloth... there are also days when I wake up and don't want to do a damn thing. Today was one of those days. But then I was riding to work after my appointment, I thought about God and why he put us on this earth. I also thought about Genesis, the story of God's creation... God has a job. He is the Creator of the universe. Everything that is in nature has become what it is because of Him. God rested on the 7th day. He didn't take day 3 and 4 off cause he was tired of working. He put in his 6 days and then rested.

I also realized after my two 4 day weekends in a row (thanks to working for a school district) that it was actually TOO much time to have on your hands without any productive plan. In fact New Years weekend I was pretty much tired of being tired, and looking forward to getting back to work. I felt unaccomplished, lazy, and almost down on myself for not taking advantage of the free time I had to do more productive things. We watched a lot of movies, ate a lot of chocolate and gained a few pounds in the process.

(As you can probably tell from how much I've written so far, the little white dog is no longer on my lap, forcing me to be more productive in my blog writing).

In conclusion, we were made by Our Creator (who is by nature a Creator) in His image and likeness. The thing that separates humans from other mammals is our ability to create. Humans create things through their jobs. They make hamburgers, make wood pallets, made lesson plans, I make memos. Name a job, and that person creates something. People create images, they can create advertisement, they create ideas, they create music (and on and on, you get the idea). But we have to take time away from our creation to focus on God (i.e. the Sabbath). God doesn't want us becoming lazy, so He puts us to work, just as he worked and still works to this day. But he understands the energy it takes to create, and provided us with a day to rest and refocus. When provided too much time, we can become lazy. When not provided enough time, we can become burned out. There has to be a middle ground. Make sure you take your breaks, make sure you find time to yourself, but do not let yourself go. If you need to get something done, do it and gladly, and then reward yourself with a short break. God put us here for a purpose, work balanced with the appropriate amount of rest. And know you CAN glorify God in secular jobs (but again, another blog for another time).

I don't know if I have any other points to make. Rich is home, so I think we're going to be lazy tonight and go out to eat. Good night :)