I love to be pampered.

Does that make me bad?

I don’t think so. I think it makes me… normal.

If someone else bends over and paints my toenails or rubs my back, it makes me smile.

It changes my mood. It relaxes me. There is nothing wrong with a little pampering, right?

I don’t know about you, but I am naturally a little bit of a martyr.

I work hard… and I work a lot.

I don’t sit down until things are cleaned up.

I try to make sure that everyone else is taken care of before I relax.

And it never seems like everyone else is taken care of!

I know I am not alone.

There are a lot of people out there like me – and my friends, this blog is for you.

Today, I want to officially give you permission to pamper yourself.

I don’t know exactly what that means to you, but I do know (if you are anything like me) that you feel like you need permission for a little pampering.

So if you can afford to make a phone call to schedule a manicure or massage, or if today is the day you talk someone into rubbing your back for 15 minutes while they put on some relaxing music, then do it.

If you want to play 9 holes, or call a babysitter to watch your kids (so that you can go somewhere, well… anywhere other than where you are right now), then do it.

God knows how difficult it is for some of us to rest, relax and take it easy.

That’s why He told us to “make every effort to enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:11)

Of course, getting to a place where we can rest can take a lot of work. What an oxymoron… I love how that word says moron (LOL).

For instance, one of my best times to think is while I am sleeping. Perhaps the rest of the world is finally quiet enough so that I can meditate on what I need to deal with. Regardless of why, answers come flying to me in my sleep.

Then I have to wake up to write things down. Otherwise, I lay awake in bed scared to death that I am going to forget the great answer that I just received. After all that, I “make every effort” to go back to sleep again.

This is not rest.

What is rest?

Rest is closing your eyes, dreaming about something fantastic (and remembering it… or not), then waking up hours later.

Rest is spending quiet time thinking about what you want to think about or doing what you want to do.

Rest is what God intended for us to experience one day out of every week.

That is what the Sabbath is… a day of (breathe in, breathe out)… rest.

It is a day to renew, revitalize, rejuvenate and revive.

It is a Godly thing.

Consider this, today’s blog post, permission to rest.

Schedule an hour for yourself.

Or schedule two or three. Why not make it four?

Pamper yourself a little bit. That’s what God wants you to do.

Pamper Yourself is the theme of this month’s It’s a Girl Thing event.

It’s a Girl Thing is our quarterly women’s meeting. This will be our second meeting of the year.

It just so happens to follow one day after my 40^th birthday.

I’m not scared of turning forty, but a party with friends can’t hurt, so join me on April 20 our Sunset Hills campus (7:30pm). Click here for more details about this event.

We will worship together. Then, we’re all going to get pampered a little bit by some of the area’s best salons as well as some fun DIY salon services.

And the pampering has a double meaning!

We are also collecting Pampers, baby wipes, baby food and all things “baby” (so long as the items are new and unused please).

We will donate these items to single moms and families need.

So be sure to bring something to allow a little baby to be pampered too.

See you there!