There are few things in life that I like to indulge in more than a well-deserved nap in the sunshine. Imagine me in a post-Christmas week coma on the couch while my ENTIRE FAMILY was skiing/working out/working. Their absence in the house overlapped for a full 45 minutes today, meaning the house was totally quiet for the first time in two weeks (except for the occasional sound of dynamite blasts on Snowmass Mountain — which are weirdly comforting). I tried valiantly to seize the quiet, and sit down to write this blog for approximately 30 seconds before the couch had its way with me.

How about you, dear friends? What do you do to rejuvenate and refresh your soul? You need to, you know. I often live by the “you can sleep when you die” adage but it never works well for me or my soul.  I need the fullness of a busy house brimming with the nearness of voices I love, and I also need the surprise of a peaceful sunny afternoon to be in my own head and heart. Not in equal measure, not tit for tat, but always in perfect balance.

Perhaps this explains my affinity for the Old Testament scripture in the Book of Ecclesiastes: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” (Eccl. 1:1, and 12-13)

Finding satisfaction in my toil (and please know that it is my greatest joy to work for this church, so by “toil” I mean showing up and going all out with extraordinary people trying to connect to our awesome God) means finding time to balance it with the company of friends, a good glass of Cabernet, a hike in the woods, first tracks on a perfect powder morning or a noon groom in any kind of weather, and my go-to: a power nap in the sunshine. Naps are my BFF.

My wish for you this Christmas week is that wherever you are, whatever it is you are in the midst of, you find a moment to refresh your soul. It is, indeed, a gift from God.