I was raised in a family with three boys. Dad had a theory: A certain amount of testosterone had to be burned off by each boy every day. If it weren't burned off daily, the house would quickly become unlivable, so he always had hard work for us to do outside. Dad didn't have to memorize Proverbs 19:15 — it was embedded in his DNA! Growing up, I didn't appreciate the importance of hard work. They didn't call it "hard" in our neck of the woods by accident! In those boyhood years, I would have been content to be a lollygagger (in "Cornbread English," that's what Solomon's ol' lazy, "shiftless man") without my dad's imposed work requirements as a boy. As I've grown older, I've found that working hard with my hands has many redeeming qualities, while being a lollygagger has NONE. Lollygagging should never be confused with genuine rest to honor God and help us prepare to do a week of hard work!

El Shaddai, God over all things, please teach me the balance between work and rest. Help me to balance both so that I can bring you honor and display your gracious rule over my heart and my time. Help me be productive, hard-working, and honorable. In the name of Jesus, I ask this. Amen.