Work Hard, Rest Hard

Yesterday, we picked up our puppy, Mozzy. It's been an interesting and fun 2 days, as we've been learning Mozzy's personality and attempting to train him. Neither of us have had a puppy before, so it's a whole new experience! (Case in point: Mozzy was up at 4am this morning ready to play...Good practice for a baby, I suppose.)

One thing that has become quickly clear: Mozzy takes his job very seriously. As a puppy, Mozzy's job in life is to play. So when he plays, he plays hard! He throws his whole body into his work, whether he is gnawing on a chew toy, running after a ball, or climbing into a pile of pillows. He has very little fear and doesn't hold back.

Another important part of Mozzy's job, though, is to rest. As a growing puppy, he needs more sleep than most dogs and because of his energetic play, he wears himself out. So after an intense play session, he goes and takes an hour nap! Just like Mozzy plays hard, he also rests hard.

I was thinking about Mozzy's "life philosophy" today and realized I can learn some important lessons from him. First of all, we should take our work seriously and put 100% of our effort in every time. For us, that means working diligently on language learning while we're in this phase of ministry and earnestly seeking out opportunity to live out (sometimes without words!) the gospel with the people we meet. But just like we need to work hard, we also need to rest. Like Mozzy, we need to take the time to sleep, take care of ourselves and do the things that give us rest, so that we are ready for the next challenge. We also need spiritual rest - times with the Lord in prayer and studying his Word, so we are spiritually prepared for the work ahead. Without the proper rest, we are ill-equipped to completely the work God has laid out for us in Austria.

So, may we be more like Mozzy - working hard and resting hard, throwing our whole selves into the tasks God has given us!

Panting on the couch in between play sessions.

Working hard to destroy his chew stick (which he devoured in 24 hours).

Resting in his "house" in the living room

Fast asleep on the couch after a tiring hour of "work"

Asleep in the bathroom, where the tiles can keep him cool and he can sniff Nate's sneakers!