A good idea is only an idea until it's put into practice. God's model of leisure looks great on paper. But until we put it into practice, we'll be missing out on God's ultimate plan for our lives. And we discover God's best by imitating Him.

When my son was two years old, he mimicked everything I did. As I would go through my morning routine, I had a "mini me" who would follow me around. When I got out of the shower EJ would be there, ready to copy my every move. I'd put on jeans and a Tshirt; he'd want the same jeans and Tshirt. I'd put mousse in my hair; EJ would ask for mousse in his hair. He would even ask for a cup of coffee (until he actually took his first bitter sip).

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One time, as I was brushing my teeth, EJ was standing behind me in the bathroom brushing his teeth. When I leaned over to spit in the sink, EJ spit too — right onto the bathroom floor!

That's what we need to do. We need to mimic God's movements. We need to follow His model. But it's not some kind of onceinalifetime imitation. We're to model God’s design for leisure throughout our entire lives. In short, we're to take those 52 mini-vacations during the year.

God's routine, His rhythm for life, is six and one. We're to work for six days and take one day off. That's what the Sabbath is. It's taking one day off from work and dedicating it to God.

But here's what so many of us do. We finally get a day off and we think, "Now I can catch up on all the chores and errands I've put off for weeks. Now I finally have a chance to run around and get everything done that is still undone — yard work, shopping, cleaning, etc." If you're doing all that, you're still working. That's not a day off.

And then we get to the end of our "day off" and we think, "Man, I need a day to recover from my day off!" That's not God's plan. He doesn't want us to take a day off from work just to work harder at home. And yet, so often, we use that day off as an excuse to get more done. I'm not saying you can't do any chores around the house or go to the store if you need to. But we must find that balance.

Make your time off count. Know that rest is part of God's plan for our lives and that it's important for many of the reasons we've already discussed. Let me encourage you to take your day off to recalibrate your priorities and thank God for the good things He’s done for you in the past week.

Don't Overdo It

Just as we have taken the gift of work and distorted it into workaholism, many people have a tendency to take the gift of leisure and morph it into leisureholism. They put on the leisure suit and wear it 24/7.

I know people who are so involved with leisure and taking time off, the only reason they work is to pick up a paycheck that will fund their leisure. These people swing to the opposite end of the spectrum and completely miss what God says about work and leisure. They miss the fact that God created work as an act of worship. They also fail to see that leisure is an act of worship as well (although we must be careful not to worship leisure).

We should leverage our leisure to help us accomplish the work God has given us throughout the week. I know that the balance can be difficult, especially in today's fastpaced world. Are we taking too much time off or not enough? Are we doing the right things when we take a day off? The easiest and most sure way to find that balance is to model your life after the one who created it.

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Excerpted from Outrageous, Contagious Joy by Ed Young (Berkely Praise Books, 2007). Used by permission.

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Ed Young, Jr. is the Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. He is a Contributing Editor to Preaching.