This page brings together all the resources I have created about the importance of rest.
Rest has become an essential part of my life and ministry and I hope that by modelling that I can encourage other people to rest as a blessing from God.
Below you will find the poems, prayers and paintings I have created about Rest over the last few years. Below these you can find a list of articles, videos, interviews, podcasts, books and resources I have created about Rest.
Poems and Paintings:
Stillness in my heart
Finding peace amidst chaos
Mind, body, soul
Quiet weighs heavy
Too much space for thinking
Prayer lifts the weight
Make space for prayer
Gliding on wings of the doves
Peace descends lightly
Jesus valued rest
Took time away in prayer
Let's rest with Jesus
Discovering truth
Think of me: Human being
Not human doing
Surprisingly centered
In the wreckage of life
Love, joy, peace and hope
…
Resting gently on the lonely road,
Each breath a whisper of stillness,
Silhouettes of dreams dance in twilight,
Time pauses as shadows embrace solitude.
…
No escape allowed
Rest beyond rest required
Til synapses calm
Lean on me and rest
No need to constantly rush
Life is a journey
Archway beckoning
What lies beyond that threshold
Investigation
Angels surround us
Protecting and inspiring
Existential love
Love flourishes
Within the quiet places
Colouring the dark
Flooded by rainbows
Every body accepted
Celebrating love
Loving in colour
Myriad effervescence
Living and learning
...
shattered identities
steal unshed tears
salvaging long time memories
as they fall decadently
with my sanity
as petals of pain
trauma tap dances
on bruised emotions
suffocating wounds
of entangled rhapsody
warm air encircles
as healing nature calls
I drown my anger
in rockpools of faith
moving beyond revenge
my soul heals
as the seasons rest
in the embers of sunset
…
Trust me when I say
You need to make time to rest
Be still and connect
Stop comparisons
Accept you are where you're meant to be
Right here right now
Follow your own path
Trust in the way you are lead
Enjoy the journey
Take time to reflect
See the true you others see
I made you to be
Be still and be you
Love yourself not for what you do
But for who you are
…
Permission given
To rest. Yes you. You should rest
You're only human
Stop trying so hard
There are no winners’ prizes
Who wins anyway?
Life is a journey
Take time out to enjoy it
Take time out to rest
…
In quiet moments where thoughts drift like clouds,
We find the grace in simply being,
Rest wraps around our weary bones like a soft shawl;
Breath slows down as if time itself bows.
Kindness flows through each pulse as a gentle tide,
Forgiving whispers tease away sharp edges.
Listen: Your body speaks in rhythms unwound;
It craves deep love wrapped in comforting stillness.
Creativity blooms when we touch the unspoken;
Ideas dance at the edge of soft twilight.
Share them without fear of fierce judgment’s blade,
Nurtured thoughts grow wings in open air.
Relax into your body, let tender dreams ignite.
To live well is to love, morning, noon and night.
…
Lean on me and rest
No need to constantly rush
Life is a journey
Angels surround us
Protecting and inspiring
Resting in love
Live without worry
Praying peace into each day
With God's help
…
The world moves so fast
Spinning around us, out of control
When do we rest?
Sometimes we need peace
A place to safely retreat
Recuperating
Jesus rested
Took himself away and retained strength
With God we rest
Sometimes we need creativity
Releasing mental pressure
Relaxing the mind
Creativity releases fear
Connecting to God's energy
Beyond words
Then time comes to speak
Needing to share emotions
Safely, honestly
Rest is essential
Helping us regain our energy
Breathing deeply
Through every moment
God is with us, loving us
Do not be afraid
…
Long held hope
Peaceful feelings released
Holy Stillness
Reaching out to God
He speaks to me, reassures
You are enough
Emotions rising
Depths of darkness dissolve
Light of love shines
…
My child, do not fear
Have faith to move forward
Life may be unknown
Stretching endlessly in time
But opportunities await
Where doubt is left behind
Maps of our lives
Tell tales of the good
Laughing away tears
Rectifying quixotic hopes
Dressing chameleons
As they jump for joy
Lilac feathers worn by girls
Age life's secret paintings
Quiet blue candlelight
Obscures pearly promises
Cicadas sing in berry bushes
Calming anxious hearts
…
In the embrace of summer's fading glow,
The sun dips low, a red brush on the sky,
Shorter days weave shadows where dreams sow,
And malaise drapes softly as whispers sigh.
Crystallized moments held in wild sapphires' gleam,
Time slows it's dance to a languid refrain;
Green nights emerge with silver sparks that seem
To banish worries and erase their stain.
Yet within this twilight lies an echoing call,
Of laughter lost amidst the waning light;
A spectral husk of warmth begins to fall,
As day concedes to encroaching night.
So let us treasure these hues before they rest,
For every sunset says what the heart knows best.
…
Resting gently on the lonely road,
Each breath a whisper of stillness,
Silhouettes of dreams dance in twilight,
Time pauses as shadows embrace solitude.
In this quiet corner of existence,
I lay down burdens unspoken,
Finding solace where echoes fade,
And the heart learns to listen to silence.
Underneath an infinite sky,
Clouds drape like soft reminders,
To linger just a moment longer;
The journey can wait a little while.
On this lonely road we tread softly;
Each step holds stories half-told,
Yet here in the hush of restfulness!
I find strength anew for what lies ahead.
…
In quiet moments where thoughts drift like clouds,
We find the grace in simply being,
Rest wraps around our weary bones like a soft shawl;
Breath slows down as if time itself bows.
Kindness flows through each pulse as a gentle tide,
Forgiving whispers tease away sharp edges.
Listen: Your body speaks in rhythms unwound;
It craves deep love wrapped in comforting stillness.
Creativity blooms when we touch the unspoken;
Ideas dance at the edge of soft twilight.
Share them without fear of fierce judgment’s blade,
Nurtured thoughts grow wings in open air.
Relax into your body, let tender dreams ignite.
To live well is to love, morning, noon and night.
…
In shadows deep, where pain and fear reside
Exhaustion's whisper grips the weary soul
Anxiety, a tempest high and wide
Depression's weight takes toll beyond control
Yet in this vale of sorrow’s heavy night
A flicker stirs within the heart's deep tomb
Healing shards appear at dawn's first light
Through cracks in silence flows a restful tune
With hope as compass guiding through despair
We gather strength from whispers soft and low
Optimism threads through every prayer
As joy returns with each new step we sow
Thus pain transforms to love through trials known
In darkness shines the brightest star alone
…
Long held hope
Peaceful feelings released
Holy Stillness
Reaching out to God
He speaks to me, reassures
You are enough
Emotions rising
Depths of darkness dissolve
Light of love shines
…
You may feel invisible
Inconsequential
Unremarkable
Totally unmonumental
But you are perfectly you
Designed to be exactly you
In your own hall of fame
Playing your own game
Don't compare
Don't rank yourself
Against who are you measuring?
Use your own yardstick
Are you on a journey?
Where do you want to be?
What do you want everyone to see?
Let yourself be free!
Settle into who you are
Let go of your need for fame
All that really matters is
That those you love know your name
……..
Writing and resources:
A Prayer for Rest
God of rest and peace
Help me find space to be with you today
Discover your acceptance of me
And receive your perfect love
That I may feel peaceful in all situations
Amen
A momentary liturgy “For those who are exhausted”
May the joy of spring breezes
Awaken your soul
The whisper of foliage
Calm your body
The peace of starry twilight
Quieten your fears
And the darkness of night
Bless your sleep
Amen
“Resting with God through Lent” course.
I created both daily and weekly resources for people to use as they chose through Lent 2024. Every day through Lent I created a painting and reflection inspired by a Bible reading about rest; I shared these on social media and was surprised how many people joined in each day and how it touched people.
I am in the process of getting both the daily and weekly resources published as books, so please watch this space. If you would like to see all the reflections as posts shared through Lent 2024 then you can find them in my Facebook group Emma LLM Calling
He Leads me Beside Still Waters
I wrote this seven day Bible Study for YouVersion inspired. “Finding peace, hope and comfort through the words of Psalm 23.”
“Rest Be Pray”
I created this simple set of prayers, reflections and colouring images as a resource for an online retreat for the YouBelong community
Strength in the Lord
This video was created for the Stronger Conference. It is a conversation between myself and Laura Neale about how we have found strength in the Lord in the midst of adversity.
Acceptance Podcast
I was invited by Carol of the Raise Podcast to speak about Acceptance. You can listen to this at episode 6 of the 2nd season or via this link
"Resting in God" Audio Reflection
I wrote this reflection for Premier Digital during the pandemic, when I was first dealing with a new diagnosis of Long Covid.
Resting is a Blessing
This article was written in 2022 and I honestly don't know where it was published or shared, but this is the text:
Resting is a Blessing
“Before catching Covid I thought I knew how to rest, half an hour on the sofa between meetings catching up on emails and messages definitely counted as rest. I had heard rumours of people who totally switched off every day, in the Jesus way, but I honestly couldn't get my head around that. I knew I was "probably" too busy balancing my pioneering and parish ministries with motherhood, but I tried hard to take a quiet day several times a year.
Even being in hospital with Covid didn't really slow me down, in fact I felt such joy at surviving that I ignored the advice to rest; I pushed myself far beyond my limits. Perhaps that was a contributor to developing Long Covid, perhaps it wasn't; but my advice to everyone now is "rest as much as possible or your body will force you to rest".
I've been living with Long Covid for over a year now and resting is my dominant state. I rest physically for 20 hours in every day; feet up, reclined, body supported rest. I can sit up for 4 hours a day most days, some days that isn't possible. This is a huge improvement on six months ago when I was lucky to sit up for two hours.
I am lucky that my need to rest is predominantly physical rather than cognitive, though I need to completely rest for at least 10 hours a day. I know people who have Long Covid, ME or other fatigue conditions who can't read, write, talk or create whilst resting most of the day. So I'll say it again, I'm lucky.
It is that prayer of thanks which has brought me to a place of accepting my need to rest. In fact I feel blessed in my rest.
Resting has given me time and space to be with God in prayer and creativity; I pray and paint for hours every day. I know what you're thinking, painting is not resting; but I paint on my iPad whilst laying on the sofa or resting in bed.
This ability to paint digitally was suggested to me a few months after recovering from Covid, when I was getting frustrated at not being able to paint physically. Within a month of learning how to paint digitally I started painting whilst praying each morning and now I spend about 8 hours every day painting, praying and writing poetry whilst I rest. I feel closer to God than I ever have, I am calmer than I've even been, my creativity has been inspired in ways I never imagined. But more than that, perhaps unsurprisingly, this new found rest, creativity and prayer has become a ministry in three ways:
I rest and I model the importance of rest. One of my most used phrases is "Jesus took time to rest so you should as well". Resting is counter cultural and yet an essential part of life. Rest is not something we should give into, but something we should embrace positively.
I share my paintings, poems, thoughts and prayers online as soon as I create them. In response, every single day, I receive messages from people asking for prayers, telling their stories or sharing their own creativity, I am so blessed to be trusted with this.
I pray all the time and people know they can ask me to pray. I get about 20 prayer requests every day and I am blessed to be able to have the space and time to pray for people and situations.
I never thought that needing to be horizontal for most of the day could be anything but frustrating, but I've been blessed with a ministry of creativity in rest which encourages others to value rest in their own lives.”
Rest: a poem as a prayer
This very simple poem was written as a prayer more than anything. I also created a black and white doodle image of the word “rest” and I shared the creation of this as a video over myself reading the poem.
……..
And finally… In development:
The following resources about rest are in various stages of publication.
“Resting with God through Lent” weekly and daily resources. The weekly resource will be available free of charge, as a download on my website, for Lent 2025. The daily resource is due for publication as a book by Lent 2026.
“Rest is Holy” Chapter about how rest is a key part of my creative ministry. This will be part of the “Our Disability Theologies: Body-Minds and God-Talk’ anthologies” which will be published in 2026.
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