The other day I wrote about the signs I see in my life when I am spiritually and/or emotionally empty.  Today I want to share a much better list; the things that fill me back up.

1. Solitude

The reason why this is number one is because it is the one that fills me up the most.  This is something that is not easily attained in our society and in my current phase of life, at least not for more than a few minutes in a row.  There is always some interruption or pressing need that hinders any solitude.  When I can get it, this time is usually filled with meditating on scripture, prayer, and journaling.  I do a regular “quiet time” most days, which does include all three of these, but it is normally only a ten minute part of my morning routine and does not qualify as solitude.  It does help me to “top off” my emotional and spiritual tank, but when I am on empty I need a few hours, not a few minutes.

2. Read

I am not, and have never been a “reader”. Reading is not enjoyable for me, the phrase “pleasure reading” is an oxymoron in my book.  However, I do love to learn.  I quickly realized while in college, if I am going to learn I need to read.  I like reading blogs because I can read and learn in quick and small doses, and if I want I can react or comment to the author instantly (which is sometimes a good or a bad thing).  Since I don’t read books on a regular basis, when I do it is very refreshing.

3. Recreation

I think this is somewhat of a guy thing, but I love to play.  This is one of the reasons I love living in Idaho because the outdoor recreation is close and abundant.  I am definitely one of the people that come home from an ideal vacation more physically exhausted than when I left.  Staying in a hotel is not my idea of relaxing.  I would rather sleep on our boat so I can literally step out of my sleeping bag and directly into my wakeboard.

4. Write

This is something I have just started doing in the past few years.  As God has continued to mold me and use me in different ways I felt like writing was something He wanted me to do.  I can say the publishing side of writing is NOT refreshing or fulfilling for me, in fact it has proven so far to be quite frustrating.  But the actual process of writing does indeed fill me up, whether anyone actually reads what I write or not.

5. Spend time in community

One of the most refreshing things I can do as a youth worker is hang out with other youth workers.  Whether it is a local NNYM meeting, a national conference like SYMC or NYWC, or online through social media I love connecting with other youth workers.

One of the most refreshing things I can do for myself is to hang with my wife, my kids, my extended family, family friends, or even a good conversation with the random person that gets stuck next to me on an airplane.  No agenda, nothing to accomplish or create, but just time together.

As I look over this list, I realize that every single one of them have to be done intentionally.  If I don’t purposefully schedule it, set it as a goal, or focus on it none of these five things would ever happen.  My daily life always has other things that are more pressing or more urgent, and if I let it happen these things will get pushed to the bottom of my priority list.

The other thing I notice is how they directly counteract the things on my empty list.  It is almost like God knew what he was doing when he made me….huh, how about that!  This week while I am away, I am purposefully pursuing all five of these things.

I challenge you to take a few moments in the next few days, and write out your empty list and full list.  Obviously yours will probably be different than mine, but I am sure it will be just as valuable for you as it has been for me.