Photo by Per Ola Wiberg ~ Powi

Shared by Tammy Peng

In the past two months, I’ve come to realize that my life has become too packed.  Our church was planted in 2007, and that was a job in itself.  I was also working a full-time job and starting a business on the side. Eventually, I ended up quitting my job which helped, but somehow my life just got filled up with other things.  I realize now that the older you get, the busier you get.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt my life get less busy.

So lately I’ve been learning the importance of spending more quiet time with God – meaning, actually setting aside the time to be quiet.  Life is so busy with a lot of distractions, and unless I make a concerted effort to actually spend time with God, it’s just not going to happen.  Furthermore, if I don’t spend time with God, I’m not really building a relationship with God, even though I’m serving and doing church ministry.  Practical strategies have helped, like doing quiet times in the morning before I turn on my laptop, which tends to suck me into the day.

Always and only serving others or taking care of things can run you into the ground — I’ve seen it happen to myself many times.  Instead, I want to work on making God and myself a priority.  My hope is that in setting aside this time, I will have more peace in God and even when there are a ton of things to do, I will know how to truly rest.

Tammy Peng is an English ministry leader at Emmanuel Chinese Christian Church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where she is involved in small group and music ministry.  She is also a small business owner and cofounder of Joielle, an online bridal boutique.  Tammy has a BA in English and Communications from UPenn and has worked in television and event production for non-profit organizations.  Her hobbies include shopping, snorkeling, and music.

Interviewed by Joy Wong