We Interrupt This Summer to Bring You…Rest.

Well, vacation has come and gone, our phones are filled up with fabulous pictures, and the house looks like camping just barfed all over it.

My fam just got back from a 10-day tour through the Black Hills, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Over TWO-THOUSAND glorious miles with a camper, four kids, and all the chips and Pop-Tarts you can stand.

I LOVE camping (I can really sell it, right?). I’m a city girl through-and-through, but to be in my camper right in the middle of the woods brings me massive amounts of joy. Because let’s be honest for just a small second: I’m not roughing it.  I mean, it’s a camper, a.k.a. small apartment, complete with microwave and shower. It’s the farthest from roughing it (that’s fine, all you brave tent campers can judge).

Long car rides and fresh mountain air can bring a lot of clarity to life (as well as ideas for a new study that starts next week, much more below). For now, this:

1.  All food while camping tastes amazing. While barely tolerated in my kitchen, a hot dog roasted over an open fire is gourmet.

2. Mosquitos are beyond comprehension and I hate them.

3. Two best words of the entire trip: NO SERVICE.

Our campground had absolutely no internet service. It was awesome. It was like someone gave me permission to breathe, to read a book, and rest.

So much energy goes into being plugged in, knowing what’s going on, staying on top of emails and social media. “No Service” was like a door that opened to a space my soul so desperately needed: SPACE TO BREATHE.

Don’t we all need more of that?

Space to slow down and rest from not only the physical weariness of the day, but the mental strain from thinking SO MANY THOUGHTS. What if this summer you took a break and intentionally quieted not only your physical activity, but your mental activity? Because it’s one thing to slow down, it’s another thing to slow your mind down.

The lie. Our culture works so hard to convince us that life cannot exist without us being involved in all aspects, updates, posts, tweets, trends, and hashtags. Very quickly we believe it all matters, and we wrap our days and beliefs around them.

The truth. Being still is one of the most godly things we can do.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Be still…cease striving.

Because when we slow down and cease striving, in those quiet moments we realize something: He is God.

Being still will look different for us all, a vacation, an extended walk, a night out, rising early to see the sun come up. He extends an invitation to rest, however, it’s yours to accept or decline. Nobody will make you, it’s simply yours to decide.

It’s hard to do, I get it completely. I’m looking at a stack of mail, sleeping bags, piles of laundry while out of town family is arriving in a mere 8 hours.

Kids, marriage, job, expectations…there is always something moving. Yet, His invitation to slow down remains constant.

FIGHT FOR IT. Be selfish with your soul. Need help?

New Study Starting Next Week: An Untangled Summer

Maybe life is so tangled up that you can’t be still. Life is so much, your past is too much, and it all won’t allow you to take the rest that God has so personally created for you.

My dear friend, Carey Scott, speaks directly to this in her latest book, Untangled. In it she tells the story of how God saved her and set her free from the countless lies she’d believed her entire life. Lies regarding shame, fear, unforgiveness, and unworthiness.

Starting July 7, we’ll dive into each of those words (I can relate to all four), and see how God might want to loosen the tangles that keep us from walking in the freedom and rest that He intended.

Wanna join us? Then do these two things:

One, get a copy of Untangled. (The link is to Amazon, but you can also find it online in lots of places or wherever books are sold.)

Two, “Subscribe” below and each study will be auto-dropped into your inbox each week.

More details later this week, and join us on Facebook for the most current info.

I’ll say it again: fight for this…take some intentional rest for your soul. Take time this summer to be still…and KNOW that He is God.