Rest in God's Hands

"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"
~Luke 12:24 & 25

This was a beautiful embroidered pillow resting on the luxury bed of the Camas Hotel and it reminds me of that scripture. Instead of driving 5+ miles from the cottage back to Seattle, I drove half way and rested. This hotel is over 100 yrs old and has been nicely remodeled. Below are ten random saftey & travel wisdoms to use while on the road. Please remember though, that you are in God's hands. Yes, travel safe and then rest in God's protection.

1. Look for a place that locks the front doors at night and simply give guests a key for access. This provides extra safety so that no one can randomly walk in off the street. Many B&B's practice this as well.

2. Know your surroundings in a new place. I don't care if you need to walk the halls 5 times to get the path down because if there IS ever an emergency this will serve you well!

3. Empty your car so nothing is in there to tempt others.

4. Put all your important phone numbers on a list in your suitcase in case your phone stops working - this includes the numbers of the places you are visiting.

5. Go ahead and print all your maps even if you have GPS in the car/phone (I was happy I did because I lost cell phone service many times).

6. Take your own medicines - it's terrible to try to find a store that sells medicine when you are already sick and don't know your way around.

7. Check in with someone daily so that people know you are okay, even if it's by text.

8. Look people in the eyes when you meet them on the street or in resturants and then don't look down! After making eye contact, simply look away to the side. Practice. This is hard for women to do but it's worth it. Not only does it give you confidence but self-denfense studies show this makes you less of a target. This article link is for personal safety & disabilities but I think it works well in all situations. http://www.kidpower.org/resources/articles/challenges.html

9. I set up simple door blocks for safety in hotel rooms that share a door. While on vacation, I ran into the guy from Canada who was staying in the room next to me. Our rooms were connected with a door. The type of door made so parents can rent both rooms and have their kids next door without going through the hall. So what do I do when there is a joining door in a hotel room? I set up door blocks. I leaned the suitcase stand up against his door and placed a book on top. If for some reason he tried to use his key to enter my room, then at least it'd make a racket.

10. Take ear plugs & a small radio. I mention my strange hotel neighbor not only for the door block safety but because one downfall of such an old hotel, even though it's cozy, is there is almost no insulation between the walls. Since my trip to Iceland, I've always traveled with ear plugs and a little clock radio to use it for white noise. By placing the radio on static instead of a station, I can normally drown out any disruptive sounds. Except, at this hotel even with ear plugs in and my white noise, I could STILL hear my Canadian neighbor's whole phone conversation. In fact, I heard several of them before I called to the front desk to ask them to take care of it.

All in all, do what you can to be safe and then place your vacations in God's hands. Learn to listen to his Spirit prompting you...it's so valuable! Enjoy the photos & a few comforting scriptures :)

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Psalm 18:32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;