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;

Attention coffee & tea drinkers!

One of the things I like in the mornings when I spend time with God is to enjoy some great coffee! This is why I affectionately call my times with God "Coffee & Cozy Times." Usually, I have Seattle's Best #4 or I'll have some unsmoked Yerba Mate tea but while on vacation I had some incredible tea called Fire Light Chai (with ginger & clove).

So this made me curious...what do others do to make their times with God more special? Do you have a certain drink you could recommend? Or maybe you light candles or sit in a special place. What sets apart your personal times of worship? Inquiring minds want to know and be inspired! :) 

Be flexible. (especially with weather, cheetahs, & gas station attendants)

Empty your mind: be formless, shapeless - like water.

Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup; you put water into a bottle,

it becomes the bottle; you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.

Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. ~ Bruce Lee

This trip had a lot of elements so I had to work to be flexible. One area of flexibility was with the weather. I had tons of 'Weather Worries.' The weather man predicted bad storms during my encounters. He said it would begin raining about the time I started out on my drive and by the time I arrived at the Wildlife Safari two hours later it was to turn to snow. I sent out an urgent text requesting prayers because it's not like cheetah encounters are cheap or that I could just simply reschedule if the weather was too bad since I lived half way across the country. I received back some encouraging responses and the Spirit in my heart kept saying, "God knows what he's doing." Ah, the lesson of being flexible hit me. So I needed to be okay with the fact that it might get cancelled or that I'd have a dangerous drive through mountains alone to get there, or even that I might be out in the driving rain or snow during the encounters which I can't imagine would make for anything but a grumpy cheetah...and do you really want to be close to a grumpy cheetah? aah, no. But, after much prayer, I slept peacefully. And God's reply at 7am the next morning?

Sun.

The sun came up that morning and my drive was completely dry. In fact, the sun was warm on my face during the cheetah encounters and those clouds didn't even think about sprinkling until I was ready to drive back to the cottage. About 15 minutes from the cottage the sky opened and flooded. The snow didn't even arrive until the next morning! Someone said never rely on a weather man...and true, they can be wrong...but I know that it was my God who organized the weather. He heard prayers and answered favorably or he simply had great weather planned the whole time. Man! We need to remind ourselves so often...God knows what he is doing! :) 

There were other areas that I had to be flexible on the trip. For example, I didn't know you can't pump your own gas in Oregon because it's a right to work state. That's a random fact for if you ever travel there. It's kinda nice to know beforehand so that when all of a sudden some random guy runs up behind you at the pump you don't clock him like I almost did. *giggle* But instead my flexibility came into play and there were no injuries. ha. I guess that's why I like the quote above by Bruce Lee. It reminds me to be flexible and trusting...fluid like water as I go through life instead of like a wall. Below are some further pictures :)

Taini

Saigon

Leah

Sanurra

Purging the Heart & Mind

Vacations provide so many benefits! I find one specific thing seems to always take place. God takes the first day or so to help me purge my heart and mind. I already knew my next trip would be a challenge for me because I have hypersomnia (select the hypersomnia link to learn more about this chronic illness) so knowing that God would also use the time to clear out my heart and thinking would be another challenge in itself.

After visiting with friends on my vacation, I headed out on the open road toward Eugene, OR to stay at an organic farm. They have a wonderful and eclectic cottage on the farm that would be perfect for unwinding. It was there that God began his work. The innkeeper of the cottage told me a story about having a business woman stay there. She had to encourage her guest to take time to rest even for just a little bit. She suggested to her that if she had to work on vacation then to at least go and do it in the hammock! That guest ended up sleeping for three hours rocking in the hammock and enjoying the outside air. When she woke she thanked the innkeeper and said she hadn't realized how tired she had been. Often we are going so habitually hard core that we don't even see the gas tank light of our body blinking that we are running low.

I continually need reminders not to get pulled into the world of being rushed and worried. So I decided to rest, journal and eat organic, simple food before falling asleep. Sometimes we need reminders that it's OK to take care of yourself and it's not OK or healthy to live your life completely by your calendar. As one of my favorite books says, "Even God rested." He did it to set an example because he knew we'd need it!

When was the last time you had some real rest? Maybe it's time...God can use it to pull you close, purge some bad roots, and refresh you heart. You deserve it! Below are some photos from the organic farm & cottage for you to enjoy too.

Bury the Hatchet

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

Some of you may not know why my adventure suddenly presented itself. Well, it kind of started with the desire to knock something off my dream list. The last item from the original list I had created years ago included having a cheetah adventure. My hope was that for my 38th birthday this year I could cross off this dream, a dream I've had since 7th grade. Looking at the prices though for the cheetah adventure in Oregon, it became obvious this trip would be too expensive so I worked on getting resolved to try another time.

A few days later, my best friend's husband called me one afternoon at work and I picked up immediately thinking something might be wrong. Her husband and I hadn't really been on the best terms. What happened, you ask? Well, let's just say that because we are so different in personalities, or most likely so alike, that we have never naturally click. So we talked. Since it's a private conversation, I'll spare the details but during this phone call we made peace and he asked if he could help fly me up to Washington state to surprise his wife for her birthday.

I agreed and by the next day, I had booked the WHOLE trip! Well, I had already been doing research, after all. *grin* Because of all this, not only could I see my best friend, who I had not seen in over 2 years and get to see their new 6 month old baby girl but with the money it saved me, I could also have my cheetah adventure! Go God!!!

Yet, my friends, let me tell you something. As exciting as it all was...I know what made God happiest about the whole situation. It wasn't the surprise for my best friend, or that I'd get to see the baby, or that I'd have a vacation or cheetah encounters. It was the reconciliation. This is what made God smile. You see, I am convinced God is thrilled about the forgiving hearts of others because we are acting as He does...merciful and forgiving.

How about you? Anyone you need to 'bury the hatchet' with in your life? I am not even talking about a grievous sin here...maybe there is someone you are just not fully reconciled with because of something. I'm not promising you a trip of a lifetime because of it but I do know without a doubt it pleases God to have you carry a heart willing to forgive and be at peace with people.

Here are some other verses to encourage you:
Matthew 6:14 & Matthew 6:15
Matthew 18:21-22
Mark 11:25
Luke 6:37
Luke 11:4
Luke 23:34

Below are a few photos from my trip...may they also inspire you to be set free and forgive anywhere there's a need...

The God That Knows Us

I have returned from my adventure...and what an exciting time it was for me! I encountered cheetahs, a strange man from Canada and over 864+ miles of road - all while traveling solo. Plus, I reconnected with distant friends, one of whom I met when I strayed off my original path. He was from my childhood and his name is Jacques. More about all those things in the days to come! Out of the many things God set into the fibers of my heart during this trip, one resonates deeply...God knows us. As I gather my thoughts and posts together, I wanted to start off with a poem I wrote on March 1st about why I travel. It was inspiring that I saw each line come to life as I journeyed! 

I travel to encounter God in unique earthly locations & within my own uncharted interiors.
I roam to bond with the biblical explorers I read about in the sheets of my bible.
I journey for the sake of my spiritual, mental, and physical health.
I voyage to remind myself that God created me heroic and resilient.
I escape because I know we are mistaken in our worship of industry.
I wander to gain wonder.

Secondly, I wanted to share what I read for my time with God the morning I left for vacation. It just happened to be my birthday and I always read the same scripture each year. Psalm 139. This year, I read the NLT version and, as always, I can totally see God moving perfectly in what is going on in my life. It reads, "You (God) see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do... You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head...You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed...Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

In the next few days, I'll be sharing stories with you about my trip and all that I've learned. I hope you will join me!

On an adventure!

I'll be back soon & will write when I return.
Now you have time to read through some of the older posts. :)
Blessings to you!

My newest adventure shirt.
Wonder what this is all about? Check out these posts:

Destination Diva

Your Dream List