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| Quite possibly the prettiest place I’ve ever relaxed–Costa del Sol in Spain. Would it be wrong to pretend I’m a college student again, solely so I can study abroad again and get ridiculously awesome student discounts? Right. Probably. |
For the sake of encouraging conversation…
And fine, yes, because I’m writing this on Thursday morning and I’m running late and my hair looks like something out of an 80s magazine—humidity, Iowa? already?—and I’m pretty sure it’s been so long since I conquered the laundry I may have to go to work in an old prom dress…
…today I’d like to simply ask your thoughts on a quote I read this week. I’ve been working through an incredibly good book in the past month—Living Beyond Your Feelings by Joyce Meyer. Earlier this week, I did the triple-underline thing in the last chapter when I read this:
“Relaxation is impossible without trust!” (p. 255)
The author fleshes that thought out a couple paragraphs later:
“The ability to relax and go with the flow in life is dependent upon our willingess to trust God completely.” (p. 256)
Dream-driven, possibly neurotic about my goals ol’ me needed this kick in the pants (er, prom dress) reminder this week. I think I might even reflect more on it—and especially what it means to really, truly trust—in next Friday’s Devo Day post.
But for now, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Are you good at relaxing? Do you see a connection between your ability to relax, to hold on to peace and go with the flow and your willingness to trust God? Are there areas where you’re better at trusting God and others where, uh, it’s not so easy?
And how are you going to relax this weekend? 🙂
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Huh. She’s so completely right, but I never looked at it like that! I can relax once everything is done, so at this spot in my life right now that would be…never:) God’s been pushing me though on having a Sabbath, so I’ve been taking Sundays as my “do nothing” day. It’s taking a bit to slip into, but I know it’s needed b/c it’s part of His creation, and He creates everything with a purpose–not to mention He even took one and if God took a day of rest, what makes me think I don’t need one? So this weekend I’m gonna sit outside in the sun and read. Hope you have a good one too:)
Ooh, that sounds like a fabulously restful weekend, Susan. I need to make more of an effort to have a Sabbath…
I relax more now than I did in my younger years,and yep it has to do with trust for sure! Great post, Tagg!
Thanks, Jess.
And thanks, too, for making me laugh hysterically at your blog today!
*Clink clink* Hear that? That’s you hitting the nail on the head. 😉
Like so many first-born perfectionists, I have difficulty relaxing. Subconsciously I probably think that if I sit down for five minutes, I won’t reach my goals in life. Silly? Yes. I also feel guilty sometimes when I relax, like I’m being lazy. But even God set aside a day of rest…I just need to remember all of that.
And this weekend I may actually get time to finish decorating my bedroom and read some craft books! Woot! And of course, HG tonight… 😛 (Did you finish the book??)
Oh yeah, I hear ya on the first-born thing. More and more in the past year, I’ve found myself having trouble relaxing and I don’t like that. I’ll sit down to watch a movie and feel guilty. Which is silly. So, it’s definitely something I’m thinking about and working…
No, I didn’t get to read it. Wah! Had too many other to-dos last night…but I’m anticipating some reading time this weekend if I get all my writing done!
Completely see this connection and am soooo here.
Learning to relax has been a lifelong lesson for me. But I’m learning and that counts for something, right?
~ Wendy
Learning absolutely counts, I think. 🙂
I’ve gotten much better at it over the years! Life is more relaxing when I have less on my plate. It’s hard to shut everything off. But I do agree with Joyce Meyer–only with trust can we truly relax. Otherwise a buzz of worry is in the background.
I agree – it IS hard to shut everything off. Now more than ever, with all the places we are at once – both in person and online. But I know relaxation is much-needed. If I don’t slow down, how do I expect to hear from God?
Trust – yes! Relax – yes! Hey, Joyce knows her stuff.
This weekend is going to be cooler and rainy. I’m going to cook an awesome turkey breast, write, and read.
Sometimes I really like cold and rainy weekends. They’re great days to take bubble baths and curl up by the fireplace with a good book. 🙂
Relaxing doesn’t come easy to me. I work at it. I’ve been getting daily exercise since November, and that helps immensely. Each night I have a date with Calgon and a romance novel. Sometimes my astute and caring hubby picks up on how tense I am and whisks me away for the day, after which I return home feeling refreshed.
Isn’t it funny that we have to work to relax? But it does take intention! A nightly date with Calvin sounds wonderful!! 🙂
Umm Calgon I mean…not Calvin…although I’m sure somewhere there’s a nice guy named Calvin who makes for a great nightly date… 🙂
Um yeah, not so good at relaxing here. Ouch. I feel the conviction coming…
Happy weekend, Melissa! 🙂
Same to you, Sarah. Hope you get some relaxation in. 🙂
I had to give myself permission to do nothing. All my life, I’ve had responsibility, grew up with idle hands are the devil’s workshop so it’s really difficult for me to relax. But now I actually say to myself, “You have permission to do absolutely nothing!” lol
That’s awesome, Pat…permission to do absolutely nothing.
I think where I have so much trouble is being able to relax without worrying that I’m wasting time when I should be writing or working toward my dream. But if I really trust God with my dream, I can work on it in a stable, non-obsessed way, trusting him to do what I can’t and allowing myself to do what even God did – rest. 🙂
I used to not be. I used to worry about everything and try to fix things on my own power, but a when we started a church plant 6 years ago that failed after 4 years, I learned to trust and just go with the flow. We ran through our savings and retirement just trying to stay afloat. Then after my husband closed the doors and got a preaching job nearby, we lost the house. It has been trying, but we are getting back on our feet and just walking where God leads us. I am able to rest in Him and go with the flow much better now!
Oh wow, Sherrinda. That is a LOT to go through all within a few years. It’s amazing to me that you’re able to say you can relax, rest in Him and go with the flow. I hope things are much, much better now…praise God for his presence with you through it all.
This question couldn’t come at a better time, Melissa. I’m a bit, um, frantic.
A friend looked at me yesterday and said, “God is bigger than all this stuff.”
In other words: Trust. Relax.
OK. I’m listening.
Frantic is generally not a fun place to be. Yay, for your friend, though, who spoke wise words. I hope you’ve been able to un-franticize (um, yeah, inventing new words) over the weekend. Hugs!
Sometimes I have no problem trusting and other times not so much. This past weekend we had a stressful decision to make and after days of worrying, I finally gave it to the Lord. As soon as I let go and trusted Him, the stress left and I felt relaxed. Everything turned out and once again God has shown me he is good! 🙂
I’m a new follower. Found your blog through Susan’s ‘Steps’ Looking forward to reading more here. Feel free to come by and visit mine anytime…
http://thoughtsonbookss.blogspot.ca/
Have a great evening!
Cathy, thanks so much for stopping by! Isn’t it funny how often we almost hold on to stress and worry…I think perhaps because it makes us (okay, me) oddly feel somewhat in control if I’m stressed…because if I’m stressed, then that means I’m thinking/working hard. But it’s so silly! There’s such freedom in giving those big decisions over to God.