"i invite YOU in": a VACATION STATE of MIND

We are officially home from our vacation time, but I have to admit that I have not left behind my “vacation mind.”  What’s a vacation mind? It’s a state of mind that unwinds so that the peace of God may enter in. It’s a mind that rewinds to reflect and keeps God at the center. It’s a mind that finds its vacation in Christ without needing to escape from the everyday responsibilities of life. You see, this vacation didn’t help me get away, it actually reminded me to stay close. The time I spent in the Sunshine State reminded me of the shine that can only be found when you take time to “lay out” in the present state of the Son.  I have to be honest here and admit that the “service and ministry” opportunities that I was busy fulfilling prior to this vacation were actually—unbeknownst to me—blocking out the refreshing “rays” of the Son. What I mean is this: Prior to vacation, my mind was on its own vacation. I still had daily devotional time, but because of all the ‘to do’s’ of that day, it lacked true devotion. I read the Word consistently, but missed some of the familiar intimacy that comes through quiet time in the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s presence. I made my way through my devotional, but I never allowed it to pass through the intellectual and reach the emotional. I can only compare it to wanting to get a tan, but laying in the shade. The suns out and shining, but you’re not close enough because you’re too busy reclining. Alright, enough word play for the day. I just wanted to express the importance behind really renewing your mind daily. I called it a “vacation mind” because I’m hoping to inspire someone out there to see Christ as your get away. To see your faith in God as the vehicle that can bring R&R to your everyday. Without an agenda, I spent every morning these past few weeks just interacting with Jesus. I wasn’t just reading the Word, but I was listening to the Word. And without even getting that far in the text, I still experienced the text getting far in me. Again, it’s not about the material covered, but whether or not you allow the material to cover you. I guess you can say that—prior to vacation—I was spending time with God out of duty and routine. And it took the absence of “service and ministry” to get me to see the refreshing service that God desires to minister in me.  Yes, I now have a tanner complexion from being in the sun. But let me tell you this, I am still on vacation because of the connection from being in the Son.  And that’s what I mean when I say “vacation mind.”  “Jesus is our refuge and vacation. A very present resort in times of hell and even when times are well” (Psalm 46:1, translation mine).