Sunday, July 5, 2015

5 Ways to Stay Connected to God while on Vacation

I am gearing up for a 12 hour road trip with my toddler to my parent's house for a week. (Please say a pray for me!) This is my 'vacation' for the year (as we have recently moved from England back to the states). While on vacation, no matter the location or length, it can be tough to stay connected spiritually while you are trying to disconnect from the rest of the world, from your work, social media, texts, phone calls, grocery lists, laundry piles, and to-do lists. 

When you are relaxing on the beach or in the mountains it can be easy to let your 'spiritual duties' slip and while I believe some of that is ok, we need to discipline ourselves a bit more on staying connected to God. God knows that we need to take a break sometimes. I mean, why would He have created the beautiful scenery if He didn't want us to sit back and enjoy it? Here are some of my tips to stay connected to God while on vacation:

1. Know things are going to be different: Know that your daily schedule will be thrown off. Your Bible reading, journaling, devotionals, and prayer time will more than likely be at different times of the day or you may not get to them on some days. And that is ok because there are other ways to stay connected to God than these.

2. Pray: The easiest way to stay connected is through prayer. I get a lot of prayer time in while I am away. It may not be deep, spiritual prayers and I may not hear back from God like I would when I am in my quiet place but He is still listening. Vacation is a great time to give God constant thanks. If you are able to take a break from work and life then you are truly blessed! If you woke up and took a breath, you are blessed and have a reason to give thanks to the Lord. Even if it is for a night one town away...you are blessed! Thank God for everything that you see, tell Him how awesome He is, tell Him of His splendor

3. Worship music: Play worship music any chance you get, in the car, on your phone while you are getting ready, before you go to bed. Being able to squeeze those few minutes in here and there to worship the Lord will pay off.

4. Bible App: If you are in the majority and have a smart phone or tablet, download a Bible app. Most are free so it will not cost you anything. Having the Bible on your phone or tablet allows you to access your Bible at any time, at any place. Taking your Bible with you is not always the most convenient thing to do while on vacation so having it on your phone is perfect...because I mean, who goes anywhere without their phone nowadays! :)

5. Spread the love: This is one of the easiest things to do. Simply share the love of God where ever you go. Be the light in someones life. Make someone smile, give them a complement, lend a helping hand. Taking a break from your day job gives you more time to focus on the work of the Lord!

That's it! Those are my tips for staying connected while getting disconnected. You don't need to feel guilty for taking a break from a Sunday church service to go away. God doesn't tell us to go to church. We  are the church, not a building with pews and a pulpit. 
(But that's another topic for another day:)

Are you going on a vacation soon? Or maybe a staycation? What are your favorite way to stay connected?

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