Vacationing WITH Jesus

When we go on vacation, typically our bodies and minds get rest. But, what about our souls?

Because we're out of routine on vacation, time with God can easily be set to the side.
How do we set up travel and vacations to be intentional in our relationship with Jesus?
In today's quick convo, we'll be talking about 3 ways to vacation WITH Jesus!

MORE EPISODES on daily time with Jesus:

Having a Quiet Time in a Not So Quiet World:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sow-what-with-anna-mcguire/id1527068301?i=1000505316127

How to Read Your Bible Everyday:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sow-what-with-anna-mcguire/id1527068301?i=1000543720276

One Practice That Changed My Prayer Life:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sow-what-with-anna-mcguire/id1527068301?i=1000547087498

Transcript

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of The sowhat podcast. My name is Anna McGuire. And I'm so excited to have a conversation with you today about sowing intentionally into our lives so that we can reap abundantly in the days, weeks, months, and even years to come. The last several months, I've had this really great opportunity to travel quite a bit, which has been so much fun and so fulfilling and so refreshing. We've gone everywhere from Wisconsin to Florida to I don't even know all the places in between. And one thing that is so great about going on trips, or vacations, whatever it may be, is that you do get to kind of check out in some ways, like you get away from your typical work routine, or maybe your just daily routine. And that gives you the opportunity to rest you get sir rest your mind and rest your body. And that's why vacations can be so good for you is like you come back feeling refreshed. One thing that I have found challenging in the midst of traveling so much isn't so much of resting my mind and resting my body, but it's also giving rest for my soul, and my spirit. I don't know about for you. But for me personally, when I go on vacation, it can be really hard to take my abiding time, my daily quiet time with God with me out of routine and being out of routine really causes me to be out of routine. Like I have my routine of what it looks like to spend daily quiet time with Jesus. And when that routine isn't the same, like if you're traveling for leisure or if you're traveling for work. Your routine isn't the same typically than what that what it would be at home. And so it can be hard and it is hard for me to make it look the same exact way. And now as we're preparing to head into summer, I want us to be intentional and thoughtful about how we can vacation with God. A lot of times again, we go on vacations we go on these trips we check out physically we check out mentally, from like everyday life, and so our minds get rest or bodies get rest. That's, that's good. But what seems to suffer sometimes when we go on these trips, is that our spirit or souls do not get rest. So how can you be intentional? How can I be intentional? As we head out for vacation season and trip season? Or if you travel a lot for work? How can we be intentional to still have daily abiding time with Jesus daily quiet time with God. Even when our routines don't look the same? The principles that I'm about to share with you have been birthed out of personal experience of what I have found to be helpful. The first thing is, is plan ahead. I know with trips and vacations, there's so many different variables, you might not know exactly what each day is going to look like. But you can kind of get an idea of what the week will look like and plan ahead of how are you going to spend time with God throughout the week. So Andrew and I, we were at a conference a couple months ago. And the conference we knew was going to be early mornings and late nights. So I had to make that intentional decision. Will I have my quiet time with God before I go to bed? Or will I have it in the morning? Because it's late night and early mornings. And so I made the decision. All right, it is going to be in the mornings. Now there's been other trips that we've been a part of where the mornings and the days are crazy busy. And so I know okay, I'm going to shift my quiet time until I go to bed that night. And that can be really, really helpful. I'm going on vacation in a couple of weeks. And I know just based on the schedule that we already have kind of going I'm already thinking ahead. Okay, I'm gonna have my quiet time with God at night like that just seems like that will make the most sense for me. The second thing is have you got to plan ahead. And part of that planning ahead that can be super helpful is you can pick a YouVersion Bible study YouVersion devotional plan to have with you while you're on these trips, if you're like, I'm not sure like sometimes because I like my routine and I like it to be one certain way. Okay? If you need something different, choose a YouVersion plan. There's some really simple plans that you can go through that can still help you stay intentional and that daily quiet time with God. One of the most important things that I have learned as I've been traveling quite a bit the last several months. Is that prior to the trip, yes make a plan if I need to pick that YouVersion plan, but the the big pieces is before the trip
Spending intentional time with God, and giving that trip to him, inviting him along on it. Because again, when you're out of routine, you're out of like your your normal day to day life, it can be so easy to vacation apart from God, it can be so easy to travel apart from God. And that's not what He desires, he wants to vacation with us, he wants to travel with us. And so one thing that I found really helpful is before a trip, whether it's for work or pleasure, or leisure, whatever it may be, is that I take time to submit the trip to him, I go into the trip with an intention that he is going with me and that I want that trip, whatever it may look like to honor Him and glorify Him, and also to strengthen our relationship together. Can I tell you that as I do that for trips, like I, I set the intention that God I want you to come along with me, I want you to be a part of every element of this trip, I can send something different, I have a greater awareness. And it's like on those trips, I am looking for Jesus, I'm looking for Jesus in the airport, I'm looking for Jesus in the hotel, I'm looking for Jesus in the restaurant. And then I'm looking for Jesus and the quiet moments of the day to there's just this awareness that comes with me that you know what this trip, it is spiritual, like it isn't just mental rest or physical rest, there is spiritual rest to be found here, there is spiritual renewal to be found on this trip, just like there is mental renewal or physical renewal to be found. Could you imagine how different we'd feel after vacations. Now granted, there are some vacations where you're like at Disney or universal, or you're doing some like intense hiking, that after trips, you're just like straight up tired, because you didn't really like sleep, you're like up early, up late, like you're like sunburn from all of the things of being outside. And so you're gonna come back from your trip being a little bit more exhausted and all of that. So I'm not saying like, if you like vacation with God, you're gonna come back and be totally energized, and there's not going to be any exhaustion. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm, I am wondering how different we'd feel after a trip. If we intentionally vacationed and traveled with God, instead of really leaving him out of that part of our lives. For some time, I thought that this was something only I struggled with, like the vacationing apart from God, like really not that I was like wanting to exclude him, but I just wasn't being intentional to include him. I thought I was the only one who struggled with that. But then after talking with some of my friends over the last several months, it's like this is collectively challenging. And so I'm just wondering, what would it be like if we were more intentional to vacation and travel with him? And so here's just a couple of things that I had mentioned before, that have been helpful for me the last several months, and that is to make a plan. Make a plan of what time of day? Will I be spending my my daily quiet time with Jesus? Is it going to be in the morning? Is it going to be before I go to bed? Or maybe you know, you'll have a mid break in the day? What will that look like don't neglect getting into the word on vacation, don't neglect that alone quiet time with God. Another way that can be helpful is that pick a YouVersion plan before you go on your trip. So if you're like I just need something to keep me on track and really be intentional each day just to get in the word whether it's for five minutes, or 15 minutes or 30 minutes, pick a YouVersion plan. That can be a really simple way to get in the word each day, pick one out just for your trip. And then the third thing is before your trip, set an intention that I am going to vacation with God. Spend some time with him, talk to him about it, submit the trip to him surrender it to him. I'm talking from like firsthand experience. I've had two trips in less than a week just for work things. And I have spent time in both instances where I'm giving those trips to God. And as I'm on those trips, it's like there is a greater awareness that God is with me. Even though I'm in a different space, different place different rhythm different routine. He still has good for me during that time. It's not like he's like okay, pause Anna, I'll see you next week when you get home. No, in that trip. In those moments. He still has new things for me for that day.
So as we head into vacation and travel season, would you consider making A commitment to vacation with God, to be intentional to bring him along in all of your travels. I truly do believe that as we sow intentionally into this area, we can be confident that we will reap abundantly in our awareness of Jesus, anywhere and everywhere we go. And on those trips, where we are looking for mental rest, emotional rest, and physical rest, we can also experience spiritual rest and renewal. Friend, I'm always in your corner, and I am cheering you on. And whatever this summer may look like for you, the Lord has so much in store for you. He has so much that he wants to speak to you and to reveal to you and that comes through a relationship with Him. The best way to cultivate a relationship with God is daily quiet time with him. I'll also be putting in the show notes, some great conversations we've had in the past about daily time with Jesus, that can be a great resource to you that if you don't currently have a quiet time with him each day, how to implement and cultivate one of those right now. Whether you're on vacation or you're at home, living in the nine to five work life, whatever it is, today is a really great day to spend with Jesus. I love you so much, my friend. I can't wait to talk to you next week.