{"id":1244,"date":"2015-05-14T02:02:52","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T02:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/?p=1244"},"modified":"2015-05-29T18:09:47","modified_gmt":"2015-05-29T18:09:47","slug":"taking-a-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/taking-a-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My wife and I are going on a few days of vacation. But I won\u2019t say where (smile). We both are looking forward to it because we will celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary. The last time we celebrated our wedding anniversary was during our 25th. We have been too busy with work and neglected taking the needed time to celebrate and just be on our own. So this time, we both are looking forward to this upcoming vacation. <\/p>\n

Almost everybody love vacations. I am sure you do.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In fact, summer is just around the corner. Many students look forward to having a break from school. I am sure many families are making plans for that much needed vacation from work, school and the routine we do daily. I can already imagine beaches, mountains, resorts, entertainment parks await those who understand the value of stepping out of routine to rest and have fun. Monday through Friday are days of work whether it be a job, school or just life. Saturdays and Sundays often become chore days as we struggle to keep up the house and yard while running errands and hauling kids to every sport or activity imaginable making it hardly a day of rest. Unfortunately, people have decided to cram pack Monday through Sunday and run themselves ragged in the process. What is sad is that people have even neglected dedicating a time for worship and being with fellow believers.<\/p>\n

For myself and my wife – this vacation will be a time of rest and refreshing. (Hopefully!)<\/p>\n

This vacation will also be a time to rekindle our relationship as husband and wife. In addition — and this is very important for us, \u2013 we will take the time to enjoy God\u2019s creation and meditate on our relationship with Jesus Christ. In reality, whatever we do, including rest is found in Jesus! My wife and I believe that growing in the knowledge of God is an amazing lifelong commitment that provides the rest for our soul. <\/p>\n

As I look back at my own life, I realize that it is when we jam pack our life with earthly activities and forget to walk, love, commune, pray, worship with Jesus that we become burned out. <\/p>\n

Jesus asks, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me\u2014watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. “Matthew 11:28-30 (Message) <\/p>\n

The scriptures reveal that God loves giving us the needed rest. Here is one important lesson I have learned. This summer (or for that matter all seasons) in order to achieve the rest we long for, Jesus must be in the center of it. Yes, the beach is a relaxing destination and the mountains a place of peace but outside the presence of God these places are just stops along the way. It is in His Presence that we find peace and rest<\/strong> even in the midst of \u201cstorm\u201d or \u201churricane.\u201d <\/p>\n

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 (NLT)<\/p>\n

\"5e7870003176e00cabf00c0d44ccc5a5\"<\/a>Here is the point I am trying to share: Wherever we may choose to vacation this year whether a faraway destination or the new \u201cstaycation\u201d, let us be aware of God\u2019s presence! It is in the shelter of the Most High that we will find the rest that will carry us through life! The truth is: Without Him, weariness and burden will be our life! Jesus will be wherever we go for a vacation. Let us be aware of His presence and be sensitive of his active involvement in our lives. Real vacation is having Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My wife and I are going on a few days of vacation. But I won\u2019t say where (smile). We both are looking forward to it because we will celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary. The last time we celebrated our wedding anniversary was during our 25th. We have been too busy with work and neglected taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bermiedizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}