Valerie Jones

{Live with Purpose. Lead with Passion.}

I am a blogger, worship leader, and speaker who helps worship leaders and team members connect with purpose and passion in life and leadership by offering encouragement, community, and practical resources so that they can thrive in life and leadership, both on and off the platform.

Thanks for stopping by!

Filtering by Tag: rest

{Five Minute Friday | Haven}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {HAVEN}. I am a day late to the party, but I made it. Woo!

Ready? GO.

Haven. A place of refuge and shelter where you feel protected. It's some place you return to at the end of a long, weary day or during a particularly difficult season. It's quiet, perhaps, and offers a place to rest. When one seeks cover in her haven, she leaves feeling refreshed and encouraged, comforted. There's only one place like this for me.

Psalm 91 explains it perfectly. "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him."

Yes. Just, yes.

And, though there is nothing wrong with my initial explanation, over time, I've changed my mind about something. Do you see it, there in verse one? One four-letter-word. Live. See, God isn't someone I merely return to at the end of the day or when I find myself in a pinch. He's much more than that. My place with God -- it's where I live. Where I abide, dwell, stay, exist. With Him, in Him.

May I encourage you, sweet friends? We don't have to take a step without Him. Not one. He will never leave you without cover, without refuge, without the protection of His shadow. He is faithful. In Him, we have all that we need.

Stop.

{#RealLife | No. 4}

Sometimes, you wake up tired. Yeah, that was me today. I was up at “normal” time but my sweet husband promptly sent me straight back to bed. I was so sleepy. Like my eyes felt like as heavy as softballs in my head.  For me that usually means that I haven’t been making rest a priority. True rest, the kind that creates space and breathing room. Yeah, I have a bad habit of that. I’m doing better. I figured out somewhere along the way that my inability to rest was directly related to my weak trust in God. My malady was Don’t-Know-How-to-Take-My-Hands-Off syndrome. Rest cures that. So, today I slept in and took a nap. 

 

So, because today is a rest day let's keep this one short.  Maybe you can find some space in your life for rest.  Be intentional. Schedule it. Make a date with that comfy chair or your favorite blanket. Go to bed early, take a nap. Get ahead of the exhaustion curve by making rest a priority. Oh, and just so you know, taking a rest doesn’t make you a slacker. So, go ahead and flip open your calendar and schedule yourself a nap. I promise it’ll make you feel better!