Dear God, I was listening to the Bible in a Year podcast from Ascension Press, and they were talking about how in Isaiah 58 he is emphasizing the Sabbath and its importance. Admittedly, I half-heartedly observe the Sabbath. There have been times in the past when I’ve said that I would be more intentional about it by not only taking the day to rest, but to also really spend some additional intentional time with you. Do I do it? No. But I intend to.

Now I’m on this luxurious vacation that will last over two weeks. As I type this, I’m overlooking a bay on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state where I can see Victoria Canada across the water. The bay is still. A private sailboat is anchored about 300 yards from me. There are tankers, cargo ships and cruise ships within view. It is sunny and the temperature is in the 60s. I say all of that to just describe what an idyllic environment I’m currently in. This is very restful, and I do feel my soul being restored. I’m not worrying about a lot of things I normally worry about.

Much like two weeks of camp helps a youth to detox from social media and electronics, and enjoy the outdoors instead, this vacation for me is possibly helping me detox from my worries at home and the, when I return a week from today, I will have a choice regarding which things I want to resume addressing and which ones I’ll decide to not pick up again. It was on a vacation nearly two years ago that I decided to stop looking at social media and my life has been better for it. Are there barnacles on my current hull that need scraped off now?

Father, Holy Spirit, please guide me in this next week. Guide me as I sit in silence. Guide me as I visit with others. Guide me as I consume media. Guide me as I hear your call.

I pray all of this through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection,

Amen