Pause || Chill...!

I know in my last post I was saying I need to get back into blogging. Sure. Good. That's great. But sometimes life can get a little hectic. And life usually does roar back on like a lion. And often it's hard to relax and just chill.

Well, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend and I wanted to do something fun. In the past I've gone to the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee festival. And sometimes I've done a long weekend trek to Disneyland (that's when I had an Annual Pass... and gas was much cheaper, too). But with my finances the way they are, a stay-cation is in order.

"Aww, c'mon", I thought, "A stay-cation sounds boring!"

Well, it can be. And it can be just as fun. Today I went to our Folsom church campus (satellite church venue) and had some fun at their carnival for the community. Bayside Folsom is relatively new, as today was their fifth "grand opening" service, and is establishing itself in the community. There were bounce houses, a huge inflatable slide, football tossing station, face painting and (I've never seen this before) two water balloon cannon stations shooting at each other! Yep, I got wet just standing near one side!

It's great to reach out to the community, do community building projects and things like that. But when I just got home, I thought, "Well, what now?"

Quiet time.

Boring! No, actually we need times of quiet and solace. In fact, God tells us to be quiet in order to listen for His still, small voice. No, perhaps not really audibly. But some people claim they actually "hear an audible voice".

"Be still, and know that I am God...." --Psalm 46:10

I know just being still and sitting silently doesn't sound quite right, especially if we're on this Journey we call life. (That's the metaphor of this blog site and I'm stickin' to it!) In this high-paced, technological society we're in, it sounds ridiculous to just sit still in silence.

I even have what a USA Today article (from June 12, 2007) claims is phantom vibration syndrome or vibranxiety. I usually keep my cell phone in silent-vibration mode, so I occasionally get these little vibration spasms on my right hip, where I usually wear my cell phone. I even get it when I'm not even wearing the cell phone... because it's in my hands! So I know that phantom vibration syndrome is a reality for me.

But I digress. And oftentimes a creative mind like mine does digress and gets sidetracked, following a rabbit hole to somewhere we shouldn't go. Ha! Another reason to just... chill!

So what have I learned on the show tonight, Craig? (A reference to the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson... another reason to just chill.) Have quiet times.

In fact, some people call devotion time with God "quiet times". That's when we can just relax, chill, reboot, recharge, and be refreshed by the Giver and Creator of Life itself.

If you have never personally met Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, my God and my King, then there's always a new chance to find rest in God the Father, Master, Creator, and Lord of Life, Lord of All Creation! All you need to do is to say a simple prayer like this: "Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank You for today. You have given life to all of your Creation and you sustain life in the palm of Your Hands. Almighty God, please renew me with Your Holy Love. Forgive me, for I am a sinner, forever lost in eternity without You. I believe Jesus is the Risen Lord who has given us life for all eternity. God, please come into my life. Let me learn to love You, worship You, and praise You for all that You have done. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."

If you have just accepted Jesus into your life, be refreshed. Be renewed. Pause... chill!

Blessings,
Garret