Rest

Rest…Trust…Refuge

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 62:5-8 NIV

Rest with the Lord.  Put your trust in the Lord.  Find your hope in Him.  He is our refuge, He is the source of our strength and with Him we will know peace.  Do your part…do your best…and leave the rest up to God. Amen.

DSC_0035 (3) publish

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4:4-9 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2021 at The Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cementary)

Strength Comes From God

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms!  Whenever you feel run down, overwhelmed or weak and weary…turn towards the Lord in prayer and seek Him.  Rest in Him.  The best any Mom or any other person can do in this life put their trust in the Lord and build a life that is centered around a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our strength comes from God.  Amen.

DSC_0019 publish

“Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Holy Saturday – Rest and Reflect

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

Romans 6:6-7 NIV

dsc_0758-publish

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Surrender and Rest

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

Luke 9:23-24 NIV

The more we try to take control and hold on tight to all circumstances the more life slips through our fingers.  We were never meant to carry all of our burdens alone; we are not meant to fix everything or try to get things to meet our expectations.  God doesn’t need us to define our purpose in life, only our surrender to bring us to it.  Turn towards Him and daily give yourself to His way in your life.  Trust the Lord with everything.  Amen.

DSC_1543 publish

“Come to me, all you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest. 29 Become my servants and learn from me. I am gentle and free of pride. You will find rest for your souls. 30 Serving me is easy, and my load is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIRV

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

Rest In Him

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

This holiday season take time to rest with Jesus.  The hustle and bustle, the coming and going will always want to pull you to do more…come to Jesus.  Rest with Him and just breathe…

Breathe by Jonny Diaz

DSC01214 publish

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

Genesis 2:2-3 NIV

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Trust…Refuge…Rest

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 62:5-8 NIV

Put your trust in the Lord.  Find your hope in Him.  He is our refuge, He is the source of our strength and with Him we will find peace.  Do your part…do your best…and leave the rest up to God.

DSC_0035 (3) publish

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4:4-9 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2021 at The Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cementary)

Be Still

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;”

Psalm 46:10 NIV

It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness, the quick to respond without thinking speed of the world.  Yet our God does not operate according to our worldly ways…it may be better to be still and wait for God.  How can we know what He is doing or where He wants us to be?  By staying in close contact and communication with Him, every day.  The more we can take time to be with Him the better we can understand what He is saying to us through His Word and through others.  Be still…be patient…trust His way.  Amen.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:27 NIV

DSC_0888 publish

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

He Gives Strength To The Weary

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV

If you find yourself weary and weak…struggling and feeling defeated.  There is hope.  Check yourself by reviewing your relationship with God.  When have you last spoken to Him?  Is He a part of everyday or just here and there as needed?  I know I have found myself guilty of living distracted by my circumstances more often than I like to admit…walking with God takes time and effort on our part.  God offers us so much yet we still have to do our part to make a commitment to follow Him.  He will give you strength when you are weary and weak.  Trust in the Lord and you will find strength.

DSC_0258 Publish

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Jeremiah 31:25 NIV

(This photo was taken in September of 2022 at The Chapel of Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming)

Rest With Him

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”

Hebrews 4:9-11 NIV

What can we do…where can we go…to get a moment of rest?  True rest and refreshment of your mind, body and spirit is found when we take time to rest with God.  It can be in prayer, reading God’s Word or even just sitting quietly in a peaceful environment.  There are these and many more ways to spend time in your relationship with God…how you do this is between you and Him…if you do this, well that is all up to you.  Take time to rest with Him.  Amen.

DSC07416 publish

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park)

Rest In Him

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 4:8 NIV

Balance…for every moment we are rushing and running at a chaotic pace we should have equal time to rest with God and renew our minds, body and spirit.  We are not made to travel as supersonic speed all the time every day…and those who try will crash and burn…physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Trust the Creator and His Word…don’t over schedule, strive to have balance, learn to say no to some things and listen to the Holy Spirit as your guide.  Walk with God.

DSC_0323 publish

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2021 in Rocky Monuntain National Park in Colorado)