Refresh Your Soul: 15 Creative Ways
I take Sweet Bekah to the woods for our first overnight backing trip and try to ignore anxious thoughts about leaving the boys at home and what we’ll do if I forget something important. As I stuff everything we’ll need for the night into our backpacks, I whisper, “Enjoy this, Stacey. Let this time in the woods refresh your soul.”
Sweet Bekah is five, and she’s begged me to take her backpacking for months. I finally concede, and we go to the river on a sunny afternoon.
I strap fifty pounds to my back and push the rest of our gear ahead of me in a double stroller. We have two sleeping bags, two sleeping pads, a tent, water bottles, snacks, extra clothes, a baby doll, playing cards, and more.
The three-mile walk is arduous, but it doesn’t dampen our spirits. We’re two girls in the middle of the woods, and our cares slip away.
We need this space to refresh our souls, and most likely you need it, too.
You might feel bogged down by dozens of demands that fill your days, or your might be facing one insurmountable obstacle that is sucking the life and energy from your body, mind, and emotions. Either way, let’s talk about how to refresh our souls.
Space to Refresh Your Soul
As Bekah and I sit in the woods, I tell her how I encountered God along this river in my younger years. I tell her how I memorized Psalms, and this river became my personal emblem for refreshment.
After setting up the tent, we wander down to the river’s edge.
The water slips past in shades of inky emerald, and Bekah asks if I have my Bible. I’m blessed by the question, and we read together for a while.
After a song and prayer, she scampers up the riverbank in search of toads, and I return to the words of Job: “ I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12, ESV).
Sweet Bekah chases a toad along the shoreline, and I chew on the words in front of me. I want to cherish these words and find life in them. I know this is the secret to refreshing my soul in the loud world of everyday life.
This river feels like it’s refreshing us in the deepest way, but God’s Word offers even better promises for rest. I soak in God’s promises and rest in them until the sun sinks low. The following words wash over me and restore me:
Bible Verses for Refreshment and Rest
1. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, ESV).
2. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
3. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
4. “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
The shadows fall long on the water, and we finally go back to the tent. We cook dinner on the fire and talk about dreams and hopes. Bekah sleeps deeply, and I watch her all night, a protective instinct rising within me, keeping watch for bears and raccoons.
I also consider what it might practically look like, in this season of life, to stay in a place of refreshment. I turn on the flashlight and scratch words on waterproof notebook paper:
15 Practical Ways to Refresh Your Soul
1. Spend time soaking in refreshing Bible verses daily.
2. Get away to quiet places when I can.
3. Spend time with people who refresh my soul.
4. Stop striving.
5. Stop hurrying.
6. Count blessings.
7. Look for toads and snails more often.
8. Give thanks for the work I get to do.
9. Stay in community.
10. Speak words that bring life.
11. Cast my cares on the Lord.
12. Turn away from perfectionism.
13. Stop trying to prove something.
14. Laugh more.
15. Live vulnerably.
I close the book and close my eyes. I trust that the One who led us on this journey will protect us from bears and raccoons, and I drift into the deepest sleep I’ve found in months.
Are you weary and worn? Read here for 15 practical ways to refresh your soul today. #Refreshed #RestWithGod #Rest Click To TweetA Free Devotional to Refresh Your Soul:
Does the idea of slipping away to a beautiful place to recharge and refresh sound inviting? Space for Your Soul to Stretch is your personal invitation to create space to rest in God’s presence. You need only 12 minutes per day for this 8-day journey. Each day invites you to encounter God’s created world and spend time in his written Word. You will walk away from this journey replenished and refreshed each day. It is your right here.
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God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or for 12.99 in print right here. (You can sign up for a free three-month Kindle Unlimited trial if you are not a member.) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling All Moms and Daughters!
Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.
