Home - Invitation to Rest

Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

AN INVITATION TO INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

Welcome to taking this invitation to rest with Jesus with us. Our goal with this site is to encourage you in ways to rest and experience God at a deeper level. We do this through retreats, Spiritual Direction, blog and resources. For it is from resting in Jesus that we are then in a right place to live out our lives for Him. We must not bypass this time of rest.

Two things I have experienced in my own life and have seen in many of others who I have met and worked with over the years.

Being vs Doing

First, we tend to place a precedent on “doing” rather than “being”. Our identity so often becomes what we do instead of who we are. This is not to say doing is not important, but doing should come after being. When we grasp and meditate on what it is like to be children of God, we can begin to live a life of freedom and then respond in “doing” that often times looks a lot different.

“He invites us into a life of knowing God, not just knowing about God. A life of presence, not posturing. A life of being with God, not simply doing things for him.” Rich Villodas (The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls).

Head vs Heart

Second, we have a lot of head knowledge of God, but there is a disconnect with our hearts. We know of God but we do not truly know Him. Again from my own experience as well as sitting with Christians from all walks of life, many have shared not really feeling loved by God. We are really good at knowing about God’s love and we can tell of others about His love, and yet not really experience it ourselves.

“We have a deep longing to move from a secondhand knowledge of God to a first-hand experience with God.” Trevor Hudson

When we rest in Jesus, we give ourselves time and space to hear God’s voice and in those moments we learn not only about ourselves but also what keeps us stuck in relationships.

What We Offer

If you ever do a road trip, you know you have to stop along the way to refuel and refresh. These offerings provide you various ways to access rest on your journey.

Rest Stops

These spiritual rest stops are brief 30 min-2 hr events to give you a moment to rest in the midst of your journey

Retreats

On a long trip, sometimes we need a longer rest stop. Currently we are offering half-day to full-day retreats to deepen your experience of rest

Workshops

Workshops are 1-2 hour in-person or on-line events where you can learn about a variety of ways to incorporate rest and spiritual formation into your daily life.

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual direction is a place for individualized attention. It is a holy place of listening where you can share where are in your life and how you are experiencing God.

About

My name is Doug Valot. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas and provided counseling services at Kingsland Baptist Church for 13 years.

My two passions are helping marriages heal and grow and to see individuals grow in their relationship with God. So you will see some content that relates to marriages as well as individual spiritual formation.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Renovare Institute for all I have learned and experienced with them. This website is a reflection of so many lessons learned. I also owe a great deal to my wife, Wendy, who has been with me on this journey and has been my biggest supporter.

I pray you enjoy and accept this Invitation to Rest in the presence of God.