Vacation

Hey everyone,

Sorry that I've been away from the blogging scene for some time. Not to worry, I hope to be back in full swing now. These holidays you know have been quite hectic, fun, inspiring, and all sorts of other things.

Before i get going, thanks to Ronnie for the comment reminding me that I need to get back at it and write something useful. So, here goes. (Ronnie, just for you, I hope that this doesn't stink!)

Vacation. Is that what these last few days have been? Hmm...Let's play word association for a minute. I say vacation, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Beaches, warm weather, sunny days, mountain scenery, traveling, lazy days of watching video rentals...maybe it could be any of those things. I would pretty much take any of those options right now. My "vacation" has been somewhat different I must say. This is the first year in my life that my Christmas vacation with my parents/extended family lasted less than 2 days. Rennata, Taylor, and I drove to Savannah, Sunday and returned on Monday. It was a whirlwind of eating too much, listening to Christmas Eve cantatas, opening gifts, and eating some more. I returned from my "vacation" with not just one, but two sick women. That's right, both Rennata and Taylor returned home from our whirlwind tour under the weather. Rennata has been at work even though she's not been feeling good, and Taylor and I have been at home.

Tuesday we learned that Taylor has an ear infection in both ears...LOVELY!! So, in summation, let me see if I can sum up my overall vacation experience...I've eaten too much, gained weight, feel guilty, haven't gotten out of my pajamas in three days, am constantly cleaning up after Taylor who by the way, doesn't like to sleep with her ear ache, so I wake up every night at 3a.m., I have a wife who is doesn't feel good, and I wish I was at the beach. Does that pretty much cover it? I think I need a vacation from my vacation don't you think?

Now, if you've read this far, please don't stop here, I do have a point I promise. And this blog post is not quite the gripe session that you might be thinking that it is.

OK back on topic here. My thoughts on my current vacation (or lack of vacation) are similar in many ways to the way that feel about our walk with Christ. The spiritual life, if looked at from the proper perspective can look burdensome and time consuming. Many people look at the spiritual life of Christianity as one of constant drudgery or petty tasks to be completed. For many, there is no joy in the life with Christ, and therefore, many folks choose to want to vacation from the spiritual life. Do you ever want a vacation from church? from Jesus?

Don't those thoughts cross your mind?
"I'm so tired, if I never get to sleep in!! I need my Sunday mornings."
"Sunday mornings are the only time I ever get time to myself"
"I can pray any time...why do I have to set aside time to pray?"
"Read my Bible? I barely have time to read all my school work (or substitute what ever you want to read?"

Hey, I know. The Christian life can be tiresome. But, I think it has much more to do with our attitude about the spiritual life than it does about reality.

Let me give an example: My vacation. If my attitude is negative, bitter, pessimistic, etc. Then my attitude about my vacation looks like the rantings that you see above. However, if my attitude is positive. If my attitude is loving and seeking God's hand in my life, I get to see greater things at work. For instance, yes, my daughter is sick, and because she's sick she is not allowed to go to her daycare for the 10 days that she is on her anti-biotic. That is tough, but it comes at a great time of the year for me. This is the slowest 10 days that I have. My mom is a school teacher and it is her time off, so she's been up here in Macon helping me to take care of Taylor while Rennata's at work!! And next week, it just so happens that Ren's mom has free time and is coming then up here to help me then!! How cool is that?! In the past two days of being at home, I've spent more time with my mom than I have in the past 2 years. We've talked and share more in the past two days than we have in such a long time.

No, the past few days have not been FUN! But they have been a blessing. It just so happens that in the past few days, I've developed a bit of a sore throat myself. However, since I'm already at home relaxing, I'm already doing what needs to be done to take care of myself.

I guess what I'm saying is, even when we find ourselves in some situations that are less than ideal. God has a way of meeting us and blessing us. Our attitudes, however, often influence how we choose to look at God's blessings.

We don't need a vacation from the spiritual life. We don't need a vacation from church to get ourselves rested. We don't need a break from Christianity to get it figured out on our own. What we need is an attitude adjustment.

Matthew 11:28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Need a vacation...need to feel rested and restored...where do you go? Jesus says to come to Him, and He will give you the rest you need. Hmmm