Reason #664
I hate missing days on my blog. We made it to Florida on Friday night, or shall I say extremely early on Saturday morning, and the hotel we stayed at didn't offer WIFI. Are you kidding me? Who doesn't offer WIFI? So yea, two days behind, not that it really matters to anyone else but me, but my day really does seem incomplete when I don't have the chance to sit down at night and write out my thoughts. It's so therapeutic, plus it helps me get out all the words rolling around in my brain before I go to bed. Six hundred and sixty four days and I can't imagine doing anything else before bedtime.
Well, to back up a little, we made it to Florida after what seemed to be the longest night ever. It's not much fun to work an entire day and then leave only to spend the rest of your night traveling. Our flight got delayed in Houston, and after the rental car and hotel fiasco, we finally made it into our room about 2:00AM on Saturday morning. I'm too orderly of a person to shrug this kind of stuff off, and although I sometimes feel guilty about that, I figure we need people like me in this world, too. Like Miranda Lambert says, "It takes all kinds of kinds." Thankfully, the theme parks in Florida are highly efficient. We've had a super time at the parks, and everyone has been really nice. Plus, it's so warm here. My cold-natureness could not be happier with the weather. And so tomorrow, Aaron's conference beings and I get to have two full days of alone time. To some, that might sound boring. To me, it sounds glorious.
I am having a hard time with the fact that it is November and we are a month and a half away from finishing 2013. This year has been ridiculous, in a good way. So many things have happened in my life, and keeping with the trend, I will start my new job on Thursday. Never a dull moment around here, which is exactly why I am looking forward to two days of alone time. Two days to be really selfish and do just what I want to do, when I want to do it. To sit out at the pool and roast my pastey white legs, to eat whatever I want at the time I want to eat it, to read if I want to read, to sleep if I want to sleep, to look at Facebook all day if I feel like it, to venture out, or to stay in. I don't have to say a word, I don't have to think a thought. After two whole days of intense walking and large crowds, I'll be living the dream.
I brought my bible on this trip because, I'll be honest, I am so far behind on my reading. I am terrible at this. I love reading, and I love the Lord, but I am struggling with making hefty strides towards my goal of finishing the bible in a year. And what's so tough is that I'm not really that busy, I'm just not that intentional. Yuck, I really hate to admit this about myself. But the reality is that I find so many other things to do with my time, most of which are completely unproductive. I make time to clean my house, watch TV, surf the internet, talk, etc. I used to be really good at being disciplined. It seems I've lost that ability, and so here I am, a few books behind and I am feeling overwhelmed by the amount of catching up I need to do.
Well, I think this is what happens in life. We look at where we actually are, as opposed to where we are supposed to be, and we just give up. It seems like we'll never get there because we're so far behind. It's like no matter what we do, we just can't catch up. We can't get on, and stay on, the right track for more than a few days. And so we give up. We just quit because quitting is easier than making up the lost progress. Maybe it's health, a relationship, a talent, a dream, a desire. It's so far ahead of us that we just let it go. And so, fully realizing this, I am so grateful that the Lord is allowing me to have two days by myself. Because sometimes I think that's what we need. We need to completely clear our plates and get back on track. We need to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to get ahead rather than letting them pass by. Because, the truth is, if we don't pick up as soon as we can, we probably never actually will.
Here's the thing, it's up to us. Because Jesus is always willing to meet with us, but we have to be available. We have to give Him our time. We have to be seeking and looking for Him. We can't just sit back and think that He'll come to us with no effort on our part. No, the thirsty go to Him. The ones looking for healing search for Him. The ones desiring a change in their life seek Him out. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me..." We have to go to Him. Set aside our time and our agenda, our busy schedules, and our selfish desires, and go to Him. We have to meet with Him if we want to look like Him. Otherwise, it just won't happen. After all, it's hard to get to really know someone, to model their behaviors and attitude, to understand their ways and thoughts, if you never spend any good, quality time with them.
So I am really grateful for the fact that the Lord has allowed me to get out of town. I am thankful that He is giving me a few days with no schedule or agenda so I can selfishly spend my time catching up. I am grateful that He is generous to even afford me the opportunity to do it in a really beautiful and warm place, too. God is so sweet to us. So gracious to never get mad or angry with us, but to pull us away so we can recharge, refocus, and get back on track again. Tomorrow is the day. The day where it's just the two of us. The day where I get back on track, and where we get to catch up for the lost time. And most of all, I'm just grateful that He's still willing to meet with me.
#664 - For two days of alone time so that we can catch up!
"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life..." - Isaiah 55:3
Well, to back up a little, we made it to Florida after what seemed to be the longest night ever. It's not much fun to work an entire day and then leave only to spend the rest of your night traveling. Our flight got delayed in Houston, and after the rental car and hotel fiasco, we finally made it into our room about 2:00AM on Saturday morning. I'm too orderly of a person to shrug this kind of stuff off, and although I sometimes feel guilty about that, I figure we need people like me in this world, too. Like Miranda Lambert says, "It takes all kinds of kinds." Thankfully, the theme parks in Florida are highly efficient. We've had a super time at the parks, and everyone has been really nice. Plus, it's so warm here. My cold-natureness could not be happier with the weather. And so tomorrow, Aaron's conference beings and I get to have two full days of alone time. To some, that might sound boring. To me, it sounds glorious.
I am having a hard time with the fact that it is November and we are a month and a half away from finishing 2013. This year has been ridiculous, in a good way. So many things have happened in my life, and keeping with the trend, I will start my new job on Thursday. Never a dull moment around here, which is exactly why I am looking forward to two days of alone time. Two days to be really selfish and do just what I want to do, when I want to do it. To sit out at the pool and roast my pastey white legs, to eat whatever I want at the time I want to eat it, to read if I want to read, to sleep if I want to sleep, to look at Facebook all day if I feel like it, to venture out, or to stay in. I don't have to say a word, I don't have to think a thought. After two whole days of intense walking and large crowds, I'll be living the dream.
I brought my bible on this trip because, I'll be honest, I am so far behind on my reading. I am terrible at this. I love reading, and I love the Lord, but I am struggling with making hefty strides towards my goal of finishing the bible in a year. And what's so tough is that I'm not really that busy, I'm just not that intentional. Yuck, I really hate to admit this about myself. But the reality is that I find so many other things to do with my time, most of which are completely unproductive. I make time to clean my house, watch TV, surf the internet, talk, etc. I used to be really good at being disciplined. It seems I've lost that ability, and so here I am, a few books behind and I am feeling overwhelmed by the amount of catching up I need to do.
Well, I think this is what happens in life. We look at where we actually are, as opposed to where we are supposed to be, and we just give up. It seems like we'll never get there because we're so far behind. It's like no matter what we do, we just can't catch up. We can't get on, and stay on, the right track for more than a few days. And so we give up. We just quit because quitting is easier than making up the lost progress. Maybe it's health, a relationship, a talent, a dream, a desire. It's so far ahead of us that we just let it go. And so, fully realizing this, I am so grateful that the Lord is allowing me to have two days by myself. Because sometimes I think that's what we need. We need to completely clear our plates and get back on track. We need to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to get ahead rather than letting them pass by. Because, the truth is, if we don't pick up as soon as we can, we probably never actually will.
Here's the thing, it's up to us. Because Jesus is always willing to meet with us, but we have to be available. We have to give Him our time. We have to be seeking and looking for Him. We can't just sit back and think that He'll come to us with no effort on our part. No, the thirsty go to Him. The ones looking for healing search for Him. The ones desiring a change in their life seek Him out. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me..." We have to go to Him. Set aside our time and our agenda, our busy schedules, and our selfish desires, and go to Him. We have to meet with Him if we want to look like Him. Otherwise, it just won't happen. After all, it's hard to get to really know someone, to model their behaviors and attitude, to understand their ways and thoughts, if you never spend any good, quality time with them.
So I am really grateful for the fact that the Lord has allowed me to get out of town. I am thankful that He is giving me a few days with no schedule or agenda so I can selfishly spend my time catching up. I am grateful that He is generous to even afford me the opportunity to do it in a really beautiful and warm place, too. God is so sweet to us. So gracious to never get mad or angry with us, but to pull us away so we can recharge, refocus, and get back on track again. Tomorrow is the day. The day where it's just the two of us. The day where I get back on track, and where we get to catch up for the lost time. And most of all, I'm just grateful that He's still willing to meet with me.
#664 - For two days of alone time so that we can catch up!
"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life..." - Isaiah 55:3