7.28.2010

vacation

i'm back. after a very busy july where i haven't been in the state most of the time, i thought i would send out a blog. i was out in kansas for a week and it got me thinking about vacations.

why do vacations work? what is it about them that refreshes us? my outlook on work after i came back was much happier. it just makes me wonder. something in our brains just changes tune when we remove ourselves from the places that cause us stress. yes, that stress is still there, but we have gone away from it for a while. we are doing something else that takes our minds off of the hardship.

but are physical vacations the only things that work. could we just do emotional vacations? what about spiritual vacations? could we step away from the things that cause emotional stress in our lives. can we take mini emotional vacations every week? just to refresh us.

spiritual vacations. is that even an actual thing? are we taking a vacation from our spirituality or are we just creating an environment where we refresh ourselves spiritually? just gets me thinking. how can i create those mini-vacations that help to keep me refreshed?

7.08.2010

moments

it moves..it stops...it slows and speeds.

it actually goes the same all the time, but it seems to fly or go tortuously slow. in those fast times how do we pull every bit of wonderfulness out of those monents. life is made out of moments. a journey of moments. a journey is probably my favorite way to describe life and living and yet all these little moments and glimpses make up that journey.

some we miss because we are too busy with ourselves. others we wish that we would miss. but all of these moments have a part to contribute to our lives. they make us who we are. parts of us would be missing without them.

and you know what. i am thankful for them. god has blessed me with these moments, good and bad. he is making me into a unique person to do his work. sometimes it is hard to be thankful for some moments, but they do have an undeniable impact on who we are.

7.01.2010

little blessings

well, an infamous time is upon me. it has been a year since i have been back from germany. the year has been full of heartache, pain, rejection and many other hardships. to lay it straight. it has sucked.

a pretty depressing way to lead off. i know, but there is light ahead in your reading. yes my overall situation is less than fun and has brought a lot of pain, BUT. buts are usually bad yet this time it is good. in fact maybe i should use the word 'yet' as my transition word. doesn't have the negative connotation. enough of grammar.

i have noticed over the past little while that it seems that there are little blessings coming my way. for example, this year mark, i knew would be emotional hard for me, yet on the weekend of the mark, i get to see a dear friend from colorado that is passing through. with him and other bfa friends, i will experience a weekend of happiness.

some other recent little blessings. i got to boston to see some dear friends and be loved on. i went to albany to talk about and help the lives of people far more disadvantaged than i. having a weekend of minute to minute reminders that the world is so much bigger than us is good.

and the blessings will keep coming with the ability to go to a wedding of two dear friends. thank you, mind the gap, for this ability.

so these little gaps come and make life just a bit more survivable. overall, still really hard and hurting but a breath of fresh air every once in a while.

are there little blessings in your life?