Life Lessons: Learning To Relax

There was a time in my life when I didn’t have to work at relaxing. It was a time when I had little responsibility and could easily unplug and get away from the challenges of life. Remember that time in your life?

Just like it is for you, those days are long gone for me. Most days I am in my office at MPCC planning, creating, dreaming, praying, strategizing, leading and managing the worship and music department. I am thoroughly enjoying being there and can look back and completely see that God orchestrated the entire process. It is a wonderful church and I can see us serving at MPCC for a very long time. 

When I am not at MPCC I am at home planning, creating, dreaming, praying, strategizing, leading and working on the other part of our ministry, Tabor Ministries. For nearly 10 years now Kim and I have been traveling the country leading worship, singing and sharing The Gospel through concerts, conferences, services and retreats. TM is a real passion for us that very naturally works alongside our ministry at MPCC. We have been blessed with 5 recordings and are so humbled and grateful for the ways that God continues to use us to proclaim the good news that God wants us to live a life of freedom in HIM. 

This next Sunday we will be giving 2 ministry concerts at Living Word Church in New Port Richey, FL (Tampa area). We covet your prayers for those services. If you want to find out more about how this concert happened, check out Kim’s new blog, Finally Free. It is a very, very cool story.

Anyway, I am trying to paint the picture that at this point in my life I don’t have a tremendous amount of free time. I know I am not alone in this and many of you share the same challenges. How do you cope with the need for relaxation?

Enjoying The Ferry Boat Ride To North Captiva Island

We absolutely love to travel and right now we are enjoying some vacation time on North Captive Island, FL. Time with Kim on the beach feeds my soul. It is our first time to be here and I can tell you that after day 1, we are loving it! God is so good and we are so incredibly grateful for HIS provision in allowing us to get away like this. We needed it. 

I would love to hear back from you because I know that we are all super busy.

Seriously, how do you cope with the need to find ways to relax? What works for you? How do you balance that with family, work & service? How do you feed your soul?

I am realizing that when I don’t find time to feed my soul that my life, focus and ministry all suffer. What have you learned?

I hope that you will give me some feedback on how or what you do to stay grounded and balance the stress of life. Please take a moment to write back in the comment section. 

 

A Beautiful Sunset on Day 1, North Captive Island, FL

Favorite Vacation Poll Results

On Wednesday, I wrote a blog about my favorite type of vacation. I am a beach/ocean guy all the way. Typically, every January, Kim and I head to Fort Myers Beach, FL for at least a week….longer if we can make it happen. It’s an awesome time to go because it isn’t very crowded, the rates are pretty good and the weather is upper 70’s and sunny. We love it. We like to stay at a place called Pointe Estero, a high-rise condo resort. It isn’t an extravagant place but it’s nice, clean and comfortable. Think about Tommy Bahama building a hotel and the result would be this place.

Just for fun, I emailed some friends on Wednesday and asked them to help me out with a quick poll of their favorite type of vacation. I emailed 30 people. 28 of them responded and answered the poll question, “What Is Your Favorite Vacation.” Here are the findings.

Out of 28 responses, 19 people indicated that their favorite type of vacation was to a beach or ocean location. I even got a couple of emails with specific places that some of my friends like to go. Thanks for the input. Those just got added to my list of places to visit.

3 people indicated that Disney was their ideal vacation destination. Kim and I also love Disney. I wouldn’t say that it is a restful place to go, but you can certainly have a great time there while dropping some serious coin. We love Disney.

In a 3-way tie with 2 replies each were: Cruise, Cottage/Lake House & Other. Kim and I have never done a cruise together, though I hear that they are fabulous. We also haven’t had the chance to do a lake house vacation. I can imagine that this would be pretty awesome, especially with access to a boat. The thought of teaching Kim to water ski makes me roar with laughter. That would be absolutely epic.

Zero people indicated that a Snowy/Cold vacation would be ideal for them. I must admit that I don’t really get the whole cold vacation thing, probably because I’m not a snow skier. I also haven’t had the chance to do much traveling in colder climates. I guess if I was loaded and had the chance to do multiple vacations per year I would be up for giving this a shot.

I got a comment from Aaron who made a great case for taking a cruise. I definitely plan to do that sometime. 

I also got a comment, from Troy, saying that I like to, “…Vacation like a girl.” Here is a picture of Troy.  In a green women’s bonnet. Dude, I don’t know how to say this exactly, but, I’m pretty sure I am not the one with lady issues. Nice bow.

There you have it. It is admittedly not scientific, but according to 28 of my friends, these are good vacation options. At the very least this gave me some time to think and dream about the next trip we will be able to take. God willing, it will be to some place warm. Oh yeah, and I pray that it is soon…..very soon!

Happy Travels -

My Favorite Vacation

About this time every year I start to think about vacation. I’m a person who needs regular down time to get refreshed and it always seems that just before Thanksgiving, I tend to hit the wall. I am there right now and thinking about my next vacation.

When is my next vacation? Thanks for asking. I have no idea. But, I can tell you what my dreams would be for that vacation: Beach, Sunshine, Good Food, Golf and Kim….not in that order of course!

When I think of vacations I think of warmth and lying on a beach. That really does it for me. Some people ski. Some people cruise. Some people climb mountains. I lay on the beach while Kim walks on the beach. I don’t read, listen to music or throw a frisbee. I sit in the sun, sleep and hopefully get tan.

I would love to hear about your vacation ideas. Take a quick minute to fill out the following poll.

Beach Sunsets Rock

One of my favorite things in the whole world is sitting on the beach. For me this is the ultimate form of relaxation. There is something about the sound of the ocean crashing against the sand and the warmth of the sun that I absolutely love. Even thinking about it as I write this, takes me to a very special place in my mind and heart. It just feels right to me.

A close second behind sitting on the beach is watching a sunset on the beach. It is truly an amazing experience. That is precisely why I chose the cover picture for this blog. There is something eerily peaceful about watching the sun set on another day. It’s like God painting on an amazing canvas for us, to remind us of the extravagant way that He loves us.

We were recently on vacation in Florida and got the chance to take part in a pretty unique sunset experience. We were sitting and watching, trying to take it all in when all of a sudden an older man stood up and began to blow a long solid note into a conch shell. At first I started laughing and then, as the moments rolled by and he continued to sustain this note all of us got inspired. He actually held it out until the sun dipped below the horizon. By the time he stopped, close to 100 people who had gathered around him began to clap and cheer. It was awesome.

For Kim and me the beach holds a very special place and this “sunset moment” holds a lot of memories for us. Some of the most important and exciting decisions of our life have been made watching these sunsets. Some of our most meaningful connections have also taken place there.

Watching this majestic transformation unfold before us is simply incredible.

I hope that as you read this you might be taken to whatever that special place is for you…..a place of peace and calm that allows you to feel connected to God and helps to bring clarity to His voice in your mind and heart. Every month or so, I try to spend a few moments looking at these sunset pics from our Florida vacation so that I can be reminded of God’s incredible love for us and that I have to remember to never become to busy to stop and watch the sunset.