Vacation 2015 Takeaways

Vacation 2015 Takeaways

17. Driving from Michigan to Galveston Texas is about 100 miles closer than driving from Michigan to Miami, and I have done both. However, traveling with 5 children makes all the difference requiring frequent stops packed with loads of patience and the realization you will not make good time. 

16.Give me a laptop at 11 o'clock at night, and I can stay up with the best of 'em. Ask me to drive at 11 o'clock at night, and I only last 30 minutes.

15.Good friendships last a lifetime beyond the miles and throughout the seasons of life. Grateful for those we call friends 

14.Jamaica truly lives by 'no problem mon!' and has the BEST jerk chicken you'll ever eat! 

13.Vacation is an opportunity to try new things like eat ox tongue, nibble on frog legs, climb a waterfall or kiss a sting ray. 

12.Arkansas is about as country as you can get! This was spring break week, and the cruise we sailed on was probably about 90% Arkansas residents. Hello country…..what an interesting dialect. 

11.The universal question and comments follow us every where we go 'Are those ALL yours?'  'WOW! You guys are brave!' #bigfamily

10.Cruises should be best known for having your room cleaned twice a day and the never ending supply of food! Did you know that things called chocolate extravaganza exist? This chocoholic was in heaven!

9.Most cruiseship workers work an average of 14 to 15 hours a day to send 80% of their earnings home to their families in other countries. Yet, they are the most pleasant, caring, hardworking people you will meet. We Americans are spoiled and blessed! 

8.Bathing suit attire is 90% confidence and 10% appropriateness according to cruise standards. Wow!

7.Everyone has a story. I appreciated hearing Cowboy Bill's, one of the comedians on the ship. He got let go from his job after college and decided to follow his dream to do what he loves now making a living at it! Grateful for the reminder that there's a dream in each of us we all can accomplish if we work hard and never give up! 

6.My children never cease to amaze me. They make friends everywhere they go, endear the older generation and truly love just talking to people. I love seeing the joy they bring to others.

5.My hubby continues to amaze me with what a great daddy and father he is. He was a superstar this vacation giving me down time to work on my tan, helping take care of the kids, spoiling me with spa time. Love that man!

4.You want to see the wonder of God... count the stars, survey the oceans, study the lands, the unique animals and the millions of people we encounter daily. I see Him in everything and am in awe! Grateful to have such a loving, heavenly Father.

3.Laundry after vacation is truly THE WORST!

2.I need vacation recovery days, and no one ever feels bad for you! LOL

1. TRULY, there is no place like HOME!

Even the Crock Pot Speaks

As I begin another post,  I'd like to give you insight to the way many times the Lord will speak to me. Its usually through the ordinary, simple, every day things that I'll get a nugget of wisdom, a simple analogy that will inspire or challenge me in my life. Lately, its the crock pot, it speaks to me on a daily basis and no, I'm not going crazy. Let me explain…

Every day, I enter my closet to pick out clothes to get dressed and there it sits, a brand new, boxed up crock pot, a gift from this past Christmas from my hubby (sorry honey!). One I had requested, in fact, after I got crock pot envy from a friend (thanks Nichola!). See, I've been using my mother's for the past 3 years since we moved in with my Dad. It has what you would call "sentimental value", but in honesty, its rather small and has lots of wear and tear. It only has the basic features: off, low and high, and yet I can't seem to part with it even after I got a new one.

Let me tell you about this new beauty….its a 5 quart stay-n-go stainless steel pot with 2 choices for easy and automatic cooking. You can program the cooking time, and it will automatically shift to warm when the time is up or use the basics features off, low and high. It has a latch-able lid for transporting and even a spoon that attaches to it. Its pretty sweet! Still, it remains in the box, unopened, unused, in all its glory.

Its become a joke now because since I started this blog, I took it out of the closet, and it now sits in the kitchen, still boxed. Hey one step closer right? I actually moved it to remind me to finish this writing. In reality, this appliance with all its features has not benefited me yet and will not until I take it out and use it!

So why, why can't I when it comes to such a simple thing make the change? Out with the old in with the new! Move on to bigger and better right? Some how that old thing has brought comfort, and yet Lord knows, my mom would say "Who cares!" She certainly isn't thinking about that thing in heaven. I ponder why am I hanging on to it….and then wisdom begins.

If I did an inventory of my life, how many things am I hanging on to like traditions, routines, thought processes, habits that are keeping me stagnant and from moving forward? Clearly, there have been improvements in the function of these crock pot machines that would be of great benefit to my life, my family, my cooking, but I stick with the basics.

Now, I'm not knocking the basics. We all start somewhere, but its going beyond the basics which separates us from the pack. I think with human nature, there is a struggle between the constant push to move forward versus the comfort and knowing of our daily routine. I believe God has created us to live big lives! He uniquely faceted us with gifts and talents to inspire, encourage and make a difference in this world. Sadly, many times, our dreams seemed dashed, out of reach, overwhelming because the every day is calling. Work, job, bills, relationships, its like we are on a hamster wheel just spinning, or a treadmill running but going nowhere.

I give this great thought because without risk there is no reward, and without dreams there is no fulfillment. Knowing that it says in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans of a hope and a future". Those words are a reminder that God has a plan for each of our lives and it is great, not small, not ordinary but uniquely designed for us, and we can trust Him with it!

Personally, the area I have needed attending to IS my writing. I undoubtedly knew the Lord said to write, but I kept on with my daily routine for so long because it seemed easier. I've had to break out of the mold and just begin or it would never happen. No longer could I ignore that something in me was lacking. I've now placed a priority to step into the creative and calling in me.

So yes, the crockpot speaks, to remind me that there is more, there is greater, there is beyond the now, if I will step out and do my part to meet God. I say 'yes' by continuing to write this blog and the melodies He gives me because I want to fulfill my calling and purpose for this life.

"Life is merely a breath" it says in Psalm 39:5 and then its over. So I ask what's speaking to you? What's calling you? What changes need to be made? What endeavors do you need to begin or start again? Now is the time to examine our lives, to make the necessary changes and live as if there are no ordinary days!