A Much Needed Vacation

When I take vacations I don’t like to take ones that keep me very occupied with so many activities so that when I’m done with it I need a vacation from my vacation. So I try to plan ones that will be nice and relaxing.
I’m spending this next week in Arizona. It’s a gorgeous state, so different from my home state of Vermont. The skies are clear and the cacti are green. My plane flight was about 6 hours long including all layovers. It was great to have that time because I was able to spend that time reading the many books in my library that I’ve been putting off. I was able to read a few psalms, a prayer from the “Valley of Vision”, a chapter in “Knowing God”, a chapter in “Shopping for Time”, and a few chapters in “Living the Cross Centered Life”. I was very thankful to have that time. Reading all those perspectives helped me to focus on the Grace of God’s Gospel and His greatness.
In “Shopping for Time” the Mahaney girls have a chapter that focuses on the 5:00 am club. To be in this club, you need to wake up early in order to have a quiet time. This is hard for me I’ve tried it and failed. By mid morning I’m so grumpy. But one thing that struck me and made me laugh as I was reading the chapter was that you can train your body to do anything. The example they gave was to travel to a different time zone and it won’t be a problem to wake up at 5:00am or 6:00am depending on what your clubs time is. What I found so funny was that I’m in Arizona so I’m three hours behind my day in Maryland. That means that I’m up at 4:00am or 5:00am if I make myself sleep in. I had a great quiet time this morning out on the back porch of my cousin Susie’s house. The trees and wild life are so different out here. This little creature came to visit me.

That’s not a creature native to the Chesapeake Bay. Neither is the family of Quail that made the treck from the bottom of the gully to the house next door in order to get their breakfast. I couldn’t help but reflect on how kind God is that he gave us such a diverse world. Without it I think we would get bored. I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the desert if it were not for the fact that I live in a green state. It makes the beauty so much more enjoyable. I’m going to get ready now to go to the gym and eat some more food. By the way fresh tortillas are THE BEST!!