Vacations

The Red Dog Saloon is located in Juneau, Alaska and it has a pretty interesting and scandalous reputation - as I'm sure you can imagine without my embellishment. This is the closest I dared to get - didn't even peek inside. But as I was going through my pictures and wondering what to blog about on this beautiful Monday morning I couldn't help but think that vacations are a little bit like the entrance to that saloon.

A vacation is intended to be a doorway to rest and recreation. A getaway. We certainly experienced that on our vacation. We went with my sister and her husband so we had the privilege of enjoying not only the time away in a beautiful place but also the fellowship of family. Double blessing.

Alaska is a place of rugged beauty - a far cry from the flatlands and heat of urban Dallas, Texas - which was a constant reminder to us of the creative majesty of God and His remarkable gift to mankind. He could have made the entire earth alike and yet He chose to give us diversity and contrast. Vacations are meant to give us a chance to experience new things and to recognize God's hand in providing enjoyment to our lives.

We went on a cruise - so we were pampered. It was wonderful to have someone else worry about the details of life that so occupy mankind. No yard to worry about. No beds to make or dishes to wash. Not one thought about what to cook - only where and what to eat. No deadlines. No alarm clocks, no internet and no cell phone. The things we thought we couldn't live without became distant in our thought processes.

And then along came MONDAY. Billy just left. He is returning to his world and I am left in mine. And if we aren't careful the rest of last week will turn to the drudgery of this one. Vacations are just that - vacations. A respite from the world - not a capitulation to it.

Just as that door to the Red Dog is a portal that must be opened to leave the safety of good reason and prudence; so the thought life is a doorway and we must carefully consider what we allow to enter our hearts and minds. Vacations are a privilege. A privilege that comes from work. Work is a gift. If ever we needed to be reminded of that it is today with rampant unemployment and so many we love struggling to make a living or find a job. And while it would be easy to hunker down and complain about coming back to the 'real' world, I must CHOOSE instead to be grateful for the rest. Grateful for the beauty. Grateful for the fellowship. Grateful for the opportunity. Grateful for safety. Grateful for a home to come back to. GRATEFUL.

Gratitude is the doorway to praise and praise is the home of God Himself. He INHABITS the praise of His people. While I didn't even open the door to the Red Dog, I have to admit I have pined for my cruise ship. But this morning in the beauty of the day and a husband off to provide a living, I choose to snap shut the door that leads to darkness and turn to the light of this bright new Monday. To turn my thoughts to the wonderful memories made, the wonderful sights that were seened and to tackle the things set before me with renewed vigor and joy.

I pray that your week is one of His rest - wherever you may be or whatever you put your hand to. Give thanks!

Alaska Bound

Billy and I will soon be departing the southern furnace for the northern refrigerator! It is our first trip that far north and we are excited to see the beauty and escape the heat. We're also excited because my sister and her husband are going with us. They haven't been on a vacation in a long time and they've never cruised so we can't wait to share the joys of life on a ship with them! They are in for such a treat.

I wanted to share with you our plans because I thought you might enjoy hearing about them. Some of you are groaning already - thinking that I am bragging or maybe that you are jealous. Please keep reading.

For the first time in our cruise-history we planned ahead and went online booking our excursions. Excursions are side trips you take when you go into a port. They are extras that you have to plan and pay for but the cruise ship makes it simple for you to book and travel to and from the excursion and they actually enhance your experience of the place to which you are traveling. We chose two this time. One will be on Saturday and we will go on a 'guaranteed' whale watching trip followed by a salmon bake.

Billy has decided that the only way you can guarantee that a whale will come around for you to watch is that they are fed by the cruise ships. I will be watching for that. I bet that means the whales are extra fat. I digress.

It's the second trip I want to tell you about. It is on the Lord's Day. Fitting.

We are riding on a train up a mountain and then going on a short hike - it seems they mentioned bears and other wild animals. I desperately hope no one has been feeding them. I don't want to see them. I digress again.

This brings us to a lake where we will get on our TWO-MAN KAYAK. I had to talk Billy into this. My rationale is we should do things on these excursions that we haven't done before. His is that kayaks must be balanced to avoid tipping over and the water is going to be COLD. I emphasize the 'cold' because it was at this point he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow and rolling eyes. I prevailed and we booked it.

We leave the kayak and they give us a snack (I think this is partly why I booked it - doesn't that sound cute?) and drive us back to our ship in a motorcoach. They did not mention anything dangerous or scarey. It would be bad press to drown or allow your paying tourists to get hypothermia, right? I feel safe. Billy - on the other hand - says he feels a tremendous burden to keep the craft UP all by his lonesome. I think he thinks I'm not going to be any help. I think that's sexist. Everyone knows that women have better balance than men. AND I'm short so I have a lower center of gravity which is very useful for some things. Not really sure if it will help me in a kayak but I can do all things through Christ which keeps me upright. (my paraphrase)

By the way, my sister and brother-in-law passed on the kayak adventure so there will be no pictures or ahem, truthful commentary. You will hear only what I want you to hear. :)

But as you sit in your toasty pew Sunday morning and a sudden chill runs down your spine - it could be the Lord stirring you to pray for Billy who will be doing his usual man-thing - trying to keep his wife upright!

Love you all and will DEFINITELY give you the blow-by-blow from MY PERSPECTIVE when we return!


PS I just read this to Billy and he said he might write his first blog upon returning. I'm not afraid - he can't spell, I will have to proof-read it and hence, corrections will be made. :)

Ministry

So often we think of ministry as a profession - a paid job - a career. We tend to compartmentalize our lives into home/work/leisure/church and not see the big picture where those 'compartments' overlap one another and all contribute to 'who' we are and 'what' we do.

I want to ask you to consider the life of Jesus. He grew up in the home of his parents, trained under his father Joseph and became a carpenter. At 30 he left home and began his 'ministry.' That ministry involved walking around and teaching and then 3 years later dying on a cross.

I would submit to you that every part of his life was ministry - not just the 3 years of teaching and not just the dying on the cross. His early life - though noticeably unwritten about - is summed up in "he grew in favor with God and man." That means he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. Are you? Am I?

Ministry is 24/7. It is present in your home as you take care of what God has given you however grand or humble it may be. It is in the care of your children and/or spouse as you make home a safe place to grow and develop and to learn of authority, kingdom principles and love. It is present in your workplace as you practice ethics, kindness, fairness and loyalty. It is present in your leisure as your character is revealed in your competitiveness and your choice of activities. It is present in your church life for it is here that all four areas seamlessly unite to give back to God the praise that is due Him.

I don't want to take anything away from those who have gone to seminary and are called to pastor BUT I think perhaps too much has been taken away from those of us who are called servant by the Most High God. We have abdicated our unique positions of being the hands and feet of Christ to those who are 'paid' to do it and mistakenly bought into the notion that we don't really have an impact on kingdom work because we're not 'on staff' somewhere.

That is dangerous and shallow thinking. We are the called and set apart. I don't think that means like being 'set' on a shelf. I think it means that everything we do has an impact. Every place we go is holy ground. Every word we say has eternal significance. We are ministers.

And we will be paid. Maybe not ever on this planet but for sure in heaven. I don't know how God will do it or what it will look like. I don't really care. He is fair and just and my/our job is to walk with Him day by day doing what He has set before us. That way we are right in the center of His will - ministering.

Whatever you put your hand to - do it with all diligence. For the audience of One.