Southside Baptist Church, Athens, AL

Last year as December rolled around I still had 15 unused vacation days for the year.  This made me realize I needed a more disciplined approach to planning vacation time.  So this year, Brooke and I have tried to map out my vacation schedule so that it's spread throughout the year at regular intervals, and this past week was the first vacation in the plan.  We really did have a wonderfully, relaxing time while squeezing in a lot of activity.  You'll have to read Brooke's blog to get the details.

While I may have been on vacation physically, the conversations we had with friends and family only worked to intensify and confirm the ongoing spiritual concerns that have been recently rising to the surface in my heart and mind (more about that later).  But that's what vacation should be--physical rest accompanied by spiritual encouragement.  That's exactly what I anticipate from our next vacation, when we will be spending time with our good friends, the Whitlarks, in Texas!  Jason and I have already begun reading a couple of books which we plan to discuss during our time together.