Sunday, June 26, 2005

Vacation, Vacation, da da da da da, de de de de de....

Isn't vacation wonderful? I think at age 42 I've finally figured out it doesn't matter where you go or what you do. The key is to get away from the routine, hum drum, every day work, chores and appointments life, to the life of possibilities that vacation brings.

We have vacationed over the years in places such as Disney World, the mountains of Tennessee, the beaches of Fort Morgan, AL. Last week we went to a family camp in Gull Lake, Michigan. In every case, the beauty of vacation, is being whipped out of everydayness with a vegeance, to an entirely different existence. It refreshes, it stimulates, it challenges us, it throws us together. And in the end, it makes us yearn for our own shower-head and familiar sheets and a little bit of everydayness back in our lives.

For anyone who is interested in a family church camp, this one was stellar. I had certain expectations going in and almost all of them were surpassed by a large margin. The only thing that wasn't as nice as I'd pictured beforehand, was the condition of the cottage we stayed in. It was clean, but old, worn, and a little barren. But we were hardly ever there, and the rest of the week was amazing. My four children have come away from it begging to go back next year, the location was beautiful, the weather was perfection (high of 83, low of 65!), lovely buildings, inspiring speakers, and so much plain old fun, you can't list it all here. But the highlight of the weekend was the staff, about 40 college kids and 5 or so a bit older. They were ENERGY personified. They were smiling, enthusiastic, ready to help at every turn in the road. They changed a typical vacation into a genuinely special memory.

Here is the link for the ministry website: www.gulllake.org and click on 'summer family camp'.

Now I'm back to reality, but the songs and the scenery are still echoing through my head this weekend. I think reality is a bit changed.

Blessings,
Toni

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