Unplug and Connect

My "short summer blogging sabbatical" turned into a "frantic fall get-back-to-school blogging sabbatical" has now turned into some possibly wondering, "Does she still blog?" Or maybe nobody is wondering at all. But the beauty of blogging is that you can blog for one or you can blog for one thousand, and you can take your own vacations and set your own deadlines. (I also needed a little bloggy pep talk recently to remember my original purpose and motivation to write in the first place. Thanks, Christan, dear friend, for getting me back on track.) So for my one reader who is left, here we go!

One of the many lessons I learned this summer is the value of unplugging and getting recharged. Time away from the routine. Time away from technology. Time away from schedules and demands and to-do lists and the stresses of the day to day. I love getting away to gain perspective and to help me once again see the big picture in life. And I love coming home again, too.

True recreation is time to re-create. Time to remember who we are, why we're here, and where we're going. {We don't do this so well in our American culture. We either work ourselves crazy, or we play at our work and work at our play.} But in this age of technology, it seems more important than ever to learn how to press the "off" button and set aside our electronic devices to enjoy the beauty of creation or possibly even the person sitting right next to us.

So this summer sabbatical I examined what drives me and the pitfalls of pursuing my identity in anything outside of Christ. Doug and I started asking ourselves once again where we are and where we are going and praying some big prayers to ask God to lead and guide. And this fall I'm asking God to teach me more about finding balance in life and in all things good. Balance--among other things--when to plug and when to unplug and truly connect.