Friday, June 20, 2008

Vacation

I'm on vacation. I'll post something next week.

By the way, I'm still at 183. It's hard to lose weight while on vacation, but I am reading the book Ultra Marathon Man, so I'm getting inspired to run long distances! Perhaps a 50 mile run is in my future. That will help me lose the weight that I want to. Hey Swier - you in for a 50 miler? This time, not on your bike!

One last thing - there have been quite a few people who have given me a hard time for going on vacation. I won't repeat what some people have said, but I will say this -- we were not created to work like dogs. God rested on the 7th day, why do we think we can work non stop? I think we have some backwards thinking in this country that glorifies the work-a-holic! People think it's honorable to say, "I've been working so hard. I've been so busy." I think it's dumb. That's right dumb.

This year, I've been dumb. I've worked myself like a dog and it's not been healthy. That is one thing vacation has taught me -- relax and enjoy life - especially the people God has put into my life. Don't worry, I'm not going to become lazy and sit on the couch all day. But one thing I will do when I come back from vacation is say no a little more. I don't want to get back in the same rut that I was in before I went on vacation.

So, this post was a little longer that I initially thought, but oh well. One more week of vacation. One more week of relaxation. One more week filled with hanging out with my kids, staying up late, sleeping in, going to the Buick Open, sitting outside in the sun, etc. I love vacation.

And to you people who have given me a hard time for being on vacation -- get off my back. I didn't give you a hard time for going to Florida for Spring Break!

7 comments:

Becky said...

Ultramarathoner is not my idea of a "vacationer" Dave! :) My doctor at Marquette is one of the top ultrmarathoners on the US national team, if you're interested in chatting with her about it, let me know. Anywho, enjoy vacay, glad that it's going well. You deserve it!

Matt Swier said...

Dude....I'm totally in for the run! I too need to make sure I take your blog's advice and say no to things and just take time to rest. I feel your exhaustion!

Josh said...

Real men are workaholics. It is Biblical. In the book of Adam it says "People shall workith from dusk til dawn everyday. Only this will makeith you holy".

Actually, I am waiting for you to come back to church... it is sooooo boring there. Fortunately, Matt Swier has been around a bit

Corey Mann said...

enjoy vacation. Try really hard to do nothing.

Anonymous said...

Can anyone say Burn Out? Vacations are a must for EVERYONE. Enjoy your time, enjoy your family. If you want to sit on the couch the whole entire time.....so be it. Your time, your families time.

We walked the dunes at Lake Michigan yesterday. Talk about sore today...could barely move. Walking up designated paths in the dunes is a tremendous work out. Someday, maybe I will be able to run up them like some really in shape people were doing!

Have you ever thought of doing an Adventure Race? My husband and son just did one a couple weeks ago and they are hooked. If you are interested, they are everywhere and suitable for novice to very experienced. Check out endurancesports.biz and you will get a schedule of different Adventure Races that are all over Michigan. This is just one avenue for adventure racing, I am sure there are other sponsors out there. Great fun, great opportunity to get into shape and great motivator to push yourself.

Anyway, be blessed as you enjoy your relaxation. The only reason people give you are hard time about taking time off is that they wish they could do it too!! :)

Matt Yount said...

Giddy Up! Right on Bro!

Did you ever notice that the longest and most specific of the ten commandments is the fourth - the one about remembering the Sabbath. God worked. We are to work. God rested. We are to rest. Eugene Peterson points out that "Sabbath is not primarily about us or how it benefits us; it is about God and how God forms us...I don't see any way out of it; if we are going to live appropriately in the creation we must keep the Sabbath."

Sometimes "Sabbath" needs to be a few weeks off. Stop, rest, delight and contmplate.

Oh, and so you don't start thinking I'm all that smart, I'm just sharing with you what I've enjoyed from "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero.

Kimberly said...

You take your vacation Dave and enjoy every millisecond of it, you have earned it. Enjoy your family and take some quiet time for yourself to recharge your own spiritual battery. Be blessed.