Why is summer so busy!

Whoops, it's been a while since I've blogged!  It's the busyness of summer...summer gets loaded with so much 'stuff', and before you know it, it's over.  It seems like every weekend gets booked with work, family get-togethers, plans with friends, church activities, and if you're lucky, a chance to do some of those tasks around the house that need to get done.  After all that though, there's barely any time for you and your family.

So how do you stop and smell the roses in such a busy season?

1) Stop.  It's as 'simple' as that.  Notice how simple is in brackets?  I realize this is a difficult thing to do.  But sometimes we just need to stop everything we're doing and take a breath (or 10), and smile at the blessings around us.

2) Deliberately schedule time to rest.  This can also be a tough one.  When there are so many things on the to-do list, it's hard to schedule time to not do anything.  This may lead to an inner battle, where you'll be fighting to tell yourself that you are not wasting time in those moments.  But rest assured, you are not.  You are giving your mind and your body some much needed rest.

3)  Enjoy the small things.  Not everything has to be big for us to enjoy it.  We don't have to go on a road trip every weekend.  We don't have to make it to every out of town family gathering.  Some things on the to-do list can wait a few months.  An hour at home or at the park with the family can be better than driving two hours to get somewhere 'fun'.

4)  Don't forget about God.  When life gets busy, what's the first thing that gets dropped to make room for everything else?  Let's not sugar-coat it, for a lot of us, it's our devotions.  But when you're doing 'busy' without God, that's a recipe for disaster, stress, fatigue, and the classic 'grass is greener' syndrome, to name a few.

There are lots of other tips, but we're already busy enough without trying to remember 15 different things.  Pick one or two of these, try them out, and see how you feel.

Now to put it into practice myself...wow, those roses outside my window really are quite pretty...

Summer

If you know me or you follow my blog, you know I love all seasons.  I have no preference as they all have amazing parts and not so great parts.  I enjoyed this past winter as I always do, but this year I was more excited than normal to hit summer.  Here's why:

I saved up and purchased this bad boy on sale at the end of last summer.  Got out about 7 times last year before it got too cold, and now summer 2013 has finally come!  Can't wait to use it a lot more!  This picture was from the May long weekend, when I got out twice.  Bring on the summer!

*Thanks to Colin in the comment section below...allow me to note that it's the kayak that I bought last summer, not the car, lol

Kayak!

So I am thrilled about my latest purchase...a kayak!!  Just bought it last week, but went out for a paddle a couple days ago and it was great!

Just to set the record straight, I'm not normally a purchaser of big-ticket items like this.  However, this was not a whim purchase, it's something I've wanted to do for a while.  I've been planning and saving since last year, testing out different kayaks and doing research to find the right one for me.  I'm so glad I put in the time because I found the perfect one!  (I was tempted to buy one last year without doing any research, and now I'm thrilled that I waited because while it was a good kayak, it wouldn't have been a good one for me).

Anyhow, as I mentioned I went out for a paddle this week.  There's something about being out on the water - away from the traffic and busyness, an escape even just for a couple of hours, where it's quiet and it's just you and nature - you and God.  A great chance to reconnect and admire God's creation.  That, and exercise are the two main reasons I bought a kayak, and I can't wait to use it a ton next summer!  I got it at a smokin' deal being the end of the season, but the only problem is that now I have to wait about 9 months before I can really use it. It's going to be torture every time I open my garage this winter!

In the end, two main points - enjoy God's creation however you do it, and never underestimate the value of taking the time to do your due research before making a big purchase.  It's worth it in the end.