Summer is Here!

I am definitely a person of extremes... at least when it comes to weather. I either want a foot of snow or a hot, sunny day hiking in the foot hills. I think that summer is finally here to stay!

This is a very interesting season for me... I finished school last week (Praise the Lord! Feels so great to be done for a few months.). I don't work too much this time of year because the Dad of the kids I nanny is an NFL scout and their mom is a teacher; this means I have a few, random full days of hanging out with the kids and a quite a few EMPTY days that I don't know what to do with. My mission trip to Panama changed from June to July, so I have 6 weeks (today, exactly!) until I leave.... which seems like a loooong time with no school and hardly any work!

So, what am I supposed to do with myself and all this free time?!

I realized that I was yet again contemplating this dilemma the other day and it made me laugh. This is not a new phenomenon for me. I am either insanely busy because I love to have a full schedule and be productive and do a lot of things... or, all of those things end/change and I just don't know what to do with myself. I question the purpose of this season. But that's what makes me laugh; it is ONLY a season... and I struggle with these thoughts EVERY single time this season comes along.

There is PURPOSE in times of rest.... and that may just be to rest and slow down. Ah, imagine that. :)

My friend, Brooke, reminded me a couple of days ago that I need to enjoy this month and a half because it really is the "calm before the storm." I will be on my trip for 5 weeks and when I get back at the beginning of August it will be almost time for school to start, which means nannying almost 30 hrs/week, working with Campus Crusade consistently, new classes to get accustomed to, etc, etc. I tend to get overwhelmed in the fall, and don't really appreciate this gift of REST that I am currently in.

Because there is purpose in this time of rest, and I know that I am not just being lazy or avoiding responsibility, I will choose to enjoy it. :) Go for hikes, read on the porch swing, journal like crazy (which I do year 'round anyways), picnics at the park w/ the kiddos, sleep in, enjoy so much sweet time with Jesus, prepare for my trip to Panama, BBQs, blog, go for walks, and eat lots of frozen yogurt... all my favorite things. It's going to be wonderful.  

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
...He has made everything beautiful in HIS time..."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11a