relaxation... or maybe not...

Definition of:
Relaxation~ abatement or relief from bodily or mental work, effort, application, etc.
So, I just got back from a week of relaxation in Miami with two of my best friends. You may be asking, what does relaxation entail? Personally for me this meant no work, no internet, minimal cell phone use, good conversation with friends, exercise, reading, and of course slleeepp. I am happy to say I was able to accomplish all of these things over this past week. Yay!
It is so funny how quickly we fall back into the swing of things once back home. Relaxation time is over and it is time that I put my butt in gear and finish up the many things I need to do before I leave. I fly out June 19th for my training for Mercy Ships, which means I have a little less than two months to finish all these things.

My TO DO list entails:
1. Finding a renter for my house
2. Planning Annie’s bridal shower and bachelorette party
3. Helping out with Annie’s wedding stuff
4. Getting together with friends before I leave
5. Spending time with my family
6. Quitting my job that I love and saying goodbye to coworkers and patients
7. Moving out of my house back to my parents
8. Legal stuff (making my Mom my power of attorney…pray for no midlife crises)
9. Purchasing clothes, bedding, laptop, camera, etc, that is Africa appropriate
10. Doctors appointments before I leave
11. Getting health insurance
And…
12…. preparing myself spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically for not only everything I will experience in Africa, but also the things I will miss from home.

While I was away, and in my relaxation mode of reading, this one verse continually popped up and spoke to me time and time again throughout the Old Testament scriptures.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7~ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Okay so here I am getting all tied up and worried about my TO DO list, when all God asks of us is to LOVE and to follow him. God tells us to love him with everything that we are and in all that we do. Am I getting so caught up in all these details of my TO DO list that I am forgetting what God asks of me? He asks us to love Him and to live by His word. That means that as I go about my everyday life I need to put Him first not only when I am in relaxation mode but also when I go about my everyday life.

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
I need to use the love that God gave me in my everyday life and put him first in all I do and say.