I’m not ignoring you. I promise.
I’ve just been doing my best to pay attention to my wife this week. We were in Vermont for the past week celebrating our 20th Anniversary (a few weeks early).
It was a great week, and I did my best to unplug as much as possible and to practice the discipline of being present.
I’ll have some new posts this week.
Hope you are doing well!
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas. If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com. If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)
My Answer: I wish there was a way to be multiple locations at the same time, but I don’t think that is possible – yet. Therefore, I would invite my family and friends to join me in Santo Domingo Xenacoj in Guatemala. We would all visit the week before Christmas, so we could be part of Christmas for Thousands – an opportunity to give Christmas gifts to thousands of children in and around the village of Xenacoj.
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!
Last week, I took a vacation with my wife’s family to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
The vacation gave me the opportunity to enjoy time with my family, to enjoy relaxing on the beach and at the pool, and to enjoy being unplugged.
The WiFi where we were staying was terrible. At first, I was kind of bummed. I had hoped to do some writing while we were on vacation, and I planned to post on the blog (at least a few times) during the week. Instead, I went an entire week without posting a thing on my blog. I checked Facebook a few times, and I read a few of the blogs I follow. Besides this, I took a vacation from the blog world.
Some would say this isn’t a smart idea. In the past, I’ve scheduled posts or had people guest post in my absence. This was an option I decided not to pursue this time around. I’m not sure how it will impact my traffic. In the short term, I’m sure it will have a negative impact. In the long term, I think it may actually make a positive difference.
Without question, I believe it will improve the quality of my posts. Blog experts say consistency is queen – meaning I should have posted through my vacation. And they also say content is king. If this is true, I’m excited to see how my week away will impact my blog.
We live in a day and age when most people struggle to disconnect from the world. We have smart phones at our finger tips. With a WiFi connection, we can connect with our laptops and tablets to the rest of the world. All this connectivity has some positive perks:
Unfortunately, it’s not all positive. In this world of instant information access, we are faced with some major challenges:
Vacation provided many great reminders for me. I’m thankful for the chance to take a break. I’m thankful for my family. And I’m thankful for my friends (off-line and on-line). As I head back into my “normal” routine this morning, I look forward to capitalizing on the connection I experienced while I was away, and I look forward to connecting with those I know on-line.
The summer months are a time for vacations and day trips. I am thankful for this season when things relax a little.
I have seen fellow bloggers handle their vacations in different ways:
I try to keep the blog going, even while I am away. Sometimes a re-post popular blog posts from the past. This provides newer readers the opportunity to catch up on some of my older content. My preference though is to feature guest bloggers during my vacation time. This gives me the opportunity to introduce my blogging community to others around the blog world. It provides fresh perspectives on life’s stretching experiences. And it keeps my readers engaged as guest bloggers participate in the dialogue that goes on in the comments.
This summer, I am heading back to Guatemala, and I am looking for guest bloggers to help fill the gap while I am away. Specifically, I need guest bloggers for July 21-25 and July 28th. If you would be interested in helping out during this time (or at another time), please leave a comment or reach out to me at jon@jonstolpe.com, so we can connect. (For more about guest posting, click here.)
You have a stretching story worth sharing. Your stretch story could be the catalyst for significant encouragement for the Stretched Community. And I’d love to share it here!
I’ll be back with more great content tomorrow.
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
Like most of the northern and eastern parts of the country, we’ve been dealing with extremely cold temperatures this week. Our furnace stopped working on the coldest day when the our condensate line froze and our condensate trap cracked. We’ve found a way to stay warm while we wait for a new part to fix the furnace. In the meantime, our family has been thinking about warm places. These thoughts are the inspiration for this week’s Stretched Ice Breaker.
Question: Would you rather visit Alaska or Hawaii? Or would you prefer to stay at home?
My Answer: I’ve never been to Alaska, and I think it would be great to visit there at least once. I’ve been to Hawaii a couple of times, and it is truly a paradise. I’d visit Hawaii again any time. I remember enjoying the sunshine, the beautiful beaches, the tropical jungles, and the amazing mountains. It’s too bad Hawaii is so far away from the east coast.
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!
Also don’t forget to sign up for the Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.
Today, I’m thankful for vacation.
I’m taking the next few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving and to be with family. As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago (Pause), it’s important to take a break from time to time. I’m looking forward to a break.
Why are you thankful today?
Don’t forget to sign up for the weekly Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.
We were gone for two Sundays while we were away on vacation which meant we missed church at our home church two weeks in a row. It would have been easy to skip church all together and simply enjoy the time to relax. But we didn’t exactly do this.
The first Sunday we were away, we visited my brother’s church, Milwaukee Mennonite Church, in Wisconsin. The church meets at 4 PM on Sunday afternoons in the building of a local Lutheran church. It’s a small family oriented congregation where we felt very welcome. It was definitely a different experience than we are used to at our church, but the change was okay. It was exciting to see how God was working in this community of believers. The singing part of worship included a couple of songs in a capella followed by a couple with piano accompaniment. They do not have a paid pastor, so the preaching duty is shared by the congregation. Following the sermon, there is a time of open reflection by those in a church. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but it was interesting especially once I understood what was going on. Leanne and I both commented that it felt like a small group.
The second weekend we were away, we actually went to church on Saturday night at Charter Oak Church (where we were married 17 years earlier). This is a growing United Methodist congregation which is clearly trying to find ways to reach the community. The singing part of worship featured several guitars, a drummer, a keyboard, and a few lead vocalists. It was so cool to witness a couple of baptisms while we were there. There was a watering trough on the stage filled with water on the stage or platform. The pastor knelt beside the trough while those being baptized took turns getting into the tank to be immersed by the pastor. I really enjoyed the sermon at this church which was themed based on the popular NBC TV show, The Voice. The sermon started with a Francis Chan video clip that I’ve included in past blog posts. I really appreciated the way the pastor used the YouVersion Live feature to go along with his sermon. I was able to take notes and look up Bible passages from my iPhone. We received a friendly reception at this church as well.
Visiting other churches can be a very healthy experience while you are on vacation. Here are five reasons for visiting churches while on vacation:
I don’t know what your vacation plans are this summer. Maybe your sticking at home or maybe you’re traveling to far away lands. I’d encourage you to take the opportunity to visit a different church this summer. When you do this, let me know how it went.
Do you visit other churches when you travel? Tell us about your last experience at a different church. Why do you think it is (or isn’t) a good idea to visit other churches from time to time?
I just arrived back from a week and a half of vacation. Our family journeyed to the Midwest to visit with extended family. It was a great trip in general, and it was especially refreshing to unplug (for the most part). I’ll share more details in upcoming posts. Before I get back into blogging, I want to send out a special thank you to those who guest posted for me while I was on vacation. If you missed it, here are the four guest posts:
In three weeks, I’ll be heading out of the country for a missions trip to Guatemala. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to blog while I’m away, so I’m looking for more guest bloggers who would be interesting in sharing their STRETCHED stories and ideas here on the Stretched Blog. The dates I’ll be away are August 3rd thru the 11th. If you can help out, please drop me a line.
Stay tuned for a new post tomorrow. Also, I wanted to mention that I’ve been considering the possibility of posting on my old blog (jonstolpe.wordpress.com) to test out some new blogging ideas and material. Some of the material may be a little “rougher” than my normal posts, and I can’t guarantee that it will be consistent in themes or in timing. You are welcome to check it out.
Is your family taking any vacations this summer? If so, where are you going? Is there anything or anyone special you plan to see? If you’re a blogger, how are you handling your blog and other social media outlets while you are away?
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
For many, next weekend marks the beginning of summer. People start traveling and taking time off from work to enjoy a break and to spend time with family and friends. This week’s question will get you thinking about the summer ahead and will remind you of summer days of the past.
Question: What are your vacation plans for this summer? What’s one of the best vacations that you have ever experienced?
My Answer: If you have been reading along for a little while, you’ll know our family is planning to go to Guatemala later this summer on a short-term missions trip to the village of Xenacoj. Besides that, we are planning to take a swing through the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) to visit my family who live in that area. In between visits with family, we’re also hoping to hit one of the water parks in the Wisconsin Dells.
As for best vacations experienced, I would say that I really enjoyed the trip that Leanne and I took to France to celebrate our tenth anniversary. We stayed in Paris for two days, the Louvre Valley for two days, the Bordeaux region for two days, near Marseilles for two days, and Lyon for two days. It was wonderful to see the various sites of this beautiful country, and it was refreshing to spend uninterrupted time together with my bride.
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.)