Coming Back From Vacation
Getting back into the swing of things following nine days of vacation can be a real challenge. I especially felt this Monday and Tuesday as I was playing catch up on e-mails, phone calls, and required meetings. I feel like I have a lot to learn about how to transition from vacations and other breaks back into the routines of work and family activities. There’s got to be a way to keep the refreshment alive. There should be some ways to prevent post vacation burnout.
Some ideas come to mind:
1. Schedule margins in your schedule to breath and to relax even if it’s just for 15 minutes. This is challenging for me – especially at work where I am on call all the time for help in making decisions or for scheduling resources. I have tried to make it a habit to step out of the office for a few minutes at lunch time. This gives me a chance to get some fresh air, to touch base with my wife on her day, and to catch my breath before heading into the afternoon.
2. Keep thoughts of vacation alive by talking about your vacation and sharing pictures. I love to hear about the vacation adventures of my co-workers, and I like to share my stories as well. I love what I do at my job most of the time, and I really appreciate when our personal interests and adventures intersect with work.
3. Discard or put aside e-mails and other correspondence that are not important, are not urgent, and can be put off until later or not read at all. I know this can be challenging as it requires a discerning filter, but it’s important. In today’s information driven world, we have to relearn that it’s okay to miss out on some things. We don’t need to know every piece of information out there. What did we do before computers and the internet?
4. Compose a “to-do-list” and use it to prioritize tasks that must be attended to with greater urgency. A “to-do-list” can be helpful in documenting the things in our head. It can minimize the feeling of stress that comes from not knowing where to start.
5. Be intentional about continuing activities that provide refreshment and renewal. Leanne and I have taken a few evening strolls through our small town since returning from vacation. It may seem simple, but these walks have provided relaxation along with time together.
I wish I could say that we have it all figures out and that these five steps are easy to follow and an easy answer to overcoming post vacation burnout. But I can’t say these things. Life after vacation can be crazy – but I’m so glad we got away.
What tips do you have for transitioning from vacation back to everyday life?
Psalm 36 – Love and Faithfulness
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This morning I woke up with these words on my mind from Psalm 36:
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Our vacation to Canada gave us some great visual reminders of God’s love and faithfulness.
How have you experienced God’s unfailing love and faithfulness this summer?
Vacation Church – My Sunday Quebec Experience
As you may have known or guessed, our family was on vacation last week. We took off for a week to enjoy the great outdoors and the French Canadian culture in Quebec, Canada. We spent most of our time in and around the small ski town of Mont-Tremblant. It was gorgeous and a wonderful break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life here in the Stolpe home. The Sunday we were there, we visited the only church in town, L’Eglise Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Church). The church is a small Roman Catholic church that overlooks Lac Mercier. Here are some of my thoughts from our visit:
It was very interesting to be in a French-speaking church and to be in a catholic church. In some regards, it makes me appreciate my own church all that much more.
On the other hand, it was encouraging to see the devotion of those who regularly worship in this setting. A few other observations:
1. Besides the passing of the peace, we were not greeted by a single person. Nobody said, “Bon jour.” Nobody said, “Hello.” Nobody said anything. If you belong to a church, you should be friendly. Stop and say hello to those you don’t recognize.
2. We need to speak the language of those around us who don’t have a church home. Putting aside the French language and the differences in doctrine, would I or anyone else understand what was going on as part of this service? Do we expect people to come into our churches and fall in line with the routines and traditions we keep? Do we provide an explanation of our traditions, etc.? Are we relevant to the community around us?
3. The priest reminded me of (my wife’s) Uncle Dave’s brother, Tom. I know this is trivial, but it’s just what I noticed.
4. The French language is beautiful. I have no idea what everyone was saying or singing, but it sounded nice.
5. People think that church ends after communion. I shouldn’t judge as I don’t know what these people had to do this day, but I observed many people slipping out of the church as soon as communion was over. They didn’t stay around for the closing words. They didn’t stay around for fellowship. They left as quickly as they arrived. Our involvement with church isn’t meant to be a task that must be checked off the list. It’s meant to be our life. We’re called to be in Christian community that transcends the Sunday service. We’re called to be involved throughout the week, and we’re called to bring it into our communities. This doesn’t happen in a 40 minute Sunday service. This happens every minute of every day.
6. I’m not real great at the kneeling thing. Perhaps, I need to practice this more. Getting on my knees before God is a discipline of trusting God and of putting Him first.
I realize these thoughts are somewhat random, but I thought you’d enjoy hearing how I was stretched on vacation.
Where do you go to church when you’re on vacation? What have you learned from your vacation church experiences?
Keep Going
I took this picture on our Cape Cod vacation a couple of weeks ago. It’s a boardwalk that takes you out to the edge of the marsh from Grey’s Beach in Yarmouth Port, MA. I ran out to the end of the boardwalk three of the mornings we were there.
In the picture, it appears that the boardwalk goes on forever.
Some days, things can seem like this. We have a tough day at work. Our parenting doesn’t seem to be making any head way with our kids. Perhaps, we’re facing health issues that seem unbearable.
The Bible provides encouragement to keep going when we’re ready to give up. I often draw encouragement from these verses:
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
One of the last day’s that we were in Cape Cod, I took Leanne out to the end of the boardwalk to enjoy the walk and view together. The long walk was well worth it!
What are you facing today that seems like it could go on forever – that seems overwhelming or unbearable? What keeps you going?
Refuel Your Marriage – Cape Cod Getaway Highlights
As I mentioned yesterday, Leanne and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a vacation to Cape Cod. We dropped the kids off with Leanne’s folks for the week, and we enjoyed some time away for just the two of us. We try to get away at least once a year without the kids. Usually, it’s just for a night or two, but this year we decided to extend it to almost a week to celebrate our anniversary. In the past, we’ve enjoyed our stays at different inns that offer a bed and breakfast type atmosphere. This year was no different. We stayed at the One Centre Street Inn in Yarmouth Port, MA. It was such a refreshing experience to wake up to a gourmet breakfast every morning after a quiet nights sleep. Here are the brief highlights from our trip:
Monday – Travel and an evening at Dennis Beach (on the Cape Cod Bay)
Sunset on Dennis Beach
Tuesday – Martha’s Vineyard
Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard
Wednesday – Nantucket
Leanne on our Nantucket private boat tour
Thursday – Provincetown and Cape Cod Baseball League
Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown
Friday – Nauset Beach and an evening in Chatham, MA
My lobster dinner in Chatham
As you can see, we had an adventurous week. Time like this is so important for refueling our marriage. It gets us away from the distractions of home life. It provides an opportunity to focus on us. It gives us a chance to take a break and relax. It gives us a chance to enjoy each other. And it gives us a chance to talk about the future and to set goals. (And by the way, our kids had a blast with Grammy and Pappap.)
If you’re married, I strongly encourage you to get away with your spouse on a regular basis to refuel .
How do you refuel?
I’m Back…
I’m back! But maybe you didn’t even know I was missing.
I just returned from a week of vacation with my wonderful wife as we celebrated our 15th anniversary in Cape Cod. It was an incredible trip, and I hope to share some of the details in the days to come. I just wanted to send out a quick thank you to all four of my guest bloggers this week. I think they all did an excellent job sharing how they have felt “stretched” these days. If for some reason you missed it, here are the links to the four guest posts.
Monday: Norman Stolpe (my dad) – God in the Spaces
Tuesday: Beck Gambill – Faith Stretch
Thursday: Alex Humphrey – Savor The Flavor
Friday: Hannah Stolpe (my daughter) – Middle School Missions Trip Recap
Thank you!
When you go on vacation, do you prefer the mountains or the beaches (or maybe somewhere else)?
South of the Border
Last week, we took a family vacation to Hilton Head, SC. I had never been there before, but I can now tell you that it is a great place to go (at least in mid October). The ocean water was still warm, the beaches were not crowded, the weather was mostly spectacular, there are great bike paths on the island, the tennis was fun, … I could go on and on.
One of the things that amused me as we were driving down I-95 South on our way there is the numerous billboards that overpopulated the highway for miles and miles announcing the approach of South of the Border. I think it started nearly 200 miles away, and it continued nearly every mile (sometimes multiple billboards per mile). I think my favorite one said, “You never sausage a place – South of the Border – 10 miles.”
We didn’t actually stop, but from what I can tell, the place was just a tourist trap – nothing all that special. I think the South of the Border thing is a big example of many things in life. We can be inundated by advertisements and promotions trying to sell us the next “greatest” thing when in reality the item being promoted doesn’t live up to the hype.
There’s one thing I know for sure isn’t like this. Heaven. My guess is that heaven is so much better than we can ever imagine. The psalmist said it best – “better is one day in your house than a thousand elsewhere.” Now that’s something to look forward to.
Until the next post…
Dutch Oven Cooking
While we were on vacation to Wisconsin, I utilized my new found dutch oven cooking skills. My family was pretty impressed especially considering my specialties when I left the house in my early twenties were microwave hot dogs and macaroni and cheese from a box.
It really was a blast to cook for my family. One evening, I cooked white chicken chili and cornbread. And for one of our breakfasts, I cooked breakfast sausage souffle and sticky buns. Finally, our last night at the camp ground, I managed to stack the dutch ovens three high to cook three delicious pizzas. Here are some pictures to show off the final products.
Until the next post, I’ll be thinking about what to cook next in my dutch ovens…
Tall, Tall Tower
While we were on vacation, we hiked up to what my nephew Sam refers to as the “Tall, Tall Tower.” The tower is part of Pike Lake State Forest in Wisconsin, and it was probably a 3/4 mile hike from our campsite. From the top of this tower, you could see for miles. It was quite spectacular.
The tower seemed pretty strong as it was built on several 16-20″ diameter poles; although, I’m not sure I’d want to be up there in the middle of a storm. The experience of seeing this tower reminded me that God is sometimes referred to as a “strong tower.”
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
Isn’t it comforting to know that we can run to God for our safety and security?
Until the next post…