I was in Chicago last week for a conference, and the wonderful weather just enhanced the visit.
On the way downtown, my taxi driver told me that there should be quite a bit of snow on the ground by now, chalking it up to global warming. No matter what the cause, I enjoyed the walk each night from my hotel to the lake.
A good friend of mine is out in Colorado this weekend for a mini vacation. He hasn’t travelled much, and he’s out in the Denver area visiting another friend.
I’ve enjoyed the texts and photos he’s sent the last few days. I can tell he’s having a great time, and the thing that he’s enjoying most is the beautiful scenery and the regional food he’s been trying. He’s got me thinking about my own upcoming trips.
I’m just getting back from a week’s vacation in California. Between camping at the beach, a high school reunion, and visiting with friends and family, I was pretty busy. It was a great time and I feel recharged. Isn’t that what time away is supposed to do for us?
My mom asked me what my favorite part was, and I told her it was camping at the beach. I don’t make it there much anymore, and when I do get there, it reminds me of how much I miss living in Southern California. Being with a big group of family made it even more special.
I heard a really good sermon yesterday preached by our newly ordained priest. He’s from Columbia, and his messages are simple and practical.
He talked about the necessity of taking vacations, of being quiet, the need for relaxation and recharging. How true.
He also talked about the importance of not taking a vacation from God. So often, we do just that. We don’t think much about God while we’re relaxing and re-charging. How true.
So, that’s the message for today. If you’re planning to take your vacation soon, make God a part of your plans. Bring your Bible, find a church to go to, intentionally make time for prayer. As St. Ignatius would reminds us, we can find God in all things, even while we’re on vacation. Seek Him out. “When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:13-14).
This past weekend, Baltimore had a huge celebration remembering the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, and especially the flag to the left which flew over Fort Mc Henry. It was amazing, and if you’ve never seen this huge flag, you can check it out at the Smithsonian. It’s amazing.
Another thing that’s pretty amazing is some statistics that Word Press has been keeping since the first of the year. Well, I’m sure they’ve always kept track of all kinds of numbers, but they never shared figures with me for Making All Things New, other than total hits. Until recently…
This is a shot of my mom and sister on their last visit to Maryland a few years ago. I’ve had the chance to take mom to Assateague Island to see the famous wild ponies a couple of times, and that’s where this photo was taken.
You probably didn’t pick up on this today. Most people wouldn’t, but since I love Italian art, the news story caught my eye. It seems as though an art historian recently found an image of a demon hanging out in a fresco painted by Giotto in the 13th century (middle part of the cloud on the right. Look for the hooked nose).
The image above is from Reuters. The scene is from a cycle of frescos in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
I’m always a little disappointed when I’m on vacation and it rains. Especially when the vacation is in Southern California, which hardly ever gets rain.
My mom and I are heading out early for a little shopping excursion, hoping to beat the worst of it, which is supposed to come in this afternoon. A whole inch in five hours. That’s a lot for this area, and I’ve been told it’s best to stay off the roads. People just don’t handle rain well around here.
My mom called me the other day, enthused about her super abundance of tomatoes. She wanted to start making sauce, and lot’s of it 🙂
The Pomarola Sauce from a couple of weeks ago hailed from Naples. Today’s recipe is a Tuscan classic. In Tuscany, the rule of thumb is is combine only necessary ingredients, of the highest quality, and in perfect proportions, in order to produce the very best results.
Given the fact that this recipe only has three ingredients, I think you’ll have the chance to taste a bit Tuscany, and how could that not be a good thing?
Two weeks ago, my family and I were supposed to go on a beach vacation. We had been looking forward to it for months, and had eagerly laid out plans for a wonderful time.
Because of illness, the trip got cancelled, and it was a letdown for all of us. I decided to still take the week off, but do some things around the house, work on my website, and develop a new project that I’ll be telling you about in the next couple of weeks 🙂