Worshiping During Vacation

I have been away from writing here due to the business of work-life and decompressing from my stress from finishing up my PhD dissertation. Thankfully I graduated with my PhD in Psychology with Capella University. So I need to get back to writing here. This new posting looks at vacations.

We all go on vacations for various reasons. The prime reason for many is to take a break from the daily grind of everyday life. A couple of weeks ago we took a short vacation trip to Redding, California with a primary reason of visiting a church, Bethel, that is known for its worship music. As a family we have always enjoyed their worship music so we wanted to experience worship there. We learned that many people travel to Redding to experience Worship at Bethel Church. Matter of fact, I was speaking with a local at an Indian restaurant and mentioning we were in town to visit Bethel he said, “That does not surprise me.” He shared many come to visit that church.

Of course, we also enjoyed the amazing nature of Redding and Sacramento while we were there. One of the most pleasant nature experiences was the Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the Sundial Bridge pictured above. The Sacramento River runs through it. Also in Sacramento near the hotel we stayed there was a wonderful park with a pond we walked around. We are not big into shopping so it is the nature sights that move us.

We went to Bethel Church and found they have a prayer chapel that we enjoyed going to each morning for personal prayer and devotion time in the mornings. We attended two services, one Friday evening was a live stream to their college center where we were; as the main church was having a retreat for church members only. We were a little disappointed, but not with the worship music and the teaching that night was by visiting Pastor Erwin McManus from Mosaic Church in Hollywood. He gave a powerful message encouraging how Christians should be the church in their daily life. He pointed out how Christians should be there best in life in their career and their best in interactions with others.
On Sunday we attended worship at the main church campus. The worship music was very inspiring and pointed to Christ. Then the sermon that day by Pastor Eric Johnson presented an important reminder that the Christian life is not seeking blessings but to follow Christ as a servant. He used the apostle Peter as an example of servanthood. Peter was not perfect and we are not perfect. God used Peter for great things and we can do great things.

With all the bad news of the Corona virus as we left for California, the nature of California and the worship and teaching at Bethel refreshed our spirits. This vacation gave us a new look at how to do a vacation. As we look across the country there are other vacations we are looking forward to visit and listen to pastors we want to hear as part of the vacation experience.

Reflection:
Some go on vacations for history, some go for fun, some go for cultural events, and our recent vacation was for visiting a church my wife and I wanted to visit. What are aspects of a vacation that you look for when you go on a vacation?

Big Goal Finished and Creating New Goals

Moving into the New Year of 2020 I have been in conversations with people working on personal goals for the New Year. In my book Living More Than OK, I give one chapter to dreaming big and setting goals. For the recent past years, my main goal has been to finish my long range goal of my PhD in psychology. As I started this year I received notice from Capella University that my dissertation was approved for publishing and that I met requirements for graduation. This was an amazing feeling as I never thought I would finish. The event also made me think what next goal is the right direction for me.

There was so much physical and emotional energy tied into finishing my dissertation that now I need to regroup mentally and move forward. As I regroup mentally I reflected on a short article in the most recent issue of Success magazine. The article was Always Looking Forward 3 Goal-Setting Myths by motivational coach Simon T. Bailey. He was trying to reframe thoughts on goals by looking at a few myths about goals.

The myths of goals he mentioned were: “The Goal is the Destination”, “Goals are Fixed Once they’re written down”, and “I need to wait until I can apply a particular framework perfectly”.

With the first myth, “The Goal is the Destination” his reminder was that we sometimes don’t perfectly reach our goal. Changes occur in life and maybe we reach a point where a better option occurs. In my case I did reach my goal of the PhD, but it took longer than expected with the twists and turns of life. Many times I wanted to give up but I had a Mentor professor who encouraged me to not give up. I went so far as posting a sign “Never Give Up” to remind me.

The second myth “Goals are Fixed Once they’re written down” reveals the important of re-editing goals as time moves on. Be open to shifts that require a change in your goal. He does bring out the point that it is important to write goals down but be open to making changes as needed. This reminds me of Dr. Jim Bright’s work on Chaos Theory of Careers in keeping an open and flexible mind as we work on goals in our lives.

Then the final myth he considers is “I need to wait until I can apply a particular framework perfectly”. Is there an exact formula to reaching a goal? Some books and experts promote that, but waiting for the perfect wording may keep a person from never moving forward.

The important thing is to take time to think through where you want to go with your plans for the future in this new year. If you follow a religious faith take extra time in prayer to gain insights into which path to follow. With my PhD done that is where I am at now. What direction or plan does God have for me to move in now? There is a purpose for us in every season of life so begin to work on a goal to begin your journey in 2020.

Reflection: What is the most recent goal you have achieved? Did it change any from its initial version? What is a goal or goals for your New Year?