Nerd Life: Finally, a Vacation, Stay-cation, and a Retreat All Rolled Up Into One

This week was the week that I have been waiting for since half way through fall semester, a legitimate time to rest and relax. Last semester was filled with changes in job status for Mrs. Nerd and medical treatments amidst school and ministry. Even as winter vacation came, we were busy with getting the youth group kids ready for their Christmas program, finalizing the winter retreat, going to winter retreat, family functions (which sometimes tend to be more of a chore than something one does on vacation), New Year's Eve service, and finally the New Year's vision early morning worship (that's a mouthful even in my head). Which brought us to this week. Finally, true vacation, and I did not hesitate to retreat myself from the world, praise the Lord. Here were a few things I enjoyed this week:

Thanks to Young and Elise for this Star Wars edition Moleskin! So thankful to the Lord for thoughtful friends.

Mrs. Nerd and I are all caught up and finally understand the events leading up to "The Day of the Doctor".

Started on this bad boy (and finished it!).

This graphic novel was on must read lists and for good reason too. Should be good boys Bible study fodder.

I was also able to catch up and spend time with people who I haven't seen in awhile, hang out and help out at the comic book and Gundam stores, and take my first adventurous trip to UCLA, but most of my vacation was a stay-cation, enjoying what God has already provided for me at home.

Two lessons that I gleaned from this last semester:

1. Sometimes our endurance is tested and we need to ask God daily for His strength, nourishment, and encouragement to just make it from one day to the next and to keep on keepin on. 
2. There comes a point in everyone's busy life that one must take a retreat from life. No, not go to a youth group camp in the mountains, but a retreat.
• Retreat is:
• the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy
• the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy
• a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy
• a retirement or a period of retirement for religious exercisesand meditation.

Any one of these definitions will do, but I especially like the first one because we do need an intentional day to rest because we live in a busy body society, and the stress of going constantly can kill you. Even the Bible is rife with passages on rest and people who rested. Jesus says in Matthew 28:15 says:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

And so I rested. Hope y'all can too.

Blessings~!