Unwind

DISCLAIMER:

I published this post, then hid it with the intention of revising it. Now, I don't think I'll revise it. I'll just re-publish it without reading it. Because putting uncensored personal information on the internet is always a great idea. I originally wrote it at about 11:30pm on my first night back from Fiji. With that said, don't judge me.

Well, I figure I should give everyone an update on how things were in Fiji. Because I'm home and pretty much everyone is in bed, I'm bored. Being out of the country for three and a half weeks with nothing to do at night except hang out with people and write emails and blog posts has taken its toll on me. Since, as I mentioned previously, errybody gone night night, I'm left here with nothing much to do except inform the interwebs of how I'm doing. Because they're not real. And, apparently, I am. Who would've thought?

What I Learned

The original intent of this post was going to be all about what I learned on my Fiji trip. The idea comes from a former pastor, Tom Shrader, who would give a sermon or two each summer titled "What I learned on my Summer Vacation." I sat down to write something along those lines, but realized that it's out of grasp at the moment. Maybe someday. Know that I learned a lot, and that I will gladly discuss some or all of it with you, but I don't think the internet needs that much personal information. Guarding myself, ya dig?

Basically, the biggest things I learned were that...

Nathan is prideful. And I don't like that. Thankfully, God really used this trip to teach me just how humble I need to be. Except I probably didn't get it all and will need even more reminding at a later date.

and

Intentionality is good. The first time I heard the word "intentional" used in this context was probably by my cousin Daniel and his wife, Kristin. The pastor at their wedding talked about how "intentional" they were in all of their relationships. Honestly, I thought the term was kind of weird, as I didn't see any way a relationship could be unintentional. But then I went to college and learned that relationships require work. I learned what it meant to take a deep interest in the lives of others for the mere sake of building community with those people. I'm reading Soul Cravings at the moment (finally, after more than a year of trying to knock it out, I've picked it up with the intention [get it?] of finishing it), and in this book, Erwin McManus talks about love. He says lots of good things and focuses on the idea that human beings are relational. In fact, I know someone who probably could have written a few sections of this book, and I think that's pretty cool. Anyways, over the short period of three weeks, I built some pretty solid friendships -not on my own, mind you- with people I barely knew. And all it took was a little effort. Asking meaningful questions. Actually caring about the answers. And so on.

And I'm still figuring out exactly what happened in the month of May. May 2, 2010 never happened, and I left Fiji just now 24 hours ago. It hurts my brain to think about it. Anyways, I'm home, and it's great to be back. Looking forward to the little time I have with the family. Going rafting this weekend after the sister graduates on Thursday. And the week is packed.

And I think I'm super jet lagged. Woooooo.

If I can leave you with anything meaningful, I would encourage you to do these two things:

1) Be intentional. Ask questions. Care.

2) Read Matthew. That Jesus guy blows my mind.

3) Get sleep. I don't think this post was coherent. I'm probably tired. Like I said, Woooooo.