Lying in a cabana by the pool, reading a book of essays, it occurred to me that I haven’t allowed for enough “down time” in my schedule.  Not because I can’t, but because there is always more to be done. And I generally press the “do more stuff” button rather than the “enjoy life just a little” button. It took a full day before I was even able to relax in Dallas.

So I’m trying to incorporate a little more solitude, rest, and relaxation into my days. Nothing major. Just a few minutes here and there to remind me why it’s good to be human.

Jess and I traveled to Oklahoma City last weekend. I was attending a 2-day training on addiction assessments. The training was good, but the best part of the trip was our night out on Friday. I surprised Jessica with a visit to a sushi restaurant that I’d been told is really great (thanks Angie!). Tokyo Japanese isn’t much to look at from the outside, but the atmosphere inside was perfect. The sushi was great too!

Later on we stopped in at the Full Circle bookstore. It’s one of my fav places to visit in OKC. The store has a quiet, calming bookstore atmosphere… and lots of nooks where you can sit and read. Oh, and a coffee bar!

And last week we attended a training on Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). TF-CBT is used to help children who have suffered abuse and trauma. We received a lot of great information, but the thing I remember most was a PSA that we were shown as part of the presentation. The following PSA is currently being aired in Australia. It was produced by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN). It’s incredibly effective,  but may be difficult to watch.

This afternoon, I stopped in at Starbucks for a little coffee and studying, before heading off to my internship. I was still finishing my coffee as I walked back across the parking lot to leave, books in one hand, coffee cup in the other. I set my coffee on top of the car so I could free up a hand to unlock the doors. I set it down gingerly, near the rear, testing it to be sure the cup was stable. It was stable enough. It was half full, so plenty of weight to hold it in place.

After unlocking the doors, I went around to the backdoor to place a few books in my backpack. I was hunched over,  leaning into the backseat, when a strong Oklahoma wind blew through the parking lot. The cup blew over, hit me in the head, and sent coffee everywhere. Head, face, ears, backpack, books. It was truly grande. Fortunately the lid didn’t come off, so the spillage was somewhat limited. But I smelled like coffee and sour milk for the first hour or so at the office.

Greg Atkinson over at ChurchVideoIdeas.com happened to review the same service on his blog this week. He reviewed LifeChurch.tv’s internet campus along with three others. Check it out!

We both really liked the service. At first, it was a little awkward standing and worshiping in our home office, in front of a laptop and studio monitors. But we just went with it. The transitions from worship, to opening welcome, and the message were very smooth. I was incredibly impressed by the look and feel of the experience. In many ways it felt like a real church service. You can even chat with people out in the “lobby“ before the service starts! My favorite part was the “Raise Your Hand“ button that everyone  can press to indicate that you’re online and attending the service. There were around 250 other people attending with us on Sunday.

We tried it because I was fighting a cold and didn’t feel like dragging myself out to church. But after experiencing Lifechurch.tv’s internet service, we’ll likely attend again.

Gym Rat A: “Hey guy, I saw your status this morning. What happened?”

‘Gym Rat B’ then proceeds to tell them how his long-distance relationship with his girlfriend has just ended.

Gym Rat B: “Yeah, I was talking to Rob about it last night, and the first thing he asked me was, ‘Dude, when are you going to change your status on Facebook!’ I just broke up with my girlfriend, and he’s  worried about Facebook!?”

Gym Rat C: “Harsh.”

Gym Rat B: “But, yeah, I did change my status this morning. I saw that she already changed hers last night, so, yeah. So, anyhow, now that I’m single again, I gotta work on these abs, man!”

I use Facebook every day, but this interchange still seemed jarring to me. I think it’s interesting how one’s online presence has become a natural extension of one’s real-world persona. I guess it’s not a bad thing, so long as people are still having face-to-face conversations about their lives…even if it’s about their online/real lives.