A Reading Retreat

This week Mike and I are in the Colorado Rockies getting a little R&R. We purposely set aside some time for a personal retreat where the focus would be solely on resting, reading, and writing.

Last summer we went to the beach for a week with no agenda in mind and by default it ended up being a week spent reading, writing and resting. We benefited from it so much that we planned another vacation for the winter specifically dubbing it our “Reading Retreat.”

I’m convinced that everyone can benefit from such a retreat. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be for a week in the mountains. Whether it is a week long, or just a day long, each of us needs time to recharge, refuel, and ruminate. We need restoration.

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A Super-Human Husband?

It started about 3:00pm yesterday with the ring of the doorbell. Peering through the glass front door, stood a man holding a glass container, protecting a stunning, twelve-blossomed, golden orchid; the base of which relaxed among a nest of submerged river rock. The card simply said, “Will you be my Valentine? Mike.”

After 30 years of marriage we’ve come a long way from the box of chocolate covered cherries, purchased at the eleventh hour from the Walgreens down the street.

The second installment of my Valentine’s Day gift surprised me this morning right before Mike and I left to meet up with our running group. I knew Mike was getting ready to post a blog. I just didn’t know that it would be about me. A blog post? About me? Wow! For all the world to see. I know I’m blessed. It’s very humbling.

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Thumbnail Photos For Your Posts

I am a Kindergartner when it comes to computer technology. Over the last few days I have learned a lot and may even be ready for the First Grade. Yipee! One of the areas I have learned about—which for you Second Graders is SO last year—is how to get a thumbnail photo to appear when you leave a comment on someone’s blog post.

I love to see who is leaving the comments after other people’s posts. Now that I have a blog of my own, I especially want to see who is talking to me. And I love when there is a face to go with the name. Sadly, many of the comments that have been left on my site have no face. (When someone doesn’t have a customized photo, or “avatar,” WordPress calls them Mystery Men.) So, for all you “Mystery Men” out there I’m going to show you how I got my avatar two days ago so you can get one, too.

By the way, you will need two thing before you begin. You will need an email address and a photo. So go to your photos and pick out one you’d like to use and remember where it is. You will need to “choose” it during the process.

Here is what I have learned from Gravatar, the company who makes them:

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Thank You

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. It’s very exciting and very humbling at the same time. I’m very grateful.

Most of you I’ve met on Twitter. Never in a million years would I have believed that my life could be so tremendously enriched by people who talk to each other in spurts of 140 characters or less—via the internet, no less. What a gift it’s been.

2009 promises to be a very challenging year full of possibilites. I can’t wait to experience it with you.

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Consistency: My Greatest Personal Strength

After reading the title for this post, I know you’re jealous. Everyone knows that consistency is the key to everything. Well, I’ve got this one nailed. Consistency is my greatest personal strength. I am consistently starting over.

So here I am again—same show, different location. Starting over. This is my second attempt at keeping a blog. The last one I began in July of 2007. I had one post that year. Yep, one post. My second post showed up in May of 2008. There were a total of five posts that year, the last of which was in July of 2008. One solid year with six posts.

I’m not sure why I have such a hard time being consistent with new projects, but it’s been the story of my life. If I had been born within the last 20 or 30 years I’m sure I would have been diagnosed with ADD. I have such a hard time staying focused. But I’m not satisfied with staying that way. I’m starting over. Today. Fresh. Sort of like a person who really wants to quit smoking, I’m not giving up. I believe in the old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

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