Destin take me away...

I am not a summer person. That's really not a good thing for someone who lives in a hot city like Atlanta where we only have two seasons - summer and winter. I turn off the heat for the air-conditioning and the air-conditioning is on for more months than I care to run it. By the time August rolls around, I'm sick of long, sunny, hot and humid days. Add the business of life and Atlanta traffic and I'm a complete lunatic by 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Seriously, if I didn't pray I'd have to be medicated. However, unlike the summers of the past, this year right when I'd usually be approaching maximum misery, I have something to look forward to. That would be four days and three nights in yummy Destin, Florida. Six members of my writer's group, Visions in Print and many other authors and avid readers of Christian Fiction will be attending the second annual offering of the Faith and Fiction Retreat. ( http://www.faithandfictionretreat.com/ ). The hotel is a five star resort with a spa where some body treatment awaits me. The seafood in Destin is right off the pier and the beach... let's just say, the picture below can't capture the magnificence of the emerald green water splashing against sugar white sand. It's absolute perfection.


I grew up one mile from the beach in New Jersey where the water was dark blue. I miss the beach, like most who live so close to the water, I took it for granted. Now that I'm land-locked I crave looking across an expanse of ocean, especially when life is particularly troublesome. Not only does the beach make summer bearable, but when I'm close to it, the presence of God penetrates my being. I've made some of the best decisions of my life staring at water. It really is a healing balm. I believe the ocean is the most poignant reminder of God's infinite desire to give us good gifts that soothe the soul in a way that no wrapped present can. My mini-vacation is just what the soul doctor ordered. It's the break I need to help me get my creative mojo back, so I can make better headway with my second novel. I don't even feel guilty about not taking my kids, September will be here soon enough and my oldest has requested Orlando, Florida. So this is mom's little excursion that will bring her back to them rested and spiritually refreshed. Just the thing I need to help me make it through until I can turn the air-conditioning off. Destin, here I come...take me away...


Tell me where you've gone or plan to go for the summer? If you're not getting away, what types of things do you do to refresh your soul and reconnect with God?