Vacation time baby!!!! I am out of here for the next week…

Here are two videos that describe my approach to vacation (Minus all the drinking stuff!)

Also, while I’m gone . . . I highly recommend checking out these blogs/posts:

ZackBlair.net

The Rath Faction

Nathanhurst.net

Bradcooper.us

Michaelhyatt.com

Swerve

Seth Godin

Here are some links to past posts I’ve written that were popular and that I believe will add value to your life… So here you go:

• Free from Sin, Addiction, and Bondage

• Alcohol, Purity, and Our Culture

• Setting and Attaining Your Goals

• People that Have Changed my Life and People that I’d Love to Have Lunch With

• God’s Plans

• Kingdom Minded

• Ask Anything Fridays

• What Makes a Great Teacher

• Catalyst West Coast

• Overcoming Insecurity

• The Best of 2008

• All About Me

• Ministry Highlights

• Ministry Lessons

• Marathons

Giving Away Experiences and Opportunities Will Produce Vision in Others

Tomorrow I’ll be leaving for vacation in North Carolina – so pumped! I’m going with a family that offered to take me for free. A free vacation… Such a blessing. It got me thinking though… This family is choosing to love me and allowing me to have an experience that I wouldn’t have been able to have on my own. Here is what I know about Experiences and Opportunities in my life:

• Because someone introduced me to Starbucks, I now enjoy the Starbucks experience

• Because people have taken me on vacation with them I’ve been to places I would have never gone in my life: NYC, Chicago, Bar Harbor, Maine, DC, etc.
  

• Because someone gave me an opportunity to speak and develop my gifting, I’m now able to speak to large audiences often.
  

• Because people modeled what an awesome Godly family looks like, I now have a vision of how I’ll raise my family.
  

• Because someone was willing to share Christ with me, I’m now able to experience God everyday.
  

These experiences and opportunities all expanded my vision for my life. My vision for what life could be like, what a relationship with God could be like, what wearing nice clothes would be like, what raising a Godly family would be like, what annual vacations with my family would be like,  the list goes on and on.Edit Post ‹ BubbaSmith.net — WordPress

What’s my point? Some people have never experienced a cup of coffee at Starbucks, have never been on vacation, have never owned a pair of nice clothes, have never got to use their gifting, have never seen what a healthy family looks like, or have ever experienced God in their lives.

All too often we take these things for granted, not recognizing that if we’d share our experiences with people or giving them an opportunity that they wouldn’t normally have, that we’d increase their vision for their life and ultimately, their quality of life.

Imagine someones life being changed forever cause you shared Christ with them or someone getting a vision for their future,  or career, or family, etc. because you shared your own experiences with them. Imagine someone changing the world with their gifting because you gave them a chance to use it. Is there any greater privilege?

What experiences are you sharing? What opportunities are you giving?

Growing up I only went on one vacation to Disney World when I was 7 years old because my family could never really afford to take us on any more. I remember my dad always saying that the only advantage to being rich is that you get to eat better food and go places. When I was young I thought that was ridiculous, but as I have grown up a bit, I realize the wisdom in that statement. I wouldn’t have traded my childhood for anything in the world. I had an absolute blast! It really is true that money, traveling, and all the things in this world really cannot make you happy.

However, I also realized that having money or being rich also enables you to be a blessing to others. I always did (and still do) have a desire to travel all over the world. I’ve been very blessed throughout my life through my friendships. From 7th grade on I always had friends whose family’s would take me on vacation with them each year. I remember going to Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Ocean City while I was in high school. Afterwards I got to travel a lot with a family very close to me (The Steidel’s) to Bar Harbor, Maine, Washington D.C., New York, Boston, and Atlantic City over the past few years. Through the church I’ve gotten to go on two mission trips to Peru and Africa.

I am so grateful for the willingness of these people to love me unconditionally and allow me to have these experiences with them that I would have normally never had the opportunity to. They have all been life changing trips and I’ve made so many great memories with these people. As I grow older it is my prayer and desire that as time passes I will be able to take people along side me on “adventures” and open the door for them to have experiences and opportunities that they would have never normally had, for whatever reason. I am a different man today because of the unconditional love of these families!

Tonight I’ll be leaving for Canada with Cory Vogan and one of my favorite families (The Walczaks) for a few days with some great friends. I am so excited to make memories that truly will last a lifetime.

What have been some of your favorite things about vacations? Has anyone ever done anything like that for you in your life? Let me know…