Summer Flashback

Has it been one week already?? Well it must have, since today a new Flashback Friday from Mocha with Linda! Today, I can actually do a rough Flashback.


This weeks prompt:

What were summers like when you were a kid? Did your family have any particular traditions? Did you sleep 'til noon or get up early? Did you attend camps? Spend lots of time at the pool? Was it a neighborhood pool or in your backyard? Did you take swimming lessons? Did you live near a beach? (And do you call it the beach or the coast?!) Did you attend VBS (Vacation Bible School)? Did your library have a reading program that you participated in? What types of prizes were available? Did you get to buy treats from the ice cream truck? Did your family go on vacations? If so, what is a memorable one? Do you associate any particular songs with summer?

The summer, let's see, there was a family cottage, which we would always rent for two weeks at Hawk's Nest Beach. We've always had a cottage at Hawk's Nest, for God know how long. We have stayed in the same cottage since '38, and before then we stayed at another cottage, which was taken out by the '38 hurricane. I would always find a pool to swim in, my grandfather and uncle owned pools, but my family never did. We also had two close friends that had pools, and we were there almost daily by invitation. Summer camp was here and there, I did Girl Scout camp once or twice and a 4-H camp one summer, but the one major summer vacation was the two week trip in Kentucky. My old church takes one week down in eastern KY, and build houses with LINKS. My family would leave before the church left and go and stop through states. We've stopped in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. I always loved working in Kentucky, so when I was allowed to go by myself last year, it was great! Although I went down with the church, it was still amazing!

Songs with Summertime, of course!! These are my two favorites!




Cae ♥

What is a steaming cup of coffee that is left stranded on the counter?

"What is a steaming cup of coffee that is left stranded on the counter? Within minutes it is nothing but a cold, orphaned beverage. A cup of coffee isn't experienced and enjoyed until you participate with it. You don't go to Starbucks look at coffee, to admire its deep hue, and to comment on its robust appearance. You go to Starbucks to drink it in, to participate in the experience of great coffee.

The same is true of spirituality, of course. You can read a book about prayer or worship. The words might inspire you, even challenge you. The ideas might intrigue you to the extent that you invest time in thinking about a particular spiritual discipline. But if you don't go ahead and pray or worship, the words written about these subjects are nothing more than dry ink. They are lifeless symbols of language that describe a spiritual experience that is impotent and useless until you choose to participate in it."- The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet

I've been reading this book daily, and it's very good. I've been filled with quotes, and have started a book filled with these quotes. I just read the above this afternoon after I was lathered up in suntan lotion and was sitting out on an old sheet out in the sun/shade (I can't deal with another sun burn this early in the season!). Since starting this book Sweet has made me question what I believe in. I know I believe in God, Jesus, The Trinity, The Church, and the beliefs of UCC, but where in my belief is EPIC (Experience, Participation, Image-rich, Connection)? Sweet has since moved me to re-start reading the Bible daily (a goal that I've started last year). I've also realized that I need to live my life on an EPIC scale, and not just a normal scale. Sweet does a wonderful job of combining church with Starbucks, two of my favorite subjects.

I chose this book at random, I was making my Amazon Widget for my Starbucks Fettish post. I figured if I'm going to reccomend to my reader's to read this, then I might as well read it! Although I have yet to finish The Gospel According to Starbucks, it is a must read and I highly recommend it to either Christians or to Starbucks lovers, or to both!

Cae ♥