With the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and dozens of other places to visit, it is little wonder that east Tennessee draws millions and millions of vacationers about this time each year. Most local residents, however, tend to vacate this neck of the woods and go to other places for their own "R and R" (rest and relaxation).
I suppose it is the same pretty much everywhere. Most people tend to forego local attractions for other destinations whenever they take time off. There is something refreshing about a change of locale whenever rest is sought.
For instance, I recently heard about two Alabama friends, Bubba and Billy Joe, who decided to get out of town for a few days. They made their way to out to Texas, and were taking in the sites in Galveston., While walking downtown and window shopping, they came upon a sign in a store window which read, "Suits $5.99 each, shirts $1.99 each, trousers $2.49 each.
Bubba said to his pal, "Billy Joe, Lookee here! We could buy a whole gob o’ these, take ‘em back to Alabama, sell 'em, and make a fortune. Just let me do the talkin', 'cause if they hear your accent, they might think we was ignorant, and not wanna sell that stuff to us. I'll talk in a slow Texas way so's they won't know we is from Alabama."
They went inside; and Bubba, with his best fake Texas drawl, said, “I'll take 50 of them there suits at $5.99, 100 of them there shirts at $1.99, and 50 pairs of them there trousers at $2.39. I'll back up my pickup and..."
At this point, the owner of the shop interrupted him, and asked, "Y'all from Alabama, are ya?"
"Well... yeah," says a surprised Bubba. "How come y'all knowed that?"
To which the man responded, "Because this here is a Dry-Cleaners!"
I owed that one to my two sisters who actually live in Alabama. About this time every year, several carloads of relatives from up here in Tennessee show up on their doorstep. Hey! That’s what they get for living on a lake!
All jokes aside. I look forward to seeing my two sisters and their families each year. I also look forward to a little down time, just relaxing and recuperating by lying around on the dock and/or in the water and not doing much else for a few days.
Believe it or not, taking a little time off is actually a Biblical principle. In the Old Testament, God ordained that every seventh day was to be a day of rest. He further ordained that every fiftieth year was to be a year of jubilee! Why do we find these patterns built into Scripture? Precisely because God knows that we need regular rest and periodic opportunities to reset.
Early in my ministry, I encountered a Pastor who was fond of saying that Jesus never took time off, so neither did he! I knew in my heart that this man was mistaken. In the New Testament, Jesus often went away by Himself. Cf.: Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35-37; Luke 5:15-16.
What is more, Jesus also encouraged His Disciples to do the same. Cf.: Mark 6:30-32, where verse 31 tells us that Jesus told His Disciples to get away by themselves "to a lonely place, and rest for a while."
Sadly, it was not long before I watched the Pastor referenced above burn himself out and have both his life and his ministry fall apart. Had he heeded Jesus' admonition, things might have turned out entirely differently for him and his family!
I hope you have taken the opportunity this summer to enjoy a little "R and R". If not, I hope you soon will! In the end, it will be for your benefit. As well as for the benefit of those who know you and love you.
JOKE SOURCE:
Available widely on the internet in various forms. See, for example: https://upjoke.com/vacation-jokes.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/.
I suppose it is the same pretty much everywhere. Most people tend to forego local attractions for other destinations whenever they take time off. There is something refreshing about a change of locale whenever rest is sought.
For instance, I recently heard about two Alabama friends, Bubba and Billy Joe, who decided to get out of town for a few days. They made their way to out to Texas, and were taking in the sites in Galveston., While walking downtown and window shopping, they came upon a sign in a store window which read, "Suits $5.99 each, shirts $1.99 each, trousers $2.49 each.
Bubba said to his pal, "Billy Joe, Lookee here! We could buy a whole gob o’ these, take ‘em back to Alabama, sell 'em, and make a fortune. Just let me do the talkin', 'cause if they hear your accent, they might think we was ignorant, and not wanna sell that stuff to us. I'll talk in a slow Texas way so's they won't know we is from Alabama."
They went inside; and Bubba, with his best fake Texas drawl, said, “I'll take 50 of them there suits at $5.99, 100 of them there shirts at $1.99, and 50 pairs of them there trousers at $2.39. I'll back up my pickup and..."
At this point, the owner of the shop interrupted him, and asked, "Y'all from Alabama, are ya?"
"Well... yeah," says a surprised Bubba. "How come y'all knowed that?"
To which the man responded, "Because this here is a Dry-Cleaners!"
I owed that one to my two sisters who actually live in Alabama. About this time every year, several carloads of relatives from up here in Tennessee show up on their doorstep. Hey! That’s what they get for living on a lake!
All jokes aside. I look forward to seeing my two sisters and their families each year. I also look forward to a little down time, just relaxing and recuperating by lying around on the dock and/or in the water and not doing much else for a few days.
Believe it or not, taking a little time off is actually a Biblical principle. In the Old Testament, God ordained that every seventh day was to be a day of rest. He further ordained that every fiftieth year was to be a year of jubilee! Why do we find these patterns built into Scripture? Precisely because God knows that we need regular rest and periodic opportunities to reset.
Early in my ministry, I encountered a Pastor who was fond of saying that Jesus never took time off, so neither did he! I knew in my heart that this man was mistaken. In the New Testament, Jesus often went away by Himself. Cf.: Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35-37; Luke 5:15-16.
What is more, Jesus also encouraged His Disciples to do the same. Cf.: Mark 6:30-32, where verse 31 tells us that Jesus told His Disciples to get away by themselves "to a lonely place, and rest for a while."
Sadly, it was not long before I watched the Pastor referenced above burn himself out and have both his life and his ministry fall apart. Had he heeded Jesus' admonition, things might have turned out entirely differently for him and his family!
I hope you have taken the opportunity this summer to enjoy a little "R and R". If not, I hope you soon will! In the end, it will be for your benefit. As well as for the benefit of those who know you and love you.
JOKE SOURCE:
Available widely on the internet in various forms. See, for example: https://upjoke.com/vacation-jokes.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:
https://biblehub.com/.