Summer Playlist | Track 02

Like a little boy watching cartoons on Saturday morning (remember those days?), my sweet husband loves a good ol' black-and-white western for some easy entertainment. I can almost visualize him as a tiny tyke, propped in front of the television set with a snack and his cowboy hat on, living vicariously through Marshall Dillon and the cast of Gunsmoke. The setting? Dodge City, Kansas, which could often be a place where some rough and tough blokes could be found. Its residents had to be on the ready to "get outta Dodge".

You may not feel the need to escape a gun-slinging cowboy who's had a few too many, but there is undoubtedly respite that can only be found when you head out of town. Whether it's for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks, removing yourself from the work environment and community you serve affords you and your family some concentrated time to focus on each other. Sometimes just knowing you've got a few days blocked off on the calendar can provide the fuel you need to make it there! Half the fun of getting out of Dodge is anticipating it.

...the time when you feel is the least opportune to leave those city limits in the dust is most likely the most important time to do so.

To be fair, the time when you feel is the least opportune to leave those city limits in the dust is most likely the most important time to do so. You may have to get creative with the budget. Reschedule a few appointments. Trust someone to fill the pulpit. Surrender to things not being to your standards for one weekend's worship services. But getting away gives you and your spouse the vital window of time to keep your eyes forward on the road, talk about the big things, and the little ones, dream a little, feel all the feelings or crank up the music, and just be...together.

Don't have something on the calendar just yet? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you when, where, and how to get-out-of-Dodge.

Summer Playlist, Track 02: Get-Out-Of-Dodge