Vacation

Here we are again. All ten of us Yurchaks in one house at the Outer Banks. After a year of anticipation and a day of driving in three separate cars from two different locations we have arrived. This year we are staying in south Nags Head, a new spot for us. Our house is is located very close to the beach with only one row of houses and a street separating us from the water. As I am typing this, I am sitting on the top deck and can hear the waves crashing on the sand. It is quite therapeutic.

We are joined, for the first three days, by our friends from Raleigh the Haleys. We both attended TCBC when we first moved to Cincy and the moved to NC in 2001. They have two kids, Will and Georgia that are the same age as Kaleb and Kyrie.

Even though the vacation technically started Saturday, today was the official start. This morning, we attended Nags Head Church as we do every year that we vacation here. It is always a refreshing way to start our week. I was able to connect with an old friend from my Liberty days, Rich Coleman. It was great to see him (and his lovely wife Lauren) and he will actually be taking some beach portraits of the whole gang on Wednesday evening. After a rousing message on the law and grace, we departed back to the house to eat a quick lunch and then hit the beach.

The red "no swimming" flags were up as the current was strong and the waves were intense. Naturally we all saw this as a challenge and immediately entered the water. Yeah, they were there for a reason. Nonetheless we spent the rest of the day in an out of the water, and towards the end of the afternoon we were body surfing some pretty decent waves in, but not after getting tossed by a few giant ones.

Dinner was our favorite pizza joint on the Island "Cosmos". It was out of this world. Dinner was followed by exquisite coffee from Cincinnati's own Tazza Mia (check out on Facebook and Twitter), and a wonderful time of talking and laughing with Bill and Deidre Haley. Bill is possibly one of the funniest people I know.

After a day in the sun (without sunscreen, dumb), I finish the night with thoughts racing through my head about life, God, the future, and what He has in store for me. So much is on the brink in my life and I am impressed with the need to seek Him in everything. A verse that has come into my head several times yesterday and today is from Pslam 19:1 The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. The sky here is incredible with every star illuminating the night perfectly. The milky way sweeps across the black canvas and my thoughts cannot help but be directed to the Creator who set everything in its perfect place. I sit in awe and realize that I am a wretch and completely undeserving of everything that He has given me.

Even when we are far from the stars and light pollution distracts our view of the heavens, lets remember the one who gave us life, and that everything we are is His. As I type these words, I am ashamed at how often I neglect this. Thank you Lord for brining me to a point of remembrance. Keep me close to You. More tomorrow...