Blinding Eclipse

Yesterday, as most of you probably know, was a solar eclipse. And as most of you, I was tempted to look at it. I had heard all the warnings. How it could damage my eyes and possibly make me go blind if I looked at it without eye protection. But I was still tempted to look at it anyway. This was a rare occurrence, I didn't want to miss it just because I hadn't planned ahead. But isn’t that how most temptations work anyway? We can be warned a thousand times about how dangerous it is but yet, we do it anyway for one reason or another.

We all have our temptations. Alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, love... There are countless temptation and some of them can even be part of God’s creation, yet, they can get us into trouble if not handled properly. The eclipse is part of God’s creation, yet it could hurt us if we don't use protection. The same goes for any other temptations. I'm the same as the rest of you, I have my temptations. My biggest temptation is love. I want to find my prince charming. I want the husband and the kids. But that temptation, though hopefully part of Gods plan for me in the future, can get me into trouble now because now is not the right time for it.
 

I need protection from my temptation so that I will not give into it and become blind to Gods plan for my life. I need protection so that I don't get burned. Just as those special glasses were protection from becoming blinded from looking at the eclipse, God is my protection against giving my heart to the wrong guy. He has taught me how to guard my heart and take precautions so that I don't get blinded by every sweet guy I meet and miss what God really has planned for me.

 

In the end I did find a way to watch the eclipse for a minute or two, I faced my camera to the sun and watched on the screen rather than the sky. But all I saw was a ball of light. I had known that it wouldn’t be a total eclipse in my area, but I hadn’t expected that there would be absolutely no eclipse to be seen at all. Sure, the sky got a bit darker, but that was about it. All that trouble and it wasn't even worth it. But if I had taken the time to find myself some of those glasses, make one of those pinhole viewers, or even bothered to look for the tv channel that was streaming it, then I would’ve been able to enjoy it. But without the protection, with the intent of just trying to watch because I was so tempted yet didn't bother to prepare, it was useless. I feel it would be the same for my temptation. If I don't take the time to let God prepare me for the right guy and protect me from the wrong ones, then I’m just going to end up with one of the wrong guys and it won't be worth it. It would simply be because I gave into my temptation. Not because we're supposed to be together.

 

I am going to let God protect me from my temptations. I don’t want them to blind me to what His plan for me truly is because I know His plan for me is going to be amazing. And I know that if I have that layer of protection, then not only will I be able to wait until God brings me the right guy, I will also be able to just be friends with guys without being tempted to be more. God is my protection, and He can be the protection from your temptations too.

What are some of your temptations and has God helped protect you from them?

Photo from NASA

   

Boyfriends And Girlfriends

"Everyone's got a girlfriend or boyfriend" says the frustrated 15 year old boy sitting next to me. He was referring to how many of the kids he knows have recently gotten into relationships while he, being older, still hadn't. "I'm 21 and have never had a boyfriend, and there's nothing wrong with that" I assured him. I went on to ask if he wanted one and he said no, but he still feels left out. I believe my view on dating is pretty well known by now, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it concerns me that all of these young people I know are already dating, or want to be. Especially when, more than likely, the only reason they're dating is because they'll feel left out otherwise, or it’s just “nice” to be in a relationship. But they're just kids! Why are they in such a hurry to grow up?

Now, I get it, I was their age once too. I would be lying if I said I didn't want a boyfriend when I was their age. But why such urgency? Why so young? There are so many reasons I’m thankful I was homeschooled, and this happens to be one of them. I wasn’t surrounded by a school full of "available" guys growing up. And I wasn’t surrounded with the peer pressure encouraging me to be like everyone else and have a boyfriend. Now that doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about it, it just means I didn't have the ability to act on it. And I am so thankful for that.

My first crush (my first one on an actual person, not tv character, that is) was on a guy my mom worked with. He drove me crazy and I didn't even like him that much. He just happened to be the only guy "available" when my view on guys "matured" from them being annoying to them being cute. I came to find out he wasn't really available anyway. He had a girlfriend who he is still with to this day many years later. And you know what? I laugh about it now. I wasn’t heartbroken, I never really cared. I'm happy for him. I enjoyed the time we spent working together and that's all that mattered. I was only interested in him because I felt like it would be nice to have a boyfriend so I picked one. But it scares me to think of what would’ve happened if he wasn’t the only available guy when I was in that stage of life.

I successfully made it through being a teenager without having a boyfriend. And I’m proud of that. I’ve had my heart broken by too many people to add a boyfriend to that list. Especially when I was so young. I'm a very emotional person and I get attached to people very easily. Jumping into an intimate relationship at such a young age, and probably having it fall apart because it would’ve been for the wrong reasons (to fit in and craving attention), would’ve crushed me. I would’ve been so consumed with making it work, or the fact that it didn’t, that I wouldn’t spend any time just being a kid. Figuring out who I was and who I wanted to be. I would always be concerned with making sure he was happy instead of making sure I was. And I probably wouldn’t have spent as much time on my writing as I did either. I would’ve grown up far too fast and, therefore, wouldn’t be the girl I am today.

I can only speak for myself when I say I was nowhere near mature enough to have a boyfriend at 15, and I know people who are in relationships even younger than that. Being in a relationship simply for the fear of feeling left out, or because it would be “nice,” is no reason to be in one. Not for me. When someone tells me they want a boyfriend or girlfriend I’m going to ask them one simple question: Why do you want one? I ask myself the same question every time I think about how I’d like to have one. My answer? My only reason for having a boyfriend will be because God showed me I’m going to marry him someday. If that’s not the case with a particular guy, then I’m not going to date him. I was far too immature and naïve at 15 to figure that out, I am so thankful God protected me from the temptation.

I’m glad I didn’t have a boyfriend when I was a teenager. It gave me the chance to really enjoy all the other things being a teenager has to offer. And I will probably look back at my life in five years or so and be glad I still don’t have a boyfriend now. I find peace in knowing that the perfect guy for me is out there and God will show me who it is when the time is right. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the stage of life I'm in right now, boyfriend or not. How about you?

Bittersweet Memories

The other day I was talking with a nice gentleman, discussing what I like to do. I mentioned I am a writer and he asked if I had anything published. Some of you already know the answer to this particular question, some may not. But the answer is yes, that I self-published a short story on Amazon Kindle a few years back. He asked what it was about and all I could manage to say was "it's about a girl who decided to go on a cruise" I was at a loss for words. Why couldn't I manage to describe my own story? And then the answer hit me. I haven't read it in a very long time, in fact, I had been avoiding it. Trying to forget it...

You see, this particular story is very different than most of my other stories. This story is a mix of my real memories and a fictional adventure. There’s not just a bit of myself worked in-between the lines, there are real true memories on paper for all to see. And those memories, happy when I wrote them, are now almost painful to remember.

They say "you don't know what you have till it's gone" but what they don't say is that when you do know exactly what you have and you find it gone, it hurts even more. We had something special. The people we met on that first cruise. But life happened, things were said, feelings were hurt, and our friendship fell apart. I miss them. And that was why I was avoiding reading my story. But I came home that night and knew what I needed to do. I picked up my tablet and forced myself to read it. Read it start to finish. Not without a few tears, but I did it. And I am so glad I did.

It’s a story about taking chances. Not being afraid to do things that scare you. Especially when you know in your heart it's what you're supposed to do. I found the courage to relive those beautiful bittersweet memories. I know we may never make more amazing memories with those particular people again, but that doesn’t mean I should forget the ones we did make. Because that cruise did change my life. The people we met helped mold me into the person I am today. We were supposed to be on that cruise, just as the girl in the story was supposed to be on her cruise. I know now that, just because I am afraid of happy memories turning to sad ones, doesn't mean that I should stop making them. Instead I will learn from them, and find the courage to smile at them instead of cry over them. The people may not be in my life anymore, but the memories, the memories last forever. And that is truly a beautiful thing.

If you would like to read my short story it is called Pineapple and Hand Sanitizer

The Roatan Dream

March 17^th 2007, St. Patrick's day. The islands green hills towered above us as we waited to get off the ship. To me, it was just another stop on our cruise, but I would learn much later that this island, not the four other places we would visit on that trip, was the whole reason we were on that cruise in the first place. My dad told my mom one day that we needed to go to Roatan. And that was why we were on that ship. Roatan was on my parents, and now all of our hearts, but we didn’t know why yet. Not on that day. Now, ten years later, we do. St. Patrick’s day 2007 will now be remembered as the day the Runaway Pineapple Lodge first became a possibility, a fleeting feeling, but it would be another ten years before it truly came into existence.

My family has always loved to travel. Trips all across the northeast for family reunions, road trips to Florida nearly every winter, and that cruise would be the first of three. So finding ourselves falling in love with this little island in the Caribbean wasn't overly surprising. It was, however, a bit terrifying. We had been there twice on cruises before making the jump to staying there for two weeks. It would be just about seven years after we first stepped foot on the island. But we weren't just staying for a couple weeks of vacation, no, we were looking at property. We were starting to realize what the true plan was. The plan that was seven years in the making.

We looked at a few houses, planning on vacationing there and renting it out when we weren't there, but none of them worked. It just wasn't right. They weren't... us... they weren’t home. Finally we went and looked at a piece of property. A view of the ocean, jungle surrounding us, a walk to the beach. But there was nothing on it. Just land. But we all knew it would be our land. It was meant to be. It took us a long time to admit it to ourselves and to each other however. It didn't make sense to buy land, it would be too complicated. But we all knew it was what we were supposed to do. So eventually, we did.

April 1^st 2014, we got the call saying we officially own the property. The passing feeling had become a passing thought, the thought turned into a dream, and that dream was becoming a reality. We owned property in Roatan Honduras. So what were we going to do with it? Well, in the time between finding the property and owning it, our little dream of owning a vacation house quickly blossomed into owning a bed and breakfast. Our plans changed multiple times but eventually we had a design. A two story octagon house with a loft and a cupola. The house would be mostly deck since, when you're on the island, you spend most of your time outside anyway. A communal outdoor kitchen, a couple hotel rooms downstairs, eventually a few tent platforms scattered throughout the property for some glamping tents. But would it ever get built?

It took a lot longer to get it built than we thought, or rather, than we were hoping it would. We switched builder's, changed our plans around, impatiently waiting for our dream to become a reality. Then, March 11^th 2016, we broke ground. A few long months later we had the main structure. July 2016 my parents would take a trip to the island to do as much building as they could on their own. It still didn't seem possible. So much work still to do...

December 18^th 2016 we embarked on a three week trip down to the island. We worked most of the time. So many things needed to be finished before we could rent it out. The Runaway Pineapple Lodge had a name, a location, it was finally becoming an actual destination. From a fleeting feeling to a reality. Almost.

Now, exactly ten years after I first laid eyes on the rolling green hills of the beautiful island of Roatan Honduras, I am proud to say the Runaway Pineapple Lodge is open for business! Looking back at ten years of memories, I see it took a long time, a lot of faith, endless trust, and much perseverance to get where we are. There were so many reasons to quit, so many times we should've given up and let the dream be just that, a dream. But we didn't, we kept going. Even when it didn't make any sense. Because this place, this place to call home so far from home, was meant to be. Meant to be built. Meant to become a reality. And every step we take, I'm so glad we let it become a reality instead of giving up on the dream. Don’t give up on your dreams, especially the ones God puts on your heart. They will come true in the end. They just might take a little longer than you would like them too.

 

If you would like to stay at the Runaway Pineapple Lodge, or would like more information, contact us on Facebook or go to our website