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Topsail Island for Christmas Break

Over thanksgiving we as a family were trying to figure out how we should spend our Christmas break as a family.  This will be one of the last extended periods of time that we spend together because of how we are being called to different parts of the country and world.  One of the purposed plans was to head up to the West Virginia mountains and spend some time skiing and relaxing up in the mountains.  Therefore when I was packing to come home from Tech I got together all of my cold weather cloths.  I decided to shoot an email out to see if we were actually still going skiing and sure enough I had missed the memo that we were renting a house down on the coast for the week.  It turned out to be a much better idea to spend this time at the beach because its warm in the mountains and not many slopes are open.

These last two days have been characterized by me sleeping a lot and eating tons.  Both were things that I missed out on a lot during finals week.  I ran out of food at the house on Tuesday afternoon and kept forgetting to go get buy some more food.  During that time I ate a lot of Taco Bell and other student center food which was probably not the best decision for long nights of studying in the library.  Therefore eating a lot of home cooked meals has been something I dearly missed.

I have been able to get a lot of reading done during these last few days because I actually have time.  Right now I am reading "Blue like Jazz", and so far its been a great refreshing explanation of things I have been learning my entire life.  This would be a book I highly recommend to someone who is seeking to know who God is but really don't like or understand the whole "Christian" thing.  Donald Miller does a great job putting the concepts of the Gospel in a tangible story based form that are explaining new angles on my faith.  At the same time I am taking all that is said with a grain of salt because I have heard some very negative reviews of this book therefore I am guarding my mind while I read.

Christmas at the Beach still does not make much sense to me.  This is the first time we have ever done anything related to Christmas away from our house.  We have been playing Christmas music nonstop in the house but when it combines with the sound of the waves it produces a strange sound.  I think its really cool but at the same time still baffles my senses.  I am loving being able to relax with my family and just have plenty of time to do whatever I would like to do.  Deng, I am living one blessed life!!!

I know this is a long post but now that I have time to actually write about topics other than music and big events in Atlanta.

All is Great in the Lord

Paul Shackelford

The first photo is of sunrise and the second of sunset.  Both photos taken my father Doug Shackelford.

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