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The virtual experience:
Eat & Exercise
Well, it has been two years since I returned stateside, and I will admit, I have room to grow around practicing healthier habits… If it were up to my scale or clothes, they would be saying in the voice of Ricky Ricardo, ‘Lucy, you’ve got some explaining to do!” Thankfully, I know what to do. I now just must remember the ‘why’ of having healthier habits and stick to a plan. 

Now that that’s out of the way, the food enjoyed while on holiday in Punta Cana did not disappoint. And you know my mantra by now, “Calories on vacation don’t count….” My ultimate highlights were the breakfast buffet, the surf and turf enjoyed beachside in the evening, and the pool bar calories that were only a swim (rather float) away. So if ever in Punta Cana and at the Majestic, ask for the Majestic as it will elicit the memories of a creamsicle from the ice cream truck during your adolescent years. 

As for exercise, my body is programmed to wake during the sixth hour of the day, even on vacation. This was perfect because the temperatures were not yet set to broil, and the humidity was a little easier to accept. I walked the property and, each day, found a new hidden gem. Walking was also part of the regime to get to the various restaurants throughout the property, and the beachside views were never a disappointment. I thought that, at minimum, I was at least walking 2 miles a day to account for all of the overindulgences, being both delusional and delightful. 


Pray
I truly missed my Kingdom Fellowship family when I was abroad, and it is good to be back! There are far too many sermon notes from Pastor Matthew L. Watley to provide in this one post, so I will select sermon notes from, “The Pearl Prayer,” that have been impactful, encouraging, invigorating, and enlightening:

1 Samuel 1:1-18

It isn’t the mountain you have to climb but the pebble in your shoe. -Muhammad Ali

Sometimes favor brings with it collateral damage.

Don’t allow the pebble in your life to occupy the wrong position.

Take your problem to the house of God, the house of prayer, just as Hannah did.

Don’t allow the devil to define your victory, just like Hannah learned not to let Peninnah define hers.
Your prayer life should include something that aligns with God’s will for your life.

What is antagonizing you to the point that you are praying from your spirit? What is reshaping your prayer life?

God can take what the devil meant for evil and turn it into something for your good and for His glory.

You can get what you want, but it won’t be what you expected.

When you are a mature believer, you learn to manage your expectations. There is going to be more to it than you believed and prayed for…

When your private prayer gets hooked up with a priestly blessing, God will shift something in your spirit, therefore, your life.

You will never receive what God has for you until you learn how to give it back to God.

In the providence of God, He can cause all things to work together for your good.

So, my question to you is this, “What granule of sand in your faith walk can be used to create the pearl in your prayer life.?”

Love
I love how God has loved me through my family, friends turned family, opportunities, and yes, even prayers answered in a manner (at the time) contrary to what I thought I wanted and needed. I have lived long enough to know that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows how to answer each plea, prayer, and petition. Although I miss the adventures of living abroad, being closer to family during this season in time is priceless. Covid revealed that life is both precious and priceless, and life should be lived through the lens of making a positive impact on those connected to you. I am yet growing as a person and growing in my faith. The word I am trying to consciously and intentionally practice is grace. I found these quotes on grace that ring true that of course, are rooted in Lamentations 3:23:

~Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part. – Philip Yancey
~Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace. – Jerry Bridges
~God answers the mess of life with one word, grace. – Max Lucado
~What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace. – Rick Warren
~God’s grace is bigger than any mistake you’ve ever made. – Anonymous

I love that I discovered something new during my daily walks (as mentioned above). This is a practice I plan to execute during this next trip around the sun. 

Although I have been known more often than not to travel solo, I am happy that one of my besties for life came too. We had tremendous fun, laughter, sun, food, and relaxation, and we added one more country to our growing list of adventures!

Teach
One observation throughout this holiday was that at any given time, employees would break out into the lyrics of the songs that were being played. You could see the happiness and enjoyment on their face, although the notes and pitch were sometimes out of reach. The Majestic Colonial is magically picturesque, and the employees were kind, helpful, and accommodating. 


Why Punta Cana? Well, it is less than 4 hours away on a direct flight from BWI! It is a resort town located in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic, with its capital, Santo Domingo, only being a 3-hour car ride away. Almost a decade ago, the population was said to be 44,000 inhabitants. Punta Cana is known for its white sand beaches and turquoise waters, a mixture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
While visiting, I celebrated an anniversary of my 29th birthday. I had once told a friend I entertained the thought of retiring to DR and was asked if I was here getting a lay of the land, so to speak. As retirement is over a decade away, I hadn’t really given it another thought, but the reminder did have me thinking about the future possibility. I envision myself one day being a snowbird, and DR will most definitely make the shortlist. It would allow me to expand my poquito of Espanol and become fluent, which is a desire.


Laugh
Laugh is a new section to my normal and now more infrequent posts, and laugh we did. While at the Majestic Colonial, we took part in an afternoon at the spa. After making our selections, we asked if we could return an hour early or so earlier to enjoy the spa pool, which I had noticed on my walk and had thought to myself how lovely, inviting, and secluded it looked. When I went to investigate further, I noticed it was gated, as if to say, “Look and don’t touch.” Well, let me pause here to say that the look and experience thereafter reminded me of a Frasier episode, The Platinum Door,” in which he and Niles, with their love of only the finest in life, kept trying to get upgraded into the most exquisite, posh, and privileged parts of a spa, which ended with them going through the platinum door, which was a far cry from that description. Less I digress, back to the spa pool experience, where Andres, our host, met us with a warm smile and caring brown eyes to explain our visit. Andres is a master of his craft. He quickly put us at ease and welcomed us to a glorious spa experience. I wouldn’t consider myself a novice regarding spa experiences, but this birthday spa excursion proved me wrong. After securing our belongings, we were led to experience #1: the sauna also known as the longest 10 minutes of that day. I am not a fan of dry heat and kept looking at the door to beckon Andres back to get me out. From there, we were led to a cool and hot shower that ended with a bucket of warm water being dumped on our head, which reminded me of an inverted dunk tank at a carnival. Next, we were led to experience #3, the Turkish steam bath. This was nice for the most part and the smell of eucalyptus was refreshing. After 10 minutes in there, I think we were all set to finally get to the spa pool, but Andres apparently had other thoughts. Thoughts of ice, yes, ice being spread from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. You know I was not down for this, and my facial expressions translated as much, but Andres was not phased a bit. He met “the look” with a smile and continued with the process. Now one would think that was enough to gain entry to the spa pool, but one would be wrong. Experience #5 was a walk three times over stones in part of the spa pool with water coming up to our waist. This was an exercise repeated three times. From there, we were led to another section of the spa pool, and back up on the marble platform were two other spa-goers who looked at us, drinking their champagne with a smile. We thought they were being friendly until we looked back up at them during experience # 6 when their smiles had turned into full fledge laughter. Experience #6 was a Polar plunge that required three dips. And if you thought you were going to skip that, “Oh contraire mon frere,” Andres was there with the look teachers give their students that encourages and enforces a request. Thankfully this tooth-chattering and body-shivering experience led you to the actual jacuzzi. Still, you were only allowed to stay there for a moment. The next stop in this exciting experience was to the fountains, where you stayed for 5 minutes allowing the water to pulse over different parts of your body. As your body was adjusting to the extreme temperatures you just experienced, Andres walked over to gather your drink requests, and yes, once again, it was with a smile. We were then led back to the heated marble platform to relax and sip champagne and found that we were like the former two spa-goers smiling at the next unsuspecting pair to enjoy the Polar plunge. They, too, saw our faces go from a sweet smile to belly-jolly laughter