As summer was coming to an end, I realized that it was time for a short trip away before Charlene and the girls headed back to school. I kept postponing the planning but finally began searching for a close vacation spot that didn\u2019t break the bank. After a few back and forth emails with some VRBO options, we decided to spend a few days in nearby Breckenridge. It met the close proximity qualification, but the break the bank piece \u2026 well, we\u2019ll talk about that later.<\/p>\n
As I began to watch the weather report the days leading up to the trip, I realized that the forecast wasn\u2019t looking to be the best. After several weeks of sun and 80 degree temps, the week of our trip ended up being upper 60s, clouds, and rain. On one of those rainy afternoons, we were looking for something to do to fill the time while getting out of our rented condo. We came upon a little local art shop where you can paint canvas or pottery. We got all of the details, grabbed a few art projects, and spent a few hours together chatting and painting with the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof. After two more days of continued rain, we returned to do our second project. It was a wonderful way to spend a rainy vacation day as a family, and we all went home a few days later with two art projects each to show for it.<\/p>\n
Coming home included the traditional unpacking of all the stuff, and the coffee mug I\u2019d created landed on my dresser in the bedroom. I had intended to take it to the office after I got back, however, after several days it hadn\u2019t quite yet made the trip. One day I looked at it and thought \u2026 I\u2019ll probably just end up throwing it away anyway<\/strong>. How many coffee mugs does a person need, and I have too many as it is. You see, the cup wasn\u2019t quite what I had expected. It had a couple of flaws in it that I hadn\u2019t planned for. There was a smudge of red paint where it should have been yellow. Then there was the bottom edges. There were a couple of white spots where the paint was removed likely in the process of moving it from one place to another. It wasn\u2019t perfect; it wasn\u2019t the way I had hoped it would turn out. So, sooner or later, it would probably end up in the trash<\/strong>.<\/p>\n As quickly as I had that thought another one entered my mind. \u201cSince it\u2019s not perfect, you just throw it away?\u201d<\/em> I knew where it was coming from. In His kind, gentle way, God was telling me something. As my thoughts rapidly fired inside my brain, I knew what He was getting at. The thoughts that followed were even more profound that than the previous. *\u201cDo you do that with people?\u201d If they\u2019re not perfect, do you just throw them away?\u201c* Of course, my answer was \u201dNO!” However, it was a not-so-gentle reminder.<\/p>\n We are all flawed. We\u2019re not perfect<\/strong>. While we have expectations of ourselves or others, it\u2019s not founded in reality. We are imperfect \u2026 even broken people<\/strong>. We are all flawed. While we may like to think that there aren\u2019t any smudges or incomplete areas, there are. Lots of them.<\/p>\n The mug that moments before was destined for the garbage immediately became my new favorite mug. I grabbed it that morning and took it to work as a reminder. Everytime I drink from it and see the imperfections I will be reminded that it\u2019s just like me. It\u2019s just like those that I work with and live with. We are all imperfect\u2026 and in that perfection, there is beauty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As summer was coming to an end, I realized that it was time for a short trip away before Charlene and the girls headed back to school. I kept postponing the planning but finally began searching for a close vacation spot that didn\u2019t break the bank. After a few back and forth emails with some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[48,100,3],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main","tag-art","tag-beauty","tag-family"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzg9k-nB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1067,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/im-a-good-kid-really-i-am\/","url_meta":{"origin":1463,"position":0},"title":"I’m a Good Kid \u2014 Really I Am","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"January 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, this blog has been awhile in the making. I've thought about sitting down and writing this so many times but didn't quite know what to say or how to say it. Many of you know that a little over a year ago God began to stir something in our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1445,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/what-happens-when-youre-finally-alone\/","url_meta":{"origin":1463,"position":1},"title":"What Happens When You’re Finally Alone?","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"July 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This week has been like any normal week. Today was like any other normal day \u2014 a day filled with meetings, projects, and emails. Until I got home. I walked into an empty, quiet house. 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It's only two blocks down the street from the church so it's a convenient alternative location to meet with people from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1019,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/changing-seasons-repost\/","url_meta":{"origin":1463,"position":3},"title":"Changing Seasons (repost)","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"March 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier today I happened to read a post that I wrote on this blog over a year a half ago. As I read it again, I am a bit freaked out that I actually wrote this. So much has happened since that time (including an actual trip to Maui that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1378,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/ski-slopes-snow-days-and-facing-fear\/","url_meta":{"origin":1463,"position":4},"title":"Ski Slopes, Snow Days, and Facing Fear","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"March 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This week my family took a \u201csnow day.\u201d It wasn\u2019t because the weather was bad, and we couldn\u2019t get out the driveway. My niece was visiting from Indiana over her college spring break. So what does every midwesterner do when they visit Colorado in the winter? 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