Weekend Fun

Andrew and I spent the weekend in Napa, California, attending an event with Strategic Renewal, one of the ministries I volunteer for. The former pastor of our church, Daniel Henderson, is the President of Strategic Renewal, and it was great for Andrew and I to be able to spend some time with him and his wife, Rosemary, while at the event. They are a great encouragement to us! We were in a beautiful location, surrounded by wonderful people, and able to spend quality time worshiping the Lord and being reminded of why this ministry is so worthy of our support!

After the event ended on Sunday afternoon, Andrew and I drove to the nearby town of Calistoga to see California's Old Faithful Geyser. Every 20-40 minutes it erupts, shooting a stream of hot water high into the sky for a few minutes. It was pretty cool! Here's a video:

There were also some animals at the same location...goats, sheep, and llamas. Here's a video of me interacting with some of them!

We had a relaxing drive home, thankful for the chance to spend a few fun days together exploring some places we'd never been before!

(Don't worry...that's not a working well! The bottom of the well is level with the ground!)

Orlando Recap

I spent last weekend in Orlando, Florida attending a retreat/meeting with four other members of the Board of Directors of Hannah's Prayer Ministries. The flights there and back were long for me (around seven hours of travel time each way), but worth every minute to be able to spend time with these awesome ladies (Jenn from Florida, Arica from Ohio, Becky from Arkansas, and Michele, who is currently living in Puerto Rico)!

We stayed at a cute little vacation house with 80's-era decor that provided endless amusement (just imagine everything teal and coral, with lots of floral and lace motifs -- and butterflies). Our meeting was productive, and the rest of the weekend was very fun! Jenn, who is from the area, has a friend who works at Epcot who was able to get us in for free using her guest pass! The weather was beautiful, and we saw some Christian skywriting, which apparently is not uncommon around there these days (hence the very cool picture above). We didn't see any alligators, thankfully! We did see a turtle crossing the road, though. And on Saturday, we had lunch with some other Hannah's Prayer members who were in the area.

(At this point, some of you may be wondering what in the world Hannah's Prayer is...it's a ministry for married, Christian women who are dealing with all aspects of infertility and pregnancy loss -- the major aspect of the ministry is an online Community Forums message board, where I am very active. And I'm on the Board of Directors, hence my traveling to the meeting!)

So here, for your enjoyment, are some pictures from the weekend (most of them have just four of us because Jenn had her little 8-week-old daughter with her and couldn't come to Epcot with us)!

Arica, Sarah, Becky, Michele

Goofy wanted a kiss on the cheek, but I told him I didn't know if my husband would approve!

Jenn and little Lila

Splash!

Today we drove over to the new house to check on progress (it's coming along slowly but surely - we're hoping to move in the first week of May; even though the whole house won't be done yet, the side with the most important rooms, like the kitchen and our bedroom and bathroom, will be). While we were there, we decided to clean the pool (turning on the filters and vacuum for a while, and skimming off all the leaves and bugs floating on top). Once the pool was clean, Andrew and I decided to dip our feet in the water for a bit -- it was in the mid-80s here today, so quite warm! The water in the pool is still pretty chilly, but after a few minutes our feet got used to it and it felt quite refreshing!

A little later, I was trying to convince Nate that he should dip his feet in the pool too, since it felt so nice. But he didn't seem interested. We were sitting at a table on the patio, and I had my back to him, watching Andrew skim the pool. Next thing I know, Nate comes running past me and jumps into the pool, shorts and t-shirt and all (for a second I thought he was going to push Andrew in)!

So Nate was the first one of us to officially swim in the new pool...he looked like he was having such a fun time going off the diving board, and it looked so refreshing... Andrew was sweaty from being in the sun cleaning the pool, so we convinced him that he should go for a little swim, too. (I was not dressed appropriately, and we were planning to go shopping afterwards, so I didn't join in the fun!)

Here's Nate explaining how it all went down and doing a re-enactment, then a video of Andrew jumping in the first time (pardon my little shriek when the water almost hit the camera), and a few pictures! (If you're reading this post via e-mail and can't view the videos, you'll need to go to the blog itself to see them!)

Thanking the Lord today for beautiful, sunny weather, a refreshing pool, and a relaxing afternoon!

God's Amazing Creation...

Before I get to the content of this week's post, I wanted to point out the link over there on the left of the page...did you know that you can sign up with your e-mail address and receive new blog posts that I write in your inbox? It's great for people who don't remember to check the blog regularly! So, if you haven't already signed up, you should! :-) You won't get any spam or anything, just my blog posts!

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And now, on to the topic of God's glorious creation! Last Friday, my brother and I decided to take a drive to Table Mountain in Oroville, CA. I'd read online about the beautiful wildflowers there this time of year, and we weren't disappointed! Hard to believe that come summer, this place will be mostly brown and dry. I think I will make it a yearly goal to visit Table Mountain around the beginning of April. It was so peaceful there! There weren't very many other people around, either. I could stand in one spot and all I saw was sky and grass and flowers and trees and rocks (and a few birds and butterflies and grazing cows) -- no wires or poles or cars or buildings...nothing man-made (except when we came across a broken-down fence on someone's cattle grazing land).

Being there was very refreshing for the soul, and then on the drive home we saw a glorious sunset...

Enjoy the photos!

The Enduring Things

This poem by my favorite poet, Grace Noll Crowell, really expresses the cry of my heart today...I want to tear the grappling hooks of the world and its trivialities off my heart, thus to go forth, unhindered by worthless pursuits, to seek only the things that matter in eternity...

"The Enduring Things"

I will lay hold upon enduring things.

I am wearied with the din and noise and fret.

About me close, distracting, meager things

Grapple my soul -- Lord, help me to forget
The clamor of it. Grant me peace that stills,
Deep peace of quietness, and hope that cheers.
I lift my eyes to Thy strength-giving hills,
Steeped in the light of far eternal years.

I will lay hold upon enduring things:
Faith that illumines though the eyes be blind,
And joy continuous, a heart that sings,
And love that suffers long -- yet still is kind.
They are such paltry things I've bartered for,
I am soul-sick with the weariness it brings.
Now -- with high-lifted face I turn me, for
I will lay hold upon enduring things.

What God has joined together...

While in Oregon, I was privileged to be part of a vow renewal ceremony held for my parents at the Christian counseling center they've been attending for a while now. My parents would be the first to admit that they have not had an ideal marriage relationship over the years -- both of them were dealing privately with various issues in their lives and neither of them put much effort into keeping their relationship strong. Through God's grace and following the counsel of Scripture and wise believers, my parents have made great strides over these past few months, both personally and as husband and wife, and we (their children) could not be happier about it! It is so refreshing to us to see the changes in how they interact, and especially in how they now hold hands and hug often (something we rarely saw before). All I can say is, thanks be to God! What we sometimes thought could never happen is now unfolding right before our eyes!

Just for fun, here is a picture of my parents on their wedding day, January 3, 1975

L-R: Al, my dad's counselor and head of the ministry; my brother, Nathan; Dad; Mom; me; my sister, Anna; my sister, Elisabeth

Dad and Mom...33 years of marriage and counting! :-)