There is just nothing better than taking time away to relax- especially when all that relaxation happens at the beach. Some wonderful friends of ours were able to bless us with a week at their beach house. We arrived at "Answered Prayer" (cool name for the house) on Friday night and got out to the grocery on Saturday. Our friends had prepared a list of things like how to get to the beach, how to get to the grocery, and at the very bottom of the list was something that totally brighten my day, how to get to Target (refer to my last blog and you'll understand how excited I got). Don't know if you've ever taken vacation with a 10 month old, but we had very very early mornings. Savannah woke up at 4:30am on Saturday, our first morning there, and I was so tired and delirious that I actually turned cartoons on for her, which I never do. We did have a great time sleeping to catch up from the early mornings, shopping some, reading, playing and going to the beach. It was so much fun to show Savannah the beach for the first time- she did eat a lot of sand though. My favorite part of vacation was the fact that this vacation was actually at the same place we honeymooned. Never thought we'd be bringing our daughter back to the same place to make new memories together.
Josh and I read an amazing book while we were on vacation called Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life, and it has totally opened our thinking to how we will serve Annapolis in Jesus name. My favorite quote from the book is when the author says, "I choose to believe that no one is too poor not to having anything of worth to offer." He was speaking of serving the poor and helping them get their dignity back by empowering them through the gifts they have to offer. Everyone has something to offer!
Sadly our vacation came to an end on Thursday when we drove 11 hours to get to Johnson City, TN to drop me off at a Lead Planter's wife retreat (wow that's a long title for a retreat). Josh continued on to Louisville with Savannah, while I enjoyed a life changing retreat. I have been going through some pretty tough family stuff lately. I knew I needed this retreat and that God had some things he wanted me to hear from him. On Saturday morning I went out for an hour long quiet time and I think I could have stayed for hours. I found the perfect spot up on top of a hill overlooking the TN mountains. God had prepared a beautiful morning for me. The trees were multicolored and the sun was warm and shining. I meditated on the names and qualities of God, what a powerful thing to do. To be reminded that God is my comforter, my help in time of need, the builder and architect, the perfector, peace, hope, my abba father and the God that is there. After all the names and qualities the one that just kept hitting me was that God is there, He really is there for me. I needed to hear that. I needed to let God be there for me. I let Him take the wait that was on my sholders and put it on His. He is taking care of me, my family and this new church. All I can say is that I am relying on God, I'm keeping my gaze on him, and I want to lead others to know Him the way I do. He is an amazing Father, the perfect Father, what a blessing to know He is There!
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