On a Mountain Top...

This past weekend, Emily and I went up to Modesto so that I could go on the Big Valley Women's Retreat with Nichole and she could spend the weekend with her best friend Carolyn. We both had a great time.

The Retreat was amazing. It was such a nice time with Nichole, but more importantly with the Lord! To start with, the retreat location is absolutely beautiful. It was held at Koinonia Conference Center, in the Santa Cruz mountains. Everything is green and beautiful. You can see God's hand in everything your eyes can find to rest upon.

Nichole and I had some amazing, intimate conversations about where we are with the Lord and what He is doing in both of our hearts and lives. I pray that everyone gets to have a friend like Nichole at some time in their lives. She is the exact picture of what a friend should be. I can be vulnerable, and honest and I know that she will tell me the truth and love me no matter what I say or admit to feeling. I pray that I am that same kind of friend to her.



But, WOW! What a friend the Lord is to me... He met me there on that mountain. It sure isn't hard to figure out why they call it a "Mountain Top Experience." I heard Him speak into my life over and over all weekend long. He gave me instruction. He gave me comfort. He gave me love. He gave me nudges. I heard Him say, "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD."

Psalm 139:1 says,

"O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me."

Through this verse, He reminded me that He has searched me and knows me intimately, and it's okay if I feel like I don't know myself like I think I should. It's okay if I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. HE KNOWS ME. And as long as I am seeking Him and obediently following Him, He can use me, right now, right where I am, right in what I am already doing. He showed me, through a rope course, way up in the trees, that just because I don't want to do something or just because something is really hard, doesn't mean that I am not capable of doing that thing.

Today, back in real life, I feel raw and exposed. But I think that's where God wants me. He wants me to be at the ready and leaning on Him!


And about that rope course...

Nichole is a risk taker. I am NOT! Last year she did the rope course and I watched from the safety of the ground and took pictures. Somehow, this year, she talked me into trying it. Only this year, it is a new course. It is twice as high and four times as long. I didn't want to do it, yet somehow found myself climbing up the rope ladder. The course was 60 feet up in the trees. It had four different challenges stretched between six trees. At the end, you had to step off of the platform and swing down a zipline 265 feet long. I'm still not sure how I survived to tell about it. It was the scariest thing I've ever done on purpose. Every second I was up there I was praying and sweating or trying to control my hyperventilating and keep from crying. A lot of the women would get through the course and stand on the platform and it would take everyone on the ground to talk them into taking that last step. One women took almost ten minutes to jump. I decided after the first challenge that I need to get down as fast as I could. I wasn't going to dilly dally. I was just going to close my eyes and jump. That is just what I did. Wow, did the earth feel good under my feet! I did it, but I am fairly certain that you will never again find me tethered to a cable 60 feet in the air!

Meet Erika Drew...

This is Erika (with a "k") Drew. She made her first appearance at our house about two weeks ago. She is the little sister of Nancy Drew. She is a "sleuth." She does "sleuthing."


Two weeks ago, she was on "The Case of the Infective Sand." She had to wear her safety goggles, plastic gloves and "lab coat" in order to not be infected while collecting samples. She was going to be taking the sand samples to the Scientists so they could figure out what kind of infection was in the sand.










Now she is working on "The Case of the C-Man." (C stands for "creepy") She was conducting an interview with the C-Man and was taking notes. I'll let you know the outcome of the investigation as soon as I am updated...

Sisters...

I've always wished I had a sister. Someone who knows me inside and out. Someone who I could turn to. Someone I could be there for in return. Someone to pray with, shop with, laugh with, cry with, raise kids with, a "built-in" best friend. I have to admit that I am sometimes envious of my girls and how they have each other and love each other.



Today it occured to me, as I listened to Megan and Abbey having so much fun playing Barbies on the trampoline, that I might not have a biological sister, but the Lord has given me "sisters." Megan and Nichole fill all those "sister" holes in my heart.

Family Vacation

Over Spring Break, we went on vacation with my mom, my two brothers (Jordan and Josh), Josh's wife, Megan, and their kids, Grace and Ethan. It was the first time we had all done that together. We spent the week in Tempe, AZ for some "Spring Training" baseball. We spent the days by the pool (it was too cold to swim in it) and watching baseball games. Chad loves the Padres. Josh, Megan and Jordan love the Angels. We saw some of each.


We ate like kings all week. Jordy and Josh cooked great food. I would definitely recommend vacationing with a professional chef whenever possible. It was really fun to watch Jordy in action. He does what he does so comfortably and with such ease. We talked about all the cool lunches my mom used to make him. He said he thinks that played a huge part in his appreciation of food and his desire to go in the food business. And, hey, I like to think he legitimizes our whole family's interest in food and recipes. (I may be reaching here...)

It was so nice to spend so much time with my brothers. I haven't been able to do that in almost 15 years. I've spent time with them in those years, to be sure, but not such a concentrated amount. I know we are all grown and have our own lives, but I am always amazed at how quickly we all fall back into our rolls from growing up. They tease me and I boss them. They make fun of my music from high school, and I try to give them advice they don't need. We talk about my dad and the way we remember things. Isn't it funny how three people can live through the same exact situations and all see them through different colored glasses.




We had really nice time. All the kids had fun playing together, too! Abbey told me that she wished we could all live together all the time.

Here's to next time...