Before reading, go ahead and scroll down to the bottom of the post and play the song by Starfield.  I heard this song today and it reminded me of the retreat and the soul-searching that took place there.  It is hard to put into words much more detail than that, so I guess I'll leave it at that. 

    I guess January was the month for "getting away" which is fine by me.  As far as winters are concerned, let's just say that I wouldn't mind either "getting away" or hibernating for approximately 98% of the duration of the season.  Oh and that goes for spring too.  Basically, wake me up when it's summer.  :p  I was born for 75-80 degree weather year-round, and apparently destined to live in the wrong climate.  But who's complaining?

    This past weekend was the annual Sunday school retreat at the coast, and it was delightful.  There were a lot of people there, although I did not get a full count.  Our entire Sunday school class is 60+ people, and so even though everyone didn't make it, it was a large group. 
   Time was spent in a variety of ways.....











   After coming home, my body was weary, but my soul was refreshed.  And isn’t that one of the greatest feelings? There were two sessions by Pastor Phil, the first one was about “Is the Holy Spirit enough?”  Which has challenged me in a lot of ways, and awakened a heart cry I wasn't even aware of before.  First of all, He already is enough, whether or not we even recognize it.  Whether we are Christians or atheists, He is enough.   But the question is, is He enough in my life?  Am I living that out?  Starting each day with that being my waking thought?  Taking ahold of that and clinging for dear life to in the dark times? Because if everything else was stripped away, He would be enough.  But do I LIVE IT?

   The second session was more of a personal testimony from Phil about being a pastor and a shepherd, and then also some encouragement/challenges to be fully involved in church, and at the same time, avoid getting burned out.  I am so excited to see what God has in store for our church.  There is a lot of young families there, and I sense a yearning in all of our hearts for God to move, and move in a mighty way.

   We enjoyed our time there with friends, savoring the rare opportunity to connect with no distractions, children, or myriad of other responsibilities pressing in on every side.  It was hard to leave Jocelyn for the 2nd weekend in a row, but looking back, I think it was the right thing to do.  She had a wonderful time with her cousins and Auntie Shannon & Uncle Konrad, and we had a wonderful time as well.  Win-win.:)    All in all, it was a wonderful time of soul-food, good fellowship, and precious memories. 



I hope you all had just as blessed of a weekend, and even a little more.

   Here are a few more glimpses into our 2nd babymoon to L.A., California.  We had beautiful weather for parts of the time, and it poured rain on the day we left, so that made returning to "real life" a little easier. :)  Highlights were....

• Walking all over and seeing the sights with my dearest friend.
• A delicious tea latte.  How had I never had one before?!
• Mars Hill campus Sunday morning.
• Working out Monday morning.
• Shopping.
• Staying up late, and sleeping in, just because we could, obviously.

   A friend (Tina) said that palm trees and sunshine are just the best combination, and I guess I hadn't really thought about it much until then, but she's right.  There is just something about them that automatically lifts my spirits!
   Famous Kodak theater, where they roll the red carpet out right into the street, and all the celebrities come to attend award shows.
   We took a tour a saw celebrity's homes...I can't remember now which pictures are whose, but  remember a few.  The one pictured above is the actual room where Michael Jackson died.
   We ate at a charming Italian restaurant that was famous for it's well-known patrons, like Marilyn Monroe.  The waiters and waitresses were all singers as well, and would randomly join the live piano player for a song.  The food was excellent as well; it was lovely.
      Later that evening we walked where the celebrities had put their hand prints and foot prints in the cement, and signed their names.

And just a few from Instagram:

    Thanks Love, for planning the whole thing, complete with babysitting, before telling me what we were doing. You are the one that keeps the spontaneity alive in our marriage.  I am far too often the stick in the mud.  You continually teach me that it's possible to be a great mom AND leave your little one behind every once in a while.  And Jocelyn had a lovely time with her Grandma anyway.  We needed that get away, you and I.  We are still young and need to live like it every now and then.  If we don't, we will get swallowed up by the groceries and the cleaning and the laundry and the bills and the never-ending to-do lists.  And one day we will realize we got old anyway and never actually took those trips we were always "meaning to".   I just love how doing things like this is so important to you, because it is important to me.
 
Here's to many more getaways together.....*cheers*.

  

 Sigh.

   I had been doing pretty well up until now, even posting three times in one week! (Un-heard of.)  But then the hubs and I went on a little getaway, and I'm finding myself behind in my blogging again. I may only get one done this week, and that's bad.  I think sometimes the biggest hinderance is not the time issue, but rather the "not-feeling-like-downloading-or-editing-pictures" issue.  So basically laziness.  Shame on me.

   Here's one off of Google images because I am THAT lame.  The rest are mine though.