i'm on vacation with Rachel visiting Lisa in Houston. it has been so fun and refreshing! i think this is the first vacation i've had that i really needed. other vacations i took for the fun of it. this time is different - i have been so overwhelmed and stressed at work and with life and needed to get away from it all for a short time.
i just want to capture everything we've done so far so i can look back and remember :) so this post is more for my benefit.
Boone and Sara flew down for a Keys vacation on Wed. the 17th and flew out Wed. the 24th. Boone and i bought our tickets (hers to Ft. Lauderdale, mine to Houston) at the same time so we could fly out around the same time - it ended up being within 15 minutes of each other! perfect! i had a great time with the girls down in the Keys - my only regret was that i had to work so much of the time they were there :( despite my many hours spent at work, we still managed to get quite a bit in - wing night @ the Hurricane, coffee @ Leigh Ann's coffee shop
(twice!), Friday night indoor vball, sailing, Sunday afternoon beach vball, dinner at El Siboney in Marathon...Sadie took them to the beach and a walk (Boone ran - lucky!) on the old 7 mile bridge. we had crazy weather - like rainy & cold 1/2 the time. so not typical for a Keys winter but the whole country has had a weird winter and we can't complain - at least it was still in the 60's/70's :)
it was so natural to have Boone in town - i have a few friends that are part of my family and she is one of them. (Mriss - i know you'll read this so you should know you are one of those too :) )
WEDNESDAY
so Wed. the 24th we all rode up to Ft. Lauderdale together in Zeva and went our separate ways at the airport. Rachel & i flew continental - they fed us on the plane!! sandwich, chips, dr ink, and a hershey's chocolate bar!! all for free! who DOES that these days?? :) 
Lisa picked us up and we went straight to Mike & Libba's house to see Libba - such an amazing woman who's love for God just oozes out of her! everyone needs to meet Libba and spend time with her. her life has not been easy (specifically health-wise) and each day is a gift from God. we hung out with her for about an hour, then a few of the younger teachers from the school came over for their normal Wed. afternoon Bible study. they were all so sweet! we then went to dinner at this uber trendy sushi place with Lisa & 
her friend Nicole (she's great!) and it was sushi happy hour so the sushi was 1/2 off! our bill for 4 of us was like $20! the restaurant was so trendy - probably the most trendy place i've ever eaten :)
from sushi we went to the girl's Bible study at Nicki's house (young life leader - she is so cool! she spent the night with us at Lisa's last night and is sitting right by me on the couch right now :) ). mmm - this Bible study was so great! they are reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan (LOVE that book, by the way). the girls - oh the girls! i couldn't stop smiling the whole time. God is moving thru the group and it is so clear and evident. there is a hunger. mmm - that just stokes me!
we got home to Lisa's around 10 or 11pm. she had these amazing “ice cream cones” for us – but it wasn’t ice cream, it was this light merangue (spelling?!) thing and when we ate off the top, there were sweet notes inside!!!! so special!
i also would like to add that Lisa often sets the heat in the house to 79. she so rocks my face off!!!!
THURSDAY
what a full day! got up, Lisa made us delicious whole wheat blueberry pancakes and turkey bacon. we then went on a walk around the property (birds chirping EVERYWHERE!) and then thru the neighborhood - crisp, cool morning and the sun was shining in the blue skies! the fresh air was so delightful (though...cold).
we then packed a picnic lunch and headed to one of Lisa's favorite 
nearby parks. ended up playing a little volleyball on the sand court (couldn't resist). then realized Ellie (Lisa's Element) had gotten yellow paint speckled all over her because the lines on the road had just been repainted! so we went into Tomball and washer her. then went back to the park and ate our picnic lunch on a blanket in the sunshine.
after that we went into Downtown Houston to this like...museum district place and walked thru a contemporary art museum (it was free) and 
then to this nearby park that reminded me so much of D.C. - long reflection pool and all. we walked thru a Japanese garden there and 
saw this turtle hinged on top of a rock with his back legs up in the air...we took pictures, i'll have to come back and put them in this blog. it was hilarious. despite it being winter, there were some beautiful pink flowered trees in the garden. very cool.
then we walked up a big hill and laid down and stared up into the sky.
but not for too long because we had more to do!
we stopped by the museum of science and looked thru the gift shop (Lisa took us to the museum gift shops first, then showed us the rest of the museum...that must be the cool way to do it. hehehe j/k Lisa ). we decided we didn't want to pay to see that museum so we walked back to Ellie and headed to Swirll.
oh - what is Swirll? you may ask. well let me tell you - amazing. that's what Swirll is. ha :) it's an ice cream shop where you fill your cup with as much ice cream as you want, and whatever combination of kinds. then you walk thru a little "buffet" area and add whatever toppings you want - lots of sweet treats and lots of fruit for the healthier ice cream indulgers :) then you go to pay and they weigh your cup and you pay by the weight!! how cool is that?? i got strawberry kiwi sorbet and topped it off with lots of fruit. mmmm! picture to follow.
from there we went to REI and Lisa got a couple things for her upcoming snowboard trip to CO (jealous). then went back up toward Tomball and ate at a fun Mexican restaurant called "Lupe Tortilla". Rachel had a queso milkshake. haha ok not really. but she did suck up the queso chip dip thru a straw for a good photo moment. we followed dinner with a stop at Starbucks (in hindsight, shouldn't have don
e that - i was so full already!) and then Target. then went to the Silverado IMAX theater and saw Avatar in IMAX 3D - pretty sweeet! i normally wouldn't have gone to see Avatar (not my kind of movie) but i had heard so many great things about it and thought it'd be cool to see in imax 3D. very cool!
we got home around 11 i think.
FRIDAY
went to work with Lisa at 10 (she's the female "chaplain" at this college prep Christian high school). got to see a preview of the musical they're doing next week - Thoroughly Modern Millie. my college did that and i went and saw it and loved it - these high schoolers did a great job! i wish i could be here next week to see the whole show!
Rachel and i then joined up with the girls from the Bible study at lunch and had a time of singing worship and prayer during lunch (they started 
doing "Fasting Fridays" where they worship and pray during lunch instead of eating - how cool is that?). we started out on a hill top but then rain started moving in so we went inside to a classroom. this girl, Anna, leads the worship and she is so unique and cool! she reminds me of David Crowder - unique style and personality and they are very comfortable just being themselves. so great. and she loves Kim Walker so...shoot.
we then sat in on a presentation about Turkey (Lisa's helping lead a trip there this summer!). it was crazy because the presentation started out with this man from Turkey giving a slideshow presentation of his country and talking about what they'll see in Turkey and then there was Q & A time. started off with questions about Turkey and then people started asking questions about his career and how to make good career choices and all that. it was interesting to see that because it just shows some of the mentality at the school. not necessarily a bad thing i guess, just...not my mentality. :)
Rachel and i then hung out in the conference room next to Lisa's office for a little bit while she worked. when the school day was over we left 
and went rock climbing!!! my first time. so fun. loved it. sore today. we did that for a couple hours. it was cool too because the people there give you a quick instruction time on how to use the belay (ropes) and then they turn you loose! so we got to belay each other and do whatever we wanted. did a little bouldering (no ropes) but found it more fun to do it with the ropes because then you got to climb all the way to the top :)
from there we hit up HEB (a grocery store) and went home to Lisa's to
make steak (w/bernaisse sauce...i don't know how to spell that but it's yellow and we often have it with steak in the Keys), coconut rice, and corn. yum! followed up with brownies, ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. killin' me! so good. Nicki joined us and spent the night - it has been so fun getting to talk with her and getting to know one of the people Lisa loves so dearly out here.
SATURDAY
today. what will today hold? well we have all taken our time getting around this morning so far. it's after 10 and everyone is sitting around on big comfy leather couches here in the living room reading/journaling/praying. mmm the atmosphere is so tranquil and warm. we are going to make crepes for breakfast. might go around Tomball some. some of the girls from the Bible study are probably coming out this afternoon and we are going to the drive-in movies tonight! tomorrow is church at Ecclesia (can't wait) and not sure what will follow - lots of options!
while this vacation has been jam packed with so much greatness, i have also loved the mornings here! waking up whenever my body wakes up (which as been between 6 and 7), sneaking out to the living room and enjoying quietness with my Abba. mmm i miss Him so much when i don't get to spend alone time with Him! that has been a gift. i am so thankful for Lisa's like-mindedness. she knows how important it is. no matter how much we want to pack in out here, nothing compares to the importance of starting out the day surrendering all to our Almighty God and drawing near to Him.
so many thoughts whirling around in my head. Lisa's good at wanting to dig deep into people's lives and challenge them to not settle for comfortable. that is something i've been struggling with anyway, and coming out here and talking it out has only fueled it more. changes is in the near future. i can feel it. i can sense it. i know it needs to happen.
Father, guide me.
fuel my passions. my desires.
help me surrender my life to You daily.
help me step out and do things where i am weak so that You may show Yourself strong - for Your glory.
to live fully alive by Your Spirit within me.
i want to be doing what You created me to do.
to be using the gifts and talents You have given me.
