I used to live in this lovely state. I moved here in 1992 just before Hurricane Andrew devastated the southern peninsula. I left a few months later because summer was on the way and I just don't like heat and humidity. Now, sitting on the 14th floor of a condo overlooking Panama City Beach, I wonder if that was impetuous youth. I love it here. At least on vacation! Of course, it was a vacation to Florida in 1992 that led me to move here. So, no, I will not be moving here anytime soon.
It has been a beautiful few days here as the weather has been bright and warm during the daytime. We took a cruise to Shell Island yesterday and Grace dove headfirst into the Gulf of Mexico. Then she walked around and looked at shells on the beach before reboarding the boat for a trip to the mouth of Panama City Bay to watch the dolphins frolic. There were quite a few of them.
Today we went to Gulf World and saw a sea lion show, a parrot show, and a dolphin show. Grace is now napping after her morning of excitement and when she wakes she will go to the beach and jump in the cool waters of the Gulf once again. Oops, there she is. guess we're going swimming!
31 October 2008
26 October 2008
Travelng to Florida
Hello all,
Yes, we are on the road again. One of the members of our family has a very itchy traveling foot. We found out a few weeks ago that Rob will most likely be teaching most of next summer. Prior to that, we had been planning to go to DisneyWorld in May. Instead, we decided to take a trip to the Gulf Shore of FL for about a week, to spend some time on the ocean, away from home, relaxing before his job starts.
We are renting a lovely condo on the 14th floor of a high-rise, with a nice balcony and an incredible ocean view. Even without the ocean view, the condo is nicer than our house! Sadly, we forgot the camera, so unless we buy another one we won't be posting pic's from this trip.
While we're here, we are hoping to make it to the Aquarium and possibly go on a dolphin-watch. We might even hire a babysitter so Rob & I can have a date night!
Hope you all are well...
Yes, we are on the road again. One of the members of our family has a very itchy traveling foot. We found out a few weeks ago that Rob will most likely be teaching most of next summer. Prior to that, we had been planning to go to DisneyWorld in May. Instead, we decided to take a trip to the Gulf Shore of FL for about a week, to spend some time on the ocean, away from home, relaxing before his job starts.
We are renting a lovely condo on the 14th floor of a high-rise, with a nice balcony and an incredible ocean view. Even without the ocean view, the condo is nicer than our house! Sadly, we forgot the camera, so unless we buy another one we won't be posting pic's from this trip.
While we're here, we are hoping to make it to the Aquarium and possibly go on a dolphin-watch. We might even hire a babysitter so Rob & I can have a date night!
Hope you all are well...
20 October 2008
Faith, Loss, and Rock-n-Roll
Last night, Rob and I made the trek to Birmingham, AL - about 2 hours away - to see Michael W. Smith and Stephen Curtis Chapman in concert in their "United" tour. They began by doing a couple of worship songs together, then Michael left the stage for Stephen's solo portion of the concert.
He began by thanking his friends, meaning the entire audience, for our prayers and support during the difficult time his family is working through. For those of you who don't know the story, on May 21 of this year, the Chapmans tragically lost their daughter Maria Sue in a car accident. What makes the story even more horrendous and difficult is that their older son was backing out of the driveway. He did not know his sister was there. Mr. Chapman was not only open and honest about his loss, he was downright raw, saying that he wasn't sure how to perform for us when all of us knew of this loss. He didn't want to pretend it didn't happen. He expressed his brokenness, and also made a strong statement of faith. He said "I don't know much, but one thing I know with every fiber of my being is that God is faithful."
When he sang his new hit song "Cinderella," about not wanting to miss a single moment of his childrens' milestones, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. The song was written prior to the accident, but he said that many of his songs have taken on new meaning since then.
Without further ado, he finished out his set with a mixture of old and new songs - some of which I loved, and a couple of which were too loud for my more mellow tastes. Then Michael came back out and joined him for a walk down memory lane, with each performing segments of the other's earlier hits. Then Michael performed his solo set, again a mixture of old and new, loud and mellow, and finally the duo ended with a few worship songs that had all of us on our feet, hands raised to Heaven in worship of our glorious God.
Overall, we enjoyed the show. We got home quite late, almost 1am, paid and thanked the sitter, and hit the hay.
What I came away with was a deep sense of Mr. Chapman's faith, as well as having my own faith encouraged. I know that when something inexplicable happens in my life, my response to the grief is often an inability to pray. When I had a miscarriage before Grace was born, I could not even give thanks for my meals without bursting into tears. Watching this man who lost a daughter literally grieve in front of a large audience, yet express his unwavering faith in a merciful and gracious God, was incredibly moving. I pray that the Lord will continue to comfort and strengthen the Chapman family, and that He would continue to reveal Himself to all of us. May I be that faithful when trials come my way. Lord I'm not asking for trial, but when it comes, help me to be strong in You.
He began by thanking his friends, meaning the entire audience, for our prayers and support during the difficult time his family is working through. For those of you who don't know the story, on May 21 of this year, the Chapmans tragically lost their daughter Maria Sue in a car accident. What makes the story even more horrendous and difficult is that their older son was backing out of the driveway. He did not know his sister was there. Mr. Chapman was not only open and honest about his loss, he was downright raw, saying that he wasn't sure how to perform for us when all of us knew of this loss. He didn't want to pretend it didn't happen. He expressed his brokenness, and also made a strong statement of faith. He said "I don't know much, but one thing I know with every fiber of my being is that God is faithful."
When he sang his new hit song "Cinderella," about not wanting to miss a single moment of his childrens' milestones, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. The song was written prior to the accident, but he said that many of his songs have taken on new meaning since then.
Without further ado, he finished out his set with a mixture of old and new songs - some of which I loved, and a couple of which were too loud for my more mellow tastes. Then Michael came back out and joined him for a walk down memory lane, with each performing segments of the other's earlier hits. Then Michael performed his solo set, again a mixture of old and new, loud and mellow, and finally the duo ended with a few worship songs that had all of us on our feet, hands raised to Heaven in worship of our glorious God.
Overall, we enjoyed the show. We got home quite late, almost 1am, paid and thanked the sitter, and hit the hay.
What I came away with was a deep sense of Mr. Chapman's faith, as well as having my own faith encouraged. I know that when something inexplicable happens in my life, my response to the grief is often an inability to pray. When I had a miscarriage before Grace was born, I could not even give thanks for my meals without bursting into tears. Watching this man who lost a daughter literally grieve in front of a large audience, yet express his unwavering faith in a merciful and gracious God, was incredibly moving. I pray that the Lord will continue to comfort and strengthen the Chapman family, and that He would continue to reveal Himself to all of us. May I be that faithful when trials come my way. Lord I'm not asking for trial, but when it comes, help me to be strong in You.
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