All the Extras...
I am working through trying to finish my book, Enjoying God, by SJ Hill. It is so good. The Lord has used that book to open my eyes and see His love for me. This weekend's trip was no exception.
The theme for this weekend, was "God's Extra Perks." It started out with our hotel room. We had not stayed at this particular hotel yet, but had stayed at the sister hotel last fall. So, we expected an okay room, with a pretty good view. But, that was what we could afford. However, GOD, gave us a beautiful room, that had just been redone. With freshly painted walls, new carpet, new furniture. The best part was our view. We could walk out onto our balcony and look directly at the beach!!!!
The kids and CJ and I, just kept saying over and over again, "Thank you, Jesus!"
Later that night, CJ said, "I bet there is going to be a parade of some sort tomorrow." I found that rather funny and weird that he would say such a thing. There was nothing big going on and no reason for a parade.
BUT, the next morning we heard a marching band right outside the front of our hotel. We quickly went outside and watched 3 bands march down the main street! I laughed with delight, as I truly saw it as a fun gift from God!!
Saturday, we played at the beach, took a walk in town, and rested in the afternoon. That night we went to a fun pizza place for dinner, where the kids got to make their own pizzas! This place also had games and skee ball and all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. God really blessed us as it was extraordinarily cheap!
CJ loves to play miniature golf. So, it was really important to me, to make sure that this trip included a round. However, I was a little uncertain how it would be with a 2 and a 4 year old. BUT, God made it so much fun. The kids, loved it. I taught EJ how to hol
d his putter and even how to hit the ball. Z, played and was entertained the majority of the time. PLUS, the kids got to play for FREE! In the end, CJ and I tied with our score.
d his putter and even how to hit the ball. Z, played and was entertained the majority of the time. PLUS, the kids got to play for FREE! In the end, CJ and I tied with our score.On Sunday morning, we went to breakfast. During breakfast, our waitress told us about how she has been fighting a sinus infection, bronchitis, etc. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said yes! She quickly put all the dishes down, handed me her hand and said please pray. So, I did! And God was so good. You could tell that her entire day had changed just because He talked with her. She must have come up to me 3 times afterwards and thanked me. It was so fun, because I knew that God had really touched her!
Sunday, I walked on the beach for 3 miles all by myself! Oh, what an enjoyable time with the Lord. I listened to praise and worship music, walked in the water, talked with Him and listened. It was so fulfilling!
And get this little extra "perk".... while I was walking on the beach, I felt as though the Lord told me that I would be running into someone we knew from PA. I brushed it off, thinking that it was impossible and that it was me talking, not God. Interestingly enough, CJ was on a ride, just as he was getting off, this guy from PA popped into his mind. He too dismissed it. Both little nudges from the Lord were kept to ourselves.
UNTIL.... we were out that evening and ran into some friends from PA!!!! Of course, it was the guy that God had flashed through CJ's mind!!! It was so wonderful to see them that we ended up making plans for the next day to have lunch!
Monday, we slept in, had breakfast and then I was able to take another long walk on the beach. Our hotel granted us a late check out and we took in as much sun and water as we could. The kids played in the sand and in the ocean. We ended our trip with lunch with our friends from PA.
On our way home, we praised the Lord for all the extras! Truly, every time He did something special, we were just ecstatic.
Posted in: on Tuesday, April 03, 2007 at at 12:15 PM
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Wow! I'm so glad to hear how wonderful your trip was. God is so good and cares about our joy. Yippie for you!
It sounds like an amazing trip! How awesome that you could see God in the little and big details.
oh, how He loves you!!!!!!thats what i hear and see all over your trip. and how it pleases your heart that you were looking for Him and praising Him in every opportunity! from the view to times out with your family to the walk on the beach to praying for your waitress! you have stunned and stolen His heart, on fire!!!
hey, we played golf on that course! sounds like a great and well-deserved break.
So happy for you and the fam - that time away together with each other an d with your Daddy God must have been amazing. There's something about the ocean, with its steady ebb and flow and its incredible vastness that soothes the soul, isn't there? And reminds us that as BIG as HE is, He is the details that matter also. Glad you had fun. It's killing me with suspense, though: who did you bump in to?? :) HUGS!!!!