Yes, it was a beautiful day in Paradise.... on Anna Maria Island, Florida. (
see our exact spot) I was doing a
Kidology To Go seminar last Saturday at
Palma Sola Baptist Church, but since my awesome senior pastor encourages his staff to take a 'day away' monthly for prayer/planning/refreshing, I decided to use my weekly day off for travel, and take my 'day away' on Friday in Florida. I also surprised Sara by taking her along and our host found us a delightful place to stay right by the beach. The cost was VERY affordable, and was a really nice condo-style villa. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you give this Christian couple your business if you want a beautiful get away in Florida! Their website is
islandgardenvillas.com Beautiful villas and a hot tub with 62 jets!! Wowie!
As usual, I love the outdoors, and love my casual hobby of photography. Here are a few of my attempts to capture the beauty of God's Creation in Florida. By popular demand, here are two wallpapers so you can feel like you were there! (Choose from
BLUEPALMS or
REDPALMS)
The trip started out lookin' good when my airplane boarding pass informed me that I would have seat
1A!! Yippeee! Finally, after all these years of flying all over the world, I would
FINALLY get to sit in one of those first class big comfy seats!! 1A? It doesn't get any better than that....
....unless you are on a small plane where all the seats are the same and the first row has a wall six inches in front of your face. Yup, you guessed it. I'm now close friends with a wall.
But it was worth it! Soon we were on the beach enjoying the beautiful white sand! Here is Sara talking on the cell phone with her mom while we enjoyed the blue skies of the Gulf. Apparently, the hurricanes scared everyone away from Florida who don't realize just how BIG this state is and how far away we were from the infamous hurricanes. It was so beautiful you'd think it would have been crowded, but we hardly saw a soul anywhere on the seven mile long island.
I used one of the bikes from the Villa and toured the island. It was VERY hot (and I'm a wimp when it comes to hot weather) so soon I had to get into the water.
The water was BEAUTIFUL and CLEAR! I hadn't planned on swimming and once my feet were wet, I didn't want to go all the way back to the Villa for my suit, so.... well, lets just say it was a good thing we had the beach to ourselves. I looked kinda silly swimmin' in my shorts. :)
AH, and to think I could be back at the office answering the phone, checking e-mail, and shuffling papers around my desk wondering where to put them, how to deal with them, and which could I throw out (or burn). If I have learned anything in life, I've learned that sometimes you just have to take time to relax, even if you don't have any time to relax.
I loved the signs of God's touch in the small details. I enjoy trying to see the things that most people walk right past. Like this sole flower on a vine that stretched out toward the water. For staff devotions this week I showed a video (download here:
Beachvines* QT 6MB
) of the vines and some giant man-made pipes. I read Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10 and John 15: 1-5 and talked about how we need to be like this plant, seeking the water, putting ourselves in a place where we will be ready for God when he chooses to pour Himself on us, and to realize, we often grow most in the storms of life. (the only times this plant gets water is in rain or floods) I also compared the rusty remains of human effort (the pipes in video) to the living and thriving God made vines. Anyway, you might enjoy the video. (or get the
Beachflower Wallpaper)
*Mac Momment: This video was produced in iPhoto, no video editing needed)
Just a yucky sample of what was swimming with us in the water. Fortunately, Sara never saw this, or she would have stayed out of the water.
Here is the underside. I also saw some dead eels, but they were too gross to actually post here. Children do read my blog. :)
BUSTED! Yup, Sara caught me checking my e-mail on my palm on the shuttle. In the background is the City Pier Restaurant out on Tampa Bay (opposite the Gulf) where we had lunch. There was a sign explaining that this pier was built in 1908 and since then has not only survived many hurricanes and countless storms, but has been "a source of hope for fishermen and dreams for lovers."
Whatever. I figured that meant they couldn't think of anything to say about the pier.
This is Shelly, the host of the Kidology To Go conference. As you can see from her shirt, she is a big fan of Kidology, and my favorite stalker. She has appeared on this blog before! (See:
The Kidologist Being Stalked?)
Shelly has amazing energy and enthusiasm, and bubbles over with creativity and love for kids. But best of all, I like her 'CAN DO' spirit! Here she is in her too cool office! The sign on the wall is what she is heard saying all the time, even in the midst of ministry madness, "It's All Good!"
BUSTED AGAIN! I discovered a 'hotspot' and was able to finish editing the final chapters of my book while on my day away. It was pretty nice to relax under the palms and be online!
but I did find time to relax, even when the signs forbid it!
At the airport on the way home, I got to test Krystal Burgers. (the southern version of White Castles) They were pretty good, and didn't have the 'effect' that White Castles are infamous for!
Finally, we were headed for home. This is our final view of Paradise out the airplane window as we flew back to Chicago in time to scramble for Sunday morning! It was a wonderful day away, and we definitely want to go back!
