Blessings

I flew in from Ft. Myer's, Fla. Tuesday night at 10:30 pm. I had a great trip to visit my very best friend Candice and her family in the very steamy sunshine state. I had never been to south fla. in the heat of early September. It was a whole new kind of heat. It felt as if I was standing in front of the oven, except there was no tasty treat waiting for me inside.

I arrived to a very beautiful, very excited Candice. We had a mighty hug and picked right back up where we left off. Candice, being the extremely busy mother of 2 beautiful girls ages 4 and 1 and a newly appointed interim pastor's wife made sure to keep me busy and happy. I knew she was stressed and overworked, but her energy stayed at the level of what it needed to be to enteratin... she made sure my trip was well rounded with experiences such as visiting hippie art galleries near the beach on Pine Island, to singing together in church to a beach day on Monday and shopping and island exploring on Sanibel Island on Tuesday. It was the perfect mix of spending time with Isabella, Gabriela and Mike, having alone time with Candice and meeting the wonderful members of their wonderful church. I am amazed at how my friend made sure to take care of me 100% even though I knew some of it was a physical and financial sacrifice. Her heart and servanthood inspires me. She gives others her all.. sometimes at the expense of her own comforts. This is a woman I want to strive to be more like. I know that God will richly bless this woman I count a privelage to call a best friend.

I just wish I could be around my friend more.. she's one of those who when we are together, we just click. We are totally ourselves and the understanding we have of each other is a rare thing. I just love her and her family to death! God is so good in blessing me with this wonderful woman.

Another aspect I really thought was great about my trip was suprisingly my layover in Atl. I had about 2.5-3 hours. Over the holiday I was constantly surrounded with people and noise so the layover was the perfect wind down. It seemed that God was prompting me every step of the way in what I needed to keep myself positively entertained. When I arrived at the gate I walked up and down the terminal a couple of times to stretch my legs, grow a little more of an appetite, and check out the eating options. I wanted to sit down and enjoy a nice meal. I finally decided on Chili's. I requested a booth and settled in with Beth Moore on my I Pod for a great meal of Chili's amazing chips and salsa and a cobb salad. =) It was a great relaxing time. After my meal, I went over to a bookstore and got a book that had caught my eye on the way down to Fla. "90 Minutes in Heaven" ONce I opened the pages and began to read.. I was hooked!! I was captivated by this story of a Baptist Minister who was killed in a tragic car accident, spent 90 minutes in heaven, then was brought back to the life by the prayers of another preacher praying on the scene of the accident. I teared up several times over stories of the power of prayer and fighting through the amazing battle for life and later for recovery.. both emotionally and physically. It was the perfect purchase. Our plane was delayed and it didn't bother me a bit.. i had this amazing book. I finished most of it. God knew exactly what to prompt me in being prepared for this trip. I wasn't bored for one minute and I was totally blessed by my Beth Moore session on IPod and this amazing story of Pastor Piper. God is good.. even in the little things.