Rest

What a funny & great week i just had. So far this summer that is typically filled with a slower pace & a lot more fun, have been filled with a lot more work. Through the extra things like helping out with high School, starting a college Bible study, and the fact that we are trying to get pre-qualified for a home has really upped my stress level. As much as i am spending time with God, which is the only thing getting me through it, i think it is just a trying period of time right now. I have recently felt this durring all the planning leading up to our wedding, job hunts in the past, and just all those other times in life where there is just a lot of unsettled pieces of life that just wont go away for a while.
Anyways, last week Courtney and myself finally got to get some vacation! We didn't have much money to spend (were saving for a house) so we decided to camp close... real close... in Malibu Creek SP. I had camped there 2x before and it was always a favorite spot of mine & now we just happen to only live about 15 miles away from it. Anyways there were a few things that i thought would be worth mentioning. First of all, Courtney isn't a huge "outdoorsy" girl, but was really excited about camping in a tent. She was kinda testing the waters to see if she would enjoy camping. Well she does like it, but the worst thing happened the first night. In the middle of the night she grabbed the flashlight to go to the restroom. The restrooms aren't exactly the "nicest" bathrooms, but they are serviceable and cleaned regularly, but they are already raising the creepy flag a bit. Well, in the middle of the night, a trantula joined her in the bathroom. Needless to say it was a memorable time. Later on, i saw the same trantula and i just about lost it myself. The next night, a trantula was walking towards our campsite, which i flicked about 100 ft. away.
It was a great time. We both read a lot of books & magazines (i have to get ready for the fantasy football season), went on a hike, drove and hung out at Malibu beach (i forgot sunscreen & got a wicked sunburn), went to see a movie, went to a Dodgers game (i found out at the game that they just got Manny Ramirez! Go Dodgers!), and ended up coming home a day early, just cause we wanted to sleep in our own bed. Another exciting note is that they were shooting a episode of the TV show Numbers while we were there, so on our hike we saw a bunch of semi trucks, props, and set gear for the show. Probably our favorite part of the week was our amazing hammock. We almost forgot to bring it, but we purchesed a hammock 2 years ago because we both always dreamed of sleeping in a hammock in our backyard (we weren't even married yet, let alone buying a house). This hammock sat in our storage for 2 years, and finally we gave it a test drive. It was fantastic! We both laid in it, took turns taking naps in it, read books in it. In the morning, i would wake up, grab my Bible, and read Joel & Amos while swinging and being covered with the morning fog.
God promises us that he will give us all the grace we need, wisdom, strength, that he is always with us, and that he is working in every situation for our good. A lot of times as Christians we interpret this to be prosperity, but it is one of the greatest pictures of a loving father caring for His children in ways they don't deserve. Courtney & myself NEEDED to get away for a while and God met us there and we were able to see & feel a little more clearly how He has been providing for us. There are definetly times where i can loose sight of being with Jesus because i am so busy working for him.
It was good to get rest.