4 Miles

On the way home from the airport, Will yawned and said, "I'm tired".

"You are?" I asked.

Then he said "NO! I'm not tired, I, um, I…I was streatching my mouth!"

What a nice weekend! Thursday morning I flew to Orlando to attend the MOPS International Convention.  We stayed at the Gaylord Palms, a BEAUTIFUL hotel/convention center.  The hotel and convention center were connected by a large dome with a tropical garden underneath.  There were trails to walk along, streams, ponds, waterfalls, flowers, fish and even gators!!!  (See the picture to the right? The alligators are mainly on the rock to the right, but a few are on the left as well. You might have to "biggify" it.) I also included a picture of the koi fish, for my dad.  Try not to drool over how large they are–it is Florida!

The gardens made it a beautiful place to visit.  The time away made it peaceful and mostly restful (there was a late night of talking). The sessions for the convention were inspiring and challenging.  We had Matt Redman (who wrote some popular Praise & Worship songs like "Blessed Be Your Name", "Here I Am To Worship", "You Never Let Go" and "The Heart of Worship") lead us in worship. Sarah Groves also preformed and had us laughing and in tears over her honesty. She's a mom! She shops at Old Navy like us!  She brought her 3 month old baby on stage, and she spit up on her mom–just like us!  She also sang some songs that beautifully expressed a mother's heart.  There were great speakers that I could go on and on about–but I know it's not the same to read someone's words. I may come back and write about a few as I go back, review my notes, and try to process it all.  It was also a fun time to get to know the women I will be working with this year.  

Now I'm coming back into "re-entry".  After such a crazy week, this week is very empty–which may or may not be good! (I sometimes do better with busy than without. I can get slothful or more distracted by the computer when I feel I have too much time.)  Please pray with me that the nine of us who went will be able to keep our enthusiasm, remember what we learned and share it with our families and the woman in our group.