Ok... once again this is LONG overdue... For that I apologize... But cannot promise I will get much better at this blogging thing, but I will sure try ;)
So, it's been an exciting few months for us... in the beginning of March, Casey and I got to take a pretty amazing adventure together! We flew into New York, NY and stayed there for 3 nights... We had only planned on staying 2 nights, but a month or so before we were to fly out there, we found out that Mutemath (one of Casey's Fave bands) was playing the night we were supposed to leave.... So... of course we booked another nights stay in NY in order to see the show... However, our first hotel was booked solid so we had to stay in a different hotel...... That had "communal" bathrooms at the end of each hall... Oh well... We just needed sleeping quarters!!
We saw all the sights, got turned around on the subway, rolled our suit cases to our 2nd hotel 20 or so blocks away (while rolling over peoples' toes every few minutes), ate some pretty amazing food, saw a Broadway show, and learned that NY is not the place for us! As fun as it was to visit, we definitely were reaffirmed in our love for Montana and so pleased with our home state's slower pace of life and welcoming atmosphere.
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| At the Statue of Liberty w/NY skyline in background (Building right above my head is the new WTC) |
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| Central Park |
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| At Sister Act on Broadway and snuck a picture in b/c there was no photography allowed :P |
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| At the 9/11 memorial |
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| New WTC |
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| At Mutemath... AMAZING |
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| Seriously... Best show I've ever seen!! |
The next morning we woke up bright and early and jumped on a bus that took us to our nation's capital... we spent that day checking out some of the sights, but after 3 days of non-stop walking in NY, our feet were a little tired to say the least..... So, we didn't get to see as much in DC as we would have liked! That night in DC we had some
amazing Thai food and
incredible ice cream!!
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| The view from our hotel in DC |
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| One of the few DC sights we saw ;) |
The next morning we picked up our Mazda 3 that we had rented and headed South.... 540 miles and only ONE tank of gas later... We arrived in Charleston, SC to visit our sweet friends the Wallers (
click here to see their blog). We arrived to some fun gifts and smiling faces! It was soooo great to see them and so fun to see their life down south!
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| In the Mazda 3 |
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| Silly Boys.... |
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| Such a pretty Steph Waller (+1) |
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| SC Grub |
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| The BEACH |
All in all our trip was so great! Unfortunately, I had a head cold the first 3 days and then Casey caught it on the end of the trip... But it was sooo great to get away with just each other and make new memories, explore together, and travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to see wonderful, old friends!!
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And just a few weeks ago, Casey and I got to go back down to the LA area with a big group of our coworkers and attend Catalyst West... It's a creative, church leadership conference held every year in a few different locations.... This year's theme was Be Present.... We heard a lot of amazing speakers laying their hearts out before us the importance of being present in our relationships, in our ministries, with our families, with God... It was a convicting, worshipful experience....
A few nuggets from the conference:
"Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone."-- Andy Stanley
"When we feel entitled, we don't show honor."-- Craig Groechel
"Authenticity trumps cool every time." -- Craig Groechel
There's something about being surrounded by thousands of other people who are trying their hardest to live their lives for Jesus.... Overwhelming, encouraging, convicting...
Being in ministry is NOT easy and can be very taxing at times... At Catalyst we were in a building packed full of people admitting this to one another and all agreeing that even though it's tough many times... It's sooo worth it!! BUT our relationships with our spouses, families, friends, and ultimately God should not suffer because of it... We need to Be Present among the people around us! God told us to love each other... How can we do that if we are too caught up doing projects/tasks? People over Projects should be our way of thinking... Loving people as Christ first loved us... But too often we throw people to the side in order to squeeze in one more "project." I challenge you all to examine your lives and figure out if you are truly Present in your relationships... Put down your phone, computer, iPad, etc down and have a face-to-face conversation with someone you care about WITHOUT allowing your mind to wander to work or your next task.... Enjoy being present with them... Unfortunately, it's a lot harder than you would think.... Good Luck!
Love you all!
