Where Do I Begin?

I am going to attempt to describe what an amazing weekend I just experienced. I know for a fact I won't be able to fully describe the blessings that God delivered to me right from the palm of His mighty hand, but I will do my best. I will try to be descriptive but brief so I don't make this post 10 pages long.

WOW! Is there any way to describe the gift of friendship? I received a call a couple of months ago from my friend, Peggy. She invited me to go to see Beth Moore with her and a mutual friend. It was actually her husband Brad's idea. He said Caleb could come to Georgia and stay with him and the kids while the moms went on to Jacksonville for the LPM event. I told her I'd talk to Caleb about it and call her back. A few minutes later, she called me back instead and said, "I'm on Lifeway's website. There are still tickets available and if it's okay with you, I'm just going to buy you one for you..." How can you say no to that?

Brad and Peggy are a rare caliber of people. We were connected to them through our friend Kris, after his death. Knowing Kris like we did, should have given us some insight to the kind of people the Headleys are. They were dear to Kris which indicates they are special people. They have the same commitment to the Lord and same generosity towards others that Kris had. They made us feel so incredibly welcome in their home with an uncommon level of hospitality. The dads took great care of the kids while us moms were gone and the kids had a blast too. There was a lot of Wi playing going on, pizza was ordered and they even raked the whole yard on Saturday before we arrived back home again. We so appreciated our 2 husbands being brave enough to let us moms head South for 24+ hours while the dads cared for our 5 kids ranging from 12 years to 18 months! Since then, Brad has decided there's a fine line between courage and stupidity. Even still, the guys were so glad they gave us the gift of a weekend away to rejuvenate!

So off to Jacksonville we went. Peggy, Kalie and I went, which was great because we were all in small group for a Beth Moore study, "A Heart Like His" about 3 years ago. We checked into our hotel nice and early. Then we walked around the lovely downtown of Jacksonville, FL. I really like that beautiful city and it smells like coffee because the Maxwell House plant is right in the middle of it. We rode the monorail, walked along the river, checked out Jacksonville Landing and had an incredible dinner at a restaurant called BB's. Don't tell the kids, but we even splurged on an enormous dessert! As great as all that was, our day hadn't even hit it's peak yet.

We headed to the stadium where nearly 15,000 other women would find their way to in the next 2 hours. Yes, we did get there a couple of hours early because this wasn't our first time to go see Beth and we had learned about seating and we wanted good seats. "Good seats" is an understatement. We ended up about 10 seats away from Beth's seat when she was sitting and right near the stage. Travis Cottrel and his team were all around and it was just FUN! I don't think I could ever go back to sitting in the "nose bleeds", which I've done a few times. Beth was on it both Friday and Saturday! Wow! I felt like the entire session was hand picked for me. I have a feeling most of the women felt the same way. The whole thing was perfectly placed in my path for this season of my life. I can't even begin to describe the impact it had on me. It was huge!

We returned to Georgia where there were children and husbands who were clearly happy to see us! I love being missed! We grilled out and chilled for the evening. Sunday morning we woke up and headed to St.Simon's Island Community Church which is where we attended during our 5 months of living in that area. When we attended, it was a remarkable group of Christ followers. They were meeting in a very nice, converted (no pun intended) shopping/business park. Things have changed in the last 3 years! While the people and their focus on God has not changed, their location has! The new campus is seriously breathtaking. The church looked and felt like a resort inside and out! It was really amazing to see the fruit of their labor with our own eyes! The service was amazing too. This church is one of the most prayer-centered churches I've ever seen. Being on St. Simon's Island, it's congregation has a lot of very wealthy people in it. However, they are incredibly generous, not only with their money but with their lives. This church mission-focused. They're continually planning trips to not only poor, but dangerous places like Haiti, India, Asia, etc. They leave their amazing homes and give sacrificially, risking their own well-being all the while. What an example!

The time with the Headleys was steeped in generosity. Their girls gave our girls a toy set that they had outgrown (but still looked brand new) which included a My Little Pony castle, about 20-30 new ponies and many accessories. Brad sent us home with a case of MonaVie, a juice, which is probably the greatest "super food" known in the world today. This stuff is NOT CHEAP! It retails at $45 a bottle! They insisted that we go home with not 1, but 4 bottles! They have experienced such great things by consuming only 2-4 ounces a day. So, they wanted to share it so we could try it for ourselves. Have you ever heard of such unnecessary kindness? I want to give to others like that!

The trip home was quiet and a good chance for Caleb and I to reconnect after being so busy and apart for a short time. We got home early enough to eat sandwiches for dinner, bath time and our bedtime routine. I'm certain I will never forget this weekend as a gift!

I just found this recap on Beth's blog and my friend Peggy is actually on it!

Here are just a handful of pictures from our weekend. If the slideshow below doesn't work, click on the X in the upper RIGHT corner 2 times...