Tico Tuesday, February 20th

These are intense times.

Small group facilitator training, the start of a new series (The Miracle of Mercy--it's going to be great!), a family fun weekend (which I'm supposed to mobilize small groups to attend), a one day Small Groups with Purpose seminar with people from churches all over the Central Valley (and potentially beyond and the speaker is the Pastor of Small Groups at Saddleback), and then leaving a few days later for a whirlwind 18 day journey to California (with a side trip to Arizona) and Chicagoland (with a side trip to Grove City) for a conference and some church/supporter visitations. I return Wednesday of Holy Week and fully intend to lay low and rest until Resurrectiontide. Needless to say, I need all the prayers you can muster for me and the area of Small Groups these days. Oh, and there's this translation project we've been working on and need to finish stat. Please be praying for that too.
So, with all the madness and stress again rising to the not-being-able-to-sleep-at-night level, it was time for a beach day! I only took this one picture and put my phone on airplane mode for the day. I stared at the sky and sea and listened to the waves. I scrubbed my hands and feet with sand to make them soft. I saw several scarlet macaws, an iguana, a little crab, minnows, small shrimpish creatures, a sand dollar that was still alive, and a ton of gorgeous rocks and shells. I swam with beautiful silver fish with black stripes and red tails with yellow lining. I love how at the beach the more I slow down and am still, the more I start to see and notice things. (Hmm, I think there's a life lesson there!) The beach is brimming with beauty and life and phenomenal signs of God and his amazing creativity. My fun friend Kayla came with me and she drove, which was great because she loves driving and I don't. So, it ended up being a wonderfully relaxing day: just what I needed!
Thank you for your prayers. I can often feel them--they really do make a difference! Thank you for all your other means of support as well. We are in this together! May we all slow down more so we can see more!
Love,
Carrie