a succulent

beauty in the simple unfolding of a succulent

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

ladies' getaway 2012

This weekend I took a break from all that mothering entails -
 no laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no teaching, no need to answer the question "why?" over and over again,  no redirecting, no timeouts.
And it was glorious!
 To just be me for the weekend - with 4 other girl friends!

We headed to the Santa Cruz mountains for one of the perks of being pastor's wives (free cabins at Mission Springs).

The weekend consisted of long conversations over delicious food.

Gorgeous walks along the coast 

and

time to ponder 

who God is 

and what He has made!

It was good.

(p.s. all of the above pictures of food are from Gayle's in Capitola - it was amazing!)

risen

The phrase "He is Risen" struck me in a new way about 10 years ago when I spent a month teaching English  in Thailand.  One day I went to visit a large sleeping Buddha, where many of our Thai students went to worship.  As I walked around the cave/temple I saw the backside of the Buddha...and it was not finished.  I could see the brick and mortar that lay under all the ornate finishings of the front side.   

In that moment it struck me how profoundly different the God I worship is.  He is not made from human hands.  He is not immobile.  He is Risen!  He is alive and he has overcome death.  

Wow!  So much to celebrate!

"Christ is Risen"

"He is Risen Indeed"