I see the Light!

This past weekend, the ladies of Apostles went on the First Annual Women's Retreat!!! We went to the beautiful Streamside Valley Resort nestled in the very scenic Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. It was quite an inspiring, emotional, and uplifting time of renewal. And oh yeah, it was pretty fun, too :)

I ended up being one of the lucky drivers to the resort, so in a rental Rav-4, I embarked on a three plus hour journey Friday evening accompanied by four enthusiastic young 20-somethings (since I'm officially a very late twenty-something, quickly approaching the 30-somethings, I can say that now... :). We had a pretty loud, giggle-filled ride, despite the constant view of red taillights the whole way. Yeah, leaving NYC on a Friday evening isn't exactly smooth sailing, but we made it safe and sound, none-the-less.

Since 1. I am trying to not carry on and on like I usually do, and 2. I don't really have time to carry on and on like I usually do, I will try to keep this brief, although there really was a lot to the weekend. Shawna gave a heartfelt talk Friday night, welcoming us to the retreat and introducing the "Beauty from Ashes" theme (Is 61:3). She shared the story of Jacob and his resistance to Gods' blessings because of his sins, and how God still wanted to bless him despite of that. Check our her blog for a great post on the weekend.

Later that night we had these amazingly delicious hot-from-the-oven fresh-made doughnuts (or is it donuts?) that we dipped in the warm topping of our choice - I chose chocolate sauce (surprise!) with chocolate sprinkles, and some caramel drizzled on top. Y U M ...

And getting back to light- it was also nice to really see the LIGHT in the sky- STARS! Almost forgot about those shining things. Quite gorgeous.

Saturday was filled with more inspiring talks; Ginger talked about finding your identity in Christ, Julia about the beauty of prayer, and later that evening there was a discussion forum with several ladies. Let me just say, there was not a dry eye in the room. Some incredible stories were shared and it was so humbling and inspiring (there's that word again) to see how God has worked in their lives.

To cap off the evening, we basked in the light and glow of a roaring bonfire, and enjoyed one of my favorite good eats- s'mores. It was a great weekend getting to know friends even better, and meet new friends. There are some fabulous ladies at Apostles.

And well, I guess my 2 + year stretch of avoiding a speeding ticket had to come at an end sometime (ok- don't do the math to figure out how long it's been since I've actually been driving...). Yep, so close to the city, with the skyscrapers peering out in the distance, I see the blaring red and blue lights with the whaling siren behind me as the same 20 somethings and I were on our way back Sunday morning. Argh. Argh times $105. Sigh...

The weekend, and the ticket, made my sin of pride so apparent. A lot of the deep rooted issues I deal with stem from my pride and the ticket was no exception. Instead of accepting that, yes, I was speeding, even if I thought I was only going over the limit by 6 mph (I was going 16 over... stinkin' speed limit had dropped by 10 mph when we changed highways)- I make excuses! If only I hadn't driven... If only I hadn't decided to head towards the Lincoln Tunnel... If only it wasn't a rental and I hadn't driven in forever... If only one of the girls had let me know there was a cop!!!! But how bout this, if only I had just paid attention, learned some patience, and not driven so dang fast?????

Ugh, so hard for me to just fully and solely accept responsibility for so many things. I've got a ways to go, but this retreat was a great start of truly finding beauty from ashes in the grace of God and realizing my true identity in Him. I'm not there yet, I haven't truly "seen the light" in that regard, but it's quite a journey in the taking!

Here's a verse that really spoke to me this weekend that I hope you enjoy:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
And the flame shall not consume you."
Is 43:1-2

May you be encouraged by His infinite grace and be a light to this world!

Feasting

Lots of yummy food was consumed this weekend! Saturday morning, after a tasty breakfast of cranberry scones (using a very easy mix!), eggs, and fruit, Steve and I went to a local farmer's market to:

"Prepare a meal using all fresh ingredients purchased from a farmer's market"

Open every Sat and Sun of the year, rain or shine, this cute little market set up in a school courtyard has a little bit of everything- plenty of beautiful produce, meats and cheeses from local farms, flowers, nuts, fresh herbs, homemade baked goodies, and even a random assortment of jewelry and other nicknacks (or is it knicknacks?) a la "yard sale" style. It was a bit of a mad dash, shopping with no list, just seeing what strikes us, before we had to head out to a wedding, but it was quite fun. More to come on that.

As for the wedding, well, it was one of the most heartfelt, sincere, and precious weddings we'd ever been to. Our worship leader at Apostles, Tom, and his darling fiancee, Angie (who also sings on the worship team- both have awesome pipes) were wed in the sweetest, most emotional ceremony. Check out Shawna's blog for the perfect description of the day and their story.

My multi-talented husband was even asked (just three days beforehand, mind you) to be their photographer! I think he did a fabulous job- here are some of his pics. What a gorgeous couple and stunning bride...

We were so impressed by the way Tom and Angie developed their relationship, and especially in the way they entered into marriage, making it first and foremost about the marriage, and not the wedding. We feasted on almond flavored cake with coffee flavored icing filling and had a great time visiting with close to 100 of our Apostle's friends. Just a few weeks went into planning this, and it was still a wonderful, and very special affair. Fun times!

Back to No. 12 on the list...

Later Saturday evening, Steve and I prepared a very tasty appetizer, main course and dessert using our "fresh ingredients." To start,

French bread with mozzarella, olive oil, and thyme

Then, an entree of chicken breast breaded with bread crumbs, garlic, and herbs,

topped with melted mozzarella and more herbs on top,
with a side of green beans in a garlic, olive oil reduction.

And to finish it off-

Peach crisp with hot apple cider. DELICIOUS!

We definitely hope to make a tradition of preparing meals with farmer's market acquired goods.

Then on Sunday, our community group went back to the Bailey Holt House to prepare and serve dinner. From scratch (yes, I'm very proud of us!), we prepared beefy pasta skillet, Texas potato casserole, garlic bread, corn on the cob, and chocolate pudding pie on graham cracker crust. So good! It's been so much fun to spend time with the residents and continue to build relationships with them. Just a couple of weeks ago we hosted a bingo night there with desserts and it was quite a hit. We're finally learning some names and one of our new friends, Louis, has even opened up to Steve and I about prayers for his family! It's awesome and such a blessing to serve them.

And since this post is about feasting, I realized that I unintentionally have conquered another item on my list:

"Go a whole week without eating out or ordering out"

I'm not even sure when the last time was that we did either of those! (The training lunches through church don't count! And we're breaking it tomorrow with dinner with our comm. group.... BUT:) Steve has been quite the man preparing wonderful meals (Rachael Ray 30-minute Meals ROCK!!!) since school started, which gives me just that extra bit of time I need to practice. He's made some pretty tasty dishes, and even though I think that going out to eat or ordering out every day for a whole week would've been a much more exciting challenge, our wallets are much happier and I certainly don't feel like I've had to give up on quality food. Thanks, my love!

Left my heart in San Francisco...

California will always have a very special place in my heart, and even though it's a bit of a stretch to call me a "California Girl," I'm proud to say that I was at least conceived there. Can't that count a little? Oh, was that too much information? Sorry...

Anyhow, I lived with my family in the breathtakingly gorgeous Monterey, CA (seriously, it's breathtaking- if you haven't visited, plan a trip) for over six years growing up, spent the first three years of my marriage in sunny San Diego, and spent two years in between as a grad student in incredible San Francisco- the city that I happen to consider to be one of the most beautiful cities in our great country. I think of CA with some very fond memories and recently had San Fran quite prominently on my mind as I tackled two very special items on my list:

"See a concert in Carnegie's Stern Auditorium"



"Send flowers to someone special for the simple reason of I'm thinking of you "

At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, I had the opportunity to study flute with Tim Day, who I respect deeply both as a musician and a person, and there I also met two of my dearest and closest friends - my sweet Sarah and the very unique Stephanie.

Appropriately priced "student tickets" made it possible for us to hear the fabulous San Francisco Symphony in Davies Hall on numerous occasions and in my humble opinion, that group is as good or better than most any other I've had the pleasure to hear. Tim is now their principal fluter so boy was I tickled when I saw that they were coming to the Big Apple to play at Carnegie Hall about a week ago!!! It was a fabulous concert- Tim ended up only playing in one piece, but I was thrilled to see him afterward and get to talk to him for a bit. And what about the hall? Well, it is just gorgeous. Definitely worth the hype, and one more item on the list that I hope will not be a one time occurance!!!

Back to my SF gals - the three of us were pretty inseparable for those couple of years and they were both bridesmaids in my wedding. Steph is still out in CA and Sarah now lives in Boston where she is quite the "big wig" at a major flute company. Sarah and I always just pick up wherever we've left off, no matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other, but this recent lull in our relationship was just way too long!!! We saw each other back in February at the New York Flute Club Flute Fair (yeah, bet you want to go to that, huh?) and haven't talked since! What is wrong with us??? Ugh, the busyness of life can so easily be to blame, but the excuse is unacceptable none-the-less. So I figured who better to send a bouquet of flowers to, just to let them know I'm thinking of them, than my precious Sarah!

Now that we're back on track, I've been thinking a lot about those close friendships I have with several incredible women who I just never get to talk with enough. Last Sunday's sermon was on friendships, in fact, and the invitation to truly let people in and live life with them. So what does it truly mean and what does it really look like to "live life" with someone other than your spouse? How quickly those friendships are the first to slide when life takes over... I'm not sure how to show these people know how much they mean to me (create more time in my life for more phone calls/emails/letters? I'm open to suggestions- all comments welcome!:), but I'm hoping that the realization of its importance can at least be the first step.