The better-than-perfect camping trip

What gets better than having this view within yards of our tent?!

And this handsome man with-whom-I'm-madly-in-love to camp with?!

Dan had a three day weekend (due to our nation celebrating Christopher Columbus' discovery of America!) and we wanted to make the most of it. We made plans to go camping on Assateague Island, bought a tent, and made the necessary preparations.

Except...we forgot to reserve a campsite until two days before we were hoping to be there!

Dan called and everything was packed. "Yes, there are always a few cancellations, but there is no way to be put on a waiting list." As we wondered what to do (and began mentioning different camping options), I prayed something would open up and that we'd be able to reserve it. As I made supper later that night, Dan checked the website. And sure enough -- a campsite was open!! And we jumped on it with excitement and thankfulness!

And we had such an incredible, incredible weekend.

We pulled in around 2 on Saturday -- and with the sun shining and perfect weather, we couldn't resist running to play in the ocean's waves.
Okay, so it started out as a walk on the beach, but soon someone threw the other person in. [grin]

Supper on Saturday evening.

Devotions on the beach.

Windblown smiles!

Drawing in the sand...

And yes, we saw the wild ponies!

Cruising in the convertible!

We visited Chincoteague Island one afternoon, which was made famous by Marguerite Henry's book "Misty of Chincoteague". It was delightful to see the small, cozy town where so many stories took place that I'd read about as a young girl.

We had lots of time to relax, talk, read, sit around the campfire...
Sunday night we took a moonlit walk on the beach (talk about romantic!) then went and laid on the sand and enjoyed looking up at all the stars and naming constellations.

"The heavens will praise YOUR wonders...
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
O LORD God of hosts, Who is might like YOU, O LORD?
YOUR faithfulness also surrounds YOU."

One afternoon as we sat on the beach, we were greatly amused by this little fellow. Someone had stepped on his home and he was busy clearing sand out. It was funny watching him bring up a claw-full of sand and pitch it away from the entrance to his home.

"You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, YOU still them.
The heavens are YOURS, the earth also is YOURS;
The world and all its fullness, YOU have founded them."

And our last evening there we had some surprise drop in company!
A mare and her foal stopped by as we were grilling supper, and they thoroughly sniffed everything. We were enjoying having them visit until they tried to eat our supper. Dan came to the rescue and guarded the food -- while I continued taking pictures.

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O LORD, in the light of YOUR countenance.
In YOUR name they rejoice all day long.
YOU are the glory of their strength.
Psalms 89

Thank you Lord, for such a precious weekend!

Phillipians 1:12

"But I want you to know, brethren,
that the things which have happened to me
have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel."

There are two ways to look at every situation: How it will affect you, and how it will affect God's kingdom. Often when we encounter a new situation, our first thoughts are not about God's kingdom. When we face a crisis, we can become fearful for our own well-being, rather than looking to see what God intends to do through out circumstances. If we remain self-centered we will miss so much of what God could do through our experiences, both for us and for those around us.

Ask God to make you aware of how He could use your present circumstances to bless others. Perhaps someone around you needs to see the difference Christ's presence makes in your life. Are you willing for God to use your circumstances to demonstrate His saving power to those around you?

Henry Blackaby

5:01pm

The weekend is here!

On top of the world