Day by Day - Part 3

My August marathon is now complete!
Take a week to drive to Nashville for our biggest t-shirt conference: check!
Take a week to re-inventory, re-stock & get things back in order after big conference: check!
Take a week to go meet my precious newest nephew & niece: check!
Take a week to host my mom, sister, and now 5 mo. old sweet butterball nephew: check!

Life is cyclical.  We go through a busy season and then a down season and then it starts over.  Praise God for life seasons!  I loved each day of my busy August, but I'm equally excited about my less-busy, more stationary September.  Balance is good.
So without further delay, I now proudly introduce handsome Henry & dainty Kate - can you tell my heart's been stolen again?!

Sweet Kate & handsome Henry wearing their "Officially loved by Auntie LT" onesies!

Holding Kate & eating one of Grandma Buller's New Year's Cookies - a good combination.

Oh how I loved holding those babies!  Little miracles that they are, I was once again reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness.  He is the giver of life and what He creates is beautiful.

On my day by day journey toward parenthood, the increased wait equals an increased need to daily surrender, daily fuel my faith and bolster my emotions by staying my mind on God's Word and what He has to say about this situation.  If it weren't for my human-ness, I think faith should be the easiest thing in the world.  You just believe what you know to be true.  But fear, doubt & human reasoning are the biggest roadblocks to having childlike faith.  So as I spend time, energy, and emotion, fighting and averting these roadblocks, God has been so good to birth something beautiful during this season of waiting...an answer to a prayer, a heart-cry, that started about 9 years ago.

If I was told I could do one thing with my life (apart from being a wife & mother) - I would want to sing worship, on stage, with a microphone, leading people to God's throne room.  When I sing, I feel His pleasure, and all is well because I'm caught up in His love and presence.  It feels so intimate and I feel so safe, so alive.  But to put it mildly, I used to be terrified to sing in front of anyone.  I was bound by timidity, self-doubt...and just plain fear.  Through the course of several key experiences in my life, God delivered me from this fear.  He spoke to me, gently lead me into several amazing opportunities and then, one evening, during a church service in Wales, I was set free. In a moment.  The fear was gone.  I can still feel what I felt that evening - a release so powerful that I could barely stay seated.  My heart was racing and the joy of the Lord bubbled over until I thought I would burst.  The desire to shout and sing and worship was so great I was afraid I might run up on stage and grab the pastor's microphone and start a worship revival right then and there!  That was the summer after my sophomore year of college - 13 years ago.

Fast forward to 9 years ago.  I felt led to step down from my worship team involvement at my church in Pennsylvania.  I had graduated from college 2 years prior and was crying out to the Lord for several things, one of which was a husband.  My worship team involvement was the only sure thing I had at that time, the thing that I could look forward to each week.  So to give it up was a great sacrifice.  But I didn't know that the following week, my sweet husband Greg would call me for the first time and my life would change forever.  We dated, courted, got engaged and then married within 1 year.  Five months later we moved to Mexico on an expatriate assignment with Greg's job.  Fifteen months after that we repatriated to Houston, again with Greg's job.

Two or three years before I got married, God gave me a dream one night where He told me that I was going to move to Houston to sing worship.  God often speaks to me in dreams.  But I'd never visited Texas and I had no plans and certainly no desire to do so.  I wasn't married, wasn't looking to move, and Houston was literally, the last place on my "want to live there" list.  I wrote down my dream, as was my practice, and didn't really think about it again.  Until we moved to Houston.

Greg and I have now been in Houston for almost 7 years.  Since stepping down from the worship team in Pennsylvania, I've ached to be able to sing again in a corporate worship setting.  I've found comfort in singing and worshiping at the piano in our bedroom, but when God puts something in your heart, you feel the pressure of that desire, building and building, not satisfied until it's finally released.

In May of this year, my heart's cry found release.  We'd felt led to search for a new church before returning from our time in Rio de Janeiro.  We felt that there was something else for us, we just didn't know what.  Greg suggested we revisit a church 5 minutes down the road from us - a church we'd visited 2 years prior.  I wasn't excited.  But I followed.  Several weeks later, to my surprise, Greg approached one of the pastors to see if they ever auditioned new singers for the worship team.  When the pastor found out that Greg was referring to me, he got a big smile on his face and introduced us to the worship leader right then and there.  It turns out they'd been praying for God to send them a female worshiper.  The following week I auditioned and I've been singing with the worship team ever since!

And do you know how amazing God is?  It seems He often adds a cherry on top, something to confirm his hand in a situation.  A week or two after my audition, a friend shared a song with me, "You Won't Relent."  This song is powerful and I listened to it over and over that day.  I emailed the song to our worship leader as a worship song suggestion.  That Sunday, he told me he had to laugh when he got my email because it was hearing that song for the first time ("You Won't Relent")  that initially began and fueled his desire to find a female worship singer to join their team.  We've now worshiped with that song on a Sunday morning at least 3 times already!  Thank you, Lord, for this amazing opportunity, this "good gift" that speaks life to me during this season of waiting.

Are you still waiting also?  Look for opportunities to give of yourself while you wait.  Sometimes we miss blessings because we're too busy waiting.  Waiting is just part of the journey, part of the day by day.  I found myself telling God last week, "As long as it takes to wait, I will still love you.  I will keep on living and serving you."  I'm so glad that God asks nothing more from me than to love Him today.  To trust Him today.  To live in His fullness today.  His mercies will be new in the morning and we'll again have all we need...for today.

Day by Day - Part 2

Before we left Rio in early March, we were able to have one last group of visitors - two couples we love, dear friends from Kansas!  The 6 of us had a blast exploring the beauty of Rio - playing at the beach, seeing the sights,  hiking, and eating yummy food! 

Visiting Corcovado and the Christ

Drinking Agua de Coco - Coconut Water

Getting Rained on in the Rain Forest on the Canopy Walk

The boys playing in the frigid mountain waterfall in Teresopolis

Sitting on the Arpoador Rocks overlooking Rio and Ipanema Beach

Eating at Porcao - of course!!!!  (This is after we gorged ourselves with meat.)

Eating at Aprazavel Restaurant in Santa Teresa - overlooking Rio at night

One of our favorite days was spent at our favorite beach, Grumari, on a gorgeous and sunny, clear-water day.  We parked the car, then walked through white sand to park our stuff on the beach with a few umbrellas before heading to the water with our boogie boards.  As usual, we played hard and enjoyed a few hours of waves and horsing around.  We came in for lunch and that's when Greg realized he couldn't find the car key.  He remembered putting it in his shorts' pocket and clearly, since it wasn't there now, it meant it was out there...in the ocean....way out where we'd been playing in the deeper waves...somewhere.

Boogie-boarding in the clear water and big waves

Now, we were about an hour from our apartment, clear on the other side of Rio, at a beach that is so remote the taxi cabs don't bother.  But of course, this was just another chance for us to practice our faith and for God to get the glory!  Immediately, I felt my faith rise up and started declaring that we would find the keys.  A verse immediately came to my mind - the one in the New Testament where the Lord tells Peter to catch a fish, open it's mouth, and there within to find a coin to pay his taxes.  If the Lord could make that happen, then I knew a little key wasn't any bigger of a challenge!

At the same time, Greg spotted a parked taxi!  Upon inquiry, he found that a taxi driver was simply spending the day at the beach with his wife.  God must have moved this man's heart with compassion because he changed his mind and agreed to drive Greg into town to hopefully find a branch of the rental car company we were using to see if they could help us pick the lock.

The rest of us ate lunch and prayed.  Since we knew the key was a good ways out, we decided to wait about an hour and then start looking.  We were looking for a single key attached to a small green faab.  My friend Becky put down her book about an hour later and said she was going to start looking so I immediately followed.  She was about 20 yards in front of me.  I saw her reach down into the water, but nothing.  I thought, "oh well, I guess she saw something else."  Then I saw her reach down again, but still nothing.  The third time she reached down, she attacked the water with such aggression that I knew she'd found it and I waited to see her reaction, knowing her body language would confirm or deflate my hope.  She pulled out the key and spun around with the hugest smile on her face.  We started screaming and jumping up and down and praising God!  He had done it!

Not only had the key miraculously come to shore, but it had come to shore so close to where we were and was perfectly positioned for us to find it effortlessly!  It was as if God had served it up on a glistening silver platter right in front of us.  The lifeguard at the beach who was aware of our predicament couldn't believe it.  I'm not sure how well my Portuguese came out, but I understood from him that in all his years he'd never seen anything like that.  I kept saying, "Gloria a Deus, Obrigada a Deus!" "Glory to God, thank you, God!"

All screams & smiles as we praise God for a FOUND KEY!

As soon as we had the key back in our hands all I could think of and say was, "I knew you could do it, God!  I knew you could do it!  If you can restore a tiny key out of the ocean, then you can enable us to conceive and have a baby!"  My faith was on fire.  During church on Sunday morning, it shouldn't have surprised us that the pastor used the verse about Peter finding the coin he needed in a fish's mouth as an intro to the offering time. 

Some days I have to encourage myself in my faith - I just speak God's word over our situation and it has to be enough...it is enough, theoretically.  And thank God His Word is always enough - He is always enough - even when we're on auto-pilot and in faith-perseverance mode.  I've been in this mode since our return from Rio.  Days, weeks, months have passed of  simply encouraging myself in the Lord by His Word.  Some days I don't want to.  Some days I just feel numb or angry or tired or...  

But then some days...some days God reaches down into your world, in a specific moment, and speaks to you in a deeply personal way that fans the flame of your faith and renews and refreshes you in the journey.  Some days God restores your key out of the ocean.

Just when I think I might go off the deep end if I don't hear Him speak, He speaks.  To me.  In a very specific way.  He's really just reminding me He hasn't forgotten about me.  And boy, when He speaks, it's not just a quick "hang in there" with a hug or pat on the back!  When He speaks it makes me stop in my tracks and think, "He is FOR ME!" and I'm compelled to acknowledge His undeniable, unrelenting love...for ME!

God spoke to me in such a way recently.  I needed it.  I desperately wanted it.  But I didn't see it coming.  It still baffles me to think of it.  It's just what I needed at this exact season in my life.  And only God knew the intricate, hidden yet burning desires that, when He brought it all together, would speak life, comfort, hope, and joy to me.  It has encouraged me and renewed my energy to keep fighting the fight and to keep trusting in His Word and in His promises. 

And the next time I blog, I'll tell you all about it!  :)

P.S. Read Matthew 17:27: “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Isn't this amazing?  It's hard to wrap my mind around what happened.  Why didn't He just manifest and hand Peter a coin then and there?  This clearly had to involve faith at some level on Peter's part...was he nervous as he pulled up a fish, wondering if he caught the right fish?  Wondering if there'd be a coin in his mouth, and if so, how did it get there?  And how did Jesus know which fish he would first catch out of all the fish in the lake?  But it was just as He said.  The lake, then the fish, then the coin, then paying the temple tax.  Nothing is impossible for HIm!

Day by Day - Part 1

As you can see, it's been awhile since I last posted - 5 months to be exact. There are a few reasons I could give for this such as an international move, becoming a first-time aunt, driving or flying to at least 12 different locations for business or travel, selling tees at 3 different conferences (Corpus Christi, KY, IL), celebrating my birthday, celebrating our anniversary, Greg starting a new job (so proud of him!), and in general trying to get back into the swing of things after our amazing 6-month adventure in Rio de Janeiro, but really, I've known the only reason that mattered...fear.

I didn't realize how vulnerable it would feel to have a blog dedicated to a faith-journey...of openly sharing that I am being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not (yet) see...when I still don't have in the physical realm what I've set my faith on in the spiritual realm. I didn't think about it much in the beginning, but things have been hitting closer to home lately with the arrival of my nephew and, very soon, another neice & nephew! I love being an aunt, by the way. Little Reuben Joseph has stolen my heart...and any day now, I'll have another nephew and a neice to adore! 

Sweetness itself:  Reuben Joseph - 10 days old

It's been 6 and a half years.  This walk of faith and hope has become easier and harder simultaneously as time goes by, day by day.  Easier, because as you go with God you become completely vulnerable before Him as you continually lay your heart open to reveal every emotion and desire that makes up YOU!  (Okay - that sounds like the "harder" side of things - but hear me out.) 

This kind of real-ness creates an intimacy so deep that you know you couldn't retreat from your position even if you felt you couldn't stand any longer.  The relationship is too involved and the dependence so great that to stop, to give-up, would be next to impossible.  This is because, along the way, you have invited Him in.  You've learned, or simply decided, to trust Him, and there's such an entwinement of His life in yours that you're not even the same person as in the beginning.  His spirit within you has transformed you.  How can you make a cake go back to being egg and flour and milk?  You can't.  It's a new creation.  

When I chose God at age 11, I became a new creation.  And I can't go back.  I don't want to.  As I see God meet me, even in little day to day things, and as I hear what He's doing in the lives of those around me, my faith is bolstered and the wait becomes easier.  Hope portrayed by others spurs on my hope.  God's faithfulness encourages my faith.  There's no plan B for me.  That makes it easy.

At the same time, the journey FEELS harder because the longer the wait, the greater the desire grows and the ache that comes with it.  And when you're not sure how and when things are going to come about, it's so easy to become weary, doubtful and fearful.  If you're experiencing this type of "wait" that makes you feel faint with longing at times, it's not because you're waiting for the latest and greatest cell phone or a chance to visit some exotic island...it's because there's something deep within you that's crying out to be fulfilled.  And that thing is as much a reality to you as anything in the physical.  Do you have a parent, a sibling, a child who has wandered from God?  Is there a talent, a vision for ministry or work burning within you to be released?  Are you single and longing to find that person who will love you "til death do you part?"  Do you ache to see restoration in the marriage relationship you already have?  Are you longing to walk with God instead of against Him?

No matter what it is, I bet you have a vision of what your fulfilled desire looks like...you can see the scenario playing out in front of you - it feels so real, you can almost perceive it with your senses.  This vision of what COULD BE can stir up feelings of desperation over what STILL ISN'T if we don't set aside our emotions and stand strong in God's Word.  And the amazing thing is that God has told us that He has given us all we need for life and godliness in His Word.  Sometimes the reality we're waiting for is just one good decision away.  Sometimes it's a process. 

But when we remember to say what God says, this vision of reality can bring HOPE!  So I say, "Children are an inheritance from the Lord."  "He makes the barren woman to be a joyful mother of children."  "God's Word does not return to Him void."  When I bolster my faith with what God says about my situation, the vision of my baby feels like a sweet gift from the Lord.  At times I feel I can almost see her...I can feel her skin, I can see her smile and hear her little noises.  She's already so real to me and my arms ache to hold her.

This is my hope.  This is what I'm looking forward to.  This is my faith being made real.  Day by Day.

What are you waiting for?  Ephesians 3:16-20  "I pray that out of the Father's glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled with the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen."

As Deep Calls to Deep

<sup>Sometimes it feels like God forgets you.  Sometimes.  And then, He reminds you, in the most intimate, undeniable, strong and tender way that, in fact, he hasn't.  And more than that, His touch restores your hope and reassures you that not only has He not forgotten you, but He has been working, and is still working in your life to bring all things together for good.

God did that for me this weekend...He reminded me, yet again, that He's not forgotten me. 

Greg and I drove 16 hours one-way in order to visit Iguazu Falls which lies (or should I say roars) on the border of Argentina and Brazil.  Greg found the most beautiful hotel for us to spend our first night there - in the heart of the jungle rainforest next to the Falls.  We arrived after the parks on both sides of the border had closed, so I had to wait to behold this wonder.</sup>


Our hotel room at the "Loi Hotel" in Iguazu Park



The buildings at the hotel were connected by suspension bridges - fun!



We loved that they simply built AROUND all of the trees!



The series of infinity pools (more to the left) were the perfect end to a long day of travel.


^{But I wasn't disappointed.  Our day started off with a speedboat ride into the falls!  We were drenched and remained that way the rest of the day.  The falls were so huge, and being at flood stage due to recent rains, the air was filled with mist, not to mention constant spray from the falls.  We walked along paths next to the falls enjoying the scenery and taking lots of photos.  But one of the highlights of the day came when we walked along a boardwalk across the delta to behold "La garganta do diablo" - or, "The Devil's Throat."  This is the horseshoe shaped part of the falls and thus resembles a huge throat.  You feel the spray from far off as you approach, and at times, you can barely see for the heavy rain-like drenching once you arrive at the edge.  But the sight...is breathtaking.  A wall of water encircling the area right in front of you plummets to depths you can't even perceive while the mist clouds from the impact of the water at the bottom wells up continually towards the top.  It was too much to process (and I'm sure if this was located in the States, they wouldn't let you get near that close!)} 

Walking towards "La Garganta" - you can see the mist cloud to Greg's left

 

Standing at the edge of "La Garganta"



Soaking wet at "La Garganta"

 

"La Garganta" - the sound was amazing, the view was unreal

^{All I could think in that moment of fear and awe was, "As deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls..."  It didn't matter that we were at the Devil's Throat because all I could hear was God speaking His love for me - his profound, terrifying, unstoppable, relentless, overwhelming love...for me.  I copied the verse in context below (Psalm 42:1-8) - it's amazing how God knows the human heart so well and knew the encouragement we would need and then reaches into our time and space to make His word alive and life-giving to us: 
1} As the deer pants for streams of water,
   so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
   When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
   “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
   as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
   under the protection of the Mighty One^[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
   among the festive throng.
 ⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.
 ⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
   therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
   the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
   in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
   have swept over me.
 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
   at night his song is with me—
   a prayer to the God of my life.

<sup>Lately, I've been brutally honest with God.  In my weak, emotional moments, I've told Him how I feel disappointed and let-down by Him, as if I can hear people saying, "You keep trusting God and professing His Word and His faithfulness, but He hasn't come through for you yet.   Where is your God?" 

But I know He hasn't let me down.  He is directing His  love to me by day and singing His song over me at night...His deep continues to call to my deep.  

If you're afraid of the water, you'll never see the beauty and strength of the Falls.  And if you're afraid of trusting, you'll never know the depths of what God has for you.  He's given me all I need for life and godliness in His Word, but I have to get it, take hold of it, and constantly set my mind on it.  Then I have His peace that passes understanding.  And that's the key - because it's my finite, limited understanding that makes me fear, makes me doubt.

There are plants and grasses that grow in the water at the top of the falls, right where the churning water  hurtles over the edge.  There's no way they could withstand the force and strength of that water without being deeply rooted.  When we know God's Word and His promises - and when we live by that knowledge - we have the deep roots we need to stand in God's terrifying, comforting waterfall of love and to trust Him...completely. 

The human side of faith feels scary, but I'd rather approach and get drenched than stay on the shore.  It's what happens when His deep calls out to your deep and says, "I love you.  Trust me," and you respond.</sup>

Our speedboat ride into the falls, or I should say, under the falls

We rode under the falls in the background

Some of the grasses growing in the rushing water at the edge of one of the falls

Standing at one of the many overlooks

Standing on the "Brazil - side" of one section of the Falls





His Strong Arm

So, I've realized something about myself.  Blogging is not at the top of my priority list!  I wanted it to be and I thought I could do it, but clearly, it's taken a backseat to the ins and outs of daily life...which has included an insane amount of traveling as of late!  I'm telling myself that I'll do better, now that I'm more "settled" with the bulk of the planned trips completed.  We'll see.  But I'm okay either way.  I'll enjoy it when I make time to do it - and I hope you do, too!

Since I last wrote - the last day of October - I've been to Houston (by myself for a quick business trip), to Buenos Aires to visit Greg's former stomping grounds, my sister and her husband were able to come to Rio to visit for a week followed immediately by my parents - in fact, their time overlapped by 2 days and we were able to have a Thanksgiving dinner together! - soon after, Greg and I flew back to Houston for business, then flew to Colorado for a romantic and slow-paced week of lovely snowboarding and eating dinner in bed, then to Kansas for Christmas with the Esau fam, then back to Houston before arriving home in Rio just in time to check out the fireworks on Copacabana beach!

And now I'm posting again!  I've wanted to post this for awhile:
Early in November, Greg and I went with some of our friends here to a lovely, out-of-the way beach about 45 minutes down the coast.  It was nestled between encircling, high, rocky formations.  It's rainforest here, so the thick greenery climbed partially up the mountains.  The waves were big that day.  I mean, the biggest waves I'd ever seen in person.  Surfing was out.  Boogie-boarding was attempted, but only momentarily...by the boys.  So we ate lunch and decided to play in the waves. 

Mr. Crab decided to join us - his imposing size kept us girls looking over our shoulders!

Prainha, Rio de Janeiro (Prainha means "little beach")

 Now, my sweet Greg is a hard worker.  But when work is over, he's ready to play...and I'm his number one playmate!  (There's no other reason on this earth I would have gone skydiving except to go with my sweet man who wanted me to share the experience with him.  Now that's love.)  For starters, the water was cold.  Not icy, but not very welcoming, either!  And for those who know me well, I'm a "take an hour to get used to the water" kind of girl!  As in, my lips turn purple from just looking at a body of water - even on a hot day!  The shock therapy "dive in and get it over with" option just doesn't cut it for me.

Don't laugh, but I prayed right then and there as I saw Greg bobbing up and down, waving for me to come in and play with him.  And it worked!  Somehow, I found the courage, calculated the wave cycle, and headed in until I was next to Greg, albeit shivering.  But playing turned into survival mode; those waves were even larger once you were in them!  There was no bobbing lazily, enjoying the swell of the tides.  Every moment was spent watching the next wave and carefully timing a response.  If you didn't dive under at the precise, exact moment, the strength of the crashing water hurled you to the ocean floor and towards the beach.  Now, two fears snap into your mind when this happens.  One, you pray there's not another wave right behind it so you can catch your breath before being pummeled again.  Two, you pray you still have all pieces of your bathing suit on your person and in the right places!

Well, we got pretty good at the diving thing, though the sight of the sheer size of the waves was pretty unnerving.  We hadn't been out long - maybe 10 minutes, and I all of a sudden felt exhausted.  Greg asked if I was okay and I told him I should probably go in, that I was tired.  (This is a challenge in itself - the "going in.")  In the time it took us to have that small interchange, a huge wave had come upon us.  We both saw it at the same time and we both knew it was too late to dive.  I felt a surge of panic and saw Greg reaching for me right before feeling the impact of the wave all around me.  And that's when I felt it.  Greg's strong arm.  His hand found my hand, and though I couldn't see him, I immediately felt the strength in his arm holding me up, bringing peace to my mind, and reassuring me of my footing.  And he didn't let go.

We made it in and laughed and quietly enjoyed the satisfaction of having conquered the waves together.  We had played hard and it felt good.  As we walked up the beach, I thought of one of my favorite scriptures.  Psalm 98 says,
"Sing to the LORD a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
   have worked salvation for him.
² The LORD has made his salvation known
   and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
³ He has remembered his love
   and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
   the salvation of our God.

God is so awesome; with his own loving, strong arm He reaches down into our earth, into our lives that seem to crash all around us at times, and works salvation!  And He doesn't let go.  He will often work through us to reach others for salvation, but even then, it is He who saves.  And when we feel hopeless that a friend, co-worker, or family member, for who we've been praying, still hasn't given their life to the Lord, we can continue this good work of prayer and ministry, knowing that God's strong arm can reach anyone, anywhere, even if the waves have already struck and encircled.

Of course, this beach situation easily lent itself to other spiritual parallels as I reflected on the waves and the reassurance I felt when I realized someone stronger than myself was holding me up.  Scripture says that God plants our feet on a rock, that He is our refuge in times of trouble, that He is our storm-calmer, that He is our Prince of Peace, and that He takes hold of us with his powerful, right hand.  Wow.  I praise God for who He is to me and what He does for me.  I love that I can rest in Him and rest in the knowledge that He cares for me, He loves me, and He is ready to extend His strong arm to me.  In fact, I don't think He ever lets me go!

And my sweet husband?  Well, I've always admired his muscular arms.  But it's the deep comfort and security I feel when he uses that strength to uplift me (with a hug or a life-saving grip!) that reminds me of how much I adore Greg and how much he must love me.  Isn't it that way with God?  The benefits of God only remind me of how much I adore the Giver himself and of how much He loves me.

Whales & Wonders

Two weekends ago Greg and I did something I've wanted to do for a long time - we went whale watching!  We flew to Argentina for what turned out to be one of the most amazing weekend get-aways we've had to date.  Our expectations were far exceeded and I'm still amazed at the magnitude of beauty and enormity of delight we experienced.  It left me breathless, giddy, and hopeful.  Once again, I couldn't separate my experience from an acute awareness of God's handiwork and faithfulness.  His creativity and continual kindness in sharing it with us feeds that peace that already lies deep within my heart: God loves me.  He knows my every dream, delight, and desire.  And He is and will continue to be faithful.  In light of ALL that He's already done and created, how could I not have hope?

I've been a little nervous about this post - nervous because I fear I won't have sufficient space for all the photos I want to share without creating the longest post of the century!  So I'll do my best to pictorally sum-up our adventure.  There are basically 6 parts: Whales, Elephant Seals, the San Guillermo Estancia,Seals, Penguins, & the Final Whale. 

Whales:
We left Thursday night on a midnight flight to Buenos Aires (way past the Esau bedtime!) and slept in the airport (not recommended, though we'd do it again if needed) until our 6am flight to Trelew.  We landed, got our rental car, and drove the hour and a half to Puerto Madryn where, I was quietly hoping, we'd get at least one or two really good whale spottings.  I was preparing to handle disappointment, in a healthy way. 

We arrived and as we walked into the oceanside storefront to pick up our whale-watching tickets, Greg pointed out the store window towards the beach and said ever so calmly, "There's what you wanted to see."  I looked out the window and saw a huge whale tail sticking out the the water like a black boomerang against a clear blue sky.  I was dumbfounded!  I said, "Hurry!  We have to go down there!"  We ran the 100 or so yards to the edge of the water and I grabbed out my camera just in time to see this:

 


Yes, that's a WHALE, jumping out of the water!

 

A whale jumping next to a boat - huge!



See the four whales?  We stood here in awe.

We continued to watch and snap photos.  I was mesmerized.  We watched for a good 30 minutes, then headed for some lunch before our boat ride.  Following are just a few of the many photos from our whale-watching trip!

LT & her whale: you can see the nose above & the tail is "next to" my hat!

Mother & Baby

Mother Whales lift their babies towards the surface to help them breath - this baby is rolling over and over on it's mother's back.  The mother's nose is on the right and the baby is belly-up in mid roll.  :)

This is only its snout!  I had a great spot on the back of the boat - they told me to stand on the seats for a better view! 

Elephant Seals:
Though I hated the thought of leaving the whales, we continued our journey north to the remotest part of the area - Punto Norte.  At certain times of year, killer whales can be found risking death by swimming onto the beach to grab seals.  We didn't see any killer whates (maybe nextime??!!) but we did see elephant seals and seals - lot of them.  I don't know if I was so busy before this trip that I didn't stop to think, "Wow!  We're going to Argentina to see marine wildlife!  I bet we'll actually see some!" or if it was a protection instinct in case we didn't see much of anything.  But I was wrong.  Way wrong. 

The San Guillermo Estancia:
Dragging ourselves away from one of the most gorgeous, untouched coastlines we'd seen, we headed back towards Puerto Madryn to find our Bed & Breakfast before dark.  We drove along the coast, somehow managed to find the unmarked "driveway" and entered, unbeknownst to us, into another glorious stage of our adventure: the San Guillermo Estancia.  This place was a working sheep farm where 80 day-trip guests had just left hours before our arrival. And we were the only guests for the night.  We may as well have been visiting family because that's how they treated us.  I want to go back one day.  You'll see why.

Driving to our B&B for the night - beautiful - no one in sight.

The welcoming Committee!

My first Matte - a hot tea, sifted through a metal "bombillo" to filter out the bits.

These guanacos (like llamas) were SO soft!

Getting a tour of the sheep farm - very interesting!  We loved it!

Giving Pepa (pronounced "pay-puh") her bottle - I got to feed her in the morning, too!

Learning how to make empanadas - super delicious appetizers!  And supper was just as yummo!

Our very cozy, romantic room.

What he really meant was, "if you don't give me some of Pepa's bottle, I'm going to spit in your face!"  And he did!  Gross!!!!  (you can find the photo of proof on my FB.  I couldn't bare to post it twice.)  Ha!  We laughed our heads off.  Greg especially.  We loved every moment at this place!!!    :)

Seals:
We regretfully said goodbye and left our new friends and my buddy Pepa as we headed out for the short drive to the coast.  There was a cove nearby that was home to some local seals.  We just didn't realize how many.  Until we got there.  And looked over the edge.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  SEALS!  Five colonies worth!  I told Greg I could stay there all day and just watch them!  What fascinated me is that there was hardly anyone else around!  We were in such a desolate, out-of-the-way area that the lack of tourists and people in general afforded another beautiful, untouched view of God's awesome nature.  I should have had National Geographic pay me to take photos of all of these creatures in their natural habitats.  Amazing.

These two big boys were goin' at it!  We were told they're pretty possessive of their women.

Penguins:
Once again, I was "forced" to leave the seals in pursuit of our next stop, Punta Tombo, to see the largest penguin colony in South America.  We traversed more dirt & gravel roads to end up on a delightful walk among thousands of nesting, egg-laying penguins.  We thought we'd find them in a mass along the water, but instead, they were scattered, two by two, throughout the coast-side.  This coastline was spectacular and, again, gorgeous.  We made a few friends before heading back towards Trelew.

The Last Whale:
We decided we had enough time to drive back to Puerto Madryn for, hopefully, one final whale-spotting, before boarding our flight back to Buenos Aires.  We decided to go back to the seal colonies' cove and enjoyed a beautiful coastal sunset.  As we drove along the coast towards the cove, we could see whales out in the ocean - a tail here, a flipper there - so I was hoping for one more good sighting.  I spotted one whale playing around, doing nothing in particular, for what seemed the longest time.  I grew frustrated and turned to look in the opposite direction, just in time to see one last, glorious, whale jump!  Thank you, Lord!  I just wanted to see that one more time and I did.  It was magnificent.  We stayed until we had to go...the theme of our trip!

I couldn't pass up a photo of this little guy scratching his chin with his "foot!"

Waiting to see the last glorious whale show...and then...

 Even to think back about this adventure, I'm so grateful for the oppotunity we had to view such beauty.  My senses and my joy were full and running over.  I told Greg when we landed in Rio de Janeiro in August, that something about being outside the U.S. and in a foreign country made me feel alive.  I think that feeling has something to do with "bigness."  God's bigness.  I struggled with some fear and anxiety about another Ex-pat assignment, but once the journey had begun, I was excited and sensed God's pleasure.  I could feel Him.  His presence with me.  His peace.  His love.  I don't think I've ever felt smaller (or more out of my comfort zone) - but on the other hand, God's never seemed bigger.  I think it has to do with trust.  Will I trust Him to be faithful as He always has been?  Our Argentine adventure was a beautiful show of God's bigness & a reminder that He is, indeed, faithful!

God, thank you for this opportunity.  I believe you are who you say you are.  You made all of creation with one word and it's beautiful.  As I seek to trust You more and more, I want to believe without fear, without doubt, without impatience.  For I don't want to miss the blessing of the beauty that's before me TODAY!  Oh, how I love you, Lord.