-The Invisible Realities-

The Grens and I are back from two weeks in the Sunny South. Florida was wonderful, and not just because of the palm trees, lizards, and waves. The Lord blessed us with sweet fellowship every place we went... and I found myself so full of gratefulness for that! I already posted my thoughts about the Romanian church we visited, but I wanted to mention the dear couple in Jacksonville who we stayed with. Gloria and Roger's hospitality was overwhelming!
They've loved Elisabeth for a long time; first meeting after Gloria's sister was tragically killed in an accident and Gloria took the care of her two nieces. God led her to Elisabeth, who has written several books on suffering, loneliness, and loss... and Elisabeth's wisdom and talk about the sovereignty of God broke through the haze of depression that Gloria was living in. Since then, Elisabeth and Lars have had a very dear place in Roger and Gloria's heart, and they treated us like royalty while we stayed in their home! Gloria is in my mind, the epitome of a Southern Belle. :) Gracious and soft with the sweet southern twang. We took a beautiful ride around a golf course with Elisabeth one afternoon... until we got kicked off by a cranky golf pro. Oops.

Roger is a pastor, and we enjoyed several deeply meaningful discussions about the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the Christian life, and the reality that God is to the believer; the necessity of practicing the presence of God. To me, these discussions with this caring, wise pastor were like a direct gift from God. I had been asking God questions in my prayers lately about the very topics we discussed... asking Him to teach me things I wasn't understanding and guide me into a fuller relationship with Him. I did not have all my questions answered, and in fact perhaps my appetite for more knowledge about these themes was whetted. But I was blown away by the confirmation that God sees my desires, hears my prayers, and is reaching out for me at the same time that I'm reaching out for Him. There are no coinscidences when God orchestrates your life.


After Jacksonville, the Grens and I moved on to Orlando, staying with a wonderful couple there for a few days. While there I met up with my friend Chelsea. I haven't seen Chelsea in TWO LONG YEARS and wow, what a treat to spend the day with her! She drove an hour and a half each way to be with me which left me pretty incredulous. :) We were on a missions trip together to Asia 4 years ago (Yikes has it really been that long?) And have been dear friends ever since. Not only did we enjoy an awesome Indian lunch-- (have I ever mentioned that I adore Indian food? Almost to the point of freaking out when I see the word "tandoor?") --We talked, talked, and talked some more. We prayed together. We admired each other's hair which had changed since two years ago. All that jazz.
We also hit the mall. Found some funky glasses and took a miriad of pictures with them, making some pretty frightening faces in the process (this is one of the milder shots). It occured to us after a while that the lady behind the register just might be glacing at us askance, so we moved on to other entertainment.

The best was when we walked through the 'old lady' section of the mall and decided to find the frumpiest outfits we could, then try them on and laugh at each other. The dressing room was filled with the sound of our stifled giggles and then outright belly laughs.

I can't believe I'm posting this shot.

Please don't kill me Chels.

Ah, what friends I have! I simply adore people who like to be crazy and random. Chelsea, you are amazing and it was such a delight to spend the day with you. What a blessing it is to have a friend who shares the passion of my heart: Jesus.


And then there are THESE wonderful people! My amazing Great-Aunt Ginny, second cousin Sherry, and um...third(?) cousins Jenny and Becky! The Grens and I happened to be staying very near my family, and so I spent the morning and afternoon with them on Sunday. WOW, I love them! It makes me sad that I only see them once every one or two years because they are just awesome. Dear Aunt Ginny reminds me so much of my Grandma Sobie, her sister, who passed away the day before I turned 16. Her mannerisms, her voice, her sweet caring spirit make me feel like I'm with Grandma again and I love her so much. It was a gift to be with my Florida family.


Can't forget...I promised Mumsie some pictures from my birthday celebration in the everglades. :) Steve Irwin's influence lives on in my life; I adore animals and even reptiles. And alligators are just--just so cool. So prehistoric and daunting.

Yay! I've finally held an alligator! One step closer to actually wrestling one!

(I'll have you know that I fought an awful urge to photo edit the band from around his mouth, because it just isn't quite as cool to hold an alligator, even a baby one, when there's a rubber band holding his jaw closed. But I didn't. Integrity restrained me.) Isn't he absolutely darling!? Never before have I thought an alligator was "cute" but this fellow completely charmed me.

The airboat ride was thrilling. Something about feeling the wind in my face... I LOVE it.


We passed a tree with several vultures in it, and I shouted up at one, "Could you give me a profile shot?" He obligingly turned his head for the camera and got a laugh out of all of us on the boat!


And that, my friends, is the end of my Florida story.
Almost.


You see, a few days before we left, Mr. Gren took a nasty fall down a flight of stairs and landed on me and the dog I was holding. (Cute little white puffy thing which can be seen at the beginning of the post.) Max and I were bruised but fine; Lars not so. He fractured a rib and he is in horrendous pain. Please pray for him. If you think of it, I'd appreciate prayers for strength and patience as I care for both Elisabeth and Lars now. It's a little difficult at times! I know that women are the weaker sex and all that, but seriously: most men are such babies.
...Inflamatory remark, I know. 'Nuff said about that.