Grandpa's 80th Birthday

This past weekend I flew to Northern California to celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday. I originally wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it since the party fell on the weekend between my trip to Europe and camp. Luckily I pulled the trigger and redeemed some of my Southwest points long before I left for Europe so I didn't even have time to second guess the idea after that.

Cousins

I almost forgot about the trip in the midst of everything else going on this summer, but when the night before arrived and I threw some outfits into a duffel bag I finally got excited about going. On Friday night I was able to stop by an Awana event and see all of my Awana families for the first time in over a month before I headed straight to the airport, so the weekend started out well before I even got to Cali.

The last couple of weeks have been busy and tiring, so the unexpected blessing of my trip to Cali being refreshing was amazing. I got to hang out on my aunt and uncle's farm, enjoyed spending time with my extended relatives, and everything went off without a hitch and without any stress.

Grandpa turned 80 on the actual day of the party, so that worked out perfectly. I'm incredibly blessed to have a grandpa who not only loves me, but loves the Lord and it's evident in his life. As people shared stories about him at the party it was incredibly evident that he's lived his life with the ultimate goal of serving God. Not everyone can say that they've had a grandpa like that, and I'm thankful that I have. I know of a few people who have lost their grandfathers recently, so it's been a good reminder to appreciate the time that I do have with mine.

And to make the whole weekend even better, my return flight worked out so that I got into the airport at pretty much the exact same time the Czech mission team got back, so I got to greet them as they re-entered the country! It was a nice end to a great weekend.


This will be my last blog post before I head to camp, so it will be awhile before I get around to posting some of the travel blogs that I have, but they are coming!

Oh Traveling (and a prayer request)

The heavens declare the glory of God,  

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 

Psalm 19:1

I love to travel. There’s something about exploring a new city that just excites me to no end. I’m not sure if a love of traveling is something that God instills in certain people, or if maybe it’s deep down inside all of us, but I know that I love it.

I have a lot of details I can share about my trip to the UK. Places I went, things I enjoyed, memories I now have. I also have hundreds of pictures from the trip. But what’s sticking out to me right now is just my awe for this world that God has created.

Galway, Ireland

See that’s part of what I love about traveling…getting a better grasp of how big this world really is. It’s so easy to live our day to day lives and lose all perspective on what’s going on outside our little bubble. And getting a better grasp of the size of this world is a very tangible way to marvel at God’s magnitude. A reminder of how small we really are in this bigger picture of life.

Galway, Ireland

And beyond just marveling at God’s magnitude there's also the reminders about the beauty that God has created for us. Most of the time I visit cities within the US and don’t get to stray far outside of them. While I was in the UK I got a chance to see some countryside, and not just boring countryside, I saw gorgeous countryside. How anyone can go to the west coast of Ireland and not believe in a Creator is beyond my level of comprehension.
I take for granted a lot of the beauty in my home state because I've lived here for so long. Getting to see a greener version of God's beauty left me with a renewed awe for the gifts God has given us in nature.

Northern Ireland

Since I use this blog as a scrapbook of sorts, there will probably be numerous posts coming in the near future with more details of my trip. Right now I’m still a bit in awe of how lucky I am to have gotten to take this trip at all, and how thankful I am that I have the memories I now have.

Scotland

On a lower note, in true Mandy fashion I managed to get sick on my trip. Long story short, I was fighting what I thought was a cold for the second half of my trip. Instead of getting better after I got home, I got worse (probably largely due to spending over 18 hours traveling) and now also have some sort of funky eye infection going on. With my Dr's office being closed for the holiday weekend I now have the option of waiting for Monday or going to urgent care if I feel like I need a prescription sooner.
This summer has been hands down the busiest summer of my life, and the next three weeks are going to be a major part of that. I have a lot going on with ministries that I'm involved in, plus numerous things going on in my personal life, not to mention lots of things to get done at work. The next three weeks are going to be a lot to handle regardless of whatever my body is fighting right now, but this just throws a wrench into the whole equation. I'm praying for a quick recovery whether it comes from my body finally kicking this thing on it's own, or from my Dr being able to prescribe something to do the trick.
And while my energy level is low right now, I'm still beyond excited to see what God has in store for the rest of this summer! A big thanks to everyone who has been so encouraging this summer. I love all of you and I'm looking forward to having more time to just chill with all of you again soon!