This time of year we always look forward to the ilead conference in myrtle beach that is hosted by our district youth directors. It is always a great time that sometimes confirms things to us and sometimes challenges us, but always blesses us.
I usually do not get to attend the entire event. Otis goes with the kids and then I will drive up after work on Saturday morning and attend the last day with him. This year, we decided that I should use some vacation time and go to the entire conference. (great idea!!) The only thing was that I didn’t want to waste the first part of my week off, so we decided that we would take a quick little trip somewhere. I threw around some ideas to him in the months leading up to the trip. We never really set anything in stone until about a month before. We have been so busy and so exhausted, we decided that we were going to take a trip just to rest and relax.
We headed to Hilton Head.
We decided to not plan any “to-do” things while we were there. This was the hardest part for me. Have you ever seen that episode of Full House when the Tanners are on vacation and Danny has the ‘Tanner Family Clipboard of Fun’?? Well, that’s me. Mine is not a clipboard though…it is usually a manilla folder with printed out info on places, costs, directions, hours, restaurants, and even a few different drafts of itinerarys inside. Sounds kinda bad when I have to actually admit that out loud. I found myself googling things to do and had to make an active decision to stop. HaHa. We needed to plan for that time to be specifically about resting. Our only goal was that we were going to sit back and read by the pool…a lot. Friends literally laughed at us when they saw that bag of books that we were taking.
Let me just tell you, it was fantastic. I spent the majority of my days just like this….

 
The kids loved having all of that time for the pool. Usually when we go on vacations, we are so busy doing all the other stuff that the destination has to offer that the pool is usually a ‘if we have time’ type of thing.

The only reason we set alarms was to make sure that we did not miss the free breakfast. We lounged and swam and ate and walked on the beach and played putt- putt. We made great memories. We all enjoyed the downtime. It was refreshing.

We left after four days in Hilton Head and headed to Myrtle Beach for the ilead Conference. This was such a great year- not only because I was able to go, but also because our youth leaders were able to attend and meet us there. I may be a tad bit biased, but I love these people. They are so dedicated and hardworking. Otis and I have both said that we have worked with many different people over the years, but there is something different now. I believe with all my heart that God is preparing us for greater things to come.

It is always such a blessing to see friends that pastor and lead at other churches all over the state. Some of these people are our dearest friends. They encourage and support us and lift us up in prayer.

  

The speaker was marvelous and really made us think about how we judge ourselves and success. We have already had meetings going over what he said and are all in the process of reading his books. We want to be prepared- we believe huge things are coming our way in Fuel.
We enjoyed shopping, laughing, eating, and hanging out with these guys. The second night, there was a geek themed party. You know that since we were all there, that we had to do this thing right! 🙂 Go big or go home!

  
This week was so good to us all the way around. I will be forever thankful for the people that pour into us and stand along side us in ministry. I am also working on being more obedient to God’s voice regarding rest. It seems that every blog, article, devotion that I open lately has been talking about what the Bible says about rest.

What can I say…I’m a work in progess….