Key West

My cousin twisted my arm, gave me an Indian burn (sorry is that wrong to say in this day and age?!) and he's making me write about my vacation! Cousins are oftentimes like brothers, you wanna beat them with your bare hands and yet you can't because you have to be civil! :-P (I think I am having issues with anger this morning, passive aggressive it looks like.)

Anyway, on to my vacation story. Yes we're going to Key West next week. All four of us. All two adults, one child and the alien. Wait did I say "alien"? Well yes and I mean that in total love and compassion. My oldest is a teenager and you know it's really hard to understand her sometimes, well no I mean often times. I love her dearly, please don't get me wrong but I'm thinking that someone bribed us to take her along with us. Or they hypnotized us, or held another loved one for ransom to make us take her along. I know I'm sounding very unloving at this moment but it is a free country and I do have a right to free speech? The last vacation we had with dear daughter was last Thanksgiving and she spent 99.9% of the time in the hotel room, watching TV and talking on the phone to boyfriend number 1. So what fun can that be? But I'm learning about this thing called unconditional love. That means to love someone no matter their faults or the fact that they do nothing for you, nor do they love you back. Well from one of the more well known verses of the Bible, 1 Cor. 13:4-7 it is reminding me of true love. Love is patient, kind, not rude or jealous, love never gives up (my wording). Oh there it is, love never gives up. I think that's where I am asking God to keep me at. My heart, it's crushed and I'm often saddened by her but I will not give up because I am her mother and that's what mothers do right? Anyway, that is probably why I didn't write much about my vacation because I'm having some anxieties about it. So if you have a minute (or two) will you please pray for our trip, that it is full of love, joy, long suffering, health & understanding of each others short comings and loving anyway. Pray for me to be creative in getting her out of the hotel room, pray for her heart to change and her to desire to be with her family (we're aliens to her too). Pray for my heart to change and to live like Christ, to surrender my will and to walk into his footsteps.

When I return I will post pictures and a report of how God worked! It should be fun though because we're going kayaking (hopefully not with alligators), parasailing, snorkeling, fishing, visiting pirate ships, going on glass bottom cruises and of course swimming in the ocean. Who knows, it may thunder and storm and we may all be stuck in the hotel room...