Hospitality. Week 20.

I'm going out of the norm and starting this post with Sunday (yesterday) instead of going in order of the this weeks' events.

As we have mentioned before, we have been using a ministry called Candle in the Window to find people to host us around the US as we travel. This weekend we stayed with the founders and had the most incredible hospitality experience...and the girls made instant friends with their sweet kids.  \http://www.acandleinthewindow.com/

Josh was given the opportunity to speak at their church in Middleburg, Florida yesterday. He loves being able to share God's truth and thoughts from his book, so it was a big blessing for him and us.

 One of their church members brought several of his farm animals in a trailer to church because he has a traveling petting zoo and was on his way to a birthday party after service. It's a special treat to go to church and end up petting a horse!

At the beginning of this week Josh was given the opportunity to speak at ECHO global farms in North Fort Meyer, FL.  (Check out this amazing place) http://echonet.org/

Our family stayed in one of the homes they have on campus and the girls experienced their first encounter with a lizard indoors! After they were tucked in, we heard Grace say, "Daddy, we can't sleep because there is a lizard on our wall". As you can see from the photo, daddy caught it and set it free outside. (poor thing!) ;)

There is so much vegetation that we don't see on our coast - papaya, star fruit, coconuts, oranges, bananas and more. I'm now looking forward to making jam and ice cream with our famous blackberries when we return!

For now I enjoy the beauty and vegetation Florida has to offer - not to mention, eating it!

We spent a couple days in Lakeland, Florida with my friend Joy from college. So far on this trip we have stayed w many friends from our past in California, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida! What blessings to reconnect with so many people from our past. 

These photos are of our day spent at Mirror Lake in Lakeland, Florida.

We traveled out the other day to see the manatee's...and forgot the camera!! Thanks to cell phones, I did get one decent one. They don't do much, nor come to the surface, except to get air, so this was as good as it got!

We head to South Carolina today to spend a week with our old neighbors and friends, Patrick and Liz Whitehouse. I've been told they have cats and a new puppy - it might be a real test of how disciplined my girls can be to do their school work with their favorite distractions!

Enjoy your week and find things to appreciate and be thankful for. ...And try to show hospitality to someone- it will probably bless both of you!