A Weekend Away

Tim and I had a wonderful time this past weekend staying 2 nights at Living Waters Retreat in Berryville, AR. It is a retreat for minister's and their wives located in the wooded countryside of Northwest Arkansas. They accept only minimal payment and offer a time of solitude and seclusion to ministry couples who need a restful break. Tim made all the arrangements, paid the fees, and chauffeured me all the way there. I felt so special and blessed. We have a long road ahead of us in the near future, and this chance to get away was much needed and much appreciated. I love those times when he and I can relax, reflect, and reminisce.

I was once again reminded of the many different reasons I love my husband. He is a man of many talents, considerate, firm in his convictions, and funny at heart. He is a simple man, not simple minded, but simple in his ways. He prefers simple clothing over high-fashion. He has one pair of each type of shoe: brown dress, black dress, tennis shoe, work shoe. He has one belt that he can flip to the black side or the brown side. :) He prefers no-fuss haircuts over heavily styled coifs. If he is eating a food that comes with or without nuts, he prefers without. Beneath that simple exterior is a man that is full of complexity and surprises. He is a genius when it comes to the depths and breadths of technology. There is nothing electronic that he cannot fix (thanks for fixing my laptop screen, babe!). He can watch a Sci-Fi show from beginning to end and follow every twist and turn with no problems, and remember all the foreign names he encountered. His mind can comprehend mysteries with ease and he can see trick-endings before they come. He is skilled with his hands and good at modifying and building. He has the gift of focusing in on detail. As I reflected back on all this, I thought "What's not to love!"

As we arrived near the cabin, we slowed to read the address number from a mailbox. We realized that was our turn-in and as we turned, a doe darted down the side of the drive way, as if to say "Welcome, follow me." We got to do one of our favorite past-times together: hiking. We used to hike a lot when we were kid-less but haven't in a while. Among the interesting things we saw were a red-headed wood pecker, a tree partially chewed up by beavers, and an empty tortoise shell. We worked through a chapter of our Sunday School class material Fireproof, the Bible Study. We ended up getting to the cabin without either one of our cell phones ~a slight oversight:) ~ and there was no phone in our cabin as well as no wireless internet signals. We had a truly technology-free weekend! This made me a little nervous, knowing that if Dylan had an emergency we would not be instantly reachable (my in-laws could have called the number to the house on the property and the owners would have walked down to our cabin). But of course all my worrying was for nothing and he was fine. In fact, I highly recommend a techno-free day, weekend, or week every once in a while. It truly takes away all distractions and offers time to focus.

My heart is also grateful to the cabin owner's, who are lay people in their church but sensed God calling them to build two cabins on their land for the specific purpose of ministering to ministers who need a retreat. They are providing such an incredible gift of service.

We found a tree where the beavers had clearly left their mark!
Optical illusion: which way is up and which way is down? Tim took this shot with our camera upside down. The water was almost perfectly reflective, proving that things are not always what they seem :)The beautiful view from our cabin's deck.