Luanne and I had the amazing opportunity a few weeks back to get away - just the two of us - on a pastor's retreat hosted by the Pastor's Retreat Network. It's a wonderful organization that allows pastors and their spouses to get away for a full week and just be with one another and God. All we had to do was get ourselves there and they take care of everything else... all food and lodging is free. What a gift! To get away from our crazy lives here in the Bay Area and just be. Our hosts, David and Karen Camp, were wonderful... Basically, they took care of our needs, suggested a program of reading and time with God, and then got out of the way! They were great about reminding us to let God direct our time. If we never got to the readings, we were not made to feel guilty... It was time for us. Amazing.
We would spend hours just sitting on a dock by the river and reading or talking or just being silent. Luanne spent some time fishing (and actually caught one), and we went out on the canoe several times. We went down the Rio Frio ("Cold River") on inner tubes and I almost got killed by a water snake. OK, I thought I was going to be killed. If there are any pastors reading this, you really owe it to yourself: Check out this opportunity.
I got to see my best friend from my college days, Curt, and his sweet family. They live in Austin, and Curt is the mad genius behind The Happy Husband.
One of the most fun things about our trip was flying Zach and Emmy down to their grandparents' house in LA... It was Zach's first trip on an airplane and the boy was beside himself with excitement. He couldn't stop exclaiming, every few seconds, "DAD! LOOK..." and then pointing at something. If you know my son, you know his voice, uh... carries. It was so cute.
We are grateful to the Gapastiones for watching the big boys... A little taste of parenthood for them!
Now when I say we got away, I really mean it. We were in Vanderpool, Texas. Population 20. I'm not kidding; look it up. Way out in the Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio. Closest "big" city is Kerrville.
To wrap this up, here's a picture that says it all:
