Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I Caught Crabs!

Friday 25 April
Day one of our praise team retreat in Crystal Beach Texas:



Our rental house is steps from the beach. You can smell and hear the ocean. It is so peaceful and calming and exciting all at the same time!





We arrived around 5pm and Alto immediately got to making dinner for us while we explored the house and the beach.



I sat down on the deck with the ocean breeze and the sounds and smells of the ocean surrounding me and got out my guitar for the first time in many weeks. I flipped through my book and praised and praised while waiting for dinner to finish. Alto prepared us an amazing dinner and Flautist and Tenor set a beautiful table complete with disposable tablecloth and bubbly non-alcoholic juices. During dinner we had 5 Minutes Of Fame. I positively adore the seven other women I serve with on the Praise Team, but it occurred to me that I really don’t know that much about them so I asked them to be thinking about sharing with the group about their days. It was such a touching and amazing time of sharing and hearing about these incredible women and their incredible stories. It really deepened my affection and respect for each of them. We toasted to being here and we toasted to the 2 girls who could not make it on the trip(Pianist and Violinist).



After dinner we cleared the table and some of the ladies cleaned up the dishes. Then it was off to the beach! The beach. At night. Water about 70 degrees. Ahhh. It was still pretty windy so we decided not to build a fire for S’mores – maybe tomorrow. We walked up and down and discovered crabs! No, not the little handfuls of sand crabs that you find in the beaches in California, and no not the kind that they catch from the Bering Sea on Deadliest Catch. I guess they are somewhere in the middle. As the ladies slowly petered out and made their way back to the house, it was just Guitarist and I left – she with her flashlight and me with my camera. We were trying to capture pictures of the crabs which didn't work so then we decided we just needed to capture the crabs themselves. Picture two grown women in the dark on the beach squealing and jumping and running around. Alto came back from the house and asked if I had the key….oops! The poor girls had been sitting outside the whole time waiting for someone to come and let them in. After about 15 minutes of trying to brave up and actually grab a crab Guitarist says, “We should get the net from the house!” DUH! I said, “You’re so dumb! Why didn’t you think of that 10 hours ago??” *giggling childishly* So we came back, got the key, grabbed the fishing net and a bucket from the outdoor bathroom/storage room and went back with a purpose and a mission; to catch crabs! And we DID! We caught 5! That was such a fun and adventurous time, and also exhausting and possibly too much because now my throat hurts and I am exhausted. I caught crabs! Ha!

7 comments:

His Girl said...

man, you are such a funny girl!

this post just made me long for october, when i get to hang out with my dear sweet vacation friend who goes on fun adventures and who cracks me up and makes me be a better person.

PJ said...

WOW!! Praise Team Retreat. Can I join you praise team????

Suzanne said...

That makes me want to go to the beach. I have lived in Texas my whole life and the only beach I've ever seen was in Alaska when I was 12. I don't get out much, huh? :)

IdahoAngie said...

sounds like you guys had a blast. I guess we were on vacation at the same time. I went to Vegas (no gambling or drinking) and then to Arizona to see some friends who I had not seen in 3 years. We had a lot of fun. I need to post about it on my blog...Hi I am slacker! Hear me roar!

Becky said...

You caught crabs on a praise team retreat?! Lol!

Sounds wonderful! Warm ocean water? Great fellowship? Praise and worship? Kids being taken care of by the inlaws? Sounds like a FAB weekend!

Unknown said...

ROFL! I could so visually picturing you guys doing all of that stuff, especially you and Guitarist catching crabs! You two are a matched set of nuts. I <3 you both, and all of the praise team for that matter for what you give to us every Tuesday morning (even the brief moments that Watch Care Liaisons get to catch jogging through or past the doorway).

God bless you for blessing us.

Jenster said...

I can't believe you went away on a churchy-type retreat, caught crabs and then blogged about it. What will people think???