Drive to Laity Lodge

We first heard about Laity Lodge through The High Calling, a daily bible reflection we follow online.
It is a well-written short bible study by Mark D. Roberts that has become a staple in our morning routine along with HavenToday.org - we are equal parts challenged and comforted with this daily intake of spiritual food.
...Creates an online community by actively listening and educating people about work, life, and God. Our motto is “Every day conversations about work, life, and God.”

Again, to say we have been blessed by having this drop into the inbox everyday is an understatement.  We cannot recommend it highly enough.

So here we are, having made a dutiful sweep of the touristy downtown we tossed a coin and chose the less direct, two hour "scenic route" o'er hill and dale to the place of great escape.

Just as many Americans south of Buffalo think every Canadian lives in an igloo, we looked expectantly for the Dually pickup trucks with the stereotypical rack of long horns sprouting out of the front grill and of course, gun racks atop the cab driven by cowboys dwarfed by their own ten gallon hat.

 *sigh*  This was about as red-neck as it got.

Found a Starbucks here & descended upon it like a pair of desperado's --- snobs that we are.

But the vast Texas Hill Country it was for the next long while.

Long and Lonely stretches of highway between San Antonio and our destination

And then we passed it just like that, so obscure it was - the Howard Butt Foundation sign marking the gravel road down into the Canyon to the Frio River.  Turning around in a rest area, we climbed out of the car and edged our way over to the concrete lookout post for a breath-taking peek at the sight below.

In 1954, the H.E.Butt Foundation acquired 1900 acres north of Leakey, Texas, to fulfill a long-cherished dream of Howard E. Butt Sr., to provide a place where boys & girls, men & women could further their knowledge of God and his creation while enjoying the freedom of camp life that had so appealed to him during his youth.  With his wife Mary and subsequent generations of the Butt family, that vision is now manifest in five self-contained, state-of-the-art facilities that have welcomed more than 750,000 campers in an atmosphere conducive to healthy Christian character development. 

This is offered FREE for qualified church and community groups; with programs especially targeting children and youth groups who would not otherwise be able to afford such an experience.

This is the Frio River carving its way around the Canyon.

Isn't it amazing?  It really did take my breath away.

The Frio River is a Texas treasure.  Frio is the Spanish word for cold and cold it is. 

See that little red canoe/kayak below?  Much saner way to enjoy the river in November if you ask me.

The Foundation owns and maintains five separate Camps and retreat areas, 

Laity Lodge being one of them.

Our anticipation mounted even as the road took us on a slow but steady descent into the canyon and the place of our great escape.

And suddenly we were driving in the river feeling ever so much like naughty children on adventure.

In a word?  Exhilarating!  Our own bonafide 'red-neck' experience.

Ah yes, there's a sign at long last...we're not lost after all.

Laity Lodge.  The place of our great escape.  

"The spiritual life has long been compared to a journey.  As such, Laity Lodge is best understood in terms of the hospitality it offers to travelers who are engaged in a journey of following Christ.  More than a destination, the Lodge is like a 'hospitality house' along a pilgrim's route with the purpose of creating opportunities for refreshment, renewal and  discovering courage while on the way". 

I like this description found in the welcome package: 

Laity Lodge is a place for retreat, but always for the sake of advance.

Now that you've arrived here with us, you might be wondering what sort of retreat this is.
Come back tomorrow.  We will make discovery together...

The post concert review...

Unredeemed
Places
where grace is
Soon to be so amazing
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored
But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be
Unredeemed




If you were blessed to find yourself one of the Saturday night crowd at Redeemer, you already know the thrill of watching Alan Hall play that grand piano, evoking the holy fervour and sound of an entire orchestra.  A 'pentecostal Methodist' from Tennessee they said.  :)
Oh yeah, and THEN some!
And you'll know beyond all doubt that as suggested, watching Jacob Moon on his guitar is worth the price of a whole row of tickets.
And those voices!?!  Power of titanic proportion.
The song Unredeemed was my favourite of the evening.  I thought her story behind it and the sharing of it on stage was every bit as powerful as the song itself.
I am so thankful for the ministry of good music and excellent musicians who will 'lay it before the Lord' for the benefit and blessing to a broken world.

The Princess and the Pea(nut Butter).

The basement Rec room is nearing completion.
Many have asked (and in truth, we have often revisited the conundrum ourselves)
"why exactly would a pair of empty nesters in a cavernous space think to add more square footage of surface to dust and vacuum?"
Indeed, this is a fair question.
There is a well-considered, long-winded answer and then ---
there is the more obvious and simple one rendered by photo:

 A sleepover exclusive to the junior grand-daughters.

A boom box still under grandmarmie's control :)
 

 A growing stock of Value Village dress-up clothes.

 The pseudo glass slippers.

And there you have it.
Our unapologetic 'do it again in a heartbeat' reason for the thing.
Frivolous
... and SO much fun!

Carols & Classics

In August just past (it did just pass didn't it??) I took action with a positively ancient pledge to organize the music in our music room.   By 'ancient pledge' I mean: a good intention verbally expressed far too often and lain dormant for about five years, give or take a few.
I have more music than could ever be useful to me.   I stare at shelves, boxes, binders, cupboards & corners FULL to be more precise and yet I can throw none of it away.  I tried.
I just can't bring myself to do it.
The very idea is akin to discarding that collection of RSV bibles shelved unreachably in the home library.
Classified unthinkable in terms of squeamishiness.
But I digress so conveniently.
I sort of stumbled across a copy of Carols & Classics which I opened at the keyboard and to which I lost the remainder of that afternoon.  Here's the online product description:
A rich treasury of choral works and Scripture for concert, pageant and service; suitable for choir and/or congregational singing, individual medleys during the season of Advent and Christmas, and in the retelling of the Christmas story. Blending the most cherished Christmas classics with beloved carols in powerful and unique combinations by Tom Fettke; ideal for medium sized choirs. 96 pages.


96 pages of sheer musical beauty.  I was captivated entirely.


I blush considerably a bit to admit this.
Compelled in ways convicting but difficult to explain, my reality is such that I am now immersed (almost exclusively) in a new Community Concert project for December and thus.....
still staring at shelves, boxes, binders, cupboards and corners of music waiting to be organized.

A girl's gotta do what she's compelled to do.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Details to follow, stay tuned.

Songs & Stories Tour USA

We're in Valparaiso, Indiana -  "investing" in our marriage and other loves like golf, music, used bookstores, coffee shops, Amarone - the list goes on and on.  There are just so many good things about this life isn't there?
We are drawn to this place in particular, 8 hours from home, to attend a concert at the Valparaiso Nazarene Church, one of the stops in a ten week Songs & Stories tour through the USA by Steven Curtis Chapman along with Josh Wilson and Andrew Peterson.
*sigh*
It was SOOOooo good.  Man!  Was it GOOD.
But I have to go to sleep first before I launch headlong into a recap.  I have to golf tomorrow with my hubby and I want to beat him.  On the scorecard that is.  That's what I meant of course.
Here's a few snapshots we managed to snag tonight...

 Andrew Peterson of Counting the Stars fame.   He was OUR drawing card for sure!

 This dude below with the cool hat played so many different instruments, he boggled the senses with his multi-talent.  His cello playing alone was enough to render one weeping - it was 'plugged' and the sound of it resonated so deep I felt it rumbling in my chest.  (We were in row 4:)

This Synthesizer man (pictured below) is Ben Shive, trusty sidekick to Andrew Peterson - shows up on all his albums including a soon to be released kids album called Slugs & Bugs Vol. 3  So much fun to watch in action.  That little blue thing at his elbow is a teeny miked xylophone (like a Fisher Price toy!) that peeled out sound like church bells. 

A long shot down the centre aisle of tonights venue.

These pic's tell a certain story about Daddy's Cinderella - perhaps I'll share that story tomorrow when I'm feeling a little less raw. There's a version of this song on Youtube as well.  I'll post that tomorrow too.  Tomorrow.  What am I saying?  It IS tomorrow already and I have a score to settle on some nearby fairways that require a good nights sleep!  *sigh*  

.....zzzz... shhh.... more tomorrow...