Friday, August 21, 2009

Making Memories

After a little blog make-over (which took me FOR-EV-ER!) I am coming out of hiding! Since my last post, school ended, summer started, school is starting and summer is ending! Much has happened in my part of the Mississippi delta...the beautiful, the good, the bad, and the ugly (thank you, Lord that this world is not my home!) but God is ever faithful and has shone Himself mighty in my family's behalf. God is at work and continues to be at work and I have been having the time of my life watching Him...He amazes me...scares me to death sometimes... but He amazes me. I could write for days about all our experiences over the last few months, but I'll spare you. Instead I want to share the one thing God did that was the highlight of my summer.

After a very difficult year, our family was looking forward to our annual vacation trip to the Smoky Mountains. We are mountain kinda people...we HAVE to go at least once a year to be renewed and gain strength to make it through the next year! To make a VERY LONG story short, plans fell through and it looked liked we might not get to go. As I was praying about our predicament, the Lord brought to mind my sweet bloggy friend Sharon. I remembered she and her sweet family moved from Louisiana to North Carolina in obedience to God to help with a Christian Retreat ministry there. I contacted her and as the Lord would have it, she set us up to stay in the newly built cabin of Mountain Top Experience Christian Retreat. Not only was our vacation saved but I was going to finally meet Sharon and Keith! Sharon warned us ahead of time that the cabin still had some finishing touches that needed to be done, but welcomed us to come knowing how desperate we were to get away.

Off to Maggie Valley, NC we go and meet up with Sharon who leads the way up the mountain to the cabin.....4,000 feet up.....straight up......the more up we go, the smaller the roads get and the less pavement we see! I began to wonder if our Chrysler Voyager (mini-van) would make it, but I dropped it in low and off we went, no problem! It was worth the climb...absolutely beautiful! The cabin, the mountains, the view.....the quiet! I could sense my spirit strengthening and even more so as we got to fellowship with our new friends......the sweetest people you will ever have the delight to meet.....


Sharon and Keith Brumfield
Me and Sharon

They helped us settle in the cabin, didn't have near enough time to fellowship, but then left us to enjoy our vacation. First on the Worsham agenda....FOOD. So we headed down the mountain to go to the grocery store and eat dinner, just slightly disappointed it had begun to rain, but all would be well since we had planned to spend the evening enjoying the cabin, the large screen TV and the Wii.......or so we thought. Did I mention that one of the finishing touches that needed to be done was gravel for the drive up to the cabin? No? Well you need to know that little piece of info because we never made it back up to the cabin in the van....on foot....yes....van....no. After dropping it in low for the final ascent up to the cabin, the van began to fishtail toward the edge of the mountain and my family bailed on me....literally. They jumped ship quicker than the crew of the "Dauntless". I put the van in park and decided I'd better join them. By this time it is very dark.....the only lights we have are the lights left on up at the cabin.....no we didn't have flashlights in the car...I know, I know...and thus we began our slip and slide adventure up to the cabin.....the whole time chanting my mantra for these type of family adventures, "we're making memories girls!" When our mud-caked feet finally hit the solid ground of the cabin porch, my two teenage girls declared they were NOT leaving the mountain until the ground was dry (forecast called for rain for the next two days). Seeing as how we had big plans for getting out and about in the mountains every day this posed a problem. As we went to bed that night I prayed I would still find the van where I left it and told the Lord that I knew He had provided this vacation and that I was looking to Him to continue to provide. Early the next morning I was able to hang off the side of the cabin balcony to get enough signal to text Sharon and let her know of our predicament. With their four-wheel drive truck and a four-wheeler they came to the rescue...

Keith bringing Mark and Jordan down the mountain!


Again...the whole time I was chanting my mantra....we're making memories!! And how sweet those memories were made with this precious couple. Not only did they rescue us from a wet slippery mountain, but they rescued our vacation! They made arrangements for us to stay in a lovely little cabin down in the valley for the duration of our stay.



God is so faithful and so good and He made those qualities so tangible to me and my family through Sharon and Keith. I desire that for my life...help me, Lord!

Sharon and Keith.....Jesus looks so good on you! I love you to pieces!

His Word of Life for Today: For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 6:10