Four Sisters. On a Road Trip. Learning About God.

 4:30 am, Saturday morning.  My alarm pulled my sleeping mind from my wacky dreams, and the day's adventure began.  Still in the early morning darkness, I backed our van up and coasted down the driveway with Mikaela riding shotgun and Melanie and Susanna eating breakfast behind us.  Several hours of driving later, Mikaela and I shook Melanie and Susanna awake with shouts of, "Look!  This is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge!"  It was stunning, and we were so proud of our Washington rival to the Golden Gate!  (A bit less proud when we had to pay the $4.00 toll coming home!)

 Our trek ended two and a half hours from when I had pulled out of our driveway, in the parking lot of a church, where we attended a "Becoming Beautiful" Conference.  Do you remember that fabulous guest post by Ruth Rogers?  She invited us to attend the next conference she was putting on, along with Johanna Feehan.  In the photo above, Johanna (on the left) and Ruth (on the right) are demonstrating for a session on modesty how we girls tend to overload on the bling simply because we love it so much. 

We had such a wonderful time listening to all of the sessions.  We learned about God's treasure of reconciliation with Him and how treasure hunters are willing to walk away from and sell everything they own to go after the treasure.  We learned about a beautiful heart and how God's purpose for my life is rooted in that.  I especially appreciated the emphasis on choosing joy!  We also learned about modesty, and how our appearance is a reflection of our hearts.   

 Ruth and her husband Chris shared a session on their courtship.  It was very inspiring, and they challenged us to pray, "Lord, whether you call me to a life of marriage or singleness, I already accept."  Another prayer: "Lord, I will not marry someone unless I can serve You better with him than without him."  Powerful! 

 We broke into smaller groups for "skill classes."  Susanna and I attended one on hairstyling. Pure girl, that session was!

 Mikaela joined us for a fantastic class on hospitality. 

 Melanie was the talented photographer for the weekend. 

 The Rogers opened their home for us to stay in Saturday night, and we had such a wonderful time with them.  Their two children are absolutely precious--we regaled our family with three year old Leo's quotes for nearly an hour after we came home!  You can tell that Chris and Ruth love the Lord with their whole hearts, and their passion was infectious!  After going to church with them on Sunday, we had lunch on picnic tables overlooking Gig Harbor.  It was such a peaceful, happy spot, and the sun even decided to shine on us! 

 Seagull with his head cocked: Dude, are you a giant crab?

 After we left the Rogers, we did some thrift-store hunting, and then we took Melanie and Susanna to Shipwrecked Beads, one of the largest bead stores in the world!  The selection was crazy--aisles and aisles of seed beeds in every color and finish you could imagine. 

 We were like kids in a candy store...or...girls in a bead store, for that matter! 

What would a girl weekend be without a foot shot?  Over the course of the weekend, people would ask, "Are you just good friends spending the weekend together?"  We four would smile at each other, then reply, "Yes, and we're sisters, too!"  To which the astonished person would reply, "You are all sisters?  You are so blessed!" 

My reply?  "Yes, I definitely am." 

Check out the conference website: a new Becoming Beautiful Conference is tentatively scheduled for July 7th.  I would love to go, as I know it will be just as refreshing and challenging as this one!  There is no fee for the conference, so there is no excuse not to go!  Maybe I'll see you there!