working from rest

That's how God wants it to be. We're not supposed to rest from our work. We work from our rest. It seems, in America, we've got this whole thing backwards!

Last night, I took some time to rest, and because I did, today I am much more capable of working. I've only written one paragraph of my sermon so far, but feel confident that because I taught Jacob's Well this week (a Bible Study on the preaching text), I am further along than I think. Bill and Jane cooked steak and potatoes last night and invited me to join them. This is only the second time we've had a meal together. We're all too busy to even think about eating. I also got a chance to catch up with Hannah, my fellow intern in AZ. Ah, how I miss the days of Nanner and Ming-Ming.

5:50 a.m. alarm. Bob read the surf report last night and saw that the waves were going to be chest to head high today. I was nervous the whole way to the beach. That's high for me. As we rounded the corner to pull into the beach parking lot, a huge sigh of relief came over me. The forecast was wrong. They were only waist high! YES! I got out my brand new wetsuit and even wore my booties just for fun. What a difference! I could've stayed out there for hours, and would've been plenty warm. The only problem: I think my wetsuit might be too big. Water was making its way in and sloshing around a little. Unfortunately, you cannot return them once you've worn them in the water, so I guess I'll just have to make due! I stood up on a few waves. Definitely starting to get the hang of it. Because I got sick on Sunday, this was my first time surfing in over a week. I could tell. My arms got tired pretty quickly, and I had forgotten all the safe/smart surfing tips that I was unconsciously doing. Today was a reality check! I got tossed, pulled, thrown around like no other day. I know Holly loves it when I share stories like this: my leash got tangled around my feet at one point (like I was tied up), and because the wave was so big, I was literally upside down under the water, and couldn't get turned around. I eventually got right side up, but by that time, another wave came, and prevented me from surfacing. It's hard to say how long I was actually under. Maybe 8 seconds, but dang, when you're down there, it feels like a couple of minutes. There always has to be a near death experience to keep the thrill there.

Oh, speaking of near death experiences: Bob almost had one today. BECAUSE OF ME! We were all riding in on a final wave. Bob was right in front of me. For fun, I decided to try to catch the white water in. It worked. I got up on my board, but Bob was still right in front of me. Luckily, I had enough board sense to hop off, grab it, and prevent it from ramming him. He hopped up to avoid me, and rode his board into the shore until it rammed into the sand. He couldn't see that I had it all under control. Not my laughing, but the board.

Time to get working on my sermon, but before I do, I need your help. I can't decide which costume to wear. Please vote on your favorite by commenting below. They're all pretty hysterical if you ask me!