A Calm in the Storm

These last few weeks have been trying ones. I (Lane) have been really stressed about various things. You know how sometimes it seems like everything falls at once? Like when it rains, it pours? Well it hardly ever rains here in the Sonoran Desert, but these last few weeks have seemed like a steady downpour in some ways.
There have been a number of things come up that need my attention and it just sometimes seems overwhelming. On top of that it, I feel like I am getting stretched thin in regard to dealing with people. That is me being brutally honest. Dealing with imaturity over and over again just plain ol gets tiring sometimes. Also Sheri continues to struggle with her health. She has been doing alright (no more pain associated to the stone they removed from her bile duct) but she still deals with frequent bouts of muscle ache in her shoulders, arms and legs and a heavy tiredness. These bouts last for a day or 2 and happen every week or so. The doctors are trying to get to the bottom of it. We are off to a new doctor this coming Monday.
This blog entry is not a whining session, although it may seem like it so far. You might be wondering what the picture above has to do with everything I have been saying so far!
Well this past week God gave us a break in the "storm". We escaped for a day to San Carlos (a beach town about an hour and a half from where we live). I had to pay my car insurance there and it was a good reason to take the family, take a break from home schooling and just rest on the beach! So the picture of the kids above is them playing on a sand dune right beside the ocean (the water is behind me when I took the pic). We just layed on a blanket and ate some munchies and the kids had a blast building sand castles! We then went out for lunch at a taco stand and then back to a different beach for family devotions. It was so good to read His word and just breath in His emensity looking out over the ocean! The kids finished our time by throwing rocks at jelly fish!

Psalm 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

This verse truly came alive to us this week! God is good and He knows just when we need a "calm in the storm".