Worship and Wedding Crashing in Redding, Ca.

3.5 hours north of San Fran, nestled in the foothills of the mountains lies a little town called Redding.  Snow capped, Mount Shasta stands proudly in the background with the wilderness surrounding it.  It is simply beautiful.

Kate and I traveled here for the "real" reason she came to America, a wedding.  We arrive in Redding, meet the lovely couple whose guest home we are staying in and enjoy a little relaxing on the porch.  It's always a little strange going from a city to the country.  One's mind and body has to physically unwind.  This setting oozes relaxation, making the transition easy and necessary.  The only noises we hear are the moo of the cow in our back yard, and the neigh of the horse to our right.  Stepping on the back porch we see mountains in the distance and chickens literally in front of us.  It reminded me of home, except I needed to be wearing my jacket, and I was staring at mountains.

The rest of the girls arrive and all one can hear are the squeals of excitement from friends reuniting.  I got to see a friend from London again, which made me so excited and then I was able to meet a couple of new girls who are just precious.  Once our friend Kathy arrived we immediately took off for the Friday night church service at Bethel.  It was a great time of worshiping God and being in His presence.  Towards the end, Kate and I look at each other with looks of hunger on our faces.  It was almost 9 and we had only snack food all day.  In a desperate attempt to extinguish hunger pains, I pull out my Cadbury chocolate.  Oh that was the best bit of chocolate I have ever tasted :).  Kathy, Kate and I run out of the church at the end of the service and end up at In and Out Burger, with satisfying looks upon our faces.  It was a special moment in our friendship :).

The rest of the weekend was spent with friends, a wedding, church, and soaking in God's creation.  Kate and I met up with a couple of her friends who live in Redding, and then headed to the wedding of Kate's friend.  It was such a beautiful service and God was glorified above all.  Also, I think I have found a new calling in life, wedding crasher!  I had never met this couple before, but her friend had insisted that I come, and since I love weddings in general I decided to go along.  I am so glad I did.  It was a small service of friends and family, in the backyard of a ladies home.  Everything was decorated beautifully with sunflowers, butterflies, and vintage beverage holders.  As the evening rolled along, we enjoyed food, fellowship, dressing up at a prop table and dancing.  It was magnificent.

Having a little too much fun at the prop table!

Such a blessing to see Kathy again...One of those people who you
know you will keep in touch with in life.  Love her.

Easter Sunday was spent at Bethel church praising God through song and a picnic at Whiskeytown Lake. After church, Kathy, Kate, Aggie, and I bought picnic food and made our way to Whiskeytown Lake.  After a "short" detour, we arrive to our picnic spot.  Words cannot describe how gorgeous this area was.  We were sitting with a massive lake in front of us and mountains enclosing us.  Sitting in awe of God's creation on Easter Sunday cannot be explained.  Thinking upon God's majesty and His son's sacrifice, while breathing in the mountain air, literally exudes worship.  After lunch and a little exploring, headed back to Bethel and finished up the evening worshiping God through song in a community of believers.

Monday arrived all too quickly and we were saying "see you soon" and giving hugs quicker than seemed right.  Next thing I know, Kate and I are jumping in our rental car and making our way towards Yosemite, with great expectations and excitement about what was to come!

San Francisco: What Goes Up Must Come Down

Steep hills, sand, salty air, burnt orange bridge in the backdrop, Full House style homes, amazing views, and Starbucks on every corner...This is San Francisco.  From the second I stepped off the plane to meet Kate, I knew I would like it here.  San Fran is cool, sunny and no humidity!  A much needed change from the 80 degree, sticky, pollen filled air in Hattiesburg.  It is relaxed, charming and still a city.  It does not have the hustle and bustle of somewhere like New York or London like I expected.  It is quaint in a unique way.

Kate and I spent our first day just simply wandering around the city and acting like silly school girls because it has been so long since we last hung out.  Which, let me insert here, meeting up with people at the airport is beyond fun!  There is nothing quite like the anticipation of seeing a best friend whom you haven't seen in a while walk up!  It was good.  I am pretty sure people thought we were crazy as Kate and I did our happy dance and hugged and giggled.  Instantly I was reminded of how much I miss seeing her on a regular basis.  Ok now back to San Fran...

We wandered around the hilly streets on San Fran and took a picture I am pretty sure of almost every hill possible.  We walked up hills and down hills and somehow stumbled upon the bay and Fisherman's Wharf without even meaning to.  It was a nice surprise.  We simply stood at the top of a park and took in the bridge and the city and then breathed in the salt air by the bay a little while later.  It was amazing.  

Here are a few pics from the first day:

Ash and Kate Reunite 

View from our hotel 

Golden Gate Bridge 

oh just a few steps to climb...

we made it up the hill!

one of the many hills we climbed...legs got a little bit of a work out 

San Fran by night

San Fran Bay area

We love the water...seems to define our friendship

The next couple of days were spent wandering around the city again.  We walked up more hills, saw amazing views and then took a tour around Alcatraz.  Kind of all amazing.  We explored the area around Coit Tower, walked up the "crookedest street" in San Fran and then checked out the steepest hill in San Fran.  We simply got lost in San Francisco and it was amazing.  

We also got to meet up with my friend Tyler who now lives in San Fran.  Meeting up was quite the adventure to say the least.  We decided to take the bus to see the 16th ave steps (steps that look like a mural, incredible...) because I thought it was close to where we were meeting Tyler.  So, we jumped on the local bus, and went to make our transfer to the next one and suddenly had a moment where we looked at each other and said "Is this the right way?!?"  We asked the bus driver if he was headed towards 16th ave and he literally laughed in our faces.  Thankfully he told us which bus to get on.  Day light is quickly diminishing and we have like 30 minutes before we are to meet Tyler.  We say a quick prayer, jump on the correct bus and simply hope we get to see the steps before sunset.  We made it to 16th ave, take a quick look around and realize we have to go UP the hill to see the steps.  Great...so Kate and I take off running, and the sun is almost set and luckily we made it!  It was worth every crazy second.  They are stunning and offer one of the best views of the city.  Needless to say I had to call Tyler and say we were going to be late, and when I did, I realized we were supposed to meet him at 24th street not 24th ave....which if you were wondering, is across the city.  Kate and I jump back on another bus, ask the driver before we head off if we were going in the right direction and he just stared at us blankly.  That is always a good feeling.  The bus driver has never heard of the street names you are trying to get to.  Great.  Long, long story short: we made it.  We had amazing Thai food and conversation.  It was so nice catching up with Tyler on life and seeing a different side of San Fran.  

A few pictures to tell of our adventure thus far:

Coit Tower

Golden Gate is supposed to be in the background...top of hill outside coit tower

Free Ben and Jerry's Scoop day!!!!!!!!

Crookedst Street

Steepest hill in San Fran

Yes we were the tourist with the headsets...they proved to be quite informative!

Alcatraz

Kate attempting to escape Alcatraz

San Fran from the top of the 16th Ave Steps

Amazing the tiled mural created by the people of this area of San Fran

We made it just in time

16th Ave Steps

Our last full day in San Fran we decided to bike the Golden Gate Bridge.  This was one of my favorite things we did.  It was incredible.  Minus the two hills leading up to the bridge, it was actually fairly easy.  In total we biked about 8-10 miles that day.  We biked along the water on the way to the bridge and then made our way across the bridge and into Sausalito.  Sausalito is a quaint beach town. Local shops all over that face the bay area.  We had lunch at a cute cafe, walked and sat by the water where we watched the crows litter the whole area.  They literally took the trash out of the bin and pecked its way into the old food.  So, beware of these pesky creatures...we have all been fooled, it is not humans who litter, it is the birds!  Then we enjoyed some ice cream and coffee by the bay, and took the ferry back across to San Fran.  As we biked back to the rental company, we stopped off at Pier 39 where we were tempted to eat way too much chocolates so we simply left and headed back to the hotel.  By this time we had worked up quite an appetite and before we knew it headed out for dinner.

We jumped on the cable car that was literally right outside our hotel, and hung off the sides of it just like the movies.  We rode it the entire route, jumped off and headed for dinner.  Little did we know that there was NO food to be found.  We attempted the bus system again, but after having another bus driver look at us like we were crazy, we decided to get off and just walk till we found somewhere good to eat.  And boy did we ever find the best place.  It was a jazz restaurant!  The food was delectable and their was a constant buzz of people conversing and a trumpet being played in the background.  Amazing.  It was the PERFECT way to wrap up our time in San Fran.

This has officially become too long of a post so, I will leave you with some pictures from our last day in San Fran....

ready to bike the bridge!

golden gate from the bike!

headed into Sausalito

golden gate after our bike

soo fun

oh ya know just hanging off the side of the cable car

cable car time!

Songs and Their Meanings

Songs have meaning and remind us of specific times in life. Remember that one incredible summer you had with your friends? I bet there is a song that comes to your mind.
One of the greatest things I have learned in my walk is to enjoy worship music and meditate on song lyrics. Now, I NEVER want to uphold worship music above scripture, but the Lord draws us to His heart through songs filled with truth. Also, music often conveys what I cannot put into words for myself. It draws me into the presence of the Lord, encourages me, nourishes my soul, and challenges me to change.
Lately, I have been mulling over 2 different songs as I attempt to do the Lord's will for my life. They display our need for surrender and clinging to Christ. I am challenged to let go of everything and live in His grace and let that be what defines my life. I hope the following lyrics draw you closer to God and that you find encouragement from them.

Hillsong "Rhythms of Grace"

My life is a light for Your cause
My will laid aside for Your call
And reserved are the depths of my heart
Only for You

I'm caught in the rhythms of grace
They overcome all of my ways
Realigning each step everyday
To live for Your glory

There's none beside You God
There's none beside You God

You're there in the dark of the night
While holding the sun and it's light
Through the triumph and trials alike
There's no-one beside You

Your voice called the stars by their name
'Cause You whispered them all to their place
To testify to Your wonder and praise
Both now and forever

There's none beside You God
There's none beside You God
I love my life to shine Your light
'Cause there's none beside You God

No eye has seen
No ear has heard
The depths of Your love, Lord
No mind can fathom
The love You deserve
How great You are

Jonathan David and Melissa Hesler "Empty My Soul" -- one of the most incredible songs I've listened to in a whole.

I fall on the floor
Down at your feet
I know you want me here
With my suitcase full of needs

Oh my heart is heavy
And my mind is full
I let go of my pride
And empty out my soul

I let go
Empty my soul
I let go

Pick up all my ashes
And my tattered robes
Bury them in a sea
Of love undescribable

You Drown me in forgiveness
And Fill my love lungs with hope
For the first time in my life I really let go

It's love undescribable
Just let go
Empty my soul

Patience, Trust, Surrender

Patience, Trust, Surrender

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"

Psalm 37:3-7 

(emphasis mine)

   Why are these such difficult topics to learn about?  Since being back from England, I have wanted nothing more than to simply return.  I assumed I would go back quickly, or at least have a set return date.  How different this has panned out for me.  I have found myself having to ask myself so many questions upon returning home.  I have had to examine what I am called to in life, what trusting God with my life actually means, and what holds me back from letting God simply move and work in my life.  

   How often I find myself, and assume many others find themselves as well, saying we trust God, but in reality our hearts are far from that.  I can say it all day long, but spending hours on the internet looking for jobs, and making plans that would simply get me to a place I long to be does not reveal a heart that trusts.  It reveals a heart that assumes I have all the answers.  It reveals a selfish and distrustful heart.

    A heart that trusts, waits.  It seeks God above all else, and delights in the Lord before delighting in self.  How hard this is.  It is much harder to simply sit back and trust God than to try and control our lives.  But, there is joy, peace, righteousness, and contentment found when we let go of control and surrender our hearts to God.  If only I/we could learn quickly that trusting God with our lives is so much sweeter and more beneficial than trying to control it.  

   It seems that all of life boils down to trusting God and allowing Him to bring forth our righteousness.  God is more concerned with our hearts, souls and minds than anything else.  When these aspects of our lives are surrendered fully to God, He acts.  It is only when these areas are surrendered can we actually do what the Lord has willed for our lives.  We end up acting selfishly and too quickly if not surrendered. 

   So, as I explore where I am headed, what I am called to do to best advance the Kingdom, I am learning to simply trust and surrender.  It is the hardest thing for me to learn.  By nature I want to control  I want to understand and have all the answers, but am seeing that the more I delight in the Lord, the more I choose Him DAILY, the easier it is to let go of this control and begin to surrender fully to God.  

Authentic Traveling

Authentic: made or done in the traditional or original way

When going around London, France and Spain with Beth Ann, this is what we strived for.  We wanted to see the tourist stuff, yes, but we did not feel pressured to see EVERYTHING.  We experienced the culture.  We experienced the food.  We experienced the people.  We experienced so much in a short amount of time.  To say we are exhausted is an understatement.  Would we change anything?  Not at all.  Except maybe to spend an extra day in Barcelona.  Oh well, guess we will just go back!  We literally spent time in 6 cities/towns in 10 days.  Sounds crazy right?!?  Well it was, and surprisingly as busy as we were we managed to balance out tourism with authenticity.

Trying to capture, or better yet, explain, all that we did and saw is impossible.  So much of what made the trip amazing were the things that happened out of the ordinary.  Those that we in NO way planned.  Things like, changing places to visit at the last minute, catching trains and missing them by 1-2 minutes, trying new food, and attempting to communicate with people who do not speak English.  After all, this is what makes traveling fun.  It is those things that happened, unplanned, that leave us with great experiences and stories.  It reminds us that letting go and just being and experiencing brings great happiness.

Best way to break down our travel, well with a top 10 list of course.  Just a little heads up, most of my top 10 revolve around food!  But, if you follow me at all on any social media platform, you will not be surprised by this!

10: Taking a nature walk to get an outside view of Alcazar in Segovia, Spain.  Rick Steve's had a great idea of seeing this castle from outside the city.  It was supposed to be about a 25 minute walk.  No big deal right?!? Well we got turned around, as usual, and decided to ask a person which way to this viewing point.  We asked this little old man who did not speak a lick of English.  He told us all directions in Spanish and we must have looked completely confused because he walked us to an area and just kept pointing to the right and giving us directions in Spanish.  We finally left him after about 5-10 minutes of him attempting to talk with us and then he stood and made sure we got to where we were going.  He waved us on really big and B.A. and I busted out laughing.  Well, it turns out our 25 minute walk was more like a nature hike.  We walked up this tiny path and by this random old monastary.  It looked so sketch, but we had AMAZING views of the city.  And for the record, not a single tourist or person for that matter, was around and we even got to see a cave! 

Nature Walk Begins

Alcazar...totally worth the walk

9: Arriving in Madrid and stopping at a churro food stall just outside our hostel.  We got stuffed churros.  I had one with ducle leche and B.A. had one with cream.  We were so hungry and tired at that point that we would have eaten anything.  Biggest plus: they were amazing.  We liked them so much, that we decided to stop again on our way out.  This time, I went for the chocolate covered churro with cream and B.A. went for the chocolate filled churro.  Basically we love sweets and churros and were hungry, so they were equally as amazing the second time.

8: The shower in our hostel in Barcelona.  Needless to say it was the most interesting thing ever.  You would simply press the button and the shower would come on.  Sounds great right.  Oh no, there was a catch, it only stayed on for a certain amount of time...like 3 minutes tops.  And bonus, the bathroom light came on when you walked in, meaning it ran by motion.  Yep, that meant unless we stepped out of the shower every couple of minutes the light would just turn off and we would be in the dark.  So, the shower did not run consistently, and about the time you would  be almost done washing out shampoo, it would cut off and then the light in the bathroom would turn off. Not the best experience in the world, but one of those that we simply laughed at continually.

7: Getting distracted with shopping in Spain.  In Barcelona and Madrid we kept wanting to see the touristy things.  We were tired, but knew we would want to see some of the "big stuff".  However, we would suddenly find ourselves in a shoe shop or clothing shop as we were headed to see something touristy.  We would go in one store and then walk out and say "ok seriously we are going to go now...we are not going to stop again", and then we would stop at the next store!  We might have stopped a lot along the way, but we managed to check everything off our list AND we scored some great deals on things like shoes along the way!

Madrid

Madrid's Cathedral

Barcelona - Gaudi inspired building 

Barcelona - Park Gueill-- notice the shopping bags!

6: Dinner in Avignon, France:  We asked the people at our hotel where to eat and the guy pointed us to L'espice et Love.  Best. Food. Ever. It was definitely a local's place.  We had 3 courses and ate every last drop of our food.  I adventured out and tried mussels for a starter, with a small side salad, while B.A. had salad and bread with honey and melted goat cheese and almonds.  Main course: I tried pig's cheek (tasted like a pork tenderloin) with provencal sauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots for a side; B.A. tried salmon with an amazing white cream sauce and had rice and veg for her side.  Dessert consisted of a chocolate, fudge torte in the shape of a heart with a creamy sauce on top.  Not only was the food incredible, but the setting was quiet, authentic, cozy, peaceful, and simply comfortable.  

First Course: Mussels 

Main Dish: Pig's Cheek and veg 

Dessert

L'Espice et Love 

Very very satisfied

5: All train travel in France and Spain: Traveling from Marseille, France to Avignon, France and then from Avignon to Carcassonne, France and Carcassonne to Barcelona, Spain.  We showed up trying to find the train station, and despite the signs there was not one in Marseille, which meant we finally found out we had to take a bus and transfer from the city center.  Upon arriving we had to stand in a massive que which meant we ended up missing our train by literally 2 minutes.  Finally we made it and then next morning we had to print our tickets at like 6 a.m. and the ticket office was closed so we rushed to get on the train after finding out it would be fine to just talk with the conductor about our situation, and we missed our scheduled train by 1 minute.  Then when leaving the day after Carcassonne for Spain, we misread our ticket and rode the wrong train, which meant we missed our connecting train to Barcelona and had to sit around the station for an hour and make 2 extra train changes and take 2 extra hours to get to Barcelona.  All that with heavy, 50+ pound luggage and exhausted bodies.  But, in the midst of it, we laughed so hard and saw some beautiful scenery.  In the end: wouldn't change a second of it!

Train ride from France to Sapin 

Scenery

4: Shopping at the Camden Town Flea Market with B.A. Not only did I get some really cute stuff, but I learned that B.A's favorite past time is negotiating.  She would not walk away unless the guys gave her what she wanted for the price she requested.  As a result: B.A. got a precious dress and I got a purse for 10 quid cheaper than what I wanted to spend and a shirt for 15 quid cheaper than what I wanted to spend!  B.A. is amazing!

3: Eating dinner on a boat along the Thames and having the London Eye as our backdrop. Kate, B.A. and I met up for dinner on my last night in England and we enjoyed good conversation, laughed a whole lot, and simply took in the scenery.  This was such a special time because Kate has become one of my best friends and getting to see her and spend some time with her laughing about life on my last night in England was perfect.  

2: Watching the Barcelona vs. Madrid futbol game at a local bar in Barcelona - When I realized this all important rival game was being played, I told B.A. we HAD to find a place to watch it with some locals.  Now, we had NO idea where to go to watch this game.  We figured best thing to do would be to just stop off at some bar.  As we were walking around the city we heard this group of guys beating on a drum and chanting Barcelona chants along one of the main streets in Barcelona - La Rambalas.  We thought about asking them where to go, but decided to just keep walking.  After, popping in and out of a few shops, we decided to just walk down a couple of side streets and see what was around.  I absently told B.A. that we should just find some fans and follow them!  She took me up on  it and as we were walking down the random road, B.A. said, "look he has some FC Barcelona memorabilia with him", and the next thing we know we are coming upon this bar that has people coming out of it, and it is seemed kind of tucked away.  We had to duck our heads as we were entering and when we get in, it is this amazing place with wood beams running accross the ceiling, stone walls, and wooden benches and tables to sit at. There was a pool table in the corner, and massive barrels for people to stand around and place their drinks on. There are a few t.v.'s on the wall and the place was filling up quickly.  So, we found a seat, we could just barely see the t.v. but just sat and took it all in.  The game started up at like 10:00 p.m. so we just sat and talked for a little while.  There were a couple of guys just a little way down the table who were in their blue and red stripped FC Barcelona jersey's and a group next to us who were actually cheering for Madrid.  By the time the game started, the place was PACKED.  People were gathered around the t.v.s and some of the people around us were asking if we were for Madrid or Barcelona.  When Barcelona scored, the place erupted with cheers about Barcelona (none of which I could really understand, seeing as they were being said in Spanish!)  We sat along the locals.  We talked with the locals (the ones that could speak English that is) and cheered on FC Barcelona with their upset over Madrid.  We even learned one cheer: "Barca meta la fuego" and "Barca, Barca, Barca".  Then as we left, we walked out to La Rambalas and there was a massive group of people all chanting for Barca and we just stood there taking video and loving it.  Its infectious the futbol culture.  Even if you don't know anything about futbol, just being in settings that can only be deemed as "tribal" will make anyone fall in love with the sport.  

Where we watched the match 

Go Barca!! 

Spirit

1: Eating Paella in Madrid, at a restaurant called Puerto Rico - The Paella was meant to be split between 2 people, thus, it came out in a deep skillet type bowl filled with rice, peas, and lobster in this thick creamy sauce.  There were 4 pieces of lobster so B.A. and I each took 2.  All was going great until we got to the claw of the lobster.  We knew this was where the "good stuff" was, but couldn't seem to figure out how to get into it.  After all, we are southern girls who eat crawfish and shrimp that are peeled with one's fingers, and crap that is cracked open with clamps.  Basically, we scouted out the table next to us to see how  they broke into the claw.  No luck.  We just went for it.  We tried to crack with with our hands, that  was no good, then we tried to break it open with the fork.  Nope.  Now, our hands were gross with sauce all over them and we just stared at each other and kept saying "how do we do this?"  After about 5 minutes of struggling to get into this lobster claw, we saw a little crack and both said "yes, a way in!"  How deceived we were.  Now, I am sure this crack was there for the purpose of getting into the crab, but we just couldn't seem to make it happen.  As I am man handling this claw, I look over at the table next to us, and see these two men, laughing hysterically at us!  I lost it at this point.  So, this man at the other table got the waiter and essentially told him to bring us some clamps.  Finally, we got into the claw, and boy was it worth it!  The rest of the meal was spent with the waiters and the people at the other table laughing at us, and I am pretty sure they were making fun of us the whole time out loud, we just couldn't understand what they were saying.  As in Spanish fashion, we finished off the meal with dessert and more laughing as the waiters and customers laughed at our taking pictures of everything we ate along the way.

Looks are deceiving...not as easy to eat as expected...but totally worth getting laughed at