Greetings from Sitka, Alaska (home of the fictional Paxton family and Kevin, the world's cutest lil' white puppy in The Proposal).
We have 30 more minutes at this port stop, so I'm going to attempt to write a blog on part one of my Alaska cruise trip!! This = last night's whale watching cruise, which was epic and very much a "Be still and know" moment with God for me! ❤
All packed and ready for my flight to Seattle with my new rose gold suitcase + carry-on + backpack!
My new friend, Sarah! She and her husband, Ron, were staying at the same Seattle hotel and taking the shuttle to the same cruise - this is her first cruise celebrating her 65th birthday - she gave her life to Jesus after hearing Beth Moore speak in the late 1990s, and she's been a big fan ever since! It was great meeting her and Ron on my way to the ship and knowing I would at least have a couple friends on board! =)
My cruise stateroom - I'm sitting at that desk right now - and may I just say the balcony was an incredibly solid choice - I'm LOVING that view everyday!
Not shockingly, it's also been really great to hear Beth teaching and to worship with Travis and her team!!
I line danced with a couple songs during the set-sail celebration party, then took this video when they played The Wobble thinking of Jeffrey Edward! lol
Just a little light reading on my balcony porch! lol Mostly, I've been enjoying the view and journaling by hand - making this a bit of a writing retreat to seek God and unplug - it's been fantastic!
Post by Annie F. Downs about God's direction on the day I left... Christine Caine also had a great (timely) email that day about God opening doors no one can shut and closing doors no one can open, and how we need to make sure we respond and walk through the doors God does open for us! ❤
My closet - yay - I made it a point to wear everything I'd packed at least once!
Meeting Beth for the first time on day two!! Love her and so thankful for her influence in my life and walk with God! ❤
Breadmaking fun with Beth and Kendall Vanderslice! =)
I've been low-key obsessed with this song since I saw the new live Moana movie - Lin Manuel Miranda for the win! This is my own personalized lyrics - that part about "the call isn't out there at all, it's inside me - it's like the tide, always falling and rising" reeeeally hits me! ❤
My room service breakfast (I ate the hot stuff first and saved the cereal and banana for later. =) Also, I ate this whilst watching a family of humpback whales from my balcony on day three! My first time ever seeing whales in the ocean - unexpected and AMAZING!!
Worth every penny.
My first shore excursion was the Glacier Gardens and Mendenhall Glacier... it was a rainy day, but the gardens were beautiful!
So many trees and a very steep drive 600-feet up the mountain!
This was in their visitor's center - love it!
Mendenhall Glacier in the center behind me - another first for me!!
Yay, God!
I made the two-mile roundtrip walk to Nugget Falls with Megan and her mother, Teresa - some new friends from Houston, Texas!
Very worth the trek to see this in person!
Pic from our walk back to the shuttle bus!
I ❤ squirrels, even when they look annoyed with me! lol
My only purchase in Juneau. lol
I joined their table for dinner that night, and Megan and I stayed there talking until around 10:45 - she's a Christian counselor who is also seeking God's direction about some things while on this cruise - yay for making new friends on the ship!!
Ran into Sarah again at the port in Sitka - yay!
Jubilee, my omelette chef - she was very kind and made it a point to remember everyone's names!
I've gone to the hot tub twice and done two workouts in their fitness center one floor below me. Taking this fake through-the-mountains bike trail while sailing through actual mountains made me happy!
Some relaxing spa time for a shellac mani/pedi with Billy (who is originally from Ghana and has worked here for five years now)
That was yesterday morning as we sailed through Glacier Bay. This = the view from the spa windows. Pretty phenomenal!
This morning's stop in Sitka included a historic highlights tour.
This = St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral
This = St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral
I tried to fein interest, but I couldn't care much less about totem poles.
The National Historical Park was our last stop for that tour, then I grabbed some pizza and ice cream on the boat and headed back up to my stateroom to write this post before our next session with Beth at 4:45!
Although they pretend it's in Sitka, Alaska, The Proposal was apparently filmed in Massachusetts (lamesauce). Sarah and I were both hoping Sitka's "history tour" would include some fun facts and highlights from that movie, but no such luck. lol My favorite part of today was seeing this eagle at the top of a very tall tree - this is the clearest pic I could get with my phone! We also had one fly over us, which is said to be good luck... I'll take it! =)
I haven't been seasick at all, which is a minor miracle. I've loved having my own room and some quiet time to journal and hang out with God here. I've gotten some extra sleep and gradually watched two of the three Bourne movies - one more to go - fun! Beth's teaching (on the seven feasts and God's appointed timing) has been great, and I'm excited to have made a few new like-minded Christian friends on the boat! The spa and hot tub have been fun, the food has been good, the ocean views and mountains and glaciers have been incredible. But the best thing about this trip so far has been last night's whale watching cruise - mostly because God used it to confirm some things for me, and I am deeply grateful for that! ❤
Before we left for that whale watching excursion, the outgoing man next to me was talking about being excited to see some orcas. The tour guide very quickly stopped that and assured him that humpback whales is what we would be seeing in this region. ...I've been praying for clarity and going back and forth about whether to press forward with the PhD, so I prayed right then telling God that if we saw any orca whales, I would take it as a confirmation to stay with it and get my doctorate - (I clarified that I needed to see them myself, not hear from someone else that thought they might've seen one. lol) I genuinely thought it would be a subtle confirmation that I'm free to let this all go...
...I took over 60 videos, and we don't have a strong enough internet connection to back them up or post them here yet, but in addition to seeing soooo many active humpback whales, the very first thing we saw was a family of at least five orcas. Our tour guides were tearing up with excitement and telling us this is "the first time they've come out like that all year." They went on and on about what a surprising rare treat this was, how it's usually raining and hard to see much, but we had perfect weather. And I knew it was all straight from God (which is true of any blessings we receive, but this felt especially personal and helpful as I've needed some direction and clarity here).
So I don't have all the answers for what I'll do with it or how God wants to use it in the future - and I know it will involve a lot of hard work and personal growth - but I am officially getting the PhD. Dr. Wood from CCU actually called this morning (fascinating timing) just to check in about my plans for that program, and I said I will be moving forward, starting this October!
This was on our boat ride back to the cruise ship... most of it is hidden behind the clouds (#perfectmetaphor), but there is a rainbow peeking out under them to the right just above the mountains - God's promises and His faithfulness still stand, and what a gift that is!!
And the call isn't out there at all - it's inside me.
It's like the tide, always falling and rising.
I will carry You here in my heart
You'll remind me
That come what may, I know The Way!
❤ ❤ ❤
