this weeekend i...

* roadtripped to minnesota.
* had no agenda beyond spending it with a friend i hadn't seen since he took me to the airport in kenai, alaska in may.
* went camping at sacatah lake state park.
* did some hiking in the woods, by a couple lakes, and by minnehaha river/falls.
* cooked over a campfire.
* laughed... a lot!
* talked about life and faith and struggles and memories.
* watched bethel university beat the tar out of st. olaf in football on saturday under a gorgeous blue sky.
* drove with the windows down a lot.
* saw michael clayton (great movie!) "maybe we could talk about this somewhere else?" "oh, like where? in my car?"
* slept in every morning.
* had a fantastic omelette at hot plate in minneapolis. the potatoes were good too but not as good as our campfire potatoes.
* complained about the damn traffic noise killing my nature buzz.
* said out loud, "thank you, God, for this good life; and forgive us if we do not love it enough" and then found out that the daughter of the author of that quote (Garrison Keillor) is in my friend jim's second grade class.
* saw the wreckage of the I35 bridge collapse and said a quick prayer for those affected by the "tragedy of historic proportions."
* marveled several times at the beauty of god's creation and then had to remind myself that i am the pinnacle of his creation, the crowning glory; and that with each new thing he created, the beauty and wonder of the last one was outdone.
* felt at peace in my heart and at rest in my spirit the entire weekend.
* was able to just "be" with myself, in god's presence.
* wished i had brought my journal while simultaneously feeling relief that i didn't have it and, therefore, no pressure to feel i have to write in it. i could just experience fully what the weekend had to offer me.