Cruising 2014: Day three {Coco Cay, Bahamas}

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, day three of our cruise was one of my favorites of the whole trip. The morning sunrise was absolutely stunning and the Lord truly blessed this day immensely.

If you don't know (which I didn't before the cruise) Coco Cay is an island owned by Royal Caribbean. Due to this the island is mildly crowded, and compared to the "chaotic and hectic feel" of Nassau, Coco Cay was extremely relaxed. It was the perfect day for rest and relaxation and I was so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to connect a little more with new friends. Michelle and I had a really relaxed breakfast and met a sweet couple from England before heading down to catch one of the boats to take us to the island. {As a side note here I have to share how this was a gift from the Lord and an answer to prayer as this day, just like every other day was not crowded and we didn't have to stand and wait in line. Straight standing for long periods of time takes a lot of out of me physically so this blessing from the Lord was truly an answer to prayer.}

To a gal who has spent half of her life in boats and on the water I was still in awe at how BIG the cruise ship was (even though I had learned that this is actually the smallest boat that Royal Caribbean has!). We were in a large boat as it was (approximately 150-200 people could fit in this tendered boat) but in comparison to our cruise ship it felt like we were in a little toy model ship!

As I mentioned above Coco Cay is owned by Royal Caribbean and so the only cruise ships for the day was our ship and one other (seen in the picture below).

Coco Cay was stunning. Simply stunning. The blues in the water were breath-taking and extremely unique.

Our ship on the pretty blue ocean waters!

The beauty of God's creation is simply stunning and Coco Cay is one of the beautiful places on earth that I have ever seen. Words don't even do justice to such beauty. I will let the pictures speak for themselves (*smiles*).

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. 

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

-Isaiah 58:eleven-

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day and the Lord provided some very unique and special answers to prayer on this day! Another answer to prayer (in addition to short lines throughout the trip) was in providing a place for us to sit down. Due to the fact that Michelle and I had not left the boat very early in the morning we arrived and couldn't find a chair to sit down (due to the fact that all of the chairs were taken). In addition to this there were not any umbrellas that were left. As we surveyed our surrounding area I immediately asked the Lord to help us find a place to sit. 

Not two seconds later Michelle spotted two empty chairs that we had not seen before. In addition to this a kind gentleman helped us move the chairs and we quickly found a spot under the palm trees that were in the shade (almost immediately after we learned that there were no umbrellas left to rent). The Lord was so good!

As we sat down and got settled I realized that a sweet lady that I had connected with a little bit through instagram was sitting right in front of us! It was so delightful to connect with Ali and to meet her and her mom "officially". After we chatted for a little bit Ali, Michelle, and I went in the water and had a lovely time chatting and getting to know each other. As we were coming out of the water we were able to briefly connect with Abi who is delightful.

After we went swimming we sat down for a little bit and then Michelle and I went to grab some food for lunch. As we were heading back to our seats Hannah starting chatting with us and then Rachel came to chat also and so did Ruth and Ali. This was another answer to prayer as Michelle and I had looked forward to connecting with other Christian ladies on this trip and I had been looking forward to connecting with the Wissmann ladies for some time. As many of you know Rachel's love story has been an incredible inspiration to me and the Lord truly has used it to touch my life. (If you haven't read it I highly encourage you to read it, especially if you are single and longing to be married. You can click HERE to read it!) It was delightful to stand there and chat with these amazing Godly women and truly they were just wonderful.  Honestly the entire Wissmann Family has a delightful way of putting people at ease, creating joy and making you feel like you are the most important person as you chat with them. They are never rushed in their conversations but the Lord's sweet spirit shines through them as you talk. Sweetly they invited us to join them at their area and we had the most delightful time talking, laughing, and hanging out. Truly the Lord was there and His love was shown to this little heart of mine through this wonderful time. 

Time seemed to fly and I didn't think to even take pictures until we were getting ready to get back on the boat to the cruise ship. As we made our way to the boat I snapped some last minute pictures of the island and silently thanked the Lord for such a wonderful wonderful day. Truly His mercies are new every morning.

Throughout the remainder of the trip Michelle and I continued to talk about how blessed we had been in this day to have such a gorgeous day, beautiful weather and scenery, and the chance to connect with some lovely new friends. It was definitely a wonderful wonderful day!! Thank you so much Ali for your delightful heart and to the Wissmann ladies for making us feel so welcome! It is an honor to call each of you friends!!

Cruising 2014: Day Three {Beautiful Sunrise}

As I mentioned in my last cruising post about Nassau, I was in awe of all of the beautiful colors that surrounded Nassau (in the waters and also on land), but it was day three was even more stunning. The day dawned bright and early and I crept up to the top of the boat to sit, enjoy the quiet, and pray. As y'all know I have always loved being near water and treasure my times of prayer near the water. There were only a few of us that were up and around this early in the morning and so the ship had a slightly deserted feel to it. *smiles*

And just as I was about to leave the deck (believing that I had missed the sunrise) there was the smallest flicker of light. The verse that immediately came to my mind as I watched this sunrise was from Hosea 6:3. It is a verse that has become extremely dear to me in this journey and I had tears at the beauty of the Lord bringing it to mind as I watched the sun rise. As an artist and a person that loves the way that the Lord is extremely creative I marvel at the way that He knows us individually and works so specifically in each of our lives. This sunrise was just one more example of that. 

Life is like this ... sometimes we feel that we may have "missed" the sunrise... or the blessing or the opportunity... or maybe even feel like the Lord "has missed us". But dear friends I promise that is not true. The Lord is there. Do not despair... He is ever present and He will come as certain as the morning sun. (Hosea 6:3)

"Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai. That He will come is as certain as the morning sun..."

-Hosea 6:three-

Truly the sunrise was just the beginning of what turned out to be one of my favorite days of the entire cruise. I can't wait to share with y'all more about this beautiful day in my next post. In the meantime, I pray that the truth of the beautiful verse (Hosea 6:3) comforts, encourages, and guides you today as we press on to know our precious Lord better.

Bite Back Bracelets are In!

Hi y'all! Some of you have been asking about the bracelets that I mentioned several months ago and I am so excited to share that they have come in! Emily (my amazing sis) designed them and they look awesome! Each bracelet is only $3.00 (which includes shipping) and all of the proceeds will be going to help raise money for the California trip this coming weekend, treatment, and medical bills. We are also hoping and praying that these bracelets will spur further conversation about Lyme Disease to bring more awareness about this awful disease for so many that are struggling! If you would like to purchase a bracelet simply click on the button below to purchase one. In the notes section please leave your address so that we can mail these to you quickly! THANK YOU again so much for your kind support, your sweet love, and all of your faithful prayers throughout this journey! 

Cruising 2014: Day two {Nassau}

As I mentioned in my blog post from yesterday, Michelle and I were so blessed to be able to spend some time at Atlantis and also see some of Nassau. On the way to Atlantis our taxi ride was a little hectic and chaotic and the lady that drove us in a taxi back to the cruise docks was a riot. Honestly, I couldn't stop giggling she was so funny. She informed us that she was a "special" taxi driver because she was one of the first women taxi drivers. Apparently this gave her special permission to ignore pretty much every "road rule" that is common to the rest of us. *smiles* She would ignore stop signs, one way directional signs, and pretty much everything else you can imagine. I was trying so hard not to laugh aloud during the entire mini-tour of the island. 

Laughter aside though the colors of Nassau are absolutely gorgeous and it extends beyond the beautiful blue waters. The houses that are on the island (and office buildings) are painted a variety of different colors and you immediately "feel" the Bahama "feel". 

Even from our cabin on board before we stepped off the boat you could see the variety of different colors that are all over the island.

As we stepped off the cruise boat and embarked on our adventure the colors became more and more vivid.

Even the police station was painted a pretty color!

The water and boats surrounding the islands were beautiful and very unique.

As we came back to the boat after our day in Nassau and Atlantis I couldn't believe that there were even more cruise ships that had arrived! 

It was fun to explore the islands but I can not wait to share with y'all the beauty of Coco Cay that we experienced on our third day! It was absolutely stunning!!

Cruising 2014: Day two {Atlantis}

Day two of our cruise could only be summed as an adventure filled with lots of laughter and memories.  *smiles* First thought I want to show a couple of pictures from the concerts at night from day one that I talked about in the blog post from yesterday! (And maybe this is a good time to mention that a few some lots pretty much every picture from the concerts all revolve around the Wissmann Family. *smiles* ) Our cruise was on Royal Caribbean(the Majesty of the Seas ship) and most of our entertainment was in the Spectrum Lounge on the ship. It was a lovely room and venue for the entertainment. 

Some of the Wissmann Family singing at night. (Sorry that this picture is a little blury!)

On day two of our cruise we arrived in Nassau in the morning and Michelle and I enjoyed an absolutely beautiful view as we ate breakfast. The colors of the water are so absolutely stunning!! Those unique blues were breath-taking!

After eating breakfast we headed out into Nassau and grabbed a taxi (a story for another time *smiles*) and were taken to Atlantis. After walking around and chatting with a lovely staff member we decided to purchase a ticket to have access to the aquariums, a couple of beaches, and also were given a complimentary lunch voucher. We had a lovely time walking around(very slowly-Thank you Michelle for your patience with having to take our day slowly!) and chatting and catching up on life. God was so good to give me the energy to have the opportunity to explore Atlantis as it was definitely all Him!

This rope bridge was so adorable!

All of the animals that we saw around the property were so unique and interesting!

This guy was approximately 75 pounds... I don't know why but I couldn't stop giggling as I looked at him!

The Atlantis grounds are truly beautiful! They are filled with lots of beautiful waterfalls, trees, and gorgeous colors.

As I mentioned above we were given a lunch voucher with our ticket and we ate lunch around a pool (and near some of the water slides that I definitely want to go on the next time I go to Atlantis !!) & had the most delightful time relaxing, talking, & laughing while we ate.

In my next post I will share pictures of our time in Nassau which was an adventure (to say the least). It was delightful to see Atlantis and I would love to return again one day! The best part of the day was spending time with my best friend and exploring the resort! Thank you so much Michelle for your sweet patience and help as we walked around the resort!