Costa Rica (Part Two)

Hello sweet friends!

Welcome back to Costa Rica!

We left off last time at Tango-Mar, a beautiful resort right along the coastline of Tambor.

This place was like magic!

I never grew tired of being here...

(Because who could get tired of magic?! ;)

"It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

But of course, I did begin to miss my kiddos. So, I sent them a message in the sand...

I am very much not used to being without them!

They are by my side from the moment I wake up each morning, until they go to bed around 7 or 8:00 at night.

This of course, has always made early morning quiet times tricky!

I've heard pastors, teachers, and older mamas say to simply, "Wake up before the kids" in order to get a daily quiet time in. Well... I've never known my kids to sleep as late as sunrise, so whenever I wake up, (even if I set my alarm to get up early...) they're up! (And asking for juice... and whining that they're hungry... and relating to me every excruciating detail of last night's dream... etc, etc...)

SO...

To have a truly quiet "quiet time" each morning while we were here, was something I did not take for granted!!!

I'm not a journal-er normally, but I packed one for this trip along with my bible and devotional. 

It was such a treat to begin each morning in beauty, tranquility, and nature... 

Sipping hot Costa Rican coffee, reading scripture, and jotting thoughts down along the way...

But after a few days in this paradise, it was time to pack up and get on the road again.

Costa Rica is such a beautiful and mountainous country!

On curvy, dirt roads we made our way over to Arenal.

With car windows down, listening to a mix of Spanish guitar and Jack Johnson, we enjoyed our little day trip.

Stopping only for necessities along the way!

This is the only proper response to being given a hand-picked, roadside flower, ya know!

~ Enjoy the journey ~

Once we spotted Lake Arenal, we knew we were getting close!

Just look at how close these drop-offs are to the edge of the road!

And no guard rail or anything!

This was truly an adventure!

I was so happy to get off these roads and checked into our resort!

The same resort and the same room that we stayed in ten years ago!

I was over the moon! 

Very little had changed...

We felt 

~ Lucky! Lucky! ~

This place is a little different from our previous beach resort, it is a rainforest retreat in the middle of the jungle!

Our balcony overlooked mountains and a volcano!

Isn't it breathtaking!

We thought we'd sit for a bit.

We were weary travelers in need of some rest...

But we didn't stay here long!

There are trails to explore you know!

As a person who loves nature walks, this was quite exciting!

Lush trails all over the place!

Medicine for the soul!

Doesn't it make you think, I wonder where it leads?...

There's only one way to find out!

Sometimes I had options! Haha...

But I always ended up in some cool place...

Sometimes while I was walking I would pass one of these pink day lilies that had fallen to the ground...

I began collecting them as I walked to bring back to the room with me.

There! A second chance at life!

~ It's the little things ~

You know, we were talking about quiet times before... This balcony was such an amazing place to have an early morning quiet time!

I savored every minute of sitting in this spot...

Our first morning here happened to fall on a Sunday. 

When I poured my coffee and assembled my materials to sit down, a great feeling of guilt swept over me. Because it was Sunday morning and I was not in church, I began to feel awful.

"What kind of person are you that you are missing church to be on vacation? You know better than this. Don't you know the bible calls Christians not to be seekers of pleasure, but seekers of God?"

On and on these guilt-ridden thoughts took over my mind.

I said to the Lord in my heart, "I'm so sorry that I'm not in church."

It about ruined my time here on this balcony until I opened my bible and began to read...

I recorded what happened next in my journal. I invite you to read it, however when I wrote it I was caught up in the moment and wasn't thinking anyone would read it, so I was not mindful of writing neatly...

What a wonderful way for God to meet me in this place!

"You will go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you." 

I realized our entire trip thus far had been joyous and peace-filled, and the vibrancy of the birdsong really did sound like the mountains were bursting with music... My guilt melted away as I realized that we really did have God's blessing on our time here and I was exactly where He wanted me to be!

(One bird even came right to our open window to sing for us! ;)

Has this ever happened to you? Does God ever gently remind you that the guilt you are feeling over something is not from Him, but an unnecessary burden that you placed upon yourself?!

And does He ever lead you to the perfect verse at just the perfect time to reveal it?

I feel sorry for Christians who don't read God's Word for themselves everyday. It is how the Lord speaks to and comforts His people. And who would want to miss out on that?!!!

Well friends, I've got to go for now, but I'm having so much fun documenting our vacation photos, that I might be back here soon with Part Three!

Love to you all!

To be continued...

xo,

~ Courtney ~