Florida Dreaming

Hello friends,

Court and I on the boat!

I'm just sitting here in my Florida abode as the sun streams in through my windows.  I'm pry not going to do much today as I had quite the adventurous weekend.  We went to Key West, taking a 3 level boat. It was pretty intense. We had to leave our house at 5 in the morning, and at 8 in the morning our boat left the dock and got up to a pretty nice speed. 
 At one point, Court and I decided to go upstairs to get some sun and read, these two college guys were toasted, just wasted at 8 AM!! At 8 am all I will ever be drinking is one of three things: 
1. Chocolate soy milk
2. Apple Juice, or 
3. Orange Juice (pulp free, the pulpy kind weirds me out)

Red Tide...weird right?

At Key West we were planning on doing some hardcore snorkeling, but turns out that the red tide was in, which means the red algae was all over the beach and the first 30 ft of the ocean. It was pretty intense, so we did the touristy stuff.  Court and I headed over to the shipwreck museum and were able to look over the top most pier, where people would yell "WRECK ASHORE" when boats were in trouble because then Key Westers would go and save the people and take the treasure.  Pirates/rescuers/opportunists.  I was actually able to buy a necklace that was from a shipwreck, pretty darn cool if you ask me.  To be honest I never really buy myself anything, I think because I've always been nervous about how it looks spoiling yourself, but I've been learning lately that it's okay to get things that you really want once in a while, especially if you've been saving for it, or if it's just a special something.  Happy birthday to myself (I've been saying that quite a bit lately, ::sheepish smile::).  The only other thing I've bought for myself was my Poi and I'm in love with those, so I'm not apologizing to anyone.  Yay for confidence in my choices!

Me with the shrimp

          The other really cool thing that I did this weekend is I fed a sting ray. Actually not one. Multiple. A whole tank of them.  I fed them shrimp from my hand. IT WAS AWESOME.  
Granted their stingers were removed, but it was one of the coolest things I've done. While I was doing it, I said, "It reminds me of feeding an elephant" the people around me looked at me with confusion and I said "Because Sting Rays and elephants suck it up into their mouth/trunk to eat it, it feels similar in my hand" then I laughed at the analogy, only I would make that connection. :-) (For those who don't know, I turn into a 12 year old girl when I get really excited about things, this leads to a smile the size of a half moon on my face, my eyes as wide as golf balls, and rambling from me about how cool _____ is) .

This was a pretty big thing for me, feeding these sting rays. Now, as some of you know, I'm slightly terrified by water, and by slightly terrified, I mean for years I could not be in a pool alone or even by myself on a certain side of the pool for fear that a spirit would drag me under water (I'll explain in another post). 
I would like to say that for the first time in 12+ years I was in a pool, all by myself.  No one was around, and although pretty scary. I was fine.  I ended up getting out 5 minutes later because the water was cold, but that's besides the point. I'm pretty darn proud of myself.  See what I'm wearing?  That's my big girl pants. :-)

Also, last thing before I make this post into a novela, is that since I was three years old, I have wished to be a mermaid on my birthday, I'm fairy sure 17/22 birthdays have been mermaid wishes, at least last year was ;-) ANYWAYS. I found out this past week that you can BE a mermaid. It's possible.  They make monofins, so instead of two fins, it's just one, and then they make tails that go over them, so YOU CAN BE A MERMAID. There are people who do this professionally, they have a tail and do birthday parties, and help to raise money for the environment, and the oceans, and they swim and look gorgeous.  I also found out about a mermaid camp that TEACHES YOU HOW TO BE A MERMAID. Um yes. 
So, not this year, and maybe not next, but at some point in time, I will get a monofin, and either sew my own, or buy a mermaid tail, and become a mermaid.  And here something I thought I would never be able to cross off my list, has just become cross-off-able.

Umm, Yes.

Jeremy wrote me a poem he loves in response to me talking about how ridiculous some of my dreams are, feeling shot down, and trying to be confident in where I feel God has led me, and how people think I'm just a dreamer and that I should focus on 'real jobs' and 'reality':

We are the music makers

We are the dreamers of dreams

Wandering by sea breakers

aside desolate streams

world changers and world breakers

on whom the pale moon gleams

we are the movers and shakers

of the world forever, it seems

Best husband ever. One thing (out of many) that I was blessed with growing up was parents that told me to find my dreams and chase after them, not blindly, don't be a fool, but find what God has seeded into your heart as your desire, and then go for it, and don't let people who aren't chasing their dreams spoil the thrill of achieving your own.  I have done many things, most have been dreams or helping someone else with theirs, (China was Jer's, I was pretty nervous).  I hope in reading this post (and I think I'm going to write about Dreams in a post coming up, as I have some cool stuff that's been on my heart) that you think about what your heart wants, and what desire God has put in your heart.  Maybe it's growing a vineyard or bee keeping like my lovely mother-in-law, or maybe it's helping children discover the glory of God like my mom, or breaking a world record on a unicycle like my awesome dad, or going to the Air Force like my husband.  Whatever your dream is, go after it.  If you want to be a mermaid, practice swimming, if you want to write a book, set aside time.  Go after it, because if you don't.  Then you won't. And your dream will either become dormant, or eat away at you.  

Take faith, God will not give us temptations OR DREAMS that we can not accomplish or handle. 

Chase after those dreams,

Amber Jane