"It's My Treat"

At the beginning of March, God told Bethany that we needed to take a little vacation at the end of the month. He stated that we needed a break from the kids and really wanted some alone time with us to teach us some stuff and be romantic with us.

A couple days later He gave us a $500 budget for this trip. We took this as "I am going to give you 500 extra dollars this month to go on this vacation". So, in faith, we planned the trip.

So the first step is child care. Anyone who is a parent, especially of more than one kid, knows that the biggest hurdle to any plan is those kids. If they are coming, you have to plan activities for them. You have to have snacks, and games, and movies. If they are not coming, then it's babysitters and school. With 3 kids it was difficult to find a place for them to be for 3 days. Lucky for us that God knows what he is doing. Turns out the last week in March is spring break for Bethany's aunt. Also, she loves our kids and is just about the sweetest lady we know. She agreed to take the baby. Her daughter has school shortly after my daughter leaves for school and was able to stay at the house with her. My mom just happens to be in between jobs all the sudden and agreed to watch the boy.

So within the first week, we had all three kids taken care of for 3 days. This is something we've never accomplished before. It was clear at this point that it that we were headed in the right direction.

The next step was to find where we were going to go. God suggested that we look for a cabin where we could be alone and unplugged. Bethany began looking for cabin in and near Estes Park and the YMCA of the Rockies. She specifically asked him for a place with a hot tub and a fireplace. After 2 weeks she was unable to find a cabin that was available for the time we wanted and wasn't $500 or more. We were less than a week away and had nowhere to go. On the edge of giving up, we remembered how easily God had brought babysitters for us. He has provided for us so many times in the past. We decided to relax and keep on keeping on. A day later Bethany came across an unsung place called "Rustic river cabins". It didn't look like much and they wanted like $280 for 2 nights, but there wasn't anything else and God told us to go with it. So we booked our reservation only 5 days in advance. Bethany showed me that it had a private hot tub and a fireplace.

We were excited but also still nervous about the money. I was even tempted to see when the

cancellation deadline was. We assumed that God would provide some money ahead of time. We had a couple ideas of where it could come from, but it never came. Together, we decided we were going to trust Him and go anyway. This was difficult because it violates all the rules of good money handling. God really likes to defy our expectations. 

As we were heading up the mountain, Jesus told us that this trip was, “on Him”. All our expenses were covered and we didn't have to worry about anything. He would tell us where to go and what to do. It was like when you take your wife out for a special date. You don't tell her what the plan is, and you don't let her worry about the cost. You just tell her to enjoy the ride. He told us not to look at the bank account or think about the money. We agreed to His terms.

So, we arrive at these cabins and pull of the road. We go up to the office, which is just the owner’s small cabin home, and pay our fees. We unload our stuff and spend some time being romantic. As he sun began to set we decided we were hungry. Jesus told us to go into town and get some food. So, we did. As normal people do, we started discussing what we were going to eat and deciding if we had the money for it (a difficult conversation as we weren’t allowed to look at the bank account.) Eventually, He told us to stop and just enjoy each other’s company. So, we did. I aimlessly drove in random directions He told us to take and talked with my wife about life. Every place we drove by was closed because it was Easter, but he kept saying it was fine. Finally, after about 30 minutes we arrived at Domino’s Pizza. The only place open in Estes Park on Easter let me tell you. So we grabbed some pizza, went back to the cabin and ate by the fire and cuddled. At his direction we went into the hot tub and relaxed for a while. After that we went to bed.

**A little interjection here. I intend to keep this story G rated, but understand that I was alone in a cabin with my wife for 2 days, with no kids… Romantic and physical activities took place. The Lord worked hard to ensure that these activities took place. We learned so much about those things during this weekend. I don’t say this to brag (maybe a little), but instead to be honest. Christians tend to shy away from the topic of sex and God. Well, you can’t, because he created it and is very happy with that creation. He intends for it to be great, and He showed us that this weekend. So I will leave this topic alone for now, but let’s agree that sex belongs to God, not to Satan. We should take it back. Ok back to the story.**

The next day was full of hiking and walking through the town shops. We spent a lot of time talking with each other. It was amazing actually, because sometimes life gets so busy and routine that we forget to talk to each other. We never ran out of things to talk about, and frankly, we talked about Him a lot. Toward lunch time he lead us to a building off the main street that was, well, complicated. It was like 6 storied with gardens and outside walkways leading to different shops. There was no advertising anywhere and you would never know these stores were there. So, at the very top, in the back where no one would ever find it, was a Mexican restaurant. This place had some amazing food. Once again we were worried about the bill, but Jesus reminded us to leave it. So, we did and moved on. We went back to the cabin for alone time. That night we drove down to Boulder to get some cheesecake. At this point we had stopped worrying about the money and just did what He suggested.

The final morning, we packed everything up and stopped by the gas station on the way out of town. Jesus told me I could have a monster energy drink as I was tired. He told me to get Bethany a drink too. In case you’re wondering, Yes, I did ask Him if I could have one. He was paying for the trip so I asked permission to use His money. So, after purchasing the drinks we began down the mountain. The trip was officially over. Jesus told us we could look at the bank account now. When I pulled it up, I saw that we had about 5 dollars left in the checking account available. So basically, without every looking at it or doing any math, we paid for the cabin, ate several meals, bought a couple things at the shops, had treats, and got an energy drink, all while only using nearly exactly the amount of money we had available in the bank. If that doesn’t prove His faithfulness, I don’t know what does. I was blown away by this. I hope you see this the way I did. God took time to invest in our weekend, and kept track of the pocketbook for us. He guided us to fun and enjoyment without worry.

Oh and by the way, a week later we got a check for that $500 from our housing development. So, yeah He paid for it.

Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness and love. You never cease to amaze me. You are the Grand overseer and creator of all the heavens, and yet, you wanted to spend a quiet weekend with me and my wife. You amaze me. Praise to the Lord God above all others.