BST's Blog

What a great week we've had! I love Malibu...the ocean, the hundreds of flowering trees and bushes, the sound of the waves, the cars driving along the Pacific Coast Hwy with surf boards riding on top, Dukes seaside restaurant, Marmalade’s incredible salads, a large "Malibu dream" from the Coffee Bean, John's Garden's Malibu shopping area complete with a playground for kids, the Serra Monastic retreat center, the fresh sea air, the lush Pepperdine landscape...it's almost like food for my soul!!

the view outside our room overlooking Pepperdine's campus all the way to the ocean. Ridiculous.

The chapel on Pepperdine's campus.

Serra Retreat center and Monastery

The kids at the Serra Retreat Center.

Sam and I pose at the Serra Retreat Center/ Monastery.

A windy day at the beach.

Sheryl and Ella walking the beach together.

Sam at the Malibu market area

The worship times all went well. We had six sessions total. Some were just ZOE, others were with Mike Cope or Jeff Walling. The spirit that people bring to the Pepperdine conference just blesses me so much. The worship and class times are always filled with energy and excitement. The worship is vibrant and participative. The fellowship is sweet!

But the real reason I love going to Pepperdine is because of the people. We always see lots of friends. This year was no exception. Beth Ann Fisher (wife of Craig--college roommie with Stephen, Chris and me) was there with her kids, Riley and Owen and her parents, Gary and Ruth Ann Souder. It was SO much fun watching our kids play together like long-lost best friends. What a joy!

Sheryl and Beth Ann

Lunch was so much more fun with friends!

L-R Maddie, Ella, Riley, and Owen

Riley and Maddie (how can we not wish they'd get married some day??)

Ella and Owen (ditto!!)

Sam did his best to keep up and join the fun. He was so cute to watch with them.

All the kids played together on Friday at The Malibu Market area on the playground.

I got to see lots of old friends like Jonathan Ross, Jeff Howell, Mitch and Shannon Wilburn, John and Sarah Siburt (Sarah sang with us one day!), Don Jocoy, Russ and Rebeka Debenport, Mike Cope, Daryl Tippens, Bruce and Taylor Morgan, Jim Hinkle, my cousin Shannon and her family, and so many more.

Jonathan Ross with Sheryl and me

My cousin, Shannon, her husband Corey and me

the cousins...Maddie, Ella, Claire and Carsen.

But the biggest treat of all was when my former singing partner on Norwegian Cruise Line, Beverley Staunton, drove out one night for one of our late night worship times. I hadn't seen Bev in 13 years. What a joy! I have loved getting to hear her sing every week on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars". Her voice is one of my favorite female voices right under a woman by the name of Sheryl Thomas. Listen for her as she sings "Stand By Your Man" this Monday. What a fun gig she has--live music on National TV every week! It was really neat to be able to introduce her to the crowd in Smothers Theater that night and talk about our individual journeys over the last 13 years that have both brought us to a deep faith in Jesus. We sang "He's Always Been Faithful to Me" after that and those words came alive in new ways!

This was the first time we took all three kids with us. In fact, we had EVERYONE including Kiki, Lauren, Deidre, all of ZOE, and Sheryl's parents. We really missed my mom being there this year. It was so much fun to have most of the family there. Kiki, Lauren and Deidre were a HUGE help with the kids while we sang. This year for the first time Maddie and Ella came to our 2pm class with Mike Cope. They were so cute! Ella even had a part in our final class on Friday.

Sheryl and her cousin Kim (Kiki)

Kiki with the girls at the beach on a VERY cold and windy day!

Lauren holds a miserable Sam as he fights the wind.

The girls with Mee-Maw and Paw-Paw. (Mitch and Shannon Wilburn are right behind them in this pic...see post last week of ACU pics with Shannon and Tara McKnight!)

At one of our late night worship hours I was able to share a part of my journey this last year. That's never an easy thing to do. I sometimes struggle with feeling a bit ridiculous after sharing. I know that's Satan trying to convince me that vulnerability does NOT pay. But God always finds amazing ways to remind me afterwards that there are huge benefits to desert times and that others are blessed when we can share our own wounds and stories.







I enjoyed having some time with Peter and Lindsey too. Lindsey has been really sick and we’ve been praying hard for her. They are busily making wedding plans for their big day in August. Most all of ZOE is flying out to the vineyard where they will be married in Northern California. I can't wait!!



Our last night at Pepperdine was complete with one screaming Ella, one non-sleeping and screaming Sam, one sick Mee-Maw, a bed breaking in the middle of the night, one very sleepy mommy and one long day of travel ahead. It was time to come home to (as Maddie and Ella say...) our "very cozy beds".

In the airport as we waited for our flight, I had a nice surprise...we ran into my friend Taylor who was coming back from living in Australia. He was at Otter Creek for a while and is coming back to the states to raise money for his work there. He was on our flight home. After he told us of his flight experience and being up for almost 40 hours straight, we felt a little less like complaining!

Taylor and me

One last thing...it seems Maddie has moved on from her LONG time crush on Peter Wilson. These days she fancies the younger Wilson brother, Zach! Zach took a break from touring with Acapella to come sing with us this week. It was so fun having him! Pete, I guess Maddie finally came to grips with the fact that Lindsey really IS the woman in your life.

Here's Maddie and Zach!

This pic of Sam on the way home really sums it all up!

Thank you to all of you who came to Pepperdine and blessed us so richly. Thanks also to those of you who said hello who are stealth blog readers! Now I KNOW you’re out there!