7 Quick Takes: Kendra's home! Sarah's Mediterranean Grill & Market! Andi Ashworth and more!

We're in the car driving 30 hours cross-country to join our family for a week of delicious vacation by the lake.  I had time to jot down a few quick takes before we hit the road....

--- 1 ---

Kendra came home from Guatemala late Saturday night!  She's been sharing stories all week while we try to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of Guatemala City with her.

--- 2 ---

Kendra gave me permission to share a brief portion of the letter she wrote to all of her prayer supporters after returning home:

[from Kendra]"I knew then that God had done what he said he would do. He honored his promise in this passage. It's so amazing what he's done in me. What he let me see, what he let me do, what he let me feel and experience. ... This week, God spoke to me. I went to serve the poorest of the poor, and he was there with them. He met me there.I felt him and his spirit so clearly and beautifully. He covers me. His Spirit is in me. I keep saying to him, "Father, you are so, so big." As C.S. Lewis writes, "He is not safe, but he is good." And that's such a beautiful thing."

Amen, sweet daughter.  (p.s., will you write a whole post sometime soon?) 

--- 3 ---

Monday night, Andrew treated us to dinner with the stipulation that we find something in our new neighborhood that we haven't tried yet. 


Best. Idea. Ever. 


We pulled out our trusty guide (Fearless Critic: Austin Restaurant Guide) and selected Sarah's Mediterranean Grill and Market for three reasons:  inexpensive, Middle Eastern/Greek food, baklava.

special Chicken Kabob plate with complimentary baklava because it was our first visit

--- 4 ---

The restaurant guide told us "the nicest lady in the world" runs this cafe' and they weren't kidding.  We met her, her husband and her daughter (the Sarah in Sarah's).  We met a few other cooks, too.  Every single one acted like we were their new best friends visiting their home. 

p.s., Another reason to love this place?


 Olive. Bar.

--- 5 ---

This week is the last week all six of us Murphy people will be in the same house for almost six weeks.  After being all together almost all the time for almost 11 months, I guess we can stand to be apart for awhile?  It'll be good practice for the era looming ahead of us with college coming this fall.


Our oldest son, Andrew, heads out to work for the month of July and beginning of August at Laity Lodge's Youth Camp, Echo Valley.  We're all a teensy bit jealous because the place looks crazy fun.  Andrew will be cooking and collecting crazy stories.  We're planning a road trip to Leakey sometime late July to check in on him.

--- 6 ---

If I'd known soon enough, I would have totally included the re-release of Andi Ashworth's excellent book, Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring in this week's Monday Mixtape.  Although, Andi most likely doesn't know who I am, I consider us friends.  We've spent a couple of weekends at the same Laity Lodge retreat and I prayed for her this past March.  


She and her husband, Charlie Peacock, are remarkable people.  I highly recommend this book.  You can read my brief summary about the book here.


You can order the book, through this special re-relase, at the Rabbit Room, here.


Click here to read a lovely interview with Andi at the Rabbit Room.

--- 7 ---

We'll be engaged in our annual vacation liturgy for a couple of weeks, but I'll be popping in once in awhile. Until then... 

Enjoy a fun and beauty-filled weekend!

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For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!