Hatteras Island, North Carolina Beach Trip :) Awk and Awe

Hi lovelies!
We just recently got back from our trip to Hatteras Island, North Carolina. It was very fun, relaxing, and did God ever move! Wow. It was amazing. Do we take vacations away from God? Absolutely NOT!

NOTE: We do wear modest swimwear (us girls wear bikinis underneath exercise type shirts, leggings, and skirts made out of swim type material. The guys wear long shorts and t-shirts). We also purposely go OFF SEASON and go to an island (even though it's a longer drive) so we are not around all those basically naked people walking around.

I'll get to testimonies in a little bit, but, first some pics:

 Some neat waves after stormy weather (we had AMAZING weather the whole time, though it rained/stormed a little the last night/morning we were there- creating NEAT waves).

 More waves...

I do LOVE, LOVE,  LOVE Jesus! <3<3<3

 Shells and beach.

 God written in the sand.

The island we stayed at. SO beautiful. :)

Sand dunes.... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A dock at Ocracoke Island.

First some "Awkwards" from the trip:

• Almost running smack into the screen door (not noticing the almost invisible screen until the last second). My sister wasn't as fortunate though... She ran full speed into it! Poor girl.
• Walking confidently into a beach store and finding myself behind the counter! The cashier looked at me weird (with a smirk on his face) as I said, "Sorry!" while trying to figure out how to get out of there. Those beach stores are so crowded and weird.
• Trying to figure out how to get in and out of a hammock while still maintaining my ladylike dignity and modesty.
•  Walking with queenly grace (or so I thought) on the bumpy-curving-swaying pier only to trip on a loose/sticking way up board.
• Spending the day out on Ocracoke Island not realizing that my poor nose was getting VERY BADLY sunburnt. I was walking around looking like a clown!
• Getting nasty looks from the occasional-VERY-immodest beach walkers and then remembering that, not only was I dressed modestly, I was also wearing my "FEAR GOD" and "REPENT" hat.  (Yes, I'm not your average girl-I totally don't care what people think of me!)
• Getting the marshmallow roasting sticks (sitting in a paper bag) stuck in my hair THREE times! It was very embarrassing. Here I was prancing around with a burnt marshmallow coated stick hanging from my long hair! (It was dark out with just moon/fire light so I have a little bit of an excuse... ha) I had to give myself a little "shower" with my water bottle before it was all said and done.
• Trying to play guitar next to the fire on the beach while very conscience of the fact that about 5-10 mosquitoes are just eating up my legs like there's no tomorrow.
• Staring out over the dark ocean and praying to Jesus  (pouring out my heart), while on the beach at night, only to have my sister come behind me and scare the daylights out of me! Let's just say she quenched the Spirit for a short time. ha
• Watching some people near us catch a baby shark. And we're thinking, "We were just in that water swimming.........."  O_o

And now for some "Awesomes" from the trip:

• Seeing God use our magnets in SOO many ways: We met many neat people; had sinners get so mad about the "Abortion Kills Babies" one that they wrote "Pro-Choice" in big letters on their truck's window; had LOTS and LOTS of people reading them everywhere from driving down the highways to parking on the ferry; and obviously seeing mixed reactions.
• Saw a DOUBLE rainbow over the ocean! It was SOO neat. God had my Dad thinking about His holiness and His throne (which has a rainbow around it) right when he looked up and saw it. It was SOO amazing! Wish this picture could do it justice, but, it's all I have (this was taken before the second one appeared above it):

•    Prayer pacing on the beach at night. Really feeling God's presence. Getting really serious with Him. Praising Him. Doing some "Jewish dancing" for Him. And in the midst of all that glory seeing a little cloud over the ocean with balls of lighting just lighting it up! And a beautiful moon. So incredible. *smile*
• Enjoying God's beautiful creation. Getting amazing weather. Soaking up some sun. Going out on the pier in the morning and at night. Collecting neat shells (my sis found these neat striped one:
  )

 Seeing the sunrise over the ocean. Riding a ferry. Thrift store shopping. :) Daily devotions with my family. Playing guitar on the beach. Making smores on the beach over a fire pit we dug out. Catching a giant crab (not to eat! ha ha  Just to look at).  Though it was a little scary, the baby shark was neat to see. Watching some people catch a sting ray on the pier. Catching waves with our boogie boards. Zooming down sidewalks and streets with our long boards. Getting a new book (The Biography of Gladys Aylward). Eating Chinese food (my favorite!). Sitting on or walking along the shore just talking to God (while some people walk hand in hand along the shore with their "lovers" talking, I get to do it with Jesus! And it's real love <3). Running and splashing with my little sister in the water (we even had a "race" to mom where of course I let her she beat me). :) Trying out "skim boarding" for the first time- though I failed miserably- it still was fun. And too much more awesome stuff to name. :)
It really was a blessing of a time. :)
Can't wait to do it again!

Well, I hope y'all are well. I'm sorry that I'm so bad at keeping up with my blog- life is just very busy around here. Hope y'all understand!

May Jesus richly bless you all! <3

~Hope<3