I KNOW

God is Holy, don't forget!

Drew reminded our congregation yesterday morning of something that unfortunately is something I forget way to frequently. He said that we often think of God as a personal God. One that we can talk to and be comforted by. One that knows us intimately and desires for us to know Him. I am SOOOOO glad that is the case. BUUUTTT He is also the Holy God that was not able to be looked upon in the Old Testament. He was the one that you had to let a priest talk to for you. He was a pillar of cloud, a burning bush, the creator of this world! I am so glad that we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but I don't want to forget that HE is still the God of this universe. This perfect, HOLY, powerful God that we DON'T deserve to talk to, let alone walk beside. I realize that I don't give Him nearly the amount of honor that He is due!

I don't know about you but I struggle getting out of bed in the morning. I have to set my alarm 30 minutes earlier so that I can snooze it so many times. But when I was little and it was Christmas morning, or my birthday, or the day I get to go to camp or vacation I jumped out of bed to get ready. I couldn't fall asleep the night before because I could do is think about who I was going to be with or what I was about to do! I personally get the opportunity to spend time with the God that made this world, the God that parted the red sea and spent a perfect life here on earth, ANYTIME I WANT. I asked myself yesterday why I don't jump out of bed, excited to start my day at His feet. I don't really know that answer other than I need to dig and know Him more so that I can fully understand how worthy He is of my first minutes of my day.

Why am I living?

I don't know about you, but my time alone with God often starts out in a similar fashion. I usually ask God to help me know and crave Him more. I LONG to grow closer to God, I crave to not be able to live a day without being right on His heels. I feel like lately God and I have been pretty close as far as me praising Him and acknowledging who He is.

Buuutt, as I was praying similarly this morning, I began thinking about what my reason is for living. 2 things came to mind, which sounds like a 'Sunday school' answer, but I truly believe it with all my heart.

1. Praise God... worship Him.... give HIM the honor that He deserves
2. Make that amazing God known to others... Let my unconditional love for Christ be seen by everyone... so they can't help but want to know Him too!

That made me start to think about how I spend a lot of time working on knowing God better and loving Him more, but how much do I spend showing that to others. How is my love and Christ-likeness seen through the eyes of those around me...

That is something I lack. Although I do try to show love and kindness to others, I'm not convinced that they see Christ as a result. There are a lot of morally upright people in this world that aren't following Christ. I want them to see Jesus through me and not just 'a good person.'

Consumed

Counting on a Road Trip!

2,100 miles driven
1700 + pictures taken
42 states seen on license plates, 2 Canada provinces, and 1 DC
25 hours in a car
14 + restaurants visited
9 tanks of gas
8 different beds slept in
7 Martin Luther King Jr streets
6 loads of laundry
5 states driven through
4 Word of Life friends seen
3 horrible sunburns
2 Braves games watched
1 wedding attended
0 speeding tickets

Whew! Drew and I had a hectic and yet relaxing vacation!!

Winston-Salem

Our trip concluded with a visit at the Naff household. Jeremy's birthday was Wednesday so we were able to hang out with them a little bit. We went to a yummy restaurant called 'The Filling Station' and walked around some pretty gardens. We had to stop for ice cream at Mayberry's because it was HOT! (and I love ice cream) I sure do love this family, my family! :)

Atlanta

Drew and I went to two Braves' games on Tuesday and Thursday. We both love the atmosphere of baseball so it was a relaxing part of our vacation. It was HOT on Wednesday and we got burnt, but the stadium wasn't full so we were able to move around and get better seats about halfway through the game. When we came to Atlanta, Drew was asking about how we would like living in a big city. Leaving the game and being in traffic for 2 hours (accidents and game traffic) he definitely changed his outlook. He says that he will never again complain that Orange Ave takes an extra 10 minutes to drive. We will see if that happens, but I promise I will call him on it! :)

Clearwater

Relaxing in Clearwater was wonderful! Sun, sand, and sunsets, THAT is what makes a vacation!!

Orlando

We spent a night and day in Orlando. We walked around downtown Disney and enjoyed the shops and yummy food! Oh man, beware when going on roadtrips that there are shopping malls/outlets everywhere!! Very dangerous. :)

Savannah

Our short stop in Savannah included us walking around downtown and eating at Lady and Sons! It is a cute town, and had amazing food, but I would recommend going if you have a couple days and can go on some of the tours. There were so many old buildings and things that I had no idea what the stories were behind them!!

Mr and Mrs Coy Stables

My friend Mandy got married in Florida this past Saturday. I was so excited to be apart of her special day! Coy is such a lucky man to have such an incredible wife! :) I love you Mandy!

Word of Life friends! It was so good to spend some time with Mandy, Leah and Nicci!

I really enjoy going to weddings and thinking about the vows Drew and I made not long ago!

They are married!

bridesmaids... what a great group of friends

Mandy woke up at the crack of dawn, we went to Walmart, but not before we saw this gorgeous sunrise!