Hesed

I AM IN TOTAL AWE OF GOD RIGHT NOW!!! The focus in youth group this summer has been examining the ways certain words are defined by our culture and how they are defined by God in the Bible. Tonight's word? LOVE!!! Scott spent a lot of time explaining the Hebrew word "hesed" to us. Hesed translates to steadfast, unchangeable covenant love. I looked it up on Yahoo a little while ago, and found a wonderful article about it and how it relates to Christ as the Bridegroom loving the church as His Bride! God has been doing such awesome things in my life this summer! I am so grateful to have been given 2 dramatically life changing summers in a row! He has been answering so many prayers this summer, especially since LPL. He's even starting to open up financial doors. I'm seeing the doors to the ministry He's been working in my heart to pursue open up, and cannot express the joy in my heart! Psalm 37:4 says, " Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." How wonderfully true! I'm loving the path He has placed me on! He has such an amazing plan for me, and I intend to follow Him and experience His love to the fullest.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last post that on the day I ended up going to see Julie & Julia, there happened to be a quote from Beth Moore in my inspirational daily planner. Not intentional (at least by me ;) ). My life's been kinda weird since God introduced that woman into my life, and not just because she's weird (which I LOVE!). I'm glad God tricked me into doing a Beth Moore Bible study. :) It's strange how someone I've never actually met in person has had such a big impact on my life.

As promised, here are a couple pictures of my precious kitty. :)

So angelic!


This was when she was sick a couple of weeks ago. Poor kitty.

And here's a picture of Stefano taking a nap.

May God bless you as you walk with Him and may you feel the love that he lavishes upon you! Trust in Him and the plans He has for you. They are MARVELOUS! Gros bisous! XOXO

God's Refrigerator

Do you think God has our pictures of our far from pefect attempts at following Him on His refigerator? I think He does. I think He keeps them all up there and treasures them just like a parent treasures their children's drawings. Even if they are some of the worst drawings in the world, parents treasure them as if they are a masterpiece. Although our efforts may sometimes seem small and invaluable to us, I think God treasures them more than we can possibly imagine. Each step we take towards Him is a huge accomplishment, and I think He claps insanely for us like we do for every step a baby takes when he/she is learning to walk. What a joy to have a God that delights in us so!!!

A Game of Mini Golf With God and Loree

So my friend Loree and I were at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on Monday playing a round of mini golf. A couple of the holes have a spinner and you do what ever the triangle you it lands on says to do. Well Loree landed on Cursed Ball, which meant that after I hit my ball the first time, she could move it wherever she wanted. She decided, as usual, that she didn't feel like being nice, and proceeded to move my ball just a few inches from the beginning. So I turned to Daddy! Knowing that our God is a just God, I asked Him if He was going to let that go unpunished. I prayed that He would show us that He truly is a just God by allowing me to get my ball in the hole before she did. Hallelujah to our just God! He rewards the kind and punishes evil! I got my ball in 2 more shots later, and it took her, I think, 6 more shots, the longest it took her on any hole! yes, God is just and has a sense of humor, one that allows Him to use a game of mini golf to prove His justice. I've got to say, God and I make a good team; God and anyone make a great team! ;)

I've also got to add that Loree and I made the top 10 scores for the new attraction, The Vault, which is a laser maze. And it was set to medium! Practice makes perfect, right?!

Oh, and, Loree, if you're reading this, I love you! Please don't smack me!

P.S. The Snuggie hog has been attacking my feet to get more of the Snuggie for herself.