My Weekend

Here are some highlights from my weekend!

Saturday:

Aww...the beautiful Monterey Bay!

I really liked how this one turned out

Lazy sea lions...oh, the life

See? They're in the background on this one, too!

My hubs and I about halfway through our hike

All done! Back where we started

My husband touching a starfish at the Aquarium

Me and my wonderful friend!

Pink flamingos!

The only jelly fish we were able to see, as the jelly fish exhibit was closed

Sea turtle

Penguins!

So the hubby wore pants that had a very small hole in the back...hoping they would be fine. Unfortunately, every time he sat down, they ripped a little more. By the end of our trip, they were ripped almost halfway down his leg! So, he had to wear his sweater wrapped around his waist most of the day.

(We teased him about wearing a skirt)

Sunday:

At my niece's 4th birthday party. One of my sisters-in-law and I

One of my crazy brothers-in-law. He's the birthday girl's daddy.

Picking up the candy from the pinata!

Cake time

She did not want Uncle Josh to take pics while she was eating...but she decided to give him a quick look

This is the kind of pic she was ok with having taken. Crazy girl

Trying to squirt great grandpa with her water gun

Such a fun, but long weekend!! Excited for tomorrow!!

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!

(Linking up with Heather)

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Tired

I am so tired today.

I don't know what my deal was last night, but I could not sleep. I slept for about 15 mins, woke up, and then had to turn over. And, this kept going all night. It was awful. I didn't really get any solid sleep until Josh left for work. Not good...

I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, so maybe that was part of the problem. I am excited about everything that is happening...but I know I'm gonna be so tired come Tuesday. We are finally going to visit our dear friends (they've been living about 2 hours from us for almost a year and a half...and this is the first time we're going their way!), my niece is turning 4 and we're attending her birthday party, and I'm helping throw a baby shower for another very dear friend!

(Hopefully, I will remember to take lots of pics...I don't always remember to do that)


On another note, I made some yummy cookies on Wednesday. They're probably my second favorite of all time. Here's a pic of the before (I didn't take one of the after):

(Butterscotch Oatmeal. Heavenly...and yes, I did eat some of the dough...after I formed the cookies. I just couldn't resist)

I really hope I can stay awake for a bit longer. We're going to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 tonight! I'm very excited about it!!

That's all that's on my heart at the moment...what's on yours?

(Linking up with Casey and Jeannett)

Loves

We start going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan this week in our Wednesday night Bible study.

This is not the first time I've read this book. I read it about 2 years ago for another Bible study, and I'm going through it with one of the college girls (we are almost done). But, we're reading through it for the summer, so the husband and I read through the first chapter together last night.

One of my favorite lines is in the below picture:

"God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards. When we disagree, let's not assume it's His reasoning that needs correction."

Big slap in the face, huh?

I am very excited to discuss this book tonight in our group and hear what others got from the first chapter.


On an entirely different note...


Has anyone seen this print at Target? I was in love as soon as I saw it.

(I Instagram-ed it, so the colors are a little off. But it's that beautiful red and aqua combo)

I hope that print will someday reside in my house...


I have also joined the addiction that is Pinterest. If you haven't checked it out before, you really should. But, I will warn you...you may spend some major time on it. You can check out my pins here. And, if you need an invite, let me know, and I will send you one! You can contact me through my e-mail button on the right.

What do you love currently?

Sharing the Truth

The husband and I had a good conversation today.

I'm not sure how it started (don't you hate when that happens? When you're talking to someone and can't remember how you got on the current subject?), but it was things I've felt on my heart for quite some time. I know there's going to come a day when God is going to call me to have a very hard conversation...and I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. But, I know that no matter how it turns out, I will be following God's leading and seeking His guidance, and that is all that should matter. I just know it's going to be hard because of the relationships involved...but I take comfort in the fact that God tells us that, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22).

We've been studying Matthew at church since the beginning of December...and we just finished Matthew 10 today (we're taking it nice and slow, and soaking in all of its goodness). And, the more we read through Matthew, the more challenged I am on the way I view life. God NEVER promises us that following Him will or should be easy...in fact, He guarantees it will be hard. And yet, by following Him, we are free from the burden of our sin, guilt, shame, and condemnation. To me, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I will face opposition, persecution, and possibly the hatred of many in my life? I'm learning to be ok with that...

I guess I've just been realizing lately how foolish it is for me to keep what Jesus has done for me a secret. I've never had a lot of 'secular' friends. I suppose being home-schooled will do that to you. I've pretty much always worked with Christians, in almost every single job I've ever had. I have unsaved members of my family...but that's about it. So, I think that's why it's hard for me to think of talking about the power of Jesus to other people...because I don't come across many unchurched people in my everyday life.

And yet, when I really take a step back and look, I actually do. The baristas at Starbucks (they seem to remember me, even though I typically only stop by there once a week), the clerks at Target, the waiters/waitresses at various restaurants...I come across unsaved people all the time. And, I rarely ever mention anything to do with my relationship with Christ. Why is that?

I'm starting to realize how silly it is for me to be afraid of talking about Jesus with people I don't know. What is the worst that could happen? I may never see or have another conversation with some of these people...so why does it frighten me so much? Shouldn't I WANT to share about the amazing things I've experienced in my life because of Christ?

Sorry that one thought kind of morphed into a couple of different ones. These are just some of the things that have been on my heart lately. I have a feeling God is going to start throwing some amazing opportunities my way in the future...and I'm going to have to choose how I'm going to react to them.

I really hope I pick following Him over being nervous or afraid of the outcome...

Highlights

My week has been pretty fun.

On Friday night, we had a huge laser tag event at my church. We took over the entire worship center and the hallways surrounding it, transforming them into forts and barriers and hiding spots. A local company that does mostly outdoor laser tag events came and brought all of the guns. And, they seriously had some crazy guns! They were all modeled after real guns...some of them weighing 15 lbs! It was so much fun!

(We were trying to look tough, but I was in between looks when the pic was taken. The headbands we're wearing are for the sensors for the guns. One sensor on the front and one on the back)

My sis and I made lunch for my mom for Mother's Day on Sunday. It was a casual celebration, but that's just the way we like it. My hubby and I then went over and spent some time with his mom and his family.

Last night, the ladies from my Tuesday night Bible study went out to dinner to celebrate one of the ladies' new adventures! She is heading off to Alaska to work at a national park, as well as plan a weekly worship service in the park! It's such an amazing opportunity and we are so excited for her!

(I love these women so much!)

And, now I'm looking forward to a BBQ cook off at our Bible study tonight! We are going to spend a lot of time fellowshiping (is that even a word?) and praying for our dear Alaska-bound friend!

I'm also looking forward to the release of this movie!



I so wish I would have been at the premiere at Disneyland last weekend...but at $1,000 a pop, it wasn't quite doable.

What have you been up to this week?