The Weekend

This past weekend was one of the craziest weekends ever, but it was great. Once a year some of my closest girl-friends all get together and spend 3-4 days somewhere. We started the tradition my freshman year of college and have kept it up. I've been to Jefferson, TX; a bed and breakfast in Fort Smith, AR; camping at Pedernales Falls, TX; on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and this year to Fort Worth, TX. I look forward to these weekends every year and always walk away with great memories (and pictures).

This year was different from any other year because it was the last girls weekend with all 5 of us for awhile (plus, my twin sister being married through a new element in the mix as well). Anna leaves for 2 months of training at the end of April, then she's off to Thailand for 2 years as part of the Journeyman program with the IMB. We decided girl's weekend might have to take place overseas in the coming years considering out of the 5 girls who attend, 3 of us have a heart for missions and plan to be overseas within the next few years. We'll see how that dream pans out =).

Pictures from girls weekend will be coming soon.

After a wonderful time with the girls, I headed to the church to get ready for our variety night. I was part of two acts. The first, a singing quintet. The church calls us the "Fab Five". That's our entire church pastoral staff. From left to right: Blake Barbe (youth pastor), me, Josh Bailey (worship leader), Don Geiger (pastor), and Tony Gomillion (pastor for ministry development).

We sang Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, a fun up beat song. I think it was cruel to stick me next to the tallest person, oh well, I was thankful Josh was on the other side =).

The second, and my favorite of the two was a ballet routine by 4 of my little girls. They were definitely the highlight of the evening and stole the show. How can you not love them, just look at how cute they are.

Sunday night I got home and, after family prayer time, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

On a different note, things in Kenya have taken a turn for the worse. Though a power-sharing arrangement was agreed upon, and the position of Prime Minister created and given to Odinga, the details of how much power the position holds are not going smoothly. The ODM has declared that if a suitable compromise is not reached by Thursday, they will hold nationwide protests. The last time protests of this kind were held it resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Please pray that both opposing parties will reach an agreement and stop dragging their feet while the country they're fighting for power over hangs in such a delicate state. Continue to pray for peace for the nation of Kenya and safety for those there.

Love and Joy

I'm part of a women's Bible study and right now we're going through Beth Moore's study Breaking Free. It has been such a good study so far and I've learned so much. This past week we talked about love and the difference between agape love and phileo love. I've heard sermon's about this before, but it was a good reminder. Agapao love is "to esteem, to love indicating a direction of the will, to find one's joy in something/someone, to love in best interest." As opposed to phileo love which is "brotherly love, to love with common interest." Agapao requires sacrifice and is a decision you have to make. Whereas phileo love is much more common because it is a common/shared interest love.

Anyhow, through this discussion about love, Beth quoted Oswald Chambers, "No love of the natural heart is safe unless the human heart has been satisfied by God first." That quote made me think: "how satisfied is my heart with God?" Two friends of mine got married this weekend. Being part of their wedding day was wonderful and difficult all at the same time. I'm so happy for the couple on their special day, yet I become extremely dissatisfied with being single. God and I always have to talk for awhile after weddings =). During those talks, He reminds me that I need to love (agapao) him with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my strength. That was a difficult task for me this weekend (though I think I hid it pretty well). However, I have the ability to love God that much because He first loved me. He demonstrates His love to me daily and it is every bit of the definition of agapao above. Beth Moore's discussion about love was a fresh reminder and I was grateful. Funny how God can use a video of Beth Moore to speak comfort to my soul.

Yesterday, a friend and I were talking about the Bible study and what we had taken away from it. We got around to talking about the joy that comes along with loving God. I love meeting people who I can tell AGAPAO God. I always feel blessed from my time with them because their joy with their Lord overflows. I so desire to be one of those people. To be a fool for God...that's my dream, what I daily strive for. I want to radiate with God's joy and love, even in the difficult times.

I'm still working through keeping my heart in the States and not overseas. Still learning multiple lessons and how to glorify God. If I'm here for nothing else than to learn how to love God, that is a worthy cause. As my friend Lara says, "If I can give no other objective or goal for my time at home, let it be that my heart presses on in love."