Escape

      Last Tuesday my mom called me from work and asked if I wanted to get away for the weekend. How could I turn that down? A weekend get away to the beach before my summer class started sounded absolutely lovely. Come Thursday I picked my mom up from work and we were off!

     We traveled up to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, which was prepared for our arrival. It was in the upper 70s and sunny all weekend, and rather empty! It was perfect. It was a resting and relaxing break from the unpacked boxes that were crowding my room and the new syllabus that was beginning to haunt me before I had even had a chance to thrown the old ones out.

     We spent our days sunning on the beach, reading (for fun- when was the last time that was allowed?) and enjoying the general splendor! I convinced my mom to indulge on photography adventures with me; sunset one night, 5:30am the next day for sunrise, and a hike out to a park to see a lighthouse! It was absolutely beautiful, God certainly knew what he was doing when he created all of this!

     When I was looking at the sunrise I had to stop and just soak in all of the beauty. And "beauty" isn't even the word to describe it! As I was watching the day begin and taking pictures, the part in Genesis came to my mind where God created the earth from a dark and lifeless form into this stunning creation. It takes my breath away to see this; the sun peaking out over the crest of the ocean, dolphin poking their heads out for breakfast, and the general peacefulness as the rest of the world slept! In Genesis after God creates something it is described as "good" and watching this I can see why! But as I was sitting there God put on my heart that I describe his sunrise one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and yet God only calls it "good." What he sees as "very good" is me! (Genesis 1:31)

     Know that what ever you see in this world as beautiful, a sunrise, a flower, the mountains, God sees you as beautiful beyond compare to those things! That made me stand still. No sunrise can ever compare with his greatest creation- us! We are capable of so much, we're complex (I took anatomy and physiology, trust me we are), and we are drop dead stunning!
     On our spontaneous beach get away I caught up on some sleep, finished a book and a half, got a little sun kissed, saw some gorgeous places and moments, and left knowing that I am a beautiful creation! I would deem that a successful first adventure of the summer.

*Joy of the day: Getting to curl up under a cozy yellow blanket to fall asleep to the sound of rain after five days of joy!

M516 Photo Shoot

Last week I had the privilege of taking some photos of the lovely ladies of the small group M516! They were such a blessing to work with. They had such energy and showed such love towards one another, and it was a lot of fun to capture a little bit of what God is doing in their lives.

*Joy of the day: last "cheesy Thursday" (school tradition of grilled cheese and tomato soup on Thursdays) of the year with some beautiful friends!

Do You Stop?

     This weekend I got the opportunity to go visit friends at a college about an hour away. It's a pretty drive through the mountains, so of course I brought my camera! And I am so glad I did because as I was coming down the mountain there were two "scenic pull outs." I stopped at the second one, grabbed my camera (which I realized I had left on the last time I used it, so I said a quick prayer that it wasn't dead), and went out to look out over the valley. It was beautiful!
     The sun was just starting to go down in the early evening, so it highlighted the valley and all of its beauty. It was classic: rolling green hills, red barns, cows, dark mountains in the distance. It was gorgeous! And then when I turned around there were hawks flying above the hill, probably five or so. They were just soar, catching the wind and looking effortless in the sky. It was beautiful, a moment that I thoroughly enjoyed because honestly I contemplated not stopping.
     As I was taking the pictures and soaking in God's creation I could hear the sound of the traffic, and it occurred to me that all these people were missing this! They weren't getting the chance to see this view, and for many of them they wouldn't be traveling this way again. It reminded me of a quote from one of my favorite movies Cars. Lightening McQueen is talking about how the new highway that bypassed this tiny little town also passed this amazing view, he says "they're driving right by. They don't even know what they're missing!"

     When was the last time you stopped at a scenic pull out because you knew that you'd never see that view again? You knew that you would never have the opportunity to witness God's beautiful creation in that place? You stopped for a moment to thank God for his artwork that he gave you for your enjoyment?
     From now on one of my life goals is to stop at every possible scenic pullout that I come across! I realized that I may never be in that place again, and I don't want to miss a moment of beauty!
*Joy of the weekend: Getting to catch up with two beautiful friends from home, they're the friends that pick up where we left off, and they bring me incredible happiness!