Heaven on Earth

I just got back from my second mini-vacation to Outerbanks, NC this month. The first one was spent with my family in Nags Head and the second one was spent with friends in Corolla. OBX is my favorite vacation spot! It's like my personal heaven on earth. Why? Because first of all, it's the beach. My family and I absolutely love the beach, love the water, etc. Growing up, my family and I went on vacation to OBX every single summer. It has so many family memories wrapped up into this one location. It has great restaurants (Pizzazz Pizza...my favorite pizza place!), great shops, cool places to see (Jockey's Ridge Sand Dunes, wild horses, lighthouses), and so much more! It's only 2 hours away from my home which makes it a feasible weekend getaway spot for a fun camping trip at Oregon Inlet. I love everything about OBX. It even has one of my favorite restaurants there now called Plaza Azteca. The only thing missing from it that would make it the perfect heaven on earth is a Chipotle! But what I like most about Outerbanks is the bonding with nature and with God that I do while I am there staring out at the vast oceans with my feet in the sand, the wind in my hair, and the beautiful sunsets. It's so beautiful. I love just sitting in quiet at the oceanfront feeling God's presence in the beauty of nature all around me. That's truly what makes it my personal heaven on earth.

"Love Can Bring You Home."

I am reading a book recommended to me called Made for Goodness And Why This Makes All the Difference by Christian Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu. Each chapter ends with a beautiful poem written in the voice and perspective of God speaking to us. Here is the poem I read today:

"Why are you running, running, running?

Why are you hiding away?

You may think that what you have done is beyond my power to forgive.

You may think what you have said makes me shrug and turn away.

You may think that you are lost.

But you are not lost to me.

How could you ever be?

Where are you that I cannot go?

Where have you been that I have not been?

What did you see that I have not seen?

What did you do?

No, it cannot be undone,

The pain cannot be unmade,

The life cannot be un-lived,

The time will not run backward,

You cannot un-choose your choice.

But the pain can be healed,

Your choices can be redeemed,

Your life can be blessed,

And love can bring you home."

"To Love at All is to be Vulnerable"

I spend a lot of time thinking about friendships and relationships....what they should be like, what I can do to be a better person and better friend, how to love people unconditionally, etc. It's just something I enjoy to think deeply about. It's hard to be in relationships or friendships after getting burned by people, or rejected, or abandoned. It's really hard to reopen your heart to others, to trust them again, or to even love them like you once loved before. But it's gotta be worth it, right? One of my favorite quotes about relationships and love is by Christian author, C.S. Lewis. He says:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

Too Much God?

Is there such a thing as TOO MUCH GOD?

I hung out with a friend of mine recently who has known me for about twelve years. He told me that I talked about God too much and that it was overwhelming. He said that I needed to experience life outside the lens of God.
 

Who I Am

I am a woman, a child of God.

Before my parents even had me in the glimpse of their minds, my Heavenly Father had already formed me in His perfect image.

I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, who I declare is my Lord and Savior unashamedly.