Highlights of the Weekend.

So this weekend has been a really nice one. On Friday evening, I went with my parents to a family friend's house for some food and chatting. Every Friday they open their patio for their neighbor friends to come over and enjoy time eating good food and spending time together. It was fun meeting some of their friends and drinking tea outside. They had adorable lanterns lit and everything...it was so summery and perfect.
Yesterday morning my mom and I woke up early and went for a morning walk. It's always so neat just to talk to her about life and Christianity. She definitely is full of wisdom and I look up to her for council because of that.
Today, we had a fantastic church service. The worship was lead by Joseph Pfeifer. He is such a gifted musician and It is always a treat when he visits. We're really looking forward to diving into the book of Mark for 40 weeks! Can you believe it?! I just love when we do real, in depth studies of certain books of the Bible. There is so much in every book...it's going to be really good.
I went to Panera Bread for some study time, since this week is my last week of school which means finals! I got a cookie and just sat in a corner for a while. It was quite nice just to get away and focus. It's always so pleasant there. I decided to sit outside for a time after and I met a really interesting man! He was a tennis pro and just last week he was in Paris for the tennis tournament. He showed me some lovely pictures of Paris and he also shared some neat stories full of exciting details! It made me want to visit Europe even more...But the coolest thing was the fact that I got to hear a little of his story. He was from Canada and he moved out to California years ago for a change. He loves teaching kids and teens tennis and he loves to encourage them with just life stuff as well. Apparently, he offers a course all about tennis and their dreams pertaining to the sport. He spends a lot of time talking to them about character building and life lessons...how cool! We talked for about 20 minutes and it was really neat! I was amazed at how the Lord can totally put people in your path for just a moment and you could have gained so much from the conversation. I probably won't ever see him again, but I was blessed with his company today :)
I hope you've had a lovely weekend as well! Mine was simple, but simple is always good. 

This Made My Day!

Well once again, I got majorly distracted while I was supposed to be doing my school work for the week...but this is so worth it.
Maybe you saw this today on Yahoo too? I just about flipped when I read the story headline, "Rare color photos from the 1940's". Does it get any cooler than that?! I just adore this time period so much and the few pictures they had were simply beautiful and classic.
You have to take the time to look through them. I hope you enjoy them too :)

Fun Weekend!

 This past weekend was really fun! On Friday, Nathan and I spent the day at Disneyland! I hadn't been there in 2 years, so it was a treat. Later that night, we went to Will's house for a movie night with friends. The group was a lot smaller than I expected, but it was truly a sweet time with all of them. Lucy and Jack played their guitars and sang for us all, it was wonderful. Then we just enjoyed time poolside and then gathered on the couch for the movie. So fun :) Saturday night was definitely great. I went to Kylie's sweet sixteen and it was so amazing! There was a D.J., candy table, appetizers, and her cake was beautiful! It was so neat to spend time with friends and meet new people. It was especially awesome to see old classmates from Jr. High. Just to talk to them brought back great memories :) 

I feel like I could write so much more, but all in all it was a fantastic weekend and it was such a blessing. All of this fun is making me even more anxious for summer vacation!

I Can Ride a Bike!

I know it's a little sad that at the age of sixteen I didn't know how to ride a bike...but this week I learned! It was really fun because I went to Nathan's house expecting to watch a movie. Instead, he taught me how to successfully ride a bike. It was really nerve racking at first, but after thirty minutes of his help and instruction I got the hang of it! The whole night was spent outside just riding in the cul-de-sac. It was so much fun!
Now I'm really anxious to ride more and get my own bike hopefully soon. My goal is to be confident enough in my riding to travel down to the beach :) Nathan was a fantastic teacher and he had a lot of patience with me. I'm not the fastest learner!
This was definitely the highlight of my week by far :)

Integrity.

If there is one thing that has been on my mind more than anything this week, it would have to be the importance of integrity. And being a Christian and feeling as though you have been failing in this area is a tough thing to admit. I believe this wasn't always a struggle but it's been a more recent thing of conflict in my heart. It's much easier said than done, and that's the sad truth. Though it's something I've been thinking about here and there throughout the past few months, it's hit me more this week than any time...Tonight I was reminded of it when a friend and I were having a discussion after Wednesday night church. It was a hard feeling to stop myself midway through a judging statement towards another person, because I was guilty of the exact same thing they were participating in. And it's something I talk against constantly, but it's so easy to slip and before you know it, you've completely gone against what you once stood for.
It's a tough realization and it's something I am praying for progress in. C.S. Lewis states in Mere Christianity, "progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road..." I know I am a child of God and forgiven for my failures, but I feel like I've gotten distracted from my heart felt convictions and I need to make a turn to get back on the right road, like Lewis might say.
It's an amazing feeling though to look at the state of my heart and still feel God's grace and love towards me. I love the picture that is painted in Psalms when it mentions how the sacrifices of the Lord is a broken and a contrite heart. I know that He's able to work in my life when I am totally open and desiring His redemption, broken before Him. And from that, He can create something beautiful and new in my heart.

I'm praying for this new development in my heart this week.

May!

I'm so happy it's May! I love Spring and this month we will be having my sister's bridal shower. So excited to get it all together and it has been such a blessing to have so many women from Calvary Chapel who are wanting to help plan and coordinate the event. It's going to be really special and pretty! We are down to only 83 days until the wedding on July 24...I can't believe it. So exciting :) Branyn is going to make such a beautiful bride.

Hooray for a new month!