Chester

I just baught these shoes today for $10!!! I was super pumped.
So, yesterday was a day of much needed rest. When I woke up the first thing that poped in my head was "what do I have to get done by 5pm?" and I started thinking of all these things that "needed"to get done. Then I thought "it's my day off. Just chill and enjoy some reading time or clean the apt or read." So I made breakfast and started reading Captivating (a friend baught it for me). Later when I wanted to get out of the house, Luke called and as we were talking about youth group tonight, I thought "I should go for a walk... to Chester Bowl!"

I enjoyed every minute of it. From almost getting hit again on Woodland Ave by a car to going up a steep hill and then sliding down (on my butt) because there was no easy way getting down. I felt like a little kid in a candy store. I entered down on 4th street and walked up to the park and then back down the opposite side. From the very beginning I was filled with joy. I can't explain it. I walked along to creek a little ways and was just captured by the beauty I saw in everything. I would walk along the trail and then venture back to the creek and rock-hopped for a little while. There was a point when I saw two cardinals sitting on a tree and I stopped and smiled and said, "Thank you God." From the beginning I talked to Jesus as if he was physically standing behind me as I climbed rocks or walked up the trail. It was a much needed time to just spend with God. As I would look at the creek from the trail, I would see something and then go down the creek, rock-hop to try and get to the spot. As I did that, I was thinking that God made this place for me. He placed that rock right there for me to step on to get to a place where I could see something. Every detour I took from the trail, I was captured by nature. God totally created nature for us to enjoy and to expeirence his awesome power. He is showing off to us with what he created. Isn't that fun to think about? There was this one tree that was laying on like a 45 degree angle, mostly uprooted, but it was still growing(the roots were still in the ground somewhat) because as the tree lay sideways, the branches were growing upright like a tree. I thought about that and I wondered what the tree was thinking,"Man, Im uprooted. Im going to die." But then God was like, "not today my good tree" and life was sustained in it. There were also different species growing on the trunk. It was much cooler than what my words could express.
There were also some really scummy parts of the creek. As I looked at one section of scumminess, I thought "that's gross." But then I thought that there are parts of the water that look so good and pure. I felt that God showed me that with sin, there is always a way out. Scum is mixed with water and then when a rock wall comes and some other things like some sort of filter, the water is able to go through and the scum stays at the top. There was a place where the water could go that the scum couldn't go and the water broke free. I also saw it as being refined. The impurities were floating to the top while the rest of the water was going on. "burn away the drose" is an old song we used to sing in TX. It was a process though. Throughout the creek there are many poluted areas because polutants come in at different parts of the creek. With us, sin comes in at different times. Also trials come in at different times. It seems like there is a choice: either hang around time top of the water and be polluted, or go deep through the rock-wall filter and be purified. I hope that makes sense.

So yesterday was a good day. I want evrey day to be that way. But I don't have every day off from work. So what am I going to do while Im at work or exhausted at the end of the day? I hope and pray that I will press through the hard times and hold on to Gods law- his promises and truth, to make it. Kelly was talking to me about how we go through dry times, but it's not a bad thing. It's in those times you realize how badly you need God to be in your life- that desperation of longing to hear his voice and feel him near you. Like his word says, he will have all things work for good and his glory. Thank God for never leaving us. I don't know what I would do with out him. I love you, Father.