My life is blessed

This weekend was one of those weekends where you realize how lucky and fortunate you are. I am at this unique stage in life where I have graduated and although I am still in school, I do not have a ton of responsibilities. Therefore, I have endless opportunities for fun experiences with friends, especially in the summer time. Just looking back on all I did this weekend makes me feel so blessed and fortunate to have a wonderful family and wonderful friends.

Saturday:
I had the greatest experience participating in the SpoKenya run through Life Center Church with Emily and Zach. The run was a 7K (4.5 miles) that was a fundraiser to raise money for clean water in Kenya. It was the first annual however almost 1,000 people participated! Surprisingly we ran the majority of the time and enjoyed being part of such a special event. It was the first time I have been a part of a large, organized church event. I am thinking about looking for one every weekend :) I can't complain about the free Ben and Jerry's ice cream at the end of it either!

The rest of Saturday was spent by the pool with Claire, Emily and Ebay. We have decided to call ourselves the Praire Pool Crew since we are there almost every day. Each of us has had our faces buried in a different Jodi Picoult book...nothing is better than a summer read (besides textbooks of course)

Ebay and I enjoyed some afternoon garage-saling where we walked away with our big purchase: a $1 paper towel holder for our kitchen. Oh the things you get excited about when you are a part of the real world. The paper towel holder led to a night of decorating and nailing holes in the wall with a water bottle as our hammer. We managed to get a whole wall decorated...it will be our 'France Themed' wall. Our evening concluded with a visit from our wonderful friend Joseph. He affirmed our decorations which made us feel good!

Sunday: Today, Life Center hosted church on a football field instead of in the building. Everyone brought blankets and chairs and laid out in the field! It was pretty neat to see everyone there together. Claire, Em, Ebay and I laid out our blankets and enjoyed being immersed in such a spiritual crowd.

Worship was wonderful out on the grass and Pastor Joe's message was short but touching. He talked about how Jesus fed 5,000 people from one 'happy meal'. Why did Jesus chose to multiply the food? Jesus was training his disciples; from this message I walked away with 3 important lessons.

1. Lesson #1: YOU DO IT: when you are faced with a need or if you see something that needs to be fixed, do not assume that someone else will fix it! It is our responsibility to make an effort to fix whatever it is we are faced with.
2. Lesson #2: GOD CAN DO A LOT WITH A LITTLE: when these needs arise, we may feel small and insignificant (because we are), BUT God changes the world by taking what little thing we can offer and he makes something big . Therefore, start with what you have, bring whatever faith and strength you have to Jesus, and he will do something with it.
3. Lesson #3: JESUS IS GOD: when you expect Christ into your life, he will mess with you, challenge you and force you to take the difficult route. When you walk with Jesus, expect the unexpected.

Church concluded with hot dogs and fellowship. What a wonderful Sunday morning. This afternoon was spent floating down the Little Spokane River with Claire, Ebay, Em and Joseph! It was so relaxing...Joseph was a trooper as well and was ready to save one of us if need be (although after he admitted his swimming is not the greatest).

After I finish this post, I'll be working on some homework and then off to bbq with some friends. I am so blessed and I am trying to appreciate every moment.

Side note: This weekend I was reminded that the work our military is doing for our country is so important. My thoughts and prayers go out for the people and families that have been affected by war. While I am a believer in world peace, I have the up-most respect for those who have sacrificed their life for our country.