Back home to Life Center

Sunday morning started off just right with a nice 2 hour hike on Beacon Hill. Yesterday I had a craving for hiking so I had my mind set on waking up early and getting some trails in before church. Just my luck I woke up to pouring rain but decided I would still set off on the adventure. Getting drenched as well worth it though and I enjoyed being out of the city a big in the silence of nature. Maybe I will make this an every Sunday routine!?

With all the weekends spent back in Tumwater, I have not been to Life Center since July 25th. And boy have I missed it! Never have I felt so connected to a church! So it is safe to say that I was absolutely in Heaven this morning when I finally made it to a service. I was lucky enough to go with Jimmy this morning and meet up with Phil when we got there. As usual we sat in the 3rd row so we could be up close! The worship was amazing and I felt like I could not focus on anything other than praising and worshiping God. The song that reached me most this morning was, "Nothing But The Blood of Jesus"...What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. No matter how many times I mess up and sin, I know that God will forgive me -- just one of the few things that makes him amazing.

In this chaotic period of my life, it was appropriate that Joe's sermon was on Balancing Work, Family, Self and God. While technically I am not working, I consider Graduate School my full time job. Joe referenced Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other Gods before me" to explain that work may be worship, but we cannot worship our work. He explained that when work because the most important thing in our life, that is idolatry. Secondly, he taught that we are to "Love our families, but not more than God". This seems like a difficult concept to agree with but says that our family cannot be our God. If we love God more, then we will love our family better. The third point he made was to "Take care of yourself but don't be selfish". We are responsible for taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually but we can't get wrapped up in it or it will become selfishness. Lastly, Joe said to LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT...and there are not buts. Living a balanced life means putting God first. If we let Jesus lead, our life will be more abundant.

I felt right back at home at LifeCenter and am so blessed to have a church I feel so connected to. The rest of Sunday was nice and relaxing as well. I had lunch with Jimmy and then took him to the airport for his first MedSchool interview. I came home and spent the afternoon doing homework, catching up on the phone, staining chairs, watching FRIENDS and cleaning with Ebay. I am looking forward to two days @ Willard with the 2nd graders and then 3 days of classes @ Whitworth!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. GOD IS LOVE :)))