My Thoughts Today

Have you ever stopped to think about what you, in this very moment, desire most? I could make a small list of things I desire: 

-To be debt free

-That Drew would have a teaching job for the fall

-To own a lovely house

-To have a new car

What is the deepest desire of your heart though? Of course it's easiest to think of worldly things you desire, at least it was for me. But that's because as humans we long for perfection and we're not living a "perfect life" until we are debt free, have jobs, own a house, drive a nice car, etc. As humans we try to seek fulfillment of this longing for perfection in earthly pleasures or achievements. It's our human nature. But if we're not careful, this often causes us to create idols. When we desire things before Christ, that is an idol that is standing in the way of drawing closer to Him. 

"You shall have no other gods before me." 

-Exodus 20:3

Jesus Christ is the only thing that can fulfill our human longing for perfection because we are made perfect in Him. We need to seek Him to find our fulfillment and feel completely satisfied. 

Lord, I want You and You alone to be the deepest desire of my heart because You fulfill my yearning for perfection.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

-Psalm 37:4

These are just some of my thoughts after doing my devotions today that I felt led to share. Let me know if you have any thoughts.

A Mexican Vacation

As you know, we were lucky enough to be able to go on a vacation to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico a couple weeks ago with a couple friends. Minus the fact that we flew Spirit Airlines, the vacation was fantastic. Every day was 90 degrees and sunny, the resort was beautiful, we could eat food whenever we wanted, the ocean was amazing, there were plenty of pools to choose from, the company was good, I could go on forever. Instead of me babbling, let my pictures sum up the trip for me...

Sitting on the taxi way frustrated as Spirit Airlines

We stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret

Our first night in Mexico at dinner

A weird animal that looked like a raccoon, but had a monkey tail ran up to the garbage and knocked it over.

My boyfriend came along

Sitting in the hotel lobby… there was a river that ran through the lobby

The beautiful beach!

Karla and I soaking up some sun

TJ and Andrew ready to swim

Me and Drew

Wild life was everywhere… especially these lizards

Pretty flamingos

Posing with my boyfriend again

I love me some palm trees

There was a Michael Jackson Concert one night. It was really fun to hear some good music and watch the dancers. The guy actually looked like Michael Jackson from a distance too.

Drew and I hanging at one of the many pools

TJ and Karla

The river through our hotel lobby

A little crispy at the beach

The largest spider I have ever seen! The roperia sign was larger than a 5x7 sign.

Some of the Mayan Ruins that were on our resort grounds

Exploring with Drew

The ocean was seriously amazing

I could have stared at the ocean for hours while listening to the waves crash along the rocks.

Looking at our hotel with the ocean behind us

Karla and me

The whole gang exploring

Dinner at the Italian restaurant 

I think the size of my bowl was unnecessary compared to the size of my pasta portion

Last day at the beach

Perfectly describes these two

Karla and TJ

Last beach photo

Seriously picture perfect

Karla and me

This is perfection right here! Sitting on the beach, sun shining, 90 degrees, drink in hand, and reading a good book. Relaxation at its finest!

Peace out Mexico! We will miss you!

TJ, me, and Drew

Me and Drew

One last shot of the whole gang after our last dinner

Flying into the sunset

If you know how much I love my sunsets, this was the perfect way to end a great vacation.

It was fun to go back through our vacation photos to choose which ones to add to this blog. It was hard deciding which ones to add and which ones to leave out. I didn't realize we took so many pictures! Anyways, I wish we could be back in the 90 degree and sunny weather relaxing on the beach. This Minnesota weather hasn't exactly been "summery" lately. Hopefully these pictures will bring some warmth and sunshine to your day!