Proverbs 3:11-18

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction;
For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.

The Lord brings discipline into our lives to better fit us for life.
Discipline may be a tool to strengthen what is correct.

I'm really enjoying this new devotional book, Discovering the Bible. It gives great insight and is really making me think about the Lord and how he works in our lives and how incredible He is.

My mom and I went on a pretty lengthy hike today to Skunk Harbor. We got loads of sand and dirt in our shoes but once we made it there, we hopped into the clear water. It was a beautiful sight and well worth the long trek.

Paddle Boarding, The Beach & Senior Photos.

That is pretty much what my day consisted of.
I've decided that paddle boarding is the best thing to do in the water!
I really struggled at first but once you get the hang of it, talk about peaceful.
The water is so clear here and it's absolutely beautiful.



Also, laying out in the sand, feeling the sun tanning your skin and reading a love story... quite possibly one of the most peaceful things to do.



I took my cousin Alex's senior photos tonight.
He is really one of the tallest people I know but he is definitely turning into a handsome young man.
His friend Phil has been here for the week with him so he came along too.
I snapped a couple shots of them together.





My uncle made dinner and we ate it on the beach while the sun went down. It was some of the best chicken and corn I've ever had.

Give Me Desire

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33

Workers should be bold and should stand in awe before God.
There is no place for timidity.
Eternity is at stake.

For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Proverbs 2:6-8

If we really desire to know God with all of our hearts He has promised results for us.
Why would anyone settle for less?



Now time for the play by play of today...
We went shopping this morning. I bought a rather expensive sweatshirt from The North Face store. I know it will come in handy for all those cold, blustery days ahead of me at Central. Plus, it's really cute. It was really windy again today so we all just layed out in the sand and read our books. The white capped waves weren't very inviting to say the least. I did finish my book though. The Ishbane Conspiracy is the name of it. It gives a very interesting perspective of how demons try to mess with your life. I recommend it to anyone. I had a veggie burger for dinner, we played a couple intense rounds of cards and then some more lounging on the couch. That seems to be one of my favorite spots these last couple of days.

No Sunscreen = No Good

I made a very bright move today and put sunscreen everywhere on my body except for my legs. They are now flaming red and burning like no other. You'd think I would have learned by now but I guess not. Anyways, it got windy this afternoon and we ate pizza for dinner outside. It felt like the beginning of winter. You know that feeling when you're just kind of chilly all over, your nose starts to run and your feet go numb? Yep, that was the feeling. Reading my book and falling asleep on the couch was a nice way to end the day.



I'd love to go sailing on a sail boat, like this one.

Hiking and Laying on the Beach are Two of My Favorite Things

So sleeping in the same room as my sister means I have to put up with some snoring. It wasn't long before I woke her up and told her what she was doing. That put an end to that.

I'm so thankful that I have parents who like to be adventurous. We went for another hike this morning. Half way up Shakespeare hill. We came to a part in the trail where tons of rocks had fallen and blocked the path. We looked up and saw a huge archway thing. I have a clear picture in my head but putting it into words I've decided is rather difficult. It was pretty neat, so we did a little rock climbing up to the top. From so high up we had a beautiful view of the lake.







After lunch, which for me was a cheese bagel with strawberry jelly (yum!), we headed out in search of some paddle boards to rent. We didn't have much luck, so we ended up just going down to the beach. Of course the people camped out right next to us had one and weren't about to let us try it out. Oh well, another time I guess. The water here is so clear and beautiful. Not to mention refreshing and just overall wonderful. I had a good heart to heart talk with my cousin Kat for a while as we floated on inner tubes and soaked up the sun. We both need a little more of that, haha.









A long while of laying on the couch reading my book and then a dinner of salmon, potatoes and salad. There were lots of laughs at dinner and we somehow managed to talk about jeggings and sorority girls for a good majority. A strawberry popsicle to top it all off and now bed time! Another great day of vacation!

Off to our destination... Lake Tahoe!

I didn't get the best night's sleep but hey, that happens once in a while. Before we could make it to Tahoe we had to drive another 6 hours. I slept most of the way. It made up for the lack of sleep last night. Breakfast consisted of a McDonald's breakfast burrito and a smoothie. More driving. Carson City was a good stop for lunch. We hit up subway this time. Another half hour and we made it to our beautiful vacation spot, Lake Tahoe. We walked down to the beach, stuck our feet in the water and felt the hot sand between our toes. It's amazing the places that God has created of us to enjoy here on earth. This is one amazing work of art. We walked back up to the house and it was perfect timing. My cousins, aunt, uncle and grandma just pulled up. It's always great to see them! My cousin's Alex, Kat and Sarah each brought a friend... Kali, Phil and Bonnie. They all seem like very sweet people. We played cards, I dominated by a great amount. I guess I've found my calling in life. I'll just be a Nerts champion. Oh, not to mention, we were hit by a huge rainstorm or should I say hail storm. The street was pretty much flooded and walking outside meant you were getting a shower. Us girls offered to make dinner. It consisted of Ravioli, salad, which I made, and ice water, haha. Cookies for dessert. We squeezed 13 people around the table and had a lovely family meal.





That white stuff on the ground is hail. Pretty crazy storm! That is the view from our back porch of the condo.



I'll be uploading pictures to my facebook soon.

Road Trip!

Family vacation time is here! We loaded up the CRV and were on the road for the first part of our adventure. We managed to fit my mom and I's overly large suitcases into the car with everything else. I take after her in the packing sense. Quote from her this morning, "you never know when you might need something!" I completely agree. I'd rather be prepared than not have what you need. My sister and father on the other hand are pretty good at packing pajamas and a tooth brush to get them by. Our first stop was Fields, Oregon which was about the half way mark between home and Lake Tahoe where we are headed for the week. It is a tiny town pretty much smack dab in the middle of the desert with a population of 8 people. Kinda crazy! We arrive and head into the little store with a rather quaint restaurant off of one side. They are famous for their burgers and milk shakes. My dad said we all had to get a milkshake and try to eat the whole thing. They only come in one size which is size huge! A giant chicken burger, fries and an oreo milkshake was soon before my eyes. It was without a doubt delicious but left my stomach feeling stuffed to the hilt. Next on the agenda was the 6 mile hike up in the mountains. We took a little detour and hit up the Playa first. If you don't know what that is, it's dried crusted mud. Quite amazing to look at. Just miles of dried mud. The hike was pretty intense and we all came out with scrapes covering our legs but it was so worth it. Traveling the 3 miles back down the mountain all I could think about was the hot springs we were about to visit. It was a little box tub of hot water just in the middle of a field. Upon arriving there was another family already enjoying the natural mineral water. The man was quite the talker. He made up a story about how we were all geologists camping out to study the land when another older man came to fill up a bucket of water from the springs. My dad said you'll always find interesting characters when you visit such a place. Once it got dark and I was covered in mosquito bites we headed for our little motel which was right off the side of the restaurant we ate lunch at. There were only 2 rooms in the whole motel. We had one of them. It was a cute little place though and it was just perfect for the first day of our vacation.