I am sure some of my readers are tired of hearing about Acapulco, but it truly is where I find my heart so often these days. I am taking a truly amazing class right now entitled Systematic Theology (for masters in counseling students). Today I was so vividly reminded of just how merciful and gracious my God is and how all throughout history he has continued to pursue His people and give them “do-overs”, if you will. From the very beginning of Creation God gave us Eden. Adam and Eve, before the fall, were living the exact life they were created to live and experience. All they had to do was trust God and follow the one rule he gave them. “Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Adam and Eve took all that God had given them, (the garden, dominion over everything within it, communion with each other and most importantly communion with Him) and threw it back at God and said “no thanks, we’ll do it our way.” So they are cast out of the garden and now experience the consequences of disobedience. This sets in place a downward spiral until Noah was the only person seeking to obey and trust God. At this point God warns everyone for several hundred years that he is going to destroy the earth and the people in it and start over again. They don’t listen and all but those who entered the boat were destroyed. Here’s where the excitement begins. God makes a covenant with Noah promising to never to destroy the earth again. He places a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the promise He made to us. Here’s what is so amazing about the rainbow. It is meant to symbolize and actual bow like a bow and arrow. Only the arrow is pointing toward Heaven, toward God. God is saying to us “I love you so much that next time I will take the arrow for you - for your sin. It is so clearly a picture of the cross, which he would ultimately bare for us. (think of this next time you see a rainbow.) Next God makes a covenant with Abraham in which God declares if He or His people fail to keep their end of the bargain HE(God) will be chopped in half as the pieces were to create the path for the flame to pass through. He promises to be Abraham and his descendants God and that they will be His people forever. The really cool thing is that God’s Covenant of salvation does not only include the people, it includes the land. It includes all of Creation. "Behold," Christ says "I have come to make all things new." He promises to bring Abraham to a land flowing with milk and honey - the land of Canaan. God follows through and brings them there and gives them the land. Then they ignore his laws again and fail to trust God. A famine comes to the land and they all decide to leave the land that God has given them and go to Egypt where Joseph has become favored by the King and can give them food. They left God and their land of promise to do it their way and went to Egypt where they eventually became slaves. But this isn’t the end of the story. God comes back yet again and re-news His covenant with His people once more through his covenant with Moses. He says let’s give this another shot...I”m gonna bring you back to the promised land - the land of canaan- and this time I am going to give you some written out guidelines (the ten commands) to help keep you from being deceived and turning away from me. These are the guidlelines that will enable you to live as you were intented to live and following them is ultimately what will enable you to experience the life, joy and peace you were created for. This continues throughout the Bible with God’s covenant wtih David and eventually with Christ - who takes the arrow upon himself and even though we rejected him - he frees us. He brings salvation to us and to His creation. Everything Jesus did while he was here on earth was an effort to bring restoration to His creation. He healed disease to bring life closer to it’s original intent, he multiplied loaves to give food to those in need - bringing newness and restoration to their lives. He walked on water demonstrating that He is over all the forces of creation and can and will ultimately bring peace from the storm. Christian, we are called to be like Christ to be continually bringing this restoration to all of creation. We should be the ones shouting about taking care of our environment, not just the tree-hugging hippie liberals. ☺ We should be the ones shouting about not hoarding our wealth for ourselves, but instead to be giving it out to countries where all of life is so broken that it's hard to even see the restoration taking place. We need to be joining with Christ in making ALL things new! Abortion and homosexuality are important issues, but no more important than the restoration of the entirety of God’s creation. “Behold I am making ALL things new.” Not merely saving lost souls, but restoring all of life back to it’s original intent in the Garden of Eden. You see that is ultimately what we are all longing for. We were created for Eden, not this broken world. Every tear we shed, every desire we feel, every ounce of joy we experience, it all goes back to Eden. And one day we will experience this Eden that we long for. We will have communion with our God and I, for one CAN’T wait!!
What does all of this have to do with Acapulco, you ask? It has everything to do with it. You see I realize that while I only stop in for weeks at a time to love and care for the orphans of the world, God is constantly with them day in and day out - loving and comforting them. He uses me at times and for that I am eternally grateful, but today I was reminded that though I am not in Acapulco with the children and though I think about them less now than I did when I first returned from Mexico - God DOESN’T. Thank you Father for the comfort and peace that comes with knowing that you are sovereign over all of our lives and that you never leave us or forsake us. So, I ask you, Father, to Kiss the faces of Yarey and Jasmin and the other precious children one more time for me today, knowing that it only follows the millions that you have bestowed upon them already. 
New Years Eve was a fabulous night with Mr. Travis Aho. We spent the evening having great conversation, laughing, drinking and enjoying the music, dolphins, and fireworks at one of my favorite places on the planet - SEA WORLD! January 1, 2007 I immediately left town and spent a fabulous week in Breckenridge, Colorado with one of the greatest families on earth - The Yetman's! Unfortunately I do not have a picture of their family as of yet - it will make it to my blog, eventually. For now a picture of the fabulous scenery will have to suffice. 
I spent three days snowboarding in Breckenridge and one day snowmobiling in Vail, Co. Colorado is beyond beautifull. Every time I'm there I want to live there. Everything seems so pure. I get so much exercise and drink so much water - I swear even the water tastes cleaner up there. I always come back totally pumped saying I'm really going to start exercising and stay in shape and drink more water. Well....my first stop after my plane landed me back in Florida was Chick Fil A or a LARGE sweet Tea! The one down fall of Colorado.
Check out my photo albums to the left for more fabulous photo's from Colorado. Here is the best part of Colorado though - I MET SHAWN WHITE!! You know, the olympic gold medalist and four time x-game gold winner - The flying tomato!! We are totally BFF now. Here we are beginning our life together. :-)
Wow, you say, what an amazing start to a year - it can't get any better than this, right?? WRONG The best part of my year thus far has been my being reunited, if you will, to my sister Melissa and her amazing and adorable family. If you are reading this and don't know my story...suffice it to say that I am who I am today because of My God, of course, but also because at a time when I was so lost and desperately needed to experience love, my sister, Melissa, who was 21 at the time, sacrificially poured out her life for me and my sisters and demonstrated love to me in a way that I had never before experienced and in a way that can never be replaced. I love you, Missy, with all of my heart. It's cheesy, I know, but honestly everytime I hear Celine Dion's song "because you loved me" I think of you. Download because_you_loved_me.mp3
I look like a freak, but my sister is beautiful as always, inside and out.
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