Florida Trip Part 1

Casey and I went to Florida last month for a wedding and I wanted to share photos from our trip! I brought the DSLR and made a purpose of pulling it out and using it as much as I could. As much as I love the convenience of my iPhone, there is nothing like beautiful, high quality photos! (Though I'm sharing a mix of both here.) Plus I enjoy taking them. The editing, however, I don't enjoy as much, which is why I'm the worst at sharing photos when I DO take them!

I have lots of photos so I'll share them over a few posts.

We woke up really early on Friday morning and left Louisiana with the goal of making it to the beach so we could watch the sun set. It was totally, absolutely worth it. And there was also a rainbow!

Once it got dark, we made our way to a restaurant on the beach where I had the best coconut shrimp of my life. Seriously. All coconut shrimp from now on won't be able to compare, I'm afraid.

After dinner, we of course had to get dessert. We saw a super cute ice cream shop called The Mint Fox when we were walking to dinner, and I told Casey we had to go back. We got yummy ice cream made in-house and also a big cookie!

After dessert, we went to our AirBNB, which we shared with some of our friends. Paige (check out her blog!) bought the stuff to make key lime pie, and then we learned that our definition of "completely stocked kitchen" is not the same as other people's version. I mean, WE would like to think that a fully stocked kitchen came with a KitchenAid mixer (alas, we knew not to hope for such), but we thought there would at least be measuring cups and a whisk. No such luck.

We had to get super creative. Like, REALLY creative. See that gorgeous meringue? We made that WITH A FORK. Let me say that again in case you didn't get it the first time.

WITH.

A.

FORK.

It took us about an hour taking turns whisking furiously. 

It was so worth it.

The Father's Correction

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 18. See the first post here!*

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

1 Samuel 18: 6-9

Whew, I’d hate to be David right now. He doesn’t know what’s about to happen, but it is NOT a pretty sight. David has gained the favor of the people, but now? The King of Israel has his eye on him. King Saul is just looking for a reason to strike.

How did King Saul get here? He was once an humble guy. How did he go from humble to green with envy, wanting to kill someone?

The answer comes from 1 Samuel 16:14, right after David is anointed to be king and the Spirit comes upon him. “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.”

Jealousy. We’ve all faced it. Especially in this day and age. Instagram and Facebook can certainly spark it!

I’ve faced jealousy through my life. Even to this day! Even yesterday to be specific! But I know I’m not supposed to be jealous, so what do I do?

When I feel jealous, I then feel the Spirit correct me. Remind me that I shouldn’t be jealous, but happy for that person. It doesn’t completely take my jealousy away, but I have a tool to help me overcome it. I just have to allow the Lord to help me.

For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:12

The Lord was no longer with King Saul. It’s not that God didn’t love Saul anymore, but Saul was tuned out. He wasn’t connected with God and therefore couldn’t/wouldn’t listen to His correction.

When we aren’t connected with God and don’t allow him to correct our wrongdoings through His marvelous love and grace, we find ourselves in a downward spiral that we can’t get out of without His help.

Jealousy is human nature. If I were the king and all my people were singing songs about how this random kid David was better than me, I’d be jealous too! But the way we fight our human nature—the flesh—is with the Spirit. 

Saul could have conquered his jealousy if he had allowed the Lord to correct him. Instead, his jealousy grew and grew. Just TWO verses after “Saul eyed David,” he tries to kill David!! Twice! And then he tries to kill David more times! The green monster grew until he could no longer control it.

The Bible says that “whoever hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1) I definitely feel like stupid is an appropriate word to describe King Saul.

When you fall and fail, allow God to help you. He’s not here to chastise you. He wants to help you up and correct you like a loving father. He has a plan for you and wants to help you accomplish it. So let him. Don’t be like Saul. Don’t be stupid.