Oh my. It's late. But today was pretty good. It's been a long day.
Let's see. Got up. Got to church at about 8:50. Had music practice and had music, then church. Thennn LT meeting. Then church again. Then LT meeting again. We went over some good stuff. I'm super pumped for LT! I'm goin' down in the Partayyyyy van. (Mrs. Hare, Kayla, Erin, Shyla, and myself. We're going to be crazy, I can already tell!)
After the LT meeting we went&saw Rachel's new carr (it's a little grey Hyundai) and then went back inside and chilled for a bit. Then we went home and ate lunch. And thennn Paige called and came over for a while... then she went to a cookout and I read a blog for a bit and once Mom&Dad got home, I organized my room some more.
We got Taco Bell for dinner (SO American!) and Paige came over again and we watched UP (our very favorite movie! With The Princess Bride coming in at a close second :)
After UP we went on a short walk. On that walk, Paige ran into someone she knew and we were invited to a bonfire. So we walked back to my house and she went home to get different shoes and I changed into jeans and we walked over to her friend's house. We ate s'mores. And played cornhole. They had jumbo marshmallows. And it was insane. And there were some intense games of cornhole. And I almost won a game. But Paige&Colleen beat me&Mrs. Douglas. It was an intense game. Then I came home and got ready for bed and it's now. whooh.
I guess it's a NIPTO timee. Seeing as it's almost tomorrow ;)
(I'm guessing that there isn't going to be a NIPTO Sunday for a long time. Today's the 4th, so there is no NIPTO/youth group. We'll be gone next week... I'm not sure if there'll be one the week after... then Brandon's going to China for 4 weeks. So I think we'll be back in August. Which is crazy.)
Acts 3:1-10
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
I think there's something significant here. This man was put at the gates called "Beautiful." People probably considered him "ugly" because he was crippled. But God saw him as beautiful.
3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
So the man asked Peter and John for money. And from what's written, it seems like he was averting his eyes from them. But they looked straight at him and told them to look at them. So he did. And he expected to get money or something from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.
Uhm. I think this might be the best thing that they could've given to him. They didn't have money. They didn't depend on money. They depend on the life that God gives. So they used that and gave that to the man. What a wonderful gift. And just because it's the Fourth of July, I'll add that he was freed from the bondage of his being crippled. So that's pretty amazing.
8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
Psh. If I had been a cripple from birth, and I was healed, I would definitely be doing what this guy was doing. He went into the temple with them (where he probably hadn't been allowed to go before because he was crippled) and walked and jumped and praised God.
9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
These people saw this crazy guy jumping and praising God. And then they realized that it was the man who sat outside the gate called Beautiful every day. And guess what? They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. They saw something beautiful.
I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July. I had a pretty good one. I'm going to leave you with a video. Something Beautiful by the Newsboys
Enjoy!
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