Tonight's prayer.

Apart from You I can do nothing. Without You I am nothing. Oh, God, if only I could put into words what I am feeling. I am so thankful for You. For your grace and faithfulness to me. God, thank you for giving me faith. For tugging at my heart every second of every moment of every day. There are people that don’t have faith. Of any kind. They live for selfish gain because it is all they know. My heart just aches for them. God, help me to reach out to people who don’t know you. Remove any fear and fill me with courage. My life would seriously be nothing if it were not for Your influence. The way I carry myself, the way I talk, the way I work; all would be different without You. God open their hearts. May those who have little faith encounter Your grace and accept your gift of life. Provide them with hope, oh God. Show them what real faith is. What real love is, eternal love. Jesus touch their hearts. Thank you for this burden, this opportunity to see what others are truly missing. You are a good, good God.

Pensacola, Polly, Cheese Lunch, and Snookie

I recently returned from a relaxing and adventurous trip to Pensacola, FL! I went with Justin [my cool new boyfriend, yes, blogging world, I am dating. Who thought that would happen? Not me. It's wonderful, you should ask me to tell the story sometime] to visit his family and spend some time away from Virginia Beach. We both have been living in Virginia Beach for at least three years, for him it's been four! It was nice getting away and experiencing a new culture.

Let us remember. I am from the North. New Jersey in fact. The Jersey Shore to be even more specific. I am now dating a boy from the South. There's a big difference. A lot of his family asked if I knew Snookie, if I was related to Snookie, and wondered why I didn't have the Snookie "poof." Of course, the joking was all in good fun [I hope?].

While in Florida, I experience what it's like to live on a dirt road and have a pond in the backyard. I went to "cheese lunch" with Justin's family, stepped foot on the softest, whitest sand I have ever seen, and went kayaking in the sound of Pensacola Beach. Oh, and I pet a sweet greyhound named Polly for the first time.

I went to Alabama for the first time! Justin's aunt and uncle have a farm out there. We took lots of pictures and met lots of family.

Now I am back in the swing of things, but am so thankful to the restful time I had in Florida.

Here are some pictures from the trip!

Sunset at the beach!

Justin and I at Fort Pickens! Also, please note that I am all SOARed out in Summer Orientation gear! [Gotta put in a plug for my office]

This is Polly. She just wants you to love her.

Justin and I in the Pensacola Lighthouse.

Justin and I kayaking through the sound.

Justin and I at the farm.

The view from the lighthouse. Also, the order of these pictures really didn't make sense, but we're just gonna roll with it.