growing up monday----------our vacation day 1

today, i am joining joanne @ blessed... with a "growing up monday" post. she has a great idea of bringing the message that God is speaking to all of us together, uniting our hearts, and growing up together. Please be sure to stop by and read her post and link up with the others who are joining in to unite us all while we grow up together.

she writes, "wouldn't it be fun to be able to check in with other sisters around the world and see what we are learning in each of our churches on sunday mornings or in our weekly Bible studies? we are the body of Christ. we gather on Sundays in our church homes to learn and grow from His word. each week there is something our pastor shares or teaches from the Bible that speaks (sometimes shouts) right to my heart."

i think this is a great idea. we can reflect on what God is revealing to us, write it up in a post and share it with each other. maybe it will help us get the bigger picture of what God is desiring to say to His body. we can grow up together as one body. we are to grow up in the knowledge and understanding of Christ. we can do that together.

this week, i have learned that Jesus and family are the most precious gifts that God has given to us. we spent the week in florida, at disney world. though it was hot, we had a great time together. i am so thankful that God has blessed me so much with such a wonderful family and the provision to take vacations together. He is such a good God! my heart is overwhelming with gratitude for all that He is and all that He has blessed me with.

we returned home on saturday evening, went to church on sunday morning to hear our pastor speak a message on "the Gospel according to moses." he emphasized the hunger of God desiring to live amongst His people. when God created man, He walked and talked with adam and eve, sharing Life with them. but, when they sinned, the shared existence of God and man had to be put on hold. but, God's burning desire to be a part of His children's lives continued. during the time period of moses, God made a way for Him to be in the midst of their lives through the temple. His presence remained in the temple, in the middle of the campsite of the israelites. the temple tabernacled His presence. it foreshadowed the place where the shared existence of Life with the presence of God would continue in the new convenant. now, our hearts tabernacle His presence and once again God is living in and amongst His people, sharing Life with them.

looking back at my week of vacation and recognizing that spending the week with my family as we all tabernacled the presence of God everywhere that we went, sharing Life with Him, i realize that i have even more to be grateful for that i can even express with words. He vacationed with us.

He was with us on the bus traveling from the airport to disney! He shared our excitement as we were almost there!

He walked with us on the red carpet to mickey's resort.

and, He immediately headed off to hollywood studios to enjoy the tower of terror and the rockin' roller coaster with us, while jacob took a short nap.

our first day of vacation was full of excitement and fun! all of us together, sharing Life with God, couldn't have been better!

What about you?

What is it you are studying? What lessons did God want you to learn this week, and what did you take away from your pastor's lesson or church family today that you can apply to your lives now?

Let's share with one another what we are learning and how we are growing up in Christ. Be your hometown church representative and fill us all in!