southern lovin'

this past week, i spent some time in raleigh, north carolina 
with some pretty awesome people.
we hung out, went to an international fair, 
spent some time at the beach, and pursued fall colors.
i won't bore you with too many words;
i'll let the pictures tell the story...

 my only hint of fall colors in the distance while i sipped chai and spent time with Jesus.

"fake friend" time over some pretty coffee and yummy food.

fun times celebrating culture with these chicks

 first view of the atlantic!

the sky is literally on fire

while the sun is being amazing and doing this,
i turned around and saw this:

 unreal.

later, we all hit the beach for a stroll.

 

i mean, the beach is pretty magical.

chai and chat in person.

so good for my soul.

 

it's  just pretty in the south. 

 fall finally showed its shy self.

 you can say what you want about the SBC,

but their focus on reaching the nations is unparallelled. 
grateful for their influence in my life.

 i got to have one more date with susan, too!

sadly, all good things come to an end
and i was california bound.
but not before one last amazing sunrise in the carolinas.

i am so grateful for this time away!

i was able to reconnect with old friends, make new friends,

and spend some much needed time with Jesus.

well, until next time.

cincerely,

cindy

10 on 10

ten on ten.
ten pictures on the tenth of the month.
it was a..

Artist observing,

300 calories-of-goodness eating,

hanson listening,

new trail hiking,

uncle time enjoying,

cloud loving,

5K reminiscing,

europe prepping,

roman holiday watching,

 and tucker family visiting
kind of day.

grateful for a day like today!

linking up:

cincerely,

cindy

 

when God says go

i mean, you gotta go, right?

two weeks ago, i woke up with the clear need 
to go help relief efforts in oklahoma.
i texted my friend to see if she would join me.
she had already applied. through some crazy, 
God-ordained circumstances,
marge and i ended up in shawnee, oklahoma
serving with samaritan's purse (sp).

  
shawnee had been hit with an estimated ef4 tornado
the same day as the close-by town, moore.
due to the large magnitude of moore's tornado,
shawnee has been overlooked by much of the media,
but their pain and hurts are just as deep.

samaritan's purse is serving at multiple locations throughout shawnee.
we ended up in a trailer park that had been pretty much destroyed.
our job was simple: 
clear rubble and look for family keepsakes
with a smile and a glad heart.
  

so that's what we did for four and a half days.
from clearing trees to rooting through glass in the dirt,
we work as heartily for the Lord.

but my favorite part was when we finished a property.
sp gives a bible to every homeowner they work with.
all the people who work on their property sign the front
and write something to the homeowner.
whether the homeowner is a believer or not,
it is definitely an emotional moment as we say thank you for the opportunity to serve them in the name of Jesus.

i could go on and on, sharing funny and God glorifying stories,
but i think i'll ask you to pray, instead.
pray for healing and restoration for those effected.
pray for the families we have worked with, that their hearts would continue to be softened to the gospel.
pray for endurance for those who are still working.
pray that God would use local believers and sp workers to share and shine Jesus.

many thanks to those who were praying while we were away
and will continue to pray!


cincerely,

*prayerful and hopeful* cindy

Wordless Wednesday: hella clouds edition