This past weekend was a long one, as we prepared to have our 3rd annual Jackson Family Reunion in Natchez, Mississippi. After much preparation, I would say that it went very well. We made Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Tortellini Soup, Garlic Bread, Salads, Pound Cake, Cookies, Swiss Roll Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and many other desserts. Even though our trip to Mississippi was shorter than I would have liked, it was still fun to hang out with the family and spend time laughing with them for a few days. As much as I love Woodstock, there is nothing quite like getting away for awhile in a small, quiet town.
This year, David was invited to come with us, and he did! We spent our second day there driving him around town to show him the sites of Ole' Natchez! We even boiled crawfish at my aunt's work! Our last night in Natchez, we went to the River Boat Casino, Isle of Capri, on the Mississippi River. This was David's first time in a casino! Overall he loved our trip, and we now have many ideas for vacations and such flowing through each of our heads :)
With mom being out of town for a class reunion and David visiting his parents this weekend, I had some time to myself to get some things done. I would say that shopping with $30 worth of coupons, getting an oil change, putting together the rest of my events for the scrapbook convention in July, cleaning the entire kitchen, making wedding shower bouquets, planning out a wedding shower menu, and practicing decorations with cake icing makes for a pretty productive two days. I must say that I am pretty proud of myself for accomplishing so much already this weekend. Who knows what else my week has in store for me....
A few weeks ago one of our youth students sang What do I know of Holy by Addison Road. I had never heard of that song before that, and honestly, at first, I didn't like it. I now realize I didn't like it because it made sense to me, it hit home for me. What do I actually know of Holy?
I haven't really been thinking about it since that Wednesday night, but then today, I heard it again while I was cleaning. Once again, it hit me, What do I actually know of Holy?
I can honestly say that if I had been asked that very question exactly a year ago, I would flat out say that God is good and that I was not afraid of anything happening to me, and of course, that I knew I was going to heaven. But here's the thing....a year ago, I did not fear God, I assumed that I was safe and invincible from anything and everything since I believed in Him.
Today, even though I don't know a lot about Holy, at least I can say that I'm learning about it. I'm learning about God, and that is a big step for me. In all of my (almost 22) years, I have been in church, but I don't think I was actually "in church" or "in God" constantly until the last two years of my life. Don't get me wrong, I DO believe in God, and I DO believe that I will go to heaven if something were to happen to me, and I have always believed these things, but I never realized how much authority God has over me. I definitely made God too small, just like the song says. During a recent bible study, I learned that in Acts 5, there is a story about the Lord striking down a married couple, Ananias and Sapphira, on two separate occasions for lying to him about land. LAND. God killed this couple because they kept a secret from him. Just like that, one minute they were here, walking around, then the next, their bodies were being carried out of the room. I don't know how I had never heard of this story before, but just like the song, this chapter of the Bible hit home for me. I never knew "my God" would do that. I knew He could, but I assumed that He wouldn't. Now, I'm studying Genesis, and I am learning that "my God" is not only loving, giving, caring, and fatherly, that He is also all-knowing, all-powerful, jealous, and wrathful. Needless to say, I am learning to fear God more so than I had before, and the more I fear Him, the closer I am to Him, and the more I am learning of Holy.
