Thanking God

This weekend was crazy. Southern California definitely battled it's fair share of devastating wildfires. I've witnessed things this weekend I thought I'd never see. As my bf's mom was getting a facial in LA on Saturday morning, she started receiving text messages and phone calls that her complex was on fire. She lives in the Cascade apartments in Anaheim Hills and I'm not %100 sure, but I think more than 50 units were totally destroyed. Her neighbors that live directly in front of her literally lost everything. By the grace of God her unit was thankfully spared which is a testament to just how good God is. The units directly in front of her and behind her were completely burned down and not only was her unit spared but her car was too. Walking through her buidling yesterday was extremely sad. There are families that lost EVERYTHING, people that only had time to grab their pets and flee. Children who no longer have a home to call their own. I am so thankful. These fires have devasted the lives of many. We should all be grateful to the firefighters who risk their lives to protect us and our homes. We have amazing firefighters! I was talking to one of my bf's neighbors who lost her apartment (picture below) and she told me that one of the firefighters spent 3 hours sifting through rubble to find her fireproof safe. Amazing.

This is what the building looked life before the fires

and after. keep in mind these were two story units.

Thankfully, everyone escaped safely.

Sunday morning I attended church in our brand new sanctuary. Oh my gosh, it is just BEAUTIFUL. I cannot wait until we are completely done with our rebuild. My pastor delivered an amazing message which I will blog more about later. But, I will say that his message needed to be delivered! I felt like he was sitting right across from me, saying all the things I needed to hear.

All in all I had a very touching (for lack of a better word) weekend. I am constantly amazed at how blessed I am. I am grateful that all of my friends and family members were spared of devastation. I will continue to pray for those who will now need to rebuild not only their homes but their lives as well.

T G I F.....

I'm so happy the weekend is finally here. I haven't had a free weekend in a minute and i'm excited to have very little on my agenda. Tonight i'm going to Social with Cessy and Jess. Tomorrow I'm free like a bird and Sunday I am FINALLY going to my church. I most definitely need some R&R.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

xo

all about church sightings.

heidi montag was soooo @ my church yesterday. this is actually her second time visiting. we have quite a lot of celebs that attend our church but there was definitely a buzz when her and spencer first visited. it was on that glorious occasion that i realized how handsome he is (tv really does not do this boy justice, he's gorgeous) and she's suuupppperrr tiny (tinier than she looks on camera, hard to believe huh?)

i kinda wonder how they found our church, i mean..do they know someone? I honestly feel that my pastor has a way of affecting every single person, every single time. He makes you feel like he is talking directly to you, dissecting your life circumstances and situations. He's not overbearing, he doesn't try to beat you over the head with religion. I think he focuses more on the relationship YOU have with Christ. His focus is not whether or not you attend church every Sunday (and i truly believe most of our members not only attend church on sunday but they also attend bible study, praise and worship, IHP etc. throughout the week). Our pastor is a teacher. He is passionate about the word of God. He's passionate about teaching others the word of God. He's passionate about bringing Jesus into the lives of those who haven't accepted him or don't know about him or for whatever reason are afraid to know him. Pastor Mel's character is similar to the character of Jesus. He will not force himself on you. He makes himself available for those who invite him into their lives. God's grace is a free gift. The same is true of Pastor Mel. He is a free gift. His ministry is a free gift. I've taken quite a few friends to church with me and every single person a) loved it and b) came back. I get it when people say that church isn't for everyone. I was once one of those people and i felt the same way, but i truly feel that this church IS for everyone and i think that's part of the reason why our church is so diverse. We seriously have members/visitors of every ethnicity (well not every,but you know what I mean). Sorry, i went on about all of that. It was just on my heart and sometimes i forget how truly blessed I am that I was introduced to such an amazing church, with amazing ministries and amazing people.I always fear that if I move I won't be able to find a church that can even compare to In His Presence. anyway, check out my pretty church here on Justjared (the pics kinda suck..but ehh). btw, Get Smart came in #1 at the box office this weekend-ranking in $38,675,000. we're having a lil' fiesta here @ work to celebrate. did anyone see it? thoughts?