So all in all God has helped me to enjoy my birthday weekend. Due to the torrential downpours brought on by the tropical storm we had to cancel our regular Friday evening time in the streets so a bunch of us got together at IHop for dinner. I had actually been craving breakfast food so it was quite appropriate. Afterward we headed back to Ryan and his roomates' to watch Brother Where Art Thou- which I'm just not that impressed with and had no desire to see again.

Joanna and Arcinda suggested going to a jazz club instead, so we headed over with a couple of friends after stopping at the house and watching an episode of The Office (which is SOOOO funny-I laughed so much my head started hurting).

On Sunday I didn't wake up in a good birthday mood. To be quite honest I haven't been looking forward to this one. It was really good to hear Mark's sermons on Ruth. Last week's sermon was centered around God's kindness through providence. Life wasn't going exactly how Naomi would have wanted and although she credited it all to God she felt that all blessings had subsided and that God had afflicted her and brought her home empty. She didn't look at God's past blessings, how He had brought her home with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Her eyes were fixed on what she wanted and didn't have so that she didn't trust God. However, God would use what He had blessed her with through Ruth above and beyond what she could have ever expected. This Sunday's sermon focused on God's compassion and kindness and how it was shown through these people in the Bible account and how we as believer's should be seeking to mirror God's compassion in this world.

Joanna and Charlotte took me to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a ton of us went to IHop where Diana and Charlotte made it a point to ensure that everyone knew my birthday and Charlotte managed to get them to bring me ice cream and sing to me. A very sweet and nice gesture from them all. This morning I woke up early and joined some friends to go kayaking on the Potomac. We had a great time and everyone left safe and well. Later on this afternoon I accompanied KA and Rach to our church picnic and it was really good to spend some time with my spiritual family.

Since last week I've found the need to continually preach to myself and ask God to give me eyes to see the "barley harvest" He's given me and help me to trust Him, His ways and plan for my life. Yesterday morning as I was in my birthday funk, Mark really drove home a convicting point, There is not a day I'm not richly loved by God or when His compassions, kindness and rich mercies are not new. They far outweigh what this world promotes and seeks after and as I think back over the past few months I have so much to rejoice and be thankful for. So many specifically answered prayers and needs that He has met.

So as I reflect on the undeserved mercies and kindness God has showed me over the past 26 years through (just to name a few) godly, loving parents and a great upbringing, a warm family, great friends and relationships, a job, a solid church, the investments of so many godly people into my life, God's grace and mercy through salvation, I get past the fact that although birthdays now seem like any old, regular day, any old, regular day is an exciting day because of the kindness and compassion that have been continually bestowed upon me by my Heavenly Father.