he is altogether vanity.

the wind almost swept me away...

two highlights of the past week include: Our leadership retreat to Makapala and girls night out at a local Thai restaurant!

--- The retreat was divine. green grass, tall trees, swinging vines. a tropical paradise. both the rain and the wind were cool and refreshing. the fifty of us spent our days engaging in a wild round of kickball. laying out in the sweet sunshine. hiking down to the beach in Pololu Valley. and getting coffee in the quaint town of Hawi. as a community we grew so much tighter. we worshipped together and played games til the wee hours of the morning. it was sublime. lovely. a rejuvenating weekend spent with family!

- - - a group of us girls got all dolled up and went for Thai food! it was nice to get dressed up and be girly... and eat pad thai.. mmm - i tried oyster, needless to say it was not the most enjoyable experience!

Something that has really been on my heart this week is fear of man. to stop fearing reactions and actions from other people based on what i choose to do. to cease letting it have any hold over me. to care not what anyone may think of me or say about me. i was reading a commentary on blue letter bible by matthew henry and he was commentating on Isaiah 2:22 ("stop regarding man, in whose nostrils is breath, for what account is he?") --- "Wherein then is man to be accounted of? Alas! no reckoning is to be made of him, for he is not what he seems to be, what he pretends to be, what we fancy him to be. Man is like vanity, nay, he is vanity, he is altogether vanity, he is less, he is lighter, than vanity. When weighed in the balance of the sanctuary." --- astonishing? does that not hit home? i just love that matthew henry puts man in his place... we are nothing. we are dust. our life is but a breath. when compared to God and all his infiniteness! 

love you all heaps and heaps.