So on Friday our team decided to split up and have girl and guy time. So us girls had an amazing time getting to hang out and learn more about each other. We attempted to make ice cream, which was a lot of fun. We mixed milk and cream and then put it in a bag of ice and threw it around. I think we all had a lot more fun making it then eating it, but it was such an awesome time laughing and being together. Next we got together and one of our leaders Shawndell read us these verses Isaiah 62:2-5:
2The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,[a]
and your land Beulah[b];
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
5As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.
Verse two she really wanted us to focus on; we will be called a new name. So she challenged us to take time to pray and think about what name God has given us. As soon as she said that God spoke the word beloved. I googled the word beloved to see the actual meaning, and it means deeply loved. That’s exactly what I needed to hear/be reminded of; that I am deeply loved by my Heavenly Father. One of my best friends wrote me a note before I left and in it she wrote this quote “I am my beloved and He is mine; so come into the garden and take delight in me”. That’s what God is saying to me. That I am His and He is mine, and He desires such a deep and intimate relationship with me. So like any other relationship I have to work to it and spend time with my Creator. It was really amazing to hear God speak those words to me, that I am His beloved and that He loves me so much, and takes so much delight in the fact that I am His daughter. So thankful that I have a God whose love never fails! So we had an opportunity to paint our words that God calls us, so I painted an ocean representing that Gods love is like an ocean so deep and so wide, then I wrote the word beloved in purple because He considers me royalty and I am His princess. It was such an amazing time to hear from God and be reassured in the fact that I am His, and He delights so much in me!
