A Journey West – Las Vegas

As most of you know, G and I took a trip West with a group of friends to view LOTS of places. It was wonderfully exhausting, and I already want to go back. There’s a lot I could write, a million pictures I could post, but I’ll spare you the novel and put the highlights here. To keep it simple, I’ll blog each place we went separately.

(Forewarning: We didn’t break out our actual camera until we hit the road, so all of these pictures are TERRIBLE in quality. But something is better than nothing. Our friends took some pictures on their actual camera, so hopefully we’ll be getting some of those soon too!)

We all flew into Las Vegas on the first day. G and I got there a few hours before our Cincinnati friends, so we walked down the strip to a restaurant that was recommended to us. I will not comment on this restaurant, except that it was off the beaten path and it was terrible. But hey, you win some you lose some. We stayed at the “New York New York” hotel, which was SO MUCH FUN, and even had a roller coaster?! Crazy.

G and I DID get to see the water show at the Bellagio. Yes. It is as amazing as it seems.

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But by the time we had walked to and from dinner, I was already over Las Vegas. Don’t get me wrong, the buildings are awesome, there are certainly lots of lights, but the whole things felt like an overdone outdoor mall. If there’s anything I did like about Vegas, it was THE FOOD. Oh mylanta, the food. There were so many things to eat, and we only scratched the surface. But it was a lovely scratch and I’m glad for it. The next day we stuffed our faces at a buffet, in the Wynn hotel, for breakfast. We toured around different hotels and took tons and tons of pictures.

This is us after Breakfast. The Wynn was so beautiful inside! Even good pictures wouldn’t do it justice.

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On Friday night, we had a delicious dinner and then we went to go see Cirque De Soleil “O”. I had never seen a Cirque De Soleil show before, and neither had G. WOW. It was phenomenal. I was probably most impressed by the staging and how in the world they turned the stage into a pool of water and then solid ground again. It was already so dark, so this is the best picture we could get.

This is us right before the show!

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This isn’t a picture I took, but this is about the view we had.

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This is all of us after the show! I LOVE huge group selfies. Even though the quality is terrible, I love having everyone’s faces. IMG_2865

We hit the hay early Friday night, because the next day, we head to the Grand Canyon!

3 Things About How God Speaks To Me

God said some big things to me today. BIG and CLEAR were these things, and I love how He talks to me. But I know that the idea of God talking to us can sometimes be very confusing. It tends to get blown up to this enormous mystery that only certain people seem to understand. But how I feel God talks to me is SO SIMPLE.

(But simple does not always mean easy.)

Now, I am not a genius. I am not a theological expert. I only speak from a place of experience, and of trial and error. Note that the “error” part is still a part of path that I am walking, and I am certain always will be.

That being said, I think that God talks to us often. I know He talks to me way more than I am listening. And sometimes, it takes big things and a lot of wandering to make me hear what He has to say.

But when I do…

1.) It sounds like my own voice. 

I’ve never heard an audible, out-loud voice booming from the heavens. Usually, it’s just a thought. When I was a teenager, Gods voice sounded like a teenager (albeit a wise one) and now his voice sounds like a 20-something. He uses my language. He doesn’t speak in King James or use language I don’t understand. He is exactly who I need Him to be, exactly where I am.

2.) It often repeats itself.

When I see/hear the SAME thing over and over again, I start to pay attention. Sometimes it’s the meaning behind the same song, a phrase that different people keep saying, a scripture that seems to be everywhere I look. When something is repeating, it’s not coincidence, it’s God talking.

3.) It comes with peace, not confusion.

If the above two are happening, but I have a sense of confusion and not confidence, that’s not God. I know because HE SAID SO. Paul told the church at Corinth “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” and since 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is God-breathed (meaning God spoke it), we can believe it to be true. God’s character doesn’t change, and His character is PEACE, not chaos or confusion. Anything that resembles the latter can be ignored.

There’s no formula or science behind hearing Him. HE WANTS US TO HEAR HIM. As a human, I like to overcomplicate things, but it’s just not that way. Thank goodness.

I also believe that God speaks to people differently. Like I said before, He is exactly who you need Him to be, exactly where you are.

How does God speak to you?