"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Monday marked a major end to a major season of my life. Sunday was the last day of my commitment, thus monday was a new day marking a new path in my life. God was so awesome to allow it to be a day of resting and meditating. Elise and I had breakfast first, then she went off to school to take a final while I took a nap with Caleb. Later, the doorbell rang, and standing on my front steps was my first date! Complete with a rose and presents! Praise God! I got my favorite candy (Heath bars), chocolate covered coffee beans, a pound of Arabian Mocha Starbucks, and the new United Live CD UNITED WE STAND! It was so awesome! Oh yeah, I forgot - Elise also gave me 2 stuffed bunnies and some cherished momentos that I had to sacrifice for awhile . . . priceless! So, our date started out with a quick run up to church, then to drop Caleb off with my Dad, then we headed out to dinner at the Bread Co. After dinner, we went to Cliff Cave park and walked along the cliffs and trails, taking pictures, being silly, doing cartwheels on the train tracks, talking about the faithfulness of our Father, and getting bitten by red ants - ouch! We collected train track nails and talked about the cross. We just sat there for the longest time looking at the barges passing on the river. We watched the birds soaring in the air over the cliffs. It was peaceful and relaxing . . . SO NICE TO JUST REST! After that, we headed to the Coldstone for some ice cream . . . yum! By that time it was only about 8:30 and we thought about getting a movie, but we decided we would just fall asleep anyway. So, we headed back to church. Corporate prayer was just about to end, and we wanted to say hi to the Brothers. It was good to surprise them and we gave them each a nail and told them not to take the cross for granted and to remember what God had done for each of them. I think that it would be safe to say that they liked it! It was a good time. They headed to the Denny's to eat a late night dinner, but we decided to be disciplined and headed for home. The day was full and blessed! It was amazing, actually! I had things planned and things that I thought that I would want to do for "May 1st" but God broke every plan apart that I had and basically said, "I've got something better in mind!". . . . . . . . . . The story of the past 6 months! Here's some fun pictures that captured the day: