Dates with Daddy.

I can't remember many times that it was just my dad and I hanging out when I was little. Growing up in a family with five kids, being alone by yourself was rare and getting a parent all to yourself? Even more rare. However, I remember one night specifically. I was probably around 7 or 8, and I had this hot (and I mean hot) pink winter coat. I don't remember why, but it was decided that my dad and I were going on a date- just the two of us. I can't remember where we went to dinner (I'm thinking Bob Evans for some reason), but the part I remember most is going shopping after dinner at the Woodville Mall. (For those of you who live anywhere near Toledo, it is a known fact that the only thing left in Woodville Mall these days is a Sears and an Andersons.) Anyways, we went shopping, and he bought me purple gloves and purple earmuffs that matched my coat. I don't know why this memory is so vivid in my head, but I will never forget my date with my daddy.

Within the past week, the weather has taken a turn for the better and I have been going for a walk almost every day after work. I like to call them my walks with God. I spend my time walking just talking to Him, sharing what has been on my heart and mind recently, praying for my friends, my family, students, co-workers, even people I barely know. I haven't been keeping up with my Beth Moore study as much as I should. I haven't been spending that much time in the Word. I've just been talking with Him. I've been honest, brutally honest. I talk with Him freely about what I'm struggling with- needing to trust Him more, not making my own plans and asking Him to bless them, being a woman after His own heart, wanting to love Him more and asking Him to help me do just that.

Pastor Thomas spoke on Sunday about God wanting our hearts- our whole hearts. He talked about David and how much of a mess he made of his life, but he got one thing right- He was a man after God's own heart, and God honored that more than any religious traditions he kept or didn't keep.

I want to walk in His truth, and I want to be a woman after His own heart.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11