October 31

Happy Halloween and Happy Reformation Thursday! The first day of our trip has been so amazing! St. Louis is such a beautiful city, and I am more than thankful to be exploring it with Payton, Ross and Mireya (Ross used to be our youth pastor, and Mireya is his incredible wife).  We have already done so many super fun things, like had a healthy breakfast at the First Watch, visited the local farmers market, took a trip to the LCMS headquarters, and just enjoyed being reunited! 

As we are going through this day I am reminded of how truly gracious God is to give us the opportunity to have Christian fellowship. 

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalms 133:1)."It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and Sacrament  Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing" (Bonhoeffer pg. 18). 

Sometimes I forget that not everyone has the privilege of living openly as a Christian, so my prayer is that I will continually be reminded of what a priceless gift God has given us, and daily rejoice in it. Today has been a blast so far, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of the weekend with some of my favorites! I am so truly blessed to have fellowship with such wonderful and encouraging people,and am so excited to share pictures and details from the rest of our trip with you all! Daily Thanks: Today I am thankful for beautiful fall colors on the trees, awesome treats from the Farmers market, and happy times spent with some of the best girls I know!

What people in your life encourage and uplift you?