Vegas baby

We just got back from our vacation in none other than Las Vegas! It was quite the adventure. I can sum it up like this, it was a good time, but we'll never go back! We went because it was my parents anniversary and alot of my extended family would be there as well, which is so awesome because we rarely get to see them. It was wonderful to visit with everyone. We knew that Vegas was nicknamed "Sin City" but we didn't realize the gravity to that statement!! Preston, with all his quick witted puns re nicknamed Vegas "SKIN city" It's true.

We really learned alot being there, I know you're like, "so you learned to play Poker?" ha ha, nope..I'm sure I'd stink if I learned anyway! It's more like... I am doing a Bible Study on the book of Daniel (in the Bible) - it talks alot about this ancient city of Babylon which was a city much like our world today. All the pressures and temptations we face, and that sick desire we have to please man and be number one. But Daniel models how to develop integrity in such an enticing world. These things are what I (we) face everyday, being tempted do to things that bring God no glory and really waste our time. I often become obsessed with material possessions and forget the eternal perspective that these things are so temporal and will one day be destroyed. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." - Matthew 6:19,20

I need to build my treasures elsewhere - honoring and glorifying God with my life. What do I want my life to look like? This is such a short life and when or if I get to be 90 and I'm sitting in my diaper looking back on my life, I want to say that I had a life that honored God. I want people to be able to say, not that I was just another pretty face, but that they saw a difference in me because I had such an immense love for the Lord, and that I put him first in all areas of my life. And so to be doing this study and go to Vegas where there is so much consumerism and love for this world was so eye opening. It made me love the Lord SOOO much more and you know, I am a ton more content in the life that he has given me. God did show me what truly matters. I really felt sorry for ppl who spend their lives chasing the American dream because it leads nowhere....

Here's a few other highlights from our trip and a few other cool things we learned,

~ Ok so Vegas is Expensive!!! I couldn't even believe it. You really couldn't walk anywhere without seeing a big namebrand such as Jimmy Choo, Coach, Tiffany and Co, Louis Vuitton or DKNY. And something I thought totally retarded was that one day Prest and I were so craving Starbucks and when we found one the prices were like twice what they are here... we still paid it cause we're dumb, but how weird! I'm glad that what happens in Vegas stays there.. lol

~One thing we felt was that although Vegas is bursting with high end shops, five star restaurants, incredible shows, and thousands of ppl it was EMPTY. There was no lasting joy anywhere, it was a sad feeling, a lonely place and my mom said she felt like she was walking among the dead. Which in Christian circles makes alot of sence. It was sad because everywhere you looked ppl were rushing to well, get a rush, make another dollar or live the high life, a chasing after the wind....

~ On a totally not serious topic, guess what wild famous person I saw? You're gonna be jealous (ohh I'm sooo kidding) Ok, it was none other than Paris Hilton!! How funny. She was at the opening of a new club - LAX so me and my aunt went over to the Luxor to check the scene out and it was really amusing. Red carpet and all...

~The grossest thing that you just had to ignore was that at night on the strip there were ppl handing out little cards that had naked ladies on them, promoting escort services etc... they scattered the entire walkways and then they had bins on the sidewalks with free porn! We knew Vegas had porn conventions but had no idea it was like this...

~ Our favorite thing in Vegas was ironic or rather fitting for what we were learning...it was the dolphin tank and lions and tigers at the Mirage hotel... God's creation stood out the most...it was like an oasis in middle of a pile of poo.... ha I just had to use the word poo in here somewhere!

~There were advantages to bringing a baby with us! We got to go to the front of almost every line! The cab line (would have been 1hr) and the security lines at the airport (would have been over an hour)! See, poopy diapers are worth it! ha ha

~ Tickets to Phantom of the opera: $100, a gondola ride: $60, a meal at a fancy restaurant: $150, a meal at a restaurant we could afford: $50, grandparents who babysat and a few date nights spent with the love of your life: PRICELESS

So ya, it was a great trip, for different reasons than some ppl would say for going to Vegas, but well worth one trip there.