A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the Facebook newsfeed on my phone, when I came across a picture that was posted by my high school youth pastor.  At first glace, on the tiny screen, I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at.  Then I looked more closely and saw an apple.  I got on my computer so that I could see the picture a bit bigger and saw an incredible site.

Now, take a moment to really look at this picture.  Rob and his son, Noah, were chopping some wood that day, and when they chopped through one piece, they came across this.  Beautiful.

My initial, gut reaction, was of course, "Wow."  And I thought, you know, God's just showing Rob how pleased He is with his life.  Rob and wife Kim just moved from Eureka, Illinois, to Rice Lake, Wisconsin to plant a church (and all my church planting friends say, "Awesome!")  This is a couple that truly impacted my teenage years, and as if that investment were monetary stock…I feel like I'm reaping the millionaire rewards of their investment.  They've raised this incredible family of kids that love Jesus and seem to make great life choices (their daughter went to our alma mater for college, after all).  Rob always taught us about faith, big faith, and taking big risks.  He always talked about taking big risks. I'm definitely not surprised to know that he moved to Rice Lake to plant a church. :-) 

Back to the picture-I immediately thought, "Rob, God wants to remind you that you're the apple of His eye…in the center of His heart!"  What a picture!

I was in a group of friends the next day and was sharing this picture and story with them-the picture alone is just really cool, but the thoughts behind are just a beautiful and even more meaningful.  As I was talking about it, one of my friends said, "Kim, you are so excited about this!  It's almost like God did that for you more than for your friend!  You're talking about His words and thoughts…"…basically she went on to say that I was talking about it as I was sensing the Lord wooing my heart.  As if He really did do that just for me.

All of a sudden I realized that my heart was beating fast and that I had that same sense about me as when I talk about an amazing man in my life, that I would not mind sitting next to on a couch for the rest of my life. :-)  God is really wooing my heart and I love it!  He even allowed me to experience this super cool piece of wood that He created…HIS CREATION calls out to me.  So precious. 

I love this picture quite a bit.  It reminds me…I need the reminder.  It's my new wallpaper and screensaver on my phone, so that every time I go to use my phone I am reminded of just how much God likes me.  I am the apple of His eye.  I'm His favorite.  I'm centered in His heart and He delights in me, no matter how many times I screw up.

"Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings." Psalm 17.8