So we were suppose to have dinner tonight with Dennis Baker-a great man (so we hear!) from the EV Free Churches of America...but he's sick (as is everyone else i know...PLEASE PASS US BY SICKNESS!) so...next week 3/4 we have dinner with him...
just keepin' y'all posted.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
...from ashes i came...to ashes i'll return...
Today is Ash Wednesday...I'm so curious about church history since i've taken so many classes on it. The observance of Lent-the 40 days leading up to the crucifiction and ressurection of Jesus-is on that list as well. So, today, William and I (after dropping off Em as school) went to a Lent service. We both walked up mid service for the priest to put ash on our forehead...(He did it for Will too...) There was something so sacred about considering the ash that was placed as a cross on my forehead-ashes that are from the palm fronds celebrating last years palm sunday-considering our sin...confessing...knowing we are forgiven...
So...i'm thoughtful today...mindful...contemplating in my life the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross so that I would be forgiven...and how in these 40 days that follow...considering that sacrifice and the sacrifice it will be for me to deny my flesh-my desire to fill my life with things that are not of God.
Here is another thought on lent.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
we wait...
we heard back from sunriver and they have moved on without us in their search for a worship/family pastor. so, now...we wait.
last week was quite an eventful week...walking through the question, "Now what, God??!" After reading the letter that thanked us for our time, i just sat there in tears. I knew in my heart that was not the church for us, but really God? now what?
the next morning came my answer. ry got an email from dennis, the EVFree churches of America denomination guy. we are meeting him for dinner tomorrow night for a formal interview of sorts. i'll write and let you know how it goes. anyway...he asked us if we knew a tim griffin. well..of course we do...he married us, was instrumental in ryan going back to grad school...we love him and his family. in the email dennis said he was looking forward to our dinner and if we knew tim griffin. it was just nice to get that email and see that the lord is taking care of us...in the little things like an email...we are known even to a small degree because dennis knows tim...i don't totally feel like a number or some random resume on dennis' desk. i feel a bit more known...thank you lord. you know us, you will provide for us. thank you!
i'm still pretty sad about the prospect of bend now being gone...unless the lord opens something up there, there really is no reason why we'd move there. so now we wait...expectant at what the lord will unfold this week.
pray for us tomorrow from 5-7 as we meet with dennis. the following morning (thursday) ry has breakfast with our denominational guy, mark to have a formal interview. i have NO idea what this all means...but i do know that the Lord knows us and will guide our days.
last week was quite an eventful week...walking through the question, "Now what, God??!" After reading the letter that thanked us for our time, i just sat there in tears. I knew in my heart that was not the church for us, but really God? now what?
the next morning came my answer. ry got an email from dennis, the EVFree churches of America denomination guy. we are meeting him for dinner tomorrow night for a formal interview of sorts. i'll write and let you know how it goes. anyway...he asked us if we knew a tim griffin. well..of course we do...he married us, was instrumental in ryan going back to grad school...we love him and his family. in the email dennis said he was looking forward to our dinner and if we knew tim griffin. it was just nice to get that email and see that the lord is taking care of us...in the little things like an email...we are known even to a small degree because dennis knows tim...i don't totally feel like a number or some random resume on dennis' desk. i feel a bit more known...thank you lord. you know us, you will provide for us. thank you!
i'm still pretty sad about the prospect of bend now being gone...unless the lord opens something up there, there really is no reason why we'd move there. so now we wait...expectant at what the lord will unfold this week.
pray for us tomorrow from 5-7 as we meet with dennis. the following morning (thursday) ry has breakfast with our denominational guy, mark to have a formal interview. i have NO idea what this all means...but i do know that the Lord knows us and will guide our days.
Monday, February 16, 2009
memories...
a friend of mine posted these photos on facebook of a missions trip we all took to brazil in 1992. here are a couple of the photos he posted. it made me miss brazil so much, but more than that, it made me miss my friends. heath and jen-i miss you!!! but so glad you are still in my life, even after all this time. sooo glad!! friends since 1988 i think-jen we've been friends since 1986, right? since 5th or 6th grade? i'm so thankful for that time to experience the depth and width of god. that he exists not just in orange county...this was such a monumental trip for my walk as a christian and i am so grateful my parents let me go. it was the summer before my senior year of high school.
sigh...memories. thank you lord for being so near to me, even now as i process my life in 2009...you are so good.
rain...
Although this photo was taken about a month ago, it still applies this morning! Ah...I am sitting in my peaceful living room before the noise of the morning reading, drinking my coffee and listening to the symphony outside my window of raindrops landing...Could it get any better?
Today we have a playdate with my dear friend heather and her two cuties. I think our playdate due to rain will be at McDonalds...thankfully they have a great play area that will contain our kids so we can catch up!!
What are you doing this Monday day off?
Today we have a playdate with my dear friend heather and her two cuties. I think our playdate due to rain will be at McDonalds...thankfully they have a great play area that will contain our kids so we can catch up!!
What are you doing this Monday day off?
Friday, February 13, 2009
things i love
so, there has been this '25 random things...' post phenom going on on facebook. i've avoided it, until now...but i thought in light of celebrating all things about love this week, i'd alter the list a bit and have it be 25 things i love. that way, you can still get to know me a bit-but hear about the things i love...in no particular order
1. i love ryan. duh, right? one specific thing i love about him-his words. the lord knew when he gave him to me b/c words of love-affirmation are like water in a parched land to my soul. i love words. his words-via notes, songs, everyday banter...are priceless...
2. i love will and emily-again, duh, right? one specific thing-their laughter. if i could bottle the sound of their laugh coupled with their eyes when they light up while laughing and their cheeks all puffy from laughing-i'd carry it with me everywhere showing everyone how amazing this was!!
3. i love architecture. design. anything that has to do with it-observing students forming their ideas in model form, walking down an old road with craftsman style/bungalow style homes (pasadena makes my head spin-i literal get dizzy). modern, vintage, the process of, interior, colors, metal and wood that make and idea take form-i LOVE design/architecture. i wish i didn't suck at math-i'd seriously go to school for design.
4. i love coffee. in a mug. in the morning-or actually anytime i can have it really. i love coffee with friends, alone curled up in the couch, at alta, from peets, the way my dad makes it..i love it.
5. i love to run. i wish i ran more, but i love it and hope to one day have the time to train for a 1/2 or full marathon.
6. i love hosting. i love having people in my home to cook for, to make coffee for, to have then sit and to care for them. i love to host.
7. i love our home. we live in a dorm with 200+ college students. since 2001. we might be crazy. however, the conversations we get to be apart of, the journey we participate in is heavenly. i love our home. i heart hart!!!
8. i love books. i love bookshelves full of books. i want (and actually need) bookshelves and want to have a room or den in my home that is nothing but books, a rug, endtable, lamp and a chair or two just devoted to reading. (i'm currently reading authentic faith by gary thomas.)
9. i love karaoke. sort of secretly. (i guess not so secret anymore!) i actually have only done it twice and sang the same song both times-a duet with ryan-endless love. i have to say in all sincerity...we rock it!
10. i love recycling. i love looking at something and figuring out another purpose for it, whether it's actually going with the kids and showing them how to recycle, or seeing a gift box or bag and turning it into a card, making a piece of furniture into another piece of furniture entirely different...
11. i love italian food. well...i also love mexican and japanese. but i love italian. creamy lemon shrimp from roman cucina is by far the best italian meal i've ever experienced next to the baked mushroom ravioli appetizer dish at maggianos. oh-maggianos has the best tirimisu around.
12. i love magazines. real simple-US (my guilty pleasure!)-any mag on design or home ideas...
13. i love garage sale-ing. i really only go once a year, but i LOVE it.
14. i love learning. i hope once i am done with grad school to re-read all my books at a MUCH slower pace and re-learn all that i learned.
15. i love photography. i'm figuring out digital. i'm used to SLR. i love developing my own film-oh, i love that process!! i love the dark room. i'd love my own someday...
16. i love spiritual direction. i love being the one with whom someone trusts their story with and that they invite me to pray with them on their sacred journey with Jesus. What an honor. And, I love going to spiritual direction and seeing through their eyes a whole other way to discern the who, what, when, where of God in my life.
17. i love god the father, jesus the son and the holy spirit. i love learning that they each have a specific role, yet are all love. that love (to quote my professor) is the change agent. may that love continue to change me into being their image bearer.
18. i love my friends. i love that they have stuck by me and shown me a safe place to be myself, i love going out with my friends, i love their diversity, i love listening to them, crying with them, celebrating life with them. i love them! (you know who you are!)
19. i love shopping. i wish i had money to shop! if i got a huge gift card to shop, i'd immediately go to j.crew, anthropologie, target, the orange circle, ebay, etsy, ikea, pottery barn, restoration hardware, apple store, kate spade, lisa leonard, buffalo exchange, anywhere they sell shoes (i LOVE shoes) and bags (I LOVE bags!)
20. i love what god is doing in my life right now. he is teaching me so many layers of things, it's pretty astounding. i'm learning that the debt we have (mainly from #19, 11 and 12!) that i wish would just go away is there to teach me so many things. but mainly to open to him-open my heart & my mind to where he is at work in this, how to not fill myself up with things, but to go to him with my heart. i love that. i never thought i'd say i love our debt-but i do. because it is taking my focus, my life and turning it to love and showing me to fill myself with him, not things. again, love is changing me.
21. i love family. i love how huge ryan's family is. i love that they are diverse and teach me so many things (especially how to make wontons!). i love that they are chinese. i love visiting their relatives and hearing their laughter and eating their amazing food. i love my very small family (and i still miss my grandma...everyday...) and hanging out with them, going on walks with my mom, watching my sister knit, watching football with my dad...i love my family.
22. i love to sing. not by myself. i break out in sweat and loose the feeling in my arms down to my hands when i have to sing by myself...i love to sing & harmonize
23. i love my laptop.
24. i love our small little home and can't believe that we might actually move from this home in four months. sigh...
25. what could possibly be the last thing i love? is there is end to love!!?? NO!! so...what could it be...i love...being in nature. listening to birds. laying under a tree and staring up at the leaves. i love the deschutes river in bend and if that was my backyard, it'd be a slice of heaven on earth. i love the ocean, i love the mountains, i love redwood trees, i love the colors of nature...i love nature.
okay...i'm very sure i'm forgetting something i love and when i post this, i'll remember it! but i have my two loves waking up now, so i'll go love them!
1. i love ryan. duh, right? one specific thing i love about him-his words. the lord knew when he gave him to me b/c words of love-affirmation are like water in a parched land to my soul. i love words. his words-via notes, songs, everyday banter...are priceless...
2. i love will and emily-again, duh, right? one specific thing-their laughter. if i could bottle the sound of their laugh coupled with their eyes when they light up while laughing and their cheeks all puffy from laughing-i'd carry it with me everywhere showing everyone how amazing this was!!
3. i love architecture. design. anything that has to do with it-observing students forming their ideas in model form, walking down an old road with craftsman style/bungalow style homes (pasadena makes my head spin-i literal get dizzy). modern, vintage, the process of, interior, colors, metal and wood that make and idea take form-i LOVE design/architecture. i wish i didn't suck at math-i'd seriously go to school for design.
4. i love coffee. in a mug. in the morning-or actually anytime i can have it really. i love coffee with friends, alone curled up in the couch, at alta, from peets, the way my dad makes it..i love it.
5. i love to run. i wish i ran more, but i love it and hope to one day have the time to train for a 1/2 or full marathon.
6. i love hosting. i love having people in my home to cook for, to make coffee for, to have then sit and to care for them. i love to host.
7. i love our home. we live in a dorm with 200+ college students. since 2001. we might be crazy. however, the conversations we get to be apart of, the journey we participate in is heavenly. i love our home. i heart hart!!!
8. i love books. i love bookshelves full of books. i want (and actually need) bookshelves and want to have a room or den in my home that is nothing but books, a rug, endtable, lamp and a chair or two just devoted to reading. (i'm currently reading authentic faith by gary thomas.)
9. i love karaoke. sort of secretly. (i guess not so secret anymore!) i actually have only done it twice and sang the same song both times-a duet with ryan-endless love. i have to say in all sincerity...we rock it!
10. i love recycling. i love looking at something and figuring out another purpose for it, whether it's actually going with the kids and showing them how to recycle, or seeing a gift box or bag and turning it into a card, making a piece of furniture into another piece of furniture entirely different...
11. i love italian food. well...i also love mexican and japanese. but i love italian. creamy lemon shrimp from roman cucina is by far the best italian meal i've ever experienced next to the baked mushroom ravioli appetizer dish at maggianos. oh-maggianos has the best tirimisu around.
12. i love magazines. real simple-US (my guilty pleasure!)-any mag on design or home ideas...
13. i love garage sale-ing. i really only go once a year, but i LOVE it.
14. i love learning. i hope once i am done with grad school to re-read all my books at a MUCH slower pace and re-learn all that i learned.
15. i love photography. i'm figuring out digital. i'm used to SLR. i love developing my own film-oh, i love that process!! i love the dark room. i'd love my own someday...
16. i love spiritual direction. i love being the one with whom someone trusts their story with and that they invite me to pray with them on their sacred journey with Jesus. What an honor. And, I love going to spiritual direction and seeing through their eyes a whole other way to discern the who, what, when, where of God in my life.
17. i love god the father, jesus the son and the holy spirit. i love learning that they each have a specific role, yet are all love. that love (to quote my professor) is the change agent. may that love continue to change me into being their image bearer.
18. i love my friends. i love that they have stuck by me and shown me a safe place to be myself, i love going out with my friends, i love their diversity, i love listening to them, crying with them, celebrating life with them. i love them! (you know who you are!)
19. i love shopping. i wish i had money to shop! if i got a huge gift card to shop, i'd immediately go to j.crew, anthropologie, target, the orange circle, ebay, etsy, ikea, pottery barn, restoration hardware, apple store, kate spade, lisa leonard, buffalo exchange, anywhere they sell shoes (i LOVE shoes) and bags (I LOVE bags!)
20. i love what god is doing in my life right now. he is teaching me so many layers of things, it's pretty astounding. i'm learning that the debt we have (mainly from #19, 11 and 12!) that i wish would just go away is there to teach me so many things. but mainly to open to him-open my heart & my mind to where he is at work in this, how to not fill myself up with things, but to go to him with my heart. i love that. i never thought i'd say i love our debt-but i do. because it is taking my focus, my life and turning it to love and showing me to fill myself with him, not things. again, love is changing me.
21. i love family. i love how huge ryan's family is. i love that they are diverse and teach me so many things (especially how to make wontons!). i love that they are chinese. i love visiting their relatives and hearing their laughter and eating their amazing food. i love my very small family (and i still miss my grandma...everyday...) and hanging out with them, going on walks with my mom, watching my sister knit, watching football with my dad...i love my family.
22. i love to sing. not by myself. i break out in sweat and loose the feeling in my arms down to my hands when i have to sing by myself...i love to sing & harmonize
23. i love my laptop.
24. i love our small little home and can't believe that we might actually move from this home in four months. sigh...
25. what could possibly be the last thing i love? is there is end to love!!?? NO!! so...what could it be...i love...being in nature. listening to birds. laying under a tree and staring up at the leaves. i love the deschutes river in bend and if that was my backyard, it'd be a slice of heaven on earth. i love the ocean, i love the mountains, i love redwood trees, i love the colors of nature...i love nature.
okay...i'm very sure i'm forgetting something i love and when i post this, i'll remember it! but i have my two loves waking up now, so i'll go love them!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
New years photos
here are a couple of our new years photos from our shoot...more to come once our awesome adam is back from getting married and honeymoon! we love you adam!!
Our beauty
Ah...13 years of kisses...never gets old!
Our beauty
Our warriors
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