Yesterday Luke and I bought these delicious doughnuts for breakfast this morning. 2 for $1.09! Luke was especially excited about the find. This morning he jumped out of bed at 6:48, and very excitedly (think little boy on Christmas...) exclaimed "Guess what time it is!"
"6:48?" I replied.
Luke looked at me with disappointed, only for a moment before the excitement returned...
"IT'S DOUGHNUT TIME!"
That's all for today.
Happy Fall!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Long Walks and Beautiful Days
It was a good weekend after a long week and before what is likely to be another long week. Just so you know (especially those of you with no access to facebook...) this post will have some pictures from the weekend, but certainly not all of them. If you would like to view the rest you can view them here. Also, because they are fun, you should look at these from our previous trip to the Nationals Stadium, which include pictures of the Presidential Race (very fun).
I don't really know why I'm writing now, except that I wanted to post some pictures. The weekend was definitely a good one, but there are always some tough spots. I miss my little sisters terribly, and it is weird (and hard) being here, unsure of the next step, and what is really going on in our lives. We've really got to depend on God, but sometimes it's hard making time for Him in a day that involves long metro rides and emotionally draining work from 9:00-5:00. The weird thing is that I know that I won't be as drained when I'm counting on God, and yet I'm too drained to get started. It's a vicious cycle that I am in the process of getting out of. Luckily for me, God is gracious and gives me so much less than I deserve (as far as punishment goes...Luke made fun of me for that one).
Luke and I did have some pretty quality conversations this weekend, and I am so lucky and blessed that even if we have absolutely nothing, we'll have each other and we'll continue to point each other
to God, even when it's hard. Yes, I am a lucky woman.
Other than Luke, on the bright side we also love Washington, DC. There is a free zoo (I love the zoo) and an MLB Baseball Team. Both of which we took advantage of on Saturday. First we went to the zoo. There were a ton of kids there and we heard everything from a child wanting her parents to buy a leapord to a child wondering why a seal got put into time out. It was pretty cute.
I think that the animals at the zoo have different personalities just like people. Some of the animals we saw walked around lazily while others were great performers for the
crowds and still others curled up in a corner so they could not be seen and they just slept. I wonder what I would be if I were trapped in a cage with millions of people looking at me every week. I think that I would be like this guy. While one of the other pandas ate bamboo next to the window and posed for pictures and the other hid behind a walk, this panda did whatever he wanted to in plain view of everyone. I like to think I would be easy going and cool, going about my business, yet letting other people be a part of my life. But maybe that is just a little too much of a personality analysis for a panda. What would YOU be like if you were in a zoo? (Seriously, leave an answer in the comments section!).
After the zoo we got hotdogs and ate them on the way to the Nationals game. The game was not a pretty one. We lost--and we looked like we lost. Not only did the team look horrible, there were so few hi-lights in the game, that the hi-lights movie at the end had pictures of fans dancing and players signing autographs. Yes, it was bad. But it was fun, nonetheless. After the game they showed a movie, Field of Dreams. While not the most spiritually sound (at all), it is still entertaining, especially when watching it on the huge high definition screen at the Nationals Stadium. Pretty amazing. I think the one thing the Field of Dreams is the concept of searching for meaning. I mean Kevin Costner's character gives up everything because he hears a voice. He travels to Boston and Minnesota at the risk of losing his farm and endangering his family because he hears a voice. And many people have done the same things on a notion. I want to be better at finding my meaning in Christ. And doing whatever it is to follow that. Including move to DC without a plan or a form of income. I'm sure this will be a theme in my life for many years to come.
We went to our first church in Washington this morning. On the way there we saw this dog sitting in the window. It was cute...and did I mention that I miss my family? I took a picture of it (at the risk of being a total creeper--as my sisters would say). But the dog was cut
e. Church was good. Luke and I want to find a church with deep social justice roots, and preferably one that is seeking racial reconcilliation and is diverse. The church we attended we found online and we went because next weekend they are having a weekend of prayer and fasting for victims of sex trafficking. The church population was fairly diverse, probably indicitive of the neighborhood in which it is located. The church seems to be seeking its values, but it's hard to tell in one week.
We will probably visit again soon.
The sermon this morning was really good. It was about the gospel and believing and knowing what you believe and why. I think the minister made some really good points, but what I took away from it is something that I need to remember, and something that I need to continually tell myself when I get stuck in, what seems like, impossible situations. This is my own paraphrase of the sermon...
I don't really know why I'm writing now, except that I wanted to post some pictures. The weekend was definitely a good one, but there are always some tough spots. I miss my little sisters terribly, and it is weird (and hard) being here, unsure of the next step, and what is really going on in our lives. We've really got to depend on God, but sometimes it's hard making time for Him in a day that involves long metro rides and emotionally draining work from 9:00-5:00. The weird thing is that I know that I won't be as drained when I'm counting on God, and yet I'm too drained to get started. It's a vicious cycle that I am in the process of getting out of. Luckily for me, God is gracious and gives me so much less than I deserve (as far as punishment goes...Luke made fun of me for that one).
Luke and I did have some pretty quality conversations this weekend, and I am so lucky and blessed that even if we have absolutely nothing, we'll have each other and we'll continue to point each other
to God, even when it's hard. Yes, I am a lucky woman.Other than Luke, on the bright side we also love Washington, DC. There is a free zoo (I love the zoo) and an MLB Baseball Team. Both of which we took advantage of on Saturday. First we went to the zoo. There were a ton of kids there and we heard everything from a child wanting her parents to buy a leapord to a child wondering why a seal got put into time out. It was pretty cute.
I think that the animals at the zoo have different personalities just like people. Some of the animals we saw walked around lazily while others were great performers for the
crowds and still others curled up in a corner so they could not be seen and they just slept. I wonder what I would be if I were trapped in a cage with millions of people looking at me every week. I think that I would be like this guy. While one of the other pandas ate bamboo next to the window and posed for pictures and the other hid behind a walk, this panda did whatever he wanted to in plain view of everyone. I like to think I would be easy going and cool, going about my business, yet letting other people be a part of my life. But maybe that is just a little too much of a personality analysis for a panda. What would YOU be like if you were in a zoo? (Seriously, leave an answer in the comments section!).
After the zoo we got hotdogs and ate them on the way to the Nationals game. The game was not a pretty one. We lost--and we looked like we lost. Not only did the team look horrible, there were so few hi-lights in the game, that the hi-lights movie at the end had pictures of fans dancing and players signing autographs. Yes, it was bad. But it was fun, nonetheless. After the game they showed a movie, Field of Dreams. While not the most spiritually sound (at all), it is still entertaining, especially when watching it on the huge high definition screen at the Nationals Stadium. Pretty amazing. I think the one thing the Field of Dreams is the concept of searching for meaning. I mean Kevin Costner's character gives up everything because he hears a voice. He travels to Boston and Minnesota at the risk of losing his farm and endangering his family because he hears a voice. And many people have done the same things on a notion. I want to be better at finding my meaning in Christ. And doing whatever it is to follow that. Including move to DC without a plan or a form of income. I'm sure this will be a theme in my life for many years to come.We went to our first church in Washington this morning. On the way there we saw this dog sitting in the window. It was cute...and did I mention that I miss my family? I took a picture of it (at the risk of being a total creeper--as my sisters would say). But the dog was cut
e. Church was good. Luke and I want to find a church with deep social justice roots, and preferably one that is seeking racial reconcilliation and is diverse. The church we attended we found online and we went because next weekend they are having a weekend of prayer and fasting for victims of sex trafficking. The church population was fairly diverse, probably indicitive of the neighborhood in which it is located. The church seems to be seeking its values, but it's hard to tell in one week.We will probably visit again soon.
The sermon this morning was really good. It was about the gospel and believing and knowing what you believe and why. I think the minister made some really good points, but what I took away from it is something that I need to remember, and something that I need to continually tell myself when I get stuck in, what seems like, impossible situations. This is my own paraphrase of the sermon...
We don't believe because it (the Gospel) has the power to change our situation--we believe because it has the power to change us.
Sometimes when stuff gets hard I wonder why in the world I get stuck in these seemingly hopeless situations and I get mad at God and the fact that I'm stuck. But God isn't about changing the situation--even though He can--He's about changing me within the situation. I need to remember this during this adventure and ridiculous times when Luke and I have absolutely no idea what's coming next...or where it will come from. I'd also like to point out that in Habakkuk 2:3 it says "Wait for it." That is also a phrase I think I will need to keep in my head. Forever.
This afternoon Luke and I moved into an Extended Stay America place in Maryland. In the past three weeks we have lived in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. If our application for an apartment gets approved we'll be in Washington, DC by next week! 4 different locations in 4 weeks. We're awesome. =) The extended stay place is a lot different from our tiny apartment, and it has a gorgeous trail around a pond that we walked on for a long time and talked about racial reconcilliation, the way we think the world
should be, and nothing all in the same outting. Have I mentioned how lucky I am?
Here are just some snip-its from our conversation on the way it should be. We were talking about how weird it will be to move into an area where we are the minority. And how it will be going out of our comfort zones and it will probably feel awkward and weird. But it's where we think we should live, and so on we go, into the unknown. But we know that this is the way that many minorities feel on a day-to-day basis in America, and, in general, since races and ethnicities tend to stick together, people will always feel uncomfortable and awkward when living among people who are different. I wonder if that's the way it should be. Or should everyone just live together, the rich and the poor, and
the different races all mixed together, so nobody ever feels left out or awkward. And we think that it would be awesome if that were the case. And I think that it's the way it would be if things weren't so broken and messed up. And one day every tribe and every nation will be together, worshipping and praising God. And then we'll know how it should be, and should have been all along. And we'll wonder why we didn't embrace it and love each other instead of seperate ourselves out. Well, probably not because we'll be so overcome with joy...but you get the idea. Those are just some ramblings. And I think I make more sense when I speak. But it was a gorgeous afternoon, and typing thoughts that don't make sense to anyone but me is always a good way to end a gorgeous day. And, remember that you can see more pictures with the links posted above. Thanks for reading my crazy thoughts.
This afternoon Luke and I moved into an Extended Stay America place in Maryland. In the past three weeks we have lived in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. If our application for an apartment gets approved we'll be in Washington, DC by next week! 4 different locations in 4 weeks. We're awesome. =) The extended stay place is a lot different from our tiny apartment, and it has a gorgeous trail around a pond that we walked on for a long time and talked about racial reconcilliation, the way we think the world
should be, and nothing all in the same outting. Have I mentioned how lucky I am?Here are just some snip-its from our conversation on the way it should be. We were talking about how weird it will be to move into an area where we are the minority. And how it will be going out of our comfort zones and it will probably feel awkward and weird. But it's where we think we should live, and so on we go, into the unknown. But we know that this is the way that many minorities feel on a day-to-day basis in America, and, in general, since races and ethnicities tend to stick together, people will always feel uncomfortable and awkward when living among people who are different. I wonder if that's the way it should be. Or should everyone just live together, the rich and the poor, and
the different races all mixed together, so nobody ever feels left out or awkward. And we think that it would be awesome if that were the case. And I think that it's the way it would be if things weren't so broken and messed up. And one day every tribe and every nation will be together, worshipping and praising God. And then we'll know how it should be, and should have been all along. And we'll wonder why we didn't embrace it and love each other instead of seperate ourselves out. Well, probably not because we'll be so overcome with joy...but you get the idea. Those are just some ramblings. And I think I make more sense when I speak. But it was a gorgeous afternoon, and typing thoughts that don't make sense to anyone but me is always a good way to end a gorgeous day. And, remember that you can see more pictures with the links posted above. Thanks for reading my crazy thoughts.Friday, September 19, 2008
The District of Columbia--Week One
So Luke and I have spent our first week in our nation's capital. For those of you who don't know, Washington, DC is named as such because "Columbia" used to be the poetic word used for "America" thus, Washington (named for George), District of Columbia means District of America, which Luke claims would be a much cooler name.
We have been subletting a ridiculously small apartment for this week, and we will probably be subletting a
different ridiculously small apartment next week. Here are some pictures...this is the view from the front door (above). You can see right into the bedroom and then there's the re
frigerator and a huge mirror. Then there's the view from the bedroom where the bathroom is literally 5 steps away. Further below is a picture of our lovely small bedroom. It works. =) The pictures of 
me are my attempt to show you how low the c
eiling is. It can't be more than 6'5", I can easily
touch it. Having just a small problem with the pictures on this thing...If you couldn't tell...Sorry for the weird looking post... more to come later, I promise...I just have to go do some laundry. Alright, so I did some laundry and then got caught up in V for Vendetta and then fell asleep. So now it's morning and I'm awake. So good morning! Today is adventure day and Luke and I are going to the zoo and to the Nationals game (if we get our chores and cleaning done...) so we'll see how all of that works out. I'm really curious to see how all of this is going to look in actual blog format, but I tried messing with it and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. If it's distracting, I'm sorry. The people where I work are really amazing. They are friendly and nice. I also love the area in which it is located. It's in a residential area, and the walk there, so far, has been calming and refreshing. The weather in DC has been amazing (did I mention this yet?), low to mid seventies and sunny, with a nice breeze. We're getting spoiled, I know, but it feels like fall is just around the corner, and that makes me excited. As I walk to work I walk over this bridge with a small river and a lot of trees and grass. One day I will have the time to explore down there. As I walk over the bridge I see the same people. There is this one gorgeous woman who has two little kids and they are always walking, the little children trailing behind with their backpacks larger than they are and the mother says something in a different language and the children repeat it. They have beautiful, dar
k skin, and I wonder which language they are learning. I think I am continually amazed at the every day diversity I see and it makes me excited. In the neighborhood there are always people out walking their dogs. They remind me of Teddy.
Training is intense, but the people (as I mentioned) are amazing. It's been awhile since I've had such discussions about human trafficking with people who are also really passionate about the issue. And they feed my passion as well. But it's hard to hear about people enslaving others--whether for sex or for labor--and it makes me wonder how we came this far. It also makes me examine myself. I am very aware that sometimes--especially when discussing certain political views--I find myself thinking that I am more enlightened, or even better than someone else. This thought, this very idea is what leads some to enslave others. I have decided I need to be very careful about my thoughts from now on.
The issue of trafficking is way big, and already my thoughts are swirling about what can possibly be done and how to do it. I'm afraid, already, I am thinking in the future (such a problem of mine!) and I haven't even begun my work with Client Services yet. I would love to talk to all of you about human trafficking, and soon I will probably post on it (until you all are tired of hearing about it...) but this issue happens everywhere...and we don't see it...or pay attention to it. I'm still sorting out my complicated thoughts and feelings...
Like Amanda and Whitney I have also picked up my edition of Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What, and I find it intriguing. Humanity is so broken, and I keep hearing at work how something is missing in the lives of both the traffickers and the people who are trafficked. We say it over and over again--something is missing. And I am very aware that all are subject to trafficking, because all there needs to be is one vulnerability...one thing for the trafficker to pick up on, compliment on and invite...and that thing has been missing since the fall...read Amanda's blog about it and I'll write more later (that sentence is peppering this blog, I know).
Also, in conjunction with Searching for God Knows What I decided to do a study on Moses and read John (ironic because in the second chapter of the book, Donald Miller talks about both of these men as authors...or maybe it's not so ironic). I was reading in Exodus 3 today and I read this...
We have been subletting a ridiculously small apartment for this week, and we will probably be subletting a
different ridiculously small apartment next week. Here are some pictures...this is the view from the front door (above). You can see right into the bedroom and then there's the re
frigerator and a huge mirror. Then there's the view from the bedroom where the bathroom is literally 5 steps away. Further below is a picture of our lovely small bedroom. It works. =) The pictures of 
me are my attempt to show you how low the c
eiling is. It can't be more than 6'5", I can easily
touch it. Having just a small problem with the pictures on this thing...If you couldn't tell...Sorry for the weird looking post... more to come later, I promise...I just have to go do some laundry. Alright, so I did some laundry and then got caught up in V for Vendetta and then fell asleep. So now it's morning and I'm awake. So good morning! Today is adventure day and Luke and I are going to the zoo and to the Nationals game (if we get our chores and cleaning done...) so we'll see how all of that works out. I'm really curious to see how all of this is going to look in actual blog format, but I tried messing with it and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. If it's distracting, I'm sorry. The people where I work are really amazing. They are friendly and nice. I also love the area in which it is located. It's in a residential area, and the walk there, so far, has been calming and refreshing. The weather in DC has been amazing (did I mention this yet?), low to mid seventies and sunny, with a nice breeze. We're getting spoiled, I know, but it feels like fall is just around the corner, and that makes me excited. As I walk to work I walk over this bridge with a small river and a lot of trees and grass. One day I will have the time to explore down there. As I walk over the bridge I see the same people. There is this one gorgeous woman who has two little kids and they are always walking, the little children trailing behind with their backpacks larger than they are and the mother says something in a different language and the children repeat it. They have beautiful, dar
k skin, and I wonder which language they are learning. I think I am continually amazed at the every day diversity I see and it makes me excited. In the neighborhood there are always people out walking their dogs. They remind me of Teddy.Training is intense, but the people (as I mentioned) are amazing. It's been awhile since I've had such discussions about human trafficking with people who are also really passionate about the issue. And they feed my passion as well. But it's hard to hear about people enslaving others--whether for sex or for labor--and it makes me wonder how we came this far. It also makes me examine myself. I am very aware that sometimes--especially when discussing certain political views--I find myself thinking that I am more enlightened, or even better than someone else. This thought, this very idea is what leads some to enslave others. I have decided I need to be very careful about my thoughts from now on.
The issue of trafficking is way big, and already my thoughts are swirling about what can possibly be done and how to do it. I'm afraid, already, I am thinking in the future (such a problem of mine!) and I haven't even begun my work with Client Services yet. I would love to talk to all of you about human trafficking, and soon I will probably post on it (until you all are tired of hearing about it...) but this issue happens everywhere...and we don't see it...or pay attention to it. I'm still sorting out my complicated thoughts and feelings...
Like Amanda and Whitney I have also picked up my edition of Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What, and I find it intriguing. Humanity is so broken, and I keep hearing at work how something is missing in the lives of both the traffickers and the people who are trafficked. We say it over and over again--something is missing. And I am very aware that all are subject to trafficking, because all there needs to be is one vulnerability...one thing for the trafficker to pick up on, compliment on and invite...and that thing has been missing since the fall...read Amanda's blog about it and I'll write more later (that sentence is peppering this blog, I know).
Also, in conjunction with Searching for God Knows What I decided to do a study on Moses and read John (ironic because in the second chapter of the book, Donald Miller talks about both of these men as authors...or maybe it's not so ironic). I was reading in Exodus 3 today and I read this...
But Moses said to God
"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh
and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
And God said,
"I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you
that it is I who have sent you:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will
worship God on this mountain."
"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh
and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
And God said,
"I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you
that it is I who have sent you:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will
worship God on this mountain."
Let me just say this. I get it backwards...I want the sign first, before I do what God is telling me. And often times God is gracious enough to give it to me. But really, I have it backwards. The sign isn't to make us feel better before we do what God wants us to do--but it is to praise God and show the world that He is with us while we do it...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sleep Deprived
I have not slept well this week. I don't know why. Maybe it's the huge pending change in my life occurring in 4 days. Or maybe...no, it's probably the huge change...
I like to think that I don't worry as much as I used to. When I was younger(think elementary and middle school) before school started I would usually be up all night just thinking about school, worrying about whether or not people would like me...really trivial stuff.
But now it's big stuff. You know, like where are we going to live...how are we going to live...etc. And I don't feel worried about it during the day...in fact, I feel like I'm going on an adventure, a crazy wild adventure where the only way we are ever going to survive is if God does some major coming through for us...and He will, and I know that this is trivial, for:
I like to think that I don't worry as much as I used to. When I was younger(think elementary and middle school) before school started I would usually be up all night just thinking about school, worrying about whether or not people would like me...really trivial stuff.
But now it's big stuff. You know, like where are we going to live...how are we going to live...etc. And I don't feel worried about it during the day...in fact, I feel like I'm going on an adventure, a crazy wild adventure where the only way we are ever going to survive is if God does some major coming through for us...and He will, and I know that this is trivial, for:
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Nevertheless my nights have been a series of tosses and turns peppered with nightmares that the mafia is after me (I should really watch less Law and Order...) and for some reason I just can't sleep. Maybe God is pursuing my wayward and undisciplined heart...but my Bible is in the other room and I am locked in here because of my terrifying nightmare (juvenile, I know...) But then it hits me. I really am like the little middle school girl, up in the middle of the night because I am worried about school. And while my problems seem bigger to me, they aren't to God and really I am still juvenile...and I always will be. Which is why God invites us to call Him "Father" and why He keeps reminding me I can't make it on my own, whether through nightmares while I sleep or what could be disastrous in four days...but really it's just one big adventure, right?
This all might be nonsense. But it is 4:30 in the morning.
In other news, since the political scene is here, so it political satire. And I do love the political satire, I have to admit. And these guys are a recent discovery (made by my mother-in-law) and they make me laugh. I hope they'll give you a chuckle, too.
I'm off to battle the mafia. Goodnight.
This all might be nonsense. But it is 4:30 in the morning.
In other news, since the political scene is here, so it political satire. And I do love the political satire, I have to admit. And these guys are a recent discovery (made by my mother-in-law) and they make me laugh. I hope they'll give you a chuckle, too.
I'm off to battle the mafia. Goodnight.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Brokenness...
You know that song...one of the ones that uses repetition to get you to feel the spirit of God? I think it's called "Holiness" and it repeats over and over what we long for...
Holiness, Holiness is what I long for...Holiness is what I need...
Brokenness, Brokenness is what I long for...
Faithfulness, Faithfulness is what I long for...
You get the idea.
But here's a question...who really wants brokenness? Do we really long for brokenness? And if we long for it, then aren't we missing the point of God...wholeness and healing?
I understand that the point of the song is not that we want to wade around in brokenness, but rather that we want God to break us, but shouldn't we be singing a different word there (ahem, like humbleness)?
Brokenness is not what the Lord Almighty wants from us, is it? No, otherwise He would have let us in this world alone. Because the world offers us brokenness...
Maybe more later...but maybe not. We all know me and at the moment I'm going for one post per month...
Holiness, Holiness is what I long for...Holiness is what I need...
Brokenness, Brokenness is what I long for...
Faithfulness, Faithfulness is what I long for...
You get the idea.
But here's a question...who really wants brokenness? Do we really long for brokenness? And if we long for it, then aren't we missing the point of God...wholeness and healing?
I understand that the point of the song is not that we want to wade around in brokenness, but rather that we want God to break us, but shouldn't we be singing a different word there (ahem, like humbleness)?
Brokenness is not what the Lord Almighty wants from us, is it? No, otherwise He would have let us in this world alone. Because the world offers us brokenness...
Maybe more later...but maybe not. We all know me and at the moment I'm going for one post per month...
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