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 cute. 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.