Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ugh... Snow....
While I was in Illinois last weekend, Grand Rapids had it's first snow sticking (but no more than an inch). This past week it rained almost everyday... and now it's been snowing this weekend! Still, it's really no more than a dusting that melts and comes back later... but I am so not ready for the snow and cold. It's just so unbearably long. Ugh, I am not cut out for living in Michigan long term. That's really all I have for now. Nothing much going on around here lately.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I'm super exhausted right now, so I'm not really planning on going into as much details as normal. I just got home after a 12-hour day at work. Every year my daycare puts on a Thanksgiving Feast for the families, and that was tonight. So that means a lot of work for us! Not to mention that it was a cold rainy day stuck inside with the kids bouncing off the walls, ugh.
Anyways, just wanted to quick fill you in on my fantabulous weekend :). It was SO GOOD to visit Grace, you have no idea. We have been missing each other so very much. I've been doing pretty well with not being lonely lately, but that doesn't mean that I don't miss my friends and family that I don't get to see a ton! And I was in so much need of just a fun, hanging out, girls kind of weekend away from my house and the laundry and cleaning and leaves and other things to be done (it's only the two of us and I feel like this already?!). We went to her sister and brohter-in-law's house to play Scene It on xbox 360. That was very different and I think lots more fun (even though I was aweful at it) than the dvd game. You each get your own controller/buzzer and everyone gets to compete to answer. Anyways... on Sunday we met Scott at an outlet mall for some lunch and shopping! I was very excited to see him as well :). Then we hungout with some of Grace's other friends and played Rockband... my first time. It was fun, but I wasn't super impressed, I'm good with just Guitar Hero. I left Monday after we went out for a delicious breakfast. It wasn't nearly enough time with her, but it will have to do.
Fun news for this coming weekend though: my friend Tyler and his wife Gwen are coming to town and probably staying with us :). Hurray for friends and visitors!
Anyways, just wanted to quick fill you in on my fantabulous weekend :). It was SO GOOD to visit Grace, you have no idea. We have been missing each other so very much. I've been doing pretty well with not being lonely lately, but that doesn't mean that I don't miss my friends and family that I don't get to see a ton! And I was in so much need of just a fun, hanging out, girls kind of weekend away from my house and the laundry and cleaning and leaves and other things to be done (it's only the two of us and I feel like this already?!). We went to her sister and brohter-in-law's house to play Scene It on xbox 360. That was very different and I think lots more fun (even though I was aweful at it) than the dvd game. You each get your own controller/buzzer and everyone gets to compete to answer. Anyways... on Sunday we met Scott at an outlet mall for some lunch and shopping! I was very excited to see him as well :). Then we hungout with some of Grace's other friends and played Rockband... my first time. It was fun, but I wasn't super impressed, I'm good with just Guitar Hero. I left Monday after we went out for a delicious breakfast. It wasn't nearly enough time with her, but it will have to do.
Fun news for this coming weekend though: my friend Tyler and his wife Gwen are coming to town and probably staying with us :). Hurray for friends and visitors!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Illinois!
I've been trying to make it work for over a month to go visit my friend Grace in Illinois and take advantage of the long weekends that I usually have. It didn't work with our schedules, then I didn't have a car for a couple weeks, then I couldn't get anyone to fill in for me at church... but this weekend I am going! I am leaving in a couple hours, getting ready for a long drive (4.5 ish hours), and SUPER excited to spend some quality time with my friend that I miss so much :). More to come later...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Love and Politics...
Let's start with love: I love my church. It is going to be very hard to leave and find a new one someday. Matt's family was here on last Sunday, so we didn't go to the service so that we could spend more time with them. Today I listened to the sermon that we missed and realized how much I really did miss being there, after just one week. It was on Acts 8, and about Philip preaching in Samaria and many other places after he got kicked out of Jerusalem along with all the other Christ followers because their lives were at stake. Pastor Jeff talked about how we all end up on detours in life (an example would be my life right now: working at a daycare while I want to be teaching, but this is where God has me.... hence why this sermon hit home so much). Well, Philip was on a detour, he wasn't where he wanted to be... he ended up in Samaria and on a random middle of no where road. But in the end he helped an Ethiopian eunuch to understand the scriptures and become a Christ follower as well! He said how we don't expect to see God working in detours, but He is! And we should be looking and praying for those opportunities.... opportunities that are often put there for us to help others. Another reason that I love my church... we just studied/discussed this chapter in our small group last week (because our small group booklets go along with the series) and I didn't get that part out of it at all, but other totally different things. Sweet.
Onto politics... Like everyone else, I am so sick of seeing, hearing, and breathing the presidential election for the past I don't even know how long. So, in my naivety, I thought that this morning would start a new much more pleasant era with it all being over. I was listening to the local Christian radio station (91.3) on my way to work as usual. And I really do like this station, I like the music, I mostly like the DJs, and it is really helpful to put me in a good and Godly mood for a trying day at work when I listen to it. But not today, oh no. The first thing I hear when I turn it on is the DJ talking about how a lot of people were disappointed and that we really need to be praying for our country (both true and valid statements - but not what I wanted to hear right then). But it went to a good song, so I kept listening.
And then this ridiculous woman called in. In saying what I am going to say I realize that I am in turn judging her, however, I can't stand super judgemental Christians like this who cannot even consider another's point of view, let alone respect it. What is so hard about respecting an opinion different from your own? She says she wants to make a comment about the election. She says that she is very disappointed in the Christians in our country, particularly those who voted for Obama (who would say this on public radio?). She says that they are trying to make Obama their God and are counting on him to save us rather than Jesus Christ (maybe I'll get back to that as a good analogy for non-Christians and some Christians in voting for a president in general later). She compared it to the Israelites begging God to give them an earthly king even though God told them that they didn't need one. She says that we should not make the economy or any such earthly things the biggest issues, but instead the right to life. She went so far as to say that those so-called Christians are not trusting in God to provide for them as they should be during hard times like these - that they are putting their faith in Obama to get them out of the hard times instead. Now, that may be true for some people... but I want to ask her this: Why can't a Christian trust in God to provide for them (knowing that that is needs, not wants), yet want something more for our country in general, for all of those who may or may not be trusting in Him to do the same for them... to see beyond yourself and what you want for you, but to look at what you want for everyone, what you want for your country, how to do what Jesus calls us to do-how to take care of the orphans and widows? Whoever each Christian out there chose to vote for I would hope they were being open minded enough to consider such things, and in turn, to realize that Christians on the other side are doing the same and are still doing their best to help the Kingdom.
Back to looking at any presidential candidate or president as a savior of sorts... I think many non-Christians do do this because they are looking to be saved... in the wrong places. Dustin shared a post in Google Reader from Mark Driscoll's (the pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle) blog that describes this well.
Onto politics... Like everyone else, I am so sick of seeing, hearing, and breathing the presidential election for the past I don't even know how long. So, in my naivety, I thought that this morning would start a new much more pleasant era with it all being over. I was listening to the local Christian radio station (91.3) on my way to work as usual. And I really do like this station, I like the music, I mostly like the DJs, and it is really helpful to put me in a good and Godly mood for a trying day at work when I listen to it. But not today, oh no. The first thing I hear when I turn it on is the DJ talking about how a lot of people were disappointed and that we really need to be praying for our country (both true and valid statements - but not what I wanted to hear right then). But it went to a good song, so I kept listening.
And then this ridiculous woman called in. In saying what I am going to say I realize that I am in turn judging her, however, I can't stand super judgemental Christians like this who cannot even consider another's point of view, let alone respect it. What is so hard about respecting an opinion different from your own? She says she wants to make a comment about the election. She says that she is very disappointed in the Christians in our country, particularly those who voted for Obama (who would say this on public radio?). She says that they are trying to make Obama their God and are counting on him to save us rather than Jesus Christ (maybe I'll get back to that as a good analogy for non-Christians and some Christians in voting for a president in general later). She compared it to the Israelites begging God to give them an earthly king even though God told them that they didn't need one. She says that we should not make the economy or any such earthly things the biggest issues, but instead the right to life. She went so far as to say that those so-called Christians are not trusting in God to provide for them as they should be during hard times like these - that they are putting their faith in Obama to get them out of the hard times instead. Now, that may be true for some people... but I want to ask her this: Why can't a Christian trust in God to provide for them (knowing that that is needs, not wants), yet want something more for our country in general, for all of those who may or may not be trusting in Him to do the same for them... to see beyond yourself and what you want for you, but to look at what you want for everyone, what you want for your country, how to do what Jesus calls us to do-how to take care of the orphans and widows? Whoever each Christian out there chose to vote for I would hope they were being open minded enough to consider such things, and in turn, to realize that Christians on the other side are doing the same and are still doing their best to help the Kingdom.
Back to looking at any presidential candidate or president as a savior of sorts... I think many non-Christians do do this because they are looking to be saved... in the wrong places. Dustin shared a post in Google Reader from Mark Driscoll's (the pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle) blog that describes this well.
Monday, November 3, 2008
4th Photo
My friend Marcia Bosma tagged me to find the 4th photo in the 4th folder of "My Pictures" on my computer and post it on here and tell the story behind it. Well, if anyone has ever seen what an organized freak I am, they would know that I have first, folders seperated by year, then by month, then by activity. So I am going to keep going the the 4th until I get a single picture, and this is what I came up with... The 4th "year" folder is my senior year at Calvin, and the 4th month folder is Janurary, and the 4th picture is this:
This is from my trip to Ecuador during interim 2008. This is a really old (1600s?) cathedral in the capital city of Quito that we visited. Instead of like stone goblins and stuff on top like you see on medieval cathedrals, it had turtles and other sea creatures, which I thought was cool and fitting for Ecuador. This was by far the best trip of my life. We spent several days exploring Quito, then 2 weeks almost traveling deep into the Amazon rainforest, and then a long weekend on the coast and visiting an island called, Isla de la Plata, which is nicknamed, "Poorman's Galapagos."
Now I am supposed to tag 4 other people: Jordan, Carissa, Kate, and Christina.
This is from my trip to Ecuador during interim 2008. This is a really old (1600s?) cathedral in the capital city of Quito that we visited. Instead of like stone goblins and stuff on top like you see on medieval cathedrals, it had turtles and other sea creatures, which I thought was cool and fitting for Ecuador. This was by far the best trip of my life. We spent several days exploring Quito, then 2 weeks almost traveling deep into the Amazon rainforest, and then a long weekend on the coast and visiting an island called, Isla de la Plata, which is nicknamed, "Poorman's Galapagos." Now I am supposed to tag 4 other people: Jordan, Carissa, Kate, and Christina.
Halloween and stuff
I guess Mondays when I have the day off have become my time of the week to post on here. It was a very long and exhausting week... maybe even more so than I thought it would be. Oh well, it went by quickly. Parent teacher conferences went well, even with a few parents who are more touchy about things. And carpooling with our one car worked out pretty well this week too.
Friday after work I stopped by to see my babysitting kids in their costumes: Ariel from the Little Mermaid, a Power Ranger, and some Star Wars character - they were cute. I also got to see pics of Evangeline the pumpkin and Lucca the penguin :). That night Matt and I went to my friend Rachel's Halloween party after he got off work. He was the Cat in the Hat and I was a cowgirl. There were like 5 couples there including us and we played some games. It was good to get out and do something with a group of people for once. Then Saturday night Matt and I made caramel apples, yum! Here are a few pics:
Sunday Matt's fam came up for the day, and his grandparents came over for lunch. It was nice to have Matt not working and home for a whole day, and then to spend it with family as well. I miss that, both of those, a lot. That night we also went to Panera with his fam and cousins who go to Calvin. Now I really can't wait for the holidays!
Friday after work I stopped by to see my babysitting kids in their costumes: Ariel from the Little Mermaid, a Power Ranger, and some Star Wars character - they were cute. I also got to see pics of Evangeline the pumpkin and Lucca the penguin :). That night Matt and I went to my friend Rachel's Halloween party after he got off work. He was the Cat in the Hat and I was a cowgirl. There were like 5 couples there including us and we played some games. It was good to get out and do something with a group of people for once. Then Saturday night Matt and I made caramel apples, yum! Here are a few pics:
Sunday Matt's fam came up for the day, and his grandparents came over for lunch. It was nice to have Matt not working and home for a whole day, and then to spend it with family as well. I miss that, both of those, a lot. That night we also went to Panera with his fam and cousins who go to Calvin. Now I really can't wait for the holidays!
Monday, October 27, 2008
This and That
Last week we had small group at our house... and let me just say that I got far too much pleasure and enjoyment out of it! I rarely get to have people over and show off my house with it's decor and pictures and splashes of color everywhere that I love and adore - so I get a little bit excited when I do... and even more so when I get lots of compliments :). After everyone left, Matt and I were like... wow EVERYONE sure commented a lot on how much they liked our house, fireplace, photographs on the wall (mostly ones I've taken... a couple by Jordan), colors, kitchen floor, and more. The other houses we've been at so far were just as nice or nicer than ours.... do we just not remember as many compliments at those ones? Or were they all expecting the least from us since we're just the poor newlyweds? :-P I don't know... and it's kinda funny because I am not usually one to get so high off of compliments, especially not if they're about myself - but apparently I do if they're about my home :). I also recently put some pics of Evangeline and Lucca in frames around the house, so now I can show them off too :).
On a different note, I have parent-teacher-conferences this week, boo. That means that I will be at work until around 8:30 both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then small group Thursday night, stopping by my babysitting kids' to see their costumes after work Friday and then a Halloween party later when Matt gets off work, a day to relax Saturday, and Matt's fam on Sunday. I have a jam-packed week! It's nice to have a life once in a while.
At church we're going through a sermon series called The Story of the First Church, based on the book of Acts. It must be good from the start because it's from Acts, right?! Well it really is very good, but Pastor Jeff also referred to an old sermon last week, out of James, that he preached last spring. It was about choosing joy because when bad things happen, you have to choose something-some response, so you might as well choose joy. I've been thinking about that and how and where to apply that in my life. Joy isn't just about being happy, but more like, having a peaceful attitude about things, a better outlook. So my goal is to apply this to my lack of time spent with my husband. With his school and work (mostly because of work) and my work... we really get very little time together during the week or on the weekend. And now that we're in a small group, we have even less, because that was one of our free nights (but we decided it was a necessary sacrifice). So my goal is to appreciate the time that I do have with him so that that counts even more, and to do more things to encourage and uplift him because he is the one having to be gone so much. I want to appreciate all the time that I have to myself to do the things I've never had time for previously in my life: reading, scrap booking, emailing and calling and encouraging people more, cooking, baking, watching gilmore girls ;). That is my goal and my prayer... a very hard one... but I going to try and ask God to help me along the way.
On a different note, I have parent-teacher-conferences this week, boo. That means that I will be at work until around 8:30 both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then small group Thursday night, stopping by my babysitting kids' to see their costumes after work Friday and then a Halloween party later when Matt gets off work, a day to relax Saturday, and Matt's fam on Sunday. I have a jam-packed week! It's nice to have a life once in a while.
At church we're going through a sermon series called The Story of the First Church, based on the book of Acts. It must be good from the start because it's from Acts, right?! Well it really is very good, but Pastor Jeff also referred to an old sermon last week, out of James, that he preached last spring. It was about choosing joy because when bad things happen, you have to choose something-some response, so you might as well choose joy. I've been thinking about that and how and where to apply that in my life. Joy isn't just about being happy, but more like, having a peaceful attitude about things, a better outlook. So my goal is to apply this to my lack of time spent with my husband. With his school and work (mostly because of work) and my work... we really get very little time together during the week or on the weekend. And now that we're in a small group, we have even less, because that was one of our free nights (but we decided it was a necessary sacrifice). So my goal is to appreciate the time that I do have with him so that that counts even more, and to do more things to encourage and uplift him because he is the one having to be gone so much. I want to appreciate all the time that I have to myself to do the things I've never had time for previously in my life: reading, scrap booking, emailing and calling and encouraging people more, cooking, baking, watching gilmore girls ;). That is my goal and my prayer... a very hard one... but I going to try and ask God to help me along the way.
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