a meal of scripture

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Your were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Be imitators of God, therfore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 4:20-5:2

This was our opening devotion in my class tonight. It struck me as so profound as Dr. Davis, my professor talked about the difference in this passage about what we are supposed to put off and what we are supposed to put on.
Go ahead and make these lists for yourself.
Now reflect on them.
He brought it deeper by saying, "We're much more known for what we put off than what we've put on. They (meaning non-Christians) know what we're against, not what we're for - which are the fruits of the Spirit."
wow.

Add into this what I studied this morning for my Crucible class (discipleship class at church) about storying up treasure in heaven rather than on earth from Matthew 6:19-24. I am suddenly aware of how much stock I take and how much treasure I am storing up here on earth...and how afraid I am of some opportunities I am provided with to store it up in heaven.

Needless to say, this has been a profound day for me. This comes with great relief and joy as I have been missing communion with God and am searching for it in all areas of my life - hungry and thirsty.

omaha retreat at the branyans

joel and i just returned this evening from a lovely long weekend in omaha nebraska with josh and julie branyan. we slept in, ate out, played video games, kareoked in their living room, were introduced to 'the big bang theory' series, (if you've ever seen this sitcom you'll know why joel loves it so much!) and watched eme and murray fight over bones and whine at each other. it was just what joel and i needed to recharge us this fall and hopefully the branyans enjoyed it as much as us!

here are some highlights i kept track of all weekend to blog about:
1. we had a 10 hour drive each way - so joel and i listened to mary higgins clark's 'on the street where you live' murder mystery. it was 9 hours of fun! this was the first time either of us had listened to a book on tape (since we were five and listened to mr. mcgregor's garden...) and really enjoyed the suspense and talking over 'who dunnit' together - i would recommend this book for a long carride or just an enjoyable weekend read
2. we went out to eat lunch at a local mexican restaurant. as the waitress was taking our order she looked directly at me and said 'you look exactly like my doctor.' amid all the thoughts and responses running through my head i said 'oh, thank you!' - what i wanted to say was 'i'm not even old enough to be a doctor' or 'how have you been feeling?' - i think i made the right choice (any suggestions on what i should have said?)
3. we went to the omaha henry doory zoo. SO fun. it did rain most of the time, but luckily - all their exhibits are in and outdoors! joel and i looove going to zoo's - its prob in our top 3 favorite excursions and try to go to 1 or 2 a year. interesting about this zoo was the acquarium that surrounded you as you walked through it, the monkey with one arm - so amazing to see how he's adapated to his handicapped life!, and the infant gorilla that sustained such as injury that he was removed from his mothers care to be carefully tended by 'surrogate' moms (humans) that wear gorilla vests so the baby can hang on and recuperate - a great afternoon!
4. last night we went out to UpStream - a local grill and brewery. it was de-li-cious. i had crab and spinach stuffed shrimp - need i say more? joel had one of the sweetest and spiciest ribeye's ever - also delcious. plus - our company was great. we all chatted about football (mostly one-sided by joel) as my husband was trying to avoid hearing any updates since he wanted to watch the notre dame game live when we got home tonight, and about what its like to be aunts and uncles.
5. after our scrumptious dinner we somehow managed to force down some maggie moo's ice cream. i've never heard of this before - its comparable to cold stone but not as disgustingly sweet and filling. joel and i shared some choc ice cream with peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and reese's pieces mix-ins. again, very yum.

thanks josh and julie for hosting us and letting us push your couch's together every night to make a funny bed :)
we can't wait to see you this holiday season when you come back our way!

weekend recap

what a whirlwind of an autumn weekend!

friday joel and i hung out at my parents all evening with my parents, stephen, david, adam and jill and their three toddlers. it was so fun! we all laid in the living room reading the newspaper to each other, laughing at ourselves and just talking about life. i really cherish those moments, it was so relaxing and refreshing. jill made these AMAZING cookies for us. they are cookies made from cake batter - i mean, seriously!? could i love a dessert more?! (the answer is 'doubtful'!). check your next cake batter box for the recipe option of making cookies - yum yum yum - thanks jill!

saturday joel, his sister roni, and her boyfriend robert and i drove up to michigan for their grandparents (bushie and jodgie) 50th anniversary party. but not before getting up late, a mad dash to heyerly's to buy donuts for my brothers and the little kids, an outfit-picking-out nightmare that resulted in me taking 2 outfits to michigan and not liking either of them, and a stop by in ossian to make sure our tent for loving options fundraiser the next day was set up in the proper spot. whew. that was all before 10:30 am...
we made it to michigan - ran around a bit finishing setting up for the 'reception' and then went to bushi and jodgie's so the girls could spend 2 hours getting ready and the guys could watch some football (note: joel got ready at an hour early so he wouldn't have to get up during the precious few minutes he had to watch the notre dame game before we left for mass...). my mother-in-law kari, and my sisters-in-law roni and leslie and i had fun in the bathroom doing each others' hair and makeup and chitchatting. we all got in the cars and heading to the church for mass that was dedicated to ron and phyllis' 50th anniversary - it was very sweet!
the reception was so fun! the whole fam sat at the head table (18 of us!) which ruled because we all got to eat first! and then there was a slideshow of their wedding and life since then playing all night as we chatted with friends and danced the night away (don't worry - paradise by the dashboard lights made and appearance and i definitely lost my voice singing to it!) we made it back to the losinski's - great michigan friends and joel's godfather's house around 11:00 that night and hung out till 12:30 before i drove us home - we hit the sack at 2:30 to get up around 8:30 and start another day!

sunday we headed up to ossian for the loving option carnival fundraiser which was SOOO much fun! i haven't heard yet how much money we raised, but we sure did enjoy doing it! the cheap candy and prizes were delicious and fun to play with - not to mention the great time we all had together running games and playing with all the kids - i love my job!

now we are home, joel fighting a cold and me trying to get a lot done on my fall break from school before we hit the road at noon on thursday to drive to omaha to visit our great friends - the branyans! :)

sheering the sheep

last night joel and i busted out the new sheers for eme. this was our first attempt at using anything electric to combat the constant fluff we are surrounded by! it went slow and was awkward but did the trick. its going to take us awhile to get the hang of this. i like it, it was kinda fun! we had to let her sniff the whole kit and get used to the sound of the blade running...not to mention we watched dodgeball at the same time - shaving between laughing and repeating the silly quotes. this kit also came with a sweet pair of scissor-shears. we are so thankful for these. for the last year and a half we've been using cuticle scissors to trim her. that's right - cuticle scissors. wasn't a big deal when she was 7 lbs - but now she's 12 (or more, i don't want to think about it...) and those cuticle scissors wear on us and it usually takes us 3 days to get her all done! if i had the energy, interest, or expertise to upload pictures i would have done and before and after of her for this blog. but i didn't even think about that until now...

shout out to jill: she went looking like a ewe to brand new!

needing a day of rest

today i started running a support group for ladies at the alternative school. i am doing this for a school project and have had several hoops to jump through in the last 4 months. so today it finally begins.....and i wake up with a led head and feeling sickness coming on. nice. i drag myself to bible study this morning (because i love it, i hate missing things i love, and every week beth moore blows me away by her style of clothes and i did NOT want to miss that...not to mention the most important part - that i am in love with encountering God in this amazing group of women and having that as an outlet and a learning experience each week).
so joel does so medication research online and i head to the drug store right after to try to kill this cold in its tracks. i think i'm allergic to pseudophedrine...so i have to find something that doesn't have that or any of its close comrades in it...i settle for not knowing what to get, getting scared to try anything (i'm a medication whimp) and settle for getting airborne - which i hear many people swear by...so that's what i'm trying.
airborne + couch + 3 blankets + tea/decaf coffee + reading + 1 white fluffy puppy + new episodes of grey's anatomy and the office + a thoughtful, serving husband = relief (right?!)
that's my expectation of today/tonight.
anyways, back to my story. so i go to the alternative school (even though i want to call it off cause i'm scared and don't know what to expect and want these girls to like me and open up!) ant it goes soo well!!! they seemed comfortable, they laughed at my poor attempt at jokes, and they left smiling (the teachers said that was a great sign!). so i'm looking forward to developing this program for them and trying to meet their needs and show them Christ's love and healing.

so i have a day and a half to kick this sickness before heading to bronson, mi for joel's grandparent's 50th anniversary on saturday! (proud to have that heritage in our family) and then loving option's carnival at new hope lutheran church on sunday (come and support us!!!)
it will be a full and happy weekend - ended by one of the glory's of being a student again - FALL BREAK on monday and tuesday - yay!

tea pot timer

my newest habit is starting the stove to heat water for tea and then forgetting about until about 20-60 minutes later...yeah, i said 60. once, i went into the kitchen to find that my gas stovetop had shut off and my microwave fan had turned on all by themselves in a safety mechanism that kicked on after all the water had boiled away in the teapot and my mint green kettle had turned a burnt brown. nice.
i did it again today - but only forgot for about 20 minutes. my whistle on my kettle doesn't whistle - or not loud enough! what do i do?

also. i want to move to seattle. heaven to me would be a place where it rains more days than not. what could i do for a living if i moved there? what would joel do? (maybe i could work at seattle grace and meet meredith grey...and mcdreamy and mcsteamy)

motivation

i haven't written for a week! i haven't felt like i have anything to say or contribute...which is why i decided to write about motivation
i have been struggling for the last year with staying motivated...keeping up on homework and projects for graduate school, running consistantly, getting up early, wanting (as opposed to having) to do my work for the crucible - a 2 year discipleship class at church, eating breakfast every morning, trying to eat healthy in general, reading for leisure every day, staying on top of my tasks at work...(i suddenly notice all of these 'motivation' issues revolve around me...am i selfish?!)
i KNOW that when i get up early, go for a run or walk, and eat a healthy breakfast my day will just naturally go better!
when i am on top or ahead in my school work - classes and reading for school is more enjoyable!
having the desire in my heart to learn about and grow closer to God brings internal and external joy
i have soooo many books on my 'to-read' list and i want to know why everyone loves them so much! - but its easy for me to cut that out of my day...

ugh. am i depressing you!?
that is not my intention...writing all this out is another reminder for me to do it!
(i did get up early today. didn't run, ate a healthy breakfast, am babysitting for a friend's almost 3 year old and intend on doing a lot of homework and leisure reading today...so far i feel pretty good - i just hope it continues!)

any additional suggestions or encouragement is most welcome :)