1,000 Gifts

Things large and small I am thankful for these past couple weeks...

163. "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" by Rob Bell--a book that has made me think a LOT!

164. Getting to babysit for my toddler neighbor, remembering how much I adore 1 year olds!

165. Our church's Wednesday evening Lenten Eve worship times, such a great community event.

167. Lily's latest giggling video which you can see here on Megan's blog

170. Playing with music as I got to make CDs for my niece's 12th birthday.

173. Being part of my dear friend Ryan's life for another yet, getting to celebrate another birthday with him.

176. Getting to rest while recovering from a cold last week.

178. Fun times playing Settlers of Catan with friends.

179. Delicious early morning coffee made for me by my husband

181. The beautiful, amazing bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods--SO many delicious types of grains, rice, beans, lentils, oats, dried fruits and a few treats. New favorite shopping spot!
182. Spontaneous date night Sunday night to watch the Oscars.

185. My statement of faith is done!

186. A gorgeous sweet 16 party last night to celebrate a special young lady in our youth groupThat would be a daisy painted on my face, all the girls got them upon arrival :)
188. Trader Joe's daffodils

191. Great girl time putting together Josh & Jenn's wedding invitations!

193. A fun conversation about boys with a high school freshman last night at the party.

194. Delicious Trader Joes' salad for lunch the other day--tomato, mozzarella, spinach, pine nuts, balsamic vinaigrette. YUM!

199. Booking a romantic room in a great hotel for our anniversary next week

200. New pairs of Gap jeans--first new jeans in about 4 years, SO excited!

7 Quick Takes Friday

Welcome to another weekend everyone! Spring must be getting closer, we loose an hour of sleep Saturday night, wedding season is definitely upon us, and the Oscars gave us a night of entertainment last Sunday--all signs of spring time! Here's the high lights from the past week in our little family!

**1**
Last Sunday we enjoyed a very impromptu relaxing date night! I had the Oscars on mute, watching them with subtitles as my hubby wrote a paper, and of course he got a little sucked in. He decided Hebrew could wait a day. He has apparently never watched the Osacars, so like two little kids giddy with excitement we raced out to our car, drove to Trader Joes and brought home a frozen dinner, wine, and an appetizer and camped out in front of our TV for a few hours, making mental lists of all the movies we still wanted to see. Such a fun break! I was thrilled for Mo'nique's best supporting actress award (Precious was a VERY intense movie), Sandra Bullock's best actress award, and that Up won the best animated film award. A fun night!

**2**
I watched a very disturbing documentary yesterday called Food, Inc. It was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary, and I think it's one that absolutely every American needs to see. The whole question is "do you know what you are eating and do you know where it's coming from?" The answer is, no, we don't. The food industry's goal is to not tell us anything about our food, the way it's raised, the hormones and antibiotics that are pumped into it in order to get it to mature faster than nature designed so it can be turned into meat faster so we can make more money. It is not at all saying we all need to be vegetarian and never eat meat, but it is saying we need to be more aware and thoughtful about what kind of meat we buy, where it comes from, how it is raised, and what impact our food choices have on the world around us and our bodies. One piece of advice I loved is, "if your great grandmother would not recognize it as food, it is not food. Do not eat it." Most chips, cookies, crackers, fruit snacks, packaged pasta dinners etc are made of ingredients and chemicals that have been engineered into a food-like substance, but it's not food. Food is or has been alive at some point and will go bad at some point, but these packaged items full of preservatives to get them to last forever are not food. That's been a big thing for us to think about, and we're changing the way we think about snacking quite bit. Okay, done preaching. Seriously, rent this film. If you are a netflix user you can get it instantly on line and watch it from your computer today. We HAVE to make some changes or we are all going to eat ourselves to death. Literally.

**3**
We've got all kinds of fun things coming up in the near future that we are very excited about! Our one year anniversary is coming up, and we just booked a night in a fabulous hotel up in Cambria (about 4 hours up the California Coast). Our room is on a cliff overlooking the Pacific! We're going to head up and enjoy a hike and a visit to Hearst Castle over spring break. Can't wait! We also found out the broadway musical The Lion King is coming to Orange County at the end of May, and Charles saw the TV commercial and immediately said he wanted to see that for his birthday. So we are going June 6 to see this spectacular show.

**4**
My little niece is 5 months old already! Megan posted some great updates on what Lily's doing these days on her blog here. I can't believe how fast she is growing! Okay, she's still the tiniest little peanut ever, just barely wearing her 3 month clothing, but she's developing so fast!

**5**
I have dates set to go before the Seattle Presbytery to become a candidate in the ordination process. I know that doesn't mean a whole lot to most of you, but it's another step in the process. I will be up there May 2-5 for one round of meetings and then again a few weeks later May 17-18. I'm looking forward to moving forward in this process!

**6**
One of the things I had to do to prepare to go before the Presbytery is write a 1 page statement of faith. Have you ever tried putting everything you believe about God, the trinity, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, the Church, the Sacraments, etc in 1 page? Definitely NOT an easy task! But mine is done and I'm really proud of it!

**7**
I am going to a Sweet 16 birthday party tonight for one of the girls in our youth group, and I have a feeling it will make me not want to have a 16 year old daughter in any area where people have elaborate sweet 16 parties! Apparently there is a catered dinner for 90 people, a custom cake, a bounce house, a dj, a dance floor, and a dress code. I told her her cake cost more than our wedding cake did :) I told her I went bowling and to pizza with about 10 friends for my sweet 16, and she thought that was kind of lame :)

Commitment to Community

I have always believed community to be important, not just having people to be social with, but having people to really live and share life with. I have always encouraged people to be part of small groups, people to share more deeply with one another, and believe strongly that this is a spiritual discipline we as Christians are called to--sharing life with each other. But I learned this past year, that community, at least this kind of intentional community, doesn't just happen. It takes time, effort, flexibility, intentionality, and some sacrifice to make it happen. And when it does happen, oh what a truly beautiful thing it is!

The small group I have been part of (I think we're going on 3 years now??) has been so important to me, but it was not until this past week, when we were trying to figure out a time to meet these days in the face of even busier schedules and major life changes, that I realized just how much I need time with them. I know I am a happier person, I know I am a better wife when I have great, intentional time with women during the week to share with them my fears, joys, and concerns, I know I am encouraged in my faith through them. We had such a difficult time emailing back and forth trying to figure out when we could meet to make it work for everyone, and it looked like I was going to be the one who was going to have to step back for the next few months, because I have a prior commitment on the night that seemed to work for everyone else. And I found myself already beginning to grieve not being with them. Which surprised me. It's almost as if the potential for absence was already making my heart grow fonder. I need these women. I need the space to come and be authentic, not hide. I need to be able to ask the questions I'm wrestling with. I need to be silly and girly and talk about the latest sale at The Gap or the Oscars, or church dynamics or sex. (And re-reading this, I do realize that talking about church dynamics is not exactly a typical "girly" topic of conversation, but when you're in a small group of seminarians, it is!) These things are SO important to me, and this morning, after an amazing meal shared with them last night, and our scheduling issues worked out (we found a night that works for everyone!) my heart is full of gratitude for them and I praise God for giving me such a faithful group of friends. And I also praise him for the reminder that it's tough to make it work all the time. Lives get busy and it's easy to say "I just can't make it tonight to small group." But we're trying to be intentional about making one another a priority on that night of the week, to say "no this is important enough that homework or church stuff or other commitments can wait." And I am so thankful we're able and willing to do that!

This week in my kitchen...

We're heading into our third week of Lent, and for the most part, we're really enjoying trying a bunch of new things! Last week we enjoyed the Red & Green Winter Stoup (Charles' comment was, "wow, that doesn't look like something I'd like, but it tasted way better than I expected!). I enjoyed the Pasta Primavera but my hubby wasn't such a fan. Which is okay, it wasn't phenomenal, so I'm okay with not making it again. The Black Bean soup was pretty good also. This week here's what we're trying:

Monday: Red Lentil Curry (I am SO excited for this, I've tasted it, I know it's yummy!)

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Pesto tortellini with red pepper & veggie marinara

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: date night

Saturday: Bean burritos with brown spanish rice

Hunger

I'm finding myself growing more and more hungry lately. Hungry for Jesus. Hungry to know him more, to follow him, even when that feels terrifying. There's a stirring deep in my soul for more. It's been a long, long time since I've felt this, felt such a desire to not just talk about Jesus, or write about Jesus, but to really know him, to see him, to touch him, to follow in his footsteps. And I am longing to see others know him, and come to love him too.

I long for this world to be different, I deeply desire to see change, to see those who have nothing finally receive their fair share, to see those who are wealthy give freely of their abundance instead of storing up treasures on earth while so many go hungry.

I wish with all my heart that the impression the world has of Christians was different. I hope for the day when the "religious right" would stop yelling about abortion and homosexuality and begin to see that "family values" and being "pro-life" should mean just as much energy and anger towards the fact that millions of children don't have food, or health care, or clean water in this world--that these are family issues too, these are pro-life issues as well.

This world is a mess, and this past week I have been hit hard with a desire to pray for change, for something to happen, for things to be different. I want to see our churches start to BE the people of God, to stop worrying about church attendance and the latest ways to "grow" or be "relevant" and start thinking deeply about the fact that "liturgy" actually means "service"--our worship service ought to be just that, serving. I had this sense while at youth group last week that I wanted more for these kids. I wasn't interested in their whining about playing link-arm tag one more time, I want to see them go deeper, and I don't know how to help them do that, and that bothers me. I'm sick of the status quo. God's calling us to a new place, and even though I am scared, I want to follow. I want to be part of something new, something bigger than myself, something eternal. And I don't know what to do with this, other than say "okay God, I'm here, I'm willing, and I'm ready to do what you call me to." And then to pray I hear him when he calls.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Happy weekend everyone! March is here! Which means this month we get to enjoy spring break and celebrate our 1 year anniversary by going up the coast for two nights, which I am VERY excited about! Enjoy your Friday my friends!

**1**
After being under the weather all week I finally have my energy back, which is wonderful. I spent several lazy days this past weekend and into the beginning of the week feeling like I couldn't get off the couch very easily but thankfully that feeling is gone. I felt so lazy! Even though it was kind of a nice excuse to do nothing :)

**2**
When I met with the committee members from the Seattle Presbytery a week and a 1/2 ago, they wanted to "encourage" me to develop the personal devotional discipline of reading through the lectionary texts each day for my own devotions. (For those who aren't familiar with this, it's a way of dividing up the bible for personal use and for preaching making sure the whole bible gets covered in a 3 year cycle. So each day there are two Psalms, one Old Testament passage, one New Testament passage, and one Gospels passage to read. It is used across almost all mainline denominations and Catholic churches and has been used for centuries). Many pastors use this for their devotions, to give themselves a wide variety in their personal scripture reading. I've always steered away from it because it feels choppy to me, jumping around too much, but when your committee "encourages" something, that's not really the time to ignore it! So I've been reading the lectionary texts and I have to be honest, I'm starting to enjoy it! I think it is going to give me a richer view of scripture than I would get if I were just trying to read straight through the bible. For anyone who'd like to see what the texts are for a given day, you can click on this link: http://www.pcusa.org/devotions/lectionary/index.htm

**3**
My dear niece, Helen, turns 12 today and while we can't be there to celebrate with her, I loved having a 12 year old girl to shop for! I gave her several small things, but one thing that was especially fun for me is that I made her 3 mixed CDs with a variety of music on them. I included some current popular stuff with the tween crowd (several Miley Cyrus songs and stuff from the Glee soundtracks), some country, some worship, and even a few from musicals I loved when I was her age. It was very fun to work on, I hope she enjoys them!

**4**
As a teaching assistant for the preaching classes, I get to hear several sermons a week of students. A few are definitely terrible (although I haven't had any of those this quarter thankfully!) but every now and then I'll hear a sermon from a student that blows me away. I got to hear one of these yesterday. What was fun is that it was given by a woman probably in her late 30s, who is Korean and English is very much her second language. I happen to know she was terrified going into this class. She didn't need to be. She was phenomenal. With her thick Korean accent, she preached on Jesus clearing the temple and made some incredible connections between the temple and His body, and how by clearing out the temple, the place where people can come to be a worshiping body he was rebuking the sacrificial system for failing to create a space where people could encounter him. Then, she drops this on us: "if Jesus came into your ministry today, what would he overturn? Where would he rebuke you for not being his body?" You could have heard a pin drop. It was a remarkable sermon, one I know I'll remember for a long time.

**5**
I am almost finished with my next book on my reading list, "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" by Rob Bell, and I gotta be honest, it's wrecking me. It's pushing my theology, my political views, my views of what the church & ministry should be in ways I haven't encountered in a long time. I have a few different posts in mind that I'll write about later, but that's what my mind has been occupied with this week.

**6**
I've decided this year off from being in a seminary classroom every day, reading nothing but theology, has been so good for me. I tried reading Rob Bell's book last year, while still in school, and while I thought the beginning was good, I put it down. I couldn't enter into another book about God at that point. But now, having been away from it for awhile (not God, just the constant reading about him!) I find that I am hungry for it again. I'm soaking up this book and thinking about it and reflecting on it in ways I didn't have time or energy to do with most of my seminary reading. I'm so thankful for this break, and if I end up in a church I think I'll have a renewed sense of energy for thinking deeply about things again.

**7**
Tonight we get to celebrate my dear friend, Ryan's birthday with a dinner party and Settlers of Catan tournament (we'll have about 3 games going for about 12 people). I love that after all these years of friendship I am still in his life and am able to be present to celebrate him for yet another year. Happy Birthday Ryan!

Adventures in Vegetarianism--week 2!

I am loving this new way of eating! Granted, I've completely forgotten a few times that I'm not supposed to be eating meat and will randomly find myself with a meatball on my plate at a party, but for the most part we've both done really well and have enjoyed trying some new things. Here's what's for dinner this week:

Sunday: Salmon Burgers and Spinach Salad
Monday: Red & Green Winter Stoup, Asiago Cheese Bread, Salad
Tuesday: Black Bean Soup (I'm making this for my small group)
Wednesday: Left overs
Thursday: Pasta Primavera, Salad
Friday: Date night
Saturday: Left overs