Tea & A Bagel

Breakfast yesterday and today. Yum. Yesterday I sat sipping my tea and eating my bagel during a long lull in phone calls. It was wonderful. As I did, I thanked God for tea and bagels. It seems a silly thing, but I really enjoyed the quiet moment with my tea and bagel. God is such a gracious God!

Also yesterday I received a phone call (I'll keep it anonymous just in case) about a family with a 3 year old daughter who just passed away after complications with heart surgery. I was asked to pray for this family and have done so several times since I heard. In the conversation I heard of questions that the family was asking: "Why would God let this happen? Is God punishing me? How can anything good come from this?" And I'm sure many more. I too started wondering these questions and my pondering continued on my ride home in rush hour. I tried to put myself in their shoes. The parents only had this one daughter and she was their pride and joy. Sure, she was a bit weak, but they had faith that the Lord would heal her. But He didn't. Instead, He brought the little girl home to be with Him.

I don't envy the difficult time they are facing and I will continue to pray for this family. Still, I find myself wondering how I would handle such a turn of events if God brought them my way. Would I be like Job, who lost all of his children and everything he owned and even his own health; yet "through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (Job 1:22). I can't even pretend to imagine what sort of feelings he felt. How alone? How desperate? How lost? If I were in his shoes, would I still say God is good? Would I still believe He is sovereign? Would I remember that He never gives me more than I can handle?

I will continue to pray for this family that God will comfort them and strengthen their faith and trust in Him. I will pray that when God allows tragedy in my life (because it's only a matter of time), I will be like Job and "fall to the ground and worship" saying "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:20-21).

Inn-N-Out and Family Rejection

Wow, this throws new light on a common misconception about the nativity. I did not know this. Perhaps I should learn Greek!

By the way, you need to stop reading this and go do something else, like exercising or something!

Paul's Sarcophagus, or Digging Up Important Dead Guys

So archaeologists think they may have found the Apostle Paul's sarcophagus. Read that story here. Think it doesn't sound plausible? Read one person's thoughts on how likely it is that this could be true.

This has the possibility of being a very important find. On the other hand, it carries with it the very likely possibility of unnecessarily buoying or crushing people's faith. Many people put too much stock in "proving" Scripture by finding artifacts. Examples are Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, etc. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't search for things pertaining to ancient history because they teach us so much. I just know that there is a fine line between admiration and veneration.

Oh, and who knows when they'll actually open the sarcophagus anyway.

1-2

That's right, we won one game over the weekend, and it was to avoid being the last-place team in the tournament. We got destroyed in our first game by the host team, Brethren Christian. I swear they 16 year olds that were held back several times. On Saturday morning we played Rio Hondo Prep and we played really well in the first half, specifically in the first half of the first half. We were only down by two and we were getting lots of steals and many easy layups. However, the other team made the necessary adjustments (i.e., they stopped throwing the ball to us every time down the court) and our guys couldn't run the offense (again). So we ended up losing 45-33. Our point guard scored 24 of those 33 points, so that tells you about our balance on offense. In the last place game in the early afternoon we played a team that was smaller than us on average and although we didn't execute very well, we led 19-9 at halftime. However, both teams played sloppy and out of control in the second half, and it seemed that no one could shoot anymore. It came down to last second free throws and ball control and we hung on to win 27-26. That's right, we only scored eight points in the whole second half.

So there are plenty of things to work on in practice. Yesterday I ran them a lot because I don't feel like we were in good enough shape. Practices are outside and when the wind picks up, shots can go wild, especially when we shoot on the hoop with the crooked rims. I am learning much more than the kids are, because this is the first time I've ever done this. I am trying to instill character-building into my basketball teaching because I don't just want them to learn to play basketball well. I want to teach them to live well.

Oh, and no, I'm not the next John Wooden.

I'm Nervous

I was never one of those people that got really nervous before games when I played in high school. But now that I'm on the coaching side I'm nervous, I'm hyper, I'm hopeful, I'm . . . you get the point. I've been debating all day how to act. Do I act all excited or do I convey a calm, collected attitude? We'll see. Here goes nothing (or everything!).

Basketball Season

I began my coaching career last week. I'm the only coach of the junior high boys. Tryouts were supposed to be held on Monday and Tuesday. However, I only had 13 guys show up, so I decided to just begin practicing. It's been a welcome back for me of sorts, because when I was in junior high, my team practiced outside too. I have quite a bit of talent, and I'll probably have to rely on that this Friday and Saturday at our first games. We are in a tournament with several bigger schools. We play at 5 pm on Friday, and then two more games Saturday morning/afternoon.

Last Wednesday was a frustrating day because the junior high flag football coaches decided to have a pizza party right after school gets out, which is 2:20pm. They were celebrating their football championship that they won before Thanksgiving. But they didn't tell anyone until the day of, meaning I had only four of my 13 guys for practice. To make matters worse, one of the players injured himself and had to sit out the rest of practice. The players did show up to the last half-hour of practice, but they were in a goofy "we-just-ate-pizza-and-played-arcade-games" kind of mood.

Thursday was much, much better because we actually had the gym due to the varsity teams being gone to a tournament in Las Vegas.

Friday was my coaching debut . . . for two teams that I don't coach! I had to coach the JV boys and girls because the varsity teams (along with the JV coaches) were in Las Vegas at a tournament. So, after learning the names of several of the girls, I proceeded to coach them to a miserable game in which the girls could never come back from a 12-to-14 point lead. The boys game followed and they actually played pretty well and we were leading at halftime. However, several players got in foul trouble and our top player fouled out in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth, things fell apart. We got outscored 26-1 in the final quarter. That's right, 26-1! I had only brand new players to work with, so we ended up losing.

So, I'm 0-2 as a coach so far! But I really love coaching and it seems like something I'd like to continue doing. I love planning out practices and seeing the guys succeed. We'll see how things go this weekend and I'll make sure to update about the games.

Christmas at Work

Today Rebecca and I went shopping for Christmas ("Holiday") decorations for the office! We got a real Christmas tree and green & gold ornaments (those are the colors of the company). We got a tree skirt and garland to hang on the front of my desk! I also finally received the battery charger for my camera in the mail and I'm hoping it works well, despite the slightly mashed box it came in.

BUT, since I don't have my camera with me today, you know what that means.... PICTURES TOMORROW!!!!! Oh yeah, and I'm going to try to add an album of some of our honeymoon pictures soon :-)

I saw online that it might snow on the East coast. How exciting!!!! Happy and I are hoping to "go to the snow" (that's what it's called here... weird) to join in a ski/snowboarding trip in February. I hope we get to "go to the snow" before that, but we'll see. I love Christmas time!!!

Frost

That's right! There was frost on the roof of the "house" next to our apartment building (side note: the "house" is a display for 5 Star Homes... quiet neighbors indeed). Of course, I took a picture of it. Yesterday was the first morning that it has smelled cold when we went outside. It was WONDERFUL! Last night it smelled cold too. I just love it! I'm so glad there is at least a little weather change down here.

For those who don't like the cold--I'm very sorry. But at least it doesn't last all year :-) 

Thanksgiving pictures!

Yes, this is actually a picture of Happy with our FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE!!!! But there are many more pictures of this weekend in our Web Albums. If you'd like to go in order, I finally added a few pictures from our bike ride in Mile Square Park. Following that is the football game played on Thanksgiving morning. Then we got our first Christmas tree on Saturday when we came home.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Even though Thanksgiving is technically tomorrow, I probably won't be thinking about posting on my blog because I'll be in Santa Clarita! Plus, I'm here at work and the phones have rung about a dozen times since I got here at 7 am. Needless to say, I'm hoping that we can all leave sooner than the originally planned 12:00 closing time. We'll see.

Soooo... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! I don't have pictures of any turkeys so I thought I'd post a picture of a sunset I saw from our apartment a few weeks ago. I'd just gotten my camera so I was pretty much taking pictures of anything, but this was especially beautiful. I don't see the sun set much during the week (particularly after the time change) since I leave work (driving north) just about when it's going down. Sunsets always make me think that heaven must be spectacularly breathtaking and God is the most magnificent Creator!

Last night Happy & I went to both the girls & boys high school basketball scrimmages. In light of the football games we had attended I wasn't expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the girls pulled ahead in the last minutes of the game to win by one point (I don't actually remember what the final score was :-) hehe... I'm such a girl)! The boys, on the other hand, absolutely crushed the other team and it was really fun to watch. I forget the score for their game as well, but perhaps my wonderful husband will leave a comment and fill in the missing information. I'm looking forward to the basketball season much more now than I was after the football season.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and give thanks to the One who deserves all our praise!

Writer's block

I opened this post and have been staring at it for a good five minutes with nothing to type.

All I can think about right now is Christmas. In light of that, I'm going to make a list of my favorite Christmas traditions and the things I like about the Christmas season in general (in NO particular order):

1. Christmas music!!!
2. Baking Christmas cookies (Mom, I need your German recipes!)
3. Decorating with red & green, lights and sparkly things
4. Getting a Christmas tree to decorate
5. Wrapping paper & bows
6. Giving presents to people that you know they will love
7. Sending out Christmas cards
8. Christmas music!!!
9. Cold weather (not so apparent in southern CA, but still it's cooler than the rest of the year
10. Time spent with family
11. Hats, scarves, gloves, warm socks, sweaters
12. Those clay-mation TV movies for little kids--Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc. (I LOVE them!)
13. Christmas music!!!
14. Watching A Christmas Story
15. Snuggling in a blanket by the fire (I'm not so sure this will happen very often anymore)
16. Playing in the snow (Again, I'm not so sure this will happen very often anymore)
17. Drinking hot chocolate or tea--especially after playing in the snow!
18. Christmas dinner... YUM!
19. Slippers & warm PJs
20. Christmas music!!!

The ironic thing about my preoccupation with Christmas today is the weather. It's supposed to be in the high 70s and possibly low 80s with sunny skies. So while I sit here gazing at the sun shining brightly, I'm daydreaming about snow falling, Christmas music and everything else I just listed.

But, since it seems I'll be living in CA for a while I think I need to get used to California's Christmas season, which is why I have a question for our Californian readers. What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Fifty

When I returned from Israel in December of 2004, I brought back a new goal. That goal was to read 50 books every year. Last year was the first time I attempted it, and I came up short - I only read 44 books.

This year is a different story though. I am currently on my fiftieth book, They Call Me Coach, John Wooden's autobiography.

I realize this post is somewhat self-congratulatory, but I wanted to post it to maybe encourage you to read more or diversify your reading more, or to set (reachable) goals. My love for reading was fostered by parents that rejected our culture's disgusting addiction to TV, limited "Nintendo time," and encouraged self-education.

Here's the list, so far:

1. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
2. Loving God With All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in a Postmodern World by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
3. The Third Option by Vince Flynn
4. Becoming Conversant With the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications by D.A. Carson
5. Good Christians Good Husbands? Leaving a Legacy in Marriage & Ministry by Doreen Moore
6. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
7. Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy
8. Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George
9. Is The Reformation Over? by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom
10. California: A History by Kevin Starr
11. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
12. Humility: True Greatness by C. J. Mahaney
13. Hard Questions, Real Answers by William Lane Craig
14. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
15. Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
16. Executive Power by Vince Flynn
17. Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock
18. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
19. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius
20. Ordained of the Lord: ? by ?
21. The Swarm War by Troy Denning
22. Intended for Pleasure by Ed Wheat
23. Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray
24. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
25. Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
26. Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
27. Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias
28. A Time to Kill by John Grisham
29. Thr3e by Ted Dekker
30. Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren
31. The Firm by John Grisham
32. Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn
33. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
34. Atonement by Ian McEwan
35. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
36. Bleachers by John Grisham
37. The Partner by John Grisham
38. Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
39. God at Work by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
40. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
41. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
42. Blame It On The Brain? by Edward T. Welch
43. The Stranger by Albert Camus
44. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn
45. Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
46. Teaching To Change Lives by Howard Hendricks
47. Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
48. Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
49. Act of Treason by Vince Flynn

Non-Fiction - 28
Fiction - 21

You'll notice there are several series or similarities in my list.

1. Star Wars books - I've been a Star Wars junkie since 1995 (thanks Mike!)

2. John Grisham novels - Started reading them in the summer and like them.

3. Vince Flynn novels - Good counterterrorism.

4. History books - I can't put them down.

5. Theology and (for lack of a better term) Christian living books - "working out my salvation with fear and trembling."

One of my goals for 2007 is to read The Book of Mormon and the Quran.

Issues

That's right, I have issues. This photo was taken earlier this week (I forget which night) when I noticed I had a bug bite on my arm. I didn't scratch it at all but put some anti-itch cream on it. After a while, I looked at the bite and noticed I had another welt right next to it. Soon there was another, and another, and another, and another.... until my arm looked like this:

I have yet to figure out exactly what happened because I went to bed with my arm like this and woke up the next morning with all the welts pretty much gone. WEIRD. Anyway, I took a picture of it (of course) so I thought I'd share it with the readers of our blog.

With that, I'm going to get back to reading. Have a wonderful Thursday evening!

P.S. Abigail, Heather and Ruth came to visit this weekend! Check out the pictures here.

Overflowing with gratitude

Ever since Wednesday's Bible study I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be overflowing with gratitude. Our studies have been in the book of Colossians and last week we went over Chapter 2 verses 6-8:

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

From the start of the lesson we talked about different ways we can "walk in Him" as Christians. While many thoughtful and true examples came up, no one said anything about being thankful. I suppose that made it all the more impactful when Ron pointed out this short phrase at the end of verse 7. Why is it that gratitude should be so apparent in the lives of Christians?

My thoughts on the matter--I have someone to be thankful to. I know that there is a God and that He is the giver of all good gifts. I know that even "my" skills are from my Maker. He blesses me so abundantly, yet I gripe and complain because I don't have what I think I want. But He knows me better than anyone else. Psalm 139 tells me that He is "intimately acquainted with all my ways" and "in [His] book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them."

I have so much to be grateful for which is why I ask myself what it means to be overflowing with gratitude. Must I always have a cheesy (sometimes fake) smile on my face because life is just peachy-keen? Should I shelter myself as much as possible from the suffering of this world so that I am blissful in my ignorance? I think that it means I must choose to see the good that God seeks to accomplish in and through every situation (cf. Rom. 8:28). I think it means that I choose to remember that God is good and sovereign--at the same time. I don't need to have all the answers. He has a plan, it is perfect, and if it seems bad or wrong to me I'm not seeing it from His perspective and I'm not thanking Him for what He is doing.

Of course much more can be (and has been more eloquently) written about this subject. I thought I'd share some of the things the Lord has been teaching me (this ties in wonderfully with what I've been reading in the book of Job). I'd love to hear/read any questions or comments this might bring up. Have a blessed week!

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween. We had somewhere between 10-15 kids come to our apartment for candy. Needless to say, we have lots of candy left. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that we like the candy we bought. Perhaps a bit of both?

We also played Yahtzee and Cribbage last night. I won both games. I suppose this was a consolation after the disappointing trick-or-treater turnout. Oh well. There is always next year.

Happy read this morning that the Lakers won last night (we went to bed before the end of the game). He was pretty excited since both Kobe and Kwame weren't in the game. I'm guessing he'd have much more to say about the game--surprise surprise :-)

In other news, I got my first company shirt today! I am so cool. Here it is:


p.s. Happy Birthday Raphaelle!!!!

Rush hour

That's right, this is what I experience every day--TWICE! Actually, the Lord has taught me a lot about myself and Himself as I spend an hour and a half (at least) every day sitting in stop-and-go traffic. For this reason, I am inspired to play 12 Blessings about Rush Hour Traffic! These are listed mostly in no particular order.


1. I have become more patient as I join in Rush Hour (let me add that I definitely have a LOT to learn in this area and I do indeed still have impatient moments, days, weeks...).
2. Rush Hour to work is good preparation as I can pray and/or listen to worship music in the 35-50 minutes I have alone.
3. Rush Hour home is a good time to unwind, again praying and/or listening to worship music.
4. Often times the Lord uses different experiences in Rush Hour to remind me of His attributes (sovereignty, faithfulness, protection and many more).
5. There have been several Rush Hour moments (mostly on my way home) where the Lord breaks me of sin and I can just think and pray about whatever He has shown me.
6. Rush Hour never fails to remind me that I am not the only person in the world who wants to get home after a long day.
7. Rush Hour is a good time of anticipating seeing my wonderful husband again at home :-D
8. Every so often Rush Hour serves as a time to catch up with friends and family on my cell phone--using an earpiece of course!
9. Rush Hour gives me a chance to listen to the news that I'd like to hear but don't always want to make the time for it.
10. Rush Hour reminds me that life is precious but fleeting, which causes me to ask myself how I will live each day in a way that is honoring to the Lord.
11. Rush Hour reminds me to pray for others, even if I don't know all the details of their lives and struggles, I can still pray for them.
12. Rush Hour provides hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people with jobs--the police officers pulling miscreants over, the construction workers seeking to widen the already massive freeways, the guys who do smog checks, the guys who pump gas at gas stations... Just think how many people benefit!

Ok, so I got a little desperate on that last one, but it is true!

On a more humorous note... this morning as I participated in Rush Hour I saw a guy in a convertible with the top down. Not an abnormal sight you might think, but I bet you have never seen a guy in a convertible with the top down--wearing a chicken hat! Yes, that's right, this guy had a chicken hat strapped onto his head. It looked like those chickens in the Muppet Babies. I nearly burst out laughing. I suppose people do strange things on Halloween. Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween! 

Our Apartment - Part II

It would seem that our blog has decided to stop accepting pictures for the day. My solution? To send you to our updated web albums! I will post the rest of our apartment pictures on there, although with much less commentary. Perhaps some will be glad for that... Anyway, enjoy and have a lovely Monday!

p.s. The office closes tomorrow at 3 pm for Halloween. Needless to say, I'm excited :-D

Our Apartment - Part I

Welcome to a tour of our first apartment! I made a really cool video too, but I'm totally unfamiliar with putting videos on our blog. If you'd like the video (even though it catches Happy belching into the camera) please email me.

To the right is the "dining room" area in our apartment. The door on the right side of the picture is the front door (if you couldn't guess) and you can somewhat see the entrance to the kitchen to the right of and perpendicular to the front door. As you can see, we've done a lot with decorating in this part of the apartment. And our hanging fruit baskets are empty (just as they usually are).

Here I'm standing in the doorway to the "dining room," looking into our living room. You can tell that those two five-shelf bookcases are pretty full, we have another three-shelf bookcase in our bedroom that is packed. Perhaps this is a better view of our empty fruit basket? Oh, I'd also like to say that I didn't exactly "tidy up" before taking all these pictures. I was mostly too excited about having my new camera!

To the right is one side of our lovely little kitchen. As you can see, we now have our refrigerator, complete with magnets. I even have a little rug for in front of the sink. You can see the large cabinets on the left also, which are WONDERFUL and packed full of food and anything I couldn't find a place for :-)

Ok, apparently I can't add more pictures to this post.... New post!

More to come...

I thought I'd just let you know that the pictures from today were just to whet your appetite for even more pictures to come. Perhaps they will be honeymoon pictures... apartment pictures......... silly pictures of Happy & Amy.................... who knows?!?

Pictures!!!

Yes, that's right, I finally brought the camera to work to test if I could get pictures onto the blog this way. SUCCESS!!! The only problem is Picasa is somewhat unreliable. Sooo.... I started a few web albums! Right now you'll find our jack-o-lanterns (also below), pictures of the car when we got hit (by the way, it's all fixed now :-D) and some other random pictures. Enjoy!

Jack-o-Lanterns!

Since this is apparently the only way I can post pictures on our blog, here are the pictures of our carved pumpkins. Guess which one I did and which one Happy did...

First, here are all the pumpkins in their glory:

A: Bat on small jack-o-lantern
B: Grim Reaper

C: The scared guy
 

My first pumpkin bread

 

Happenings

Since I've run out of things to do at work, I thought I'd spend a few minutes updating about the happenings of our life.

For those of you who have been wondering, my allergies are doing much better, although I do still get random headaches every so often. But, I'm definitely not as miserable or as exhausted all the time. Praise the Lord for that! Oh, and I'm hoping that I never have to have another scratch test as long as I live. I'm wondering if I should warn all my doctors in the future that I really don't like needles?

Happy has been videotaping Liberty's football games for the season, as you may recall. Last week Liberty lost 64-30 to Saddleback Valley Christian, continuing their losing streak. They are now 0-6 on the season, but everyone was very excited that LCS was able to score a whole 30 points in one game! Actually, it was pretty exciting, despite the comment I heard later that Saddleback Valley was hardly putting forth any effort at all. Interesting how getting more points in one game than you have the entire season can boost your spirits. I will say though that last week's game was much more exciting to watch than most (all?) of the others. Plus, the Saddleback Valley cheerleaders were actually pretty good (even though they did have their share of cheesy cheers--"Let me hear that left foot stomp! Boom! Shake it up, shake it up!") and I got to watch the game with Katie :-)

I finally finished Jerusalem Interlude and have moved on to Danzig Passage, the fifth book of the series. ONE more after this one! I'm hoping to finish them before I go home for Christmas so then I can be reading something else. Like I said a long time ago, I think I want to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, but we'll see how many times I change my mind. Speaking of books, we finally got our very first dictionary (of our married life)! Happy really loves it. Whenever I ask what a word means he gets an excited look on his face and jumps up to retrieve the dictionary. Oh the joy of little things in life!

Ok, that's all I've got for today. Hopefully the mail will come soon so I can sort it and get to more invoices! It's also payday today so I'll have lots to do once the checks are all cut and signed. YAY!! Have a lovely Wednesday!

Almost November??

Saturday night Jared & Daina (from my work) came over for dinner, to carve pumpkins and to play Cranium. Hopefully at some point we'll figure out how to get pictures on our blog because the pumpkins came out REALLY awesome! Plus, it was lots of fun hanging out with Jared & Daina, even though they did beat us at Cranium.

Sunday afternoon we went to a farmers' market with Steven & Emily (from church) and to lunch at Red Robin. We got to know them a lot better, which was really cool. Steven & Emily are in the "young marrieds" Sunday school class with us. Emily is in charge of the Valentine's Day banquet at the church and asked me if I'd be interested in helping her with all the planning. Of course I said I would (and am VERY excited about it!) so our lunch on Sunday was meant to talk more about the banquet and planning for it. Yes, we both forgot to bring up that subject so we'll be talking at some point this week.

So, our weekend was pretty full. Saturday morning we did lots of cleaning and laundry (5 loads!) and Sunday after lunch we went grocery shopping. When we got home I cut Happy's hair and then took a nap, even though it was 6 pm :-) I woke up around 7:15, ate dinner, read a went back to bed by 9:15. We were planning on going for a bike ride at some point, but it just didn't happen. Perhaps a bike ride will happen tonight...? We'll see.

Something I've been noticing lately about life after college: it's just as busy now as it was in college--but a different kind of busy and without the stress of homework and deadlines.

By far the strangest thing about life after college: I feel like I'm getting older, but time is standing still. Perhaps that has something to do with the lack of seasons in southern California, but it feels as though nothing is changing and then all of a sudden the day, week, month is gone and it's the next one. Weird. I guess it felt like that in college a little, but at least I had the measure of semesters. Now time just goes on without any sort of measurement. I remember being around 12 years old thinking that days were so long and I could never imagine myself as a grown-up. When I was about 4 or 5 years old I told my mom that I never wanted to grow up. The reason--then I couldn't wear my favorite shirt (the one I had that matched the one that My Buddy wore). Now I still don't consider myself a "grown-up," but I do notice that kids look younger and younger to me.

So here's my question to be answered by those who may not consider themselves "grown-up" but technically are "grown-up." Do you remember thinking all this kind of stuff? Do you still think this kind of stuff? Does every generation look at the next generation and think, "When I was that age..."? I look forward to LOTS of comments :-) Have a wonderful week!

Celebrate!

There's reason to celebrate in Oaktown! The Raiders finally won!

The picture is Derrick Burgess crushing Matt Leinart. Ah, beautiful!

Update

I'm on my lunch break and decided to leave a lackadaisical post:

Current book I'm reading: Uh, nothing because I just finished Albert Camus's The Stranger. Next up, probably one of the three books Mike just mailed to me (thanks Mike, they arrived safe and sound).

Current article I'm reading: "Must I Learn How To Interpret The Bible?" by DA Carson. Fascinating read; I'm learning a lot.

Next movie I'd like to see: Tie. The Good Shepherd and The Prestige both look very promising (but we all know how very often Hollywood breaks its promises).

Classic movie I'd like to see: The Big Sleep.

What I'm planning on doing in 15 minutes: Teach my junior highers some volleyball techniques while trying to keep the boys from spitting on each other.

Out.

Really? Every week?

I began this post yesterday, but didn't get a chance to finish it... so, now I will :-)

A short while ago I had an interesting exchange with another person in the office. He overheard me listening to a sermon and asked who I was listening to. When I said John Piper, he got a puzzled expression on his face and said he'd never heard of the guy. We talked a little about Piper and then my co-worker asked if I like "that kind of stuff." I sort of held back a chuckle and smiled and said, "Yes, I do." He then responded with what sounded like a disappointed "Oh." Rather than let the conversation end with that I asked "Why do you ask?" Here he said he was just curious and then mentioned that he attends a certain church, which will remain nameless. I appeared somewhat surprised (which I was), which bothered him, and even asked if he went every week, which also bothered him. Thankfully, I then asked him if he enjoyed it (since the church is somewhat large) and managed to dig myself out of the hole I'd begun digging.

Ok, so what am I sharing this for? First of all, I was reminded that I definitely lack tact sometimes. Aside from that it got me thinking about why I was surprised to hear he attended this particular "Christian" church. I was surprised precisely because I wouldn't have picked him out as a Christian in the place I work. Rather than go into all the reasoning behind my judgment (whether it was a good or bad judgment), I'd like to change the subject slightly.

I wonder if I am a person that others would pick out as a Christian? If I met up with another Christian in similar circumstances, would he or she be surprised if I mentioned what church I went to? Do I live as if Christ makes a difference in my life? How do I walk by the Spirit in the small things that occupy my time each day?

I suppose these are just some questions that I would challenge you (if you are a Christian) to think about. I pray that I will ask myself the last two questions for the rest of my life. May God use you greatly today in both the spectacular and seemingly meaningless tasks He has set before you this day; and may He be glorified in what He does through you!

Books

For those of you who know me, you know exactly why I loved this post on Al Mohler's blog. Plus, I think it is very true. It reminded me of when Mike and Raphaelle came over and Raphaelle said she would organize her books by colors instead of alphabetically by author (my preferred method). Anyway, read it and tell me what you think.

No, seriously, comment on this.

DO IT!

NOW!

My Scratch Test

Happy's summary was quite accurate, but I thought I'd go ahead and explain a little bit of the experience from my perspective.

The whole thing started when I went to our doctor and found out my insurance hadn't completely gone through yet. After a few phone calls and talking with the receptionist in the doctor's office, I learned that the doctor doesn't actually do allergy tests. After leaving work early to find this out I was a bit frustrated and called my boss, Rebecca, to let her know. She then called a bunch of allergists and dermatologists to see if anyone could take me today. Finally she found the one in Long Beach (Dr. Ochsner) and we went, after I picked Happy up to go with me. I thought perhaps I might not be ok to drive home after the scratch test.... Good hunch I'd say.

When we got to the allergist there were a few people in the waiting room, so we just sat and read our books for a while. Once it was my turn, Dr. Ochsner brought me in, looked in my ears ("Nice ears!") and nose ("Not so nice nose...") and then listened to me breathe. He asked if I ever have trouble breathing and I said only a little when I'm around cats for a while. Then he explained to me how the scratch test works. It's actually not a scratch, but a puncture... with a needle. As he pulled out six different bottles, he explained to me that he'd test out six different things I might be allergic to. He drew three red lines on my left forearm and then proceeded to stick me with six different needles and substances--one on each tip of the three red lines.

At this point I should mention that Dr. Ochsner was probably easily in his 60s and an extremely kind and friendly man. He definitely had that grandfatherly way about him and I felt very comfortable with him.

Before he started I told him I really don't like blood. He said I should be fine. After the first shot I said I really don't like needles either. He proceeded to tell me that he used to not like them either, but after so many years and experiencing such wonderful things from needles (i.e. birth), he has sort of gotten over it. "Plus," he said, "it helps to be on the other end of the needle!" I wasn't very amused as he pointed out that there were only four more to go! By the third one I said I wasn't feeling so good and could feel the color draining from my face. He said I could put my head between my knees and it would help. I immediately did so, holding my left arm out of my range of vision as he injected me with the fourth substance. Here my legs started to shake and I began to get dizzy. I kept saying, "I don't feel good... I don't feel good... I don't feel good..." He continued with his countdown "Just two more! You'll be fine!"

The fifth and sixth ones felt like they took forever. I had my eyes closed and was digging my right index fingernail into my right thumb to distract myself from the needle poke. It didn't work. When he finished the sixth one he said, "Alright, you can go back into the waiting room with your husband." I staggered out and collapsed into the first chair, which happened to be two seats away from where Happy was sitting. He gently said, "Come sit next to me..." While I did hear him, I didn't respond because I was concentrating on not vomiting or passing out. After a minute he said, "Ok, I'll just move then..." By then I had put my head down again between my legs and was asking where the bathroom was. Happy got up and glanced around, but it was too late. I puked right there on the carpet of the waiting room. Thankfully there were no other patients waiting there.

Dr. Ochsner, as Happy said, wasn't fazed by my vomit and calmly brought out paper towel after paper towel--wet ones and dry ones, for me and the carpet. Happy cleaned it up and could definitely tell I had eaten strawberry yogurt. Interestingly enough, I felt much better afterwards. Dr. Ochsner said it usually works that way. (I think he knew that and was just helping me to get to the point of vomiting!)

After a few minutes the doctor brought me back in from the waiting room and explained to me the welts that were developing on my arm from the shots. Five of them were ones he thought I'd be allergic to and one was an injection that he knew I wasn't allergic to (as a point of comparison with the others). I got a 100%! I was allergic to all five of the injections, but the most allergic to rye grass, which was like a mini-continent on my forearm. The others were just little islands--dust mite, Chinese oak (I think), and tumbleweed were ones I remember. Tumbleweed was the next largest welt. He then brought us outside to the parking lot to show us what Chinese oak looked like. Soon, we learned about all of the trees in the parking lot, from this knowledgeable doctor. Meanwhile, I'm sneezing every 5 seconds or so and in dire need of a tissue, which is waiting for me back inside the office. When we got back inside, I grabbed several tissues and Dr. Ochsner explained my allergies a bit more.

Apparently my nose is super healthy because it has been working 24 hours a day to deal with all the pollen in the air. That, however, means that I am exhausted all the time because my body keeps trying to fight the pollen. He also explained that I have a slight case of asthma, but if we deal with my nose, the asthma should never be much of a problem. So, he gave me free samples of two different nose sprays (Nasonex and Astelin, for those who are interested) and told me how to spray properly (nose to toes and opposite hands). He did one dose for me and then explained that it could make me feel drowsy, but might not. We went home (Happy drove) and I basically felt like I'd been attacked and was indeed exhausted, but not from the nose spray, as I have since learned. The scratch test wore me out.

So, the next morning (yesterday) I woke up to a swollen and burning hot forearm, along with tingly fingers. I went to work, cried on the way (because I called my mom and started thinking I might need to have my arm amputated or drained with a huge needle), and then called Dr. Ochsner when the office opened. They said I could come back in and he'd take a look at it. I did and he gave me Benadryl and said to put heat on my arm to increase circulation. I then decided to go home for the day and conk out with the Benadryl. Over the last few days I think I've slept more than I've been awake! Last night the swelling moved up to my elbow a bit more and the inside of my elbow is a bit fat. But, the redness has lessened and my arm isn't as burning hot as it was yesterday. Still, it's pretty heavy and tight, and I'm looking forward to it getting back to normal! It's been quite an exciting week for me, but the good news is, the nose sprays are helping a lot--and my arm does not need to be drained with a huge needle or amputated :-) Thank you for all your prayers and concerns!

Allergies

Amy and I went to an allergy and asthma specialist in Long Beach last night to find out about Amy's recent bout with allergies, a cold and we hoped nothing else. I'm sure Amy will have some more vivid images to accost your senses with, but she had a scratch test. Six injections in her left arm. She's very allergic and the doctor said she has minor asthma, which we didn't know. I don't have much time, so let me summarize: she was very white and faint (a la needles and blood) and puked a little bit on the office carpet, which didn't seem to faze the doctor. She has two nasal sprays to use now. We hope they will work because Amy is miserable, in pain and constantly exhausted. She went back to the doctor this morning because her whole left forearm is swollen and it seems that the blood is having trouble pumping. We'll update next we know. Adieu.

Our Postmodern World

This has been a busy week of invoices, but I just listened to a message from the 2006 Desiring God National Conference. It was so challenging to me that I thought I'd share it with anyone who's interested. The title of the sermon is The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World. Just click here and then click the "Listen" link with the little speaker next to it.

If you're interested in listening to more, check out their list of sermons since 1980! All of the messages from the Conference can be found here on the Recently Added Resources page. Oh, and we do have a link to the Desiring God website on the side of our blog. There are also many other really great study tools to be found on the website.



p.s. Dad, I bet you'd LOVE this site!

A Restless Evil

This morning I overheard a loud, colorful argument from the motel next to our apartment building. One woman shouted "Words don't mean...." Well, maybe I won't quote her. Basically she was saying that actions speak louder than words. I've been thinking about that all morning. I've also been thinking about the nursery rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." But how many people hold grudges because of what someone said? What's the harm in gossip if words don't hurt? Why does James say that no one can tame the tongue, "...a restless evil and full of deadly poison" (3:8)?

I keep thinking about the fact that once you say something, you can't take it back. Shouldn't that make me more careful to speak? James, again, reminds us to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger (1:19).

But do we keep silent so as not to offend? "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Rom. 12:18). What about "being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet. 3:15)? And the Great Commission "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I [Jesus] commanded you..." (Matt. 19-20)?

Should Christians wait to speak until someone asks "Hey, why are you different?" Or should we say we are Christians and then prove it with our actions? Why are the opinions of Christians so shunned when opinions of others (which are equally close-minded) are not only palatable but accepted?

It comes down to this in my mind (and in the Bible): Jesus was despised and forsaken so that we could have life and have it abundantly. He humbly took on the form of a man and lived the perfect example for us to follow. Unfortunately, we can't do it perfectly. But, we should not be surprised when people despise us and do not want to hear our words. But Christians must never be ashamed of the gospel and the Great God who wrote it!

The Drought is Over!

Sweet, sweet victory.

Update: For those of you wondering what this picture is about, let me explain. Last night, the Oakland A's defeated the Seattle Mariners, and because the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim lost to the Texas Rangers, the A's clinched the American West division title. Distilled version: They are in the playoffs next week for sure. They haven't been to the playoffs since 2003 and I am exultant.

Go A's!

Fender-bender

Before I get to our exciting car ride... We did play a rousing game of Taboo on Saturday night. Of course, none of the guys were interested in playing so all the girls enjoyed the game, especially towards the end when we were all getting a little too involved--yes, there was indeed lots of giggling!

We also had the opportunity to visit Mike's church on Sunday morning, which was cool. Even though the power went out about halfway through the sermon, the pastor preached on. I enjoyed listening in the dark and trying to keep my focus despite distractions.

On to the accident... Yes, we are fine and yes, the car is mostly fine. Here is the scenario: I was driving and traffic was pretty unpredictable (stop-go a lot). At a point where we were going about 50 mph I decided to move from the fast lane (I have since learned this is referred to as lane 1) to the next lane to the right (lane 2). I put my blinker on, checked lane 2 and lane 3 for on-coming cars and began moving over. Once I was about 3/4 of the way into the lane a large black pick-up truck sped into my lane, swerving into our front right bumper and hitting just above the front right wheel.

The kid driving (yes, I'm guessing he was a teenager--and he was talking on a cell phone) noticed that he hit us because he turned around with a surprised look on his face. He then sped off to the right, swerving in and out of traffic. So, it was a hit and run. Meanwhile, Happy awoke from his little nap to me braking as I attempted to get out of the kid's way. He wasn't entirely with it when he woke up though because he didn't realize that we'd gotten hit. He woke up because I braked so quickly. Once the kid sped off I realized that we should get his license plate number at least and thankfully rush-hour traffic helped us to do that. We actually were behind him for a while again and got the license plane number along with the make and model of the pick-up. Unfortunately, we didn't think to call the police or AAA when the accident happened, which hopefully won't make things more complicated than they already are.

We arrived at the Gilmore house not yet having seen the damage done to the car. Once we saw that the bumper had been cracked and the spot above the wheel was dented, we took pictures. Happy called AAA at that point and told us where we could get our car fixed, along with other information. They need to find the kid and see if his car has marks on it, if he's insured, etc.

The dilemma now is figuring out how I'll get to work when the car is in the shop. I'm told that one woman lives in Huntington Beach so I could take the bus and meet her and then take the bus home. The only problem: her hours are 6:30-4:00, which means I'd be there REAL early and would need to find someone to cover the phones from 4-5 pm. We're thinking in the future of changing our AAA to cover a rental car if our car is in the shop :-)

Anyway, there's the drama of the car accident. Neither of us are hurt at all and it was only minor damage. I wasn't scared or shook up after he hit us either, so I just kept driving to Santa Clarita. Actually, my first reaction was something along the lines of "That jerk just hit us... and he's not stopping!" So, I'm thankful there wasn't a larger accident and thankful that the car is still running just fine. It was also a reminder that no matter how careful I am, there are still others out there who just aren't as careful. Then again, no matter how careful I am, the Lord is always in control. If He wants to take me home, He will do it when and how He sees fit. I'm sure this whole ordeal will prove educational, if nothing else, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Lord has something else in mind!

Santa Maria weekend

That's right! This weekend Happy and I went to Santa Maria for the weekend to visit with the Aris side of the family (Happy's mom's side). Actually, Happy and I drove up to Santa Clarita and then joined the Gilmore van. This time we were all Gilmores in the van :-D

Happy and I stayed with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mel because they have no cats, which my allergies were very thankful for. We celebrated Aunt Kathy's 50th birthday on Friday night, Scott's 19th birthday on Saturday night and Aunt Cindy's (47th?) birthday on Saturday morning. It was a cake-filled weekend, but they were all very tasty! Plus, there was lots of other yummy food and fun conversations involved in the weekend. AND we got to sleep in!

But, I can't elaborate much more because I'm about ready to go home! I'll tell you more about our fender-bender tomorrow!

The Point of Life

I have less than an hour left of work before I leave to pick up Happy from school (that sounds funny) and then we're heading to Santa Maria for the weekend. So, I'm taking a break from coding invoices to post my last blog of the work week.

Even though Happy already provided a link to another blog, I'm going to do the same. This blog has challenged my thinking nearly every time I read it and today's post was a sobering one. Even if you don't want to read the whole thing, I'd like to quote the last couple lines:

...the ultimate goal in life should not be to get well, to get a raise, to get married, or to get whatever. The point of life is to die. It is not he who dies with the most toys, that wins, but he who dies most to himself.

Since graduating from college and starting a job that is slightly less glamorous than I had imagined, I've frequently questioned my purpose here. But why would I question it? There is nothing in Scripture that says I am to die to self only if I have a job that seems worthy--only if I'm a missionary in a third world country--only if I'm serving faithfully in the church. It seems my focus has shifted. Who am I to question God's plan for me at this point in my life? And who am I to serve Him less heartily if I'm doing something monotonous or even boring?

May the Lord teach me to "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thes. 5:16-18).

The Real Killer

This is so terribly sad.

Piper on the Pope

John Piper had some interesting comments on how Christians should respond to the controversy over the Pope's statements about Islam and the violent and loud reactions from around the Muslim world. Go here.

Tonight, Amy and I are going back to Norwalk to try to get the ball rolling on getting Amy's name officially changed to Gilmore. Lord-willing, everything will go smoothly.

Last movie we watched: Lawrence of Arabia.

Puns

In light of the comment on yesterday's post, I thought I'd open up today's post with some puns..................... but I couldn't think of any. So, to all those people who like puns or corny jokes, I'd like to share one that my Pop-pop likes. He says, "I knew a girl once who was so thin that any time she drank tomato juice she looked like a thermometer!"

With that bringing back fond memories of times with Pop-pop in Connecticut, I'd love to hear anyone else's puns or jokes. Heather, I'm sure you'll appreciate these... and so will the Mikes (my brother and cousin-in-law)... pretty much my whole family will at least crack a smile... So, I'm waiting to hear from you! They'd better be good!!!!

Update:
I just found this website. It's ok, but not the same as hearing them from people you know.... HINT HINT....

TOMORROW!!!!

Yes, that's right.... tomorrow is the day we are supposed to be able to set up our internet!! Yes, in our apartment!! I'm a little excited...

Since I don't have too much to write about I'm going to provide a link that allows you into my brain!!!! Well, not really, but this is the sort of stuff that has been occupying my mind lately :-D Have a blessed evening!

In the Know?

If you need our new home phone number (that is working!), let us know!

Busy week!

That's right! It was a busy week for me in the office! I've been coding, entering and checking invoices like crazy and hardly had time to blog or email or anything. I'm sorry for those who haven't received emails in a while. I'm hoping to get to that next week (since we still don't have reliable internet at our apartment).

Wednesday night Mike and Raphaelle came for dinner (actually they brought dinner--Mike's tasty enchiladas). After a tour of our apartment, we talked for a while and then played cards and talked more. We then decided that we need to do dinners at least once a month, alternating between our apartment and theirs. I'm glad we are making these plans :-D I had lots of fun and am looking forward to getting to spend more time with them now that Raphaelle (and soon-to-be Mike) is in LA!!! Thanks for the visit Mike & Raphaelle!

Tonight Happy and I are having a "date night" of dinner and a movie. Happy is surprising me so I don't actually know where we are eating or what movie we'll see. I'm sure it'll be wonderful though :-)

Like most Friday afternoons, the office is like a ghost-town (minus the ghosts... and tumbleweed). There is a golf tournament that half of the office is participating in and then there are the 10 of us left to hold down the fort. The phones are quiet though so I've been entering, checking and now coding invoices. But, I did spend a good amount of my afternoon reading through the Friday Funnies at what is becoming one of my most-liked blogs. I laughed out loud at many of the funnies. Enjoy!

Are they still married?

Ironic that this was the question I overheard from one of my co-workers yesterday, on the 25th anniversary of my in-laws (Happy Anniversary!!!). The answer to the question was a surprised "Yeah, I think so!" as if marriages lasting very long is uncommon. I suppose it is uncommon. I've heard all those statistics about marriages ending in divorce and even very similar statistics with Christians, but this should not be--right?

Don't get me wrong, Christians aren't any different from the rest of the world in that we can hold our marriages together on our own. The glue that should and does hold Christian marriages together is nothing but the grace of God. Christians are constantly being changed by the Holy Spirit, progressing in sanctification and becoming more like Christ through the Bible and prayer. It is part of God's design that we change and married couples are to change alongside one another, reflecting the light of Christ both individually and as a couple.

But all that is much easier said than done. Christians still sin, even against their spouses! But God has called us to a higher standard and has given us the example of Christ to follow: "who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:6-8).

I pray that the Lord continues to strengthen our marriage and I am so thankful for the godly example of my in-laws. Congratulations on 25 years of marriage! May the Lord bless you with many years to come (and grandchildren in due time)!

This Is Your Brain On . . .

So recently I've realized how lazy I've been when it comes to Bible memorization. So, when I read this, I was chastened and inspired to hide God's word in my heart and mind.

I'm memorizing Philippians 2, and Amy and I want to get a program (probably either Piper's or MacArthur's) that guides verse memorization. My plan? To let God's Word tranform my life!

Football season!!

This weekend is the company retreat. It's pretty quiet around here and I'm told tomorrow will be even worse. Oh well, I have things to do now! I've spent most of today entering invoices into our accounts payable program. That's right, I've entered approximately 150 invoices. Now I have to print out the report and check my work. I decided to save that for tomorrow.

A few weeks ago I ordered Tae Bo tapes and have been waking up in the morning to exercise with them. The last two mornings I've been really energetic as I exercise (particularly compared to the mornings when I just want to get back in bed), which is fine--except for the fact that sitting all day just makes me feel more and more sore! More than once I've stood up and stretched for a while. I haven't sat on the floor to do so, but I might if no one's around :-D

Lunch today was spent upstairs at Bree's computer looking at our wedding pictures! Angie came by and looked at some with me. She said they were beautiful pictures. I agreed. Actually, the real reason I was looking at my wedding pictures (again) was to pick out ones we'd like to put in our wedding album, which I am going to put together. I'm excited for that project!

Tonight Happy is videotaping the first football game at LCS for the coach to watch later. I LOVE watching football games (in person), particularly night games when it's colder. I just love the whole atmosphere and the school spirit. It brings back fond memories of being in the marching band and sitting on the metal bleachers when it was 40 degrees in New Hampshire. We used to wear those real thin gloves that do next to nothing just because it was better than pressing your numb fingers against the keys of your metal instrument. Ah memories! I love winter! Ironic that now I'm living in southern California where "winter" isn't quite the same as the definition I grew up with. Oh well, the football game tonight will be fun! I hope you all have a lovely evening and praise the Lord because He is worthy to be praised!

New link

By the way, I added a link to the side to a blog that is on Todd Bolen's blog. I read it for two or three hours yesterday and was hugely impacted by it--so much so that I decided I had to share it with anyone else who wanted to read it. To summarize, this woman has been experiencing severe pain on a daily basis for quite a while now. The doctors have yet to figure out what it is, although they have ruled out many possibilities. The main reason I added her blog to our links was because of our tendency to compare ourselves with others. As I read, I realized that I was doing the same thing and then was challenged by something she quoted on August 1st - "Parable of the Paraplegic." So, read it, it's good. What a great reminder of our Sovereign and GOOD God!

Drown it!

Today is an all-day seminar called "Get Motivated!" which about a dozen of the guys are going to. This means it will be a quiet and slow day. Good thing I have stuff to keep me busy :-)

I thought I'd let you all know (mostly my Mom and Mom-in-law who may be interested) that I decided to try to drown my plant--in a good way! Up to this point I've only watered it two or three times because I stick my finger in the dirt and find that it is still very moist. I thought perhaps the plant needs more water than I think plants need. Actually, that's the only thing I could think to do. Happy and I have been trying to give it more light which only seems to wither the leaves faster. So I watered it this morning before leaving for work. I'll let you know if it starts to perk up in the next few days.

My ride home yesterday was again a little over an hour. I think it had to do with the fact that it was the Tuesday after a holiday weekend. I'm hoping that's the reason. Plus, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are characteristically worse than Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays traffic-wise. You may wonder why Thursdays aren't as bad as the other mid-week days... Thursday is carpool day at many offices! I learned this once I began working in an office. Interesting. If I were running office carpools, I'd make our carpool day on Tuesday or Wednesday simply because everyone else takes Thursday. Hm. Oh well!

Yesterday for dinner was marinated chicken with pasta salad and peas. I found the recipe for the marinade online and it tasted pretty good. I forget the name of it, but it was pretty much a pineapple-ginger flavor. Kind of sweet with a little kick. Happy liked it :-) I think it'll stay in my box of recipes! Speaking of which, Mom-in-law--I need to get your snickerdoodle recipe!

Ok, back to coding invoices! God bless and have a Christ-centered day!

First Day of School II

Today was my first day on the other side of the first day of school. I was the teacher. This morning - when I had no classes because the elementary students don't come to school until tomorrow - I found myself chuckling to myself that I was experiencing some kind of Twilight Zone deja vu. I watched the kids and marveled that I was so recently so small.

Well, the day went well. I filled the morning with organizing my cloffice. Yes, you read that right; it's a combination of a closet and an office. My cloffice is underneath a set of stairs and is filled with basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, bouncy balls, volleyballs, jump ropes, hula hoops, etc. Also, it is filled with some unknown creature's eggs. They're everywhere, hanging from the very low ceiling. But, I bought some Raid and went to town today, fumigating the cloffice.

I had lunch duty today. I have it every Tuesday and every Thursday, and I get to eat outside with the students and pick up their trash, etc. I sat with three seventh grade boys, mainly because one of them looked like he needed someone to sit with him. I talked with them all through lunch, constantly repeating their names in my head so I wouldn't forget them. "Paul, Riley and Jordan . . . Paul, Riley and Jordan."

After lunch was sixth period and that meant Junior High PE. Forty-four junior highers. It was a lesson in the necessity of a whistle (which I forgot to have with me) and the difficulty of maintaining the attentions of that many 12 and 13 year-olds while taking roll. I handed out PE shorts and T-shirts and was supposed to hand out locks for the PE lockers, but I didn't get to that before the bell rang.

Last was seventh period and 17 mostly disinterested high-schoolers. A good percentage of them are just there because they don't play sports and have to have 20 PE units to graduate. Because I've had to build up my own PE program from nothing, I've added just a few written assignments and some Bible verses to memorize. By the expressions on some faces and many rolled eyes, you would have thought I just assigned them four 20-page essays on the importance of the quantum theory on modern warfare. So I see that my main job in high school PE will be to inspire motivation.

I'd like to go on, but it's almost nine o'clock and I'm getting up at five every morning, so it's time to go to bed.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.

-Psalm 68:19

First Day of School

Today is Happy's official "First Day of School" and I forgot to take pictures! He probably wouldn't have let me anyway, but I wanted to :-) He came out this morning and asked if his shirt went with his pants. Good thing I'm really great at matching (note the sarcasm).... Pray that he adjusts to teaching and learns how to balance getting to know the kids while remaining authoritative.

As for me, I'm back at work after the long weekend. Friday was VERY slow and the office did close at 2 pm. Traffic was wonderful! :-D I went to the post office to send books for Happy and then went home and made our dinner for the Hollywood Bowl concert. I'm pretty sure Happy will have something to say about the Hollywood Bowl experience, but I'll tell it from my perspective. John Williams actually conducted, which was REALLY cool. When they played the first song Happy's face lit up. He recognized the 20th Century Fox intro (I think that's what it was) that is played before the movie starts. Of course, with John Williams came many Star Wars fans, including a large group of people with glowing lightsabers. When the orchestra played Star Wars music, the lightsabers lit up. A group of about 10 of them below us bounced the beat of the music. They really liked Darth Vader's theme!

Side note--Friday night was the first time I saw the HOLLYWOOD sign that you always see in movies. I'd heard it was pretty anti-climactic when you finally did see it, but for me it was pretty cool to see from the Hollywood Bowl.

Other impressions of mine... I LOVED IT!!! We sat next to this old couple that go to Hollywood Bowl 2-3 times a year. They were eating sandwiches and drinking wine when we got there. Ok, I have to be honest, it was pretty gross listening to her talk with all the food stuck in her teeth and dodging morsels that flew out. When she stopped eating it was much more pleasant to listen to her!

Well, it's back to work for me. I've had things to keep me busy all day today, which is good! But I do have a headache so pray that the Advil starts working :-) God bless!

Friendship bracelets

Yep, that's what I'm doing at work now... making friendship bracelets. Actually, I've only finished about one inch of one bracelet, but I also brought a pair of shorts that I needed to mend. Pat (one of the Project Managers) laughed at me. He said, "I've seen a lot of things happening up at the front, but never sewing!" Oh well, my shorts are fixed!

I found out today that the office closes at 2 pm tomorrow!!!! YAY!!!! I'm starting work early though because Bree (the other receptionist) won't be coming in at all. So I'll be here from 7-2. Strange hours I'd say, but I'm ok with it. This means Happy and I will get to the Hollywood Bowl with plenty of time to spare before the 8:30 pm concert begins.

Ok, there's my blurb for today. It's again rather quiet in the office as half of the guys are gone. By the way, if anyone has any requests for a friendship bracelet, let me know! Tell me if you want a bracelet or anklet and the colors you want and I'd be glad to make one for you :-) Ok, back to my bracelet. God bless!

Lovely

I say lovely a lot don't I? Hm... Where did I pick that up? Any ideas?

Poor little plant

It's Wednesday and it feels like Friday in the office. Rebecca asked me if I could come in at 7 on Friday instead of 8 and stay til 5. I said that would be fine. However, I'm also told that the Friday before a 3-day weekend is usually so dead that we might all leave by 3! Crazy. I'm curious how the traffic is at 6 vs. 7 am... hm... guess I'll figure that out on Friday.

I just got back from a lovely lunch. Every day I make my lunch here at work (the kitchen is stocked with lunch-fixings for us!) and sit outside on a dirty lawn chair at a spider-webbed table, reading. I've finished Munich Signature and am now on to the fourth book of the Thoene series, Jerusalem Interlude. Even though I had said before that I was going to read Mere Christianity, I decided that I'd finish this series before moving on. Plus, I got so sucked in to all that's going on! I cried at the end of the last book and definitely wanted to throw it across the room by the time I got to the last page. Yeah, I was angry at the outcome, but not angry enough to stop reading the series :-)

This morning I searched for thrift stores near our apartment. I came up with a large list and typed it out on a Word document. Guess what we're doing this weekend?? :-D

By the way, we purchased a plant last week (I think) at the grocery store. The leaves on the ends are already withering. Sigh... I've been keeping it watered too. Maybe I just need to let it get some more sunlight? I dunno. Maybe I should resign myself to the fact that if I ever want to have plants, they will be made of silk. Oh well!

Yesterday Happy had to wear a tie to school for his teacher ID card. He looked good :-) Ok, I won't elaborate and lose readers... hehe... Back to work! Have a lovely afternoon!

Me? A teacher?

Yes, it's true, I'm now a Christian school PE teacher. I have a "real" job now in the "adult" world. I am investigating 403(b) retirement options, receiving medical and dental insurance cards, creating lesson plans and the like.

Liberty Christian's first school day is next Tuesday. Only secondary students will attend on Tuesday, to be joined by their younger counterparts in the elementary. I will teach EVERY SINGLE GRADE LEVEL, K-12!

Just an hour ago, I had a conversation with Jane Doney (who went to school with my parents and says I look like my dad!), the wife of the principal (and my boss) Thom Doney and the newly designated Curriculum and Development Coordinator (or something like that; I can't remember the exact title). I had many questions for her about PE, school policy, school philosophy and beliefs, etc. After the conversation, I realized that I hadn't really stopped to think about the incredible blessing and responsibility I have to be a Christian school teacher. I actually thought: "I have the chance to truly impact kids' lives!" I got so excited! I got so concerned to be an effective teacher! I got emotional to give back to students what my teachers over the years gave to me!

Things are busy and I need to go get on my bike and take the bus back to Stanton (Liberty is about six miles from our apartment) and go to the post office to get two packages that can't fit in our narrowly claustrophobic mailbox. Ta ta for now!

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

Rejoice always;

pray without ceasing;

in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:15-18

Can I handle it?

Despite the fact that today is Happy's first day of "In-Service" at school, I'll let him leave a post at some point about it. I'll just mention that yesterday we went there to clean out his supply closet. All I did was write the school's initials with a Sharpie on a bunch of cones and other such markers used by the school. Happy seemed pretty excited to have a bit more organization in his closet though. He did a good job making more accessible.

Back at my work, not much is new. I've been challenged by a few people to re-evaluate my job here. Do I really think I'll be content here for a few years? This is the big question in my mind right now. Although it definitely won't add much to my resume, I do believe the Lord has brought me here for a reason. I simply need to start using my time more wisely and concentrate on being thankful for the low-stress job He has provided. I would greatly appreciate prayers in this area for those who think of it! It may come down to me bringing "projects" to work on while I'm here, which I have been told is just fine. I also have the chance to get a lot of reading done. Maybe the Lord is allowing me to re-develop a love for reading (particularly after college where I didn't have much choice in the books I read, though many of them were great books!) or perhaps helping me to adjust to married life with a job that I don't take home with me at night. Who knows what He has planned for me here? All I know is that I need to be sure to praise Him for what He has provided and be a light for Him while He keeps me here. His plans are much better than mine and I can be content and thankful as I develop greater trust in Him!

It's just about lunch time for me so I'll finish this post for today. I hope all is well with those who like to keep up with our blog! By the way, we may not have internet in our apartment until the middle/end of September. Thankfully both of us will be able to use the internet at work, so keep checking our blog, leaving comments and emailing us! Have a lovely Monday!

Trivia!

Let's play a game... Hm.... What kind of games can you play on a blog? Oh, I know! I'm going to list a bunch of questions (this is sort of a trivia game) and our readers can leave a comment answering any they want to answer. Here goes (NO CHEATING!!!):

1. Where was Amy born (city and state please)?

2. Where was Happy born (same deal as above)?

3. What are Happy's favorite sports teams (baseball, football, basketball, college football)?

4. What is the capital of New Hampshire?

5. What is the capital of California?

6. What is the capital of Idaho?

7. Where did Amy's oldest brother, Mike, go to college?

8 What are the names and ages of Happy and Amy's siblings?

9. What color are Amy's eyes?

10. What is the name of the church that Happy grew up in?

11. Who is the current president of Nigeria?

12. What is minimum wage set at in California?

13. How much does it cost to purchase one postage stamp for a normal letter?

14. Who was the 27th vice president of the United States?

15. Who said/wrote "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."?


Ok, that was fun. I didn't know the answers to all these (until I looked them up online) so if you don't either, it's ok. This was mostly for my benefit as Friday crawls along and I sit in a quiet office by myself, reading. Not that I'm complaining, but sometimes a change of pace is nice. Have a lovely Friday and a glorious weekend!

I am born-again

The other day I was talking to one of the other ladies in the office. The conversation ranged all over, but when I mentioned that I was newly married she got a concerned look on her face and said, "Wow, how old are you?" I responded that I was 23 and my husband 22. She proceeded to tell me that her divorce was just finalized. She was married at 22 to a man who claimed to be "born-again" (she mentioned this because I mentioned that I am a born-again Christian). Despite the fact that she had told her ex-husband that she was Buddhist, they both decided that religion would not play a part in their marriage. It didn't take long for her to realize that he was a lazy drunkard (those are her words) and she filed for divorce. She is now 26 and determined not to get married again. She also was really scared to offend me by things she was saying.

I've thought about that often as I've gotten to know this woman a little better. Sometimes I think how hard it must be to be married and divorced by the age of 26. Most times I think, why in the world would this guy want to marry a woman who didn't share in his faith? And then after he married her, how could he profane the Name of the Lord by living the way he did? Not only has he pushed this woman away from Christ, but he has made it that much harder for anyone to be a Christian around her. What was he thinking???

But then I catch myself. I catch myself thinking I would never do that. And I realize, I may already have pushed someone away from Christ. If I haven't, I'm sure that I will at some point because the simple fact is, I'm still a sinner. I still choose the wrong, even when I know the right thing to do. I am not perfect and won't be for as long as I'm living on this earth. I am not above doing exactly what this man did.

So I ask myself, how am I different from any other person in this world? From those who don't know Christ as their Savior, I can say that I am truly blessed to have the Holy Spirit living inside me, giving me the ability to choose to do what honors God. I have forgiveness by the blood of Jesus Christ and I know that I will be in heaven when I die because of His atoning death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. I will not gain salvation by bringing food or clothing to the homeless or by donating money to charities or by being a good person. These things mean nothing in the face of a Holy God who can see right through my "good" deeds. I am forgiven of all my sins by God's amazing grace! Every day I should be humbled by these truths and so many more from the Bible. Every morning I should awake and praise God that I do not live in fear of death. I live knowing that this world is not my home. No matter what happens to this body, my soul will live on in heaven, praising Him for all eternity. What an amazing thought!

Yet I'm still left with some questions. How will I live my life today to show that I am different? How will I show that Jesus Christ does make a difference in my life? Will I work hard for the glory of God rather than to obtain more things? Will I maintain joy in the face of trials? Will I praise the Lord when He gives much or little? Will I be generous and loving to those who have great physical need? Will I be equally loving to those who seem to have everything together, but lack the one thing that really matters?

I wonder sometimes how non-Christians see Christians. Do we appear as though life is easy and things are always good? Do we come across as judgmental, always pointing a finger at someone doing something wrong? Do they see love in our eyes when we realize that there are so many in this world who are perishing and don't know or don't care? Or do they see pity, pride, arrogance? Are we just voices in an angry crowd or do we truly know how to live the lives that Jesus told us to live--the life He modeled for us?

Boring me

We are supposed to have a working phone line in our home TODAY! I hope it actually happens :-)

Um... I'm boring today. No, not bored, boring. Yesterday I made chocolate chip cookies and read almost all night. It was lovely and I've almost finished my book!

Pretty soon I'll be helping stuff envelopes with paychecks, which means I won't be boring anymore. YAY! But for now, I'm going to code invoices. Someone needs to get Happy to post on here so it's not so boring reading what I write all the time...

They're here!!!

Here are the long awaited wedding photos: http://lukasinla.com/photos/Gilmore/index.htm

I actually haven't looked at them yet because for some reason there is an error with the Flash Player on my computer... At lunch I will try a different computer :-) Enjoy!

Our copy machine gun

I've noticed that our copy machine (which is in the room right next to the front lobby where I sit) makes this really strange noise whenever it is out of paper. Most days I think nothing of it, although it is a little annoying when it happens. However, this morning two of the older men who work here (they're in their 60s I'd guess) were in there when it happened. Apparently this was the first time they experienced it because one of them shouted out "What the? Take cover!" That's right, when the copy machine is out of paper it converts to a machine gun. Who says nothing exciting ever happens in an office environment? Seriously. It can get downright DANGEROUS!

Other excitement... The phones stopped working on Friday afternoon so I got to leave a little early. I got home at 5:05. I wanted to come in and say to Happy's dropped jaw, "Wow, traffic was really great today!" But, he wasn't home when I got there and didn't get home until about 5:45. It worked out just fine though. I had dinner mostly ready when he came in and we ate earlier than normal.

Today when I came in, the phones still weren't working. After about two hours of me sitting here coding and checking invoices, our IT guy, Erik, brought out a cell phone and said that all the calls were being forwarded to the cell phone until the fiasco was sorted out. I learned a little today how to use a Verizon phone, which was a great bonus to the lack of a working phone in the office; but alas, the phone is back in working order. Actually, I'd much prefer the phone to work properly than to use the cell phone. As it turns out, AT&T turned off the WRONG phone line and put ours back on once they figured out their mistake (without any sort of apology or compensation). I'm wondering if I'll ever trust AT&T again...

Well, since it's nearly 4, I'm going to get some reading in! I'm a little over halfway through Munich Signature and am loving it! I think I'll finish it this week :-) Have a lovely Monday evening!

Wedding pictures

I forgot one thing... I was going to mention that my wonderful and talented sister-in-law has posted some of our wedding pictures on my brother's website. If you are interested in checking them out go here.

Little Onion

That's the name of the place we went to for lunch. It was really good, just as I was told by several people in our office. Then again, I might have guessed that by the fact that it was PACKED. I was told it was "A hole in the wall with really good food." They fulfilled my expectations :-)

It was pretty cool that Happy came to see where I work. He didn't really get a grand tour, but he did get to see "my" desk in the very front of the whole office. VERY exciting!

Ok, it's a really quiet and boring day here in the office and I'm feeling particularly boring so I'll end before I babble on about nothing, trying to fill up space. Have a lovely afternoon!

Alas, No Pictures

So I keep trying to post engagement pictures through the wireless network that I'm picking up from someone else, but for some reason, I can't do it. The new date for our phone working is Wednesday, August 23. Then, our DSL should be ready to go a few days later. So I promise that before September there will be pictures on this blog.

This morning, I got up at 5:15 with Amy and got ready for the day. Recently, I've been getting up about an hour after Amy wakes up. But this morning I tested out my route to work (school). I rode my bike (donated by my dad) to the bus stop at Chapman and Beach. When the bus showed up, I pulled the bike rack on the front of the bus down to place mine in it. I had seen some other people do it, but had never done it myself so I had trouble figuring out how to secure my bike. I looked up to see that everyone had boarded the bus and the driver was shaking his head in frustration at me. He came out, showed me how to secure it, and then I got on the bus, trying to keep my head down to avoid the glares I knew were being thrown my way (question: Can you throw a glare? Was that a terrible figure of speeck? I think so). It was 6:54

I got off the bus at Warner and Beach, disengaged my bike (successfully) from the rack and rode the short way down Warner to school. I showed up just before 7:30. 7:30 is when I will need to be at work every morning, so I think I will try to catch the bus a little earlier and show up with more time to spare next time.

Later today, I'll be taking a few routes to get to Irvine and meet Amy for lunch. That ride should take about an hour.

In other pertinent news, I just started J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism. Scott gave it to me for my birthday. I'm only 17 pages into it but it's very interesting that many of the things challenging orthodox theology then are the same things challenging it now. This book is still relevant. Thanks, Scott.

Okay, I'm gone.

SO exciting!

My fish tasted good and the lemon pepper sauce came out great! I'm sure many were waiting to hear how it all turned out....

I ordered a set of four Tae Bo VHS tapes on amazon.com the other day. I remember my mom getting them a while back and paying more than the $9.99 I paid for them. Since these tapes came out in 1999 there have been others, but I like the old ones. You know when you just get used to one exercise tape and you don't want to switch? If not, trust me, it happens. I'm looking forward to getting them, except now I'll be making more noise in the morning :-\ Hopefully Happy sleeps through it!

Today is payday #2 in my office and I am the one that helps Rebecca (my immediate boss) to stuff all the envelopes. Something I appreciate about this office--I get paid every week for the following week of work. There is no one week delay and I don't have to wait every other week to get paid. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Angie went to Costco today and brought back approximately 800 lbs. of food. Maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but she had two guys bringing it all in on a rolling cart. There was a LOT. Angie is one of the few women in our office and she has been here almost as long as the company has been in business (since 1947). I think she has been here longer than any of the VPs. Actually, I was told that she changed some of their diapers! That has to be strange, but it does show that loyalty is important. I hope to be a part of this company for a while, Lord-willing, so I'm glad to hear that it is well established. Yep, this is a boring post so I'll end it now. Maybe something interesting will happen soon and I'll have a more exciting post for once...

WAKE UP!!!!!

Time to take a break from coding invoices and reading because for some reason I'm somewhat sleepy today. I will say that I've been sleeping better though, which is WONDERFUL!

Last night's menu was BBQ marinated chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. I think it came out pretty good. One question, does parsley have an actual taste? I've always thought it's used for color rather than any flavor it adds. Anyone know? Tonight's menu is breaded fish with lemon pepper sauce (I think) drizzled over it. We're also having pasta salad and a mix of peas and corn. I'll let you know how the fish and sauce come out seeing as I've never actually done this before :-D

I must say, I do enjoy making dinner. Even though I come home tired and sick of traffic, I like playing around in the kitchen. Last night I made more salsa with the recipe my mom-in-law gave me. Tonight I'm going to make more guacamole. Yum... I like guacamole.

It seems like most of my posting is about food. Change of subject. Does anyone know what sorts of indoor potted plants are really difficult to kill? I ask this because I would like to have a plant or two in our apartment, but I'm afraid I will kill it (since I've done so many times in the past... then again, most of the times in the past have been times that I forget to water it... hopefully now I'll remember). So, in light of this, does anyone have any recommendations of plants that don't need a lot of sunlight and don't die easily? I'd appreciate any input. Mom, I'm sure you could offer some suggestions...

We are getting a new phone number since we are switching to Verizon. Hm. I wonder if we are technically "switching" since we never really had a telephone line from AT&T that worked... Anyway, we should have a phone by next Wednesday and internet shortly thereafter, which means wedding pictures will be posted soon!!!! YAY!!! Well, there it is, my post for the day. Have a lovely afternoon!

Cloudy morning

What a wonderful weekend! Saturday Happy and I went to help Heather move and got to see not only Heather, but Nick, Travis, Brian, Becca and Christie! Coming home made me realize how blessed we are to have friends who are willing to help in a moment's notice. Plus, it was good to see everyone after moving to a new place where we have yet to meet many people.

A random thing I've noticed about myself (which I'm sure Happy has noticed already) is that I almost always forget to put silverware and serving spoons on the dinner table. Actually, I usually forget them for every meal. I bring all the food out and sit down and then I realize that I can't move the food from the pot to our plates. Is this something I just need to get used to? I hope so!

Tonight I'm cutting Happy's hair. The other day he wet his hair and stuck it up in every direction (which he is accustomed to doing from time to time) and said "Whoa! My hair is REALLY long! Hey... can you cut my hair soon?" He's a funny one.

Bree called in to work today which means I don't have a whole bunch to do. That also means that I'm really glad I brought my book. I'm only about 60 pages in, but my friend Jeremy has been reading through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and asking some poignant questions that are making me want to read that book next. It's one of those books that I've always wanted to read and never gotten around to.

This is a seriously random post, but one more thing I wanted to mention. Happy learned this morning that apparently AT&T can't be our provider. He might write more on that, but now he'll be contacting Verizon and hopefully they will have much better customer service than AT&T! I wonder if that means our "home" phone number (which never actually worked for us) will change? I guess we'll find out! Back to work. Have a lovely day!