Turning the Pages

Oooh, look! Labels!

2010-01-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Over there on the right side of the blog, you can now easily search through my blog archives by subject! Pretty cool, huh? :-)

A new look for the blog!

2010-01-05T14:45:00.001-08:00

I decided to update the look of my blog and the "About Me" section -- hope you enjoy it! I've also added some new links in the sidebar to some of my favorite blogs.

(For those of you reading this on Facebook, you'll have to click on the "View Original Post" link to get to my actual blog!)

Hopefully some new posts coming soon! Happy 2010, everyone!

Fell off the blogging wagon again...

2009-11-20T00:16:00.000-08:00

Where DOES the time go? :-)

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving next week...we are driving up to Oregon on Saturday and are excited to see family and friends. I can't wait to spend the week at my sister's house, hanging out with her and my nephews and niece! Praying for safe travels, as there will most likely be stormy weather on our drive up (once we reach the Northwest), and most likely snow in the mountain passes. After having been spoiled with sunshine here in California recently, I am not really looking forward to all the cold, wet, windy weather next week...but it will be worth it to spend time with my family!

And I know that most of you have already heard our news, but I am so blessed and thankful that we are expecting our first baby! I will be 15 weeks along on Sunday...over the past few years there have been three family Thanksgiving gatherings where my sister was the one pregnant, and now it's going to be me...surreal! Praising God for the blessing of new life this Thanksgiving...it's a miracle, for sure! And His timing is absolutely perfect!

Praying you all find many reasons to be thankful this year as well!

Miniature...

2009-08-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

I bought a basket of cherry tomatoes yesterday, and when I got home I discovered the smallest cherry tomato I've ever seen. Isn't it cute? A perfect little miniature tomato. I just wanted to share! :-)

Next to a regular tomato and a regular-sized cherry tomato for comparison:

Summer Fun!

2009-08-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you not on Facebook, I just published an album of some pictures from our summer. You can view it by clicking here, even if you're not a Facebook member!

It feels like this summer has gone by so quickly...of course, being in Sacramento we'll still get "summery" weather well into October, most likely! But soon, we'll be able to break out the sweaters and start lighting fires in our fireplace again. That will be nice!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer as well! Enjoy the soon-coming change of seasons as we head into the fall!

How do 7 months go by so quickly?

2009-08-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

Back on January 7th I said, "So maybe one of my goals this year should be blogging more often!"

Um...yeah. In hindsight, the word "maybe" in that sentence obviously carried the most weight!

I follow a few other blogs that are just, well, amazing. And these bloggers post often, if not daily, with deep spiritual insights or great recipes and nutritional information, or beautiful photos. And I get a bit intimidated and feel like it would be too much work to even attempt to create an interesting blog, and then I just end up not blogging anything at all! But then I have to ask myself...why do I think my blog needs to compare with the blogs of others? I'm me, and they're them, and we have different lives and different voices. My blog can be whatever I want it to be! That's kind of fun, when you think about it. Such possibility! Such potential! And I guess that means I have the right to take a 7-month hiatus from blogging if I feel like it. So I won't apologize for the break...but I will say that I feel a renewed spark of interest in blogging, and have some ideas for this little corner of the Internet that I call my own. And if you want to check back from time to time, hopefully you will not be disappointed! :-)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

So maybe one of my goals this year should be blogging more often! :-)

I'm excited about this new year, hoping it will be better in many ways than 2008 was. Not that this last year was bad, but it was just so...busy, what with planning and preparing to move, all the decisions about the house, actually moving, having a lot of out-of-town guests, hosting events, getting settled and buying furniture and decorating and, and, and... In the midst of all the activity, a lot of important things kind of got lost in the shuffle, like being more intentional in my relationships -- my relationship with God, my relationships with family and friends. I want to be more intentional this year...to not just let life swirl around me!

I want to learn to like exercising, because I am WAY too sedentary. I won a free six-month membership to the health club my church owns, and as a part of membership you get three free sessions with a personal trainer. So I met Andrea this week and she is going to help me figure out a good workout routine tailored to my fitness level and goals. I'm glad, because I don't seem to have the motivation to design an exercise program on my own!

Most of all, I really want to have a deeper hunger and thirst for God's Word and for communion with Him...I want my prayer life to become more vibrant! I have so much "head knowledge" about the Bible and prayer floating around in my mind...I need to grab a hold of it and pin it down in my heart, so it becomes part of the fabric of my daily life. I want to live out what I know. I want to start running purposefully in the race again, instead of just skipping along staring at the flowers on the side of the track.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

There are so many other goals that I could name for this year, but that's the most important...throwing off the sins and weights and distractions that slow me down and instead choosing to run this race of the Christian life with endurance, living by the Spirit and daily coming to Christ to let Him fill and lead me. May 2009 be a year of great spiritual growth for all of us!

Some pictures of the season!

2008-12-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we hosted Andrew's company Christmas party (20 people) at our home. We had to move our sectional out of the living room and into the bedroom to make room for the tables, but it all turned out beautifully, thanks to Andrew's sisters helping with the decorating and set-up! Here are a few pictures, from different sides of the room:

The table in the entryway:

Here's a photo of Andrew and me at the party (he hadn't gotten his food yet...he's not on a diet or anything)!

Our sister-in-law's father set up a little photo studio in our guest bedroom and took pictures of all the couples at the party. Here's one he took of us!

We have had a 6-foot artificial Christmas tree for the last few years, but since our ceiling is taller in the living room now, we got a 9-foot pre-lit tree this year, and put the shorter tree in the back TV room. So we have our pretty, elegant tree with white lights and blue, silver, and white ornaments in the front room and our cute, cozy tree with colored lights and red, gold, and bronze ornaments in the back!

Praying your Christmas season is joy-filled and blessed!

A trip to see the family!

2008-12-10T23:43:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed a great visit with my family Thanksgiving week...here are a few pictures from our time there!

Anna with Aaron and Ben:

Mom and Dad enjoying an after-Thanksgiving-feast nap:

Ben and Aaron playing in the tent I brought them ($9.99 at Ikea!):

Sisters:

Here's an adorable video of Ben and Aaron playing in a hall cupboard. They are so cute!

And finally, a video interview I did with Ben...now that he's 3 1/2, he has a bit more to say (if you're reading this via e-mail, you'll need to go to my blog to see the videos)!

I look forward to seeing them all again in February when I go up to help out when Baby Grace is born!

What were they thinking? (Part 2)

2008-10-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some more things I discovered about youth group in the 1970s!

2) Being "PC" was obviously not something anyone was concerned about yet:

COMBINED GIRL WEIGHT GUESS: Choose three boys and send them out of the room. Ask the girls (three) for their weights. Add them, and tell audience total. Then bring the guys back into the room, and ask them to guess the total weight of the three girls. Each one guesses, and the one who is closest to the total wins prize; losers get a penalty.

I have a feeling this game would never fly in today's weight-obsessed culture with eating disorders abounding! Besides, isn't there some kind of unspoken rule that you never ask a lady how much she weighs?

THE SIT DOWN GAME: 1. Ask the entire audience to stand. 2. Instruct them to sit down when the "if" characteristic applies to them and remain seated. 3. Encourage them to be as honest as possible. 4. If you have trouble because most are not sitting down, then give some general characteristics, such as: a. Sit down if you are under 15 (over 18, etc.). b. Sit down if you have on white socks. c. Sit down if you are in love.

OK, first of all I have to say that I did play this game in youth group. But we were given things like, "Sit down if you are wearing jeans; if you have brown hair; if you've never had a cavity" -- things like that. They do have some normal suggestions like that in here, but get a load of some of the things they also suggest for this game!

SIT DOWN IF:

You kiss with your eyes open
You went to the drive-in this weekend but didn't see the movie
You dated a loser this past weekend
You haven't taken a bath in a week
You kiss sloppy
You have a pimple on your nose
You are ugly
Your nose is crooked
You read this month's issue of Playboy
You believe in necking on the first date
You believe in necking before the first date
You still suck your thumb
You wear "baby doll" pajamas
You have dandruff
The person in front of you has dandruff
You walk funny
You weigh over 200 pounds
You are going steady, but wish you weren't
You have ever "two-timed" your girlfriend or boyfriend
You are cross-eyed
Your mother dresses you
You have never been kissed
The person in front of you smells
You are on a diet
You aren't on a diet but should be
You aren't on a diet, but the person next to you should be
You are really good looking

Can you seriously even BELIEVE some of these? My word, times have changed! If a youth pastor played a game where he said stuff like this today, he could probably be sued for something-or-other!

3) Youth pastors in the '70s must not have been too concerned about liability issues:

EXCEDRIN WAMP: Have each boy (4 to 6 -- or as many as 100 to 300) put a paper bag loosely over his head down to his ears. Each boy has a rolled newspaper. The object is to knock the other guy's hat off without losing one's own. No one is allowed to hold his hat on.

Yes, let's set a bunch of teenaged boys loose with paper bags over their heads and rolled-up newspapers, giving them permission to whack each other aggressively over and over. Imagine the fun -- especially if there are several hundred of them!

STABBING DUEL: Have two boys tie left wrists together. Each takes a banana in his right hand. The object is to one-handedly peel the banana and stab the other boy in the face. The first to do so is the winner.

Unfortunately, there was no picture accompanying this description. Maybe a picture of a boy with a banana sticking out of one eye wouldn't have made it past the editors of the book. By the way, do you notice how they left the girls out of these particular games?

PASS IT ON: The entire group forms a circle. Everyone is given an object which can be large, small or any shape (such as a bowling ball, a trash can, a shoe, etc.). On a signal, everyone passes his object to the person on the right, keeping the objects moving at all times. When a person drops any object, he must leave the game, but his object remains in. As the game progresses, more people leave the game, making it harder and harder to avoid dropping an object since there are more objects than people very soon. The winner is the last person(s) to "drop" out.

Yes, because passing a bowling ball or other heavy object around quickly in a circle will surely NOT end with said bowling ball or other heavy object being dropped on someone's toes.

4) I can't think of a sentence to describe this next game...let's just say it's somewhat lacking in spiritual discernment.

PLATE HYPNOTISM: Explain to audience that you have had some experience (in college) with hypnotism. Ask for volunteers, "Who will try hard to be hypnotized?" Give them a plate full of magic hypnotic power which they hold in front of them with one hand and you do the same. Then the volunteer does everything you do while looking you straight in the eyes. You rub finger in top of plate and rub between eyes over and over. Then rub edges and finally the bottom of the plate and rub between eyes. You have charred the bottom of the volunteer's plate with a match, so he rubs black soot on his eyes, unaware of what is going on. Work out a good solid routine for this and it is guaranteed to be a winner.

Guaranteed to be a winner! Unless the kids in your youth group go home and tell their parents that the youth pastor tried to hypnotize them.

5) And this game is just wrong on so many levels...

FUNNEL TRICK: Place a funnel in a boy's pants (in front). Have him tip his head back, then place a nickel on his forehead. The object is for him to drop the nickel into the funnel three times in succession. The third time, pour a cup of water into the funnel while his head is tipped back.

Mother: "Johnny, what did you do at youth group tonight?"

Johnny: "They stuck a funnel down the front of my pants and soaked me with cold water!"

(Even though in this picture it looks like the youth group kid is soaking the youth pastor -- which is slightly more disturbing.)
---------------------------------

Well, that ends our "blast from the past" look at one segment of 1970s youth group culture. Hope you enjoyed it! :-)

What were they thinking?

2008-10-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

As the director of our church's library, I go through all of the books that are donated. We recently had a retired pastor donate his entire personal library: commentaries, Bible dictionaries, books on Christian living and theology and counseling; and then there were these two gems:

Wow, those covers alone just draw you in, don't they! Curious as to what it would have been like to attend a church youth group function in the mid-1970s, I began to thumb through the pages. Here are some interesting things I discovered (any italics in the quotes were added by me for emphasis):

1) Youth groups in the '70s offered plenty of wholesome activities for teenaged boys and girls, they of the raging hormones and conflicted emotions:

SQUIRM RACE: Place a volleyball (or ball of similar size) between the foreheads of a boy and a girl couple. Without using their hands, they must work the ball down to their knees and back up again. Their hands must be kept behind their backs and the two must start over if they drop the ball. Couples do not have to be of the opposite sex. Two guys or two girls will work fine but a boy-girl couple usually adds to the fun of this event.

Oh, yes...I can only imagine the fun, especially if your partner is the cute guy you've been eyeing across the pews!

GREAT SPAGHETTI RELAY: Divide the group into teams. Each person gets a potato chip (the larger, the better). Each team lines up, and the first person in line holds his potato chip in his mouth. A wet spaghetti noodle is then draped over the chip and the person must run to a set point and back without dropping the noodle or breaking the potato chip. On returning, he passes the noodle on to the next person, who does the same thing. The game continues, and the first team to finish is the winner. The rules: (1) No hands are allowed. (2) If the noodle drops off, breaks, or becomes mutilated, the player must return to the line, get a new noodle, and start all over.

This game must be especially exciting when you have the teams lined up boy-girl-boy-girl, as evidenced by this picture included with the game description:

Why does this guy remind me of Peter Parker from the 70s TV show "The Amazing Spiderman"? Must be the hair...

(Off-topic aside: I did not realize until doing a search for this picture that Nicholas Hammond, who played Peter Parker, also played one of the Von Trapp children, Friedrich, in The Sound of Music!)

ESKINOSE: Divide group into two teams, alternating by sex. First person has lipstick smear on his nose. Winning team is the one who can pass the lipstick the farthest in thirty seconds by Eskimo kissing (rubbing noses). Winners get Eskimo Pies.

See above picture again for an idea of what this game would have looked like in action!

And finally, we have...

JOHN-JOHN: This can be used for groups up to 500. Form a circle using everyone. Selected leaders start the game by running to a person of the opposite sex and yelling, "What's your name?" The person replies, "Linda." The leader looks behind himself and yells, "Linda-Linda...Linda-Linda-Linda" while doing a little dance similar to Mexican Hat Dance. The person (Linda in this case) falls in behind the leader, putting her hands on his waist, and together they run to the opposite side of the circle. This time they both do the above together. After they finish the little dance, Linda makes an about face. The leader does the same and grabs on to Linda's waist. The new person grabs on to the previous leader's waist. Now all three proceed to the opposite side of the circle with Linda leading. She would go to a boy. Each chain continues to get longer until everyone is chosen. There would be many chains and the object would be to keep from getting hit by the other chains.

Whoa there, guy in the stripey shirt...you're getting just a little bit too close for comfort to the young lady in the white mini-dress!

Stay tuned for more inappropriate youth group games from the 1970s!

TO BE CONTINUED...

It's a Picnik!

2008-09-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a cool website I've used to play around with my pictures. You have to register, but it's free. Below are some examples of pictures I've "Picnik'ed" -- enjoy!

http://www.picnik.com/

And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with photos!

Where did the summer go?

2008-09-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, time sure flies! We have had an eventful summer, full of overnight guests and weekend BBQs and getting the new house in order (I haven't forgotten about posting before and after pictures of the house...I will try to get to that soon)!

So anyway, my sister said she was tired of checking my blog and always seeing the same thing week after week, so here you go, sis...a new blog post just for you! :-)

I'll even throw in a picture of Skipper smiling for the camera!

Hope everyone's having a blessed week! :-)

Off-roading in a Minivan

2008-07-24T14:41:00.001-07:00

So a few weeks ago, my sister Anna and my nephews, Ben and Aaron, were visiting us while Anna's husband Matt was in Mexico with their youth group. Matt dropped Anna and the boys off near our place on their way down south, and picked them up again on their way back up to Oregon. Well, we actually had to drive Anna and the boys to meet up with the group in Ione, a city about 45 minutes from Sacramento. At least, it was supposed to be only a 45-minute drive...

See, it all started when I printed out directions on how to get to Ione using some computer software I have. Having never been to Ione, I assumed it was giving me good directions. We were in a rented minivan with NO navigation system (something I never want to be without again), and the trip turned into a real comedy of errors.

So here we were: my brother Nate, my sister Anna, the two little boys and me, off to take a leisurely little drive to Ione. Ione is out in the country, by the way -- kind of the middle of nowhere. Keep that in mind as you read.

Our first mistake was missing a road we were supposed to turn on. We just kept going and going and going...and weren't seeing the road. Finally the road we were on spit us out onto the freeway, so we realized we must have missed it and backtracked until we saw it. We turned onto this road and soon discovered that what started as a road quickly turned into little more than a trail. The road got narrower and narrower and was soon just dirt instead of cement. All we saw for miles around was farmland and fences...no houses, no cars...nothing. We would round a bend or crest a hill and see nothing for miles but more of the same...and we had no cell phone reception!

Here's what we saw:

We debated about whether we should keep going, hoping we'd find a main road again, or whether we should just go back the way we came. We decided to press on. We finally did come to a main road, only to come to a place a little bit later where we weren't sure which way to go -- and chose what we later discovered was the wrong way: we ended up on yet ANOTHER out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere road with barely any signs of civilization around us. And this road was in WORSE condition than the first road -- we were bouncing over potholes and swerving to avoid big piles of gravel, backing up to avoid driving into ditches, carefully lining our wheels up with the ruts of previous travelers who'd managed to navigate the craziness...it was so bad it was funny! We were not just in the middle of nowhere -- we were in the MIDDLE of the middle of nowhere!

Anna started singing, "Five passengers set sail that day for a three-hour tour..." and we all laughed. "We should have brought Skipper and Gilligan!" I responded. (Those are my cats, for those of you who don't know!) Every time we got to the top of a hill and saw nothing more than miles of this same road stretching before us, we had to laugh -- it was just too crazy! Meanwhile, we knew that Matt was waiting for us and probably wondering what on earth had happened! We couldn't call him, because we had no cell reception.

FINALLY, we saw some farmhouses in the distance. We stopped at one to ask the way to Ione, because we didn't want to do any more minivan off-roading, thank you very much! When the farmer discovered which way we'd come, he was incredulous. "That seven-mile stretch of bad road? I've lived here for eight years and have only been on that road four times, and only when absolutely necessary!" He graciously gave us directions and we arrived in Ione about 2 1/2 hours after we'd left Sacramento -- I told Matt I'd just been trying to sneak in a little extra time with my sis! ;-)

I learned several things through this experience:

1) Either make sure you have a GPS system in your vehicle when headed to a new location, or get good directions from a local!

2) If you are stuck in a minivan, lost in the California countryside, make sure you have traveling companions by your side who can take it all in stride and laugh at it with you. It helps not having uptight, stressed-out passengers! Even though Anna was anxious to get to her husband after not seeing him for 10 days, she didn't get a bad attitude or blame me for getting lost, which I really appreciate! :-)

Hope you enjoyed the chronicle of our little adventure!

Long time, no blog!

2008-07-12T03:49:00.001-07:00

Whew...we have finally moved into our new house -- the big move day was June 19 (Andrew remembered as we were in the middle of moving that the day we moved to Sacramento from Vancouver was June 19, 1999, so I guess June 19 is just our day for moving)! Two days after we moved, some of our closest friends (we all met at Bible college) came to stay with us for a week, and the day they left my sister Anna and two little nephews, Ben and Aaron, came to stay for 10 days! They left last Sunday, and on Tuesday my parents arrived for a visit! They will fly home this Sunday evening. We have really enjoyed sharing our new home with everyone, even though it's been a whirlwind few weeks!

I plan to share some before and after pics of our new home soon...I just want to get a few more things done (like curtains and artwork put up) before I take the "after" shots! Thanks for your patience! :-)

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the last few weeks...enjoy!

Becky and LaSarah, my two best friends from college, at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA, where we took a tour to see how the famous candies are made!

LaSarah with her husband Nate and their kiddos, Josh and AnnaLuisa, posing on some "toadstools" at FairyTale Town in Sacramento.

My brother Nate with our nephews Ben and Aaron at a little community parade we went to see.

My sister Anna and me; pardon my squinting -- it was bright!

And just a little something to tide you over until I can get more before and after pics ready, here's the circular fireplace in our living room as it was when we purchased the house:

And here's what it looks like now, after we commissioned a local artist to paint it (the scenes are from the Northwest, where I'm from -- Multnomah Falls and a scene from the Columbia River Gorge). We're quite pleased with the end result!

Hope...

2008-06-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

During a recent worship-based prayer gathering with two friends of mine, the Holy Spirit kept bringing up the theme of hope. We read passages like:

Psalm 71:4-6
"Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You."

Psalm 33:16-18
"No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy."

Romans 5:1-5
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

1 Peter 1:13
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Keeping that last verse in mind, an acronym for hope came to me while we were praying:

Having
One
Perspective --
Eternity!

I love this simple reminder.

And I love that biblical hope is not just wishful thinking ("Oh, I hope it will happen..."); it's a confident expectation that what God promised WILL come to pass! This hope is the anchor that keeps us from drifting away in doubt and discouragement when life gets tough. In fact, I think God's Word has something to say about that very thing!

Hebrews 6:17-19a
"Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

This hope anchors my soul:

...when remodeling projects seem to go on forever and a day!

...when I'm faced with new and challenging responsibilities in ministry.

...when the price of gas and other costs of living keep rising and rising.

And this hope anchors my soul:

...when I watch the news and hear about devastation, despair, and other discouraging things around the world.

...when I see people I love making destructive life choices that don't honor the Lord.

...as Andrew and I approach our 13th wedding anniversary as a childless couple.

The world doesn't understand how we can still have hope in spite of both the minor irritations and the serious concerns of life. To me, it's simple: having one perspective -- eternity. When I make a conscious effort to look at the circumstances of my life in light of eternity, God's Spirit whispers encouragement to my heart: "Yes, this isn't all there is! Look up! Look ahead!" My life is eternal, and my time here is but a breath in comparison to what awaits me! I trust with all my heart that my Heavenly Father, who loves me so much He sent Jesus to die for me so I could be a part of His family, is working everything together for my good and His glory, and that fills me with such peace and joy!

I pray that these thoughts will be an encouragement to you as well. I leave you with a final benediction from God's Word:

Romans 15:13

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Sorry for the long absence!

2008-05-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy lately! We are finally going to be moving to the new house, hopefully starting at the beginning of this next week -- we'll probably move a little bit each day (the boxes, that is) and then choose one day to move all the big furniture and stuff. We have friends from out of town coming on June 21 to spend a week with us, so I need to have everything set up and the house decorated and all that by then!

I have to say that I'm very thankful for a friend of ours from Vancouver, WA, Michael Makarenko, who drove down with a friend of his on May 20 to help things at the house get done faster...we appointed him as "supervisor" over all the other workers, and it's thanks to his hard work that we will be able to move in this week...so, THANK YOU, MICHAEL!!! He and his friend are driving back to Vancouver this Sunday.

Hard to believe we signed papers for the house on December 26 and we're finally going to be living there! It's seemed like a dream for so long, and now it will finally be reality -- thank You, Lord!

Four Things (I've Been Tagged!)

2008-05-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Suzanne tagged me, so here we go:

Four jobs I've held:

1) Grounds worker at Multnomah Bible College (the summer after high school) in Portland, OR

2) Part-time secretary at my uncle's furnace cleaning company in Portland, OR

3) Part-time church secretary at First Baptist Church of Vancouver, WA

4) Receptionist at the K-LOVE Radio headquarters here in Sacramento, CA

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1) "Anne of Green Gables"

2) "Sense and Sensibility"

3) "The Sound of Music"

4) "The Princess Bride"

Four places I've lived (in order):

1) Portland, OR

2) Santiago, Chile

3) Vancouver, WA

4) Sacramento, CA

Four TV shows I like:

1) "Little House on the Prairie"

2) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

3) ?

4) ?

Sorry, I can't really think of any other favorites...I'm not much of a TV watcher, especially lately!

Four favorite foods:

1) Homemade soup

2) A big, fresh salad

3) Cream top yogurt, all different flavors

4) Homemade pizza

Where would I rather be?

(As long as my husband is with me, too) :-)

1) Visiting my family in Oregon

2) On an extended stay at a Bed & Breakfast on the Scottish moors

3) On an extended stay at a Bed & Breakfast in the Irish hills

4) On an extended stay at a Bed & Breakfast in the English countryside

Four people I'm tagging (for those new to this, it means you copy and paste this onto your blog and put your own answers):

1) Anna

2) Melissa

3) Jenn

4) Cathy

Weekend Fun

2008-04-29T22:59:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I spent the weekend in Napa, California, attending an event with Strategic Renewal, one of the ministries I volunteer for. The former pastor of our church, Daniel Henderson, is the President of Strategic Renewal, and it was great for Andrew and I to be able to spend some time with him and his wife, Rosemary, while at the event. They are a great encouragement to us! We were in a beautiful location, surrounded by wonderful people, and able to spend quality time worshiping the Lord and being reminded of why this ministry is so worthy of our support!

After the event ended on Sunday afternoon, Andrew and I drove to the nearby town of Calistoga to see California's Old Faithful Geyser. Every 20-40 minutes it erupts, shooting a stream of hot water high into the sky for a few minutes. It was pretty cool! Here's a video:

There were also some animals at the same location...goats, sheep, and llamas. Here's a video of me interacting with some of them!

We had a relaxing drive home, thankful for the chance to spend a few fun days together exploring some places we'd never been before!

(Don't worry...that's not a working well! The bottom of the well is level with the ground!)

Orlando Recap

2008-04-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend in Orlando, Florida attending a retreat/meeting with four other members of the Board of Directors of Hannah's Prayer Ministries. The flights there and back were long for me (around seven hours of travel time each way), but worth every minute to be able to spend time with these awesome ladies (Jenn from Florida, Arica from Ohio, Becky from Arkansas, and Michele, who is currently living in Puerto Rico)!

We stayed at a cute little vacation house with 80's-era decor that provided endless amusement (just imagine everything teal and coral, with lots of floral and lace motifs -- and butterflies). Our meeting was productive, and the rest of the weekend was very fun! Jenn, who is from the area, has a friend who works at Epcot who was able to get us in for free using her guest pass! The weather was beautiful, and we saw some Christian skywriting, which apparently is not uncommon around there these days (hence the very cool picture above). We didn't see any alligators, thankfully! We did see a turtle crossing the road, though. And on Saturday, we had lunch with some other Hannah's Prayer members who were in the area.

(At this point, some of you may be wondering what in the world Hannah's Prayer is...it's a ministry for married, Christian women who are dealing with all aspects of infertility and pregnancy loss -- the major aspect of the ministry is an online Community Forums message board, where I am very active. And I'm on the Board of Directors, hence my traveling to the meeting!)

So here, for your enjoyment, are some pictures from the weekend (most of them have just four of us because Jenn had her little 8-week-old daughter with her and couldn't come to Epcot with us)!

Arica, Sarah, Becky, Michele

Goofy wanted a kiss on the cheek, but I told him I didn't know if my husband would approve!

Jenn and little Lila

Splash!

2008-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today we drove over to the new house to check on progress (it's coming along slowly but surely - we're hoping to move in the first week of May; even though the whole house won't be done yet, the side with the most important rooms, like the kitchen and our bedroom and bathroom, will be). While we were there, we decided to clean the pool (turning on the filters and vacuum for a while, and skimming off all the leaves and bugs floating on top). Once the pool was clean, Andrew and I decided to dip our feet in the water for a bit -- it was in the mid-80s here today, so quite warm! The water in the pool is still pretty chilly, but after a few minutes our feet got used to it and it felt quite refreshing!

A little later, I was trying to convince Nate that he should dip his feet in the pool too, since it felt so nice. But he didn't seem interested. We were sitting at a table on the patio, and I had my back to him, watching Andrew skim the pool. Next thing I know, Nate comes running past me and jumps into the pool, shorts and t-shirt and all (for a second I thought he was going to push Andrew in)!

So Nate was the first one of us to officially swim in the new pool...he looked like he was having such a fun time going off the diving board, and it looked so refreshing... Andrew was sweaty from being in the sun cleaning the pool, so we convinced him that he should go for a little swim, too. (I was not dressed appropriately, and we were planning to go shopping afterwards, so I didn't join in the fun!)

Here's Nate explaining how it all went down and doing a re-enactment, then a video of Andrew jumping in the first time (pardon my little shriek when the water almost hit the camera), and a few pictures! (If you're reading this post via e-mail and can't view the videos, you'll need to go to the blog itself to see them!)

Thanking the Lord today for beautiful, sunny weather, a refreshing pool, and a relaxing afternoon!

God's Amazing Creation...

2008-04-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the content of this week's post, I wanted to point out the link over there on the left of the page...did you know that you can sign up with your e-mail address and receive new blog posts that I write in your inbox? It's great for people who don't remember to check the blog regularly! So, if you haven't already signed up, you should! :-) You won't get any spam or anything, just my blog posts!

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And now, on to the topic of God's glorious creation! Last Friday, my brother and I decided to take a drive to Table Mountain in Oroville, CA. I'd read online about the beautiful wildflowers there this time of year, and we weren't disappointed! Hard to believe that come summer, this place will be mostly brown and dry. I think I will make it a yearly goal to visit Table Mountain around the beginning of April. It was so peaceful there! There weren't very many other people around, either. I could stand in one spot and all I saw was sky and grass and flowers and trees and rocks (and a few birds and butterflies and grazing cows) -- no wires or poles or cars or buildings...nothing man-made (except when we came across a broken-down fence on someone's cattle grazing land).

Being there was very refreshing for the soul, and then on the drive home we saw a glorious sunset...

Enjoy the photos!

The Enduring Things

2008-04-04T12:40:00.001-07:00

This poem by my favorite poet, Grace Noll Crowell, really expresses the cry of my heart today...I want to tear the grappling hooks of the world and its trivialities off my heart, thus to go forth, unhindered by worthless pursuits, to seek only the things that matter in eternity...

"The Enduring Things"

I will lay hold upon enduring things.

I am wearied with the din and noise and fret.

About me close, distracting, meager things

Grapple my soul -- Lord, help me to forget
The clamor of it. Grant me peace that stills,
Deep peace of quietness, and hope that cheers.
I lift my eyes to Thy strength-giving hills,
Steeped in the light of far eternal years.

I will lay hold upon enduring things:
Faith that illumines though the eyes be blind,
And joy continuous, a heart that sings,
And love that suffers long -- yet still is kind.
They are such paltry things I've bartered for,
I am soul-sick with the weariness it brings.
Now -- with high-lifted face I turn me, for
I will lay hold upon enduring things.

What God has joined together...

2008-04-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

While in Oregon, I was privileged to be part of a vow renewal ceremony held for my parents at the Christian counseling center they've been attending for a while now. My parents would be the first to admit that they have not had an ideal marriage relationship over the years -- both of them were dealing privately with various issues in their lives and neither of them put much effort into keeping their relationship strong. Through God's grace and following the counsel of Scripture and wise believers, my parents have made great strides over these past few months, both personally and as husband and wife, and we (their children) could not be happier about it! It is so refreshing to us to see the changes in how they interact, and especially in how they now hold hands and hug often (something we rarely saw before). All I can say is, thanks be to God! What we sometimes thought could never happen is now unfolding right before our eyes!

Just for fun, here is a picture of my parents on their wedding day, January 3, 1975

L-R: Al, my dad's counselor and head of the ministry; my brother, Nathan; Dad; Mom; me; my sister, Anna; my sister, Elisabeth

Dad and Mom...33 years of marriage and counting! :-)

Kittens are cute!

2008-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

While visiting my sister, I enjoyed getting to play with the kittens their cat Missy had -- they were about a month old. Enjoy the pictures! The black one was everyone's favorite...his name is George (but Ben pronounces it "Gorge") -- he's very curious and will just stare intently at you when you talk to him. He's also very fast!

Surprises are fun!!

2008-03-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, my brother and I drove up to Oregon to surprise my sister Anna for her 30th birthday...we showed up on her doorstep, along with our parents and younger sister, and gave her quite a shock! Here's the video of her reaction (sorry you have to stare at the door for so long...she didn't answer right away)!

We spent a few days at their house and enjoyed the time with our nephews Ben and Aaron...here are a few videos (I just love the one of Ben singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")!

Here are a few more cute shots of the boys that I took:

Aaron and Elmo coloring

Ben and his buddy Elmo

Nature walk on a beautiful day...

2008-03-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

The weather was lovely today, and my brother and I were able to take advantage of some free time in the afternoon to visit a nearby park with winding paths along a river. The weather was perfect for a walk, in the low 70s, the sky bright blue with puffy white clouds here and there. I didn't have my camera with me, but here's what we saw while on our walk:

A woodpecker, red squirrels, grey squirrels, a jackrabbit and a baby jackrabbit (which let me get close enough to almost touch it), wild turkeys, regular turkeys (with their tails all fanned out like the turkeys you see on Thanksgiving cards), four deer, butterflies, geese, ducks, magpies, a heron, and various other small birds, and a few miscellaneous insects! :-)

Next time I go to this park, I'm bringing my camera!

Thanking the Lord for His beautiful creation today!

Bacon Chocolate Bar, Anyone?

2008-03-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

My local Whole Foods store sells these bacon chocolate bars -- I had seen them there several months ago, but they must have sold out, because for the longest time they didn't have them. Then when I was there the other day, they had them back in stock, so I decided to give it a try!

It's called Mo's Bacon Bar by the Vosges chocolate company. It's deep milk chocolate (41% cacao) with applewood smoked bacon and Alder wood smoked salt.

From the picture you might get the impression it's just like a chocolate-covered slab of bacon, but really it's more like tiny little crunchy bacon bits throughout the bar (as well as the pieces of undissolved salt).

It's actually quite tasty if you like salty/sweet combinations. Have you ever had a breakfast plate of pancakes or waffles with eggs and bacon on the side, and then the maple syrup gets over everything? If you like the bacon with maple syrup on it, you'd like this. Some other things it reminded me of while I ate it:

* Chocolate covered pretzels

* Peanut M&Ms

* Trail mix (with salty nuts and chocolate chips)

The bacon taste is not extremely pronounced...really, bacon is just more of a "salty" taste than anything when you think about it!

So, if you ever get a chance to try it, I'd recommend it. I won't be buying them on a regular basis, but it's fun to be able to tell people I've eaten a bacon chocolate bar!

In sickness and in health...

2008-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

My poor hubby has been sick for the last few days. He came home from work early in the afternoon yesterday and was on the couch for the rest of the day and most of today. It's 5:00 PM and he just got up a little while ago. Last night he even fainted in the middle of the night! He had gotten up to get a drink of water, and he remembers feeling somewhat light-headed at the sink, and the next thing he remembers is waking up on the floor in the livingroom -- we're both very thankful he didn't hit his head on anything on the way down, or break any bones when he landed!

He could not get warm today (even though it's not that cold outside)...so he put on his slippers and a sweater over his pajama top and got a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon, and I put a snuggly hat on his head to help him warm up even quicker...here's a picture of my suffering sweetie:

So even though we won't get to go out for a romantic dinner or anything to celebrate Valentine's Day, I am so thankful for the privilege of being married to this wonderful man and of loving him "in sickness" today. On this Valentine's Day I'm celebrating true love (better than anything those fairy tales try to convince us we need to be happy). This is a love that picks up used tissues off the living room floor, takes a trip to the store for headache medicine, and brings glasses of water, juice, or tea when needed. This is the love I signed up for when I said, "I do." And I wouldn't have it any other way!

I had to share this...

2008-02-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers is Ann V. over at Holy Experience. She never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful way she writes about the things of the Lord.

I thought Ann's blog entry for today was especially worth sharing (although almost anything she writes is...I'd encourage you to read through her archives).
"When the Artist captivates, beauty rousing us from lumbering, slumbering ways, we spontaneously desire to emulate His brushstrokes—to walk and create and live like He does. We kindle, wanting to be like the Artist. To co-create beauty and holiness with Him. When the love that exudes, drips, floods from all His work wakes us up, we too fill with a love that is His. What law cannot wring out, gazing at Creator's beauty ignites. Esteeming God as Creator, knowing Him as Painter, Weaver, Poet, the Color-Saturated, Singing, Dancing, Joy-Soaked One, transforms us in the ways we yearn for."
Click here to read the entire entry... (Some soft piano music will come on, so be aware of your speaker volume!)

I don't know Ann personally, but her words minister to me. What an amazing thing that we can use this medium of blogging to touch hearts and lives, pointing them to the One who gave us the gift of language and, more importantly, the gift of His Son.

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in my home city, and I am thankful to be alive and to belong to Christ!

I may never ride in the...calvary?

2008-02-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this bugs anyone else as much as it bugs me, but I can't stand it when people use the word "calvary" when what they really mean is "cavalry". They are two entirely different words, with two entirely different meanings. I was watching a TV show the other night and one of the characters mentioned something about the other one "calling in the calvary", and I could not restrain myself from saying to the screen, "It's cavalry! Cavalry, not calvary!"

This mix-up commonly occurs in the little Sunday school song most of us grew up singing:

"I may never march in the infantry, ride in the ________ , shoot the artillery, I may never zoom o'er the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army! Yes, sir!"

Most kids grow up singing about riding in the calvary, whatever that might mean! And hey, since this song is sung in church, where the word "Calvary" is used quite a bit in its proper sense, I can't fault the little ones for not questioning its placement in the song. But it makes a lot more sense for them to sing about riding in the cavalry!

Calvary

Pronunciation: \ˈkal-v(ə-)rē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Calvary, the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified

1 : an open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus

2 : an experience of usually intense mental suffering

Cavalry

Pronunciation: \ˈka-vəl-rē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian cavalleria cavalry, chivalry, from cavaliere

1 a: an army component mounted on horseback b: an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility

2: Horsemen: "a thousand cavalry in flight"

No real point to sharing this with you...I just wondered if this bugs anyone else, or if I'm the only one that notices when people make this very common mistake!

Demolition....

2008-01-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

Our new kitchen is in a current state of destruction...we are having new cabinets installed in a few weeks, so they've torn out all the old ones (it actually looks even worse than this now, as all the bottom cabinets are gone, too).

All I can say is, I'm so glad we're not living there right now... We lived through the remodeling of our current house and it was no fun!

And, I can't wait until I can post the "after" pics! :-)

It's looking like we'll probably be moving in sometime after the 1st of March...I haven't even started packing yet!

Lazy Sundays

2008-01-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

My brother snapped this picture of Andrew and me on a recent Sunday afternoon...one of my favorite ways to relax is to nap on the couch with Andrew while he's watching football... when football is on the TV it always makes me very sleepy, for some reason....

Gilligan enjoys Sunday afternoon naps, too!

Ah, nothing like a catnap on the couch!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T21:54:00.000-08:00

As 2008 begins, I'm thankful for all God's blessings in 2007, and looking forward to what He has in store for us this year.

One of the biggest things coming up for us is our move! On December 26th we signed papers on a new house, located just a few blocks from our church. This house will be great for hospitality, as it's bigger than our current house, and will be perfect for raising any future children the Lord might choose to send us. We are very thankful for this gift from Him; the way it all worked out makes it clear to us that it's His will for us to move. After we have a few renovations done we hope to move in at the beginning of February! We'll be renting out our current house to one of Andrew's sisters (so we'll still get to enjoy pomegranates from the tree in the backyard when they're in season)!

Praying that 2008 will be a year of great joy and peace for you!

The Joy of Christmas

2007-12-09T20:30:00.001-08:00

I just finished the last of three performances in our church's Christmas production, "The Joy of Christmas." It was a great show with the choir and live orchestra and drama. I played the mom of a 10-year-old girl. My character had heard the story of Christmas from her grandparents when she was young, but never told her own daughter about the real meaning of Christmas. She gets her grandmother's old nativity set in the mail, and it sets the stage for her explaining the story of Christmas to her daughter. Despite some minor technical glitches with our microphones, it went very well! I am glad it's over, though. Even though performing is fun, it carries with it a certain level of stress that I am quite happy to be free from again!

Here's a photo of me with Desanka Ilic, the little girl who played my daughter. She did such a good job! It was a joy to work with her!

I had to re-wrap the nativity set each night to be used for the next performance!

I'm thankful that the Lord helped us to remember our lines and that many people were blessed by the performances all three nights! All glory to Him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've written here...I need some more inspiration for things to write about, I guess!

Andrew and I are here in Oregon this week with my family, and I'm loving getting to hang out with my nephews (Ben is 2 1/2, Aaron will be a year old next month). It's neat to see how they have changed even since I was here a few months ago. They're so fun!

I am so thankful for all that the Lord has given me...much more than I deserve. I have a wonderful husband, a loving family, and precious friends. God provides for all of my needs, over and above. I am truly blessed!

Praying you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

Avocado Love

2007-09-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, with parents who possessed decidedly bland, predictable tastes in food, I was not exposed to avocados. Not once. The only thing I knew about them was that they were the main ingredient in guacamole, which I never tasted because my mom thought it was gross; I just assumed I wouldn't like it, either. (Note to moms out there: if there's some good-for-you food that you don't happen to enjoy, you should still buy or make it for your kids to try. They might like it, and it doesn't mean you have to eat it yourself!)

Anyway, after moving to California eight years ago, I suddenly discovered this wonderful little fruit! Now, I eat avocado almost daily.

Fun Avocado Facts (courtesy of www.avocado.org):

*Avocados were once a luxury food reserved for the tables of royalty.

*California produces about 90% of the nation's avocado crop. San Diego County is the Avocado Capital of the U.S., producing 60% of all the avocados grown in California.

*The avocado's smooth, creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh fruits a baby can enjoy. Sodium- and cholesterol- free, avocados contain valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. Per serving, avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain.

Some of my favorite ways to eat avocado:

*In a sandwich, mashed up and spread on the bread.

*Mashed up and mixed with fresh salsa (basically homemade guacamole) and served with chips.

*Cut into small pieces in a salad.

*Sliced and mixed with sliced tomato, with a sprinkling of sea salt on top, as a side dish to almost any entree.

If you haven't caught the avocado train yet, hop aboard! You'll be glad you did!

The Cow Train

2007-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

My brother, Nate, and I were in Oregon on Labor Day, and we spent a few hours with my parents, my sister, Anna, and her two boys at a farm. My 2-year-old nephew Ben really enjoyed sitting on the old tractors and going down the inflatable slide with his Uncle Nate, ascending the climb-able hay pyramid with his mommy, and imitating the rooster in the barn. Then Anna and I decided it would be fun to take Ben on the “Cow Train” for an idyllic little tour of the cornfields and pumpkin patches before lunch. So we paid our $2.00 and settled in to enjoy the ride. Don’t we look happy?

That sense of joyful expectation soon gave way to a sense of “What in the world did we get ourselves into?!!!” and “How soon is this going to end?”

The way this “train” was constructed is there’s a guy on a four-wheeler type of vehicle pulling a chain of these little “cars” made out of plastic barrels with wheels attached, painted to look like cows. They did include seatbelts, which is a good thing, seeing as how….well, we’ll get to that in a moment. But the seats were not padded in any way, shape, or form, which was not a good thing, seeing as how…well, just keep reading.

The man driving this train (I shall fondly refer to him as The Torture Master from here on out) either had to go to the bathroom really bad or he thought we were being chased by a swarm of angry wasps, because once all the victims, er, riders were in place, he tore off down the bumpy lane as if he were racing a cheetah! I think I caught a glimpse of some corn fields before the first turn, but I was bouncing around so much that it might have just been tall grass. Thank goodness for those seatbelts I mentioned earlier, or I’m sure Ben would have bounced right off of Anna’s lap and onto the side of the road! I’ll just say that it’s a good thing we decided to go before lunch and not after.

As we sped along, I noticed that the roads were very dry and dusty. I could tell because the huge wheels on the contraption The Torture Master was driving were showering those of us in the first few barrels with a fine, gritty layer of terra firma. “So that’s what I’d look like with a tan,” I thought as I looked down at my darkening arms. As our dusty hair blew in the wind and we tried not to breathe, I thought I glimpsed some large oranges lying in a field – oh wait, those were pumpkins! Too late to get a closer look, though…they were already far behind us.

After what felt like hours (but was, in reality, probably less than five minutes), we came to a fork in the road. Finally, we were going to head back! But wait, oh…no! He turned left instead, away from where we started! I gripped the sides of the barrel, white-knuckled; steeling myself for more jolts; closing my eyes against the dust; feeling a new kinship with the tin cans people tie onto the backs of newlyweds’ cars.

If you had been watching as we raced by, you would have thought that my sister and I were having a good time…we were even laughing! But it was more a laughter of bewilderment, of shock, of “We paid good money for THIS?!” – it was not a laughter of enjoyment, I can tell you that!

Finally, we rounded the last corner and the cow train screeched to a halt back at starting position. As we unbuckled and shakily stepped out of the barrels, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the dust from our hair and clothing, I had to suppress the urge to shout out a warning to the people waiting in line for the next ride: “Spare yourselves the agony and get away while you still can!” But I kept silent as I glanced at The Torture Master, who was busy accepting people’s dollars and strapping them into the plastic cows. I think I heard him give a sinister little laugh under his breath.

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I didn’t get any “after” pictures, but just imagine something like this:

Scrabble-tastic!

2007-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

While I was visiting my sister in Oregon last week, we came up with a fun way to spend an evening. She suggested playing Scrabble, and then I suggested that when we were finished, we should each write a story – using all the words from the game at least once. So that’s what we did!

Anna thoroughly enjoyed my tale of a hapless teenage boy smitten by a girl he knew from band, only to discover upon visiting her home that she was a bit, um, odd. And I was laughing so hard that it hurt when she read what she had written about pirates trying to appease the sea after an oil slick (complete with pirate-y voices). It was really cool how we were using the same words as starters and came up with such completely different stories!

We had so much fun that we decided to do it again the following night, and I think it will become a regular event during future visits!

Both of our husbands (hers from the other room and mine when I told him on the phone about it later) expressed their opinion that our choice of entertainment was something akin to Chinese water torture. All I can say is, it’s their loss!

I got tagged!

2007-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Amy has "tagged" me to participate in a little blogworld fun...I'm supposed to list eight random facts about myself, and then tag eight other bloggers to do the same. Well...since I don't really know that many other bloggers, I'll just leave it up to whoever reads this to decide if they want to list eight random things about themselves on their blog (and leave me a comment if you do, so I can read them)! (Sorry I'm changing the rules...I guess that's my prerogative, seeing as this is my blog)! ;-)

So, eight random things about me:

1) There are two 80's/90's Christian rock bands I really enjoy and still listen to fairly often -- Petra and Whiteheart.

2) I own a book of poetry that was published in 1838 (the oldest of my extensive antique book collection).

3) I wish I were more disciplined as a writer, and that I made more time in my life for creative writing.

4) I sometimes dream in Russian, although not very often.

5) I'm planning to grow my hair out for a few years, to see how long I can get it before it starts bugging me enough to make me want to cut it again.

6) I have been having fun lately experimenting with raw foods (also known as living foods) -- creating unique main dishes, salads, beverages, and desserts with raw fruits, veggies, nuts, and sprouted grains. I even bought a couple of raw cookbooks (although they'd be more appropriately labeled "un-cookbooks"). I've also pretty much given up most animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) -- I guess that makes me a vegan, although I will make exceptions now and then. I'm not going to be too legalistic about it!

7) Despite my healthy eating habits, I have a very hard time getting into an exercise routine, and that is the next main part of my physical life that I want to tackle. It's not good enough to just eat healthy, or to just exercise...it needs to be a good combination of both, so I'm working on this!

8) I will never wear a swimming suit in public, or if there are men other than my husband or brother present. If you want to ask me why, go ahead, but my opinion on this can be strong! ;-)

Oregon

2007-08-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I flew up to Oregon to spend some time with my sister Anna and her family, and then to go to Women's Camp at Camp Tadmor with my mom and Anna. It was a really good time! I love hanging out with family...below are some pictures of the trip!

We shared a special moment with Anna and Matt as Benjamin (2) and Aaron (7 1/2 months) were dedicated at their church (where Matt is the youth and worship pastor)

Ben and Aaron -- the next "little boy" band..."Hadley" ;-)

Brothers

Benjamin

Aaron

Anna, Mom, and me after Women's Camp

Us!

2007-07-09T12:00:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I celebrated our 12th anniversary yesterday... how is it possible that we've been married that long? The years just seem to fly by...

After all this time, we love each other more than we ever have, and are both so grateful for the years the Lord has given us together...we look forward to many more!

On Saturday we spent some time in San Francisco...here's a picture of us at the Botanical Gardens there...such a beautiful place!

Thank You, Lord, for giving me such a wonderful husband! I am so, so blessed to have him!

Speaking of simplicity...

2007-06-25T02:03:00.000-07:00

A little gem from my favorite poet; it goes so well with my previous post:
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"I Have Found Such Joy"
Grace Noll Crowell

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things - old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

Saturation Point

2007-06-22T00:36:00.000-07:00

sat·u·ra·tion point – noun

Definition: “Limit to scope for expansion: the point at which no more can be added.”

I don’t know when it happened, exactly, but somewhere along the way I seem to have reached the saturation point when it comes to material possessions. And not just in a physical, running-out-of-places-to-put-things sense, although my storage closets do seem to require “No Vacancy” signs these days. This feeling of “No more, please!” goes beyond a mere lack of shelf space. The concept of an uncluttered, simplified lifestyle resonates with my soul; I long to live more simply in the midst of this modern existence. But I’m still trying to figure out how to make that a reality, practically speaking.

It’s gotten to where I almost dread Christmas and my birthday because I know I’m going to end up with more stuff… stuff that has to be put somewhere. Now I know why so often, when older people have birthday celebrations, they put on the invitation: “No gifts, please.” I’m not that old, but I understand getting to the point where things become a burden instead of a joy. It’s like, the first piece of cake is delicious, but if you were to keep eating and eating…you’d eventually be sickened by the thought of another bite. Too much of a good thing and all that.

I own more than many people in the world…so much more than I need. My perfume shelf is full, my jewelry box is full, my closet is full, my bookshelves are more than full…I have more pretty stationery and cards than I’ll probably ever be able to use in my lifetime. I’m running out of storage space in the kitchen, and the garage is overflowing. I am in need of nothing – and save the occasional new book or DVD release, I want nothing.

We remodeled our home a couple of years ago, and when it came time to clean out the closets I happily tossed items into a huge bin to give away, glad for the chance to simplify and de-clutter. Yet even though we got rid of a lot, and we own less than many other people I know, it still seems like we just have too much.

Has anyone else reached the “possessions saturation point” or am I the only one feeling overwhelmed by the stuff I own and longing for more simplicity?

If you're happy and you know it...

2007-05-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture I took in Jerusalem when we were there last year...it always makes me smile!

Lake Tahoe and a letter from God...

2007-05-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

I just got back from our church's annual Women's Prayer Encounter. A prayer encounter (or prayer summit, as they are often called) is when a group of believers goes away for a few days to seek the Lord and His will for their lives, to worship Him, to draw close to Him in a way that's hard to do back home surrounded by the noise of our daily lives. There's no speaker, just a leadership team of facilitators who meet before each session to pray about how the Spirit will lead our times together. There's lots of worship through song, lots of Scripture, lots of tears, lots of joy! The bond of love that is formed and strengthened with our sisters in Christ is something the world could never hope to understand. Truly a blessing!

So I, along with about 90 other women, went up on Friday to a beautiful conference center right on Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side, and we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather or gorgeous scenery. God's creation is stunning!

As part of the day yesterday, we had what's called a "Code of Silence," where we go out for an hour or so and are not to talk to anyone else -- just get alone with God somewhere and see what He wants to say to us. I sat on some steps overlooking the beauty of Lake Tahoe...sparkling blue waters, with the stately pines surrounding it and the majestic mountains off in the distance. It was an amazing backdrop to my time with the Lord...

Speaking of time with the Lord, that is something that I've really neglected lately. I mean, I think of Him throughout the day, and read His Word when I find the time...but had really gotten spiritually lazy and out of the habit of spending focused time with Him and in His Word, just being with Him and listening to Him. I was feeling really convicted about that, and during my quiet time yesterday afternoon, I remembered what I'd recently heard a speaker recommend. She said that often when she's alone with God on a personal retreat, she'll take out her journal and a pen and just ask God to write her a letter, praying that she'll be open to hearing what He wants to say to her. I decided I'd like to try that, so I got my pen out and just prayed that God would show me what He would say to me if He wrote a personal letter just to me.

Before I knew it, the words just started to flow. It wasn't "divine inspiration" or anything mystical like that...just His Spirit prompting me with words from His heart to mine. I know what He wants from me...I just needed to hear it from His perspective! He reminded me of how much I miss out on when I don't spend time with Him each day, and how much He loves me and wants to just "hang out" with me, so I can get to know Him better. After I finished writing, I really felt that I needed to share it with Alice, our lead facilitator, so after last night's session I sought her out and read the letter to her. She felt strongly that it was something that would benefit the other ladies in attendance, and asked me if I would read it at our final session. I had sensed she would ask me to do that, and I was prepared if that's what God wanted me to do!

So today at our final session, Alice asked me to stand and share the letter that God gave me. I wanted it to be an encouragement to all of my sisters there that God desires the same thing from them, and loves them just as much. I was only a little nervous...a few times I noticed my hands starting to shake a little, then I thought about the Spirit just kind of surrounding me like a hug and wasn't nervous anymore. I found out later that my sweet roomie, Cathy, was praying for me while I shared -- I had a suspicion that might have been the case! :-)

Anyway, after the session, so many ladies came up and told me how much they appreciated me sharing the letter, and that God had used it to convict or encourage them. Several ladies asked for copies, so I decided to post the letter here on my blog so that they could come and re-read it and maybe print it out if they want to. I pray that it is an encouragement to you, and that we will all be drawn to desire to spend time with Him more and more, and not to keep Him waiting while we go about our daily lives. He deserves so much more than being put on the back burner, and I pray that I will give Him the position and priority He deserves in my life! Thank you for praying for me in this!

So here's my letter from God. Of course, my version says "Dear Sarah," but I've made it generic so it can apply to any woman who reads it!

God's peace and joy to you,

Sarah <><

______________________________________________________

My Dear One,

You are beautiful to Me. More beautiful than gorgeous lake Tahoe or the majestic pines surrounding it or the snow-dusted mountains in the distance. You are special -- you are Mine, and I make no mistakes. I made no mistakes when I created you, and I am making no mistakes in how I'm allowing the circumstances of your life to play out. I do all things well.

I love you -- so, so much, my darling girl. I know you feel defeated in those areas of your life that seem so hard to change, those habits that are so ingrained in you, those ruts that seem so hard to get out of. But be encouraged, my dear -- I am available. I am here. I want you to come to Me for the strength and motivation you need. I want to help you. But first, you need to come to Me.

Head knowledge alone isn't going to help you change. Neither can you rely on the fumes of past experience with Me. My mercies are new every morning. Each morning that you fail to spend time with Me, you miss out on the "something new" I had for you that day. Make Me a priority, dear one. I am worth it. And when you begin to do this, all the other things will fall into place. You'll have the energy and motivation to do all that I've called you to do. You'll be less inclined to fill your mind with things that crowd My Spirit out. You'll rediscover the joy of your salvation. Just come to Me -- every day; make Me a priority.

It's really as simple as that. Don't try to complicate it with feeling like your time with Me has to be spent a certain way. My Spirit will guide and direct our times together. You only need to come. I long to develop our relationship -- it's what I died for, this privilege of fellowship with you. Yes, you will know Me fully in eternity. But don't miss out on the joy of choosing to know Me better here and now. As the song says, this world is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing Me.

Don't dwell so much on your failures -- dwell on Me instead, and all those things will fade in the light of Who I am. I love you so much. I long to bless you beyond your wildest dreams with true spiritual blessings in Christ. All I have is yours. I stand ready to give you so much good stuff -- eternally good. All you have to do is ask. Come to Me -- I'm waiting. Don't keep me waiting for long.

Your Faithful God

Do it again, Ben!

2007-04-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have to share this adorable video my sister Anna filmed of Ben making Aaron laugh!

Currently reading...

2007-04-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Great Omission by Dallas Willard.

What a thought-provoking and convicting book...this book is all about learning to be Jesus' disciple, or apprentice...learning from Him how to live the Christian life. It's about learning to incorporate the spiritual disciplines of solitude, silence, and fasting, among others, into our lives on a consistent basis. I'm not very far into the book yet, but it's one I need to read slowly, to pray through.

One thing he pointed out is the heresy that we can just enjoy forgiveness at Jesus' expense (have Him be our Savior) and then have nothing more to do with Him (not have Him be our Lord)...he referred to people who do this as "vampire Christians," telling Jesus, in essence, "I'd like a little of Your blood, please. But I don't care to be Your student or have Your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see You in heaven."

Definitely a lot to think about and pray about in this book! Any of Willard's books are highly recommended!

It's so sad that so many Christians go through life with little to no understanding of the deeper Christian life available so readily to all of us, if we'd just choose to pursue it. I, for one, don't want to miss out on this great adventure, which is like nothing that the world has to offer!

Jesus is alive!

2007-04-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Resurrection Day, everyone! May your heart be filled with joy as you ponder anew that because Christ died and rose from the grave, we have the awesome gift of forgiveness and eternal life with Him! May your celebrations with family and friends tomorrow be blessed!

And our future will be more wonderful than we can even begin to imagine!

Happy Spring!

2007-03-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful for a creative God who enjoys lavishing such beautiful gifts on His children!

Daffodils

by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;

A poet could not be but gay,

In such a jocund company!

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Unwelcome tasks...

2007-03-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

I came across a great quote today:

“NO unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.” -- Alexander MacLaren

Since my to-do list is full of "unwelcome tasks" that never seem to get crossed off, this quote was a good kick in the pants for me today. Maybe I'll go clean out the fridge (and clean the fridge shelves, too) -- why should it disturb my tranquility any longer?

What are some of the unwelcome tasks you could accomplish today?

Pictures!

2007-03-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...

Modesty

2007-02-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered a blog called The Rebelution, written by the twin younger brothers of Joshua Harris, who wrote the well-known book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. These guys recently conducted a modesty survey of Christian guys (geared at helping Christian girls understand how the way they dress affects their brothers in Christ) -- they'll be releasing the results of the survey on Valentine's Day, but in the meantime, they're posting some of the responses they received from Christian guys who took the survey.

This post from a brother in Christ gives a great analogy to help us as women understand how important modesty is. The site seems to be geared to younger, single Christians, but I think that the importance and value of modesty applies to us as women our whole lives long. I love a good analogy, so this post was really encouraging.

I strive to dress modestly, but from time to time I need to stop and evaluate my wardrobe...and my reasons for wearing certain things. I look forward to reading the results of the survey at The Rebelution, and being reminded of my responsibility as a woman to dress in a way that would make it less likely for my brothers in Christ to fall.

Fake snow

2007-01-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

My cat, Gilligan, loved sleeping on the fake snow under our Christmas tree (gotta have fake snow to go with the fake tree) so much that when I took the tree down, I didn't have the heart to take away his new favorite bedding. So I stuck the snow in a box under our bed, and now whenever we can't find Gilligan, we know exactly where to look. "Gilligan's sleeping in his snow box again!"

Cats are cute. You have to humor them.

Christians and Entertainment

2006-12-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

I came across this great article at a blog I stumbled upon today. The author (another Sarah!) expressed my thoughts so well on this subject that I am just going to link to her post. What are your thoughts?
_________________________________________________

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY GENERATION?

What’s happening to my generation? (Long pause for thought) Our society has become a wicked society, like the days of old, like those mentioned in the Bible, like Sodom and Gomorrah, and like the wicked nations God wiped off the earth. Many young people constantly poison their minds and their spirits with lust and evil thoughts, evil entertainment. Where anything goes as long as it’s labeled “art” or “a movie.” Do Christians no longer know how to discern between good and evil? ...click here to keep reading

I love being an Auntie!

2006-12-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

It was so great to spend 10 days with my sister Anna and her family following the birth of my nephew Aaron on Dec. 5th -- I love these little guys so much! Ben has such personality, and is so smart! I can't wait until he starts talking. And Aaron is just so sweet and new...I can't wait to see his personality develop over the next few years!

And of course, I miss Anna already. It was a privilege to get to help her through that first week with two little ones at home. She's a great mommy.

Hopefully I'll get to see them again in a few months when we go back up for my cousin's wedding. I really wish we lived closer!

You know you're in California when...

2006-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

...it's December 5th and you hear the ice-cream truck driving up and down the street with its annoying little jingle.

Seriously, in Portland that would be seasonal work. Here? They work year round.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news, my sister had her second baby this morning! I was supposed to be there for the birth, but he came a day earlier than planned, so... not much you can do about that! I'm flying up tonight...

Here's little Aaron Edward (8 lbs. even, 20 in. long) looking all newborn-y. It's the only picture I have so far!

What a cutie!

2006-12-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

So I got to hang out with my nephew Ben all last week -- it was great! He's developing quite a little personality!

Here we are enjoying some mindless entertainment...

I think this kid is advanced for his age...he sat here with his mommy for more than half an hour coloring. How many almost-18-month-olds have that kind of attention span?

Of course, he deals with the normal toddler temptations of forbidden fruit (in this case, the computer room). I'm sure he'll soon figure out the door-opening thing, and that will make life a lot more interesting for his parents!

I am very excited to fly back up to Oregon this coming week for the birth of Ben's little brother, Aaron!

Ahhh...the lovely liquid sunshine of Oregon!

2006-11-21T00:18:00.000-08:00

I'm currently visiting my sister in the lovely state of Oregon. And I'm trying to figure out what all this wet stuff falling from the sky is...oh yeah, RAIN! I remember rain! :-) All kidding aside, we do get rain in Sacramento (although we've had some lovely, sunny weather there recently). Oregon wouldn't be the beautiful, green state that it is without all the rain, though, so it does serve a purpose!

I'm loving hanging out with my nephew, Ben, and getting to know him a little bit. He's much more fun now that he's almost 18 months old (last time I saw him was in June). Here's a recent pic of the little cutie:

I'm thankful for my family, and for the opportunity to spend time with them this week!

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

2006-11-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help it...I gave in early this year! My favorite Christmas songs have made their way into my daily listening repertoire, and my head is full of visions of sleigh rides, chestnuts roasting on open fires, and of course, a silent, holy night in a little town called Bethlehem.

I used to wait until after Thanksgiving, but now it's more like the beginning of November. So I get two whole months of Christmas music! And I love it!

How about you? Are you listening to Christmas music yet?

Happy Birthday, Little Brother!!

2006-11-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to believe that my brother Nate is 27 years old today! I'd like to share a poem I wrote about him when I was a senior in high school, oh-so-many years ago:

"Little Brother"

I was three and a half when
they brought you home from the hospital.
The third child.
The first son.
My first and only brother.
Sweet, chubby babyness.
I held you in my three and a half year old arms;
my baby brother.
Up through the reckless toddler years,
the motorcycle, He-Man, and G.I. Joe phases.
Now you are thirteen;
athletic, strong.
No longer my baby brother,
but many memories to cherish.
And more memories to make.

And we have made many great memories together since that poem was written...all-night, spur-of-the-moment drives from Sacramento to Portland, exploring the small towns in the foothills outside Sacramento, traveling to Israel and Egypt, movie watching and board game playing, shopping at Whole Foods Market, discussions about the Bible and Christian living, playing with the best cats in the world (Skipper and Gilligan), and the list could go on.

Nate is one of my best friends, and I count it a great privilege to be his sister. He loves the Lord with his whole heart, and desires to live a pure and godly life. He cares about others and seeks to serve them. God has great things in store for him, and I can't wait to see how God is going to use him in the years to come!

I'm also excited that Nate is moving back in with us at the end of November (he lived with us for a few months when we first moved here in 1999, and again for about seven months a couple years ago). He makes a great housemate (and I like having someone to help me carry in the groceries)!

I love you, little bro. Thanks for being you!

The Love of God

2006-10-25T00:50:00.000-07:00

As a writer, I love this last verse of the hymn "The Love of God" --

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Autumn has arrived...

2006-10-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

And the weather is finally getting cooler...yay!

(Although this picturesque scene is not something I'd be able to find around here!)

I do rather miss Oregon weather at this time of the year...

God's Amazing Friendship Glue!

2006-09-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Some of my dearest friends are women I never would have guessed I could have a heart connection with. But God has a wonderful way of bringing friends into my life, and He has done it again recently.

I am from Oregon. Natasha is from Ukraine. I am not yet a mother. She has two beautiful daughters (I was privileged to be with her this past Sunday when she gave birth to her youngest). Our backgrounds and upbringings are totally dissimilar. But God, in His wisdom and plan, applied His friendship glue to our hearts, and she has come to be a very dear friend -- more like a sister.

Natasha commented recently that she never thought she could have such a close friendship with an American, because of the cultural differences (she's only been in the States for three years). I replied that we may have different cultures, but we have the same Spirit. Come to think of it, I guess He is the glue that connects our hearts!

Here's a picture of Natasha and me:

I am so thankful for ALL of my dear friends around the country (and even overseas) that God has chosen, in His infinite wisdom, to "stick my heart to." They are treasures, and I am a rich woman, indeed!

Nephew Number Three!

2006-09-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Andrew's brother, Serge, and his wife Olga, on the arrival of their son James Ryan, born September 18!

Welcome to the world, baby James!

Here he is with his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Andrew:

Onomatopoeia

2006-09-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Main Entry: on·o·mato·poe·ia
Pronunciation: "ä-nuh-"mä-tuh-'pE-uh"
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek onomatopoiia

1 : the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss)

2 : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense
----------------------------------------------------

I love onomatopoeic words -- they add zest to a language! When writing, especially writing for children, you want to use lots of these types of words. I've listed some of my favorites below...leave me a comment with some of yours!

These are words that beg to be said aloud, with feeling -- go ahead, give it a try (you might want to wait until you're alone, otherwise you might get some funny looks)!

CRUNCH

SWOOSH

ZIP

TINGLE

SMASH

BONK

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP :-)

BUZZ

BEEP

HUSH

Thanks for indulging the ramblings of a language lover!

Optical Illusion

2006-09-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Stare at the yellow circle.

Cool, huh? :-)

A new nephew!

2006-08-31T01:04:00.000-07:00

Ben now has some competition in the cute nephew department, as Andrew's sister Evelina and her husband Serge celebrated the arrival of their first son, Austin Samuel, yesterday. We are all thankful for this precious gift from God, and that mom and baby are both doing so well!

Welcome to the world, little Austin (and at 6 lbs. 1 oz. and 18 inches long, "little" is the appropriate word)!

Austin with his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Andrew:

And the award for cutest nephew goes to....

2006-08-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

...Ben, sporting shades at the local pool.

And showing off his pearly whites!

Ben was a year old in June. I get to see him again in November! Kinda' sad that my sister and I live so far apart... but thanks to technology, I don't have to miss out on cute moments like these!

From a distance...

2006-08-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

One of my dear friends lives in a country on the other side of the world. She celebrated a birthday this past week, and because I did not plan ahead well enough to send her a package in the mail, I pondered what else I could do for her besides sending an e-card. Then I thought, why not send her flowers? In this day and age of the Internet, it should be as simple as a few clicks of the mouse! So I promptly went online, found the website of a florist in her country, and ordered a beautiful bunch of daisies to be delivered on her special day. (It even cost half as much as sending flowers to a friend two states away, and the bouquet is bigger, too!)

Here's my friend holding her gift -- she told me that it really made her day. I'm so thankful for the technology that allows me to bless a friend half a world away!

The Boys

2006-08-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a picture of Skipper and Gilligan. So here are my little fuzzy fellows! I love having them in my life...I'm so glad God created cats, and that He created these two in particular!

I think I've discovered a new talent!

2006-08-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I attended a baby shower for Andrew's sister Evelina, who is due to give birth to our nephew Austin Samuel in about a month... I was asked beforehand to make a "diaper cake" as a decoration, so I looked online for inspiration and got carried away with how fun and easy it was and ended up making three of them! The idea is for it to be something beautiful but practical -- and for a new mom, what could be more practical than diapers? ;-)

The "ingredients" for these cakes are simple: rolled up diapers (cloth or disposable, depending on what the new mom plans to use) and whatever you want to decorate them with. I used straight pins to hold the ribbon and fringe on. This decoration is very easy to make (I put all three cakes together in less than two hours, including driving to Walmart to get the supplies). But it looks so elegant! Similar cakes like this sell for around $40 to $60 online, but it's so much less expensive to make your own. You could probably also do the same thing for a bridal shower using rolled-up new white washcloths or cloth napkins.

So, without any further ado, I give you my first attempt at diaper cake making -- Evelina's favorite flower is the calla lily, so I incorporated them in two of the cakes (click on the pics to see them larger):

So what do you think? Maybe I should make some more and sell them at craft fairs this coming holiday season! That would be kind of fun!

Have you heard of these countries?

2006-07-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I were looking at a world map today, and I noticed so many countries that we never hear anything about on the news (to be honest, some of them I don't remember ever hearing about before in my life)... Thankfully we have the Internet, so we can learn all about these "mystery countries" if we choose!

Oman, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Gabon, Mali, Togo, Benin, Mauritania, Bhutan, Myanmar, Macedonia, Tunisia...

I just thought it was interesting that apparently there's nothing happening in these countries (and some of them are pretty large) that would make them "newsworthy" in the eyes of the American press. How strange that, before this evening, I really had no concept of these countries; yet all the years I've been living my life here in America, people have been living, loving, and dying in each one of these countries. It doesn't matter if I knew they existed or not. A simple, obvious thought, but one that is making me "ponder" this evening...

Walking in the Light

2006-07-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

"If we walk in the light as He is in the light...the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
1 John 1:7

"The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit's hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God's holiness. To 'walk in the light' means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light."

~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Celebrating our 11th anniversary

2006-07-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I had a lovely vacation to Southern California last week to celebrate our 11th anniversary, which was on the 8th. We drove down on Wednesday and spent two nights at a KOA in San Diego, staying in one of their one-bedroom Kamping Kabins. While in San Diego, we explored Seaport Village, Point Loma, Coronado, and the San Diego Zoo.

Then we headed to Riverside for two nights at the Mission Inn. On Saturday, our anniversary, we attended the wedding of Andrew's cousin's daughter, then on Sunday we visited the Slavic church in Hollywood and then had lunch with friends afterwards before driving home to Sacramento.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for giving us 11 years together. The years have gone by quickly! I look forward to many more years together as we continue on in this journey of marriage.

A few pictures:

The view from Point Loma

Us (the happy couple) :-)

Andrew enjoying the Pacific Ocean

I wish I were a better blogger!

2006-07-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

I read so many different blogs with witty, insightful entries. I'm a writer...I should be able to do the same! I don't work very hard at my writing, though. It's a gift that needs cultivating...too often I let it stagnate. I lack the motivation I need to really write... not just put words on a page to convey information, but use words as tools to create something new, something beautiful.

Maybe that's part of the problem...wanting to write something new, but feeling like anything that I could say has already been said, and probably much better, by others before me. It often feels like, what's the point? What do I have to say, or write, that hasn't already been said or written a million times before?

But if God has given me this gift, as I believe He has, He obviously intends for me to use it -- in a way that glorifies Him. So although I won't promise it will happen overnight, expect to see different kinds of blog entries here in the future. More of a variety...not just pictures and vacation notes (although those things have their place, too).

What better place than a blog to experiment with words?

Friends and Family

2006-06-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful visit in Oregon, and was able to see many friends and family members while there!

Here are a few photos taken during my time in the Great Northwest:

My dad had all four of his kids with him for Father's Day...it might be a long while before that will ever happen again!

My sister Anna and I took my nephew, Ben, to the mall, and he got to ride in the car stroller...it was so cute!

Without prompting, he even did the "typical guy thing" of driving with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the "windowsill" -- it was funny!

We got to see our friends Nate and LaSarah and their two kids, and spent a whole afternoon with them! What fun! Here's LaSarah and me on Multnomah's campus...oh, the memories! (We all met while attending college here!)

I also got to visit my friend Galina and see her newest daughter, little Jenny. She's a month old. I was privileged to be present for the birth of Galina's first baby, Miriam, in 1999. Jenny is her 4th child -- where does the time go!

Remember, you can click on the pictures to see them larger!

God is so good to surround me with such great friends and relatives in my life...He knows just what we need!

I'm in lush, green Oregon!

2006-06-14T00:16:00.000-07:00

I drove to Oregon yesterday, to visit my sister for a week...the drive was about exactly 11 hours, and I was listening to a 1960s radio dramatization of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (on CD) the whole way...as I pulled up in front of my sister's house, I was almost through the end of Return of the King! It made the drive go quickly for me, which I'm grateful for!

So I get to hang out with my nephew Ben for a while...he's walking now! That is a new thing since I saw him last. He'll be a year old on June 24th. He's quite the little cutie pie, as I think you'll agree:

I'm loving the new town my sister and her husband moved to a few months ago...it's a small town, and closer to the coast, so there are LOTS of trees...and the air smells fresh, like being at a camp! I'd love to smell that every day!

Anyway...I'm happy to be here...I really miss hanging out with my sister. I'm glad for times like this when we get the opportunity to be together!

Time flies, I guess...

2006-06-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

It must be 2026 already...that's the only explanation I can think of for the letter I received in the mail today, which reads, in part:

Dear Sarah,

Our records show that you haven't yet registered for the benefits of AARP membership, even though you are fully eligible.

...As a member, you'll have the resources and information you need to get the most out of life over 50.

The letter went on to tout the benefits of belonging to the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons): Exclusive discounts. Dependable insurance programs and investment resources. Important health-related information. And so much more.

Hmmm...and I have a hard time convincing people I'm 30! I don't think it would go over so well if I flashed an AARP membership card for discounts when eating out or shopping!

Not that getting older is a bad thing...there's just no need to rush it!

Sorry so quiet...

2006-05-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to think of anything to blog about recently...sorry! I know it gets kind of boring when you keep checking someone's blog and there's never a new entry!

How can I make this worth your visit?

Hmmm.... Do you see a family resemblance here?

Say Cheese!

2006-05-23T00:36:00.000-07:00

My mom and my sister Anna were down here in California last Thursday through Saturday to attend a Women's Prayer Summit with me. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with the ladies from my church.

Before we left for the event, I asked my mom to take a picture of Anna and me. The flash wasn't on, so she didn't realize the picture had already been taken, so she kept her finger on the button. What follows is the progression of photos she took as I realized she was taking more than one photo!

Notice how the beautiful smile never leaves Anna's face; she's like, frozen in time!

I bought a robot!

2006-05-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have moved into the era of the Jetsons with my own personal household robot...

Well, it's only a robotic vaccum cleaner, but still!

Meet Rover, my new Roomba Red from the iRobot Corporation (this isn't Rover himself, just one of his many look-alikes):

Rover will vacuum my floors for me while I work on the computer or do laundry or read. Just push his buttons and he's off!

Rover can sense when a spot is extra dirty and he spends more time in that area...he also has a sensor that keeps him from falling down stairs (although we have no stairs in our house, so that's not an issue for us). He covers a lot of ground, and has little side sweepers to get dust and debris from along the wall's edges. He's not too noisy...definitely not as loud as a regular vacuum cleaner!

My cats aren't quite sure what to think about this new addition to the family, but they tolerate him; as long as he isn't heading straight towards them!

Now if only they'd make a robot that could clean my bathroom for me...

God is so creative!

2006-05-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite pictures from a trip to the Sacramento Zoo a couple years ago...I love seeing the creativity of our God expressed so wonderfully at the zoo! (Remember, click on the pictures to see them bigger!)

Two of my favorite things!

2006-05-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

A moment of grace...

2006-05-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

I am not prone to clumsiness. I don't usually drop things, run into things, trip over things, etc. Today, however, I had quite the ungraceful moment!

I'm currently working in our church library on Monday afternoons. Western Seminary from Portland has their Sacramento campus on our church campus, so there are usually several students in the library on Mondays when I come in.

Before I went to the library, I stopped to get a Jamba Juice. A nice, big, fruity smoothie! I was looking forward to drinking it as I worked throughout the afternoon (it's been hot here lately). I came in through the back door of the library, walked through the back room, and up the three little steps into the library itself. It was at this point that something went wrong.

I don't know how it happened, exactly, but as I stepped into the library I fell. It felt like slow motion...and next thing I knew, I was on my knees with my broken Jamba cup in front of me, all the icy, sweet contents in a pile on the carpet. The two students in the library were perfect gentlemen, going to get paper towels to help clean up the mess, and then later, offering to go to Jamba Juice and buy me another drink (how sweet of them).

I was able to laugh about it -- which encouraged me, because if something like that had happened to me in high school, or even college, I would have been mortified! I was only mildly embarrassed, and soon got over it...which shows me how much I've matured since then. I guess there are perks to getting "old" after all!

But the thing that stuck out to me the most was how the two students bought me another drink, even though they don't know me that well and it was no fault of theirs that I had tripped and dropped my drink. It was a moment of grace...something undeserved. It made me think of how many things God has given me, in His grace, that I don't at all deserve. I'm so glad we serve a gracious God!

Keep your eyes open for a moment of grace in your day today!

Yes, I love technology...

2006-04-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

(You get a golden star sticker if you know where I got the title of this post!)

You know how I wrote about board games a few posts ago? Well, a friend of mine who is currently living in another country saw the post and invited me to play some games online with her...so yesterday, she and I played the Yahoo.com version of Pictionary, and then several rounds of their version of Boggle! It was so much fun...and just amazing that we are half a world and several time zones apart, but we can get together online for some fun game time...what a blessing!

Thanks to my dear friend! Let's do it again soon! (Hey, and if anybody else wants to go up against me in Boggle, or any word game, for that matter...I welcome the challenge! Just e-mail me and we'll set something up!)

While we still have the chance...

2006-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

I came across this quote yesterday:

"Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be thrilled by them." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

I strive to live my life like this, to let my friends know how much they mean to me. I love that line in the quote about filling their lives with sweetness. That's my goal!

My mom recently lost her best friend of 30 years to cancer. In reality, we don't know when our last day on earth will be. We should make the most of each day, never missing out on an opportunity to tell our loved ones that they are loved! Think of all the things you would say about your friend if you were asked to give a euology at his or her funeral. Why not put those things in writing and send them to that friend today (speaking of them in the present tense, of course)? Your friend will be thrilled, and the Lord will be pleased at your expression of love!

I'm so thankful to God for my friends!

Dr. Suess -- in Latin!

2006-04-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Two books that I ordered from Amazon.com arrived today:

Cattus Petasatus and Virent Ova! Viret Perna!!

Yes, perennial Dr. Suess favorites The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham, in Latin!

I don't speak Latin. I've never studied it. But I love words and language, and etymology fascinates me. The official definition of etymology is: the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language. See, to me, that's exciting! I often pick up connections between words in English, Spanish, or Russian, and a lot of it traces back to the original Latin or Greek or whatever.

So I am having a lot of fun reading through these books and seeing if I can recognize any of the words based on the fact that so many of our English words have Latin roots and foundations. (Thankfully, there's a handy vocabulary list at the back of each book!)

These books are so much fun for language lovers like me! I had a great time reading through Virent Ova! Virent Perna!! this morning. If you like languages, too, learning a little Latin really broadens your "vocabularic" horizons (yeah, I made that word up just now)! And these fun books are a great way to start!

I'm such a nerd!

Board Games

2006-04-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here feeling a little sad, and do you know what triggered it? Putting a dishtowel away in the linen closet and seeing our shelf full of board games.

In my family growing up, we'd often play board games together in the evenings. Whether it was Life, Boggle, Uno, or Scattergories, we passed many hours together laughing and competing and just enjoying each other's company. Likewise, at family gatherings like birthday parties or on holidays, we'd play Pictionary with our aunts and uncles, or I'd play Battleship with my cousins. It's just what we did in our family, and it brings back a lot of good memories for me.

Hence the shelf full of board games in my linen closet. The sad part? I have nobody to play them with now that we live so far away from my family. Andrew's family just isn't big on board games...they'll play them occasionally, but family get-togethers with the Romanovs mostly consist of eating and talking. Not that there's anything wrong with that; it's just different than what I grew up with. It's a different type of family dynamic.

So I sit here tonight, missing the way my sister and I could beat almost anyone if we were teamed together in a game that required getting your teammate to guess what you were drawing or acting out (it's that sisterly brain-connection thing). I miss trying to get more words than my Mom when we'd play Boggle together. I miss sitting around the kitchen table with my family, snacks on hand, and just getting into a good game together.

I think, though, that what I really miss is not the actual playing of the games, but the closeness and the togetherness that playing board games together fostered. It kind of makes me sad that we all live so far away from each other now. My board games sit collecting dust on a shelf -- colorful, boxed reminders of a chapter in my life that will never come again.

Wanna play a game, anyone?

A few funny pics...

2006-04-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

We stopped at a little store to have some of the "best ice cream in Israel" (it WAS yummy) and they had these funny cow statues everywhere. That's the moon in the distance!

Mud! :-) (That's my bro Nate on the far left and Andrew on the far right!)

Doesn't this camel look like he's cheesing for the camera? :-)

In our Jerusalem hotel room. Ironic, isn't it?

Random pics from our trip...more to come later!

2006-03-31T14:09:00.000-08:00

Me in front of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Me at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

Nate (my brother) and Andrew floating in the Dead Sea.

Andrew emerging from a mud bath on the shores of the Dead Sea.

God smiled, cont.

2006-03-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Blogger wouldn't let me insert any more photos in my entry about the baptism, but I wanted to show you this picture I took of the group that went after ours, because it shows so clearly how there were rain clouds all around, but sun shining down on the baptism site.

(You can click on it for a larger view -- for some reason that feature isn't working for the pics in the previous entry...)

God is awesome!

And here's a picture of everyone that was baptized from our group (plus the two who did the baptizing):

God smiled...

2006-03-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

One really awesome memory we have from the trip is the day we were at the Jordan River to have a baptism ceremony for several members of our group. It was a chilly, cloudy, windy day. As we sat eating lunch in the restaurant near where the baptism would take place, big drops of rain began to splatter against the window, to the dismay of those who were soon to step into the chilly waters (and those of us who would be standing there watching them -- I didn't have an umbrella!). But only one person backed out, and we followed the remaining brave baptismal candidates to the area along the river that has been set aside for groups to have baptismal ceremonies.

They emerged from the dressing rooms a few minutes later in their white robes and descended the steps to the baptismal area. Then the most wonderful thing happened. The sun broke through the clouds as bright as could be, shining down on the water and our little group. Rain clouds all around, but above us, a patch of sunlight that we felt God had sent just for us. The sun warmed our bodies, and it felt like God was smiling down in His glory on His children who were proclaiming that their lives were His.

Two of the people were being baptized for the first time, and the rest were doing baptisms of rededication. It was a privilege to share this special time with them as Dr. Don Brake (Dean of Multnomah Biblical Seminary) and Dr. Dan Lockwood (President of Multnomah Bible College), who were our group leaders, baptized each one in turn in the river where John baptized Jesus so long ago.

After our group was finished, another group descended (a larger group) and the sun stayed out for them, too. It was such a beautiful reminder of God's care and love, even in the small things. As we boarded our bus and continued our tour afterwards, the wind started blowing and the rain came down again. But we held the memory of the earlier sunshine in our hearts, forever a delight in our memories.

A boat ride on the Sea of Galilee...

2006-03-24T16:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's taken me a while to post some pictures from our trip...I think I'm finally back to normal after the jet lag! I'm waking up a lot earlier in the mornings now, which is a good thing! I've been trying to do that for years!

I will just highlight a few things from our trip. I'll probably post more about it in future entries.

One of my favorite moments was our early morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was a chilly, cloudy morning, and our group of 25 boarded a small boat owned by a Messianic Jew, called "The Jesus Boat." After setting sail, he played worship songs over the boat's speaker system. As we sailed on the peaceful water, I sat and gazed out to sea while "Shout to the Lord" and "Draw Me Close," among other songs, played in the background. I thought about all that had happened in that place -- Jesus walking on the water and Peter attempting to do the same; the disciples fishing there and miraculously catching so much fish their boat almost sank; Jesus calming the storm with a word. I was so moved and thankful that I know Him now, so many thousands of years later, and that I had the privilege of being in that place to worship Him!

Here's me on the boat:

A picture of the sea and the clouds:

The Israeli flag flying on the mast:

More memories and pictures to come!

Our Itinerary -- We're Going Overseas!

2006-03-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I, along with my brother Nate, are about to embark on a wonderful adventure: touring the land where our Savior, Jesus, walked the earth and ministered, where He died and rose again. You could say we’ll be visiting His old neighborhood! I’m so excited, and even more thrilled to get to share this experience with my brother, who’s never been out of the United States before now. I’ve gotten used to overseas travel, so it’ll be fun to see things through the eyes of a first-timer!

For those of you who are interested in following our journey, I am going to post our itinerary below.

We would really appreciate your prayers for:

*Safety and protection while traveling
*Spiritual refreshment and renewal
*Health and stamina for the long days of sightseeing

Thanks, and I’ll check back in when we return!
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The really quick, flight-only version of the itinerary is as follows: Sacramento ---> Portland ---> Chicago ---> Istanbul ---> Israel ---> Egypt ---> Istanbul ---> New York ---> Portland ---> Sacramento! For the more detailed version, keep reading! :-)

Saturday, March 4th – We are flying to Portland this afternoon, and spending the evening with my parents and brother.

Sunday, March 5th – This morning we have to be at the airport at 6:30AM for our 8:30AM flight to Chicago. After a 2 ½ hour layover, we fly out to Istanbul, Turkey (about a 10 hour flight) aboard Turkish Airlines.

Monday, March 6th – We arrive in Istanbul at 10:20AM. We’ll check into our hotel and rest for an hour or so, then head out on a tour of some of Istanbul’s most well-known sites: Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Covered Bazaar. Then back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Tuesday, March 7th – After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, we’ll check out and visit St. Sophia, one of Christendom’s oldest churches, originally built in the 6th century, then converted into a mosque, now a museum. After this we’ll head to the airport for an early afternoon flight to Tel Aviv, Israel (about a two-hour flight). Once in Tel Aviv, we’ll board our tour bus and travel through the city to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean. We’ll check into our hotel and have a brief overview lecture of our trip before bed.

Wednesday, March 8th – (I’m not sure exactly what we’ll be doing today, since the original itinerary they sent has us staying in Tiberias tonight, but the hotel list they sent shows we’re staying in Galilee. So, I’ll just list what’s on the itinerary, but I’m not positive this is what we’ll be doing!) This morning we start our day with a stop at Jaffa (Joppa), the city of Jonah, where Peter had his housetop experience at the home of Simon the Tanner. Proceed to Caesarea, capital of the Roman procurators of Judea. Visit the Roman port, Crusader’s Moat, Roman theater, and aqueduct. Continue to Muhraka on Mount Carmel. This afternoon we proceed to Megiddo to visit the excavations that unearthed 20 different civilizations. Traveling through the Plain of Jezreel, we visit Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus. We will be staying tonight at a hotel in a peaceful setting overlooking the Sea of Galilee!

Thursday, March 9th – This morning we will visit the valley of Gennesareth to view the New Testament boat found below the sea and to visit the kibbutz. Then on to Chorazin, through the Hula Valley to Hazor, ruins of the powerful Canaanite city destroyed by Joshua and rebuilt by Solomon to command upper Galilee. We continue to the northern limits of Jesus’ travels as we cross the River Hatzbani to Dan and Banias (Caesarea Philippi), where Peter made his great profession of faith. Driving to the foot of Mount Hermon, we ascend onto the Golan Plateau for a magnificent view of upper Israel. Return to the hotel in Galilee for dinner and overnight.

Friday, March 10th – This morning we will take a relaxing boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where we will be able to look to the shore where so many miracles occurred. We continue to Capernaum and see first century ruins, then visit Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes. Continue to the River Jordan where some members of our group may choose to be baptized. This afternoon we travel via the Crusader fortress of Belvoir along the Rift Valley to Bet Shean, where King Saul and his sons were pinned to the walls. It became the Decapolis Capital and was traveled by Jesus and known as Scythopolis. We’ll see the ancient theater, Circus Maximus, and Cardo Maximo. We head down the Jordan River Road and head to the Judean wilderness on our way up to Jerusalem. We will enter the Holy City via the Mount of Olives with the beauty of Jerusalem before us. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Saturday, March 11th – This morning we visit the New City of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the Upper Room, the tomb of King David, and Dormition Abbey. We enter the Jewish Quarter of the Old City to visit the Wohl Archaeological Museum, displaying the newly restored Herodian Quarter. Remains of this area of Jerusalem date back to the time of the Herodian Dynasty (37 BC to 70 AD). We proceed to the Shrine of the Book where we see the Dead Sea Scrolls on display, then view the Knesset (Israeli parliament) building. Continue to visit Yad Vashem, a memorial of the Holocaust, and then visit the Model City. This afternoon we continue to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Manger, Crusader’s Cloister, and the Grotto of St. Jerome. We then visit the cave in Shepherd’s Field and view the Fields of Boaz. En route to Jerusalem we see the Tomb of Rachel and other antiquities before returning to the hotel for dinner. The evening ends as we share personal experiences of the day.

Sunday, March 12th – This morning we will board our bus for our exciting tour to the famous Rabbi Tunnel, where we will enter by the Western wall and go down to the foundation of the Second Temple. We will see a model that will demonstrate where we are in location to the time of Christ. We continue along the tunnel as we proceed to the entryway to the Holy of Holies. We will then head to the Temple Institute where we will see the making of instruments for the new temple. For lunch we will visit the Biblical Gardens and view reconstructed biblical culture, including possible crosses used by Romans, goat skin tents, tomb of Jesus, and then conclude with a meal in a re-enactment of Jesus’ “last supper meal.” This afternoon we will head to the Southern wall and visit the Mekev pools and the steps that Christ would have used to enter the Temple area and would have taught from. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Monday, March 13th – Today we drive to the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, visit the Church of Pater Noster and the Chapel of Ascension, and then proceed to the Garden of Gethsemane. Crossing the Kidron Valley, we pass the tombs of Absalom, Zechariah, and Saint James, then visit the Pool of Siloam and the Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu (Caiaphas’ House). We enter the Old City this afternoon through the Zion Gate and see the Cardo and the remains of Nehemiah’s Wall on the way to the Western (Wailing) Wall. We visit the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, the Church of St. Anne, the Pool of Bethesda, Pilate’s Judgment Hall, the Chapel of Flagellation, Lithostrotos, and the Arch of Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”). We follow the Via Dolorosa (“Way of the Cross”) to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and end our day in the Garden Tomb before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Tuesday, March 14th – We begin our day with a stop at Bethany, home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. We travel to Jericho, the world’s oldest city. From the excavated tel atop the ruins of ancient Jericho we view the lush green Jordan Valley, Elisha’s spring, and the Mount of Temptation. Proceed to Qumran and the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Continuing alongside the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level (the lowest spot on earth) we stop at Ein Gedi, where we will have the chance to float in the Dead Sea, and for the adventurous ones, walk into the nature reserve and see the waterfall that David would have used while he was hiding from Saul. This afternoon we drive to Masada and ascend by cable car to the magnificent ruins of the fortress where, from 70 to 73 AD, Jewish defenders made their last stand in the Judean revolt against Rome. We see the remains of storehouses, cisterns, and a 6th-century Byzantine church. Then we had back to Jerusalem and return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Wednesday, March 15th – This morning we will have free to enjoy the beauty of the Red Sea, and maybe take a glass-bottom boat ride or go to the underground observatory to view some of the most colorful fish in the world! This afternoon we will go into Egypt at Taba. Continuing through the desert, we come to St. Catherine’s Monastery and the traditional location of Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the 10 Commandments. We’ll be staying at a little hotel just a few miles from the Monastery.

Thursday, March 16th – Those who desire may get up at 1:30AM to climb Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise, while the rest of the group can sleep in and tour St. Catherine’s Monastery in the morning, where a very important and early Bible manuscript (Sinaiticus) was found. We’ll visit the Chapel, then go to the traditional site of the Burning Bush and the Chamber of the Skulls. We then travel by bus to Sharm el Sheik and board a quick flight to Luxor, where we will check into our hotel for dinner and overnight. Our hotel is one of the biggest and most popular 5-star hotels in Luxor, built on 28 acres of sub-tropical landscaped gardens directly on the Nile, in the middle of the shopping center of Luxor and just a few minutes’ walk from the famous Luxor Temple. After dinner we will take a moonlight stroll through the beautifully illuminated Temple before turning in for the night.

Friday, March 17th – Today we will cross the Nile to the West Bank and see the Colossi of Memnon, the beautifully terraced Temple of Queen Hapshepsut (one of the most brilliant accomplishments in the history of architecture). We’ll continue on to visit the vast site of the Karnak Temple, built over a 2,000-year period. This evening we will head to the train station for our overnight journey to Cairo (we’ll be in sleeper cars). Dinner will be provided on the train.

Saturday, March 18th – Early this morning we will arrive in Cairo and head for breakfast. We will start our tour with a visit to the Egyptian Museum with its priceless gems from the tomb of Tutankhamen and other world-famous relics. We tour Old Cairo, including the Coptic church of “El Moallaka,” dating from the early 4th century, and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. This afternoon’s excursion includes an exciting camel ride to the Pyramids and visits the Sphinx. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Sunday, March 19th – This morning we get acquainted with Cairo. We take a felucca ride on the Nile, then continue to Mohammed Ali Mosque and proceed to the top of the Citadel for a famous view of the city with the Pyramids far in the distance. Continue past the City of the Dead to the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, where we can browse among the 12,000 tiny shops. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Monday, March 20th – We will actually be awakened about midnight in order to arrive on time to the airport for our 3:45AM flight to Istanbul. From Istanbul we fly to New York, arriving at about 3:30PM Eastern time. Then from New York we fly to Portland, arriving about 11:00PM. This is one LONG day of travel, considering we will go “back in time” about 10 hours! My family will pick us up at the airport and we’ll spend the night with them.

Tuesday, March 21st – We will spend the day with my family and then fly back to Sacramento in the evening, arriving home around 8:30PM.
______________________________________________________

WHEW!!! What a journey this will be! I can’t wait to share stories and pictures with you when we get back! Thank you for your prayers! Until we meet again…

What a handsome little tiger!

2006-02-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

I have to post these great pictures of my beautiful boy Skipper, taken by my sister-in-law Jessica, a budding young photographer (remember, you can click on them to make them bigger):

Isn't he regal?

I wonder what he's thinking about?

Do we take it for granted?

2006-02-21T01:05:00.000-08:00

"If an earthly king, our emperor, wrote you a letter, would you not read it with joy? Certainly, with great rejoicing and careful attention. You have been sent a letter, not by an earthly emperor, but by the King of Heaven. And yet you almost despise such a gift, so priceless a treasure."

~Tikhon of Zadonsk, writing in 18th century Russia

Lord, forgive me for not always treasuring Your Word, for letting it get too familiar, and for being more excited about reading the newest book I've purchased than reading what You have written for me...may I never, by actions of indifference, despise such a priceless treasure...

The Eyes Have It!

2006-02-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

So I had my first eye exam in almost 10 years today...I didn't know you should get your eyes checked more often, even if there weren't any problems, but I guess you are supposed to get them checked every 2 to 4 years.

I've known since I was a little girl that I have really poor distance sight in my right eye and good vision in my left eye. Basically, my left eye compensates for my right eye's inability to clearly see things that are far away, so I've never needed glasses. I thought maybe it would be a good idea to get reading glasses now that I'm getting "older" (yeah, I know, 30 is really old!) so I scheduled the appointment to get a doctor's opinion.

Basically, what he told me is that my eyes make such a good team, with my left eye being my "distance" eye, like for driving, and my right eye seeing just fine close-up for reading, that I pretty much have "built-in bifocals." He says I will be able to read just fine without glasses well into my old age. Most people have to pay big bucks for bifocals to be able to continue to read as they get older, but he said I got mine for free! Only 1 out of 1,000 people have eyes like mine. Wow, I feel pretty special! And glad that I don't need glasses or contacts, and most likely won't for a very long time!

Ahhh, sunshine...

2006-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon Andrew and I went to a park and sat on a blanket in the grass by a pond to have a picnic lunch. Ducks, geese, and seagulls (yes, seagulls: there seemed to be a seagull convention in our part of town) added the background music. Then, while Andrew worked on his laptop in preparation for the evening service, I took a nap in the sun. I can't even remember the last time I took a nap outside! It was so peaceful. I'm loving this 70-degree weather we're having right now...blue sky and sunshine make me happy!

This is the park we were at; I found this picture online, but it gives you an idea of our afternoon:

God knew California weather was perfect for me, so in His providence He moved us here. I don't miss the Oregon rain (sorry Anna!) and would never be able to live on the East Coast and deal with all the snow and ice (you all who live over there are made from hardier stuff than I am)!

Praising God for beautiful weather today...

Pictures!

2006-02-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

(See previous entry for explanation!)