DANCE, DANCE
(Kate Hurley, Michelle Patterson)
Lord, I cried out, I cried out to You
You answered me in Your mercy
You’re anger was fleeting
And now I will dance in your favor all my life
Let my heart sing for you
And not … remain silent
Let my heart sing for you
Turn my weeping into a dance
So dance, dance my soul
There’s no reason for you to weep
So dance, dance my soul,
Make music to your King.
[When God tells you he is going to do something, everything goes the opposite direction for a while. Then, praise God, it goes exactly the direction he said it was going to go. Hallelujah and Amen!]
Monday, January 23, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Move Over Sudoku
Ever since the first time I saw Sudoku books having their own stands at book stores, I have been frustrated. Sudoku is just a Japanese-named version of "Number Place" from Dell Magazines (or the other way around; either way, it only became popular once it had a catchy foreign name). I always wondered why "CrossSums" never became popular. They are the same idea, except they aren't in equilateral, symmetrical shapes nor does it use all nine digits in each row or column. Therefore, it is much more difficult and therefore more fun. Then, I saw it. KAKURO! Kakuro is the Japanese name for CrossSums. The only thing I could find before Kakuro was the little toilet-shaped books that have miniaturized CrossSums, and those just looked too easy.
So, for all of you seduced by Sudoku, try Kakuro, its/it's superior.
So, for all of you seduced by Sudoku, try Kakuro, its/it's superior.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Best Book EVER, Scariest Looking Animal EVER, and My Largest Leap Of Faith EVER
Best Book EVER:
Okay, maybe it's not the best book ever, but it has been incredibly important to my spiritual formation for the last four months. And now, I finally finished it. Of course, I think most books that I finish are good books. Well, if I think it isn't good, I won't finish it. Anyways, what is this great book? The book is "A Divine Confrontation" by Graham Cooke. Graham Cooke in general has been our spiritual meat for the last 10 months or so anyways, but mainly in a CD-sermon context. Then we moved onto devotional journals by Graham and now I finished the big book. It is the first 300+ pages book I've read all the way through probably since smaller-paged, larger-fonted books in high school. I would recommend ANYTHING by Graham Cooke. It has taken our spiritual lives dimensions past where we were just one year ago.
Scariest Looking Animal EVER:
There is a picture of a one-eyed, no-nosed kitten that was born in Oregon. For the one day of its existence, this animal was the scariest looking animal ever. Or at least scariest looking kitten ever. I guess a non-deformed giant milipede is scarier, but for being a non-Serengeti kitten, this looks scary.
Largest Leap Of Faith EVER:
Katy and I "recently" left our jobs at a church. We knew through many people and some prophetic words that God was calling us out of that ministry. Everything was then reaffirmed as things played out. God even revealed the day on which we were to get the ball rolling. Then, nothing. Well, not nothing, just all quiet on the spiritual front. But when you go from basic Christian existence to divine revelation, basic Christian existence seems to be just that: basic. During the time of revelation, we felt so close to God and his moving, but felt so unsure of everything the second we weren't in a time of revelation. Looking back, it is easier to see that we were relying upon our own knowledge of what God was doing moreso than on God himself. It is not that we hadn't had times of revelation before; ever since we began listening to Graham Cooke CDs we have been more open to the working of prophecy in his disciples and have therefore been more exposed to prophetic words. One of the things we learned about in those CDs was that God will give the prophetic word before appearances go the opposite direction.
So, that leads us to Christmas Eve, our last night at the church. We then spent a week and a half during the holidays with our families out of state. We have now been back for almost another week. God has provided everything we have needed, especially since the point that we stopped "providing" for ourselves.
Where does that leave us? We have no job, and therefore no way of providing for ourselves. And instead of proactively seeking jobs, God has called us to seek him. that is the HUGE leap of faith. But, looking at our situation and how God has provided for us for the last couple of months in obvious ways, we are in no position to question him. Normally, the worldly side of me would look at our situation and say, "I just need to find a way to bring in any money I can right now (within reason; i.e. not prostitution, drugs, or fast-food restaurants)." However, I am at peace right now. More than I was when I had an income. I know that God will direct us when it is time; God will provide until that point; God will provide after that point. The tough question is, how much am I supposed to be surrounding myself with job opportunities before God will point one out and how much am I supposed to just wait for God to direct us to it? But I try to not get bogged down with questions like that and try to remember to find rest in God and to seek God more than any earthly thing, especially a job.
After all that, please pray for Katy and I as we seek the Lord. Pray that we will have the faith and the patience that God is calling us to have in this time of transition between seasons in our life.
Okay, maybe it's not the best book ever, but it has been incredibly important to my spiritual formation for the last four months. And now, I finally finished it. Of course, I think most books that I finish are good books. Well, if I think it isn't good, I won't finish it. Anyways, what is this great book? The book is "A Divine Confrontation" by Graham Cooke. Graham Cooke in general has been our spiritual meat for the last 10 months or so anyways, but mainly in a CD-sermon context. Then we moved onto devotional journals by Graham and now I finished the big book. It is the first 300+ pages book I've read all the way through probably since smaller-paged, larger-fonted books in high school. I would recommend ANYTHING by Graham Cooke. It has taken our spiritual lives dimensions past where we were just one year ago.
Scariest Looking Animal EVER:
There is a picture of a one-eyed, no-nosed kitten that was born in Oregon. For the one day of its existence, this animal was the scariest looking animal ever. Or at least scariest looking kitten ever. I guess a non-deformed giant milipede is scarier, but for being a non-Serengeti kitten, this looks scary.
Largest Leap Of Faith EVER:
Katy and I "recently" left our jobs at a church. We knew through many people and some prophetic words that God was calling us out of that ministry. Everything was then reaffirmed as things played out. God even revealed the day on which we were to get the ball rolling. Then, nothing. Well, not nothing, just all quiet on the spiritual front. But when you go from basic Christian existence to divine revelation, basic Christian existence seems to be just that: basic. During the time of revelation, we felt so close to God and his moving, but felt so unsure of everything the second we weren't in a time of revelation. Looking back, it is easier to see that we were relying upon our own knowledge of what God was doing moreso than on God himself. It is not that we hadn't had times of revelation before; ever since we began listening to Graham Cooke CDs we have been more open to the working of prophecy in his disciples and have therefore been more exposed to prophetic words. One of the things we learned about in those CDs was that God will give the prophetic word before appearances go the opposite direction.
So, that leads us to Christmas Eve, our last night at the church. We then spent a week and a half during the holidays with our families out of state. We have now been back for almost another week. God has provided everything we have needed, especially since the point that we stopped "providing" for ourselves.
Where does that leave us? We have no job, and therefore no way of providing for ourselves. And instead of proactively seeking jobs, God has called us to seek him. that is the HUGE leap of faith. But, looking at our situation and how God has provided for us for the last couple of months in obvious ways, we are in no position to question him. Normally, the worldly side of me would look at our situation and say, "I just need to find a way to bring in any money I can right now (within reason; i.e. not prostitution, drugs, or fast-food restaurants)." However, I am at peace right now. More than I was when I had an income. I know that God will direct us when it is time; God will provide until that point; God will provide after that point. The tough question is, how much am I supposed to be surrounding myself with job opportunities before God will point one out and how much am I supposed to just wait for God to direct us to it? But I try to not get bogged down with questions like that and try to remember to find rest in God and to seek God more than any earthly thing, especially a job.
After all that, please pray for Katy and I as we seek the Lord. Pray that we will have the faith and the patience that God is calling us to have in this time of transition between seasons in our life.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Stupid Things
We recently bought Mrs. Grass Extra Noodles soup as opposed to Mrs. Grass Noodle Soup. I would like to publicly point out that there are NO extra noodles. It's a scam! They simply tell you to put in less water, thus making it more noodles PER SERVING. Don't buy it!
Our favorite fish, Spike, has died. I found him being eaten by the catfish this morning even though he wasn't fully dead. So we put him out of his misery and flushed him. There was a time of mourning and the tank doesn't look the same without him. Katy always said she wouldn't talk to me if anything ever happened to Spike, but we're still talking.
Our favorite fish, Spike, has died. I found him being eaten by the catfish this morning even though he wasn't fully dead. So we put him out of his misery and flushed him. There was a time of mourning and the tank doesn't look the same without him. Katy always said she wouldn't talk to me if anything ever happened to Spike, but we're still talking.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Like a Spiritual Scavenger Hunt
Sometimes life is like a spiritual scavenger hunt. You get a clue on what to do and then you don't get your next clue until you've completed it. Or maybe it's like driving someone home for the first time when they are not paying attention; you just keep driving down a road until at the last second the person says, "Turn here."
At the beginning of November, Katy and I realized that God is calling us out of our current ministry situation. We have started everything in motion towards that end at the church. We will no longer be at the church as of January 1. However, all that we've known so far is that we are being called out of this church, the day that we were to start everything in motion, and the time we are to leave. We do not know where God is leading us next, where we will work, where we will live, or how else God will provide; we simply know that God will provide. We will most likely stay at our current apartment at least until our lease is up in August. Our best leads so far will be that Katy will be dressed in an apron supplying people's fix and that I will be dressed in red and khaki adjusting endcaps and mini-seasonal sections.
Please be praying for us in this season. Also let us know of any job opportunities for us.
At the beginning of November, Katy and I realized that God is calling us out of our current ministry situation. We have started everything in motion towards that end at the church. We will no longer be at the church as of January 1. However, all that we've known so far is that we are being called out of this church, the day that we were to start everything in motion, and the time we are to leave. We do not know where God is leading us next, where we will work, where we will live, or how else God will provide; we simply know that God will provide. We will most likely stay at our current apartment at least until our lease is up in August. Our best leads so far will be that Katy will be dressed in an apron supplying people's fix and that I will be dressed in red and khaki adjusting endcaps and mini-seasonal sections.
Please be praying for us in this season. Also let us know of any job opportunities for us.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Lazy Life of Fish
Life has been a little traumatic for our fish recently. In late October, the filter on our top tank stopped working. Due to a lack of money free to invest in a new filter, we had to go au natural in the top tank. We feared that our bigger fish in the top tank would die, so we moved them to the bottom tank where the filter still worked. That overstocked the bottom tank, but was our best chances of fish surviving. The nitrate levels in both tanks skyrocketed, but no fish died in the top tank (God preserves the sparrows). Recently, Trevor (our first Gourami) died in the bottom tank. We set aside some money to get a new filter for the top tank. Once the new filter was bought and ran for a day or so, we moved Spike (our largest Angelfish) back up to the top tank. Most recently, Katy bought me a new Gourami named Hope. Hope is larger than Bronch and they seem to get along better than Bronch and Itis and Trevor. I think Hope is a male and the rest were females. Soon T will be moved back to the top tank, too.
We have Katy's dad's old 30 gallon tank now as well. Once we get a stand for it, we can start the process of preparing it for fish. This may be a while, though.
We have Katy's dad's old 30 gallon tank now as well. Once we get a stand for it, we can start the process of preparing it for fish. This may be a while, though.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Miscellanies
The Mexico mission trip is too daunting of a task to discuss here, but I would definitely recommend looking into Tapestries Of Life Ministries.
At Davanni's Pizza, they have advertisements about how they have been a leader in pizza for 25 years. On the top of their table tents, they have a quote from Nelson Mandela about how its reassuring to return to something and see that it hasn't changed. I'm pretty sure that his quote is sarcastic, but I don't think Davanni's realizes that.
Last night, we were THAT couple. We needed two carts at the grocery store. The 5lb bag of potatos and the 8pack of paper towels aided in this feat, but we would have probably needed it anyway.
While trying to figure out what we should get people for Christmas this year, we tried to realize whether we are as difficult to buy for as some of the people that we are getting gifts for. The jury is still out.
Now that Illinois has doubled the cost of its tolls for anyone not using an I-pass, it makes "taking the scenic route" a much more appealing option, but we would waste so much time going out of the way to avoid losing our laundry money.
That's it for now.
At Davanni's Pizza, they have advertisements about how they have been a leader in pizza for 25 years. On the top of their table tents, they have a quote from Nelson Mandela about how its reassuring to return to something and see that it hasn't changed. I'm pretty sure that his quote is sarcastic, but I don't think Davanni's realizes that.
Last night, we were THAT couple. We needed two carts at the grocery store. The 5lb bag of potatos and the 8pack of paper towels aided in this feat, but we would have probably needed it anyway.
While trying to figure out what we should get people for Christmas this year, we tried to realize whether we are as difficult to buy for as some of the people that we are getting gifts for. The jury is still out.
Now that Illinois has doubled the cost of its tolls for anyone not using an I-pass, it makes "taking the scenic route" a much more appealing option, but we would waste so much time going out of the way to avoid losing our laundry money.
That's it for now.
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