Sunday Morning

Grandpa is still in hospital. Apparently the docs were willing to let him go home this week, but he wasn't willing to go home, so there he still is. Grandma, on the other hand, decided to give us all a fright by going to the emergency room on Friday evening with chest pains. Which, by the way, gave my brother his first experience calling 9-1-1. As happy as I am to have never needed to call them, I'm kind of jealous, too. For some reason, they sent an ambulance, a police car, and a firetruck. I'm still not too clear on the details of why the emergency services do this. Did they think Grandma's chest pains might be related to her being on fire? Or (perhaps the more likely conclusion) did they just remember that the last time they visited this house, someone had to be carried out the window, and thus thought the more people there, the better? Anyway. Grandma was sent home at 2 AM, after having experienced a battery of tests, and having scared my mother half out of her wits. The good news there is, you keep scaring her half out of her wits, she always has some left. As long as no one scares her out of the other half, we're okay.

Nothing to Report...

And you would think, that being the case, that I wouldn't bother to blog. Well, you would be wrong.

I was summoned for jury duty this week. Eagle-eyed readers will note that "I was summoned," not "I attended." Well, it wasn't for lack of trying. I set out on what was a cold, very windy Wednesday morning to get the bus. I didn't know it was cold and windy until I was on my way, and thus had to stop to retrive my hat and gloves from my bag. I was still a couple of blocks from the bus stop when I saw it go by-- even with the bus having a red light, I was too far away to run for it. So good sense prevailed and I didn't try. Instead, I went back home, logged on to the county's really exciting web site, and rescheduled. (And I'm sure the county clerk employee who got my email muttered something really nice about waiting until the last possible minute to reschedule.) And then went to work. Funnily enough, in our office of 30ish people, two other people were summoned for the same day. Neither of them missed the bus though, perhaps because they had cars to get there in. Hmmm. Anyway, one of them was my supervisor, who actually was picked to serve on a jury. But it was a quick trial apparantly, as she was back today.

In completely unrelated news, the rain we got over the weekend was enough to fill the playa lakes back to more or less their normal levels. I've been watching the one in Maxey Park (near my work) shrink over the last five months, and it's been enough to fascinate even me who has no interest in-- I don't even know what field "looking at the earth under the water of a playa lake" falls into. Geology, maybe? Anyway, it was cool to watch, even when I was wishing for rain. But on Monday, when I went out for my normal lunch-time walk, the water was back where it belonged, and it was even more bizzare than seeing the water receding. I walked around the lake, finding it unbeliveable that I was walking out there just five days ago. (Well, at that time it was five days ago.) I was also having a rough time keeping my feet because the wind was so wild. If I'd had a cell phone, I would have called someone from the office to come get me, while hanging on to a tree for dear life. But I fought through it and went back to the office. And spent a considerable amount of time brushing out my hair so I wouldn't scare the patients.

Edited to remove quiz results, because they were screwing up my margins, and therefore, my sidebar.

Jeff Foxworthy on Indiana

I just got this e-mail from my cousin, and I had to blog it:

Jeff Foxworthy on Indiana.................

If someone in a store offers you assistance & they don't work there, you might live in Indiana. ***

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Indiana. ***

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Indiana.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Indiana.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE HOOSIER WHEN:

1. Vacation means going north or south on I-65 for the weekend. ***

2. You measure distance in hours. ***

3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once. ***

4. You often switch from heat to AC in the same day and back again. ***

5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching. ***

6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events including weddings.

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.

9. You design your kid's (in my case, my own) Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. ***

10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. ***

11. You know all 5 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, road construction, & It's Hot. ***

12. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.

13. Down south means Kentucky to you. ***

14. A brat is something you eat.

15. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.

16. You go out to a tailgate party every Friday.

17. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

18. You find 0 degrees a "little chilly." ***

19. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Indiana friends. (What's not to understand?)


I decided to really show my true Hoosier colours (which, by the way, are not red and white), and put stars next to the ones that, at some point in my life, I have thought/experienced. I hope everyone gets a good laugh out of this one.

It's Raining!

I peeked outside this morning after getting up, only to see-- RAIN!!! Now if you don't live around here, let me explain. About a week or so ago, they announced on the news we had gone 150 days with less than a quarter-inch of rain. In fact, on day 97 (I think!) we got three-one-hundreths of an inch, which was the first measurable rain for 97 days. (I'm pretty impressed that such an inconsequential amount of rain is called "measurable".)

Yesterday morning, I was brushing my teeth when I heard a strange noise on our roof. We live on the top floor of our apartments, and pigeons tend to hang out around the air-conditioning units (why, I have no idea), so I thought it was just the birds. I looked outside and told Chad that it must be cold, because people were really bundled up-- and then I realised that it was raining. But I think our ensuing excitement must have scared it away, because it was gone when I went outside five minutes later. I think this morning's shower may be already gone, too.

Anyway, at nine o' clock this morning, tea cup in hand, I went outside to have a closer look at the rain, and thus became one of those people who goes outside dressed in a bathrobe and sweats early in the morning. (Well, early for a Saturday morning.) But, it was totally worth it. And a great opportunity for a prayer of thanksgiving.


And another ETA:

I'm adding the Myers Brothers Band to my list of family/friends blogs (hey, I may not know them well, but I have known them for a while!). I'm assuming, again, that most people who wander on here have at least a vague idea of who they are-- so pop on over to their blog and give them a listen. And if you don't know who they are-- same recommendation.

Computers: can't live with 'em, can't use 'em for target practise because they cost too much

Well, I am able to view my blog now (apparently my credentials checked out), but I only get the archives section. Oh, and the last two posts on the list of recent posts. Sigh. I hope no-one out there is looking for me today.

Another week has come and gone, and I am once again up against a weekend. This weekend, however, will be spent typing up notes from Judges and Ruth, for myself and to share with the kids in Bible bowl. So I'm going to start on that as soon as I finish emptying my brain here.

I went to the gym last night, did some weights, had a really good cardio workout, and was just getting off the elliptical machine when someone approached to tell me a Pilates class was starting. I was dripping with sweat, totally flushed (all over), and looking forward to a cool-down ride home, so what do I say? "Okay, I'll try it!" (I didn't used to be a moron. What happened?) Anyway, it was an enjoyable class, but I got home much, much later than I intended. Oh, well, not a problem once in a while. Unfortunately, two of the class instructors now know my name... may have to run and hide when I see them coming...


Edited to add:

I've added a few things on my sidebar, but the one I wanted to point out is the blog link to Rebecca Evans, who is currently teaching school in Uganda. She is from Lubbock, and attended the South Plains congregation as a matter of fact. I put her in the "family and friends" section, even though technically we are only acquaintances, on the basis that she is my sister in Christ! Anyway, I wanted to give a little attention to her direction. (One note: when I tried to check it, it seemed that her blog was working about as well as mine. I hope it will be up again soon.)

How'd that happen?

I've now tried three times to look at my blog, b/c I made some template changes, either last night or this morning, can't remember which, and I want to look at them. But I have now gotten the same message three times:
You are not authorized to view this page
You might not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials you supplied.
I am not authorised to view my blog, apparently. Too bad my own credentials don't meet my own exacting standards to view my own blog. Eh?

Anyway, viewing my blog is actually a small matter to me right now, b/c I have something to share of actual value for a change. I was at Camp Adventure off and on this week-- the building is pretty close to my work, so I skipped on over at lunch a couple of times, plus we went to the evening stuff. So on Wednesday at lunch, I walked to the building hoping to hear a couple of letters from Aim students on the field, see some friends, etc. When I walked in, Kris Smith was in the middle of a story about visiting the Aim students in the Ukraine. He asked one of the girls what she was going to do first when she got back to the States, and she told him that she would buy some new shoes. The shoes she was wearing at the time were getting worn out, with holes in them and the sole parting company with the rest of the shoe. As Kris was describing the shoes, I was thinking, "I hear ya." If you didn't read my post about needing new shoes-- I walk just about everywhere and am quickly wearing my own shoes out. SO, a couple of weeks later, Kris gets an e-mail from this girl telling him that she was wrong, and she doesn't need new shoes. She had noticed that one of the Ukrainians (and possibly more than one) had shoes that were much, much more worn than her own, so she decided that she could do with hers as they were.

Well, obviously, I decided that I don't need new shoes. I am getting holes and worn-down treads, but they still work, and thus far the soles are sticking with the uppers on my shoes. So I had a conversation with God as I walked back to the office, and we made a list of all the things that I want, which I frequently refer to as "needs", that I don't actually need. I'm not going to repeat the list here, except to say: 1. New Shoes.

The day may come when I discuss the 5 month+ drought we've got going on here, but it is not this day. Today, we go to bed!

One Day More

What can I say, the Les Miserables soundtrack is in my head more or less all the time, so this brilliant song at the conclusion of Act One is bouncing around in there right now. And I must say, while I liked this song before ever seeing the musical in person, it was much, much more impressive live. And now it's tied for my favourite song in the musical, with "Do You Hear the People Sing?"

Thursday and Friday we had some nasty wind, accompanied (as it usually is around here) by flying dirt. Saturday gave us a bit of a reprive, which lasted (as it turned out) into early Sunday morning. So on Sunday, we rode our newly-repaired bikes to church. Now it's just over 3 miles from our apartment to South Plains. This is a trip we've taken many, many times before, but it's been a few months so we're out of condition, and the light wind that we had on Sunday was against us on the way there. Neither of these things were a problem.

Problem: When we walked out of church at noon, the wind had picked up again (I heard later the gusts were 60+ mph), and had picked up the dust to go with it. So we had a couple of options: Take the bikes home, or find a lift home and get the bikes later. Since there was no hope of the wind settling down within a couple of hours, we decided to ride home and hope for the best. There were plenty of points along the route when I didn't even bother to pedal, because I was being pushed along by the wind-- and at one stoplight, I was almost swept off my feet (quite literally) by an unexpected, and very strong, gust. Anyway, we went the long way around, to avoid being blown into traffic, so we didn't get home any more quickly than we had gotten there that morning (despite my joking that we would be home in 15 minutes). The wind, incidentially, continued throughout most of the night, but it was calm by Monday morning. And has been so ever since, although the cold front that blew in is still around. (Typical... last week we had multiple days of 70+ weather; this week, spring break, it's been in the 50s.)

I've run across a couple of blogs lately belonging to people I do not know, so I won't name them here, except to say that clicking on the "random blog" button or one of the "recently updated" blogs can yield some surprising, and rewarding, results. (But not all the time, so please don't blame me if you end up on the I-hate-everything-including-you blog.)

sparquay

Check out this video at sparquay's blog (He's my former teammate and now a youth minister in Georgia). It's a parody on the current run of Sonic adverts and is quite funny.

Tennis shoes and Sandals

So we went to the Aim graduation banquet last night, probably the last one we'll attend-- at least until we start meeting more Aim students. I knew about 5 people in the graduating class, one of them being the younger sister of my own Aim teammate. But in the last class and the current class, I know a grand total of zero (0) people. So I do not see many Aim graduations in my future.

And I only write about it here because of what I wore. Now, I am not at all a normal 20-something woman who knows all about clothes and shoes. If I ruled the world, we'd all wear scrubs to work, capris and T-shirts in our spare time, and skirts and tights would be banned. And high heels (although I have no objection to platform shoes). Anyway, I do normally dress up for Aim banquets, but this year, we had to walk there (or, as I've heard it said, we took the "shoe-leather express"). So we both went in slacks, nice tops, and tennis shoes. The best outfit in the world can be made to look very casual when you put tennis shoes on with it.

As often happens to those who use their shoes a lot, Chad and I both need new ones. I have three pairs of tennis shoes, he has two, and none of them have any tread left. Well, that's kind of important. And when we buy shoes this time, we'll have to get good quality, substantial ones that can stand up to us walking a few miles every day. So this will take some looking, comparison shopping, and so on. If anyone would like to offer suggestions, they would be highly appreciated, because I know next to nothing about shoes. I know which foot they go on, and that's about it.

And as we were walking, we were talking about God and his promises. I am so blessed to have a husband who cares passionately about studying the Bible and sharing what he's learned. But our topic led my brain to wander and think about Jesus and his disciples, who walked everywhere they went (no cycling for them!) wearing sandals. And not the comfortable sandals we have today. I don't know what their shoes were made of, although I would guess either wood or some reeds woven together in a complicated way. And they walked for miles in them! I discussed this with Chad and a friend of ours (another younger sibling of my former teammate) after the banquet last night, and Chad pointed out that the sandal-wearing was the reason for the practise of washing feet being an integral part of hospitality at the time. Personally, I also think this is why they ate lying down-- just to get your feet elevated a bit and off the ground. As someone who has experienced a blood clot in my leg from too much standing, I shudder to think what it would be like to have one in an age in which not only was it undiagnosable, but it was certainly untreatable! Anyway, I don't know if they had the same kind of thorns and sticker bushes to deal with as we do, but I imagine there was some form of it. I can't walk around in sandals without getting a sticker in my toes. So what a walk that must have been for Jesus and his disciples-- going along, dust blowing, hot day, and every few feet someone has to stop to remove a thorn from his foot. And another thing we talked about last night was blisters. Did people in that time develop some serious callouses an early age, so that their feet would not be continually covered in blisters? I would certainly hope so. I hate to think the shape my feet would be in if I walked to work, or to church (4 and 3 miles away, respectively), in sandals. I wouldn't be walking for a few days after that, that's for sure.

Okay, so I've written an entire post about shoes. I can't believe it. Oh, and just as a side note, I saw a friend from waaay back in my summer camp days last night. He's in town to visit someone over spring break, and he came to the Aim banquet as well (he is also an ex-Aimer). So it was cool to see him, and maybe we'll have a chance to catch up a bit this week.

Before Going to the Gym

I just checked my e-mail and in it were the prayer requests from our Bible class last Sunday. And mine was phrased thusly: "Susan-- Grandpa broke hip & family." Now to be fair, I think that is how my husband wrote it down. However, while my grandfather does indeed have a broken hip, he did not break his family. We are all still in one piece. I really hope everyone else find it as amusing as I did. As far as Grandpa goes, apparently he will be in hospital for at least a week. Our phone card ran out of minutes on Wednesday, and we don't have a cell phone (pauses for gasps of horror), so I haven't talked to them in a couple of days. I just get my information from my brother's blog.

Yesterday! I bought a new coat! That may seem like a lot of excitement for what is actually a very small deal, however it can be substantiated. My last coat I've now had for seven winters. It was a thrift store find in Glasgow, one of those with two layers- an outer windbreaker and an inner fleece jacket- that can be worn together or separately. And when they are together, it is the warmest jacket I've ever owned. So I've been reluctant to part with it, but it has been steadily deteriorating over the past few years of wear, and after my bike accident last fall, the windbreader now has two irreperable tears in the sleeve. So I decided to wait until winter coats went on sale, and get a new one as much like the old one as possible. I had anticipated it would take most of my day today to (1)ride my bike to the mall, (2)find a place to park it, and (3)look in several stores until I either found something I liked at a reasonable price or gave up in frustration. Well, while sitting at work yesterday, I decided that Chad and I should walk to Kmart (pauses for a second gasp of horror) after work and see if there was anything available that would be suitable. So after a rather windy (and life-threatening-- some of these people should have their driver's licenses revoked) walk to Kmart, we walked straight to a rack of exactly what I was looking for. Not only does it have two detachable layers, but the inner layer is reversible, and it's a nice lime green. The only drawback to this new jacket is that the outer layer isn't wind- or waterproof. But I am still pretty happy about it.

Chad is getting our bikes fixed this morning (another reason against riding my bike to the mall) and I'm going to the gym. I've been doing cardio workouts all week in our mini-gym at work, but I need to do some weights, too, and thus far I've been avoiding it. Fortunately, there aren't many people at the gym at this time on a Saturday, so I can take my time figuring out how much weight, how many reps, etc. And if I am totally bewildered by any given piece of equipment (which seems likely), I can ask without feeling too dumb.

Tonight is the Aim graduation banquet, for... I think the class that began in 2003. This is the only class in recent years of which I know quite a few people. After being an assistant for the 2000 & 2001 classes, I haven't really kept up with them. And, quite honestly, it's hard for the Aim students themselves to be interested in talking to someone who is outside their realm. I found that out when I tried talking to various people in the current class, early in the year. And goodness knows I remember what that was like-- there are too many new people, new sights, new experiences, and so on to want to add anything extra. Even going to the grocery store was an exercise in "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto" for me. Anyway, the banquet also is the beginning of Camp Adventure, and it is a time to see friends we don't really see apart from this time of year. And a friend of Chad's from California is the main speaker during the week, so we always enjoy getting to see him.

Until next time...

We're supposed to sing about Piratey things

This Sunday at Bible Bowl, we're teaching the last three chapters of Judges. If you haven't read them in a while, they are an example of just how evil Israel could be. I'm not repeating the content here, mostly because everyone who will be reading my blog owns a Bible and can read it themselves. But our skit for the evening is "A Pirate Adventure." It was really entertaining reading it Sunday evening, because everyone uses a different accent, and because the person who wrote the script generally includes a few spelling errors for our entertainment. (For example, in one of my lines, I say, "Not even a bite!" However, the script reads, "Not even a bight!") I am naturally using a Scottish accent, because it tends to lend itself to moments like these (my apologies to any Scots reading this whose ancestors were not pirates), and also because that way I can say pretty much anything I want and none of the children or other teachers will understand. Well, except for Chad, of course. We have the evening off from actual teaching, which is a relief because we haven't had a week off yet. Actually, we got the week off because I wrote the review questions for these chapters, and told everyone else in no uncertain terms that there was no way I was teaching them. And they took me seriously.

Now that I have my links going at the side, here's a quick rundown of what they are: Google news-- duh. South Plains is the website for the church we currently attend. AIM is the abbreviation for Adventures in Missions, a program that allows college students to experience missions firsthand (and of which I am a graduate!). Know Truth is a website run by a couple of friends of ours, which talks about absolute truth and the existence of God. LOTR caption page has a lot of stills from the LOTR movies, along with some very funny captions about those pictures. Some are stories, some are stand-alone, and some are a bit questionable, just by way of warning. And the last one is for Best Smileys, the index of the emoticons I use-- there are a lot of good ones on there.

Now that we are over a week past the end of the Olympics, and the Paralypmics are about to start (on March 10), the hype is (more or less) forgotten, the soveniers are bought and, most likely, stashed in a corner somewhere, and our TVs are long since tuned to something else. And while I enjoy the Olympics, I only mention them here because I am still so encouraged by people like Joey Cheek, Clara Huges, and Yang Yang A. who used their Olympian status to bring attention to Right to Play. And I didn't see interviews with either Clara or Yang, but Joey Cheek used a lot of his interview time talking about Right to Play and why it is a good cause. So thanks to these athletes, and the others who donated who haven't been mentioned by name, for bringing some sense of dignity and what has been called "the Olympic spirit" back to the reputation of the athletes. Unfortunately, some others of the athletes really gave them all a bad name this time around. And I'll be adding the Right to Play website to my list of links shortly.

This post is getting kind of long, but what can I say? I'm long-winded. Today was the primary election in Texas. An acquaintence of ours from church is running for judge, and the results so far are very much not in his favour. But, the only ones posted are from early voting and they were expecting turnout today to be higher than turnout all through early voting. So I'm keeping a pretty close eye on the results as they come up. Turnout locally was expected to be pretty high, due to a rather heated, and pretty ugly, campaign for a Texas House seat. The incumbent is well on top at the moment, and I'm pretty happy about that because the challenger went negative-- and I mean way negative-- first. So I have to say, it totally serves him right should he be defeated.

And, finally, we saw Hotel Rwanda on Sunday night. That is one powerful movie, one which certainly earned all its nominations and awards. I was warned to take some tissues with me to see it, which it turns out I didn't need, but it was pretty close. If you haven't seen it yet, by all means, do so. But be prepared; it is a close look at one of the most horrific moments in recent history. I can't speak for everyone who was watching, but I know I felt this; when the U.S. failed to help these people, and in fact wanted to pull out the few UN peacekeepers who were there... to say we messed up is inadequate. We blew it. Completely. I hope we've learned from our previous foreign policy mistakes, but as we all know, the only thing people ever learn from history is that no one ever learns anything from history. Rwanda is now one of the most stable countries in the world, but what a terrible price they had to pay to get there.

Well, I finished this abnormally long post on a down note, I'm afraid. But if you've stuck it out to get to the end of this post; thank you. You deserve a medal.

Good morning

It's almost time for me to go to work! Grandpa had his surgery last night, and all went well. I was on the phone with my siblings until about 10, when they were able to go into his room and I really needed to go to bed. But at least I got to hear that he was out of recovery and in a regular room.

The birds are wide awake outside-- I seriously don't know how anyone could sleep through the birds getting up. And they don't sleep in on the weekends. It's nice of them to announce the day, I suppose. And I do enjoy watching them on the tree outside our window.

Time to go... more soon, I hope.

Update

Well, I'm having trouble getting to my previous post to update, so I'll just post a new one. Grandpa has broken his hip and, as my brother put it, he'll be staying in that $1,000-per night hotel room until his team of various doctors can be consulted regarding surgery. Any prayers sent his way will be appreciated.

Waiting

I just got off the phone with my brother. Our grandfather fell down earlier this afternoon, landing on his hip, and he couldn't get up again. So they are now at the hospital, and I'm waiting on a call back from my brother once they know something.

Both of my grandparents are really calm right now, which is something. Of course, Grandpa has been in poor health for about 20 years, so they are more or less accustomed to the routine. And on a lighter note, the paramedics had to take Grandpa out of the house through the window! My grandparents' bedroom is at the end of a narrow hallway, with a fairly narrow doorway added to that, so with Grandpa on a backboard there was no negotiating the turn. So out the window he went. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I would give a whole lot to have been in the room when they took him out. Or- even better- standing outside. Hee.

Friday morning

I love walking. Especially early in the morning. One of the upsides to being car-free is that I get to take the bus quite a bit-- and today was one of those days. So I got off the bus about a mile from the office and had a nice walk the rest of the way.

On my mind this morning was an e-mail I got last night about how women can safeguard themselves, to some extent, from being abducted. Apparently women with long hair are more likely to be a target (the reason being the the hair is easy to grab on to). Also the prime time for abduction is between 5:30 - 8:30 am. Well, I have 2 out of 2 right there. So I was more jittery, and certainly more aware of my surroundings, than usual this morning.

My morning started off pretty funny; our apartments have access gates, and when I went out, the doorknob came off in my hand. That's never happened before. And on the bus, I overheard a man talking about the bus he normally takes, which had "about 60 kids on it this morning." Well, I could guess what was coming next, so I stayed tuned. The woman he was speaking to thought he was talking about schoolchildren, I think, but it turns out he was talking about the Aim students, and he said some really nice things about them in the course of his conversation. So if there are any Aim students, or assistants, reading this: People are watching. Keep up the good work.

But what really made me feel particularly alive and happy this morning were the daffodils. Now I know we've had a mild winter, so it's no surprise that flowers are blooming, but I have also seen these same flowers brave the ice of Scotland this time of year. Daffodils are gifts sent from God, just as everything else on earth is, but flowers that bloom while there is still snow on the ground (in some places) are an extra-special blessing. It's almost as though God is saying, "Don't worry- spring is coming, look, here are some flowers to tide you over."

Okay, well, that turned out more sappy than I intended, but that's the kind of morning I had. :) I also thought of the new series of Visa commercials (the Life takes... Visa ones) as I was walking, and decided, I feel more like I'm participating in life when I'm out walking at this time of day. And I can't think of a better way to start a Friday.

Conversation Starters

Every week... seriously, this has been the case for the last five months or so... I get to Wednesday and think, "Really? It's Wednesday already? This week is flying by!" Then, by 3:00 on Thursday, I'm thinking, "It's only Thursday? This week is NEVER going to end!"

This has been a week of good conversations for me. Not all of them have been fun ones, but there have been a lot of good ones. And the unfun ones tend to lead to growth for me, so I can't really be sad about that, can I? It all started with some very good conversations with God, which leads naturally to conversations with friends, coworkers, and my husband. I've been praying (among other things) to hear God's voice and to see areas in my life that need growth. So it happens that this has been a week of frustration, in which Chad has had to bear with me more than usual. :) I love him so much.

I was talking with a coworker, in one of these conversations, about reading the Bible. It swung round to me saying that I frequently read the Bible and think, "ouch." For instance, I read in Judges about God doing amazing things for Israel, only for the Israelites to desert God in favor of Baal. Over and over again, he draws them back and they go their own way. Ouch.

This picture is from our first Sunday of Bible Bowl; not the best shot, although Chad and I are both in it. Well, you can see my hair. :) The mummy in the background is an actual person, who came to life and chased Scooby and Co. around the stage at one point in the skit (I was backstage and didn't get to see it, but the screams coming from up front were enough to keep us all rolling with laughter in the back.).

Chad made some brilliant spaghetti for our dinner; I usually make the sauce myself, but this time he bought some stuff in a jar that was just amazing. And I would recommend it to all, but I can't remember the name. Garden fresh something or other, I think-- it had tons of veggies in it. Really good stuff. And afterwards we went for a walk to enjoy the really nice evening. The neighbourhood we live in is great for walking in (which is good, since that's all we do!). The sunset was very orange tonight-- it was brilliant. Oh, and two dogs were following us for a while. I don't know if that means anything.