My week of THANKS!

I was blessed by having all of last week off from school. I was not blessed by suffering from the flu to start my break, well, on second thought, maybe the flu was a blessing, a blessing in disguise. While most people spent the break eating too much and gaining weight, I on the other hand, was not eating too much and, therefore, losing weight. The flu shrunk my stomach and as a result I have been determined to stay healthy and watch the amount I eat and what I eat. So right before Thanksgiving I went on a semi-diet. I no longer drink those highly caloric coffee drinks, like the Egg Nog Latte. I no longer drink soda, like Dr. Pepper. And I no longer eat at Famous Daves, okay I take that back, I eat crackers, carrots, celery, and a hamburger with no bun while I am at work. Nonetheless, I was able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal; I just did not eat a lot. Also over the break I found myself sleeping more than I should have and watching way too much football. I worked a little and studied not nearly as much as I should have...oh well...I was on break! The good news is that Thanksgiving break means 2.5 more weeks in the semester. Bad news is that I usually mentally check out of school after Thanksgiving break, of course when it is the most important time of the semester! So, instead of rambling on I should finish this paper that is due this evening.

Jess and Matt are engaged!!!!!

On Friday evening, November 9, Matt asked Jess to marry him! She said "YES!" Here is the story, written by Jess...

At 3:45 am on Friday, Nov. 9th, Matt came over to my house and woke me abruptly, saying I needed to get dressed because we were leaving. I kept saying, "I'm supposed to teach today!" Matt said he had already talked with my principal and I had the day off of school. At that hour in the morning, nothing really made sense, and it took me awhile to realize that it was not going to be an ordinary weekend! As I quickly showered and dressed, my roommate, Brienne, threw some essentials into a bag for me. Then Matt whisked me out the door and we drove to the Colorado Springs Airport. It turns out he had buddy passes (cheap plane tickets) from his friend, Brent, who is a pilot. We were on standby for a plane to San Francisco that only had 5 seats available, but 8 people on standby! Amazingly, we were able to get on the plane. When we arrived in San Fran, it took us awhile to figure out the public transportation. Eventually, we made our way to the Fisherman's Wharf, where we caught a boat to Alcatraz Island--yes, where a maximum security prison used to be! We toured the beautiful island and enjoyed time overlooking the bay's bridges and city skyline. Several hours later, we were back on the mainland watching street performers, poking into tiny shops and taking fun pictures of all the unique sights. We continued walking along the water to Fort Mason Park, and around sundown, we stood on a hill that perfectly overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge. As we reminisced about the past several months, Matt wrapped me in his arms and said, "Jess, I have a few words to say..." He then proposed...and I said YES! It was a perfect moment. Afterwards, I called my family--Hannah delivered a scream that still has my ears ringing. : ) We later took a bus to the Cliff House, a restaurant on the beach where we enjoyed a window seat, string music and a delicious dinner. Matt told me I couldn't plan our wedding yet, so we spent the time enjoying each other's company and reveling in how much God has blessed us.

Lamenting over our so often incorrect testimony of God

So often we as Christians do such a poor job of representing and being a living testimony to the true God. All too often, as followers, we portray a picture of God that is contrary to the very nature of God. It is at these times when I am most ashamed to be associated with Christianity. What is worse is when leaders of a church portray a grossly incorrect view of who God is and what He has called us to do and be. One of my friends has experienced just this in the past month and I have been on the outside looking in. To say the least, the more information I acquire the most outraged I become. The breaking point was yesterday when I was informed of more reasons for this church's behavior. To be brief...A youth pastor was fired from the church he worked at for many years because he became sick and was diagnosed with a curable neurological disorder. He is currently on meds and making improvements. The key here is that the disease is curable. Upon hearing this, the senior pastor, along with other leaders, decided it was in the best interest of the church and the youth pastor to fire him. The senior pastor has made it clear that he was not fired over any sin issues. Thus, the youth pastor is being punished for getting sick. My immediate response was, why did they have to fire him? Why not give him a 3 month leave and have leaders in the church sit in and teach the youth until their pastor returns. I mean the church, since firing him, is already paying him for the next 3 months anyway. So why not give him 3 months and during this leave, teach the kids about the power of prayer and fasting. I can assume that this would be a huge educational time for these kids as they are engaged in serious prayer and fasting for the restored health of their pastor. Also, during this time, along with praying and fasting, the kids could learn about God's sovereignty and that sometimes God chooses not to heal. These kids could learn about lamenting and disappointment with God. I envisioned this as a huge teaching opportunity but the church obviously closed the door on God and decided that God would not heal this man and therefore, he had to be fired. My outrage came when I heard the pastor's response to the question of why not give the youth pastor a 3 month leave and let him get well. He said that he didn't want to have the kids praying for 3 months only to be disappointed if God does not heal their pastor. He figured this was not healthy for the kids to be disappointed with God. WHAT?!?!?!? Welcome to the Christian journey...it is not all about happy times and God answering our every prayers! Suffering and lamenting are part of what it means to be a Christian and what not a better time to teach these kids this truth. The message this senior pastor is sending is, "We only pray and believe in the power of prayer when we know, without a doubt, that God will answer it. Therefore, we are never disappointed with God." No one in the church leadership has said that directly. But, I have concluded, based on the recent events and comments, that is precisely what this senior pastor believes, even if he does not know that he believes it and is unwilling to directly say it. This is terrible and my only response is to lament! Lamenting not only over this church's leadership but also over all other incorrect portrayals of God that we Christians show to the un-believing world...yes, even mine! I am guilty too!

My new toy!!!!

Here she is...the machine I love to spends hours a week on! Today I rode 23 miles on her and I hated that I had to turn around when I did!