The Jesus We're Getting To Know

Last night was our first small group meeting. There were 9 people there, which is a great start. Phil and Cassie are wonderful hosts...comfy chairs...peach pie...

I'm pretty good with names, but my biggest problem is remembering which wife goes with which husband. Hopefully everyone else can figure it out. Just for the record, though, it's Mike/Denise, Ben/Amy, Phil/Cassie, Chad/Becky, and Josh/Sarah.

I'm kind of a mnemonic device dork, but the other girls' names are helpfully alphabetic...A B C D. If you want to join our group, your (or your wife's) name needs to start with an E, please.

Josh and I have each been leaders of various small groups in the past, and it's now being an interesting challenge to lead a group together. It's been the source of some tension over this past week as we prepared for Thursday night, but ultimately we've both had to agree to trust one another's leadership style and allow this adventure to strengthen our relationship.

The book we're going to start studying is a Phillip Yancey book called "The Jesus I Never Knew." I think it will be a good pick for this group, most of whom grew up in church and have at least a basic understanding of scripture. But do we really know Jesus, in the sense that we walk and commune and seek and talk and relate with Him? Probably not very well, or very often, would be my answer.

So I'm humbled and blessed to be part of this group, to journey with these people, to spend time in worship, fellowship, Bible study and prayer. If you live in the KC/Liberty area and would like to join us next week, we'd love to share life with you. I think there's some leftover pie.

I am job!

I am pleased to announce that I am now the proud owner of a teaching position with the Greenbush organization.

The specific program is called 500 Reach, which partners with the Kansas City, KS, school district. My students are adults who initially did not finish high school, but are now returning to pursue their high school diplomas.

My work will include tutoring individual students as they take a variety of computer-based courses, tracking student progress, assigning appropriate lessons and homework, restructuring the 500 Reach writing program and doing writing workshops with students, and best of all?

No more grading papers at basketball games! Now there's something to cheer about!

In order to help each student, I'll have to brush up on my Chemistry, my Algebra II, and my Shakespeare, for that matter.

This job is a serious, specific answer to prayer. I am overwhelmed at the way the Lord allows us to come to a place of desperation...

(exhibit A: Me thinking it would be fun to have a baby, because I was getting bored at home)

so we will recognize our need for His providence and grace. Why do I forget to remember the promises of Philippians 4 ? "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

room on the couch

I've spent a lot of time on our couch recently. When I'm sick, I don't like to spend the day in bed...too far from the kitchen... DVD player is in the living room... I hate the term bedridden (too hard to say the d-r-d-combination)...etc.

Fortunately, Josh makes really great nests on the couch for me (even though he insists on calling them "forts"). Just the right number of blankets, pillows propped up just like I like them, easy access to the remote control, Kleenex and Sprite nearby. But I'm better now, and the couch is less of a nest/fort and more of a dining room table/movie theatre.

Yesterday when we were trying to decide what to do for the evening, Josh was wishing that his family lived closer than North Carolina, because it would be nice to just go sit on someone else's couch for a while.

We ended up hanging out with Cameron and Sharla. Usually when we get together, we play some kind of "plot to destroy eachother" game like Settlers of Catan or poker, but we were all pretty tired after a long week, so we ended up just drinking (coffee for the girls, beer for the boys, chocolate milk for the kiddos) and chatting.

What did we talk about? I don't even really remember now...plans for our new small group, their joys and challenges of parenting Caleb and Kiersten, spiritual warfare, my job interview, quirky habits of our pets, why men wouldn't take a wingman to go lingerie shopping for their wives... you know, just stuff.

And you know what? It was great to sit on someone else's couch. Josh and I love to spend time just the two of us, and we enjoy going exciting places and learning and serving and adventuring and playing, but sometimes we just need to sit and be with our loved ones. It's like a time to recharge our fellowship batteries, resting comfortably and restoring our strength with the family of God.

So thanks, Cam and Shar, for making room for us on your couch and in your life.

I look like a monkey

Happy 28th Birthday to me!

This birthday sort of snuck up on me.

I've been ridiculously sick for the past 6 days...I hope someone remembered to feed my husband and our cat, because I have not.

Last year I spent my birthday riding a bus home to South Dakota from a missions conference in Texas. That's a long ride, even (especially?) with good friends like Alyssa, Kylie, Kate, Jessica, Sue, Jenna and Char. I miss you, ladies! Also, Happy Birthday Buddy to Jamie! (and to the late great Gipper himself, Ronald Reagan.)

I was dreading turning 27 last year, feeling old and spinsterly and wanting very much to quit my masters program. I was also quite nervous because a few weeks after the Texas trip, I was planning a trip down to Kansas City to meet some e-harmony guy, Josh, for the first time. Needless to say, it's been quite a year!

So suddenly it's my birthday again. I live in a new state, have a new name, a husband and a cat, hopefully a new job, and a new understanding of God's provident grace.

Thanks to all the tremendously special people who have made it a great day and who will make this an amazing 28th year of my life.

Everybody, eat cake!

(p.s. Josh doesn't like icing, so that's win-win for us!)

sick of this

If I had a job, I would have called in sick today.

With all due respect to my sister's current illness, I have one of those colds that makes putting on slippers seem like a lot of work, to say nothing of going all the way downstairs to do some laundry.

My current attention span allows me to stare alternately at the closed blinds and then at the wall and then back again, making the paint look striped. Fun!

In one burst of energy earlier this morning, I managed to get Josh's laptop, make toast, and take any vitamins and unexpired cold meds I could find in the cabinet. Medicine head, anyone?

I've been catching up on re-caps of old Amazing Race episodes, one finger poking out of the blanket nest to hit the "next page" button. Momily and those crazy Guidos are currently racing through Tunisia, which brings back some good memories.

Josh gets home in a couple of hours...hopefully this box of Kleenex lasts that long. We're supposed to go to Topeka tomorrow to have lunch with the 'rents...maybe Mom will bring me the box of Adventures in Odyssey tapes and a pot to bang on when I need someone to come fluff my pillows!

Grandpa O

I just found this photo on my uncle David's website...thought it was worth sharing. Doesn't my Grandpa O look snazzy in that tie? He has such sparkly blue eyes!

You think he looks proud in this picture? Ask him about his lake...

I miss you, Grandpa. Stay warm...I'll see you at Schmeckfest.