Changes in the wind

I was walking back from the mailbox flipping through the few pieces of mail that had accumulated over the past few days since I last checked my box and thought, "I need to get a duplicate key made for Kate." And then it hit me. Like a wave overtaking me and knocking me over. My life is about to radically change - and I panicked. Kate isn't just coming to stay for a visit she is moving in, indefinitely. My home will no longer be just mine. My routines will have to accommodate someone else. My way of doing things may have to bend and become flexible. My life is going to be shared - no more hiding away in my home. Is this all a bad thing? No! I had to ask my self do I want to back out or change my mind about Kate moving in? No! Am I going to have to be less selfish and less self-focused? Yes! And that is a very good thing. Life is going to be very different this fall, but I'm looking forward to it. Just remind me of that the next time I panic. :)

So long Israel, I'll be back...

The Israel Tally
Scrapes and bruises: beyond count
Bandages used: gobs and gobs
Pitas consumed: more than I care to remember
Earrings lost: 1 pearl earring at a youth hostel in the Negev
Sunglasses lost: one pair which is now sitting at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee
New friends: 32 fantastic people
Places visited: dozens upon dozens upon dozens, or so it seems
Pictures taken: around 1,300
Regrets: oddly enough that I didn’t take more photos

Hello All!
I’ve returned from my Israel sojourn in love with a new part of the world. We spent about 15 days on the move exploring Jerusalem, Galilee, Foothills, Wilderness, and the Negev. Each day’s itinerary was packed and we zipped through it at break-neck speed. Carl Laney was a superb teacher making clear the Biblical significance for each place we stopped and helping us to see past the pile of rocks to the vibrant place it used to be. It was more than I could take in at the time but now that I’m home and processing pictures, talking about experiences with people, and reading my Bible it is beginning to sink in what an incredible experience it was to spend the month of May in Israel. I feel very blessed to have been able to take advantage of this opportunity and for the amazing people I spent the time with, especially my three roommates, they definitely made the time richer (and more hilarious). All this fun and I managed to get an “A” in the class as well.

I’m working on selecting the best pictures and putting them together in an online album. I’ll send the link along once I’m done. I won’t subject you to viewing all 1300 pictures I took over the last three weeks unless you ask, at which point I will gladly share them all – the good, the bad, and the plain ol’ ridiculous.

Back from Galilee

We spent four days and three nights in the Galilee area at Ein Gev and we are all sad to be back in Jerusalem. The accommodations were so nice at Ein Gev and the food was great but the best part was being able to swim in the lake of Galilee (yes, it has been down graded from a sea to a lake - it can sympathize with Pluto) but Israelis call it The Kinneret. We only have a few more days left and two more tests. I'm very sad to be leaving and seeing the time come to a close. I've loved the group of people I've been traveling with and I've learned more than my brain can handle. But there is so much more that I want to see and experience and learn. I've decided that this is just the first visit, I'll be back! Enjoy a few pictures from Galilee! The red head on the boat with me cruising the lake is Kate, one of my roommates - she is one wacky wonderful gal!

Quick stop back in Jerusalem

We got back last night from a three day trek around southern Israel and the desert and wilderness area.  We got to swim for a little over an hour in the Mediterranean Sea!  Awesome!  I had so much fun!  But the heat really got to me.  I was very disappointed that I wasn't able to swim in the Dead Sea but considering that the Med Sea burned my leg and just the little that splashed up on me while dipping my toes into the Dead Sea it was a good choice not to try.  We took our 2nd exam today and I missed one which makes me so mad because I had the right answer than over-thought the question and changed my answer.  So frustrating!!  We head off tomorrow for a four day trip to the area of Galilee.  I've come down with a nasty chest and head cold.  It was probably inevitable considering the grueling pace we keep, the lack of sleep, and the close quarters with my sick roommate.  I'm tired, very very very tired - but having fun and learning tons!

Fun in the Wilderness

Pastor Rick McKinley preached recently about having a theology of wilderness.  Today I saw the wilderness of Israel and it was desolate and barren and painful.  

I fell not once but twice today in the wilderness.  Ouch!  Check out the bruises!  It adds a little color to the monotone color of the desert.

Bedouins watching their goats.  The Jericho of the New Testament.  View of the Wilderness. And the wilderness again.

I've arrived

Snuggling up to Ben Gurion at the airport which is named after him.








Soldiers guarding one of the gates to the Old City of Jerusalem.

One of the old gates that would have led up to the temple mount but is now overlooking the Muslim cemetery on the east side of the wall. But in my opinion is the most impressive looking.

This is me in front of the Western Wall (formerly called the Wailing Wall)

We went through Hezekiah's tunnel today. It is about 3/4 of a mile and gets very very narrow at some points and has water from ankle deep to mid thigh and ceilings that are very high to very low. I can't tell you how many times I hit my head.

View of a street in the Arab Quarter of the old city.

Triple the goofy goodness!

Yup! That's me, and me, and me! I am one of six "real customer" models for Haggen's newest ad campaign. I was picking up a few groceries one day at Haggen's in Tualatin when the checker who is always there asked me as I was paying for my groceries if I'd want to be in an ad for Haggen's. My response was, "Sure, why not?" She took my name and phone number and that was it. I was having lunch with my mom one day about a month later when I got a phone call to set up my photo shoot. They had to remind what was going on. I spent an hour getting my make-up done and several photos taken. Wish they would have paid more attention to my hair as it looks so flat and thin in the photo they chose. I guess there is more ad material to come, some sort of coupon booklet - look for me in the "natural/ organic" section! I'm not sure I like the idea of using my 15 minutes of fame on Haggen's but it's been fun and the little extra cash and the groceries I was able to buy at their expense for their comparison savings has been very helpful!

Coco-nutty madness!

How long had I been standing there? Five minutes? Ten? And still I was no closer to making a decision. I regretted leaving my cell phone in the car, this was supposed to be just a quick dash into the grocery store to pick up a cake, but I was standing in the aisle staring at the cake mixes paralyzed with indecision unable to call anyone to be a sounding board. I had volunteered to bring a cake to work the next day to celebrate Alan's birthday and Michele's promotion. While slyly asking Michele about her favorites she mentioned carrot cake and German chocolate which oddly enough the Haggen's bakery department had a cake for sale that was half of each, maybe that was the best choice - but it wasn't pretty. I wanted to bake a cake in my pretty sunflower cake mold but choosing a flavor was proving difficult - chocolate is always a favorite but wouldn't show off the flower mold well. After way too much time debating flavors I actually made a decision - lemon - light, springy, tasty. I picked up some powdered sugar to make a frosting and eggs since I don't keep any on hand and headed out. Little did I know that making that difficult all- important decision of flavor was going to be the easiest thing about this cake.

Once home I fixed dinner and did some chores, it was around 8pm before I started mixing up the cake mix adding a few "extras" to make it taste more homemade and less like a box mix. The pretty sunflower mold is a strange silicone mold that is non-stick and the box said to lower the oven temperature to 325 for non-stick pans which is what I did. Mistake number one. Silicone may be non-stick but it doesn't need to have a lower oven temperature. The cake took nearly an hour to finally bake in the middle and by then the edges, especially the edge of the petals were getting a little dry. Once the center was no longer jiggly I took it out and set it aside to cool for a little while. As great as silicone is, condensation happens quick and you can't let baked goods sit in the mold for long. With the aid of a cutting board and a few flips I had the cake on a wire rack to cool flower patter right-side up. I don't know if it could have been prevented but the next thing I knew the cake had a large circular crack all around the center of the flower - the center of the cake was too puffy compared to the edges. It was going to need lots of icing.

Once the cake was cool and nearly ready to be frosted I had the brilliant idea to toast some coconut flakes to put on top of the icing to add a little more flavor and fun. I spread out a bunch of coconut on a cookie sheet and placed it in the oven on the center rack and turned the broiler on. I knew it wouldn't take long but having it on the center groove farther away from the broiler it would take longer than if I had it directly under the broiler. While I waited I draped myself over the physio-ball to stretch out my back and watch NCIS. I was caught up in the story and not paying attention to the time until I started smelling the wonderful toasty-ness of coconut. I checked on it once and thought it needed another minute. But by the next commercial break it was much longer than a minute and the aroma coming from the oven wasn't quite as pleasant. I jumped up and ran over to the oven and opened the door and was annoyed to see that most of the coconut was now black. Then suddenly it burst into brilliant blue flames! In shock I slammed the oven door shut not knowing what to do. The smoke alarm quickly went off with it's ear piercing wail. Now mind you, it is after 10 pm at this point and I have new neighbors to which I was not being very gracious towards. I quickly went over and opened the window above the kitchen sink and grabbed a dish towel, ran to the front door and opened it wide, and started waving the towel at the alarm. It quickly stopped harassing me. I went over to the oven to take out the offending pan of coconut and realized that the oven had gotten so hot that it automatically locked! I turned the heat off in my house and the blower on, went upstairs and opened the bedroom windows in an attempt to air out the stench but the consequence was that my home quickly cooled down to a chilly 58° degrees.

A half hour later I heard the oven click signaling the oven was unlocked. Opening the oven door unfortunately allowed enough oxygen back into the oven to ignite the lovely blue flames once again. I started to panic - what was I going to do? I couldn't throw water into the oven. I couldn't just let the coconut burn. I didn't have anything large enough to cover the pan to smother it. Baking Soda!! Isn't that what is supposed to help put out a grease fire? I grabbed the bottle from the cabinet and with a few vigorous flailing shakes emptied the entire contents of the new bottle of baking soda mostly into the oven with enough hitting the baking sheet to stop the blue flames. With the fire finally subdued I left the oven door open to cool down the oven and the pan. It is now past 11 pm.

Thankfully this all happened on a Tuesday night, the night I set out my garbage, so I could directly throw out the stinky black coconut ash. Around 11:30 I donned my oven mitts and took the pan out of the oven and started carrying it outside with the idea of dumping it directly into the garbage bin that was already out at the curb. I made it to the driveway before I decided the pan was still way too hot and was concerned the pan and or coconut would melt the plastic garbage bag so I set the pan down right on the driveway and went back inside my chilly home and waited some more, desperately wanting sleep.

Sometime after midnight with oven mitts still needed and spatula in hand I scrapped the burnt clumps into the garbage wondering if the pan was ruined or salvageable. But I didn't care enough at the moment to find out I just wanted to sleep. I left the pan outside on my front porch leaving it for another day, went inside and turned the heat back on, closed the windows, and crawled into bed. What an adventure! I started crying I was laughing so hard as I retold the story the next day at work. In case you are wondering - the pan was salvaged and I got rave reviews for the cake.

Genocide reconciliation

Phew! I escaped another Valentine's day! I have never ever ever had a "special someone" on or around V-day and I wouldn't want to ruin my record now! Although I did give kisses to all the guys at work yesterday, the gals too! Really yummy dark chocolate truffle kisses. Can you tell I used to teach elementary school? It still hasn't gotten out of my system. But that isn't what I have on my mind today. Last night I went to the "Conversations in Global Theology" class that Imago Dei is offering in which we were discussing forgiveness and reconcilliation. We had some readings from Miroslav Volf and Pastor Bejamin, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, spoke of community reconciliation and how an individual must recognize the evil in them in their response to injustice done against them as the first step in forgiveness and in breaking the cyclical nature of revenge and violence. Which I can understand and am leaning towards agreeing with but am troubled by the danger of minimizing and maybe even discounting the evil done to them. Traumatic events can have severe psychological affects and can alter a persons life permenantly and if the first thing they must do is recognize their own sinful nature does that imply that what was done to them is less important, maybe even inconsequential? A story was told, I think referring to ethnic conflict in South Africa, about a nation that said they would grant amnesty to those who were involved if they would publically confess their crimes in hopes that it would create healing community wide. But a grandfather told his grandson, "Go find this man and kill him because he killed your father and the government will do nothing about it." So the cycle of violence and revenge will continue; how do you promote and encourage community wide healing and reconcilliaton if the individuals that make up the community don't agree? Well, anyhow, those are the thoughts rattling around my head this morning.

NWEA Baby Name Book

Working at NWEA I've come across some rather interesting names, many from the D.C. area. Considering the number of friends and family who are pregnant at the moment and may need some inspiration for baby names I thought I'd post some of the more unique ones I came across. Enjoy!

Boy Names	Girl Names
Romello	Terrashay
Kordarrius	Senovia
Jamarvion	Dukunda
Nabil	Kearisha
Andrevious	Armoni
Zakiyak	Bometria
Kneo Therr	Urica
Ladarius	Shynastie
Dondreo	Sieglindae
Varrond	Zanjanae
Charkeveion	Rotanya
Chilufya	Malonda
Blaize	Tadiesa
Danodous	Tiaranee
Airrington	Zarah
Did you think I was just making these up? Oh, no!! These are real high school students! Our future leaders...

I'm such a goof-ball!

Monday night I made a red Thai chicken curry dish for my lunches this week. As I was putting it away I sampled a spoonful of the sauce and was surprised by the heat, I didn't think I had put that much curry paste in but it was spicy! I took a bowl of it to work for lunch yesterday because I had no alternatives but was very leery of trying this concoction I had made. I didn't heat it up in hopes that eating it cool would minimize the heat of the spice. I don't know if it really helped because my nose started running and my mouth and lips were burning. I was reading the magazine that was in front of Michele (upside down so it took more concentration) when I realized she was staring at me with a goofy questioning grin. I answered her questioning look with my own, to which she asked, "Does that help cool it off?" It took me a moment before I understood - I had absent mindedly been blowing on the mouthful of curry chicken speared on my fork waiting for it to "cool" before I took the next bite. We busted laughing at the silliness. My mouth was burning so I was blowing on my food to cool it down, makes sense unless the heat is only from spices. Good-grief!

Christmas time has come and gone

I hope you all were able to enjoy Christmas and the wonderful season. This year seemed to be one of the more frantic and hectic Christmas seasons for me than in years past which I really don't understand. I didn't do my Christmas party in hopes of lessening the stress and increasing the enjoyment of the season; I hardly went shopping (much to my brother's chagrin since he got mostly "recycled" and gag gifts) and yet the season has come and gone before I had a chance to enjoy it. I am still playing Christmas music in an attempt to hold on to the season. But this weekend I put away all my Christmas decorations and felt such a relief to have my house less 'cluttered.' Last Thursday seemed to be the official "lights off" day but I must have missed the memo. I had stopped by my parents to take in the mail (they were out of town) and left their porch Christmas lights on inadvertently. I thought about going back and turning them off since they'd be on all night but decided to leave them on for a festive look. As I was driving home I realized that very few homes had their lights on anymore. For some reason everyone along my route decided Wednesday night was that last night to have Christmas lights on. Suddenly the world is looking very drab. I started the habit of reading through the birth narratives in the Gospels on Christmas morning and this Christmas I was struck with the idea of reveling. We place so much emphasis on the expectation and anticipation of Christmas but we do not linger and savor the miracle after Christmas. Mary and Joseph were anticipating the arrival of the baby, the angles knew what were coming but no one else did. It wasn't until after the birth that the shepherds came and saw the wonderful baby, and it was well after the birth that the three wise men arrived to worship. The Twelve days of Christmas, also called "Christmastide," officially ended this weekend on January 6th with Epiphany day. Yet I don't know of a single church in the area that celebrates this time of the church calendar which is sad, it is a perfect chance to soak in the reality of Christmas and celebrate that Christ has come as a man so that we may know God. Instead in our consumer driven culture as soon as Christmas is over it is all about the sales, then New Years, and now Valentine's day - yes the stores are already hocking their heart themed wares. I can't help but feel we are missing something, missing the sacred in this season, missing the opportunity to be still and know that He is God. I don't know what the solution is, but I know I am looking for a way for Christmas to be different next year, more sacred, if you have any suggestion shoot them my way!

We are so excited!

We'll play nice for mom.

Oh, so sad, Fritzy is leaving for Colorado. Yeah...

What Would Jesus Buy?

Last Sunday at church was a big kick-off to Advent Conspiracy which is all about relational giving and bucking the consumerism that has overtaken Christmas. Instead of a regular sermon Rick had three people talk - 1. Clark, the pastor of missional communities, about how adopting the Advent Conspiracy philosophy has impacted his family. 2. Stan, from Living Water Intl., the recipients and partner organization of Advent Conspiracy which is working to solve the world water problem. He spoke about the communities that benefited from the 11 wells our Advent offering was able to build this past year and the 23 communities that have been identified to benefit from this years gift. 3. the third person (who actually was the second to speak) was Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. Yes, this was his first church "interview." He was sharing about a new movie that was being released last weekend that he helped produce called "What Would Jesus Buy?" A brief intro to the movie taken from the website...

"What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt! The Shopocalypse is upon us … Who will be $aved?"

If you want to hear the "interview" with Rick from Sunday 11/25, download the sermon here or download the podcast. Or if you are short on time, KATU actually ran a short blip on the news which is posted here. I guess it actually ran on Good Morning America as well. The movie is playing locally at Cinema 21 until December 8th.

Narnia revisited

Narnia: Prince Caspian is due to be released 5/16/08!!!

They filmed it in New Zealand and the CZECH REPUBLIC!

"Czech" it all out here: Narnia
or here at Walden Media

The beauty all around us...

As I was driving to church this morning, late as usual, bouncing between the two lanes along I-205 trying to avoid the spray of cars ahead of me so that I could actually see out the front window I managed to glimpse something quite remarkable. Near the end of the greenbelt section approaching the Willamette exit I glanced over at a metal rod sticking up out of the ground in the middle of the greenway where there once was a reflector but instead had a large something on top instead. Suddenly I realized it was a huge hawk, and I do mean huge! It was placidly perched in the middle of a freeway and I wondered how many other people were noticing this unusual sight. I was still thinking about how big the hawk was when I passed the rock wall just before the West Linn exit which has several of the waterfalls going at the moment with all the rain we've been having. They are less impressive when you think about it being mostly street run-off but they are pretty, and they can be surprising. Beth was visiting from Iowa this past spring and she couldn't help but let out a "Wow!" as we drove by the wall. I read this morning an email update from a friend who is in China expounding about the beauty she finds in the Chinese people, the faces of her neighbors and students.

I wonder how many people drove by that hawk without the slightest notice. How many people drive by the rocks and waterfalls apathetic and indifferent until an out-of-town visitor takes an interest. Why is it easier to see the beauty in another person when we are outside of our comfort zone, away from our norm? Why do we ignore the beauty and majesty that God has surrounds us with by our complacency? I am certain the God has filled our every day with the remarkable, the surprising, and the beautiful - it is all there for us to find, like going on a fantastical treasure hunt. But these things are not hidden, they are there in the open like the hawk, the trick to finding them is to open our eyes and be expectant. What is even more astounding is that we live in a fallen broken world, it is a far cry from what the Lord intended for us and yet it can still take our breath away if we let it. Even far more amazing, this earth is just a shadow of what is to come. Revelation 21 tells us there will be a new heaven and a new earth, one where God will make his home with men, a city resplendent with all kinds of bling.

It is little wonder we cannot begin to fathom the beauty or marvelousness of heaven, most of us don't even begin to recognize the magnificent hints of God's artistry here and now, so how can we imagine something far superior? So what will you see today? Will you focus on the dark gray asphalt or glance at the median and see a hawk? Will you drive by the rocks and dismiss the waterfall as just run-off or marvel at the beauty of a small waterfall? Will you look passively at the person beside you or will you look at their face and notice them seeing their beauty and the image of God in each of them? What will you see today?

I see the light(s)!

I saw lights yesterday! As I turned on to my street,heading home there on the corner the house was adorned with alternating red and green Christmas lights along the eaves of the house! I was so excited! CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! With the weather today being all blustery cool and stormy along with there being snow coming down in Brno I'm beginning to feel like winter is here and Christmas is around the corner. I've loaded my Ipod with all Christmas music - I'm ready to go! But the big day will come and go before I know it. I haven't started to do Christmas shopping, I don't even have any good ideas yet. I don't have my requisite Christmas letter started. I don't have my St. Nick party on the calendar yet - I may not even do it this year. I want to enjoy the season, be able to reflect on the marvelous event Christmas celebrates, and frankly - everything else just stresses me out and kills the joy. To try and counteract this I'm seeing how I can incorporate Advent Conspiracy philosophy into my life this season. Let's all take a collective deep breathe, slowly let it out, put aside Western consumerism and take Christmas back!

Pet Peeves

Here are two of my top pet peeves that are ticking me off today.

1) Gigantic suburbans and other massive SUV's that park in spots labeled "compact." Seriously! They already hog all the gas and make the prices go up, hog the road and pollute the air, but do they have to be so arrogant as to claim the tiny parking spots meant for cars like my little Civic. The worst place for this is at my gym, Club Sport, where the parking spots are already small and the affluent of LO who tend to populate the gym all seem to drive overly large vehicles. Big SUVs have big doors that are usually being opened by children. Last night I had trouble finding a parking spot because the stupid SUVs had taken the compacts spots and elsewhere they take up two spots not leaving a space big enough for my little car. Argh!

2) Sweaty, stinky, hairy middle-aged men. Again, this is a gym related pet-peeve. I could hardly work out last night because of the lack of oxygen. I was trying not to breathe so I wouldn't smell the dude next to me. I actually moved machines because he was so very stinky.

Funny for the day

Driving to work this morning I saw something that made me crack-up. I was behind an older Ford Explorer with the license plate "BAAAA." The bumper sticker to the right said, "SHEEP" and the one to the left, "Sheepherders." That is one proud farm girl!

The excerpt below is taken from an interview with Emmanuel Katongole called "From Tower-Dwellers to Travelers" an interesting perspective on missions.
"That is why we need to learn another model—mission as pilgrimage, which is based on a vision of the Christian life as a journey. This model grows out of the sense of being pilgrims together, pilgrims who feel the dust under their feet and come to know the places where they sojourn.

The problem with the world is not that we do not see others. We do. We know the needs of the world. But to feel the gifts and needs of the world—that means learning to journey with people in different parts of the world. This kind of journeying is slower than mission done as delivery of aid, slower even than partnership. It takes time just to learn the history, for example, of Gulu in northern Uganda, to learn what is happening there. But when we take time for that, it begins to transform the pilgrim. You have learned the names of people and places, these far-flung places with names very difficult to pronounce. You have inhaled the dust.

Mission as pilgrimage is about that transformation. It's not about fixing northern Uganda. You're not going to fix northern Uganda! It's not even about partnering with "northern Uganda." How can you partner with all of northern Uganda? Where do you begin? Instead, the pilgrim begins to know, to feel, that northern Uganda, with all its tragedy and terror, is a Christian story. That it is not just their story, but that it is our story." Emmanuel Katongole