Love the FALL!

OK,
So, I wrote this post around November... haha.  Well, better late than never!

We have had some lovely fall weather around here, so I wanted to celebrate it before winter arrived :)  Here are some pictures of campus, lovely trees and our little family.  Enjoy!

The pond on campus.

 Arnold T. Olson Chapel

 Spontaneous family portrait

 Happy Fall Flowers!

 Have I mentioned how much I love candy corn and sugar cookies? :)

Creativity is not my gift, hence following the straight lines that are already in a pumpkin.

Mike's says "pumpkin" in Hebrew. Guess that's what happens when you study it all the time.

 Our house at the shelter.

Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but there are dog treats and candy corn floating around inside her skeleton rib cage :)

Remembering John Stott

 We drove out to Wheaton a few days ago.  They were having a memorial service for John Stott and Mike and I wanted to go.  I must confess, I have not completely read any of his books, but I look forward to doing so.  It was a beautiful, inspiring, challenging, encouraging and convicting service.  Made me stop to think about what am I really living life for.  Am I living for me? Or for God? 

A verse shared by Tim Keller during the service:
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
~Hebrews 13:7


Here is a link to an article written several years ago about him.

From the article:
More than his books, documents, or institutions, Stott's most important legacy to the church has been his wisdom. Thoroughly biblical, disarmingly open, shrewdly discerning, Stott's thought has helped guide the evangelical movement as it engaged social concerns, the charismatic movement, female clergy, homosexuality, and challenges to core doctrines.


I'm so glad we have so many outstanding leaders and faithful servants of the gospel to imitate.  God has generously provided us with these people, knowing that we are weak and sometimes dense, and need clear examples of how to live.

The Many Names of Virginia Peanut

a.k.a :
Peanut
Peanut Butter
Nutter Butter
Butter Bean
Bean
The Nut
Fur Child
Sweet Pea
Little One
Tiny Dancer (video explanation below, though it doesn't really do her justice)

Veins and Vanity

Varicose veins. I have had them since my early twenties, possibly even teen years. I will have them for the rest of my life, unless I pay thousands to be rid of them.  Which, I have to confess, has seemed like a viable option at times.  However, when I stop to think about it, that would be the very definition of vanity at it's worst.

I also don't have the whitest teeth... they aren't bad, but could be better.  I've thought about buying those white strip things, or some other form of whitening, other than toothpaste (cause Mike and I share toothpaste, and his teeth are more sensitive and whitening paste is hard on your enamel).  For some reason, the thought of spending money on whitening my teeth seems far less appalling than spending money on fixing varicose veins.  It also feels less vain.  Is it just a money thing?  Because it costs less?  Or is it more.  Maybe it's because teeth whitening is much more common and socially acceptable.  Everybody does it... no biggie, right?

Mike and I frequently talk about being honest with ourselves, our friends, and our appearance.  Meaning, trying to be true to who we are, and not put on a front as to appear to be something else.  Yes, I take time getting myself cleaned up, doing hair and makeup each day, debating over what to wear, but I try to keep in mind as I do these things that they should not consume me, and they should not define me.


“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
~John Newton