back roads-midwest-coast

New Blog

2010-03-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just in case it wasn't obvious. I stopped writing on this blog.

But I started writing on a new blog: http://sinceaustin.wordpress.com

So, you can find me there now.

TTFE (Ta Ta ForEVER.)

Oh How I Love Pumpkins

2009-12-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, Halloween and Thanksgiving are over, but the pumpkin is still here! As I eye the sweet little row of sugar pumpkins on the windowsill in the kitchen, I rejoice! 3-4 months of amazing pumpkin treats are still in our future.

I'm turning 29 next month, and winter squash are brand new to me this year! I had no idea they're so versatile and so goooood. Clay and I originally stocked up on sugar pumpkins, acorn squash and delicata (peanut) squash before our CSA at Garden Treasures ended. Our hope was that by stockpiling squash, we'd reduce the amount of imported vegetables we'd consume this winter...and we'd get to enjoy fresh veggies in the winter months! (Because winter squash keep for several months as long as they're kept cool, dry, and intact.) We were foraying into uncharted territory, having never really eaten a winter squash before, apart from a few spaghetti squash here and there and one attempt at butternut squash soup last year. We have been amazingly surprised by how much we love squash, no matter which way we prepare it or which variety we try.

Yesterday morning was my first attempt at bringing squash to the breakfast table. I was in the mood for pancakes, and our abundance of squash led me to mmm...pumpkin pancakes. So I worked up this little recipe, using 3/4 c. steamed pumpkin with the water squeezed out. Served it with maple syrup, cinnamon whipped cream, and enjoyed the last few days of fall! (Note: when making this recipe again, I'll ditch the chocolate...really good, but overpowers the pumpkin.)

Also, if you're in the mood for a challenge this Christmas, find yourself a sugar (pie) pumpkin, and whip up a pumpkin pie from scratch. Here's the recipe I used to make this beauty for Thanksgiving.

Inviting more winter squash into my life has been a great addition to the fall menu...a cheap and easy way to keep fresh veggies on the table when it's cold outside, and a fun challenge for nightly creativity. Fear not! You are not doomed to months of canned tomatoes and green beans: put some squash on the table tonight.

Happy December!

Daily Bread

2009-11-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

As it turns out, I'm becoming passionate about food.

Sometimes I forget.

I forget mostly when there's no time to plan meals or cook. When we're running weekend after weekend and there is no available time in which to contemplate soaking beans overnight or throwing some ingredients in the bread maker.

Thanksgiving has reminded me that I have a passion I have forgotten about during a hectic last few months. In preparation for Thursday, when I will make some cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie, I have been scouring my archives and the internet in search of recipes that embody the things that I value: natural ingredients, whole foods, locally grown ingredients. So my pumpkin pie will use an actual pumpkin that was grown a mile from my house. The flour to bake the bread to make the stuffing was ground just 45 miles away in Bellingham. There will be no sign of Crisco or canned, pre-packaged anything in the ingredients for these dishes.

It's not ever an easy choice to buy natural and buy local when there's a sea of cheaper, artificial foods from all over the globe staring at us in the grocery aisles. It's not easier to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch or bake the bread that will later be transformed into stuffing. There's nothing easy or quick about it. It's slow food. And now, two hours after returning home from our Thanksgiving shopping trip, I sit at the computer exhausted, but satisfied, that creations have been made in my kitchen tonight. I meditate on how Jesus asks us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," as tomorrow's bread bakes in the oven. I know I am reliant on the Lord for the flour, water, yeast and oil he provided to make my daily bread.

My creation continually connects me to my Creator. I think that's part of why I'm so passionate about whole foods. You can't look at a pumpkin without knowing it came from the ground, and without further thinking, as you wipe away the dirt, that a divine creator must have gifted you this very pumpkin. He must have set the circumstances in place for it to grow. He must have specially designed the taste to be appealing to us, and furthermore, he must have designed this appealing-tasting food to be nourishing to us. And then I think, "Man, our Creator must really love us to create fuel for us that's incredible to taste. Our Creator must really love us if he wants us to experience pleasure when we're refueling."

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for something very simple...something that God was probably thanked for at the very first Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the gift of food. I'm thankful that God loves us so much that our food isn't brown and bland...it's orange and round with a little bow on top...it's small and red and bounces when you drop it on the counter. Sometimes we forget that the very food we eat is an amazing, incredible gift.

Reflections from a newly birthed locavore.

2009-09-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

For the first time in many months, I was actually inspired to write a blog. It's unfortunate that I just now seized the opportunity, because I've missed an entire summer that I could have shared with you the amazing benefits of belonging to a CSA and the joys of discovering mashed kohlrabi, stuffed zucchini, baked oatmeal, and plenty of other good things you can create if you have Simply in Season and read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

The journey of food this summer has been a return to something more ethereal than I'd really experienced since I spent 12-15 hours a week practicing ballet. It connected me to the Creator, and it allowed me to experience how connected we are to the earth. Every Thursday, as I'd rinse the fresh soil off our zucchini, or carefully pluck the basil leaves from the stems, I reflected on how the Creator loves us so much he wanted us to enjoy the very things we put in our bodies to give us nutrients. I reflected on how much easier it is to be separated from the Creator when we're so far removed from the food he gave to us...when we subsist on frozen pizza, Doritos and cola, we think that capitalism and retail are the providers rather than the Provider.

My husband has been an eager partner on this journey, delighting in his discovery of the doughnut peaches (which cannot be consumed without a gutteral moan escaping one's chest from the sheer pleasure of eating such a succulent piece of fruit). This evening, much to my surprise, he even jumped at the chance to make ceviche from scratch, so while I picked up a few pounds of fresh red snapper on sale, he picked up 1/4 lb. of fresh shrimp meat. When we arrived home, making due with what we had on hand, he added the shrimp to some salsa (which he strained and rinsed because I wanted to save this week's amazing heirloom tomato for some caprese salad or ratatouille later in the week), added lime juice, salt, and his favorite: a tiny zucchini and fresh organic chili peppers from this week's CSA share. As he inhaled the ceviche, along with our red snapper tacos (accented by a zucchini/scallion slaw he made as well as shredded radishes), he said, "Wife, I'm so glad we got this veggie and fruit share. Thanks." I said, "You're welcome. I feel like we love food more than we did before."

Right now, in our tiny apartment, we think about what we could grow in a garden of our own, and we speculate about how we would keep our neighborly raccoons and feral cats away. (Clay's solution to this problem is singular: air-soft gun. I always squeal in horror and say, "No...animal control.") But for now we're too lazy to kill the coons and/or call animal control, which is fine, because September isn't the best month for launching a vegetable garden anyways.

But as a I look with dread to Thanksgiving, in which we celebrate the harvest but say goodbye to our CSA for 6 months, I pine for a cupboard full of jars of my own tomatoes, a freezer full of zucchini, and an arbor of braided garlic adorning the entrance to the kitchen. I fortunately have a few jars of peaches and apricots, along with some jams and chutneys, all of which I canned myself. I also have a few bags of beans in the freezer, as well as the blueberries that made me fall in love with fruit and blackberries we picked in our backyard. I will mostly likely ration and savor each serving over a long winter and spring as a reminder of the summer when food stopped tasting as it always had and began tasting like something much better.

Sometimes I reflect on how we've been eating and look around to my friends and worry we're a part of some Gen-Y, Seattle liberal, neo-hippie fad. Other times I see the cover story on last week's Time and think we're on the verge of an urban-to-rural migration, back to the farm, back to the garden, where people in mass reject 2 generations of processed food that was marketed to our parents and grandparents by the food companies who'd refitted their factories for WWII and needed to find a way to market it to a post-war America. (I heard this great interview with this historian talking about this, and now I can't find it, so I promise to cite it as soon as I can.)

Regardless of the neo-hippieness of our personal agrarian journey, I'm loving life more as a result of being introduced to the world of farm-fresh fruits and veggies. If you find yourself loving food and willing to experiment, I promise a wonderful world awaits...and yes, it's a world full of dinners that can be ready in 30 minutes or less. Bon appetit.

Coming Soon...

2009-07-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

So friends, this blog has generally, over the last two years descended into lameness...such is the fate of oh-so-many blogs out there.

And pretty much the only things I'm still interested in blogging about are things I knit or foods I cook. Our adventure into buying food directly from the farm is an adventure in and of itself, so methinks the blog should head in that direction...I mean seriously, how many people do we know that go to a farm every Thursday to pick up their weekly supply of vegetables and fruit? Not too many...but we do.

And actually, Clay and I have become more interested in the last few months in really cultivating a creative life, so maybe that's a good blog: "Cultivating Creativity." I'm going to sit on that...anyways...I'm still here, and my blog has reduced to twitter. So, you can follow me there until I figure out what to do with this.

Love,

hbu.

Glee: Don't Stop Believin'

2009-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile Hollywood produces something that reminds me a little bit of my life, but mostly not. Usually, when people in Hollywood get together and try to make something about smalltown midwestern life, it's just a little bit off. Tthe weather's a bit too "sunny all the time," the people are a little bit too pretty and skinny, and the towns are a little bit too fake. I used to watch "Ed," which took place in Stuckyville, Ohio, and I'd constantly complain that no Ohio smalltown had that many beautiful single people in it. I'd also complain that there's no way you could make a fool of yourself in a restaurant without knowing at least one person in that restaurant. In Hollywood smalltowns, people don't run into people they know enough, and the general populace's skin is way too clear.

But last night as I was watching "Glee," I was pretty much glued in from the moment they zoomed in on the Ohio license plate and declared the setting as "William McKinley High School." I say to Clay, "There's a McKinley High School in Canton." Then later in the show when the guy mentions his "long-distance girlfriend in Cleveland," I laugh, saying, "Those towns are only an hour away from each other. hahaha."

Pretty much, there was so much about "Glee" that was reminiscent of my High School Show Choir days. I realized that the only people I know, for the most part, who've been in Show Choir, are other people from Ohio. It make me excitedly speculate that Ohio is the Show Choir capital of the world. I even complained that the show is called "Glee," because we all called it "Show Choir." To which Clay pointed out, "Glee," is a much better name for a show than, "The S.C." True dat.

Anyways, in our high school show choir, we constantly looked up to the "amazing" choirs: St. Clairsville, Marysville, Medina. And we gloated about how we were one of the few groups that still sang in 4-8 parts instead of 1-2.

And being in Show Choir didn't make us cool at all, but we loved it. Loved it.

While certainly the students at William McKinley High are way more talented and stereotyped than any of my "Essence" buddies, I could see enough of us in them to feel like Hollywood finally made a show for me. I laughed a lot. One year we even recruited a few football players to join, and they dropped out two weeks into rehearsal...we got super angry that they couldn't make show choir rehearsals a priority. We got super frustrated that in our high school, everything seemed to revolve around football and cheerleading and no one seemed to give a rip about the music department. This show is so not made up.

After the show, Clay and I turned on "Big River," jumped up on the couch/raft with our poles in hand and sang (Clay as Jim, Me as Huck Finn). Glee definitely increased the level of glee in my life. This morning I listened to "Seasons of Love" on the way to work, remembering how much I loved playing the piano parts for our love set, which included Seasons of Love (Rent), Everlasting Love (Gloria Estafan), Where is Love (Oliver)...

Watch Glee next fall. It's the happiest thing on TV.

New Things I'm Learning

2009-04-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

How to do a capital campaign. (Plan, Plan, Plan, Ask, Follow Up.)
How to make mayonnaise from scratch. (egg yolk, other stuff, start blender, drizzle oil...slowly)
How empathy evokes love and grace. (it just does. put yourself in someone else's shoes, see life through their eyes, and there's so much compassion to be had.)
How to negotiate with printing companies for good deals. (easy during recession. they ask for chances to outbid other guy.)
How to wake up before 8am. (inevitable when sun is up at 6am.)
How to gross out a teenager. (talk about their parents kissing.)
How to keep a plant alive. (Try, pray, fail, move plant, try again.)
How to make your bed everyday. (Hire a bed-maker.)
How to eat well. (buy only things that grow on farms, not things that were created in labs.)

Oh yeah! I'm going to be published

2009-04-15T15:18:00.001-07:00

I keep forgetting to mention that in a few months, an essay I wrote is going to be published in a real book. It's an essay I wrote called the "Journey Towards Ordination," about the social pressure I experienced in my growing up to become an ordained pastor. The essay is going to be released in an anthology Jesus Girls, which was edited and compiled by my friend and bridesmaid, Hannah.

You can read one of the essays here. As I read Sara's essay, I was like, "Woah...this is way more beautiful than mine." But then I remembered, "Wait, she's been nominated for a national book award. Isn't it awesome you get to be in the same book as her?" and it is.

So stay tuned, and I'll let you know when you can go online and get your copy and be inspired.

Third Day v. Radiohead

2009-04-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Seriously? Are you serious? I just read some criticism that U2 ripped off it's newest album cover, but I don't see the relevance as much because it's a rather popular form of Zenlike abstract art...they attribute it to the artwork of Hiroshi Su gimoto, but it reminded me a lot of Mark Rothko. So, it's abstract, simple, Zenlike...easy to replicate...and in all instances it's good...

But Third Day ripping off a Radiohead album cover? I'm not okay with this. Check it out:

Radiohead's Hail to the Thief
Third Day's Revelation

Apparently the Third Day album is attributed to an artist named Leonard Knight who does art called "Salvation Mountain." But regardless, for music's sake, it's uncanny and irritating. Radiohead and Third Day don't exist in the same stratosphere. Geesh...

Lifestyle Changes

2009-03-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've decided not to go back to Seminary next quarter, mostly because it was cutting into my knitting time.

It was only a few weeks into this quarter when I realized, "This isn't working. I don't care how much aptitude I have to think critically about theological issues, I want to knit and do yoga. I want to spend Friday afternoons going to the Record Store with my husband, and I want to have space in my life to plan meals and buy groceries."

I realized a long time ago that the things I was good at didn't necessarily correlate to things I was energized by. I remember the first week of Junior Year of High School when I sat down with the Guidance Counselors, telling them that I didn't care how much aptitude I had in Advanced Biology, I hated it. They let me switch into Philosophy and Psychology under the auspices that I would be prevented from being valedictorian due to the heavy weighting the sciences received in determining class rank. But Philosophy class introduced me to writing, and the written word turned out to be a more integral part of my life than the dissection of fetal pigs was ever bound to be. For so many reasons, that was a good decision.

It's taken me just 6 months of taking classes to realize what I couldn't in 7 years of speculating about Grad School: it's not what I want right now. It's so weird, too, because I'm good at school. I can do school well...but I don't like who I become when I'm in school. I get bogged down by the pressure of the deadlines, and there is no space in my life to be the kind of person I want to be: creative, loving, and full of life.

Clay and I were just talking last night and realized that we've allowed our schedule to grow to the point that between the two of us, we have early morning commitments 5 days a week and evening commitments 6 days a week... Some of those are meetings, some of those are church commitments, some of those are weekly scheduled "fun time" with friends or students... Regardless, our schedule is running us, and there's little space for spontaneity. We want this to change, and step one is definitely me stepping out of school for the time being. Step two, three and four are TBA.

I feel like as American Christians we have to constantly traverse against the tide of busyness and clutter towards contemplation and space. In Clay and I's pursuit of the Lord, we need more space in our lives to be filled by Him. We need more space to walk through life together. Thus we move towards it.

Move Aside Celine.

2009-02-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

Clay and I are sitting here on the couch, and I've experienced a bit of a resurgence of musical appreciation, something that's apparently and unfortunately diminished over the last many months of commuting and listening to NPR for about an hour everyday. (Although I'm now very well informed about things like, the architectural design of the Denver Art Museum, the call of Sandpiper, and the cost of weatherizing your house, all of which is very good information to have.)

Anyways, my musical renaissance was inspired, most ironically, last night by Allison Iraheta's knock-me-out-of-my-chair performance of amazingness on American Idol, with a cover of Heart's Alone: Watch it. Tonight, I downloaded it, and the original, and like, every cover version I could find...and I'm like, "How have I never loved this song before?" Like, I've missed out on 20 years of loving this song. No more. No more missing out.

Space for Creativity

2009-02-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

Recently, Pilgrim at Lake Michigan wrote a blog that's stuck with me, about taking your creativity on a date.

I've been wanting a creative space of my own, pretty much forever--a space that would foster creative energy. In Fall 2005, when I found myself with a 2-bedroom apartment all to myself, I had this dream of making the 2nd bedroom into "The Studio," my creative space for knitting, songwriting, journaling, bookmaking, etc. It never really happened.

Sometime that year, SuzPT gave me a copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, where Woolf expands on her premise, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." Again, I found myself longing for a room just for writing.

Lately, with work, marriage, school, and church, I find myself wedging out both exercise and creativity, and because of this, I feel spiritually and emotionally drained a lot. I have no space in my current life for creative pursuits. When I think of Eden, I think of how the Lord gave us a place designed for exploration and creativity.

Lord, I long for Eden...I long for a holy space...I long for a place of my own--where there is quiet and where there is space for creativity.

What's gotta give to make that happen?

28 Memories from 28 Years

2009-01-30T20:33:00.001-08:00

I just celebrated my 28th birthday last week, and in honor of that, here are 28 great memories.

1. The time I met my future husband on a bridge in Austin, Texas.

2. The time Pam Shaffer and I went to Ikea.

3. The time my brother and I drove across the country and went to the Spam Museum, the Corn Palace, Mount Rushmore, and the Devil's Tower.

4. The time Suzanne, Renee and I drove my blue Sunfire to Florida and back for Spring Break, writing haikus, going bowling, and singing a lot of bad country songs.

5. The time we played spoons (the card game) as a family and Sandy kept insisting on going everywhere dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

6. The time we played football on Thanksgiving and made the Casey Cup out of crap we found in the attic.

7. The time we did a talent show in the midst of the Annual TU New Year's Extravaganza.

8. The time Havaleh, Syvisoi and I went to Youth Jam and we sat in the hallway of the hotel charging a toll to walk down the hall. I think we made $1.20. I also think I was embarrassed when this guy Chris asked me to dance.

9. The time Hannah, Andy, Levi, Ruth, Christine and I stayed at that really cool hotel in Watamu, Kenya with the balcony, and we ran into the Fulbright Scholar Butterfly scientist while out for samosas one night.

10. The time Paul, Joel, Drew, Sheila and Ruth dumped 10 gallons of water on me in honor of my 21st birthday.

11. The time after Beth and Noah's wedding, when I was trying to help clean up the church and kept running around frantically saying, "Does anyone know how to dispose of the body and blood of Christ?"

12. The time Clay, Sarah, Dan, DeJon, and I drove up to Austin to see the Old 97's, and we accidentally got to see Billy Harvey open the show.

13. The time Sean and I wandered around Vegas together in the middle of the night, taking random photographs and singing Kenny Rogers songs.

14. All the times I had parties during Senior Year of High School and kept accidentally inviting like, 50 people. Oh yeah, and the incredible skittle wars.

15. The time my friends threw me a Bridal Shower that included making Play-Doh sculptures and finger painting under the auspices of the theme, "Play with Clay."

16. The time that the whole wedding party broke out into choreographed dance at Chris and Janelle's wedding reception.

17. The time Danara, Don King, and I got free tacos and red-pepper name badges from "Brian" at the Taco Bell/KFC in North Webster, Indiana.

18. The time Renee came out to visit Washington on a 1-day's notice.

19. The time Pam, Renee and I surprised Beth with a Bridal Shower and caught it all on videotape, which we almost recorded overtop of Beth's Senior Recital.

20. The time I sent flowers to Beth in the hospital after she had Lily, and the card on the flowers read, "Love Angie Heather," instead of "Love Auntie Heather."

21. All the times that Hannah, Andy, Levi and I used to hang out with Dr Bennett and Justin and Imani in Nairobi.

22. All the times I used to go to record shows with Dad and sit under the tables while he wheeled and dealed.

23. The time Mom, Dad, Sean and I were at the Scott Antique Show and discovered a Beatles' Record Player marked down to 1/4 its value.

24. The time I got crowned the "King of Janelle's Heart" during a mystery kisser game at her Bridal Shower. (After 5 people, including her fiance, kissed her on the cheek, she had to guess which one was Chris, and she guessed me!)

25. All the times Lynn and I used to sit in the galleria together, stalking "Mr. Inconspicuous" every MWF during Spring Semester 2001.

26. All the times Renee and I used to pass notes back and forth while pretending to study in the student union.

27. The time we visited Tulalip in honor of Clay's birthday and Stuart jumped in the fountain.

28. The time Sean, Rachael and I saw the zombies march down the streets of Vancouver.

The Great Flood 2009!

2009-01-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

I felt very much like a pioneer on my way to work this morning. My normal route, taking State Route 531 to Interstate 5 was closed because the mighty Stillaguamish had overtaken it...once again inching towards the O'Brien Turkey House.

Ah-ha! I thought... I'll take State Route 9 north and sneak around a back road to cross the river. No success, because before I reached my "shortcut," the river stopped me. It was crossing State Route 9. All the minivans were lined up on the side of the road watching the monster trucks ford through it. I paused and recounted my days of crossing rivers on the Oregon Trail, debating, "Do I attempt to ford the river?"

And then I remembered how devastated I always was on the Oregon Trail when I forded the river, but we were swept downstream and lost 4 boxes of ammunition, 8 sets of clothes, and 100 pounds of food. So...watching all the big trucks from my much-lower vantage point in my Pontiac Sunfire Coupe SE, I did the wisest thing I could think of: turn around.

This involved driving about 5 miles out of my way to the Smokey Point exit, south of Arlington...then of course, I headed north again, this time "safely" on Interstate 5. When I arrived at Exit 208 (my normal route), the on-ramp was swamped and the river was ever-so-gently giving the interstate a hug. (Not surprising though, there was still a brave line of people waiting to buy cigarettes at the Stilly Smoke Shop.)

I successfully completed my drive, thankful that the northern roads have cleared up enough that hydroplaning is no longer an ever-present risk.

Happy Flood 2009! (There's a great photo of Haller Park in Arlington at the Seattle Times.)

Late Night Reflections on Learnings...

2009-01-05T22:55:00.001-08:00

I started class #2 at Fuller: Medieval and Reformation History! Woohoo! Tonight we were talking about evangelizing the barbarians of the 8th century. Argh... During class, I contemplated whether or not it's okay to consider naming our first son Merovingian. It seems like a good rugged manly name, and apparently bears a connotation with a "long-haired king." (Why, hello Aragorn.)

Tonight in class, I discovered that it's difficult to listen to your professor talk about the Benedictines when you're simultaneously watching updates on the final minutes of the Fiesta Bowl on your computer. (It helped that there were a few Texas fans in the room to pass secret scowls and cheers to in the midst of the lecture...but it was hard to focus on the part of the lecture I was most interested in when I was also waiting to see if Texas had scored a touchdown with :16 on the clock. Gah!)

Lately, unrelated to class, Clay and I have been reading The Emotionally Healthy Church. Clay recommended we read this book together after we had a conversation about wanting to be connected on a deeper emotional level. (A shout out to Duane and DeJon for introducing it to him!) While it might seem odd to read a book about creating a healthy church in order to improve marital health...it's actually not. Why? Because the health of our church is a symptom of the health of the people in the church. So--this book is pretty much all about things you can ask yourself in a quest to become a more healthy person--and thus able to serve God better in ministry.

Clay and I often question our value based on how we're feeling that particular day about our effectiveness and involvement in our ministries. To now step back and evaluate ourselves not by the external measurables, but about the health of our own hearts, is pretty radical. When we actually stop to examine every single defense mechanism, coping strategy and crazy neurosis we do to get through our day, it's pretty incredible to see what hurting and broken people we really are--and how that holds us back from really loving others as well as we could.

The book revealed to me that my biggest area of growth is needed in living in more brokenness and vulnerability. The funny part is that if I had read through the list before taking the helpful little survey, I would have picked it out of the bunch. The book is allowing me to take a candle to the dark caverns of my heart and begin to sweep out the cobwebs. Lately, I've been able hear that extra snap in my voice, to hear that burst to want to insert my two cents into the dialogue, to quickly step up and correct someone for mispronouncing a word..and I think, "Wow...I'm so, so afraid of appearing weak...what is going on in my heart that's led me to this place?"

I'm claimed 2009 as the year of health. Emotional health, spiritual health, physical health. I don't want to go anywhere special or do anything grand...I just want to be more healthy...less afraid of my own shortcomings...more authentic about my own brokenness...more able to recognize where I've failed.

I pray that 2009 has good and wonderful things in store for you as well!

Making Hay While the Snow Falls

2008-12-23T13:00:00.001-08:00

Clay and I were pretty much trapped indoors for 6 days straight due to the endless onslaught of snow. (2 feet over the past week.) Today is our first day of freedom, and I'm relishing every minute of it: driving 70mph on the interstate, stopping at Starbucks, and loving my desk at work.

Yesterday was the real low point. We were putting chains on my car to drive to the Post Office, and I was frustrated beyond belief. For no apparent reason. And--I didn't want to do anything. Lethargy is apparently lethal!

Mostly I spent a lot of time knitting while Clay spent a lot of time reorganizing his "collectible card games." We also watched The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Escape From New York, Under the Tuscan Sun, Minority Report and many episodes of Friends.

Here are some bi-products of my hundreds of hours indoors...some newly knitted armwarmers (out of a fine alpaca yarn, the purchase of which supported rural women in Uraguay) and an army of angsty gingerbread men! Praise the Lord that the roads are finally clear!

Snowed in...

2008-12-19T16:13:00.001-08:00

For the 3rd day in a row, we've pretty much been snowed in at home. On Wednesday, I attempted to brave my 30 mile drive to work, with no success. I slid through an intersection near our apt, drove 20 mph on 50 mph State Highways, and arrived to the slow-movin I-5 only to begin fishtailing immediately. So I turned around and came back home to enjoy a day of warm soup and board games with Clay and Mom and Dad (who arrived just in time for snowstorm 2008).

I didn't even try to drive to work again yesterday.
And then today, I made another attempt, only to find the highway still snow-covered. No good!

The problem isn't necessarily the snow...it's that in Western Washington, there aren't enough snow plows to keep up with all the snow, and people are really uncomfortable driving in it, so they either drive reeeeally slow or get into lots of accidents.

Regardless, Clay continues to look around it all going, "This is CRAzy," while I am thinking back to J-Term at Taylor University so thankful that I don't have to trudge to Calculus class through 2 feet of snow drifts.

It's a snowy December in Western Washington with a most-probable White Christmas. I do not miss our usual grey/cold/rainy/dark December days...and thankfully, since Blockbuster and Safeway are a 10-minute walk from our house, we're likely to survive the storm.

OTR Live at Triple Door

2008-12-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

I enjoy seeing Over the Rhine live in concert more than I enjoy most things in life. It's the little things really... melodic piano solos, an upright bass, and Karin's new outfit.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we enjoyed an evening of Over the Rhine at the swanky Seattle venue, The Triple Door, which is part speakeasy, part dinner theater, and a little bit Disney World. It's fancy. A fall trek to Over the Rhine has become a bit of a thing...last September we took in two shows at Triple Door, and in November 2006, I managed to catch them at the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio.

Every time I see Over the Rhine live, I end up connecting with a song I've heard a million times by hearing it in an entirely new way. This time, it was "Poughkeepsie," which touches me in a deep place every time I hear it...and "New Redemption Song" from Snow Angels...As I was sitting there, gently rocking back and forth and humming along to New Redemption Song, I knew it was my song for 2008...the one that will quantify what this year has meant to me. The lyrics are simple...but the music communicated so much power. I'm thankful for music, thankful that Karin and Linford continue making music after 20 years together, and thankful for the power of redemption...

New Redemption Song
(Words and Music: Detweiler)

Lord we need a new redemption song
Lord we’ve tried
It just seems to come out wrong
Won’t you help us please
Help us just to sing along
A new redemption song

Lord we need
A new redemption day
All our worries
Keep getting in the way

Won’t you help us please
Help us find the words to pray
To bring redemption day

A Trip to Visit the Sun

2008-12-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

Clay and I joked about bringing all of our friends a souvenir back from Tucson--a picture of the sun. We never quite got around to it during our 3-day whirlwind to the sunny desert, where it's 75 degrees in the winter. But we did enjoy the sun and a lot of other great things.

Here are our top 5 take-aways of a memorable visit:

Friends. We spent time with the Kings, the Cummings, the Reminders, Tom and Vonnie, the PV Church of Christ youth group, Kendra, Amanda, Heather and Ben...not to mention a stop on the way back to the Phoenix airport to have lunch with Drew, Lisa and baby Micah. In all of this, I'm so thankful that through Christ we can have so many brothers and sisters in a place far away. We were filled with so much love and appreciation for these people, and I was thankful to have so many great conversations with the people that shaped Clay during his three years of ministry there. It's like I gained more understanding into who Clay has become by getting to know the people that have shaped him. Pretty cool.
Babies. During our trip, there were babies and toddlers everywhere. Clay spent a good hour playing ball with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old. He spent another good hour jumping on the trampoline with a 7-year-old and a 6-year-old. I spent time crawling around the floor with an 8-month-old and bouncing a 4-month-old on my knee. We realized we enjoy hanging out with kids, but they're messy and a lot of work, and we are not ready for them yet.
Cold Drinks. I feel that living in the Northwest gives you a greater sense of appreciation for the joys that coffee can bring to your life. In the same way, visiting the desert gives you a greater appreciation for cold drinks. Whether it's a slushee from Eegee's, some gelato, an iced tea, or a frappuccino, cold drinks don't taste any better than they do in Tucson.
Grass. You really start to miss grass when you don't see it. Everything in Tucson fades to this light browny-pink color, and there aren't any really rich colors around, especially green. Everyone's front yards are filled with nicely arranged tiny pink rocks. While in Tucson this go-around, we were both appreciative of how our quality-of-life is improved by something as simple as grass.
Closure. Clay has missed Tucson pretty much since he said goodbye in August 2007. He misses the sun, he misses the concerts, he misses Eegees, he misses his friends. In this visit, we were able to see that our Tucson friends are still very much our friends, and that he has made a big impact in the lives of the teens he worked with. In a way, it was like we finally received closure from Clay's departure in August 2007 while saying hello to the realization that these people are still connected to us in the present.

Giving Thanks, Grieving Evil

2008-11-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

I'm in my kitchen baking cornbread and homemade whole wheat rolls. I just read about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, 82 people dead. Suddenly, my world seems so far away and protected from the rest of the world.

There is evil in the world, and sometimes people submit to it and commit atrocious acts of evil, leaving a wake of destruction behind them.

Yet, as I anticipate tomorrow, I know there is also good in the world. There is family, there are friends, and there is joyous celebration.

Thanksgiving is certainly not the most existential of holidays, but in baking cornbread while reading about these people who died at the hands of evil, I am drawn to Ecclesiastes... I think, "Wow, there is a time to gather with friends and family and celebrate community around a table...and there is a time where the innocent are slaughtered." God confounds me.

It confounded Solomon too...

He writes of Thanksgiving: "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God." (Ecc. 3:12-13.)

He also writes of Mumbai: "In the place of judgment--wickedness was there, in the place of justice--wickedness was there." (Ecc. 3: 16.)

How do we celebrate tomorrow while others grieve? We just do. It is a gift to sit down with our families and friend. Eat, drink, and find satisfaction. Be encouraged that we serve a God who will judge the wicked, but now is the time to be thankful. Pray for those who are persecuted....

"God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed." (Ecc. 3:17.)

Happy Thanksgiving.

Take that, Betty Crocker!

2008-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

Last night Clay and I had some friends over to celebrate friend Jessica's birthday. Woohoo! But by nature of the guest list, the menu faced some unique challenges. With only 4 guests, plus Clay and I, the meal needed to be dairy-free, meat-free, and gluten-free. Um...what does that leave?? Not a whole lot.

But--I love a good challenge in the kitchen and easily settled on my favorite curry dish, including garlic, onion, shallots, peanut butter, coconut milk, ginger, and cilantro. (Thanks JP!) And--in place of chicken, a gluten-free tofu. The meal also required one substitution: for soy sauce, a wheat-free tamari.

Heidi provided a vegan asian salad (complete with vegan mayonnaise...ooh la la!)

For dessert, we enjoyed an almost-vegan, 100% gluten-free Cashew Creme Pear Tart. (I used butter instead of margarine...as Sarah reminded us, margarine is not that far-removed from plastic...only one molecule separates them...and I could not bring myself to make something from margarine.)

So...while it may not seem like a vegan gluten-free dinner is the easiest of all possible challenges, we all emerged victorious! Kudos to us! And kudos to Jessica for giving us a reason to get together and celebrate!

How do you teach people how to think?

2008-11-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

Clay asked the teens to submit questions they had about God so that he could address those topics during Youth Group. One of the questions was, "What does the Bible say about abortion?" Two nights ago, as Clay and I were dozing off, we were talking about how to respond to the question, which of course, reminded me of something I'm learning through church history.

How we respond to that question might actually be teaching the students more than what we teach them is "right." Because...in our moment of response, we can either present a set of prooftexts to support the agenda we already believe and give them the right answer--or--we can be brave enough to give the students the whole picture and teach them how to find the answers for themselves.

What I mean by, "brave enough to give students the whole picture" is this: tell them not just about the parts that say, "before you were born I knew you" and "I knit you together in your mother's womb," but also about the parts of the Bible that are more difficult...like...the part where God sends out the Plague to kill all the firstborn sons of Egypt. And then...teach them how to wade through their salvation with "fear and trembling...for it is God who works in you to will and to act, according to His good purpose." (Php 2:12b-13)

Focusing just on the list of prooftexts that support our belief is dangerous, because it means we're probably missing out on the whole picture...and we might be more attached to our own agenda than to the Lord's will. We might have even established our "biblically-based" perspective without sitting in "fear and trembling"...without taking the whole Bible into consideration...difficult questions like, "If God loves children, why does he send death to all the firstborn sons of Egypt?" In teaching students, if we just give them the "right" answer, we miss the opportunity to teach them how to wade through the complicated parts and find God in the midst of this.

Right now, I can recognize that this idea could offend some people. You might say, "But young people need to know the truth or they'll fall away!"--so let me just clarify one of my assumptions...I assume Scripture is the Word of God and worthy of teaching, but I don't think it necessarily always makes sense. And I don't necessarily think that teaching them the right answer is equivalent to teaching them the truth. We are utterly dependant on the Holy Spirit to guide our interpretation of Scripture...

Pretty much every week in Church History, we end up discussing a historical church argument...and in every controversy, we write a good, scripturally-based argument to support opposing viewpoints. Often, there's no clearly, "more Biblical," answer based just on prooftexts... Sometimes I hear people in class say, "Well, in this case, we just have to base the argument on Scripture," but unfortunately--it's not always that clear because can often find Scriptures to support two differing viewpoints. What do you do with that?

Usually, the early church ends up defending the side of the argument not so much because it's more "right," but because it's protecting some element crucial to our faith. In these cases, we ask, "If X is true, how does that contradict the nature of God as we see him in the whole context of Scripture?" Unfortunately, it seems like the current church is more convicted to lobby for their interpretations of the "right" answers.

If we just teach students the "right" answers, and not about the character of God, then there's a huge risk that the minute someone pokes holes in that "right" belief, their faith is going to crumble. We don't need to teach them to defend "right" perspectives--we need them to see and know who God is...we need to each them how to think about a question when they have one and know how to go about finding the answer...

...how do we teach them how to live out Philippians 2:12b-13: "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose?"
...how do we teach them wade through God's mystery?

We're #2!

2008-11-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

Being a sports fan in Ohio is pretty thankless. We rarely get to celebrate the big victories, and we cling to the close calls. (i.e. the time the Browns almost beat Denver in the AFC Championship, the times the Indians almost won the World Series in 95 and 97...)

2007-2008 was really been our banner year:

NCAA Football: Ohio State loses championship game to Florida (2007).
NCAA Football: Ohio State loses championship game to LSU (2008).
NCAA Basketball: Ohio State loses championship game to Florida.
ArenaBowl XXI: Columbus Destroyers lose to the San Jose SaberCats.
MLB ALCS: Cleveland Indians lose to the Boston Red Sox.

All of that to say, Ohio's Major League Soccer Team (the Columbus Crew) is playing in the championship game this weekend for the MLS cup. So...hope for the best, prepare for what's more likely.

I mean...Go Crew!

Can I just say...

2008-11-15T21:57:00.001-08:00

Can I just say I'm so thankful they didn't have MySpace, Facebook or Blogs during my freshman year of college, because there's no way I would have had the discipline to get anything done. It was bad enough having Napster and the TU Network.

I have a 10-page research paper due on Monday and I'm discovering how Facebook, YouTube, and my blog provide endless time-wasters to avoid the ever-painful duty of historical analysis of primary texts. This is no good!

I'm never so productive as I am when I don't have wireless access.

Back to work.

Abandon Your Child! (Offer Ends Soon.)

2008-11-14T22:04:00.001-08:00

Is your baby/child/teen driving you crazy?!

Well, if you act now, for a few more days, you have the opportunity to abandon your child with no legal consequences. Too good to be true, you say?! Au contraire!

As long as you don't mind your child being raised to love the Huskers and leaving them in the safe and loving arms of an ER nurse working graveyard shift, take advantage of this special offer now.

While supplies last.

And Time Passes

2008-11-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

One day in high school, a boy invites you to go rollerblading at Lake Park. So you go, and it's a good time.

Then, another day, you both wear kilts and sing, "Almost Like Being in Love," during the Triple Locks production of Brigadoon.

Then, about 11 years later, you turn on your TV, and he's playing a mentally-handicapped character on Law&Order.

Good times!

Top Five November 12th Events.

2008-11-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

For lack of anything more interesting today, here is my top 5 list of interesting things that have happened on November 12th in days gone by:

1970 -- The "Exploding Whale" Incident in Florence, Oregon. (Highway Dept blows up rotting whale. Amazing.
1933 -- First photo of the Loch Ness Monster is taken.
1912 -- Frozen bodies of Scott and his men are found in Antarctica.
1970 -- Tonya Harding was born.
There is no #5...because November 12th is really that boring of a day.

Things I have mastered this weekend:

2008-11-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Creation of homemade cinnamon rolls...the first batch was so yummy, I'm making a second batch to take to work tomorrow! Thanks, breadmaker!
Navigating my way to one of University of Washington's [270] libraries. (This included finding a parking lot on game day and finding my way to a building I'd never seen before!)
Printing my rebate information on the Verizon website. They try to hide it from you and constantly cause your browser to shut down, but I was successful! Ha!
Transferring all my contacts from my old phone to my new phone. Yay for a QWERTY keyboard!
Narrowing the thesis for my research paper that's due next Monday. Isn't it lovely when you negate the validity of your working thesis about 10 hours into your research?! Awesome! Today it's something to do with how the role of the abbot in the Rule of Benedict contributed to making Benedict's rule more flexible and transferable than other rules...aren't YOU just itching to read that?
My irrational fear of teaching high school Sunday School.

Things I did not master this weekend:

Self-control to turn off SNL's Presidential Bash during study time.
Expedient travel between U-District and Queen Anne on a Saturday afternoon. What's your shortcut?
Avoidance of Pedeltweezer's General Tso's chicken when Clay's out of town, and I'm home alone.

Shh....Listen!

2008-11-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Clay preached a [most excellent] sermon on listening.

The whole premise of being able to listen is that we must first be silent. Amazing!

This morning, at 7am, at least 30 minutes before I normally arise, Clay's alarm went off. As always, it woke me up, but not him. I was wide awake with 30 minutes in front of me, and I thought, "I can roll out of bed and journal and sit in silence!" It sounded fantastic, but as always, requires that ever-important activity of getting out of bed. 99% of the time when I have this feeling, I go right back to sleep. I usually regret the missed opportunity later. Praise God, for whatever reason, this morning I got out of bed.

I journalled for a bit, read the Bible, and sat in silence for awhile. I listened to my breath...and I thought about the Jesus prayer prayed by 6th century months: [Inhale] "Lord Jesus Christ, [Exhale] have mercy on me, a sinner." In the stillness, I breathed, and I cleared my mind, and I waited. I asked the Lord to examine my heart...and he did.

I arrive at work refreshed, awake, alive. I'm excited, and I'm at peace. This week, I'm focusing on learning how to love better--letting go of my age-old defense mechanisms, and just loving.

And it's all because of silence and listening. We have a lot to learn from monks.

A shout out to Kenya...and reflections on a global victory.

2008-11-05T10:21:00.001-08:00

I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to all my brothers and sistas in Kenya! It's been awhile since we've seen each other, but I'm so joy-filled that you can be inspired in this moment.

I was living in Kenya for five months during the fall of 2001, and my Kenyan brothers and sisters stood beside me, renouncing terrorism. They understood what America was going through, because just a few years before, bin Laden had bombed the U.S. Embassy in downtown Nairobi. They understood what it was like to be attacked on your own soil. I learned from them what it means to be a citizen of the world...to live in a global community. As I hear stories of President Kibaki declaring a national holiday in Kenya in honor of Obama, and I hear of celebrations taking place in Kisumu, my heart is just bursting.

I think of Alice, my Compassion sponsor child, living near Mt. Kenya, working in her garden with her parents...and I think about what it means for her to look at President-Elect Obama with a dream and know that her education through Compassion can lead her to places she's only dreamed about.

With every election, we elect one person. We elect their strengths. We elect their weaknesses. Certainly there are things to be mourned. Many of my brothers and sisters who are so disappointed that we are now inheriting Obama's weaknesses... I don't want to discount those. We have not elected a Savior, we've elected a governmental leader. There are things he has already done and will do that will disappoint us. We can mourn those disappointments.

But--is it possible to also take a moment to pause and celebrate the victory of this moment? I was so moved last night to see Jesse Jackson standing in the crowd at Grant Park weeping. He's spent 43 years involved in Civil Rights...he attended a segregated high school...he walked alongside Dr. King...and 40 years after Dr. King's death, Rev. Jackson can finally see the support of the entire nation behind a candidate who, just 44 years ago, could not even use the same public restroom as his running-mate. I cannot even imagine what this moment means to him.

I cannot imagine what this moment means to so many Africans, who dream of giving their children good educations so they can have a better life. I think of a woman I met in the slums of Nairobi who worked three jobs so she could pay the $24/month school fees for her son. I think of how all of these parents look at their children with hope, and how it would have been impossible for any of them, before now, to look at that child and say, "You can be President of the United States."

Kudos to the people of this nation today...one small step, one giant leap.

Silence, Obedience, Humility.

2008-11-04T09:32:00.001-08:00

After enduring the last many months of water-cooler political conversations, I think I'm ready to be a Quaker or Amish or something...anything where I get to go live in the country, hum a lot, bake bread and not talk about politics. I wouldn't even mind washing my clothes by hand.

Last night, I was lying in bed, my heart heavy. I was burdened by the perspectives of so many Christian brothers and sisters, who place their faith in our political structure above their faith in our Lord. To my surprise, Mark Driscoll shared a message on his blog today that spoke to the exact concern I was feeling! (I say to my surprise, only because I often disagree with Mr. Driscoll's interpretation of the Word...and I was encouraged by his words today.)

In the early church, anytime the church and politics mingled, the church ended up sacrificing one agenda to pursue another agenda. In pursuit of purity, we might sacrifice grace. In pursuit of justice, we might sacrifice forgiveness. My question is regarding the way that Christians engage in and respond to politics today...by enagaging in the way we do with the issues we choose, what have we compromised?

P.S. Your election day song of contemplation is here.

An Open Letter to the Flies in Our Office

2008-10-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dear flies in our office,

Where do you come from, and why do you torment us here?

This morning, I was sitting across a table from my boss, and one of you distracted me by wriggling around on the table on your back. I said, "There's a dying fly on the table." My boss said, "Gross," and flicked you off the table with a pen. Then we both looked up at the nearby window where seven of you were vying for first dibs on making a prison break.

We just want you to know, you are not welcome here. You distract us with your endless cries for help. We are glad you want to leave our office, but why must you be so loud and buzzy in your pursuit of freedom? Just get out of here. Wriggle under the door, crawl through a vent, but QUIT banging against my window. Also--tell all your brothers in the attic that if they don't stop making their way from outside to inside, more and more lives will be lost. I've killed at least 25 of you just this week. There will be more deaths until this torment ceases.

This is not your space. You are not invited. Please flee.

Signed,

hbu

President of the Task Force to Eliminate Pest Infestations from Her Office

Who's your source?

2008-10-27T11:53:00.001-07:00

In Church History, I'm learning that it's important to evaluate peoples' sources...this makes sense, because if you're going to make a reputable argument, you want to make sure it's based on credible information. This does not seem to be the case in political campaigns...whoever can say the meanest things the loudest wins, regardless of their truth.

In History, the most valuable arguments need to be based on primary sources--the original documentation, the original testimonies. Also, the testimony of just one person represents one person's perspective, but to build a historical argument, it's helpful to have more than one person in accord.

I'm noticing that in the age of Facebook, Myspace and You Tube, there's a lot of disreputable propaganda floating around. I've received flyers telling me to vote "no" on I-1000 using the "proof" of slippery slope arguments. ("Don't vote for it, because it might lead to this!!!") Over the weekend I received several links and watched several TV ads defaming a political candidate based only on the testimony and conjecture of the author, who apparently knows the truth. ("Don't vote for ______ because that might lead to this!!!")

Since when are conspiracy theorists legitimate journalists? Since when do slippery slope arguments create a good line of defense?

Does anyone know the difference between propaganda and critical analyses? Worst of all, does anyone value the difference?

In the first 200 years of the church, Christians had to fight against conspiracy theories. The pagan culture accused Christians of committing infanticide, of engaging in orgiastic and incestuous worship services, and of cannibalism. The church had to fight conspiracy theories to show the truth about our faith.

But I'm frustrated to see so many Christians, who should value truth, engage in outright gossip about political candidates based on conjecture, word-of-mouth, and slippery arguments. Spreading rumors based on disreputable sources, and forwarding propaganda aimed at defaming someone else's name is gossip. It's outright gossip, and that's not okay.

If Christians really believe these candidates are the enemies, then we must follow the words of Christ: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45)

In the midst of persecution, the church of the 2nd and 3rd century was committed to praying for the Emperor who persecuted them, because God commanded them to. I urge you--quit defaming these candidates and start praying for them.

Meals I Have Loved, Episode #1

2008-10-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

You may not know this: I love to cook! Woohoo! I love experimenting with new recipes. I love spending an hour or two every few weeks to create a meal plan for the next few weeks and go grocery shopping for new and interesting ingredients. I love altering recipes to be more healthy. And I love trying new cheesecakes.

So. On backroads-midwest-coast, I want to attempt to share new and interesting cooking ideas from time to time, or at least, share the photographs of beautiful meals I have loved. Here are a few.

This is Clay and I's Easter meal from last April: A pork tenderloin with sauerkraut and apples, roasted asparagus (in balsamic vinegar and oil), light au gratin potatoes (no heavy whipping cream!) and a ginger pear cheesecake. Woo-wee! And--the common book of prayer for an Easter devotional. Since it's been 6 months, I have no recollection of the source for any of these recipes, other than, you should know that skinny au gratin potatoes are good! So, no need to bend to heavy whipping cream! Also, I learned that it's good to share holiday meals with other people you love because it's way too much effort to go to for two people!

Since meeting my husband, he too has begun some experimentation in the kitchen. This is mostly because I've asked him to help out from time to time in order to give me a night off. He's been willing to learn because he loves me. He started out modestly, steaming broccoli or heating up prepared soups. Eventually he stretched out into soup recipes. I've sought to help him see that good cooking is not beyond reach--it just takes some creativity and the ability to follow instructions--so lately, I've pulled out a few recipes I thought he could do well with. A few nights ago, I was working hard at my studies and we were limited on groceries. He decided to make some ravioli, and I found a spinach and pepper ravioli recipe that would work. Since we were out of bell pepper, we substituted roasted red pepper. He browned some butter and tossed it with a mushroom asiago ravioli, frozen spinach, and chopped roasted red pepper. The results were amazing! I said, "This is the best thing you've ever made me!" His response was, "This is the best thing I've ever made!"

So to all you out there who are wary of the kitchen, gourmet meals are not beyond your grasp! It just takes a bit of planning in your purchases and a willingness to experiment! If that sounds too overwhelming, maybe, just read my blog and I'll try to pass along some helpful suggestions from time to time.

Stop the Polarizing! Have a conversation.

2008-10-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

I don't like to discuss politics outside of the circle of my closest friends, because in casual conversations, it doesn't seem like most people are interested in dialogue. Politics and Religion are polarizing issues. When either Politics or Religion come into the discussion, we quickly lose the ability to listen. We either commend them for their intelligence or we start tuning them out, depending on whether or not they agree with us.

Sarah was telling me about how on a street corner in Anacortes on Sunday afternoons, the "anti-war" people stand on 3 street corners, and the "support our troops" people stand on another corner. They have posters and banners and megaphones. What's so fascinating to me is that those two groups of people are shouting on different street corners, thinking that they're on opposite sides of a battle. If they sat down to have a discussion, I wonder if that would still be true.

If they sat down to talk, maybe they'd find out that there are people with the "anti-war" signs that have sons and daughters in the military, and they are supporting troops by opposing what they feel is an unjust war. They oppose the military leaders putting their sons and daughters at risk in a war that they've never felt was justified. Maybe we'd find out that the "support our troops" people have been hurt by crazy "anti-war" people who discredit their son or daughter's service to the country, and that it's become easy to assume that the people who are "anti-war" are "anti-troops." They believe they're passionately defending their childrens' honor. Maybe if they sat down and had a conversation, they'd find out they had more in common than they thought--and that they share a commitment to care about our country's use of force. (This is idealistic, I know. Maybe they'd actually discover they were all mutually crazy to be standing on a street corner in the 40 degree rain in October when they could be inside watching the Seahawks lose.)

I work in a conservative community in the midst of an liberal region, and I've discovered that it's hard to have these discussions. Liberal Seattle and conservative Christians in/near Seattle don't spend a lot of time talking to each other. They coexist, but they don't dialogue.

I'd love to share dialogue, to tell you why I'm voting for a candidate I really believe in. I'd love to talk about what we believe the church's engagement with politics should be and what it should not be. I'd love to hear why you're choosing the person you're choosing, because I learn so much about you in hearing why you're voting the way you are...and I learn to see the issues from a new perspective.

If you're interested in starting a dialogue, here are some questions I've been pondering...maybe they'll help you bridge the gap instead of increasing the polarization:

Why does opposing war imply someone does not support troops? What values do these two groups actually share, and where do they actually differ?
What is there a difference between being pro-choice and pro-abortion?
Should our government legislate morality?
Where are the "anti-American" parts of our country? Why are they considered to be so?
Why does the media spin a scenario into the rhetoric of scandal by attaching "gate" to the end, i.e. "troopergate"? What's the fascination with scandal?
Why do the campaigns spend so much money buying advertisements and making robotized phone calls that no one listens to?
What if Obama was a Muslim? Would that mean he was less American or less capable of the duties of President?
Why is "muslim" a dirty word?

Everybody Should Study This!

2008-10-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Over the last four weeks of studying Early Church History at Fuller Theological Seminary, I keep thinking to myself, "Everybody should study this." It is rocking my world.

Why? It's old. They're dead. It was 2000 years ago. Why study it at all if it can't apply to ministry today?

Because it's really easy to look at today's church, read the words of Jesus, and get really frustrated that the ministry of the church doesn't look more like the ministry of Christ. It's easy to be angry that the church isn't unified in Christ.

Through my readings about the 1st and 2nd century church, my heart is changing. I'm no longer angry that our church is such a mess--I'm disappointed that I never learned this from my church. I'm disappointed because I believe that knowing our history would change the way we live and minister. After a month of readings, I'm no longer asking, "When did this become such a mess," rather, I'm asking, "How on earth did the church survive all this?! It's a miracle!" And I'm praising God for protecting the church and allowing it to grow and flourish at all.

In reading our history, I realize that many of my assumptions and frustrations with the church have been made in ignorance--and in reading about all of the adversities facing the early church, I'm filled with a compassion and love for the church I've never had before. When I see how dedicated and passionate our early church leaders were in their pursuit of Christ, I no longer care that the church is a mess--I'm just inspired to be a part of it.

Last night, I was sharing lots of these thoughts with Clay, and we were talking about the early church in Rome. Clay said something about that being the history of the Catholic church, and I piped up (with a great deal of passion), "No! That's our church history too! Our church didn't even exist until the 1860's...it didn't pop out of a void...it came from somewhere--so the history of the Early Church in Rome is the history of our church too!"

If we are truly one church united by Christ, than the church's history is our history, good, bad and otherwise. The martyrs and saints are our history, the split in 1054 is our history, the Spanish Inquisition is our history, the Reformation is our history.

I think a lot of times American Protestants see our roots in the early American church or the Reformation, and we don't look back any further than that. The Spanish Inquisition is something the Catholic church did, not us. Guess what?! Since there was not an American Protestant church in 1478, I'm pretty sure that that's a part of our church history too.

I know that Free Methodism started as a movement during the civil war, and before that we were apart of the Methodist movement begun by John Wesley in the 1730's. Studying the last 360 years of our history is good and fine, but there were 1638 other years of history in there before we got to the reformation, and there were thousands of years of Jewish history before that, which, since Jesus and the apostles were all JEWS is also a part of our history.

My whole point is, how can we possible respond to our present without knowing what we've gone through to get to this point? We're apt to throw out the lessons we've already learned or spend time on the details instead of using our past to illuminate where we should go in the future. We are apt to ignorantly schism ourselves away from our brothers and sisters without remembering that there have been so many times in our past (and presently--in China and so many countries) when we were united under the pressure of persecution.

Yesterday, I was inspired by the story of the martyrdom of Polycarp. Here's an early church Bishop who was killed by the Romans because he refused to worship the Emporor and recant Christ. His story was written down to share as an encouragement for other believers and to bear witness to the power of Christ. It is offensive that martyrs should ever die without the church celebrating and remembering their sacrifice. Please read, and then read Romans 12:1-2 and ask the Lord to illuminate new meaning of those words in your life. Allow early church history to rock your world!

What's So Bad About Praying?

2008-10-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

This morning I felt tension -- the tension that happens when we see a problem and seek a solution when the solution's not obvious. One of my fellow staff came to me with a request to help brainstorm solutions to a complicated problem. Neither myself nor another staff, the purported expert in the field, had any great solutions. We offered ideas and insights, but we didn't have a "magic button" to fix the problem.

At the end of all of the discussing, I was feeling like we should pray. Because there were no other clear options.

But I'm bothered by this desire to pray... Why is it that I was only compelled to initiate prayer as the last resort instead of the first resort? Why is it that when my fellow staff person came in with the request for help, we didn't first pray, then wait upon the Lord, and then wait for a response before brainstorming our best ideas?

Why do we wait until there are no other good ideas to try before we pray? Why don't we pray first?

Maybe we don't want to overspiritualize praying for everything--i.e. praying about what shirt to wear today or what to eat for breakfast or where to go on family vacation.

I'm guessing for myself--the reason I don't go there first is pride. I'm proud when I can figure out a solution (in my own logical assessment and wisdom). That can puff me up! Also--in my pride, I don't like asking for help, so I want to do it on my own. Even more so in regards to pride, I'm sometimes turned off by hyperspiritual people who want to pray first for everything, because that can certainly be subject to false humility.

Another reason I don't go there is I forget. I forget that it honors the Lord when we seek Him first...that it pleases Him. I forget, so I go it alone, or I seek out earthly wisdom and advisors.

We didn't end up praying in that meeting this morning, but in hindsight, I see that prayer is always the "magic button." It's our direct line to the creator of the universe, who has more power to change situations or fix them than we do anyways...instead of sighing and shrugging and saying, "Well, since we've tried everything else, all we can do is pray..." why not respond with, "Before we try anything, let's pray...because that is the best we can do."

Runaway Train

2008-10-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Night, Clay and I enjoyed some sweet nostalgia--seeing Eliza Gilkyson live at the Tractor Tavern. Why would this evoke sweet nostalgia? Because two years ago, Eliza was the artist we went to see on the night we met!

The concert was incredible, and we left in awe of Eliza's insightful and passionate songwriting. She's not afraid to say things: about Bush, capitalism, the environment, or love gone awry.

I was definitely struck by the timeliness of her messages...on her new album is a track "Runaway Train" about the spiraling, destructive path of our economic system...

So--if you enjoy well-written, well-executed folk, check out Eliza. She rocks.

Also it is required that you check out Nina Gerber. She evoked a level of emotion out of her Stratocaster that I actually didn't know was possible and rocked out with some awesome slide guitar! If you love guitar (Dad), you should definitely check her out too.

(P.S. After the show, we got to say hi to Eliza and tell her she was our matchmaker! She was sweet to us, and offered many congratulations. So. She's nice too. Doesn't that warm your heart?)

Surprise!

2008-10-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Two years and nine days ago, I met Clay on a bridge in Austin, Texas, and we went to a concert at Threadgill's. The concert performer??? Eliza Gilkyson.

Two years and nine days later, it just so happens that Eliza Gilkyson is in town and playing at Seattle's beloved Tractor Tavern. (The concert venue Clay and I frequent the most...in the last few years: Damien Jurado, Brandi Carlile, Old 97's...) Clay attempted to surprise me for a nostalgic "two year-of-meeting" October-versary, probably the last October-versary we'll take the time to celebrate...but all-too-unfortunately I have an application installed in my iTunes that notifies me when artists in my iTunes catalog are appearing in concert in Seattle, so iConcertCal notified me of the "surprise" event a few days early.

Regardless, we're headed to Seattle to see Eliza, and I'm confident that at some point it will be very sweet to see her and think about that crazy day 2 years and 9 days ago. Yay for kismet, good memories, and an incredible husband with whom to relive incredible moments.

Presidential Debate #2: The Need for Better Citizenship

2008-10-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last night Clay and I sat down to watch our third Presidential Debate of the 2008 Election Season. Partway through, I started making dinner, and I heard Clay turning on the PlayStation. I yelled from the kitchen, "Don't turn it off...I'm still listening!" and peeked around the corner to discover Clay had turned on picture-in-picture, with Obama and McCain on the big screen while he played PS3 in the small screen. "Don't you love this TV?" he replied. Apparently we both have short attention spans.

We're not up-to-date on the finer details of economic crises or in-the-know on the best approach to Pakistan or Iran, so it's hard to adjudicate their responses. What makes me sad is not that the debates are so boring for us to watch--it's that we're so ignorant about the topics they're discussing--which makes it boring. As voters, we know so very little about the economics involved in the Financial Bailout or the foreign policy needed with Russia or Pakistan. It honestly makes me question the reasoning for democracy, when I (a voter) am so uninformed about the complexity of governmental issues. I tend to vote based on what will benefit me the most, instead of pondering, as one questioning voter did last night, "what we might be compelled to sacrifice for the betterment of our country."

I'm confident that we need more than better leadership; we need better citizenship. So...I'm on a quest to be better informed about the issues of our government and our world so that the next time there's an election to be had, whether city, state, or federal, that I know more about the candidate that his/her party affiliation. Will you join me in this quest?

Christ: "And Culture" or "Against Culture"

2008-10-07T10:07:00.001-07:00

Last night, in class 2 of 10 of my Early Church History at Fuller NW, we talked about a debate that's existed since the early days of the church: Should we present the gospel through the lens of the culture or as against culture?

I think that until last night, I've misunderstood the concepts. I previously understood that the model of "Christ and Culture" was always good: inclusive, supportive, walking alongside culture.
In my mind, the model of "Christ and Culture" was the Emmaus Road type of ministry--walking alongside of others and revealing the gospel to them gradually. Or Paul at the Aereopagus, building repoire with the thinkers of Athens before pointing them towards Christ...it esteemed them and pointed them towards Christ towards things they already know.

The model of "Christ against Culture" was always bad: narrowminded, exclusive, judgmental. But if I think about Christ's life, the model of "Christ against Culture" is there in his actions as well: Casting the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, or Jesus renouncing the cities who had not repented.

The benefits of the "Christ Against Culture" model are that we we can be holy--set apart (which doesn't mean we have to be sectarian). We can be "of Christ" and be something different while living in the culture...we can call people into repentance. In the "Christ and Culture" model, we can pick up the shards of truth in the culture, and as Justin Martyr taught, piece them together to show how Christ is in all of that Truth. We can illuminate the truth in the culture to point people towards Christ.

Looking at youth ministry, I see that the "Christ and Culture" model is much more effective in becoming friends with a student, but it doesn't necessarily mean that a student will develop a relationship with the Lord. The "Christ against Culture" model is more effective in seeing students make a commitment to follow Christ, but it doesn't necessarily result in a deep or long-lasting commitment.

Where I began in the discussion isn't exactly where I ended up the discussion...but before I share that--I'm curious to know--where are you and your ministry in this and why?

Small Town Coffee Date

2008-10-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I asked my husband out for a coffee date. It went kind of like this:

"You want to go with me to Starbucks for a little bit and read?"
"Not really."
"What about just to get a coffee and come home?"
"Not really."
"I actually wasn't asking...I was actually saying, 'Please come with me to Starbucks for a little date.'"
"Oh--well in that case, I would love to."

It's amazing how I can look at my husband and suggest that he want to do something and wait for him to want to do it, instead of saying, "Please do this with me, because it would mean a lot."

So we went to Starbucks, and I read about the first century Christian church...while Clay read Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. One of my former YD girls was there. I hadn't seen her for about a year--and I was so happy to see her.

Probably one of my favorite time periods in my life ever was back in the day when Renee and I would make pilgrimages to The Jumping Bean in Taylor's student union...grab a booth...and spend the night studying, talking with passersby and drinking coffee. For a few minutes tonight, I embraced a past-life I have loved, and I am very happy to be returning to coffee shops to study. I feel like school is already helping me to become more of myself...

The Wedding Festivities are Over!

2008-09-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

2 months after the hubbub of wedding celebrations began, with the completion of our Washington Reception this weekend, the celebrations are now over!

After enjoying a great time yesterday with about a hundred of our friends from YD and church, Clay and I said a big, "Whew." The wedding celebrations are officially over. A bridal shower weekend in Ohio, a guys' trip to NYC, a gals' weekend in Pittsburgh, a wedding week in Ohio, a honeymoon in Belize, a weekend reception in San Antonio and an afternoon reception in Washington. All over.

Last night, we were too tired to even open our last few presents...so they wait. And with all the logistics of squeezing our 2-separate-houses lives into a 1-apartment life, we have an enormous stack of yet-to-be-tackled Thank You notes staring at us from the pile of yet-to-be-unpacked boxes.

Sometimes, Clay says, "Marry me again." And I say, "You want to do another wedding? You want to repack and move again?" to which he promptly responds, "No." Naive Romanticism and Sarcastic Pragmatism are an interesting match.

The Internet is like, a whole new world

2008-09-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, I went down to Fuller Theological Seminary's Northwest Extension Campus (located very close to this spot right here--in the Queen Anne are of Seattle...isn't Seattle beautiful?)

I registered for my one Graduate Class (Early Church History - CH500) and learned how to use Portico, the school's internal web for students and faculty.

Let me tell you what--in the nine years since I started school in 1999, like, school is a whole new thing.

Not entirely new, but, in 1999, I was just introduced to Power Point, and I was still using my very first hotmail account. In 2008, my school email is a Google Application and I can pay my tuition through EFT or get miles on my Southwest Visa. My class syllabus is a Word Document I download from the Class Webpage.

Gone are the days are waiting in the line at the Registrar's Office with your bubble sheet. Gone are the days of carrying around a floppy disk to print out your paper at the Library because your HP 660 ran out of toner. Gone are the days of camping out at the library to wait in line to use the research computers.

I can't imagine what it's like for y'all who return to school since the dawn of computers...I'm like, shocked enough. I can't wait to become Facebook friends with my professors!

Mount Rainier is rain-ier...

2008-09-22T15:44:00.001-07:00

Clay and I just celebrated our first Camping Trip! Goood times. Good food, good scenery, good company.

These first few months of marriage have made it ever-clearer that I am anal-retentive in areas where one is supposed to be relaxed...i.e. camping trip. Isn't that supposed to be chill and low-maintenance? Not with me, man! Three evenings of packing and planning and shopping and preparing...lists of supplies, lists of food, and a very thorough menu were all part of the pre-camping fun. (Clay would not call this fun.)

But the preparations and pre-event stress paid off, because we had so much fun! The campground was great, the food was great, and we used all the gear we bought at the last minute...(an axe, a collapsible 5-gallon water container, tarps, rope, extra tent stakes). It was also exciting to break in our brand new gear! Our new tent and new Whisperlite stove. And, we re-learned how to play cribbage and explored several pieces of Mount Rainier's Northeast corner.

On Saturday, Hannah & Jon drove all the way out from Seattle (a 2-hourish drive) only to go on the most miserable of miserable rainy hikes with us! The trail itself was pretty cool--having been rerouted back and forth across and through a riverbed...but the payoff at the top was less than spectacular, since Rainier was fogged in when we got up there. By that time, it was very cold and very rainy, and we still had a 90-minute hike back down to the bottom. By the time we got there, we were all cold and wet through...

Hannah reassured me that they wouldn't drive all that way to have a miserable day in the cold rain for just anyone. So, it's nice to have friends that go out of their way to endure ridiculous experiences with you. When we were on our way home and dry again, Clay said, "That was fun...I liked camping, but I don't ever, ever, ever want to go hiking or camping in the rain again. That was not fun." So, considering that fall is settling into Washington, it may be May before we're camping again...

Goooo Camp-in' on the Moooooun-tain!

2008-09-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

After many weeks of deliberation, it has been determined that tomorrow, we will go camping here:

And attempt a glacial day hike with these fine people here:

One of my bridesmaids Hannah (whom I originally met in Kenya) and her husband Jon just moved to Seattle, and we've wanted to get a camping/hiking excursion in before Hannah and I start school.

I've been planning menus and making packing lists, and I absolutely cannot wait to put to use some of the new and fantastic gear we've received off of our REI Registry. (i.e. a brand new Marmot tent, an MSR Whisperlite, and my trusty Lexan French Press.) Yesterday, I was stressing about about the meal planning a little bit--thinking about how much we'd need...what variety I wanted, etc. And I was scolding Clay a bit for not caring more.

He responded, ever so eloquently, "Listen, if I were planning the menu, it'd be simple. Hot dogs, buns, s'mores, cereal, milk, chips, salsa. Every meal. That's it."

To which I of course respond, "But on your long day hike, what about a pack lunch..."

To which he responds, "No, no, no...on a low-maintenance camping trip, there's no all-day hiking...you return to camp to make your lunch at every meal."

I'm, of course, trying to figure out how to saute vegetables over an open fire and trying to secure the best recipe for grilling salmon. And I'm hoping for a 7-mile hike to a glacier on Saturday!

So...apparently Clay's up for quite the adventure!

Beware of Ike!

2008-09-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Since I have lived outside the Midwest for 4+ years now, I'm rather acclimated to boring weather. 300 days of gray days of high's in the 60's. It's not much to write home about really. (Not that I want a tsunami or volcanic eruption to spice things up, anyways.)

But it never ceases to amaze me how much the people of Ohio get impacted by hurricanes. As you may already know, Ohio does not border any hurricane-ridden ocean. Coshocton, Ohio is, in fact, 484 miles from Atlantic City, on the eastern seaboard, and 900 miles from the gulf coast.

So why is it that the state is continually affected by hurricanes?? Seriously! Why are 110,000 homes without power in Ohio after a hurricane!? (Please don't respond to that with a comment about how big hurricanes are...duh!) What I mean is, isn't it amazing that any storm could be that insanely huge that it can pummel Galveston and continue its wake of destruction across an entire country?

I'm just saying--hurricanes are crazy. And you can't live in Ohio and be safe from hurricanes, believe it or not...so now you know.

P.S. An unrelated cyclone ripped through Clay and I's apartment yesterday, spilling most of the contents of the previously named "Junk Room" throughout the rest of the house. This was an intentional effort to reclaim the Junk Room for more noble purposes, and not caused by wind. Although happy things will result from this reorganization, I severely miss my days of obliviousness when all mess was confined to the Junk Room.

Reentry & Reflections on Creativity

2008-09-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

I may be ready to reenter the blogosphere. There were some obvious things that distracted me from blogging in 2008 (most notably, planning a wedding). And lots of dynamics and things that go on throughout planning a wedding aren't really things I felt motivated to share with the world...it's an incredibly emotional time!

Most notably, wedding planning absorbed every spare ounce of creative energy I had, which was good in the sense that the wedding was beautiful, and bad in the sense that I had no creative energy left for anything else (including blogging).

Since arriving home from our Honeymoon, I've noticed the feeling returning to my creative fingers and toes--and there's energy to try new recipes, to plan weekend excursions, and to write. Clay and I had already noticed how crippling it can be for us to not have an outlet for our creative energies, and I've now noticed how crippling it can be to have some huge thing running your life so that you're prevented from day-to-day creativity.

No more! Tonight, we will enjoy spicy thai green beans and tofu, a vegan meal in honor of Heidi! And today, I'm writing a blog! This afternoon I may even write my ministry newsletter and start planning for the next issue of our ministry-wide newsletter, Reflections.

So, hello, you. I'm excited to be back.

I Can't Get Enough of This

2008-08-15T18:32:00.001-07:00

Perspective

2008-06-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

"Freedom is sometimes just simply another perspective away. " ~Kutless

Life's felt overwhelming lately...it's usually that way for me when my to-do list is longer than I can keep mental track of.

But I had a change in perspective...and suddenly my life is good and simple again.

It started last night...Clay and I sat down to think through every possible thing we can imagine we need to do between now and August 2nd. Clay was typing up the list as I was thinking out loud...but much to my chagrin, instead of typing what I asked, he was inserting his own amusing, creative embellishments. I apparently was not in the mood for amusing, creative embellishments, because dang it, wedding planning is WORK!

He told me to chill out, and he told me to relax, and he reminded me that wedding planning is supposed to be fun. I wasn't in the mood for correction...but for whatever reason, I heard the truth in what he was saying. So when he added an exclamation point to, "Buy a cake topper!" I emitted a giggle and relaxed.

And this evening, I read an update from my YD friends Mikey and Bonnie, who today, being only six months into their marriage went to Mikey's first day of chemotherapy. And as they share their story, they are certainly nervous, but they have so much hope and joy too.

I suddenly feel like I have no reason to be overwhelmed...in seven weeks I will be surrounded by friends and family, celebrating being united in marriage with Clay...the to-do list is a trite thing...and it really should not be running my life.

Award-Winning Commercial

2008-06-05T14:33:00.001-07:00

A shout out to Isaac, who is now an award-winning commercial-writer, thanks to this video. And way to go Preston!

I Am the Victor

2008-05-27T14:04:00.001-07:00

In the battle of Me v. Invitations, I am the victor. 193 of them went in the mail today, having been compiled, addressed, stamped and sealed over the last few days. An additional 183 made their way to Texas, where they are being addressed, stamped and sealed by Clay's mom.

Now that it's all done...I'm very proud of them and don't even mind the many long nights of my life that they soaked up. We did save a few dollars, and the finished product is very Clay and Heather...clean, simple and a bit eccentric.

I would post a picture, but I wouldn't want that to spoil the fun of opening your envelope yourself. So, you will just have to wait.

This week, Clay is moving into our new apartment, where he will work very hard to keep it clean while he lives there alone for the next two months...and I go back to Ohio to visit the family, enjoy my first wedding shower, visit some bridesmaids and friends, and enjoy exciting appointments with the caterer, hairdresser, florist, tux shop and rental shop...woo-wee!

Did I mention that I can't wait for the honeymoon in Belize? Seriously...I need a Belize paper chain titled, "Countdown to Nothing-to-do."

Me v. Invitations

2008-05-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

For the past month, the lack of blogging has mostly been due to the fact that I've spent about every available moment of free time creating 400 wedding invitations. Oh my!

I have several regrets about this already:

That I decided we'd save a great deal of money by making invitations, which is not necessarily true.
That I was so sure I would enjoy making invitations, which was true for about a week and untrue for about four weeks.
That I decided to mat the white invitation on black paper, which took a great deal of time to trim.

Several things I do not regret, however, are the amazing Hatch Show Print-inspired design I created, the choice to put them in white sparkly #10 envelopes, choosing to use a postcard as a reply card to save $.15 on each reply stamp, choosing an amazing engagement photographer who gave us permission to make prints of our engagement photos, and making the choice to send them as many people as we possibly could.

It is very true that making 400 invitations is extremely stressful...especially if you don't know what you're doing...and I do know what I'm doing, because I order and create printed things all the time for work, and it's still extremely stressful for me.

But yesterday, I packed up 200 ready-to-go invitations and mailed them to Clay's mom, who will address them...and I'm finishing the other 200 this weekend and sticking them in the mail on Tuesday. The end is in sight, and I will be so thankful for invitation month to be over, so I can just rejoice in having them move out of my living room and into your mailboxes.

Engagement Photos are Online!

2008-04-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our engagement photos are now available for viewing online:

http://gabrielboone.com/showit/Heather

Free Time? Huh?

2008-04-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Apparently I've been pretty busy lately. I didn't realize it until this morning when our engagement photographer asked, "What do you do in your free time?" and I responded, "Huh?"

Lately, free time has consisted of premarital counseling, driving around Arlington checking out rental units, a bit of wedding planning, and applying to Grad School. Apparently what I do in my free time is nothing that could or should be considered leisurely. You should know that I don't prefer to live my life this way. I love free time...vast spaces of nothingness that can be filled with whatever desire happens to be floating by at that moment.

However, even if life right now is a bit more busy than I'd like, I'm still stubbornly convinced my life should not be classified as busy, so here is a list of interesting things I have done recently that are not about weddings, grad schools or leases:

Watching Seasons 1-7 of Friends (on my second series watch-through). Mostly, I watch it while I'm doing my taxes or updating Quicken. Joey is a very funny man, even moreso when you've been doing a budget analysis for the past 45 minutes.
Reading my Better than Oprah book club book for the month: The Hero and the Crown. This book is actually a fantastical biography of the life of my maid of honor, Renee, who makes a very good fictional character.
Cooking fabulous dishes. Recently, I made a fantastic asian noodle soup (with bok choy!), a healthy bean dip (with homemade whole wheat tortilla chips) and a ginger pear cheesecake. I cannot wait for my Pampered Chef Bridal Shower in Ohio next month!
Listening to my latest set of purchases at Best Buy and iTunes:
Derek and Sandra's Ampersand EP
Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine
Anna Nalick's Shine EP
Sara Bareilles' Little Voice
Jon Foreman's Fall EP, Spring EP, and Winter EP
Caedmon Call's Overdressed
Also, I'm still enjoying some Christmas gift/purchases:
Allison Krauss and Robert Plant's Raising Sand
Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer
Shawn Colvin's These Four Walls
Gillian Welch's Soul Journey
(n.b. Recently, I discovered that in Clay and I's shared music tastes, female pop singer/songwriters don't really make his cut...thus many of these purchases have been either reactionary, or to fill in a void in my life. It neglects to inform you how much Counting Crows and Ryan Adams I've soaked in over the last few months.)
Purchasing tickets to see Radiohead in Seattle the week after we return from our Honeymoon! I'm so pumped! Thom Yorke, the lead singer for Radiohead, looks very much like Clay's very good friend DeJon. If you want, I can get DeJon's autograph for you.

Okay, honestly, I feel a lot better about myself now. I was seriously beginning to worry that my life was no longer in my own hands, but apparently, through music and cooking, and the occasional book and episode of Friends, there is my sweet respite.

Thank you sweet respite. You are being good to me these days.

I Love to Tell the Story

2008-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I'll ever get tired of telling people the story of the way Clay and I met.

Last week, we were looking at a condo to rent, and the real estate agent asked off-hand where we'd met, and we breezily replied, "Oh--we were at a convention in Austin, and Clay posted an ad on the convention bulletin board looking for people to go to a concert with him, and I just happened to see his ad and call." We turned sheepishly to see her eyes wide, and her jaw a bit dropped, and we laughed a bit, because although it's a bit surreal at times still, it's what happened. We love telling our story.

Yesterday morning, we went and spent a few hours standing (freezing) in the middle of a bright red tulip field telling our story. We hired my coworker Aaron, who runs Hands On Films, to create a video documentary of us telling our story. It's a piece we're putting together to share at our wedding--so that for those who don't know Clay so well or for those who haven't seen Heather and Clay together at all--they can feel more a part of our story.

It might seem a little taxing to stand in a field talking to a video camera for 2 hours, but it really wasn't. Just being able to look out at a hazy Northwest gray sky, across acres of bright red, pink, and purple tulips, and green, green grass...and tell someone how we got together, how we got engaged, why we're getting married, and why we love each other, it was such a blessing. We loved telling our story.

And telling our story was energizing. At the end of it all, we were able to just look at each other and say, "I love you so much" because we'd been so reminded of where we'd come from these past 18 months.

Growing up, we'd sing the old hymn, I Love to Tell the Story:

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

It's been awhile since I told the story of how Christ has worked in my life...how we met, how I fell in love with Him. I don't even remember the last time I told my story of meeting Christ. But when I see how energized I was to tell Aaron and the video camera how much I love Clay, and how satisfying it was to share that love...well... I think it's a story I should share more than I do.

I think this is how we are supposed to be sharing Christ with others anyways:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5.)

Sci-Fiiiiiiiiiii

2008-04-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

I've decided to become a sci-fi nerd.

Now, to just be a sci-fi nerd is one thing, but to consciously become one certainly attains an even higher level of nerdiness.

Why would I want to do such a thing? First of all, because sci-fi is freaking cool. What's not to love about Star Wars, Star Trek, Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jurassic Park, Transformers. Face it, you love sci-fi too.

Second of all, because there's more amazing sci-fi out there to be read and seen, and honestly, Star Wars and Star Trek are just the tip of a very extensive genre. Last week when Chris and Janelle were visiting for Spring Break, we all went to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. It was pretty awesome to see the original Death Star, the Rocketeer's jet pack, and loads of other stuff from Paul Allen's personal collection.

But I was actually embarrassed to be in the Science Fiction Museum having never seen Blade Runner or I, Robot or having never read Ender's Game or Slaughterhouse Five. I was like, "What in the world!? I'm missing out!"

In response, Chris, Janelle, Clay and I promptly returned to my house to watch Contact and I Am Legend, in order to make up for lost sci-fi time.

And now I have printed out the list of the top sci-fi books, where I have sadly discovered I've only read eleven of the top 100! So--slightly more interesting than my last top 100 goal (to watch the AFI Top 100 Films), I will now attempt to read the top 100 sci-fi books. This will at least be good, in that it will require me to read Ender's Game, which will allow me to be better friends with both fiance Clay and maid-of-honor Renee.

At this point, pre-top-100, my favorite sci-fi book is probably either The Time Machine or Brave New World...and my favorite sci-fi movie is probably Return of the Jedi (who doesn't love the Ewoks, eh?), although I still have a soft spot for Batteries Not Included (which may seem dumber now than it did 20 years ago...) And I loved Firefly...

How about you? How do you stack up against the top 100? And what's your favorite sci-fi book/movie?

TU on Dateline

2008-04-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

I missed the Dateline episode last week, but here's the coverage...

A Dateline special on the Taylor Accident of April 2006 and the case of mistaken identity. It's incredibly moving...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23849928/

Let Them Eat Cheesecake

2008-03-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

On one of Clay and I’s early dates, we discovered a mutual love/obsession for fantastic cheesecake. He promised to introduce me to the best cheesecake I’d ever had--and he took me to Claim Jumper. I’ll tell you what--after sampling the divinity of the White Chocolate Raspberry dream-on-a-plate at Claim Jumper, I’m telling you that if you can’t eat this piece of cake, should just fast for the rest of your life rather than subject yourself to another slice of Sara Lee or Cheesecake Factory.

A few months later, during our first visit to San Antonio, I discovered that Clay’s mother shares our love for cheesecake. This was discovered during a great evening around the dinner table discussing “Great Cheesecakes We Have Known.” It was all too fitting that the next afternoon, at our stop in Fredericksburg, Texas, I picked up a fantastic recipe book called, The 50 Best Cheesecakes in the World. It was like--there was so much cheesecake love in our midst--that the book just couldn’t help but reveal itself to us.

I am now endeavoring to make them all.

I started with a Marzipan Raspberry Cheesecake. And for the record--anytime there’s an option for a light alternative, I make a substitution...if there are the 50 best cheesecakes to be made, we have to save enough room for all of them. So using low-fat cream cheese, low-fat sour cream, and low-fat cottage cheese, I made a slice of heaven. The raspberry sauce was a little intimidating, requiring me to strain freshly blended raspberry puree through cheesecloth in order to remove all the seeds. (messy!) But when I sprung the cheesecake onto some unsuspecting friends at a dinner party, it resulted in 6 of us consuming an entire cheesecake in one evening, my friend Jimmy eating three pieces and saying, “I don’t even normally like cheesecake, but come on--this is lowfat.”

Today, Clay and I were introduced to cheesecake #2--a ginger pear delight with freshly grated ginger and freshly grated pear. When my roommate saw it sitting on the counter, she actually thought it was store-bought. The result--absolutely delicious.

So why do I share all of this? Because a wedding is a perfect excuse to share what you love with 250 of your best friends...and what do Clay and I love? Cheesecake. So be prepared, because on August 2nd, you will not be served just any plain old white or chocolate corn syrup and white flour mumbo-jumbo...you will partake in a fine array of dazzling cheesecakes.

Okay, I’m not going to handmake 50 cheesecakes for you to try the 50 best...that would be obsessive...but I bet there are at least 50 of you reading this, so...if you all schedule a visit to the Utley home in the fall and request a cheesecake as your parting gift, I bet we can check every one off the list in a hurry.

The Perfect Dress

2008-03-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

So I found “The Perfect Dress.” It happened a lot more matter-of-factly than I thought it would. Believe it or not, the heavens actually did not part when I found, “The Dress.” Believe it or not, a choir of Spanish monks did not emerge from the storeroom to sing an “Ode to the Dress” in Gregorian Chant. Believe it or not, my mother did not spontaneously burst into tears when I emerged from the dressing room in “Theeee Dress.” How dare I make such a claim to have found “The Dress” during a perfectly normal dress fitting in a perfectly normal dress shop, where a perfectly normal salesgirl would assist me in diving in and out of perfectly normal white gowns.

So if none of the romanticized heaven-beaming-down-its-joy signals revealed it was, “The Dress,” then how did I know?! I have no idea! I JUST DID! I guess it’s because it’s the first dress I tried on that I didn’t necessarily want to put back on the rack. I just wanted to walk around in it and view it from every possible angle in every possible mirror. And I wanted to sit and drink tea with my pinkie finger pointing to the sky. And--I really wanted Clay to see me in it. (Don’t worry--he still has to wait till August 2nd.)

After about ten minutes of parading around in “The Alleged-and-Potentially ‘The’ Dress,” Mom asked (matter-of-factly), “Heather, is this the dress.” I was momentarily confused. How could she ask such a thing? Obviously not! There were no choirs of angels! There was no fissure in the sky through which a booming voice was saying, “This is Heather’s wedding dress with which I am well pleased.” No, it was just my mom’s voice asking, “Is this the dress?” A simple yes or no question. How anti-climactic!!!

But this whole wedding business started by saying a very simple “yes” to a very simple question. (The question was, “Will you marry me?” just in case you were a little slow on the uptake there.) So, it strikes me that weddings are very beautiful and terribly romantic, and in the midst of all the romanticized beauty, they’re also very simple. Simple in a good way...but sometimes romantic and over the top makes a better story:

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Boy asks girl if she wants to get hitched. Girl says, “YES!” Girl begins wedding plans. Boy plays video games. Mom flies to town to go dress shopping with girl. After days of searching over hill and dale, the perfect dress remains elusive. Exhausted and heartbroken, mom and girl take a bit of respite by a glassy pond near a golden meadow. A tear drops from girl’s face into the glassy lake, causing ripples to softly move across the water’s surface. Suddenly, the heavens part and a radiant and perfect dress emerges up from the pond and choirs of angels come towards the girl singing “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!” Mom turns to girl and says, “Is this the dress?” Girl cries out, “Yes!”

Yeah...And...it pretty much happened just like that.

Nuns Having Fun!

2008-03-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

I'm in my second year of using the fantastic Nuns Having Fun 12-month Calendar. Every month, I look up and think, "Those crazy nuns. I wonder what they're going to do next." This month, the nuns are doing karate, and the caption says, "Everybody was Nun Fu Fighting." Those crazy, silly girls. Whenever I remember to bring the camera cable back to work, I'll show you a fine nun-filled karate kick. For now, this will have to do.

Wedding Website

2008-03-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

I know the blog's been in sad repair lately...but to appease you, you can go read my newer, cooler, mac-ified website...it's Clay and I's wedding website, and I'm pondering moving my blog that way as well...mostly because our domain name is cool:

www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com
www.sinceaustin.com

A New Approach to Lent: Tilling Dry Soil

2008-02-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

For a large part of my adult life, I have observed Lent. This has typically meant "giving something up that I'm really fond of but it's kind of unhealthy." The first year I gave up soda, because I felt quasi-addicted. The second year I gave up dessert, because I was hoping to trim up a bit (bad motivation!) Another year, I gave up music, which was constantly playing in my car, in my apartment, and in my office. (Although I did permit music chosen by others, which was even more painful than the silence most times.) Last year, I gave up all forms of caffeine, which induced the most terrible headaches.

Why do I fast for Lent? Because it feels good to give something up. It feels good to take away something in my life I feel like I can't live without and surrender that desire. It's good to realize that caffeine and music aren't my Lords, Jesus is. I love this tangible reminder, and it always fills me with hope and new love for Christ.

This year, my observance of Lent is not going to be about fasting so much as it is going to be about renewing my commitment to the Lord as my first love. Clay has returned home from a weekend of traveling feeling convicted that our relationship needs to be much more diligently focused on the Lord...and fortunately...over the last few weeks, both of us have independently come to the conclusion that we have not been treating the Lord like our King, but more like a button we wear or a box we check.

So during Lent, we are renewing our commitments to the Lord as King of our life, and we are committing to pray and read His word daily. This morning, we started our daily readings out in Lectio Divina style. We began this Lectio Divina using the guided readings in a book called Enjoy the Silence. The book is actually marketed for youth leaders to use with teenagers, but it's application is not limited to teenagers...and we renewed by beginning our day with meditation on God's word.

Our reading this morning was in Luke 8 (The Parable of the Sower). The reading guide in Enjoy the Silence directed us to read through the passage three times, listening for new insights each time we read it...the third time through, we specifically stopped and meditated on the different kinds of soil in the passage, inviting the Lord to reveal to us what kind of soil our hearts most resembled.

It was evident to me that my heart was similar to the seed that "lacks moisture." I could feel my heart as parched and dry. I also got very distracted during our meditation about the seed the grows up in the thorny grounds, and woke up from my daydreaming to realize I was living out my own distraction in the midst of attempting to meditate. I was able to confess my dry and distracted spiritual life to the Lord and invite him to cultivate my heart into something that's ready to grow His word.

It's amazing what 30 minutes in the morning of silence and reading God's word can do to renew my heart. It feels like bringing a cup of cold water to my lips after a long hike in the desert.

I'm excited about what Lent will bring in 2008, and I'm excited to have a partner in my spiritual journey.

What does Lent mean to you? Does this all sound crazy or weird? How do you choose to celebrate Lent, if you do? Why do you think fasting is or isn't important?

Your First Love

2008-02-04T11:41:00.001-08:00

Who or what is your first love? What's the thing you want most when you're tired or lonely or upset? Who do you think about when you first wake up?

Lately, I think my first love in the morning is my down comforter...or coffee...my first love in the afternoon is my lunch break...my first love in the evening is Lost on DVD...(Clay's been away this week, so we'll assume that Lost is taking a place usually taken by him.)

Based on the way I live my life, I wouldn't really call Christ my first love.

Last week, at our staff conference, one of our staff read to us from Revelations about the church in Ephesus (Rev 2):

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

So the speaker is saying that the church in Ephesus did a lot of good stuff...they worked hard, did good things, kept wickedness from themselves, endured hardship, persevered. But they still weren't completely right in the Lord's eyes because of one simple reason:

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

What are the things you do at first when you're in love? For me, it was staying up late at night to talk on the phone and spend time with Clay. It was saving up all of my available time and money to travel to see him. It was thinking of him a hundred times a day--sending him emails or text messages. It was seeing fabulous gifts in a store window that he would love and buying them for him.

What does it really mean to love Christ like this? With fresh eyes? With new love? What does it mean to make Christ your first love?

The Engagement

2008-01-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

I now have a fiance! It is true! And Clay now has a fiancee!

The fact that Clay moved up here to be with me in Washington in September seemed to tip off 95% of our close friends and families off that something serious was going on...but it didn't become official until December 27th, 2007.

Clay and I were in Texas in the midst of a hectic week. We'd been in North Carolina for my brother's wedding, driven back to Ohio to celebrate Christmas with my family, flown to San Antonio to celebrate Christmas with Clay's family, and were preparing for Clay's sister's wedding. For our second evening in Texas, Clay said, "Let's get away and have a date night." He had no problem convincing me!

"Where do you want to go?" I asked.

He replied, "How about Austin." Oooh this guy knows the key to my heart. Austin is where Clay and I met at the National Youth Worker's Convention in Fall 2006. We hadn't return to Austin since our initial meeting, but it's only a 90-minute or so drive from his parents' home in San Antonio. I was eager to take a sentimental journey of all the places we'd hung out on that first meeting.

So we hopped in the car and drove into downtown Austin on Cesar Chavez Drive. We headed straight to Waterloo Records and Book People, fantastic independent stores we'd spent hours in during Quasi-Date #2. When it was time for dinner, I again asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Clay responded, "Let's go to Threadgill's." Again, he knows the keys to my heart. I agreed, and we went to eat dinner at the restaurant/concert venue that sparked our first meeting of Not-Really-Even-A-Quasi-Date #1. We enjoyed a very home-cooked vegetable platter. And afterwards, we wanted to walk out to the Congress Street Bridge (aka the Bat Bridge)...which is where we officially first met, on our way to the Eliza Gilkyson concert at Threadgill's.

So--we walked out to the bridge, excited to be at "the spot" where we met. As we neared the middle of the bridge, we picked a spot next to a pole that had a Christmasy/guitar-type decoration attached to it. We're obviously not confident that this was "the spot." But it seemed as good as any other spot on the bridge. At this point, I was just ahead of Clay. I turned around to hug him, but he was already down on one knee. He said some nice things that neither of us really remember and pulled a ring out of his man-bag. I'm confident that at some point in there, he said he wanted to marry me, and I responded with, "Yes, I would love to marry you."

And there it was. He slipped the ring on my finger, and we went from being non-engaged to engaged.

We continued our walk on the bridge and had a celebratory dessert at TGI Friday's, which we had also originally visited during Quasi-Date #2. What amazed me was that when one goes from being non-engaged to engaged, the world does not actually stop turning on its axis, a corps of singer/dancers does not emerge to throw confetti into the air, and millions of doves do not fly in front of you, foreshadowing a spectacular fireworks display. It was all very normal. For the rest of the world, they wouldn't have really known that our lives were changing in that moment.

So now, Clay and I are engaged. We're getting married in Ohio on August 2, 2008, a mere 6 1/2 months from today. I looked the definition of engagement up on Wikiped ia and discovered that engagements began so that people could have time to figure out if there were any "legitimate impediments" to this marriage. So, if you know of any of those, you're evidently supposed to let us know.

Thanks for journeying with us, and we'd appreciate your prayers over these next 7 months!

P.S. For those of you who wish to know if I was surprised, I will say, "Moderately so." Clay and I had already looked at rings, but I had no reason to suspect he'd have a ring by Christmas. He hadn't done much to tip me off during our date to Austin, mostly because he was so nonchalant all day. The only thing that tipped me off was his Jack Bauer man-bag, which he rarely carries unless we're going someplace to sit and read. I figured the only reason he'd have the man-bag was if he was carrying something special in it...which turned out to be true. I was still pretty surprised when he pulled out a ring, and so glad that Clay knows me well enough to know exactly how I'd hoped he'd propose.

The Top 2's of 2008

2008-01-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

Top Two Gifts I Got for Christmas:

A Sparkly Diamond Engagement Ring
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It by David Batstone

Top Two Weddings I Participated in This Christmas:

Sean and Rachael Baker's (My brother and new sister-in-law)
Brendan and Erin (Utley) Voss' (My sister-in-law and brother-in-law to be!)

Top Two Cups of Coffee I Had Over Christmas:

The First Americano I got at The Dripolator in Black Mountain, NC.
The Second Americano I got at The Dripolator in Black Mountain, NC.

Top Two Best Unplanned Moments of the 2-week Whirlwind:

Seeing Billy Harvey open for The Old 97's in Austin, Texas. My friends and I stumbled across Billy Harvey's website a few years ago and have been closet fans of his website ever since. We own none of his albums and have never attempted to see him in concert--until I accidentally did!
Spending 8 hours in the car with my aunt and uncle riding back from North Carolina to Ohio. This included playing James Bond Scene It, laughing a lot, and a fantastic visit to a Texan restaurant in West Virginia.

Top Two Touristy Things I Did Over Christmas:

Visit the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, NC.
Visit the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona.

Top Two Scariest Moments of Christmas Break:

Riding into downtown San Antonio with someone at the wheel driving 35 mph on the interstate in 8 lanes of traffic.
Having to help a van full of my exhausted friends come to consensus for where we should eat dinner in Flagstaff, AZ.

Top Two Things About Returning Home After A 2-week Whirlwind:

The killer cold I've been battling for the last week.
Returning from vacation in need of another vacation.

When your baby brother gets hitched, you should visit a mansion in your time of mourning.

2007-12-24T06:24:00.000-08:00

This past Friday, my baby brother gots himself hitched to the now Rachael Baker.

There was much revelry and celebratory-type activities throughout the city (village) streets of Montreat and Black Mountain, North Carolina. For several days, I shared a cabin with Mom, Dad, Clay, 4 Grandparents, and My Aunt. Woo-wee! For several days, we all had to wait in line to pee.

After the revelry was waning, we all said, "Enough of mourning Sean and Rachael's departure into the sweet land of matrimony! We're going to take 8500 of our closest friends to party at the Biltmore Estate!" So that's what we did...visit the Vanderbilt mansion.

I have to say, the Biltmore Estate was pretty rad. 250 rooms, an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley, a 35-foot-tall Christmas tree, 30 some bedrooms and 40 some bathrooms. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Vanderbilts were worth 96 Billion Dollars in today's money, which was before there was income tax. A double Woo-wee to that!

It reminded me how vast the discrepency is between the rich and the poor. And you know what the crazy part is? To most of the world, we are closer to the Vanderbilts than we are to them. The fact that we're reading this on our computers is proof of that.

It's Christmas eve, and since there are now a few days to rest in between my brother's wedding and Clay's sister's wedding, I'd like to try my best to celebrate Christ-mas today and tomorrow. And I'd like to ask the Lord what he wants me to do with my wealth? Should I build a mansion? Should I give to the poor? Should I build a mansion for the poor to live in?

What does He have for us this week?

Sweet Coffee Shop Respite on a Busy, Dreary Day

2007-12-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

If you ever come to Black Mountain, North Carolina, you should have coffee at The Dripolator Coffee House. It's really great. In fact, even though I'm using free wi-fi in North Carolina, it feels like I'm using free wi-fi in Seattle somewhere. The skies are gray, I'm drinking an Americano...it feels like a very abnormally normal day.

...oh, except my one and only baby brother is getting married today! And I'm in a city I've never been to before staying in a cabin with my entire extended family.

The Americano is making my day pretty great. Why is it that coffee and coffee shops are so therapeutic? I mean, I guess craving some nice tasting stimulants on a gray day is well not so thrilling, but why is it that I crave a spot like this when I need some alone time or some rest? I'm not exactly alone--there are 30 other people in the coffee shop. And I'm not exactly unplugged, since I'm sitting here on Clay's computer...

What is is about a coffee shop on a dreary day that feels so good?

Let's Ditch Christmas and Make a Christ-Month

2007-12-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Since Saturday, I have visited all of the following shops:

Kohl's * Best Buy * Sally Beauty Supply * Adara Hair Salon * Macy's * JC Penney's * Foot Locker * Cascade Mall Movie Theater * Quick Lube * Sunny Teriyaki * Knot Just Yarn * USPS * PWG Design * Padgett and Padgett CPA's * NAPA * Red Robin * Skagit State Bank

In that time, I've also gone to church twice. Once was for the choir's Christmas program on Friday, and once was for Sunday morning church. Something's out of balance there, right? If there is sin to be confessed about falling prey to the consumerism of Christmas, let me first confess that my heart is not where it should be.

Christmas is really what we've made it...shopping, running errands, and preparing for cross-country plane flights. Let's just be honest...it's not really about Christ. This year it feels especially not about Christ because on top of the shopping, errands, and plane flights, are two weddings in two different states. Christmas just feels like it's getting in the way of all the other stuff I need to get done. That doesn't mean Christmas is about bad things; it's about family, loved ones, bringing them joy by giving them fantastic gifts we've worked so hard to find.... But it's not about Christ.

You know what would be really great...if we moved Christ's birthday to a month like February. People mostly stay indoors in February, and they're in the process of paying off the credit card, so there are no outings to be had. What if we changed February to Christ-month. We could easily move Black History Month to January, so it could culminate with Martin Luther King's Birthday. We could move President's Day to July 5th, since everybody usually takes an extra day off then anyways. And February could just be about Christ. We could still have Christmas in December, only, we could rename it per my friend Stuart's suggestion: MeMas.

What would Christ-month look like? Lots of worship services and corporate prayer. Maybe a morning and evening vesper service everyday. Maybe some fasting. (Woah--this brainstorm is starting to sound like Ramadan!) So--we wouldn't want it to be crazy legalistic, but we would want it to be holy.

And we could title it what it would be about:"Christ-month: Getting Back on Track." It would be a chance to reunite from the way we've strayed away from Christ throughout our pagan holiday celebrations, when we erect a golden Christmas tree in our living room and lay our gift offerings at its feet. Instead, during Christ-month, we would kneel humbly beside a tattered wooden cross and lay our lives down at Christ's feet.

I know I'm supposed to sacrifice daily, but would it be so bad to have one time a year to really get back on track? A realignment towards North? Maybe that's what Lent is supposed to be...that time of preparing ourselves to bring our own sacrifice to Christ in honor of the sacrifice he's made for us at Easter. Maybe I'm already thinking past Me-Mas and looking forward to Lent, knowing it will lead me back to Him.

Would you join me in celebrating Christ month?

It's Not Easy Being Green

2007-12-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Are you familiar with the idea of green living?

A few months ago, I bought a book called The Virtuous Consumer because I desire to live as a good steward, but I wasn't exactly sure how to get started. Since I live 30 miles from my church and boyfriend, riding my bicycle everywhere is highly unlikely. (Also, I haven't had a bicycle since the days of my Bahama Mama 10-speed.) I chose this particular book because it didn't recommend I make a hut out of banana leaves and throw away all of my electronics--but it did recommend small changes, like buying local foods, buying low-impact makeup...stuff like this. So--if you're interested in knowing more about green living but aren't ready to go Vegan, read this book.

On the green scene, my brother and sister-in-law-to-be have started a green living blog. I'm excited that they're partners in the green scene...excited that they're hoping to buy a hybrid...well, and excited that they're getting married next week. Please read their blog if you're interested in the green scene....

And on that green note, a video for you:

Pursuing your passions

2007-12-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

I'm confident that we're better servants of Christ when we out of passion rather than obligation.

Take, for instance, my service with my local church. I think that for the last three years I've been volunteering more out of obligation than out of passion. What's the difference? If I'm serving out of passion, I'd be excited to serve; if I'm serving out of obligation, I'm excited when my schedule conflicts with my volunteer commitment. If I'm serving out of passion, I dream up new projects to drum up support and involvement; if I'm serving out of obligation, I refuse involvement in anything other than the bare minimum. If I'm serving out of passion, I go to as many of the events as I can and talk to others about it freely; if I'm serving out of obligation, I contribute enough to get by and talk about it with grimaces and groans.

Last night Clay and I were talking with Pastor Greg about our Spiritual Gifts, and my gifts are predominently in Discernment, Wisdom, Artistic Craftmanship (especially handicrafts), Leadership, Administration. They are not in Teaching, Pastoring, Mercy (as they are with Clay). It suddenly makes so much sense why I jump at the chance (oftentimes dropping my responsibility of the moment) to help Clay prepare a sermon or edit his parent newsletter or run a volunteer meeting while at the same time, I'll throw a fit when he asks me to teach Sunday School or fill in for a missing small group leader. The Discernment, Wisdom, Leadership, Craftsmanship, Administration is a natural part of who I am and the Teaching, Merciful, Pastoring side is painfully stressful.

The conversation with Greg and thinking about these gifts and thinking about my passions has renewed a desire to pursue these passions in the context of helping my local church become a church that I would love to be a part of. The exciting part is that there are two opportunities to do so:

Yesterday, I was offered the opportunity to speak at Women's Retreat in February. I've been desiring speaking opportunities, but have not pursued them. I'm excited to invest the time, energy, and prayers into encouraging and challenging the women of our church...and I'm excited to introduce them to a Heather that they do not know...because the one that they know is "the youth girl."
This morning, I talked to Pastor Greg about doing a showing of Amazing Grace at the church coupled with a presentation on modern-day Human Trafficking. He was excited about it, fully behind it, and told me to pick a day and time when we could schedule it. The purpose of it would be to educate our church body on the human trafficking that's going on around us (and worldwide) and compel some members of our congregation to join me in action. He pointed out this is particularly fitting with the Free Methodist church, which has its foundation rooted in abolitionist movements.

The point of sharing all of this is not just to tell you about my passions. Yes, I'm going to make a concerted effort in 2008 to be living out my passions in my daily actions...but I also want to invite you to join me.

New Year's is coming up...you can make your resolution more than a self-centered, "fit into my old jeans" goal! What is the dream you totally desire to live out? What is it that you're passionate about that you can actually do something about in 2008?

Boycott the Golden Compass? Yes or No

2007-12-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, there's a lot of hubbub going around in Christendom saying that I should actively boycott a movie I know very little about. In fact, the only reason I now know anything about The Golden Compass is because I receive emails saying I should boycott it...and there seem to be about 500 groups on Facebook dedicated to not supporting it.

I really hate jumping on an "anti-this or anti-that" bandwagon before I know anything other than something's "anti-God." It certainly is wise to check into things before tromping off with the whole family to see a film like Narnia only to discover you're closer to Dimension X. At the same time, it's also wise to know something about something before you start boycotting it.

I've never read the books...the trailer looks interesting enough...and I certainly am not worried I'll lose my Christianity by going to see it. I'm guessing I'll probably see it on DVD and I'll probably read the first books--if not the whole trilogy--at some point, because I like epic fantasy good vs. evil flicks...and it's a bit fascinating to think about watching a side of the story where good doesn't win...and think about what that would look like.

My question is why is it so many Christians' response to boycott something the minute they hear it may be anti-God? Is our God so small that He cannot overcome an anti-Him movie? And why is it okay to forward hate-mail about a movie you're never going to see based on a book you've never read? What's going on here?

Are you going to go see the movie? Why or why not.

I'm a Role Model!

2007-12-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

In working with teens, you definitely invest a lot more in them than you receive back in encouragement.

Here's an encouragement for me, though. One of my students, Montana Cox, just participated in the Seattle Marathon and raised $2200 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I'm so proud of her! And guess who she says her role model is? Heather Baker!

You can read the article here: Super Kid: Montana Cox

Willow Creek Apologizes

2007-12-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

So Willow Creek Church is definitely one of the most influential churches in America. In October, Bill Hybels, their pastor, comes out and says, "We made a mistake."

Apparently Willow Creek has built their ministry on making programs and measuring people's participation in programs. The assumption they operated under was that if people are active in Bible studies, weekly meetings, and other programs, then they're growing spiritually. A recent survey indicated this is not actually the case, and Willow Creek is now going to completely start over.

You can read about Bill Hybel's interview here.

My response to this is two-fold:

I am so thankful that a Christian leader is able to confess to the church, "We made a mistake." It's so refreshing to have that kind of raw honesty and humility from an "influential church leader."
I am glad to hear someone acknowledge that program attendance does not equal spiritual growth. There are so many churches out there running to keep up with the big guys and develop cool and attractive programs, that the church spends more time trying to keep people entertained involved than actually helping them develop a deeper relationship with Christ.

It challenges me to openly acknowledge my own weaknesses, because my confessions have the ability to minister to others. It also challenges me to be in immense prayer about the decisions I make in leadership--knowing that we can be boldly leading others down a less-than-ideal path.

Elf YourSELF!

2007-12-03T10:48:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Youth Dynamics Administrative Team!

The Irresistible Revolution

2007-11-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

A Recommended Read: The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.

I picked this read up at SPU's bookstore a few weeks ago while visiting Lizzy, one of my graduated YD students. I found purchasing it--well--irresistible.

Shane spoke at the YS National Youth Worker's Conventions last fall, and I got to see this akward, earthly, passionate man share with us the simple way that he lives his life in order to bring glory to God and be Christ to people. This means he hangs out with homeless people, lives with few possessions, and is immersed in trying to minister to the "least of these."

Clay and I have taken to reading the book aloud on Thursday nights, and last night, in Chapter Three, something spoke so directly to me. (I've left the book at home, so it's missing the exact page reference and citation. I'll correct this as soon as I have my copy of the book.) Something on the order of, "We made a decision to stop complaining about the church as it was and started trying to become the church we'd all dreamed of."

The church I dream of is definitely active, moving in ministry, not just talking about it...and the church I dream of is honest and vulnerable, openly confessing the screw ups. I guess if I want to become that church, I have to do one of two things--actually take actions to serve others, and be confessional and humble about my weaknesses and screw ups.

What's the church you dream of? How can you live it out?

Is Being Honest Being Brave?

2007-11-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last night, as Clay and I sat in my car and talked after youth group, I made an honest and surprising confession: "I don't like coming to youth group."

That's a pretty revolutionary statement, considering that I've spent most Wednesdays for the last three years volunteering with youth group...

We don't really know what that means yet--if I should step down, if I should wait it out or what. Right now I'm just going to take some time to think and pray about it.

What I do know is that I'm excited to be a change agent in our church and community, and having Wednesday nights to really pursue my heart's desires could be a better thing for me, the church, and the community. For instance, I'm interested in doing a public showing of Amazing Grace at our church and then having a dialogue about modern-day slavery afterwards...perhaps working towards some points of action with people in the church.

So right now--I don't know what this honest confession means. There's part of it that feels like it's violating something--maybe just violating this idea that I'm the 'youth' girl. But there's another part of me that thinks that being honest about it is being brave--brave enough to step into a ministry more uncertain, more undeveloped...

I'll keep you posted.

Not For Sale

2007-11-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

27 million people are enslaved today worldwide. Did you know this?

A few weeks ago, Clay and I went to David Batstone speak at Seattle Pacific University. David is the author of a book called Not for Sale and the founder of a non-profit of the same name.

To say that I was moved by the presentation is a bit of an understatement. I was convicted to act. Clay teaches his teens that your Christian walk is the way you serve others. If this is true--it means that faith is more than belief and accepting Jesus as your savior--it's how you serve your brothers and sisters, particularly how you serve widows, orphans, and any oppressed peoples. And here--in the USA in 2007 are people living in bondage...racking up debts they can never pay off...enduring forced labor...enslaved...

I'm looking for ways to get involved in this, and I don't have a lot of clarity yet. I hope to start by reading David's book and other similar books produced by the International Justice Movement. I'm trying to figure out how I can best be a part of this abolitionist movement.

For now--I'd recommend you watch this video and visit the website and check out the book yourself. In a sermon series from last summer, Rob Bell said that "God always hears the cry of the oppressed." And he responds to it...so if we're not being oppressed--whose side are we on??

Jesus Video #3

2007-11-27T13:55:00.001-08:00

A few winters ago, a visiting pastor shared these videos during a Sunday morning sermon. They had the congregation, as Renee would say, "in stitches."

For whatever reason this morning, I remembered how this video delighted me so much--to hear modern-day Christians' words come out of Jesus' mouth.

Mine favorite quote from the clip definitely, "I'd repeat it, but I can't, because I'm Jesus."

Watch it, be inspired, and then tell me--what's your favorite not really Jesus saying?

Rob Bell...I heart you...

2007-11-12T14:44:00.001-08:00

Last night Clay and I went to Seattle to see Rob Bell on his The Gods Aren't Angry tour. I've been listening to Rob, reading his books, and watching his Nooma videos for the past year...and I just love this guy. His presence while communicating is stellar, and his content is fascinating. He asks real questions in an understandable way...and he teaches me so much about the context of our faith.

I was really challenged by him to let go of the things I'm trying to earn--mostly other people's favor... He reminded me that I've already been saved and there is nothing more to do but celebrate what God has done for me.

If you haven't read or listened to Rob, do it. Now. Click on the video below.

Happy Halloweeny: Photojournalistic Highlights

2007-11-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

Saturday was my friends' annual Halloween costume party, and this was the first year since living in Washington that I've been able to go. Hurrah!

Because we love Wicked, Erin, Jenny and myself were the witches of the west, east, and north respectively...and Clay enjoyed playing, "The Boy Who Lived." The best part of the whole night was displaying our well-crafted and award-winning pirate ship pumpkin for all to enjoy. Arrrrgh. Happy day of candy and dressing up to all who enjoy these photos!

Bethany and I rock out to Monster Mash! Woo! It was a graveyard smash!

Me and The Boy Who Lived! It's pretty incredible to be in the presence of the one who has lived to tell about facing you-know-who!

Harry Potter is angry or angsty or something. Puberty is a difficult time, I suppose.

Erin, me, and Jenny as the witches of the west, north and east. Jenny had fantastic ruby slippers, and I managed to hide my Uggs well under th elayers of pink crinoline...

A close-up of my stunning eyelashes. Yes, they're real!

The award-winning pirate pumpkin...with a jolly roger and all...arrrrrrrrrgh.

Clay proves that he looks so much better in pink than I do!

Can't wait until next year when I introduce everyone to flapper Heather, who can do an amazing Charleston...

The Political Experiment

2007-10-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I went to a workshop by Tono Campolo at the National Youth Worker's Convention. One of the recommendations he made during that workshop was to expose yourself to a diverse variety of news media, so that you were filtering through a more balanced perspective.

I've always liked this idea, but I've never pursued it...until now.

Presidential elections always peak my interest around this topic of "what's good and right" in our voting, because as American citizens and participants in democracy, we hold a vote to elect the most influential person in the entire world. We ought to take that rather seriously, because it not only impacts American lives, it impacts the lives of men, women and children around the entire world.

Last week, I bought and read a book living green...you know living without creating a lot of waste and being carbon neutral and things like this...because I've been thinking about how the things I buy and what I throw away affects other people.

And now...I'm going to pursue a politically balanced reading list--so that I can understand more about how my votes, my activism, and my non-activism is honoring Christ and impacting people that are being oppressed.

For starters, I have trial subscriptions to 4 magazines in 4 categories:
Sojourners Magazine, representing the religious left
World Magazine, representing the religious right
The National Review, representing the political right
The Nation, representing the political left

I plan to update you on my learnings via the blog...and...if you have any recommendations for better resources in these categories, please share. If you want to join in the dialogue about these particular periodicals, please do.

I'm excited to embark on researching and bettering my understand of present in order to better understand how to apply our learnings from Scripture into this world. I'm excited to see where this journey will take me.

Huge Step of Faith

2007-10-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

She turned down a good job in order to pursue her passions. What does God think of that?

Last night, I talked with a friend who turned down a 9-5 job with great benefits because it's not going to allow her to pursue her passions for student ministry. She's going to turn down the "guaranteed" paycheck and choose the more difficult path. For the next six months, she'll work 20 hours a week at a menial job and raise money so she can move into full-time student ministry. What a challenge!

I was struck by her faith--to look "security" in the eye and choose to value something else. This does not follow the cultural trend, where corporations' guarantees seem more reliable than following the still small voice of God. Even Christians I know would certainly choose a "secure" paycheck and position over a job that seems more uncertain but where they can radically live out their passions everyday. How incredible is it that it's easier to place our trust in Starbucks or Costco or Charles Schwab than in Lord God Almighty?

According to most Americans, my friend should grab the secure paycheck without looking back. Instead, she has chosen the road less traveled. She's chosen it because she loves the Lord so much and because she cares for people so much that she wants her day-to-day life to be filled with teaching young people about Him.

As I spoke with her, I thought, "What a woman of faith! What a bold step!" and I was humbled. And then I remembered...I remembered that four years ago, I stood where she was and took the step she did and chose passion over security. How quickly I've forgotten that God called my name and asked me to move to Washington to minister to teenagers. How quickly she reminded me that faith is terrifying and bold and sometimes counter-cultural.

God is watching you...He is watching me...He is watching how we prioritize our lives. What does he think of it?

Too Funny!

2007-10-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

This morning Dad sent me an email to let me know that Danielle Peck, rising Country star from my hometown of Coshocton, is singing the national anthem tonight in Cleveland.

What he did not tell me, that I found out later from my boss, is that Danielle also used to date Josh Beckett, the starting pitcher for the Red Sox! No way!

So, the Indians apparently didn't know that Danielle and Josh had dated, but the end result of having the starting pitcher for the Red Sox having to hold his hand over his heart while his ex-girlfriends sings our beloved National Anthem in what could be an ALCS Championship Game for the Indians is...well...dang funny.

Uh-oh

2007-10-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a little concerned that I might have placed a jinx on the Cleveland Indians already...

I'm referring to this post where I claim, "If the Indians could lose the World Series and the Browns could lose the Super Bowl, it would be a very well-rounded year, I think." I was referring to Ohio's string of Championship losses this year... OSU Football, OSU Basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Destroyers, and now...

But there's no bone in my body that wants this to be true, so I'm retracting my formerly stated coy and sarcastic comment. Because seriously, I think this streak needs to break, and I think the Indians are the team to do it. Two nights in a row they have shut down Ortiz and Ramirez from doing what they're capable of doing. They can do it. This is the team...not easily shaken, young and exuberant...and they have Kenny Lofton, who makes it all seem right and good.

Go Tribe!

2007-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

So it's official! The Indians are back in the Playoffs and ready to kick some booty. Woo woo!

Last week, Clay and I were able to soak in a final regular season game when the Indians took on the Mariners at Safeco field in Seattle. Fortunately, even though there were only like 2500 people at the game, we were not the only Indians fans. Someone had to be there to remind Kenny Lofton of how sweet a pennant victory for Cleveland in '97 and '95 tasted!

Actually I was pretty embarrassed that I didn't even know that Kenny Lofton was back in Cleveland until he came up to bat. Clay was shouting, "That's Kenny Lofton! That's Kenny Lofton!" and I was like, "No way! He's too old! We used to watch him play ten years ago!" And then his face appeared on the jumbotron, and we said, "Oh! It IS Kenny Lofton." (This is on par with the same obliviousness I experienced last November while sharing an elevator ride with first-round-draft-pick-to-be James Laurinaitis at the Charlotte Westin while he was on his way to the Bronco Nagorski Awards Ceremony.)

So far, it hasn't been too difficult to keep Clay rooting for the Indians, since he actually was a fan of the Indians back in the day. In fact, on one of our first dates, we had an extended conversation about Cleveland's last glory days with Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr., Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle. It's also made easier by the fact that the Texas Rangers rarely give him anything to root for.

So from the West Coast, we give a big shout out to the Indians. We are with you, friends. Do well, make Ohio proud, and please break this 2nd place streak that the Buckeyes and Cavs have set the precedent for this year.

A Tale of God's Goodness

2007-10-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the scenario:

1. Boy and girl meet at concert in Texas.
2. Boy and girl exchange numbers and fly back to home states (Arizona and Washington).
3. Boy and girl talk and develop relationship. Start dating long-distance.
4. Youth pastor at girl's church leaves.
5. Boy and girl fly back and forth across country for weekend visits several times.
6. Boy says he'd like to move to Washington to "take the next step."
7. Boy and girl pray and make plans for boy to move. Think about pertinent details like job, place to live, etc.
8. Five months after youth pastor at girl's church left, spot is still open.
9. Boy and girl start praying about this job. Think (maybe) this is the right fit.
10. Boy talks to church.
11. Church offers boy an interview.
12. Interview goes really well.
13. Boy and girl wait to hear what's up.
14. Boy continues making plans to move, regardless of whether or not job pans out.
15. Church offers job to boy. Job conveniently located at church girl has been attending and volunteering with for three years. Church blesses boy and girl with generous offer.
16. Boy and girl praise God that he knit together details of move, job, youth pastor search, relationship into one tidy action.
17. Boy moves. New life begins.

Don't Cry for Them

2007-09-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

The Coshocton Camels suffered a tough 89.70 to 87.41 loss to the Masked Men (team manager, Clay's dad) in Game One of Fantasy Football 2007.

The starting lineup is certainly pretty:

QB - Matt Hasselback (Sea)
WR - Hines Ward (Pit)
WR - Joey Galloway (TB)
WR - Marty Booker (Mia)
RB - Tatum Bell (Det)
RB - Brandon Jackson (GB)
TE - Marcus Pollard (Sea)
K - Josh Brown (Sea)
D - Seattle

but neither of these teams are any match for the cunning plays of Sean's fiancee Rachael's Hei Bao's, who beat her nearest league opponent by 24 points. It certainly helps to have the #1 draft pick Peyton Manning along with the Chicago Bears defense. Not too shabby.

Zombie! Zombie!

2007-09-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's not everyday that you get to see real live zombies attack a city bus.

But, that dream became flesh and bloody-blood reality for brother Sean, sister-in-law-to-be Rachael, and I as we traversed down a perfectly normal looking street in Vancouver, BC (a breezy 2 hour drive from my home...2.5 hours if customs is slow-going).

The trip was destined for interesting things from the start. First, we headed up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which promised the following:

"Your pulse quickens as you step onto the swaying planks of Vancouver's first visitor attraction. Breathe in the cedar-scented rainforest air as you make your way across Vancouver's famous landmark. Only minutes away from downtown Vancouver, Capilano Suspension Bridge takes you to the natural splendor of rainforest trails through magnificent evergreens and the unique perspective of Treetops Adventure, a walk high in the trees."

Who wouldn't want to go there?

But we were soon doomed...on the drive to Vancouver's north side, Sean goes, "Too bad this places is going to be cool...otherwise we could call it the 'Suck-spension' Bridge." He spoke too soon.

Five minutes later we arrived, we parked, and we fed the meter. But upon nearing the entrance, we were informed that the fee to this glorious bridge was $26.95. Are you freaking kidding me? To walk across a bridge?

It was too painful for Sean and Rachael to consider, especially having so recently been ripped off by the Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado.

So we thumbed our nose at the 26.95 sucks-pension bridge and made our way back into Vancouver to pursue something exciting and free.

As we drove back into town, we passed some teenagers covered in blood and wearing ripped up shirts. Sean and I had a minor freak out--thinking that Vancouver was home to some people with a freaky zombie fetish. Gross. I've known of people dressing up like Star Trek or Anime characters, but zombies?

Once again, Sean was prophetic: "Wouldn't it be awesome if we get to the art museum, and there are zombies all sprawled out and bloody on the front steps?" As we neared the art museum, we began to spot more and more zombies, until we finally passed the art museum, where we observed no less than 300 zombies partying in the front lawn. WHAT?!

We parked the car as quickly as possible and ran up the stairs to the art museum to soak it all in. Zombies were everywhere! We were so, so happy! This was amazing, AND we didn't even have to pay $26.95 for it!

About an hour later, as we were strolling down the main drag, looking at shops and having a good time, Sean cries out, "Loook! They're marching!" It was true! The zombies were marching towards us on the sidewalk...and they spilled out into the city street and attacked a bus. Us--and thousands of other passersby--just stood there shocked, watching it all transpire while a mother comforted a small child in the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

It's not everyday that you get to see zombies attack a city bus...no...but it should be.

The best link on the whole wide web!

2007-08-22T17:24:00.001-07:00

It's new. It's improved. It's easier to navigate. It has fun and relevant information. It's re-creation consumed 42.7 million hours of my summer. If you love me, you will follow this link and tell me how much you love it. If you really love me, you'll make it your new home page.

www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org
www.yd.org

Baby's First Blog Entry!

2007-08-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here's Lily's very first blog entry, with running commentary. Enjoy!

To ensure the utmost safety for Baby DeLong, 48 hours after birth, Beth and Noah commence rigorous training in baby first aid. Here, Lily demonstrates that she effectively understands the Universal Sign for Choking. If you think this is impressive, you should have seen her later when she correctly used "Baby's First Defibrillator" to resuscitate a security guard at the mall.

Beth proves that she can, in fact, look amazing all the time. This fall she will be teaching a class at the community center called, "Overcoming the frazzled mommy look: how to look amazing all the time, including the moments immediately proceeding a 36-hour labor and giving birth to your first child."

Noah demonstrates what it might have looked like if Lily had a siamese twin unfortunately adhered to her forehead. (Actually, he's sweetly whispering, "Just so you know, I'm the only man who's allowed to give you a kiss for the next 20 years.")

Lily demonstrates her agility with infant yoga by mastering the deep relaxation pose: "Sleeping Baby."

Yay! Welcome to the world baby Lily! Angie Heather cannot wait to meet you!

Welcome to the World Lily!

2007-08-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world Lily Elizabeth DeLong! Lily commenced her life at 9:11am on Tuesday, August 14th. She is the beautiful daughter of Noah and Beth (Byers) DeLong. Weighing in at 7lbs, 6oz, and stretching 20 1/2 inches, she's healthy and beautiful (with a full head of dark hair).

A brief moment of confusion occurred in Lily's young life yesterday. I sent her some flowers that were supposed to read: "Congratulations from Auntie Heather. I can't wait to meet you Lily!" The flower lady apparently misheard me, however, because the card, upon arrival read, "Congratulations from Angie and Heather." Beth and Noah wracked their brains wondering who "Angie and Heather" could be...wondering if Lily already had a fan club...wondering if Noah had a secret set of stalkers. But no--it was just me...a misrepresented me, but me nonetheless.

So I hope that Lily can embrace her "Angie Heather" all the same when we meet next month.

I'm waiting for Beth and Noah to send pictures so I can post "Baby's First Blog Entry." To tide you over until then, here's a picture of some other famous Lilys:

Lily Potter, mother of Harry Potter.
Easter Lily
Eli Lilly, founder of the pharmaceutical company

Goodbye George.

2007-08-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

For the past fifteen years, he's always called me Missionary Heather.

He gave me and Havaleh the title "Missionary" after our first youth Mission Trip to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky. Fifteen years later, when we're both in full-time ministry--me to Northwest youth, her to North Carolina college students--it's still so fitting.

This morning, when I read Havaleh's email that said he had passed, I immediately wanted to go tell someone about George Stalter. No one in Washington knows George. It's so weird to have someone significant leave your life and realize there's no one to share that with. So I ran upstairs and told my coworker Teci a little bit about him. I told her that he had an incredible heart for outreach and missions...I told her that he loved people unconditionally...I told her he's been an incredible support and encouragement to me being on the mission field in Washington. I called Clay and told him about the tool belt George gave me for high school graduation. I told him that George is the heart of Grace United Methodist Church.

It struck me as slightly funny that the minute I heard that George is no longer with us, I wanted to share him with others. I wanted them to know that the kingdom of God here on earth lost someone significant today--but that we now have an incredible man on our side in the great cloud of witnesses. As I talk about him, it's like he's alive, and I'm so joy-filled to have known this great man.

Clay said, "George must have been so proud of you." He was. He was one of the first people to sign up to be a supporter of my ministry work, and whenever I'm home, he can't wait to give me a hug and a kiss and encourage me forward in my work for Christ. I have a twinge of regret that I didn't call George up to tell him I loved him during these past few months. Yet I'm so hope-filled and confident that I will see him again soon.

In honor of George, a stalwart of Grace UMC, I dedicate Sandra McCracken's tune Goodbye George. She wrote it for the passing of George Harrison, but it so well captures the mood saying goodbye to another George, one of my heroes. I would love it if you listen to this song today in memory of a saint, George Stalter of Coshocton, OH and remember his wife Pauline and his children and grandchildren, and Grace UMC, who will miss him so much.

People I've Googled, Volume 1

2007-07-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever Googled your loved ones? It's an interesting game...like...you can discover that your boyfriend is listed on the National Swine Registry and your dad is a Nascar driver! Here are some of my favorite Google finds for Volume 1 of a series titled, "People I've Googled."

Please take the time to vote for Volume 1 Person with the best imposter Identity...I vote for Sean Baker, co-creator of "Greg the Bunny." Volume 1 Person with the best real identity is Rachael Glassford, hands down...a rather impressive Google resume.

Clay Utley.
Status: Boyfriend.

Real Clay Utley:
Guys and Dolls Cast List -- ACU
Palo Verde Church
Vonnie's Blog
The Tucson Weekly -- Review

Imposter Clay Utleys:
Henry Clay Utley, born April 16, 1878
National Swine Registry, Paul Clay Utley II

Gary and Terrie Baker
Status: Parents

Real Gary and Terrie Baker:
IGA Retailer of the Year-IGA
IGA Retailer of the Year - Times Reporter
Bakers IGA Homepage
Gary Baker, Famous Rock Photographer

Imposter Gary Bakers:
Singer, Songwriter Gary Baker
Gary Baker, Nascar Driver
Gary Baker, Native American
Gary Baker, Sports Hypnotherapist

Imposter Terrie Bakers:
Terrie Baker, Tulsa Real Estate Agent
Terrie Baker, Elementary School Teacher

Adria Lambert
Status: Friend

Real Adria Lambert:
Live Interview with Famous Barista
Finalist for Bible Quizzing, 1998
Lead Team, Mosaic Nashville

Imposter Adria Lambert:
Jalessa De'adria Lambert , Class of 2006, Westside HS, Augusta Georgia
(Sorry, Adria. There are no interesting Adria Lambert imposters. You are one of a kind.)

Sean Baker
Status: Brother

Real Sean Baker:
Cast of Laughterhouse 5. And he really did ballet.
Coshocton High School swim team
Calvin Swim Team

Imposter Sean Bakers:
Sean Baker, soldier at Guantanamo Bay and star of "the Baker incident."
The Sean Baker Orchestra, heavy metal at its finest
Sean Baker, co-creator of Greg the Bunny

Rachael Glassford
Status: Brother's Girlfriend

Real Rachael Glassford:
Presenter on "Mycobacterium Chlorophenolicum and its Ability to Survive in the Presence of Pentachlorophenol"
Fellowship Award Winner (name mispelled)
Trainer of Seeing Eye Dogs (name mispelled)

Imposter Rachael Glassfords:
Apparently, there's a Rachel Glassford that plays volleyball in Salt Lake City, but none of the links would work.

Um...you can vote now...and place your bids to be a part of "People I've Googled, Volume 2."

Blogs I Refuse to Write

2007-07-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

I'm convinced my life is not nearly as blog-worthy as it used to be. I don't know why this is. So, in an effort to convince myself I'm not dead, here is a list of blogs I would write if I wasn't convinced they would bore the snot out of you:

Epic Choices--rent tonight's movie from Safeway or Blockbuster.
Internal justifications for eating takeout for the fifth time this week.
Interesting creases on my bedroom wall that I only notice during extended phone conversations.
Playing with your roommate's dog in five minutes a day or less.
A night's work: transferring the dirty clothes from the bedroom to the laundry room.
Reorganizing the dirty dishes strewn across the counter into a neat stack in the sink.
Another night's work: separating the loads of dirty clothes and leaving them in piles on the floor.
Friends I've Googled.
Another night's work. Moving one load of laundry into the washer.
Fun times with Orbitz: how to watch your money disappear into thin air...literally.
The Retiree and You: Yoga class at the Riverside Health Club.
Skagit County's best wi-fi spot(s).

Yet Another Ohio Championship?

2007-07-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

Dad just informed me that Ohio is in yet another sports championship this year. This time: ArenaBowl XXI starring the Columbus Destroyers vs. the San Jose SaberCats. This is rather impressive considering the Destroyers had a losing record going into the post-season and won four games on the road. If you've never heard of Arena Football or have never considered its immense value, then you've probably never seen this commercial, in which Bon Jovi and John Elway attempt to lend a much-needed suave/cool/celebrity hype aura to Arena Football:

Anyways, Ohio has the opportunity to lose another Championship game in 2007...let's see if we can continue our streak of shut outs...

A Brief Jaunt

2007-07-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give a shout out to Chris and Janelle, who paused in Washington for about thirty seconds on the morning of June 26. The context? During a 4-hour Hawaii to Denver layover, I took Janelle and Chris (good friends from Taylor) on a mini Tour o' Seattle. These are the photojournalistic highlights of the world's briefest tourist stop to Washington the State:

Chris and Janelle and I start our morning together by visiting Pike Place Market at 7 am on a Tuesday. It's not exactly a hot spot that time of day, but if you can only have time to make one stop in Seattle, it's a great one.

Please imagine Janelle running through the Seattle streets in the wee hours of the morning crying out, "It's a port-a-potty! It's a port-a-potty!" While Chris and I are saying, "What is the big deal?" Janelle points us upwards...and we see a dangling port-a-potty several stories above our heads, glistening above the skyline in the morning Seattle sun...how picturesque!

On a normal afternoon at Pike Place Market, there are thousands of people milling around on the street...do you see them? No! Are we crazy to be there at 7am? Yes!

Chris and Janelle say, "Oh Heather! Thank you for making our dream of someday spending thirty seconds in Seattle a reality! Thank you for taking us to breakfast at the restaurant where Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks talk about tiramisu in Sleepless in Seattle!"

I say, "You're very welcome friends! This was merely a teaser to entice you to return very very soon!"

Before Chris and Janelle go back to the airport, we pay homage to the world's first Starbucks...it's pretty much like the regular Starbucks, only with boobs.

And I specially arranged for Mt. Rainier to bid them a fond adieu as we headed back to the airport! How nice of me!

Always Look On the Bright Side

2007-07-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

So I've definitely been a little down lately.

One reason? This the first summer since I've lived in Washington that I haven't done extensive whitewater rafting. Specifically, I have done any extended trips... These trips have been one of my favorite things about being in Washington, and I haven't really done any this season. (Read about the Owyhee here: 2004, 2005, 2006. Read about the Deschutes here: 2006.)

I guess these trips have always taken up a good amount of space in my summer, but in having my roommate and Clay out-of-touch so often the last month, the space has become very noticeable.

Renee challenged me the other day to soak up summer. Without the river trips, I'm confused as to how to go about really soaking up the summer.

So...here's some attempts I'm making:

A one-day conference at Regent College in Vancouver, BC: The Truth of Beauty & The Beauty of Truth, featuring Luci Shaw.
Finishing my application to Gonzaga University's Masters of Communications and Leadership Studies.
Checking off creation of the 50 Best Cheesecakes in the World.
Giving a plug to Blood:Water Mission.
Creating a countdown clock to estimate the number of days left until Clay lives in Washington:
Planning a self-driving trip to Ireland for Summer 2008.

Existential Week!

2007-07-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's existential week here in hmb-land. This morning I woke up in bed, panicked because I'm subsisting on the American status quo. I have a down comforter, a nice house to live in, an array of strip malls within driving distance, a fossil fuel-mobile, and 50-60 more years of life to figure out how to fill.

Life is this really unique blend of good and stressful right now. Clay is moving to Washington in about 61 days (he'll arrive approximately September 8th, job and residence are pending). I'm applying to an online graduate program. I'm editing an essay I wrote for an anthology about girls growing up in the church. I made a cheesecake.

But as Clay and I look at our lives together in Washington over the next few years, I'm tormented with complete Wanderlust...wanting to get out and go and have excitement and adventure. It's odd when the place of adventure (Washington) becomes the normal...and for this moment, at 12:17pm on Monday morning, I just want to get out and be on a beach in Fiji or snorkeling in Australia or on a peak in the Himalayas...and I want to know more about what I'm passionate about. I want to know how to fill my weekends in a way that doesn't involve hitting play on the DVD player so much.

This weekend I made a cheesecake...and some seafood linguine...and a chicken dijon panini...maybe I'll explore my love for cooking this week--create some dishes that would appeal to the well-traveled...and maybe my existential crisis will subsist for the time being.

Re: Transformers Rock My World

2007-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry to disappoint. The Optimus Prime & HMB Photo (Circa 1985) is lost in a box in the remodel. It will be made available as soon as it becomes available.