Music, Love and More Music

JJ Heller has a very special place in my heart. She performed at GCU a couple times while I was there. From her sweet personality to her touching music to her adorable marriage, she left a mark. I bought one of her cds and got it autographed. Later, when Ben and I broke up for about a month, JJ was my favorite comfort cd. Now, Ben and I are married and I still love to listen to her. Her latest album is out and I am amazed at how much her talent has grown since the last one I bought (there have been a few in between). "Painted Red" is now free on her website, JJHeller.com. Check it out.

Relationships

God has been speaking to me about relationships lately. Through my sister, through my friends, and now through my quiet times. Krista asked the question, "what makes relationships worth fighting for". Since I only had room for a couple sentences, I said it's that we get to see God's characteristics in His image-bearers and that, since we are no longer enslaved by sin, we have hope that we can overcome evil with good and enjoy that relationship in eternity. My mom often says "people are always more important". That is one of the most helpful pieces of advice I've ever been given and I remember it almost daily. If I have to decide whether to go to that seminar I was excited about or go to lunch with a hurting friend, I will choose the friend. If I can shop online without the hassle of lines or turn a shopping trip into a bonding time with family, then I will choose family. I try to live my life in such a way that I am filled with the joy of relationships, and I work at those relationships, even when it gets tough. Now, I will be the first to admit that I am just horrible at that sometimes. But, it reminds me how important it is to love the people in my life. And, I don't mean like them. I mean love them. Like the song says, "love is a verb".

Ben and I are doing a study with some friends. The book is called Becoming One by Greg Laurie. In today's chapter, he talked about this verse:

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7

This chapter gave me a new perspective on the verse. Laurie says that "dwell" in this verse means "to be aligned with". What a poetic way to describe the relationship between husband and wife! It is my deep desire to be aligned with Ben. For him to know and understand me, to be of one mind. But, what really stuck out to me in this verse is the last part:

"that your prayers may not be hindered". Laurie says (in so many words) that if your prayers aren't being answered, maybe it's because you're not honoring your wife, but I saw it a different way. Feel free to comment and tell me your interpretation. I think that this verse is saying that our talks with God can be effected by our relationships. I believe that hindered prayers are discussions with God that are distracted, insincere or obligatory. I think I can have the most productive, satisfying time with my Lord when I am right with my husband.

Then, in my quiet time, I read Jeremiah 8. In verses 21 and 22, the Lord says:

"Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?"

God's emotion and pain is so evident here. No, evident is too weak a word. Obvious. Horror grips God, because His people sinned. They led themselves into pain. Our relationship with God is effected by our relationships, especially if we have been sinning in them.

Relationship is a complex topic. Unfortunately, I don't have the wisdom to fully understand it all, but I think it's fun and good to explore it in depth. After all, "it is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). Nor for the woman, I think.

Dr. Science and Mrs. Emotion

I told you today would be about jobs and our plans for future. So, like the faithful little blogger I am, here is my fulfillment of that promise.

Ben is currently working at the Donor Network of Arizona (or the DNA--coincidence?). He quickly moved up the ladder, getting promoted at lightning speed about four times, and is now training to be a team leader. This is exciting for him because that means he gets paid more and he gets to put that on his applications for medical school. Ben does all the yucky and nauseating things you could think of for this job. And, most of the time, he loves it. You can read his thoughts on the job at his blog, beradical on blogspot. Of course, it is hard sometimes, but Ben tries to look at it from a strictly medical standpoint, which seems to have helped. Ben is beginning his med school applications for next year. We hope to stay in state, but he will again apply to about 15 schools across the country. He met a doctor who seems to have an interest in helping Ben get in, which is exactly what he needed, since we didn't know anyone in the medical field who could help and, as my dad always says, "It's not what you know, but who you know".

Ben is also working to get his medical assistant certification, purely to help him get into med school. He is at the top of his class and could probably go through the next few months with his eyes closed and still be at the top. Ladies and gentlemen, my husband: simply amazing.

My days are not quite so exciting. Since Surrey ended for the summer, I am out of the job. I finished my course with PennFoster and am now a Certified Bridal Consultant. Now that my classes are over, I have quite a bit more time on my hands. So, I am currently looking for a job to hone my skills and get experience in the wedding industry.

I know the last two posts have been rather long but, hey, I had to catch you all up on the past year. I hope to make the following posts short and sweet. Check in to see what's next!

Return of the blogger

Well, I don't know how I let it get this far...We just had our second anniversary and I realized I haven't blogged in a year! It has been so long, in fact, that Ben went back to his blog, beradical. So, as I currently have no job and no classes, I've decided to make it part of my routine to blog. Here goes.

As I said, Ben and I just celebrated our big number two! We went to the Clarendon hotel, which was beautiful, and away from all the distractions of the world so that we could focus on each other. The modern decor was Ben's style and entertained my artist's eye. Because it's an old building, the elevator was pretty shady, so we quickly learned to opt for the stairs, and there were a few other quirks. But, overall, it was a very fun, beautiful place with a wonderful restaurant. It was fun to get away from the dogs, phones and the worries of work and school.

Did I say dogs? Yes, in the last year, Ben and I have talked about having babies, and still don't think we are at the right time of our lives to give our time and attention to little ones, so Ben pacified my need to nurture by giving me babies in a different form. Pictures are coming, but for now I'll just tell you about them. Sasha came first, from the pound. I remember walking by her and Ben said, "what about this one?" I wasn't convinced, but then, she picked up her head and looked at me. Her beautiful face stole my heart. When we finally got her washed at home, we discovered her radiant white coat. However, before we could even get her home, there were problems. When we came to pick her up, they told us she was very sick and that she was our responsibility, they couldn't help her. So, we took her straight to the vet, who said "you have a very sick puppy". We quickly became very concerned when he told us she would need to go to the animal hospital. So, we took her there, where she ended up spending her first night out of the pound. I won't give you all the yucky details, but we weren't even sure if she would live through that night. She wouldn't eat or drink and she was already very dehydrated. Ben and I had already fallen in love with her like she was our child (I know it's different, but bear with me). When we finally brought her home, Sasha wouldn't play, eat or drink, and I had to feed her ice to hydrate her. It's the only thing that she would take. Later, she drank milk and eventually, Ben got her to eat dog food out of his hand. Sasha is now a big rowdy half-lab half-something who is healthy and happy.

Turk is our little shi tzu. When two of his brothers were brought to school, Ben and I immediately fell in love with them and almost immediately decided we had to have one. Ben always wanted a smaller dog, and we had been talking about getting Sasha a playmate anyway, so we brought Turk home. Sasha adjusted rather quickly to her new brother. At first, she was very rough with him, but now she's learning to be more gentle, and Turk has learned to hold his own.

More tomorrow on our jobs and future.

One Year of Wedded Bliss

Ben and I decided that instead of giving each other gifts, we would have a big first anniversary. So we went to Vancouver. It was the most wonderful experience I could hope for. Beautiful weather (60's or 70's), an exciting city and even a day trip to the country. And the best part of all was that I got to spend four days with my husband without the distractions of the world. The night we got there, we rested a little, then took a cab to Granville Island, where we discovered a charming public market and shopping area. It also had a theatre, where we enjoyed "The Improvisations of Bill Shakespeare". This was comprised of a few players who did improv versions of shakespeare. The audience could choose the topic and give suggestions. When we first sat down in the front row, Ben suggested we move back so we don't get picked to do something in the show. So, as we were getting settle in to the second to last row, a young man came and asked us if we'd like to be the king and queen. After a hesitation on my part, Ben volunteered a 'sure'. So, we sat in the special seating, donned in thick robes and plastic crowns. We got to choose whether the play was comedy or tragedy. We also got to call out 'rewrite' when we didn't like a particular line. After each skit, the players would bow in our direction. It was actually quite fun, despite my initial hesitation. Later, we returned to the hotel for some hot tubbing. Here is the view from our room. Notice the snow-capped mountains in the background.
On another day, we took the sea bus out of town and on to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, in the forest. This bridge, originally built in 1889 was redone with steel cables and more sturdy wooden beams. It strides the canyon, 230 ft above the river bed, and spans 450 ft from cliff to cliff. Our pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few. Ben looks much braver than I felt, as the bridge pitches and sways so much I feared the picture would come out blurry. This one was taken from the middle of the bridge.It was absolutely beautiful. Once you reach the other side, you can take the 'Treetop Adventure', which made me feel like I was part of the Swiss Family Robinson. Smaller bridges take you from treetop to treetop. Here I am on the stairs before said adventure.
I noticed that a lot of the sculpture, art and culture mirrored that of New Zealand. The Maori would feel almost at home here.
Of course, Ben feels the need to fit in with the natives.
After all our adventures, having a lovely romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant, shopping a little and walking a lot, we returned home saying that someday, we will return to Vancouver, our city.

Happy Anniversary, us!

Michelangelo the comedian

First of all, I understand that today is Tuesday and not Thursday. A funny picture today won't ruin all of your plans for the day. It will be okay. Second, although I'm sure God has a sense of humor, I'm not quite sure if this is the sort of thing that makes him laugh. Maybe. I don't know. I would bet that he prefers a good knock, knock joke, but the Bible is oddly silent on this topic. Anyway, I don't know if I will be posting regularly this summer or not. We shall see.

Retreat

So, I led a retreat last weekend, along with two other college girls. We lead a Bible study for junior high and high school girls called Virtue 31, named after the Proverbs 31 woman. It was sooo good. An Answer to prayer, really. Eight girls showed up and we went to my parents' guest house. They all thought it was amazing and beautiful. We all enjoyed getting away. We had three discussions. The first was over the Proverbs 31 woman, and the last two split up Psalm 139. We talked about purity, which lasted much longer than expected, because the girls were involved in the conversation, and we had a lot to say. The girls also asked some other questions about homosexuality and judging others and things like that. We were so glad that they were seeking heavenly wisdom in these matters, because up til now, they hadn't been very active in study. They learned more about God, and they got to know each other better. It was a very successful retreat. I always say that retreats can jump start any group gathering. I've attended retreats for school, leadership, and Bible study and it always makes a ton of difference in working as a team, getting to know each other and getting fired up for the challenges ahead. Please pray that our girls would stay interested in Bible study and that they would mold their lives to be godly ones.

I'm gonna graduate someday!

Today, I met with my academic advisor. And GCU has done something right, for once. They gave me an advisor who knows what she's doing. It turns out that Jessica graduated from GCU and did a lot in Ethington theater. So, since the theater major was deleted too, she understands my situation and she's doing all she can to help. Unfortunately, that makes her job unstable because, as we've come to find out, GCU doesn't like it when their staff is rooting for the students.
Anyway, Jessica helped me find a little bit of stability in my plans for the upcoming years, concerning my education. I plan on taking a few courses at Phoenix College next semester, probably Life drawing and the Portfolio. I'm really excited to take Life drawing. I was going to start that class the semester they dropped the art major. So, after those two, all I have left are Painting and Drawing 3 and 4, along with 30 credits of upper division electives. I don't know where I'm going to find all those electives that don't have prerequisites, but I'm gonna get a degree, by golly (as my mom would say). I hope to finish those last classes wherever Ben goes to med school. Also, my Spanish professor is trying to start up a medical Spanish class, which would be great for Ben, especially if it gets going next semester, which she said it probably would. I plan on taking that with him just for fun.
So, it's starting to look like I'll actually finish my college career before I'm 70. Praise Jesus!

Is the yellow sign really necessary?

It's Picture Thursday, that's pretty much the only reason I'm posting. Most of my creative writing juices are going towards a children's book that I have to write for class. What's that you ask? Why yes, I am taking all upper division science courses this semester. And I would agree, a children's book seems a bit more like an English class. But this is GCU. If it doesn't make sense, then that's the course of action to take. So anyway, I'll be back to posting next week, barring any new assignments that have to do with creative writing in my dissection class.

Oh Happy Day

Today was my first day teaching Young Rembrandts. It was a blast! I got there with plenty of time to set up. My boss had to be there for the first day to make sure that I understood everything and to help out where needed. I was really excited to teach and just a little nervous about my boss watching me. However, it turned out that she was very understanding and a wonderful help. I didn't feel pressure at all. And that's really weird. Whenever I'm in charge of kids, I'm usually really nervous until the adults leave. It's like I can't have fun and interact with them while their parents or whoever are watching me. But, I felt very comfortable with my boss there and she helped me figure out all the little details I wasn't prepared for. The kids (k-3rd grade) were adorable and fairly well behaved and there were only six of them, which is small for YR. I had one chatter-box girl and one easily-distracted kindergarten boy but, beyond that, there were no real problems. They seemed to enjoy themselves and so did I. Afterward, my boss told me that she liked the way I interacted with the kids and that I would do fine on my own. What a relief! It's amazing what prayer can do when you're nervous.

Keggers and Science Fun

Jamie and I had the distinct pleasure of attending a rootbeer kegger last night. This is a picture of us having a blast. I imagine it was a lot like a regular kegger, people acting stupid, people not acting, and other stupid stuff only without all the drunkenness. You can make your own inferences about how much fun we had from there.

Today I will be a judge at a science fair competition for middle schoolers. I have never really been a big fan of science fairs, but this should be fun. All I have to do is show up and tell other people what I think. Since I usually have opinions, this will probably work out well.

Being the clever guy that I am, I have just decided to have my own personal competition with the prize being the honor of being posted on this blog. If they let me take pictures, on Monday be prepared for the winners to be showcased right here. The categories will be Best of Show, Oddest of Show, and Worst of Show. I'm not feeling very creative right now, but I will have better category names on Monday with the same general themes though. So with that little dangling morsel, I leave you to enjoy your weekend and I'll see ya Monday.

tsop siht dnatsrednu yam uoy siht daer nac uoy fi

It's Picture Thursday already. I bet you are as thrilled about this as I am. For those of you who are a little slow, that's a "doggy bag". Get it? I know, it's a little sophisticated for this site, but I like to stretch the comfort zone sometimes. It's good for you. Next week, we will be back to good old fashioned unintelligent humor. I already have a great picture picked out.

Keeping with the sophistication of today and to explain my lack of posting, I would like to introduce you to a new word: indifference. I'm not going to tell you what it means since you obviously have a computer. Look it up. Nobody likes a lazy person.

Anyway that sums up this week for me, indifference. I think my condition stems from being a little under the weather. Hopefully next week I will be back to just difference. We'll see.

They call him...Jack

I'm not quite sure, but I think I have started Picture Thursdays off on the wrong foot. Sorry. They will get better. Probably. Anyway, enjoy your Thursday.

Vamos a jugar

For starters, I'm the cute one in the hat.

I was down in Mexico this past weekend because of a mandatory class field trip. It turns out that the class was only mandatory for those who could make it, a fact which I discovered about 4 hours into the trip. Doh!

Three professors and three students (just a quick head count for those of you who are mathematically challenged) from GCU went down to Rocky Point to study the marine vertebrate and invertebrate life. We stayed at CEDO, a research station near Puerto Penasco. Below you can see the sleeping quarters (the deck) and the great view from our beds in the morning.


We didn't do too much in the way of actual class work. We went tide-pooling a couple of times. We spent a lot of time cruising around Rocky Point, at night. But the best part was the "excursion" we took on Saturday morning.

After a two hour trip out to this odd little island, we jumped overboard into the deep blue sea. Interestingly enough, the island isn't naturally white in color. It's called Bird Island. You do the math.

Anyway, back to the jumping into the ocean. Just above you can see a shot of me just before I took the plunge. Right behind me are sea lions. Rawr! As a side note, as you can see above they flip over on their backs in the water and stick all four flippers up in the air. They do this to warm themselves up. It's pretty funny looking. But it seemed to work for them. Also note that in this picture I am still smiling. The water was unbelievably cold.

However, it was all worth it to get this underwater shot of the sea lions swimming all around me. What an experience to have 20 or so sea lions swimming past me, underneath me and literally right up to me. It was pretty magical.


To end, I'm sorry for those of you who have slow connections. I know that kinda stinks. I hope the pictures didn't take too long to load. Anyway, Picture Tuesday will now become Picture Thursday. Further updates as events warrant...