dork city!

something about living in colorado inspires me to knit more than when we lived in alabama. i have quite a few projects going, but the one that has my attention right now is: it's a scarf and it's going to be super warm because it's really thick!

okay, here comes the dork of the day confession: i am totally hooked onto the new abc family hit show: the secret life of the american teenager. and i hate that i have to wait a whole week to see what happens after each show! it actually makes me sad....

so, for anyone who still has at least on ounce of respect for me, better things to come tomorrow!

funny story

this story is much funnier when you hear it in person, but alas... for all of those who can't see us in person right now, i can't bear for you to miss out on this laugh. like i said, yesterday we visited an anglican church, which is different from the good old baptist church we've been at for quite a while. one of the differences is in the way we partake in the Lord's supper. at the baptist church, you know, we have those nifty little trays that have the holes in them that hold those tiny cups of non-fermented wine (aka grape juice)...which the deacons pass around to the church. and then, we have little pieces of unleavened bread that are passed around before the juice. well, at the anglican church, each person goes up and receives the bread and then can either dip it in the wine or have the bread first, then the wine. well, ryan and i aren't really used to partaking in that way (though, i might say, i really enjoyed it...it felt more meaningful and personal in some ways), so we were watching those who went before us. while i held on to the bread that i was given and dipped it into the wine, ryan couldn't quite decide what he wanted to do...he put the bread into his mouth before he could stop himself, and then realized that most of the people in front of him (in his line) were dipping...so, he quickly put his hand up to his mouth and spit out his bread. at that point, he realized what he was doing and put the bread back into his mouth and then drank from the cup when he got there. quite funny, though...we had a good laugh about it! but seriously, it might have been the most moving communion experience of my life. when i got to the pastor and put my hands out (there's even significance in that...putting my hands in front of me to receive what has been given to me-physically, the bread; symbolically, the broken body of Christ), the pastor said, "Samantha, Jesus' body broken for you." for me....and then as i dipped it into the wine, i was reminded of the grace given to me. there just aren't really words to describe the experience, but it was a beautiful, beautiful thing!

like a breath of fresh air

and by fresh air, i really mean fresh, fresh air! we visited an anglican church this morning, which was a little different than what i am used to. but we both absolutely enjoyed our time of worship and study. from the moment we walked into the sanctuary, there was a feeling of reverance. ask me to describe it and i couldn't, i've been trying to put more words to it all afternoon...but not much has come to me. the whole service felt very focused and purposeful, which was a little refreshing compared to some of the other churches we've visited (not all have been bad, but some have been...). as we shared in communion together at the end of the service, tears came to my eyes because it was all such a beautiful thing. i felt more connected with other believers than i have the whole time we've been here... and we didn't really know any of the people (just two old friends!). all that to say, it was really nice...and that's all i'll say, for now...
until next time...

bombas

some days, from our little home in colorado, i am taken back to our delightful visit to antigua, guatemala last summer. we were told very soon into our time there that we should not worry when we heard the sound of a shotgun going off...even though the army was everywhere, carrying huge, illegal in the states guns..and even though they used to go around killing citizens for no reason at all. for that sound that sounded like shotguns going off was not actually that, it was just "bombas" aka fireworks. the people of guatemala apparently love these things, even though they really aren't all that exciting at all. in fact, they are super annoying. they don't light up like most of the fireworks we shoot off here, but just make a terribly loud noise. imagine a bottle-rocket, a hundred times louder. people would shoot these off all through the night and in the early hours of the morning. they shot them to celebrate everything-holidays, birthdays, weddings, a good grade at school, etc etc etc. i think some people even shot them just to make their neighbors wonder what they good news was! the noise always took me by surprise, and to tell you the truth, i was a little thankful to leave that part behind....
little did i know that there are some people who enjoyed fireworks just as much right here in littleton, colorado! the funny thing is, fireworks are illegal to shoot off here right now because it is so dry...but that has yet to stop my neighbors. every evening, they shoot off a handful for whatever reason. maybe they got a deal of the day on fireworks, maybe they are celebrating someone's birthday, or maybe they are just crazy. whatever the reason, fireworks abound. it is rare, however, to see the fireworks-you just hear them... just like in guatemala. ohhhh the bombas!
by the way, i made some absolutely delicious muffins tonight. here is a picture of ryan enjoying one (of the three that he had :)): (the recipe is on my recipe blog)

a beautiful woman

today my mimi celebrated her 80th birthday! she is one of the specialist (is that a word?) people in my life. she and my papa "practically raised" me (as she has been known to say), since my brother and i spent a ton of time with them when we were younger, while my parents were working. mimi is very near and dear to my heart. she has been such a precious encouragement with our move, too. she sends us notes every week with a little money to help us get by... i go to the mailbox every day as soon as i get home from work to check to see if there's a letter from her. it's always so fun to read about what's going on with her! and she's so encouraging to us. i mentioned the other day the wisdom of the elderly-well my mimi fits right into what i'm talking about. she has been through so much and knows in such a real way the faithfulness of God. i love hearing her stories! she's not a techno-saavy lady, so i know she won't be reading this, but i just thought i'd share with you a little celebration of her! =) (just in case you wondered, she's not smiling in the picture because she's legally blind and so she couldn't really tell where the camera was or when it was going off)

in another world of celebration-ryan got an "a" in his first semester of hebrew! he worked so so hard and i'm so so so proud! he's all into the second semester now, studying even as i write for a quiz tomorrow (where his professor will pick a random verse out of the first chapter of ruth for them to translate on their own AND he has to recite or write the Shema in hebrew)!! any kudos to ryan for doing so well!!!

until next time...
yours truly

yipee!!

we are going to have more visitors!! my mom
booked tickets last night for her and my dearest little sister, mollie, to come out-three weeks from yesterday!!!!!!!!! of course, i adore my sweet mom-a wonderful mother and a dear friend, too..(and sadly, my computer won't load a single picture of my mom and i! i tried all night and morning!! ..but i also love, love, love my little boogar mollie! we have a special relationship that's a little different than my other sisters (okay, i have special relationships with all of them..they're all a little different, though). before ryan and i got married, she spent the night in my apartment most nights-so we always had a nice little bonding time! it was hard to leave her back home and know she's going to grow up so, so much while we are away. i'm totally excited that we are going to get to spend some q.t. together very soon!
also, carol and glenn are coming just a few weeks after that!!!! ryan told me this morning that they booked their tickets, too!! i don't think i could have picked better parents in law than these.
i certainly had a time of being around parents-in-law that were not going to be good at all..and it makes me that much more thankful for the sweet ones i have! i cannot wait for them to get out here so we can spend some more time together!!!

faithfulness

during the one of my courses at sebc, we took time to study the book of lamentations. for some reason (i think maybe God has something to do with it), the things we talked about really have stuck in my mind. as many of you know, a few verses out of this strange book were once written in one of the best hymns of all times. it's a little bit ironic, though, because this is one of the saddest, most depressing books to read in the whole Bible. the people of Israel have seemingly been abandoned by the Lord. they cry out to the Lord over and over in their distress and...nothing. they are feeling the wrath of the Lord is a very powerful way and it's not any fun at all for them...as you might imagine. they feel rejected and lost. but then, right in the middle of the book, we read the words:

i remember my afflictions and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. i well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. yet this i call to mind and therefore i have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. i say to myself, 'the Lord is my portion; therefore i will wait for Him...

a ray of hope...but then the book goes right back downhill from there...with the last words of the author, "restore us to yourself, o Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure." pretty hopeless ending, i'd say. of course, we know the rest of the story...but they didn't. they were living in a time of hopelessness, despair and aloneless...wondering where in the world the Lord was and why He wasn't helping them.
i could be wrong, but i think we all end up in that place from time to time in life...with the presenting circumstances being a little bit different for each one of us. i have certainly been in that place before.... but nonetheless, i know with my head even when i don't feel it in my heart: "Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see...all I have needed Thy hand hath provided! Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!"