wild weather

It snowed here last night and today! It wasn't in the forecast, so it was weird to look out the window around midnight last night and see it dumping and already sticking. It was still around for most of the day today, and it's in the 20's tonight. What crazy weather up here the last couple months! It snows every time I come. I'm not sure what that means.

Christmas Pics

Trying to get four people to all smile at once... :) This is my sister Lindy, her husband Nate, me, and our ("little") brother Travis... I AM the big sister!! :)

After a morning of brunch, presents, and a lazy afternoon we went to visit my grandpa in the home he lives in. My grandma is on the left. I grew up about 5 minutes from them, and they still live in downtown Bellevue. Her condo is about a block from the nursing home so she's able to walk there each day. My mom goes about 4 days a week and I go a few times whenever I'm in town. Grandpa (middle-right) has M.S. but has lived a long full life! :)

Sis, me & Mom

Around 8pm we went to my cousin Dan & his wife LeeAnn's place for dessert and games. We stayed until after midnight! We always have a blast playing games and just hanging out with them. Lots of laughing. :) This is me and Dan; we grew up together and were close through high school.

Now I have a few more days to try and relax and sleep until I return to "the gates of Hell," according to one particular uncle that I see once a year (right around this time). Yesterday morning at brunch he asked "How's life down in the gates of Hell?" I suppose he meant L.A. ... ?? What is that supposed to mean?? I looked at him for a second before replying, "Umm...I kinda like it down there!" Bring me back to the pit of sin! LOL. :)

happiness and cheer...

Merry Christmas!Dad making his best pirate face, in my cousin's pirate hat

I've been trying to relax some up here. We all went to the Christmas Eve service at church last night, and opened family presents this morning. Brunch with extended family, and now it's just us again, laying around and watching movies. More fun and games tonight with the other side of the family.

I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends! It's good having our family together, for now, for a couple of days.

2007 Races

Look out, I'm coming after you to start training...

Feb 25. Brea 8k
June 3. Danskin Triathlon

If I can find another triathlon to do on my own this summer, I'm considering doing this June 3 one (the one I did last year) as part of a relay team. I figure that is the only realistic way I'm going to get my friends to join me. :) So let me know if you're ready to start training!!!

I'd still like to do a half marathon this year too...hopefully in January I can focus on getting well and running longer distances again. I'll see in a month or two how realistic the half is.

Winter Wishes

Despite the fact that I just canceled out my kickboxing class with the macaroni and cheese I have been craving all day, I am feeling a lot better! I've been sick for almost a month now, two colds and a general run-down feeling. But the semester is over, and I now have six weeks to celebrate my laziness!!!

'Tis the season for...Holiday Cards??? I went to pick up a box of CHRISTMAS CARDS last week and in the section now renamed Holiday Cards, I was hard-pressed to find one that actually said "Merry Christmas." I found an abundant supply of Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, and Winter Wishes. Nothing wrong with that except for the fact that they have all but replaced the whole reason we send cards anyway. The only "Christmas" cards I found had Santa Claus or snowmen on them! There were plenty of "Feliz Navidad" packs...why don't they have an issue with Christmas?? Just us, I guess.

Imagine a big round conference table. Then imagine it COMPLETELY covered with all kinds of Christmas baked goods…all kinds of cookies, breads, brownies, fudge, cakes, and everything in between. Oh and a fruit basket. :) NOW imagine that your desk is ten feet away from said conference table, and all this food is in your direct line of sight all day long.

This is not good...

just a little break

I am alive! It's finals week and I'm trying to muster up motivation to get everything done. I'd rather just watch TV for 6 hours in a row right now. (I may have done that on Saturday...hmmm...I'm sick again/still, so that is my excuse.) Things are busy busy busy. I will be back soon with something more intelligent and exciting to write about! :)

One note, I have decided not to go to the Philippines in January. I feel much more settled with that decision than when I was going. I also am already looking forward to having the month of January off. I am not going to take a class, just will focus on rest and maybe personal study. I am still working on the Disciplines stuff, and I look forward to having more time for that.

'Tis the season...working on cultivating all my Christmas cheer...fa la la la la la la la la. :)

I've always had this understanding of evil and pain in the world that's sufficed for my own faith and relationship with God as reason for the bad things that happen. Sin, evil, free will, and the understanding of "already but not yet" - God's kingdom not yet fully realized here as it is in heaven.

But more and more, as I see hard, ugly things, and I see how my own explanations don't suffice for others' personal understandings or questions, I ache more for this "kingdom" to come. For the victory to be full and for complete victory over sin and death. We grow weary of struggles with sin and pain; longing for God's kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven.

home...sort of

Me with mom & sister, Lindy @ T-giving dinner

Happy Thanksgiving! (again) Thursday was eventful...I arrived home in Seattle around 2pm, hung out at the airport until 3ish when my dad arrived on his last minute flight he was able to get from San Diego (originally wasn't going to be able to come home, but he was able to get a flight!) and came out to the new house in Redmond that my parents moved into last month, for about 20 minutes, then back down to Kirkland to meet up with the rest of the Talbott clan for dinner.

It's a little weird to be staying in a different house; I lived in the other one my whole life, so this doesn't quite feel "right" yet. My mom has made the adjustment well and feels right at home, but for me who is just home for holidays, I now don't even know how to find this neighborhood from the freeway! Not sure what needs to take place to make it feel like home, perhaps having Christmas here next month will help. I'm glad I got to stay for a couple days and start getting used to it. :)

Happy T-day

Happy Thanksgiving!
I fly out in the morning, home to the new house in Redmond, WA...barring any traffic or airport issues, I'll make in time for the Talbott turkey dinner. We've rented out a community center to hold the 50+ of us that can make it. :) Looking forward to seeing everyone and spending a long weekend with mom! (Shopping anyone??)

Overload

Here is what I am thinking and feeling in bullet form, since that is about the only way I can make sense of it right now, because:

• I am really sick, just a head cold, but a miserable one that my drugs are not touching. Bad headache, runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, need I go on... and this is no doubt affecting how I am processing this other information...
• I got some really difficult news earlier today that I am not sure what to do with, how to respond, how to react to this person that I love very much but who is really hurting others with their actions, including me. I'm at a loss to know what to do, and long term prayers that have no noticeable answer yet seem to add to my confusion. I don't know how to deal with this this time.
• I just gave my full name as it appears on my passport for my ticket to the Philippines in January.
• An idea for a possible full-time missions opportunity for after school has been floated, and the ministry, language, etc. seem to be a great fit. Something to pray specifically about, and possibly take a visit to in the next year!
• I found out today that the vacant position at work that I have been sort of filling in for has been eliminated. My added responsibilities are now going to be permanent. This is hard in the sense that I'm not sure how things are going to work without someone in that position. But it's good because I now will get to learn new design programs and new things for my job! This is exciting.
• I am really not feeling good and I have no sick days left. The day's almost over...and I have a test tonight.

prayer

Discipline #2: Prayer

"To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us."

"We must hear, know, and obey the will of God before we pray it into the lives of others."

Rather than despairing at what lacks in our prayer life compared to those "giants of faith, we should remember that God always meets us where we are and slowly moves us along to deeper things. Occasional joggers do not suddenly enter an Olympic marathon. The prepare and train themselves over a period of time, and so should we. When such a progression is followed, we can expect to pray a year from now with greater authority and spiritual success than at present."

"We must never wait until we feel like praying before we pray for others. Prayer is like any other work; we may not feel like working, but once we have been at it for a bit, we begin to feel like working. Our prayer muscles need to be limbered up a bit and once the blood-flow of intercession begins, we will find that we feel like praying."

(From Celebration of Discipline)

Homework that is thought provoking! Imagine that.

I have had the song "Lion of Judah" in my head for weeks. We've been singing it in church a lot and I learned it on the guitar so I can play it whenever I want. But I think it has become stuck there because over the last week and a half I've been consumed with a big project on Revelation 5 for my Daniel & Revelation class.

The song is celebratory and extols the Lamb as I imagine the scene in Revelation 5, of ten thousands upon ten thousands of angels and all the heavenly host, plus every created being, worshiping the Lamb who was slain:

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"

"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

Working on this project I was convicted: everything said here applies to our worship of Christ. I have heard of a book I think called "Your Jesus is too small" or something. I don't know what it's about but I think we suffer that syndrome. We easily lose the sense of the Jesus of Revelation: there is wrath, there is glory, power, and all authority. He is our friend and our brother, yes, but he is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! He is worthy of all worship from every created being.

I often forget this and my worship is nowhere on the scale of the worship Christ receives in Revelation. I am guilty of not offering him the level of worship that he deserves and demands. He is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! Do I give him that in my life?

meditation, callouses, and other goals

I figure since I'm going to be teaching on the disciplines in January, now would be a good time for me to study them and practice different ones for myself. I ordered a few workbooks and study guides on the subject to see if any of them might be worth using in the Philippines, and also of course for myself! First I am turning back to Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.
Last week I was challenged on the issue of living by faith. I was having a hard time identifying any area in my life in which I'm currently being required to live by faith (as opposed to madly holding everything together on my own). So here is where I begin... disciplines require faith for God's grace for inner transformation. It's his work, not our own, which is good, because my willpower can only get me so far (especially when you put a piece of chocolate cake in front of me).

First up: meditation.

Davette and I have decided to memorize 2 Corinthians. We are in week 2 of four verses a week. Foster suggests spending an entire week on a single passage for the purpose of meditation. I can memorize without meditating, though I'm not sure what the purpose of that would be. So I already have my passage chosen for me each week. I am internalizing the reality of God's comfort in troubles and suffering, which is for the purpose of then turning to comfort others. I've already been able to share that message with someone this week!

A central purpose of meditation is "centering." It is balace, peace through activities of the day, ability to rest and enjoy beauty, and ability to pace oneself. Again I can exercise faith in God's grace as I engage in this discipline regularly, and expect not only a growing desire to engage, but to see that balance and peace rule my day rather than hurry and noise.

On another PAINFUL note, I have been encouraged to start playing my guitar again regularly. I used to hide in my room for hours a day playing this baby, but it's been months. This week I feel a regular throbbing in my fingertips and horrible pain everytime I touch the strings. I have to build my callouses back up! It's the familiar mantra, "play through the pain." I want to lead worship again, and I want to improve to a point of feeling comfortable doing that. Hopefully I can be disciplined in this area too. I once heard someone say in response to a student expressing frustration about a plateauing rate of improvement: "Have you prayed over it?" So, for whatever it's worth, I prayed over my guitar today. :) It's not a spiritual discipline, but a physical one, one that I hope to engage in regularly as well...

I'm giving up

on the spacing for the post below...silly. It never looks like it's supposed to after you push "post." Pictures, captions, words, all over the place. I'm trying not to let it bother me. :)

We feel warmed!!

Kristin & I (roommates!)




We had a little gathering on Sunday for our "housewarming" ... it's feeling a lot like a home now (it better, with all the money we've spent on this place!). Yay for fun with friends...















Oh yes we did...










Noah thinks it's not cheating to strategically "arrange" your apples before you bob for them.














Aaron is the current record holder. 6 apples in 17 seconds equals very wet floor.









My band (hey, it's Halloween isn't it?!)
























We couldn't get Aaron to take this mullet wig off all night.












Me, Janell and Ramesh...my friends from the complex next door. We go way back (to Seattle!) :)




(Hmmm, apparently Blogger has had enough with uploading pictures for the day...)

The Too Good to Hurry Kelsey

I got forwarded a link to an advertising slogan generator some time ago. You might have seen it before... recently it was sent to me again and this time the person suggested we put our name in. So I did, and went through the different options...

A Kelsey a Day Helps You Work, Rest and Play
Let Your Kelsey Do the Walking
I Like the Kelsey In You
Just What Kelsey Ordered
Silly Rabbit, Kelsey is for Kids
Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Kelsey From the Oven
So Easy, No Wonder Kelsey is #1

Ok and on and on they go...but I liked "The Too Good to Hurry Kelsey." I am always in a hurry of some kind. Work, driving, homework, devotions, conversations, I can find a way to rush anything. Most of those things are too good to hurry. I can miss out on a great many rich experiences and opportunities by rushing through them. I really should be the Too Good to Hurry Kelsey. :) All that from a slogan...what's yours?

Busy weekend!

I'm stiff today! :) We climbed Mt. Baldy yesterday. "The tallest mountain in LA County." Haha. They don't know what real mountains are around here. Anyhow, here is a smattering of snapshots from our day...what a good climb and we had perfect weather. There were some really funny shots, I'll just share these...and I slept really good last night.

more weekend activities...

Beach bonfire Friday night with some church friends...

I'll take the economy pack

It was a brutal week...I used up 5 bandaids per run. I think we're improving now, blisters are going away, new socks, new running shoes...whew.

Want to attend my marriage seminar?

Time again to revisit my impending trip to the Philippines, rescheduled for sometime in January (we are getting closer to having actual dates – very exciting!)…

My initial hesitations about doing a seminar for pastor’s wives have been quelled to some extent. We had an “informational meeting” a couple weeks ago (so I’m a little behind on my blogging) and since then I’ve been able to talk with a couple of the missionaries and other people with experience on the field. Teaching pastors’ wives how to “feed themselves” is not quite the intimidating task it would be here in my Talbot/Whittier Hills circles! Most of the pastors’ wives there have not even read their Bibles. They don’t even know where to start as far as what to read, how to read, and how to apply what they’re reading. Even a basic lesson on hermeneutics may be out of place here. We’re talking a very basic talk on personal disciplines and Bible interpretation. I can do that! :)

It seems like most people went into this meeting thinking “What is my role for this trip?” While we are looking for defined roles, the missionaries in the Philippines are asking what we want to do, and they will arrange it. Not easy for Western short term mission trippers! :) Each person asked to go has been asked for a specific purpose as far as what they can bring to this trip. We have a doctor, nurse, nutritionist, early childhood director, evangelists, teachers, and some who are being covertly recruited for long term ministry at the LRF over there (I’m not sure if I am supposed to be included in that group???). It’s quite exciting what is happening over there already, as far as training people in villages in different skills and ways to support themselves (making bread, digging wells, fishing, making bricks, grinding corn, etc.), and it seems like whatever skills we bring would be welcome, whether they be ministry- or life-skills.

So I told the leader I’m 80% sure I’m going, but who am I kidding, of course I’ll go. :)

Do you REALLY prefer organic??

Noah and I went up to Oak Glen to pick apples today...or at least, look at them. Fun playing in the shops, drinking cider (it was a good drizzley day for hot cider), chowing on smoked cheese and "apple burritos," and then stuffing ourselves with Mexican food...perfect. :)






Mad Hatters!

















This is how it's done.












This is not how it's done.













Mmm...apple anyone??
"If you don't like your apples with blemishes, don't pick at this orchard. These are organic. We don't use pesticides. That means they got BUGS growin' in 'em."

Breakfast of Champions

One 2-egg, refried bean and salsa breakfast burrito later (of about 650 calories and 35g of protein)...I did it! I finished my 8.5 mile trail run yesterday. I felt 100% better than last week, and finished well. I think the breakfast made significant difference. Achieved goals feel good...especially challenging ones! :) This is a really great run if anyone wants to join me (I mean it! Come run!!). Special thanks to Mat Kearney, Jacob's Well, Sheryl Crow, and most of all Janell who rode my mountain bike on the trail and checked in periodically. :)












These are my white feet and brown legs - a nice faux tan after this dusty run that washes off in the shower! :)

Hindsight is 20/20

Do you ever wish you could go back to being that 18 year old college freshman selecting a degree path with your current passions, knowledge and desires in mind? What would you major in if you could do it again?

While I don't wish for a second to have to repeat college (it was great but I've been over that for 7 years thank you...or 6...5? I forget), I do wish that I had had a better idea of what I might want to do back then. I chose (after changing at least 4 times) a bachelor's in sociology and minors in spanish and cross-cultural ministries (they didn't offer a CCM major at that time). A BA feels pretty worthless at times. The ccm minor still fits, and sociology fits very broadly (in terms of working with people!) but there are just so many other things I want to do.

Counseling, physical therapy, christian education, nutrition, and the list goes on. All of those (minus CE) involve advanced degrees which I could still do, but who wants to be in school for the next ten years? I wouldn't trade my current MA (theology and biblical studies), though I would trade the BA, and I can't help but thinking how any of the above options would be useful overseas. Today I was perusing the American Dietetic Association's website to discover the fact that it would take about four years to become a registered dietician.

Oh well. I am where I am right now, for a reason... :)

My, is my life exciting

Some random guy on the Fullerton Loop :)


School, work, school, work, bible study, school, running, work. And that’s about it. :) I had a very insightful post this weekend and then I wasn’t in the mood to put it on here…I wrote while feeling very thoughtful and reflective, then got interrupted, and pretty much haven’t been back there since. :)

I am currently working on a new running goal, an 8.5 mile trail run near my house. I have run farther than that but never on trails, which includes steep hills and swirling dust and uneven ground and reckless mountain bikers whizzing past (one of which I am myself, frequently). I didn’t make it all the way…my English muffin and yogurt breakfast lasted me about 3 miles and I continued on empty until I would guess somewhere around 7.5 miles when I had to walk a bit. Boy was I mad…so close. When you’re done, you’re done, I guess…that was the first time I haven’t accomplished a fitness goal in awhile (possibly because I rarely set goals...but moving on). I will try again this Friday!

Except that once again I am injured! Argh… a blister gone bad has had me hobbling around for three days and on antibiotics, Epsom salt soaks and advil. :) I am SO FRUSTRATED when I can’t get out and do normal things. Every runner I’ve seen this week I have stared at longingly, envying their fully functioning toes. For the second time in a few weeks I am relegated to the stationary bike in the gym, which just about drives me crazy. I’m trying to be patient…and I hate it. (And I'm done whining now.)

I also wanted to mention my Philippines trip that is approaching in January. I will write more details later, but this trip that never materialized this past August is now officially on the calendar, with a large team and multiple agendas. I’m struggling to be excited about it this time. A lot of it is the unknown of what exactly is going on and what is expected of me. Supposedly they want me to teach a seminar to pastors’ wives. One problem…my experience as a pastor’s wife, or even a wife, is severely lacking! Also, I am not I feel adequately prepared to do a whole seminar on my own. I could be a part, but at this point my teaching experience has been half hour bible study lessons. I am up for being challenged and stretched…but not for being in completely over my head. We have a meeting this Sunday; hopefully I can get some questions answered.

That pretty much sums up…well, everything…right now. I am enjoying reading other people’s exciting blogs these days about being overseas, going through important life issues, etc. rather than writing about my own life full of desk work and reading dead theologians. :)

sunday night...

Natasha Mulenga Kalombo, born Wednesday, September 27, 2006














Beth and Gil had their baby! These are my old roommates and their new 3-day-old baby girl. Got to spend some time with them on Friday.

I am working on another Daniel project, chapter 7 this time.... aaaaaauuuggh!!! Having trouble thinking of pastoral/theological application for beasts with 4 heads and talking horns. !? Anyone?

My ADD is kicking in…it’s actually SIADD, a "medical condition" known as Self-Inflicted Attention Deficit Disorder. I distract myself, basically, with my computer, baking, cleaning, television, anything but my homework! I have been sitting here since 2:00, whittling the daylight away, and suddenly cannot seem to focus any longer. So I cooked some fish, cleaned my bathroom, checked NFL scores for my pigskin pick ‘em pool (very important) and went online for awhile (hey here I am now). I am very productive when I am supposed to be studying.

Do you ever have SIADD?? :)

Tip for the day: it really is important to not leave full glasses of water next to your computer, digital camera, and cell phone. (I decided to post this as a "tip" rather than admitting that I had any sort of mishap relating to such a careless move.)

online confession?

I saw a story on the Today Show this morning about a church in Oklahoma (LifeChurch) that has set up an online confession site: www.mysecret.tv. They interviewed the pastor, Craig Groeschel, who has a passion for changing the way church is done worldwide. It's one church with nine different locations. He has a master's degree in marketing and an MDiv.

So you go to this My Secret page and there is a disclaimer that the content should not be viewed by children under 18. Contained within are hundreds of confessions in the areas of addictions, eating disorders, pornography, stealing, abuse, lust, humiliation, double life, you name it. Click on a topic and be taken to others' deep dark secrets that they have decided to display on the internet.

"Have you experienced a victory that began with a secret confessed? A past hurt revealed? A lie exposed? We’d love to hear your story. But more importantly, thousands of other people who are struggling with the same burdens would love to hear. Your story could be another person’s hope." This is their purpose, if you will...share your sins so that others can learn and grow.

Noble. Maybe? But I have some questions. Where are we asked to confess our sin to the whole world? How useful is anonymous online confession? Where is the accountability, the connection to and responsibility for your sin? What prevents this from becoming a "freak show" website, where people can go to read messed up stories and feel better about themselves because there are people out there who are worse than they are? Is this really more than a commentary on our society's lost sense of sin?

I'm not saying it's all bad, or all good, I am just very intrigued at this new way of being able to feel better about ourselves. The pastor's thought is that it is a first step for those who aren't close to confession, some kind of connection to a church. I watched the video on the front page and I actually appreciated his comments on confessing to God rather than a computer, and he presented a clear picture of confession and forgiveness, what it means to be “made new.” Originally the site was set up as a response to a sermon series for their church, and it has caught attention in the whole country. I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts, and since no one ever comments on here, email me instead if you want. :)

kung fu fighting

I tried a karate kick at work today to see how my knee would fare. Wearing a skirt even. Something popped, ouch. :) But the good news is, I can bike, and the better news is, it didn't hurt so much today, so if I don't feel anything tomorrow I might try to run. (Maybe.) It seems that my kickboxing career was very short-lived. One day was enough apparently. Yay

the weekend is over...

Got to spend some time with some good friends this weekend. It was great to catch up with Kristin and James on their way through LA to Corvallis, Oregon, where James has a new job.

They are expecting their first baby in December sometime...

Also got in some golfing this weekend. What great weather we had this weekend! (I realize how weird I am to like golf, I even have my own clubs. I am not really sure why. I think I just like to drive the cart around.) The views from the course:
And finally, this afternoon I got a chance to revisit my old Sunday tradition of a few hours of solitude at a park. I haven't done this since I moved, so it was so good to find a new park in the area and spend some time there. Things become a lot more clear away from the busyness of life, and it's there I can often find the passion or excitement that may be missing. A.W. Tozer wrote about our generation of machines, technology, and efficiency: "We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar." Avoiding this "bankruptcy" for me requires a block of several hours, often. I hope for this kind of time once a week, while during the week my "short devotions" do manage to play a role...it's hard to carve out time!!! but boy do I need it, more than anything else I could be doing in those hours. (I took some pictures there too but they aren't uploading right now...maybe another time.)

My knee is still giving me issues. Tried out the bike today at the gym, felt fine on that. Don't feel good about running yet, since it hurts when I put weight on it. Weird...feels like it's the actual joint or right behind the kneecap or something. I suppose my kickboxing class is out too. :) I am not a fan of having an "injury" right now--especially since I don't even know what I did to cause it!!

new hair :)

No more blonde rockstar ends! :)

On a very unhappy note, I seem to have tweaked my knee! I can't really even walk very well, let alone run, and I haven't tried the bike yet. :( I can't even pinpoint what I did since it just randomly started hurting yesterday and by last night felt like something had popped or it had hyperextended or something...I keep trying to shake it out like something just needs to pop back into place but no luck. I don't do very well with "rest," forced or not. I'm giving it a day or two.

Preparation and Resolution

I took my Joshua lesson notes to the gym this morning to work on the message a bit and hopefully find some inspiration (not necessarily at the gym; just with more thinking and praying through the stuff).

I set my bike at 30 minutes on hills and started pedaling away. Above me the TV was set on TBS and Walker Texas Ranger was on. :) I've never watched a complete episode of a Chuck Norris martial arts save the world like a true hero program, but my old roommate was mildly obsessed with him (ok--he wanted to BE him, I'm quite sure). Every once in awhile I glanced up to make sure Chuck and his blonde rescuee were still doing ok.

Then came the fight scenes (the blonde was safely tucked away in the tree branches, hidden from the world until her sneeze gave her away to the bad guys! Silly lady). Conveniently, Chuck (Walker? Texas Ranger?) was dressed in perfect martial arts friendly attire. I rolled my eyes. Isn't he ALWAYS conveniently dressed in perfect marial arts friendly attire? He is always so prepared. A bad guy comes within 15 feet and he's in position - crouching, hands up, ready to slice and dice.

He's always so prepared...hmmmm...!!! That is really what Joshua 1 is about, preparation. It's God's instructions to Joshua in order to be successful at what he is setting out to do: claim the Promised Land. But these instructions are not military instructions, they are SPIRITUAL instructions. Joshua's success is directly related to his obedience and his relationship with God. Be strong and VERY courageous, God says, which in the Hebrew gives a sense of being "resolute," or set in purpose, resolved or determined. Why should he need to be these things? Because the next instructions (v. 7-8) give us the key to Joshua's success: meditating on and being obedient to the book of the law.

Our spiritual life, like anything, takes resolution, purpose, and preparation. We get out what we put into it. Joshua needed a resoluteness to not turn from the law, to meditate on it day and night, and to carefully do everything in it. Like Walker Texas Ranger (sorry, bear with me), who has resolved to study his discipline and practice his form in order to be prepared for anything, like an athlete who must resolve (and it really is resolve!) to do those workouts, practice, push hard, or a musician who practices several hours a day -- it takes a decision to excel, plenty of preparation, and plenty of discipline. God was requiring this of Joshua, and he requires it of us in our spiritual lives.

Want to be in better shape? Exercise more. Want to be a guitar phenom? (I do, darn it!) Practice through the pain and build up those callouses and get nimble fingers. Want to be Walker Texas Ranger? Sorry, there is no one like Walker Texas Ranger. But want to be "successful" in your spiritual life, in tune with God, and having the kind of prosperity that HE desires for your life? Press in. Resolve to do what it takes: meditation, obedience, consistent faithfulness to the word, discipline.

I believe Chuck rescued the ditzy blonde and everything turned out ok. And in the process he gave me a little reminder that I can apply to my lesson and even the things that I spend my time on day in and day out. Walker Texas Ranger really does save the day. :)

I am teaching on Thursday. It’s a doozy of a week, I just turned in a big 15-page paper/exegetical project on Daniel 3 this morning that I’ve been working on, I have a historical theology test tomorrow, some Athanasius and Augustine to be reading, and then Joshua 1 on Thursday.

The biggest deal for me is teaching. Somehow I feel like I’ve made it through a year of this “tricking” everyone into believing that I can kind of teach but I still don’t really know how, nor do I feel particularly good at it. Working on my message last night was exciting, with all the information I have gleaned about the text and the insights I’ve found, and then disheartening, as I realized I had a huge pile of details and no coherent “message.” Not to mention fancy little illustrations or stories…not my strong point.

I’m feeling discouraged.

old house, new house

Our old treehouse

My parents' house sold this weekend, after less than a week on the market. My dad built this house before I was born! My lifetime saw the building of the sports court in front, and the addition of a couple bedrooms (including mine) and an office on the left...













I grew up here, in its various colors, and throughout my life I called 4 of the 5 bedrooms mine at some point. :)

Here is the new house they bought, the model anyway...major downsizing, but Mom's excited I think. Theirs isn't quite finished yet. They move mid-October.













I was home in June for my sister's wedding, and at one point I realized that that was the last time I would be staying in the house. When I go home for Christmas, it will be to the new house. I've never known a "home" besides that house, so it will be different! The neighborhood is being majorly upgraded; houses that were built in the 70s are being torn down and replaced by weird looking multi-million dollar homes. We can't help but wonder if our old house will remain intact...hopefully at least until December so I can drive by and get weird sad reminiscent and mopey feelings out of it. :)