Morning glory

The first part of my day

when everything in the house is still,

the quietness of morning is deafening,

the smell of coffee is in the air,

and outside, the town is still waking up;

wrapped in my cuddle blanket,

with my fuzzy slippers on my feet,

my coffee mug is full and fresh-brewed,

my Bible and journal in front of me,

and I pour my heart out to my Savior-

-THIS is the best part of my day.

talk about vintage.

Ryan brought back this sweet vintage camera that belonged to his father. Since we had a free day because of the winter wind storm, we stayed indoors, and I messed with it to see if it would turn on. We bought new batteries, put in a new roll of 35 mm film, and i figured out how to work it!:) and it still works beautifully! And isn't it a neat looking camera? Totally vintage.

When we got it, there was a roll of film that Ryan's dad had taken of Katie (sis B)running in junior high! it was kinda neat to see the pics he had taken:) Ryan found the owner's manuel online so I can learn how to use all the settings, so I'm excited to mess with it even more and take it outside!:) Now, check out the extra equipment that it has...look at that LENS and FLASH!

Yay, I think i'll have some fun taking pictures when it's nice outside:)

So far...

With my new goals, so far, I've :

- Lost 2 pounds

-Am running 38 minutes:)

- Have memorized Philippians 1:1-14

18 pounds left to go, and 6 minutes left to run up to!:)

The Bible in two languages

Today I got the chance to sit down and talk to two Burmese ladies. Our church had adopted them during Christmas to bring gifts and food to them and their family. There are three children in their family, so we got them little presents for each (Hot wheel cars for Ehnkmer-age 8, and baby dolls for K'pru and Ehknaso-ages 6 and 4). We were privileged to bring the food and gifts to them and watch their little faces SO excited with their little gifts. Because of the cold weather, we hadn't seen them since before Christmas. This family are refugees from Burma, and are new to the United States.

Today, they came to church, and Bablu, the mother, came in wearing one of the sweaters I had given her:). She came with her Bible, in the Karin language, and as the kids were upstairs in Sunday school, she and I and Pashe, spent some time, reading Philippians together. I was so blessed to sit down and read with them, as they read from the Karin (pronounced Kah-Rin) Bible, and I from the English Bible, but what was neat was to see God's word translated into both of our language and us reading it together. What a cool thing to think that with God as the foundation, we have a common bond with each other, the Lord Jesus Christ, even if we're from completely different parts of the world! God's Word has reached so many and have changed lives all over the entire world. Today, i got to experience the joy of knowing the same God and Savior as someone from Burma.

I can't explain why that amazed me so, but it sort of displays to me, the power of God's word.

Soda commitment

"I'm gonna get all the soda i like and drink it on New Year's Eve!!!!"

My dear sweet friend and junior bridesmaid touched my heart in a big way with a little comment. New Year's Day 2009, last year, she made the New years resolution to not drink soda all year long.

So many adults I know make new years resolutions to lose weight, eat healthy, stop drinking, or smoking, or anything along those lines...more often than not, these resolutions don't last all year long.

This girl, 11 at the time, made a decision not to drink soda. But SHE DID IT. She stuck to her commitment and carried through what she had said she would not do for a whole year. And this gal loves her Cheerwine soda:).

For a simple statement such as that, this young lady showed me an admirable quality. Sticking to her commitment. Now, if this tween girl can give up her love of soda for a year, with her drive and determination getting her through all 365 days of pretty much a a necessity drink for tweenagers, how consistent can you be in sticking to your commitments?:) I can honestly say this young lady encouraged me sticking to my own commitments-and she didn't even know it:).

(Ale Grace and I-December 27 2009.)

This new year makes me think alot about the past year. All the things I did, and all the things that happened. I mean, in 365 days, I:

• had a great last semester at Moody,
• went to the Philippines for two weeks
• saw my Lola (grandma) one last time
• spent time with my mom's side of the family in the Philippines
• spent the summer being blessed in Chicago with my five families I was a part of,
• was a camp counselor at 2 summer camps,
• spent time with friends,
• rode my bike in the city,
• rollerbladed everywhere,
• went to Beaufort to prepare for a wedding,
• got married,
• went on a honeymoon,
• went to universal studios,
• drove halfway across the country,
• packed up my apartment in Chicago,
• drove to Storm Lake,
• settled in a new home
• helped Ryan coach soccer
• signed up to be a sub at the elementary school
• got hired full time as a Reading Instructor
• learned how to cook some decent meals
• learned how to make sugar cookies
• had my first few blizzards and snow days
• had our first overnight guests in Storm Lake
• roadtripped a few times with my husband
• flew home to beaufort to celebrate Christmas with my husband for the first time
• flew to Kansas to celebrate New Years

and thatz only SOME of the things that happened last year...it's crazy how much can get crammed in one year and to be honest, alot of it is a bluuuuur to me.

Now, starting a new year, I'm not quite sure what to expect. I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I do have hopes for this year. Here are some things I hope to accomplish:

• To be honest, i'm only posting this one to help keep me accountable to it:-D Ryan and I joined the fitness club here in town, in hopes to stay healthy and fit, so we've been woring out pretty consistently (minus the two weeks of Christmas break). God is good, I'm working up on my time on running...went from 15 minutes to now 30 minutes straight in a nicely paced run:-D Must say, i'm pretty proud of myself. I'm planning on reaching 45 minutes, at least four times a week. My goal is to drop down 20 pounds. haha, we'll see...like they say, muscle weighs more than fat:-D jk.
• Eating better. After getting married, I've been learning how to cook, and I've been aware of all the ingredients that I put in my meals. I'm loving it!:) I love finding new ways of eating healthy, and how to make it tasty and appealing for my Anti-veggie husband (haha.) But since getting married, we've found ways to enjoy our meals, portion our intakes, and eat well-balanced meals.
• memorize Philippians. Being in a community where I have yet to find believers to fellowship with, I am constantly been digging in God's Word for enrichment...although, going through life without girlfriends, or even friends to fellowship with for Ryan and I, has been a challenge, especially being used to always having brothers and sisters in Christ that have sharpened us throughout our life. God has really been emphasizing in our lives, the need for one another to enrich each other in the word as husband and wife. it has been a true blessing to be married to my best friend. And even though we lack Christian fellowship or growth with other believers, we have each other and the Word of God pulling us through all this. So with that said, I've been going through the Philippians series from Community Bible Church (my church from back home) and have been listening to the sermons from Pastor Broggi; I would like to spend this next year memorizing Philippians.

For now thatz about it. I have a feeling this year might not be quite as jampacked, because this lil town of Storm Lake is alot slower paced, but I'm thrilled to see what God decides to do with us this year with the ministries that we have started and hope to start this year:).