2007.

so...we realized that we wrote this a long time ago, but never posted it so here it is!

2007 has come and gone. Wow. We have decided to reflect back on this year and all that God has done.

Favorites:
-fall retreat with kempton
-meeting new friends (you know who you are)
-katie moving in!
-senior high weekend at camp shetek
-junior high camp (for andrea)
-sailing on sarah's boat
-dominican republic and cameroon trips
-ellie becoming an official missionary
-andrea starting her new job at dg and quitting her old job at the state
-weddings (aaron and meg, joe and sarah, bryan and alicia, sterling and emily, mike and katie)
-new years eve service
-seeing nieces and nephews (for katie and andrea)
-hedstrom's adopting their children
-pete and jess getting engaged!
-winning bets with steph
-sarah's bed
-dg conference and cdg conference
-meeting cj mahaney and getting our picture taken with him!
-seeing friends who have moved away (you know who you are)
-seeing russ (brother) home for thanksgiving (for steph)

screwtape letters by c.s. lewis

I have been reading this book and sometimes Katie and I read together and discuss it. Each chapter of the book is a letter from a demon (Screwtape) to his nephew tempter (Wormwood). Screwtape gives advice on how to tempt the "patient." Reading it has made me think more about ways in which I am often tempted and made me think about the need to fight harder against sin. Here are a couple quotes from two different letters:

"You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape."

"Remember he is not, like you, a pure spirit. Never having been a human (oh, that abominable advantage of the Enemy's!) you don't realise how enslaved they are to the pressure of the ordinary. I once had a patient, a sound atheist, who used to read in the British Museum. One day, as he sat reading, I saw a train of thought in his mind beginning to go the wrong way. The Enemy, of course, was at his elbow in a moment. Before I knew where I was I saw my twenty years' work beginning to totter. If I had lost my head and begun to attempt a defence by argument, I should have been undone. But I was not such a fool. I struck instantly at the part of the man which I had best under my control, and suggested that it was just about time he had some lunch. The Enemy presumably made the counter-suggestion (you know how one can never quite overhear what He says to them?) that this was more important than lunch. At least I think that must have been His line, for when I said, 'Quite. In fact much too important to tackle at the end of a morning,' the patient brightened up considerably; and by the time I had added 'Much better come back after lunch and go into it with a fresh mind,' he was already halfway to the door. Once he was in the street the battle was won. I showed him a newsboy shouting the midday paper, and a No. 73 bus going past, and before he reached the bottom of the steps I had got into him an unalterable conviction that, whatever odd ideas might come into a man's head when he was shut up alone with his books, a healthy dose of 'real life' (by which he meant the bus and the newsboy) was enough to show him that all 'that sort of thing' just couldn't be true. He knew he'd had a narrow escape, and in later years was fond of talking about 'that inarticulate sense for actuality which is our ultimate safeguard against the aberrations of mere logic.' He is now safe in Our Father's house."

happy. birthday. ellie.

It's a day late but I wanted to wish Ellie a very happy 25th birthday!!! I am so grateful for Ellie and the wonderful friend she has been to me and to countless others. Here are a few of many things I love about Ellie...

- Will not give up easily.

- Sometimes knows what I'm thinking without me even saying a single thing.

- Is able to memorize other people's credit card numbers and passwords (I'm impressed but don't exactly like the fact that she knows my password).

- Very willing to listen and help me through little or big things going on in life.

- Does not hesitate to help out...even driving down to Rochester and staying awake all night last summer at the hospital.

- Is the one who will figure out how to fix something that I think is impossible (like my bed!)

- Speaks hard truth and asks good questions.

- She loves Jesus and has a heart for God to be glorified and for deaf people to know him.

- Willing to eat gross and crazy things just because she was dared to.

- Dominates at Dance Dance Revolution.

- Did not get angry when I jumped on her bed to wake her up and broke it.

- Taught me how to make granola and many other food items and is the go-to person when it comes to cooking/baking questions.

Happy Birthday Ellie. You are old now.

just for clarification

because a couple people wondered...that "hot runner" is our friend andy and his wife is the one who suggested that title.

:)

hot runner spotted.

bethlehem fighter verse for this week:

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

fun at the vitullo's

A couple weeks ago after the Bethlehem Christmas concert we went over to the Vitullo's house to hang out with them and say goodbye to Molly, Abraham and Orison (we miss you guys)! When we walked in they were playing a fun little game called the "water shot glass game"...or something like that. The point of the game is to drink all the water in the six glasses the fastest. Some were better at it than others...

bomb diggidy and larps.

Name the objects of these pictures:




For new years eve we went out to P.F. Changs for dinner/birthday. We had orange peel chicken, Mongolian beef, fried rice, and of course Chang's spicy chicken. Oh, we also had lettuce wraps. they were the best. (Katie said they were the bomb diggidy, but that we should say something more grown up, like "best"). Boring. Anyways, after dinner we hung out at home for a while and Greta came over. We had so much fun and we spoke to one another in wonderful accents. Sarah showed us some of her Christmas presents. One of them is an awesome snuggle wrap (it's a sleeping bag zip-up to wear). You should come see it and try it on. It's so soft and warm. She went to her cabin and said we could wear it while she is gone as long as we treat it with care. Her bed is also a free for all. Oh, and the housemates gave Andrea a super cool stove-top popcorn maker and a really cool wallet from fossil (with a cool bag). At 10:45pm we went to the communion service at Bethlehem. It was such a great church service. We sang so many great songs and heard testimonies and Pastor Sam Crabtree gave a wonderful message. It was a great way to spend new years. we were at church until around 12:30 then went home. A few of us decided to play a couple rounds of scattergories. It was going pretty well with no controversy. but then one of us got confused over one of the categories (it was late - around 2:30 am). Anyhow, the letter was "L" and the category was "musical instrument." Player number 1 said lyre, player number 2 said lute and we were a little confused when player number 3 confidently said "larp." She's not sure exactly what it is and neither are we. We asked if she meant harp, but she said that was not what she was thinking of. She said "It's a larp and a lyre!" We laughed for about 10 minutes straight.

p.s. We looked up Larp on Google and it's an acronym for "Live Action Role Playing." Clearly not a musical instrument. Needless to say, she didn't get a point for it.

p.p.s. Can you identify the pictures above without googling? Clue: One is a lyre, one is a lute and one is a larp...