a new addition to the fruit group

This all started because Katie and Steph are doing a 'no sweet eating' journey until December 8th. They are allowed one piece of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

Steph is proud because she is keeping away from the pastries at work and staying away from all Halloween candy. She even had to thumb through milk duds, snickers, reeses, milky way and more, but passed right through them and took only the sugary bubble gum. Katie even refrains from eating the candy on her desk and didn't even eat a crumble of the pumpkin donut holes her sister gave her. They also both passed by the candy bars given to each of us by Sarah's parents.

Well, tonight we were talking about what they do eat rather than sweets. Katie brought home banana bread and Steph was chewing on some fruit snacks. She also admitted to eating a s'more pop tart earlier today. They also enjoy the Starbuck's drinks, such as apple cider and raspberry soy lattes.

Now comes the question. Do these items they have been eating align with their 'no sweet diet?' The other item of discussion was whether or not fruit snacks are considered a sweet or a member of the fruit family? To many this would seem to be a no brainer, but one of the girls (KH) strongly considers fruit snacks to be a fruit source. In fact her childhood lunch-box consisted of four items (always eaten in the same order): 1. sandwich 2. chips/crackers 3. fruit snacks (a.k.a. fruit) and 4. dessert. So, it is no wonder that she does not view these as a sweet.

If they do end up labeling something as a 'sweet,' and eat it, they are obligated to pay the other one $1. This hasn't happened yet in the 2 days they have been on the diet.

They asked me if I wanted to join in this endeavour and I originally declined, but I'm thinking maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

Disclaimer: Katie and Steph were completely fine with this post.

$0.00

It's that time of the year again. Time for a free Chipotle burrito. All you have to do is dress up like a burrito and go to any Chipotle restaurant on 31.Oct.2007 and Voilà, a totally free burrito! How great is that? Does anyone think there is anything ethically or morally wrong with going for both lunch and dinner? If anyone wants to come with us, let us know!!

SOME PICTURES FROM LAST YEAR:

Steph, Andrea, Katie, Ellie & Gabby

phillips theory

These pictures give a pretty accurate description of our street on any given day. The Chevy Corsica is usually parked quite far from the curb :) but more importantly, most days you will find people outside "working on their cars." Not all agree, but the theory is that this is a cover up for something else...i.e. selling drugs. Yeah, it doesn't really make any sense. However, since living in the Phillips, I've seen so many open car hoods. More than ever before. Trent, even though you strongly disagree, we value your opinion. Please comment.

???????

It's Tuesday evening and we are sitting in our living room trying to work on our respective homework, French and Theological Foundations. Somehow we got into a conversation about theology (most likely because of TF) and also about the unsaved people we love so much and how we can share the gospel with them. We wanted to post a question that we are thinking about and ask for feedback and answers :)


How can we be perfectly joyful when we are in heaven if there are people that we love who are spending eternity separated from God?

In Revelation 21:4 it says "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Will we not realize or think about our unsaved friends and family?

P.S. Funny moment. In the midst of talking about these questions, Steph looks at me in all seriousness and says, "Your face looks good."

pumpkin recipe!

We've made this before and it tastes great. We can't make it this year because there is no room in the freezer.

2 cups pumpkin from a can
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans toasted (optional)
36 ginger snaps
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream softened

Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg. Add chopped pecans. In a chilled bowl fold pumpkin mixture into ice cream mixture. Line bottom of 13x9x2 pan with half of ginger snaps. Top with half ice cream mixture. Cover with remaining ginger snaps. Add remaining ice cream mixture. Freeze until firm (about 5 hours). Cut in squares, garnish with whipped cream and pecans.

weekend

Abraham and Molly sitting at the table. This was before the toast.

Andy, Phil, Katie, Serena, and Sarah eating Chipotle in their formal wear.

Michael, Gabby, and Jeff serving at Joe and Sarah's Wedding. Notice the white shirts. Nice.

Eric, Jess, and Pete bowling in their formal attire. Notice their hats.

Ellie, Katie, Gabby, Steph and Andrea.

we love o!!

a good encouragement

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us ALL things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that who was raised -who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through HIM who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:28-39

some retreat pictures...

Sin

At the conference, Jerry Bridges encouraged us to pick up his book entitled, "Respectable Sins", and of course I went down and bought it. I really love Jerry Bridges because I feel that it's readable to even me, Stephanie, the non-theologian. So, anything that Jerry Bridges writes, I love. I think.

I went home and started to page through the book. I was super excited about reading it because it talks about sins that we tend to tolerate and accept in our daily Christian walk. He addresses sins that aren't the "big" sins--but really are serious offenses to our God. Some of the sins that Jerry talks about are; Ungodliness, Anxiety and Frustration, Discontentment, Unthankfulness, Pride, Selfishness, Anger, Worldliness, etc...

Sin is horrible. Sin is ugly. Sin is gross. Our sin is huge. This is nothing new. We should be so grieved by our sin. Jerry writes, "All of our sin is done openly in the very presence of God. It's as if we are acting out all of our sin before Him as He sits on His royal throne." Wow.

Jerry also encourages readers to deal effectively with their sin. He says, "As we struggle to put to death our subtle sins, we must always keep in mind this twofold truth: Our sins are forgiven and we are accepted as righteous by God because of both the sinless life and sin-bearing death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater motivation for dealing with sin in our lives than the realization of these two glorious truths of the gospel."

I love this verse:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-2

And, ohhh...go get the book. It's good!

high school fall retreat

First, let me just say that it was an AWESOME time! The new youth pastor spoke on Isaiah 6:1-8. He emphasized the disparity between God's holiness and our sinfulness and what Isaiah's response to that was and our response should be. Isaiah fell on his face and said "Woe is me! For I am lost...for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Once we see the King we should be so destroyed by the realization of our sin. Isaiah goes on to describe how the seraphim flew to him and touched his lips with a burning coal saying: "your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Praise God for the atonement for our sins that is ours through Christ Jesus. It was an amazing time of God convicting people of sin and of showing Himself to us all! Praise the Lord for His working in the hearts of all who attended, both students and mentors!

Second, here are some great quotes from the weekend...
-during a game of Taboo: "What is the continent below Japan?" "Oooh, ooh...BRAZIL!" (the answer was "down under")
-before the game of Taboo-- Greta: "Let's count off: A-B. A", Josh: "B", Andrea: "C"
-during a game of Catch Phrase: "What is the country above Florida?" (the answer was Georgia!)
-Kempton describing the significance of the seraphim saying "Holy" three times: "Back in those times saying something one time didn't really mean alot, but if you wanted to emphasize something you'd say it twice...like if I wanted to tell you how pretty my wife was, I'd say 'she's pretty-pretty!' you'd be like 'whoa!' But if I wanted to really be bold I'd say 'my wife is pretty-pretty--pretty!' you'd just say 'WOW!! she must be REALLY pretty!''

first video from camping

The Gospel in 6 Minutes - John Piper

You should watch this!

sarah head dancing

lunch break at DG...

So, we're sitting/standing here on our lunch break at DG. It's Ellie, Katie and Andrea. Katie is eating her beans and rice (sorry katie. i guess it's rice and beans) that she made last night. Ellie & Andrea are each eating a sandwich. Joe Sweetman keeps walking by inquiring about what we are doing.

We thought we would write about one of our co-workers, Aaron O'Harra. He is a TBI Student at Bethlehem and a fellow RC (to A & K). He was born in Idaho and lived in Washington state. He actually just returned from a visit to Seattle! Also, he has a great wife and cute little baby girl. Some of things we love about Aaron:

-he eats no-salt saltine crackers and complains about it and shares them with us
-he gives us CD's from his old band and sings often while at work
-his mumbling voice makes callers think his name is Darren, not Aaron
-gives great advice and always has a listening ear :)
-he loves Jesus and that is evident.
-answers the hard, theological emails.
-at 5:00pm he is OUT THE DOOR. no lingering around.
-he is fasting from sugar until thanksgiving.
-he likes hanson.
-he lives in gabe & julia's old apartment.
-he's like a brother and our relationship with him is based on a lot of joking.
-he's very perceptive of our moods and always asks what's wrong if we are quiet (or crabby).
-he doesn't complain at camp (that is DG camp). only those who have been to BBC camp know what that means!
-he hasn't shaved in a while because he left his razor in seattle and obviously that is the only one he can use.






here comes joe again...and we need to get back to work. of course aaron is sitting over there working hard!

some rando pictures.

a massage train on the trampoline. last weekend we went to a cabin for a couple days with some high school girls from bethlehem. we did lots of other things too...like ride the boat, tube, manicures, devotions, swim, volleyball, jump and dance on the trampoline, sit around the campfire, sing..it was fun!!



polar bear at the como zoo in st. paul. on labor day we went to the zoo with jason falck and joseph (joseph randall's twin brother :). loved the polar bear! we also went shopping at the albertville mall earlier in the day.



hanging out with our old roommate, courtney (when she lived here). she is coming this weekend!! yeah!



this is steph. this is steph getting ready to go down south. she wants you to know that she does have all her teeth and that even if she didn't, she would get a good lookin fake one because her dad is a dentist.



hanging out at the como zoo. please notice our new roommate - katie! we love having her here!

Modern Life With Gabby and Beau-(Guest Post)

Hi! This is Modern Life with Gabby and Beau!

Gabby:What should our topic be?

Beau: um.....why do they make oversized objects...

Gabby: haha we did that last time.

Beau: I know! Is a muffin a bald cupcake?

Gabby: Yes it is. But that's a stupid topic. Let's do something on DDR!

Beau: Gabby, you're always so critical of me... do you hate me?

Gabby: Beau, i'm just trying to boost your self confidence...

Beau: You just de-boosted it.

Gabby: Well sorry, i'm not setting out to be Oprah with her feel-good, you-can-do-it gospel of self-centered self.....ness... Besides, I look better when you look bad.

Beau: Wow, that was a lot of adjectives...

Gabby: Okay....whatever. Now on to our real topic for Modern Life for today. Ellie so kindly brought to our attention, that nowadays, people never have raingear. Why is that? Has the weather changed since the 1950s? Where have the Indian Rubbers gone?

Beau: hmmm... soggy cupcake..

Gabby: *gives Beau a sidelong glance* Probably something to do with global warming.

Beau: *Gasp* melted cupcake? Ok... enough cupcakes... PIE!!!

Gabby: I like apple pie...

Beau: Chickens go in... pies come out...

Gabby: CHICKEN RUN! (I actually didn't know that reference...) Anyway, raingear.

Beau: Ah yes, raingear. I believe, my dear Gabby, that the lack of water proof apparel is due to the fact that people just don't care about being soaked to the bone anymore.. they just... don't.

Gabby: *sings* "Belice nabida..."

Beau: That's Feliz navidad....

Gabby: I think it's due to the fact that outer appearance doesn't have as much social importance as it did back then....

Beau: I OBJECT!!!

Gabby: Why?

Beau: I don't know.. but it was fun to say.

Gabby: Like marriage!

Beau: I don't get the married thing...

Gabby: You know when people get married at weddings (Steph gets it).

Beau: *sings* I'm ssiinnggiinngg in the rain... just ssiinnggiinngg in the rain!

Gabby: I think it's because shiny, rubbering garments don't really bring out anyone's eyecolor or soften anyone's complexion. Rain coats just don't look good on anyone.

Beau: YOU don't look good anymore. HA!

Steph interrupts: Beau can I ask you a personal question?

Beau: *stammering*: I-I guess....

Steph: Do guys wash their faces?

Beau: Michael does. *shrugs*

Gabby and Andrea: *outbursts of laughter*

Steph: Does Trey wash his face...I think Trey does...

*laughter seems to be raining from the ceiling. Like a tornado of sillyness; floating around the room.*

Beau: For the record, Beau washes his face too... much... lots... once an hour.. very much so..

*New Paragraph*

Hi! Welcome to modern life with Gabby and Beau!!

Gabby: um... we're past that...

Beau: oh... well then I have nothing else to say.

Gabby: Yeah, and apparently Steph is ready to "hit the hay".

Andrea: The moment past Gabby...

Beau: Ok steph, you can hit the hay but just don't hurt it... it has feelings.

Gabby: That's a horrible joke....Steph doesn't get it.

Steph: What? Like straw-hay? What? What hay? I don't get it....Andrea...explain...OFF THE RECORD!!! No!! I want to know!! This hay I....I haven't heard it before! No! I'm 25! Wait! No! Wait! This is really embarrassing...! What hay...?

Andrea: No you said " I'm going to hit the hay!"

Steph: No you know you mean like "Hey! Hey!"?

Andrea: No you said that!

Steph: What hay are YOU talking about?

Beau: Whatever hay you're talking about!

Andrea: Are you making this up?

Steph: No! I'm not trying to be funny!

Andrea: What part don't you get!!!!

Steph: NEvermind i'm done....







5 minutes of this later.....



Steph: oooooohhhhh........

Beau: It doesn't matter what kind of hay....

Steph: I think I get it....I'm so confused....

Gabby: After this enlightening conversation....THIS HAS BEEN *ahem* WITH GABBY AND BEAU (and Andrea and Steph). Thanks for tuning in and until next time....


Gabby, Beau, Steph, Andrea: GOODBYE!

Beau: P.S.- And God bless us, everyone!

Operation Take Down DOG!!

This is the note we received from the post office with our mail today....after not receiving any mail yesterday! (I corrected a misspelling and left out the supervisor's name, but the middle bolded text is merely a replication of the original format!)

Dear Postal Customer,

Your letter carrier takes pride in delivering your mail promptly and efficiently. That means being able to approach your mailbox without interference from any pet.

Although the dog may not be known to bite, or otherwise be dangerous to people, your carrier has expressed concern about its behavior. I believe you will agree that this concern is understandable since each year thousands of letter carriers are bitten or physically harmed by dogs.

On August 14, 2007 your neighbors' dog obstructed the carrier from delivering your mail.

In order to provide you uninterrupted mail delivery while protecting our letter carrier, the postal service is requesting your assistance. Please communicate with your neighbor that their pet is causing your mail not being delivered. If there are any further instances of the mail not being able to be delivered because of the dog you will be required to either move the mailbox to the front of the yard where the dog cannot obstruct the carrier from delivering your mail or you may rent a post office box. If you have any questions, myself or any of the supervisors here will be able to assist you. Unfortunately, although it is not your dog we must protect the letter carrier against animal attacks.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.


Sincerely,

xxxxxxxxx

Supervisor


Our neighbors have an American Pitbull Terrier, also known as simply a Pitbull. Any suggestions on how to "deal with it"?

boo radley

so, the house next door, literally five feet away from us has such a scariness factor that we call it the boo radley house. in our year of living here, we have only seen a resident once (and pretty much just a shadow). we were informed that there was an elderly lady living there. there was some activity. i.e. lights on late at night and a dog who mysteriously would appear late at night in the back yard. and sometimes a pick-up truck was parked in the back yard. however, in the past few months there has been nobody living there. we think she may have died or moved elsewhere.

this became the radley house. a few months ago, one of my friends and i daringly entered the front gate and touched the front door. whoa. and tonight, two of us at 2520 were standing outside and we had an idea of "touring" the house. great idea. right?

we thought we would ask any of our brave blog readers if they would like to tour with us. however, we are not sure if it is very ethical, so it may just remain as an idea. we might have to wait to scare ourselves until the haunted house at the state fair is open. but, if anyone is willing to do it and will help us not feel guilty about entering, let us know.

anonymous quote: "i would poop and swear."

why we are excited for natcon

we are super pumped for the NATCON. are you? you should be. some reasons why we are excited for the conference:

1. gabe and julia are coming :)
2. we may have a chance to see pug again (please read post from last year to find out the full scoop).
3. overtime pay
4. hearing great accents from wales.
5. once again seeing our bff, c.j. mahaney and joshua (once again please refer to previous blog post).
6. candy at the registration table (and again previous post).
7. worship
8. randy alcorn - author of safely home!
9. lunch at chipotle
10. being around christians from around the world - amazing fellowship