We got a new CAMERA!!

We are seriously SO excited that we have this new camera!!  Dan's parents are SO sweet and knew that Dan  (and me) were hoping to save up for a "nice" camera soon, but with the new car purchases and school loans that wasn't going to happen for another five ish years.  So, for Dan's b day coming up (September 5th!!) they told Dan they wanted to get him a camera and he couldn't say no.  Clearly, we weren't going to say no!  Here are a couple tests shots the first night we got it: 

Testing out shots of my white zin :)

Some pictures from our balcony

We had some friends over to our place... and played the game we LOVE: Cranium!!

The guys... Andy, Joey, and Dan

The girls... me, Krysten, and Becca :)

Figuring out the focus capabilities

Andy was making sure Becca wasn't looking during her cloodle lol

So you will probably see a lot more pictures on our blog now.. because at the moment I am taking pictures of everything....

Stories

Oh, college. It is this time of the year when all of my students (and the other counselor's students!) anxiously arrive on Trinity's campus to move in for their FRESHMAN year of college! I love looking at all of their status' about being at Trinity and stalking their pictures on facebook of their dorm room- and the best is when I see them getting involved and making friends on campus. Overall, it's actually a really nerve wracking experience for me- I want to make sure they feel comfortable, and while I know our students and staff are great, it's hard for me not to worry that they'll get lonely or won't make friends. It totally reminds me of my first couple days at college- searching for anyone who wanted to be friend or sit with me for lunch. Everyone was asked the same question: Where are you from? What's your major? etc etc. Some of the most awkward and wonderful times in my life happened during my college years!

Another great aspect about this time of the year is our Trinity Ambassadors come on campus for training. (they work in our office with prospective students and give tours, host students, take students to lunch- they're awesome :)This year's theme is stories- how everyone has a story (based on 2 Corinthians 3: "You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all...") I had the privilege of writing a devotion for them and shared how it's easy for me to get caught in the trap of believing that my story isn't very interesting. I went from college where Dan and I were surrounded by tons of friends and involved in tons of ministries, got engaged, planned a wedding, moved to a new city.... and now we're here. By no means are we sitting around doing nothing, but our lives have definitely slowed down. We went from a life filled with conferences, retreats, Bible studies, coffee/ disciple dates, mission trips, and SO much more, to a life filled with routine, commuting, paying bills, cleaning the apartment, getting our cars fixed, keeping a budget, cooking, etc. And recently the question of "God how are you using me right now?" has stirred in both our heads.

Through this verse, the recent book I'm reading, and friends, God showed me that I had my story all wrong. That I was trying to write my own recommendation... when God clearly says later in verse 5 of that same chapter that "we are not sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers for Him." As one of my sweet friends Meg Thorsen reminded me in a recent email, "We're not profound or great, but what God is doing in our lives for His kingdom is profound and great." Such a great truth to remember- what makes my story interesting is not the activities I'm doing, but what God is doing in my life. Just because our live are filled with different activities doesn't mean God has stopped using us or writing our recommendation.

So just as I encouraged our TA's here at Trinity, I want to encourage you to believe that you have stories worth telling. Not because of how great you are, but because God is changing, growing, and using you in big ways, and His ways are worth sharing. Happy Monday :)

Currently...

Current book I'm reading: "Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist

Current quote I'm loving from the above book: "I've been around this block a thousand times. I'm ravenous, and life looks to me so sparkly and beautiful, waiting to be devoured like a perfect apple. So I say yes, yes to everything, to that meal and that event and that trip and that person. It's so delicious, and I don't want to miss out on even one moment of it. And that's the point: I miss all sorts of sacred and significant moments, because of my frantic insistence that I can do it all, and that I don't have to miss anything."

Current song I'm singing to Dan and constantly repeating on YouTube: Hero by Abandon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyv1jUDLY3s (you can listen to it here :)

Current food I'm loving: Hummus on whole wheat mini pitas

Current verse I'm meditating on: 2 Corinthians 3 “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all… Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent, to be ministers of a new covenant.”

Current movie we really want to see: Inception

Current excitement of the day: Thai food tonight :)

Summer.. where have you gone?!

Does anybody else think this summer has gone by SUPER fast?! Maybe it's because we traveled so much, but I cannot believe that the kick off for Jr High is coming up, that our classes are starting soon, and it's already August! Dan and I are going to try to cram into these next couple weeks as much "Chicago summer fun" as we can. We always say that we love summers in Chicago, and haven't really gotten to experience too much of it this year. Then again, if we were in town it's hard to tell if we would actually go into the city because it has been SO hot. Which makes our marathon training brutal. We are finally getting into the big miles: 15 tomorrow (if it doesn't pour in the morning). We have never run more than 13 miles.. so this is slightly terrifying. But, I bought the fuel belt (yes I will be one of those people with the water bottles strapped around my waste) and new shoes this week, so we are prepared.. as prepared as we can be.

Along with this training comes intense hunger. I am seriously hungry all the time. Not just hungry, but ravenous, like I need food now or else my stomach will eat me alive. It's bad when you are reading during your qt "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.." and it reminds you of food so you start thinking about lunch. I just keep telling Dan I am going to have a rude awakening in October when we're not running nearly as much but I continue eating the way I am now....

And the last wedding of the summer was last week :) Mr and Mrs. Shane and Kylie Steed tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Columbus, Ohio. It was such a blessing to be apart of their big day, and the wedding was so beautiful and God honoring. They both put their testimonies in the program, and wrote something about each bridesmaid/ groomsman (such a great idea!) Kylie walked down the aisle to Mercy Me's "I can only imagine," I scarfed down too much of her lemon wedding cake, definitely helped myself to too much candy at the candy bar, got to watch Kylie's grandparents break it down on the dance floor, and stood amazed as I listened to Kylie's recording of their first dance song from Phantom of the Opera.

As always there's pictures :)

And this weekend we are home. Excited to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a while and to go to our home church! Oh, and speaking of churches, last week we were able to go to Veritas! It is an Acts 29 church plant in Columbus that a lot of our friends from Crusade attend. It was SO fun to go to a new church that is just getting started. It's crazy that they need people to come in and vacuum because they don't have a janitorial system.. there are SO many details that go into starting a new church! But, it has always been on Dan's heart to help start a new church, so Lord willing we will be doing that sometime in the future. It was good to get a "taste" for what we may be able to be apart of some day!

Oh, and on another note. How great is this quote? I'm excited to learn more about this author :) "I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud, and I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift." shauna niequist

So this may have been one of my more random posts.... Happy Friday!!

Busy

So, these past few weekends we have been traveling. I have really been trying to battle this "woe is me I'm so busy attitude" because sometimes I just feel like my world is spinning out of control. Then, I hear about a friend who's mom has cancer. I see someone struggling through financial difficulties. I learn about someone who lost their child. Aren't you SO thankful when God brings things back into perspective?! This summer has been SUCH a blessing. Has it been restful? Not really. Has it been quiet? Nope. Have I gotten to read ahead for my two classes in the fall like I planned? I wish. But instead, we have gotten to watch 2 (soon to be 3) of our close friends make a commitment to love each other for the rest of their lives. We have gotten to see our families in Texas and Ohio more these past couple weeks than we have all year. We've witnessed my brother start to plan a future with his fiance, Holly. Sure, when we cram all these activities into a couple weeks it can get stressful, but really it's all in perspective. One of my prayers has been to find peace and rest in the busyness- not for God to take it away. The times that I get caught up in my little world is when things get busy. I grab a hold of anything that I can have control on, and when another "activity" comes up, I break. Instead of grasping for control, my prayer has been that I would trust God- that He hasn't given me more than I can handle, and that He wants to use me through all of our busy weekends. Let's just say its a learning process. So, one that note, these past couple weekends we were in Ohio for Kylie's bachelorette party/ wedding shower, been to Cleveland to hang out with Dan's family, and been in Indiana for my brother's engagement party! Here's some pics :) Jon and Holly! The fam :) At Kylie's Bachelorette party! Kylie opening gifts! Me with the soon to be bride!! :) Jeff is SO nice and signs autographs for everyone! Dan and Michael at Jeff's Game!