The Unit

I love mornings. One of the things I have loved most about house/ cat sitting this week is they have HUGE bay windows and in the morning when Dan and I are reading the sunrise comes through and i just l.o.v.e. it!

It's hard for me not to think about the full day awaiting me: drop off keys to other "house sitter," doctor's appt, rushing to my sneak preview at work (that I'll already be late for), trying to get our luggage bag under 50 lbs before we get to the airport, get to the airport, fly to Ft. Lauderdale, sleeeeep. Seeing as yesterday for us wasn't more restful, it is going to make laying on the beach that much better :)

But for now, in the stillness of this morning, my only agenda is to sit, drink my coffee, and meet with our Lord. As I'm going through Proverbs, chapter 3 talks about the benefits of getting wisdom and understanding, saying

• Its profit is better than gold, gain better than silver
• more precious than jewels
• her paths are peaceful
• those who have her are called blessed
• with wisdom you will walk secure, your foot will not stumble
• the wise will inherit honor
• nothing can compare with her (wisdom)

Those are some serious promises from the Bible.

Dan and I have been watching "The Unit" while housesitting. They have this sweet t.v. and all these DVDs but for some reason the first night we got hooked on this series and have watched it every night. President Palmer/ the Allstate guy/ I don't remember his real name... whoever he is, he's the head of their unit, and I would say is portrayed as someone who's got a lot of wisdom. I know Biblical wisdom and worldly wisdom are two very different things, but there are many similarities between how they portray "President Palmer's" character and the ideas here in Proverbs 3. He is respected and held in high honor. His team trusts him. The captain trusts him because he knows he is wise and will make the right decisions. As a result, he is given more responsibility. He is humble- not worried about getting the recognition but getting the job done. His team wants to be under his leadership and if given other opportunities choose to stay with him.

I could probably go on and on... we've watched 8 episodes already! But, when I read this and thought about the character of "President Palmer," I could see why Solomon was urging us to seek wisdom and understanding, because nothing you desire can compare with her. If you seek these things, you will be used by God. He sees your heart and your character, and if you desire these things more than this world, He will use you- in your workplace, in your marriage, with your friends, etc. And they will notice. You can't help but notice. It's like John Wooden- when you are pursuing something greater than this world, you will inspire greatness in other people. When we understand who God is and seek to gain wisdom about His plan for us in this temporary place, we will be blessed. That's a promise.

Summer Reading

Today I officially used the last of my PTO hours and took off half the day. Dan doesn't know where this all comes from, but I'm very thankful for it :) So, I decided to camp out at Panera (surprise surprise) and first, redo the blog (I saw SO many other great blogs I figured I would do some searching to see what new "gadgets" are out there!) and then continue reading the book I just recently started! Since we're going to Florida next week, I wanted a book that I could work on while I'm there, so hopefully I can give you a better "review" of it in a couple weeks, seeing as I'm on page 27. But, the book I started is called Seeing With new Eyes by David Powlison. It actually was recommended in one of our counseling classes back in the Spring, but we never got around to reading it because of the 5 other books we were assigned to read. This is going to be the first of a couple books that Powlison hopes to write helping us to see what God sees, hear what He hears, and do what He does. I hope this will help me become more thoughtful in understanding and caring for the people I am and will minister to in the future. (whether it be in counseling, ministry, family, etc!) And, on another note, I finished Hebrews and am onto Proverbs :) I hope to gain LOTS of wisdom this summer! Stay tuned. And lastly, I promise, Dan and I are house sitting for some cats this week . . . and I actually think Dan likes the cats :) It's cute.

Humble dependence . . .

"My tendency is to charge into the day intent on getting stuff done- attacking my to do list motivated by self sufficiency rather than by humble dependence upon the grace of God revealed in the Gospel."

I read this quote on CJ Mahaney's blog (Sovereign Grace- you can go here to read the whole article) and was very convicted. This quote sums up a lot of how I go about my life, and when I read that busyness doesn't necessarily mean that I am diligent, faithful, and fruitful, I was totally caught off guard.

Confession time: For most of my life I have taken pride in my "busyness"- thinking that must mean that I am working hard and not wasting my time. God used this article to show me this is not the case. In short, it has you evaluating your roles, goals, and schedule and if they are consistent with His plans.

So what did this weekend consist of? No schedules. Just Dan and I. We took walks, we ran together, we cleaned together, we watched movies together. We stayed up late, hanging out on our porch, talking about our future. We worshiped together, shared what God was teaching us; We did life together. And it was wonderful :) Was it busy? No. Was it scheduled? No. Was it fruitful? Sure was.

I hope today, amidst the craziness of summer, you also can humbly come before God and evaluate who is really directing your steps. Like me, you may be in for a surprise.

Chicago, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio

Most of you have probably heard about the news this morning- that "touch down Jesus" was struck with lighting. I am sure everyone has an opinion about if it should have been constructed or not. Needless to say, sure the money could have been spent on something better, but it also could have been spent on something worse. Anyway, I attended a conference at Solid Rock Church and had to take a picture of it. So in honor of its passing, here is a picture of me and Katie in front if it my senior year at Miami:

Well, on another note, I am currently sitting at Panera on my day off, and cannot tell you enough what a blessing it is to just SIT and spend time with the Lord. Life has been crazy and it makes me appreciate these hours of "down time." It started last week when my office attended our annual NACCAP conference. It's a conference for all the admissions counselors who work for Christian colleges. It's always super fun, but busy. We drove down there Sunday, and got to stay in their HUGE dorms. That was such a treat. I ran in their 5k which is always fun lol. At least it wasn't in blazing hot weather, in an open field, through 2 ft high grass. (that's how it was last year at Cedarville). Then, that night we went to the Dunes in Michigan. Sooo the Dunes that I am used to are in North Carolina, but these Dunes were mountains!! Here's some pics:

I think I burned 1000 calories climbing up this mountain.

Then, the next day we went on a boat called the Windy which departs from Navy pier!! Our adventure started in a parking garage. Sarah locked her keys in her car. BUT, thanks to Triple A and the nice man who saved us, we retrieved her keys!

Next, we got on the boat! It was SO pretty and the "pirates" were hilarious. Lake Michigan is much nicer than Lake Erie - hands down.

Then, we went to Wisconsin to go to the Milwaukee/ Cubs game! Although most people were more concerned with the Hawks game than the Cubs game (personally I'm not a huge hockey fan... but whatever makes Chicago happy makes me happy) soooo it was exciting that they ended up winning the Stanley cup that night :) Oh, and how can I forget? You know how people propose on those big jumbo screens at sporting events? Well a proposal happened right in front of us... and it was probably the most awkward proposal I've ever seen. I don't think she officially ever said yes, she was just so shocked that he was asking her. Then, when her friend came up and they told her the "good" news, she looks at them and goes "nuh uh," with this dumbfounded look. Sssuuuuper awkward. In the words of Brian Bacon- "God Bless their marriage."

Although I was exhausted after all of our travels, we got to come in at 9:30 the next morning because of our long trip. Don't I have the best job ever?

Then, we left on Friday to go to Indi for a surprise party for Luke, I stayed with Jamie and got to see her new HOUSE which was super cute, and then drove to Ohio to watch Matt Simmonds get married! It is crazy to watch someone get married who you have known since they were in 6th grade! It was such a fun wedding of catching up with Miami and Hudson friends. All of my brother's friends were there which was so fun- we had a number of spring break trips with them so it was somewhat nostalgic for me to see them all together. I'm a dork. AND, Jon was the best man so he got to give the speech :) He did great and it was altogether an awesome night! Then, we stayed with Kylie and Dan got to meet Shane (her fiance!!) and we got to meet Chloe, their new kitty. It was so great catching up with them and talking until almost 3am! Here are some more pictures from the wedding:

Then, after the wedding we celebrated my dad's bday :) Although we had a blast seeing everyone, I am very thankful to report that this weekend we are staying in Chicago.

John Wooden

There has been SO much going on these last few weeks that I don't even know where to start... I figured once I get pictures uploaded I will tell you about our fun adventures. So I figured I'd start with something God has shown me recently :) So the day before John Wooden passed away, Dan and I were watching the World Series for softball (Beth got us hooked when she visited :) and scrolling across the bottom of the screen were some details about John Wooden and how he was hospitalized and not doing well. As most people know, he passed away (2) Saturdays ago and it seemed like he was ALL over ESPN. Being the girl that I am, I asked Dan who he was and why he was everywhere! Dan filled me in on all of his major accomplishments at UCLA and what not, but what intrigued me the most was his character. I watched a couple interviews with him and was just in awe about how openly he talked about his faith, his "non" fear of death, and shared his poetry with these ESPN anchors. The next day I went on line, still thinking about him, to look up what he was all about, and was floored at all the articles about him. Here were some quotes I found:

"We see how his legend affected so many people. How he didn't just coach, he taught. He didn't yell or curse, he inspired."

"We will remember his selfless gifts, lesson, time, vision, faith, and patience."

"This was the passing of an incredible coach but an even better man."

"He cared more about his players success as a person- not player."

"Lived a life filled with integrity, faith, and humility."

"Known for his love for God, wife, leadership... he was humble and genuine."

"For those few minutes interviewing him, my day slowed down and I knew I was in the presence of greatness."

"He talked about faith. He said he wanted God to say 'Well done.'"

I seriously was floored by the legacy he left. Who wouldn't want to be remembered by all of that? What amazed me even more was that there were so many people who met him only once for a half an hour, and they said that half an hour changed their life. Why were people drawn to him? God. He lived a supernatural life- that is why so many people were changed in his presence. He didn't trust in this world for happiness (having lost his wife in '85, he knew this world would not satisfy)- he wasn't content with this world, he was content in his faith and with God.

John said " Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely who others think you are."

Lastly, I found this poem that he wrote, and thought it showed his true character.

"The years have left an imprint on my hands and on my face.

Erect no longer is my walk and slower is my pace.

But there is no fear within my heart because I'm growing old.

I only wish I had more time to better serve my Lord.

But I've gone to human prayer, he has brought me inner peace.

And soon my cares and problems and other worries cease.

He's helped me in so many ways and never let me down,

why should I fear the future when soon I could be near his crown?

Though I know down here my time is short, there's endless time up there,

That He will forgive and Keep me in His ever loving care."

What a great inspiration. I only hope to leave a legacy as great as his.

Memorial Day weekend!

I don't think that Dan and I could say enough how much we LOVE summers in Chicago! This weekend was so perfect and it was great to rest and relax! We played tennis for the first time this year at this park like half a mile from our apartment and saw the same 16 year old golden retriever that we always saw last year when we played. Basically made my day! We actually talked to the owner and she said that Sammy (the dog) likes the sound of tennis balls (she can't see) and since she can only walk a couple feet before she has to rest it is so cute to watch this dog take five steps and then sit for five minutes. That is one patient owner!! Then, we went to Lily's 4 year old birthday party on Sunday! Val had such a cute idea for a puppy party! Here are some pics:

We made Puppy Chow!! And Emily made that awesome puppy cupcake!
They did Puppy Races to drink water out of their bowl!
haha Lily loved the presents that she got! Puma shoes!
We met Val's identical twin sister and it was CRAZY how much they talk, act, and look alike. I know that's how identical sisters are supposed to be but it was still crazy to see lol

They painted puppy bobble heads!

It was so fun and such a cute idea :) We grilled out, read, and just hung out the rest of the weekend! Summer could not have come soon enough.