Summer Cook Out

This past Tuesday was our last Bible study for the summer, so we celebrated by having a cook out at Twin Lakes Park!  This weather has been AMAZING.  We seriously couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.  There was "cornhole" ( I'm against calling it bags or bag-o or whatever they call it here in Illinois lol), food, catching up with friends, and karaoke.  Great way to end the summer ministry.  Annnd before we know it, fall will be here and we'll be kicking off another year!  But, we won't think about that quite yet :)

 

How cute is Tina's hat?!

Dori was SO ready for karaoke.  I believe she was singing to the Carpenters in this pic :)

Lina in action

All set up...

Jaimee posing for me- they beat Amy and I in cornhole.  Maybe next time.

beautiful ladies!

Subway Art

I think I have a new [decorating] obsession.  Subway art.  I actually first saw it used to create a poster for "family rules."  Obviously, Dan and I don't need something like that, but after more researching I saw there are so many other ways you can use them.  If only they weren't so expensive...  This may very well be my next project... we'll see :)

How perfect for Chicago :) via

I told Dan this may be my next project.  Does it matter that I don't paint? I absolutely love this. via

This is such a cute wedding gift! via

via

Sweet Summertime

For the first time we visited the pool in our complex!

Dan loves that I always take pictures of him :)

Date night! Magnum Bars and the Dilemma

Day off (for me) at Panera

Watching Dan at his Harvest softball game!

He's still got those baseball skills :)

Mondays and more on "Think"

Hello Monday!  Yep this morning was definitely one of those Monday's- waking up late, feeling exhausted, and running out the door.  [We didn't even stay up that late!] I guess I've been spoiled with getting 9 hours of sleep a night this past weekend.  7 hours didn't feel like I had quite enough rest. 

Anyway, we had another relaxing weekend.  Oh the joys of summer.  While part of the weekend was spent preparing for our summer class, somehow reading by the pool or outside sitting on a blanket while Dan played softball [church league style] makes it much more manageable :)  I'll probably get around to posting pictures tomorrow.

In the meantime, I finished the book "Think" by John Piper.  What I loved most about this book is that it reiterated the importance for me to think carefully about what I read and what I believe.  It is so extremely easy for me to get in the habit of just absorbing large amounts of info in seminary without really thinking or processing what I'm reading and how it can apply to my life.

Piper states right in the text that the aim of the book is to: encourage serious, faithful, humble, thinking that leads to the true knowledge of God, which leads to loving him, which overflows in loving others.

One of the key verses for the book was 2 Timothy 2:7 "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything."

I feel like these quotes will give you a good insight into the book- at least these were some of my favorites :)

"Loving God with the mind means that our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things."

"There is no part of us that should be uninvolved in treasuring God above all things."

"His glory- His beauty- compels your admiration and delight."

"Every joy that does not have God as its central gladness is a hollow joy and in the end will burst like a bubble."

"People embrace relativism because its physically and emotionally gratifying.  It provides the covering they need at moments in their lives to do what they want without intrusion from absolutes." (he had a couple chapters on relativism- definitely shed a new light on that line of thinking for me)

"Make God's supreme beauty and worth the driving force of all your thinking.  And make it the centerpiece of everything you create." (sound familiar?)

"Our worth consists of our capacity to consciously make much of His worth."

Yay for PTO

There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for my job.  Why?  Well, there are lots of reasons, but today I am particularly thankful because we get an enormous amount of PTO.  Which usually means it's really quiet in the office in June because in July, we start our new "PTO calendar."  So, today is one of those days where I am taking the day off... well just because :)

Annnd, what makes it even better is that Dan is working from home! (they rearranged things at Kraft so Dan doesn't really have an "office" anymore, which means he gets to work from home more)  So, we're chillin' at Panera.  I'm reading for our summer class and blogging, and he's hard at work.  He seriously has to set boundaries for me because I tend to think that because we're together that he's taking the day off, too.  But sadly he's not.  So I'm trying hard not to bother him :)

Anyway, we just wrapped up our summer Bible study at my church where we're going through Priscilla Shirer's Bible study "He Speaks to Me."  We have one more week of study left and today's was on trials.  While I can't say I'm going through a big trial, I learned some really neat things about trials

First, did you know that trial in the Greek is called peirasmos which means "experiment?"  This really changed how I tend to view trials.  I have to be honest with you, when anything challenging comes my way, my first tendency is to avoid it.  My first thought is literally: How can I pretend like this isn't happening?  Obviously, that's not healthy, but unfortunately it's my first reaction.  How could viewing the challenges in my life as an experiment specifically ordained from God to test my character change how I respond to trails in my life?

Secondly, Priscilla mentioned that "we must learn to see challenges as spiritual exercises designed to make us stronger."  When a challenge comes up it isn't surprising God.  No matter how little or big it is.  In fact, He let it happen so there's a reason for it in my life.  By naturally avoiding it, I'm missing out on an opportunity to grow in my relationship with the Lord.  That is definitely something I do not want to miss out on.

Anyway, I hope that encourages you a little today.  Probably nothing too new for some of you, but it was what I needed to hear today.

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Dan's home! [and some recipes]

Oh my goodness. Of course yesterday, the night when Dan was supposed to come home, we had to deal with tornado warnings.  I already knew when I was leaving work that his flight was delayed from 8 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., but I had Bible study so I was going to be late picking him up anyway.  Then, during Bible study he texted me saying he was going to be getting in at midnight.  Midnight?! Ugh.  I can barely stay up that late on the weekend.  But, I knew it would be worth it, so I prepared for a long night ahead.  Then, as I'm talking to him on the phone and he's sitting on the plane at 10:38 p.m., the nice man on the intercom said the flight had been canceled due to bad weather-- oh and did I mention that was the last flight to Chicago for the night?  (I heard people legitimately screaming on the other end of the phone.  I guess people get cranky when they've been in an airport for 7 hours.  Bless the hearts of the people who work there)  Obviously, this was a smart decision with all the storms, but I was SO sad.  And oh, it gets better.

Since the cancellation was weather related United wasn't paying for a hotel, but his friend Josh lives in GA and was at a midnight movie, so he would be out in an hour.  The plan was for Dan to call Josh and have him pick him up and then drive him back to the airport to get on his 6:30 a.m. flight the next morning.  Perfect.  I talked to Dan until around 12:45 a.m. and that's when we realize Josh's phone is still turned off and he probably isn't going to call Dan back.  It would be dumb at this point to pay for a hotel for basically 4 hours, so Dan slept in the airport!  Poor thing.  I felt awful.  Now, I know there are a lot worse things that could happen to him, but I felt so bad that I was in this warm bed, where he was supposed to be, and he was on a hard floor, in an overly air conditioned airport terminal.

Tired husband

Anyway, I picked him up at 7 a.m. in Chicago, and I'm so thankful he requested the 6:30 a.m. flight because as he was leaving, he saw the next flight to Chicago, scheduled to leave at 8:30 a.m., was delayed until 11:45 a.m.  So, I guess it could have been worse, right?

I love airport stories.  Everyone always seems to have one ready, and this one will definitely go down as one of the more memorable ones.  Anyway, I'm glad Dan's back.  I was starting to get lonely : /

Now, onto even more exciting things!  I have SO many recipes I want to try I can't even share them all now, but I'll show you a couple.  I've got them all stashed away so hopefully this next month I will be trying them out!

Deep Dish cookies.  This is a must try recipe.

I love Avocados & feta.  Dan definitely wouldn't touch this with a stick.  But maybe I'll treat myself one day :)  via

Yep this is definitely another recipe Dan would hate.  But for me- Artichokes and Olives? Yes please. via

Definitely more to come later!

Traveling Light

I read this a while ago and loved how Max Lucado broke Psalm 23 down in his book "Traveling Light."  He talks about how we're so burdened in this life and "carrying" with us too many things we were never intended to bear.  Below, he shows how Psalm 23 calls us to rest.

Rest from doing things my way. Why? Because the Lord is my Shepherd.

Rest from the endless wants. Why? Because I shall not want.

Rest from weariness. Why? Because he makes me to lie down.

Rest from worry. Why? Because he leads me.

Rest from hopelessness. Why? Because he restores my soul

Rest from guilt. Why? Because He leads me in the paths of righteousness.

Rest from arrogance. Why? Because it's for His name’s sake

Rest from valley of death. Why? Because He walks me through it.

Rest from shadow of grief. Why? Because He guides me.

Rest from fear. Why? Because His presence comforts me

Rest from loneliness. Why? Because He is with me

Rest from shame. Why? Because He has prepared a place for me in the presence of my enemies

Rest from disappointments. Why? Because He anoints me

Rest from envy. Why? Because My cup overflows

Rest from doubt. Why? Because He follows me

Rest from homesickness. Why? Because I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

Decorating the Apartment

Since moving into our apartment, there have been so many little things I've wanted to do, but those things tend to add up!  So, I need to slowly start adding new decorating items.  We are *so* close to paying off our undergrad loans I can taste it and don't want to do anything to thwart our plan :)

The next room I wanted to tackle was our bedroom.  Since we have yellow/ lime green accents, I am really into the yellow/ gray look right now (see below).  Hopefully in the month of July I can add one new item to our room!  Stay tuned!  

I love this idea!  It could be a great way to add color and organize my jewelry- I just might try this... via

I'm not usually THIS "vintagey" with my style, and I know it's meant for a nursery, but I really liked this idea via

I'm usually all about Bath and Body Work soaps, but I like this look via

This room screams my style.  I love the tan/ blue/ white.  Maybe the next piece we paint will be white! via

love the yellow :) via

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's that yellow and gray I was telling you about :) via

Happy Tuesday!

Twin bonding

I have a twin brother (Doug) that I sadly NEVER get to see because he lives in California.  A while back, he introduced me to Skype and I absolutely love it!  Sometimes I only see him once a year, and while Skyping isn't the same as seeing him in person, it comes pretty close to it. 

Haha don't we look alike?!

Other than hanging out with friends and cleaning... that pretty much sums up my weekend :)  I am trying to take in as many these relaxing weekends as I can!

Oh, and have you ever had a Magnum bar?  I had one for the first time in Macedonia and they are A- mazing.  I seriously probably ate one at least every day.  In fact, I forgot how amazing they are, until they started selling them in the states and I bought some this weekend. I am trying with everything I have not to eat the only one left that I promised I would save for Dan tomorrow :)                                I would *highly* recommend trying one the next time you're at Jewel, or Kroger, or whatever grocery store you shop at :)

The boy is gone...

for the next 6 days.  It's not like I'll be counting or anything :)

Yep, Dan planned a guys trip in GA with his college friends.  It's much needed and I know he's really looking forward to it, so I'm excited for him.  In the meantime, I'm going to take a break from making dinners (I can totally survive off of yogurt and ice cream sandwiches through Tuesday), clean our apt, probably do some organizing, start finally reading for our summer class, and hopefully have a couple coffee dates with some friends.  

But, to make the most of our one free night this past week, we decided to plan a special date night on Monday... to McDonald's.  After I shot down his idea of going to Outback to get a steak (remember our trip to TN?  Yeah, our restaurant budget is almost shot for the month... even though we love Outback) he recommended a cheaper option: McDonald's sundaes and a walk around the lake at our apt complex.  Only $2.22, and I actually think it was way better than Outback anyway:)

I love their sundaes.

Isn't it so pretty?

Have a great weekend!

Think

"Make God's supreme beauty & worth the driving force of ALL your thinking. 

And make it the centerpiece of everything you create. 

- "Think" by John Piper

*So excited to share with you what I'm learning in this book!*

Grilling out, Races, and Birthdays

Sometimes I feel like the summers in Chicago make up for the almost 9 months of awful weather... but then I think back to the snowpocalypse and start to reconsider those thoughts.  How I have a love hate relationship with this city. 

 

Anyway, this past weekend was wonderful.  Our friends Andy and Becca, who moved into an apartment across the complex from us, have this awesome new grill.  And they make us food.  All the time.  It's wonderful :) This picture below is somewhat of an impostor because it's not actually from this weekend, it's from a couple weekends ago- BUT you get the idea.  We grilled out.  We're thrilled that now two of our best couple friends have grills.  We're going to soak this in as long as we can.

This weekend I also made two big bowls of this homemade salsa.  I seriously could eat this everyday, all day.  I love salsa.  (I used 2 tomatoes, 1 red pepper, half an onion, 1 jalapeno, LOTS of cilantro, some garlic, salt, and pepper.)

A while back Dan and I realized we desperately needed to get in shape for the Northshore Half Marathon.  Well, we ran it this weekend, and survived... and PR'd.  I'm still stunned.  I seriously have wondered if something was off on the course mileage, because we only really ran a total of 9 miles before this race and there were LOTS of hills.  But, the weather was perfect, and we had lots of big homes to look at (we ran through the neighborhoods in Highland Park... I'm sure you get the picture :), and we did push ourselves throughout most of it, so maybe all of that factored in is what got us our time of 2:02?!  I'll take it either way.

My brother's wedding is coming up!! Yay!!  We got their invites in the mail and I thought they were SO cute (aren't they?!) and I was clearly really excited so I took a picture of them.  Let the festivities begin!!

Lastly, I celebrated the birthday of one of my friends, Caroline, on Sunday at a beach in Evanston.  She just got offered a job to go on staff with a ministry similar to Crusade but they only have staff at ivy league campus'.  So, she'll be heading to Dartmouth this fall!!!  We are SO excited for her, but sad that she'll be leaving Chicago :( 

Yes that is a peach on a fork.  We had to improvise.

Chicago!

Mar trying to stay warm!

Stacy trying to stay warm, too lol

Britt is such a great photographer- I take tips from her pictures!

We went to this super artsy and cute coffee shop in Evanston. I was slightly intimidated by how cool it was.