good news on cnn

Hey I was so excited to see this video... check it out! What an awesome ministry. I loved hearing some of the comments of the people the girls were talking to. The people that object seem so ridiculous... you can try but you can't deny that this is exactly what Jesus' love looks like. Go CNN!

here's your sign

Sorry I'm feeling a little sarcastic today. :-)
Check out this hilarious site: Church Sign Generator

yay chinese!!!!

I am so excited, Xiaolei is going to teach me Chinese! finally I get to learn! I hear it's insanely hard but I have always wanted a crack at it. Hope I can learn more than nin hao, sai chien, and zhong gua. (hello, goodbye, and China for all you mei gua rens.) If anyone knows any good books for Chinese beginners, please let me know...

rooted and grounded in love

I have a new understanding of what Ephesians is talking about. Last night we had a random visitor at church (we get a lot of random visitors at church) and this lady wanted to talk. Kevin sat down and talked to her, lovingly, kindly, and patiently for three hours, listening to her story - and in return was called a racist, a hypocrite, and told that just maybe a few of the things that he had to say were worth listening to. He didn't bat an eyelash, just shared how much God loved her and told her sincerely that he'd keep praying for her. This morning I was reading Ephesians 3 and verses 16-19 stuck out to me:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

When we're rooted in God's love, it doesn't matter what people say to us because we know that His love for us is greater than anyone's words or opinions. I can't imagine how may people would have gotten into a screaming match (or at least really offended) with this lady. When we know where our roots lie, we have that power that fills us with God's fullness and doesn't leave any room for our own power, pride, or ego. We don't have to fear the words or actions of man. It's this vision of God's greater purpose that is so lacking in so many believers... it grieves me. I pray that God opens the eyes of the people around us to see that ministry is possible in His power. If we're not rooted in love, we need to ask Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and that he'd replant us in His soil.

ouch!

My fascination with photos of giant sea creatures continues... check out this giant jellyfish! How would you like to step on THAT at the beach? CNN.com says:

"One Echizen kurage (jellyfish) can be up to 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) in diameter and weigh up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds)."

And no... I didn't eat any jellyfish when I was in China...

"South Korean fishermen have been suffering similar woes, but China, where giant jellyfish are a delicacy often served dried and dressed with sesame oil, does not seem to have registered the outbreak as a major problem, Japanese officials said.

Seaside communities in Japan have tried to capitalize on the menace by developing novel jellyfish dishes from tofu to ice cream, but for some reason the recipes have failed to take off."

midweek

I wanted to put up this photo of Alison (my sister for those unaware). I thought it was a great shot.

My job was posted today, so it's time once again to revamp the resume! I'm pretty excited though... since I am already doing the job that's posted, I fit the description to a T. My boss has been fantastic with helping me prioritize projects to help me be competitive for the spot.

In other news we started our women's Bible study up again last night and are using the Serendipity group study bible so that everyone can take turns learning how to teach. I've missed the group a lot over break! I particularly miss Denise who should be coming home tomorrow from her South African version of "Meet The Parents" (or in this case extended family). I can't wait to hear about her and Bambi's trip... not in Zulu though I hope. Before they left she was constructing her own Zulu phrasebook with essential entries such as "fat white girl." I'm trusting she didn't need that one! ;-)

Our impeccably-behaved dog scored a personal best this weekend... she managed to bust open a thick cardboard box from Sam's Club full of granola bars, and proceeded to ingest 25 of them, including wrappers. Now she is only a 75-pound dog... I'm sure more like 85 now... but I know of no one who weighs 2 or 3 more times than that who could actually eat 25 granola bars in one sitting. I called the vet first thing in the morning and he said just to keep an eye on her in case she started getting lethargic. Since she was tearing around like usual I didn't worry too much about it, and the wrappers have since been appearing in, shall we say, interesting places. I think Chelsea could fill up her own blog.. "The Devil Made Me Do It."

Our internet at home has been on the fritz this week so the promised entry about our vacation, complete with photos, will have to wait until Comcast gets its booty in gear...

foxxy

I had to put this one up. Tim and Jerri had a wedding recption at the church last night and we had a great time. I couldn't sit back and let Matt's huge fro wig go unused. Justin called me "Foxxy Libraria" from the as-yet-unreleased Austin Powers 4.

puppy love

Nelia made us a veritable feast on Tuesday night, which I vaguely remember being delicious because I was pretty much consumed with Steph's new puppy, Roscoe. I'm not a baby-obsessed type... I love them but I can put them down... but puppies are an entirely different story altogether. This little cutie was curled up sleeping on me and I just wanted to steal him and run away! I couldn't even put him down long enough to get a picture.

I have also caught the knitting bug again over vacation and am churning out the scarves. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. My favorite part is figuring out who to give them to when I'm finished.

We're back...

I have lots to write about and many photos, but I'm not sure when I will get our vacation entry up. In the meantime we're back safe and sound and I am squashed under a mountain of work! Happy New Year to everyone.