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.

Merry Christmas!

We here at Chez Miller wish you a very Merry Christmas. Justin and I are leaving for Oklahoma on Christmas afternoon, and I will post as I find internet connections in Muskogee. :-) Our plans are to stay with the family until New Years and then head over to Oklahoma City for the "eve" to see our friends. We're attending the Life Imapct conference also in OKC during the week and will be back to Michigan on the evening of Jan 6th. Chelsea is excited for Jack, her favorite dog-sitter, to come and stay! I think he's the only one that can actually tire her out!

Everyone have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Matt. 1:21 - "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

congratulations tim and jerri!

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Wild Weekend Part II - The Rest

So that was just Friday... Saturday we got up and went over to the golf course to set up the room for our Christmas party. Denise and Bambi came over to help, Denise being the woman of the year by getting us the room for free. After setting up I sent Blessy off to the mall with the treat of driving Green Gertrude, my trusty 1990 Volvo wagon. Not exactly her old sporty blue Camaro. :-) As she was tearing up the mall, Justin and I went over to Cornerstone to provide music and prayer for the Puralewski nuptials. It was a nice, cozy wedding with just family and two witnesses. The big one will come in Hawaii in August. Jerri looked absolutely beautiful and I was all choked up!

After the wedding we ran home to start the meatballs cooking and get everything together for the party. After a hectic car-packing we made it over with plenty of time to spare. The party went really well… I scored a pooping cow keychain from the white elephant gift exchange, thanks to Gretchen! The Wolfes brought over their karaoke machine and we had a particularly rousing version of “YMCA” with most of us wearing various parts of Matt’s fire gear. It was so nice to have so many of our friends in one place; it’s very rare we get to do that.

Sunday we had the kids’ Christmas pageant at church. It went over really well with no major mishaps. They all did a great job and it was nice to see so many of them up there. Joey didn’t seem to like being an angel too much but he was so cute no one cared when he yanked his halo off! I’m surprised no one got him to yell “Lottie Moon” in the middle of the program!

After church we picked up Blessy and Larry at Cornerstone and had lunch, then hit Steve & Barry’s so Blessy could get some MSU gear. During church, Matt proved that he can drum one-handed after managing to break his hand this weekend after being pulled in a sled behind a truck… don’t ask! We took him out for a birthday dinner after church, went back home, and thus followed the thoroughly worthwhile staying up till 3 AM. Phew.

Maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight! I’d better before we leave for Oklahoma on Sunday!

Wild Weekend Part I - The Bachelor

You know you’re getting old when it takes you a whole week to recover from one night with three hours of sleep. It was time well spent however as I haven’t gotten to talk to Blessy face to face in ages. Sometimes you just need to stay up till 3AM. I can’t believe I regularly was up till 2 in college, but then again I didn’t have to get up three hours later.

I’m still catching my breath from the weekend. Blessy came in late Friday afternoon and no sooner did we get home then we were off to meet Jerri and Kim to take Jerri out for a nice low key bachelorette dinner. I can’t remember the last time I went out to eat with just the girls, it was so nice! Jerri even got to wear her tiara and a flashing “bride-to-be” button that Kim found. We went back to Kim’s and watched a major chick flick (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and had some ice cream cake and snacks. Meanwhile, poor Tim was getting the now infamous bachelor party treatment from the guys. These parties have taken on a life of their own, and the guys start planning them years before one of them even has a marriage prospect! They have cryptic “themes” that the bachelor can know ahead of time… but no details. Tim’s was “Fear Factor,” a nod to his love of extreme stunts. I have promised not to post pictures on the blog, but I’m sure you can imagine the size 18 x-tall aqua chiffon bridesmaid’s dress that Jeffrey purchased on e-bay. Tim sported this lovely gown most of the evening while climbing the rock wall at Dick’s Sporting Goods store, walking around the mall and getting “accessorized” at Claire’s, sitting in the parking garage in East Lansing and playing his guitar to earn 5 bucks, and buying people food at BW3’s… the very popular campus sports bar & grill. There is a great picture of Tim playing his guitar in the dress… good thing he was wearing shorts underneath it because he was sitting in a VERY unladylike manner! J The guys finished off the evening by bringing Tim back to the church and making him ride a tricycle (Tim is 6’5”) through an obstacle course and then bobbing for a bottle of Beano in a vat filled with 9 gallons of pork’n’beans. I’m not sure that I’ll ever understand this “guy” way of saying “I love you” to one another but I do recognize it, even if it’s in the form of beans, ugly dresses, and elaborate plans. Don’t worry, they were very nice to Tim at the end by encouraging him, praying for him, and giving him a nice big TV that they all pitched in for.

To Be Continued...

ghetto fabulous

... the name of our new HGTV show, for the home makeover where all you can afford is paint. Also known as "Re-arranging Furninture 101." I could shoot myself for not taking a picture of Tim's room before he moved out so I could do a before/after comparison. We intended just to clean it out and set up our antique bed for Blessy's visit, but of course it turned into a full scale room makeover. It's now our "Early Americana" room... just right for our future New England colonial house. That is a fun thing about being married to Justin... you never know when a room is about to get dismantled, overhauled, rearranged, repainted... it's like impulse Trading Spaces. I'm not sure how many people at church realize that the parsonage living room has been painted "Hellfire Red" for the last three years. :-) I will put a pic of the new room up soon.

murder mystery pic

Kathy sent along this photo of the murder mystery party. (See here). The description of my character was something like a "blond divorcee who had it all... " basically it meant a pretty snotty money/guy chaser! That was fun for an evening. :-) Thanks Kathy for the pic.