Pray For Your City

Last night as we were getting ready for bed we heard 7 loud gunshots coming from outside.  We then waited, slightly shocked, for the sirens.  A few minutes later the brigade of sound and lights began.  We saw 3 fire trucks, 1 ambulance and at least 5 cop cars come zooming down Othello to 46^th Ave, two streets down from us. 

This morning I searched on my phone to find any news of what happened and this is what I found:

Just after 10 p.m., two people were shot in South Seattle and sent to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Seattle Police Department. The shooting happened in the 7200 block of 46th Avenue South near Othello Playground.

Police said the shooting occurred at a “known gang house.” They think the suspects may have fled in a light green van.

The two victims were teenage boys, according to the Seattle Fire Department.

It is funny how normal and uneventful the news makes this sound- when you know lives where changed, effected and damaged. 

Watching the multiple of emergency vehicles go flying down our street reminded me to be praying for the area I live in.  I encourage all of you to do the same of praying for your city, area or neighborhood.  Even if you don’t live in an area that shootings and gangs are the norm- something most likely is…pride, materialism, gossip, jealousy you name it.  The suburbs may be physically safe but they are just as spiritually dangerous as anywhere else to the soul.  No matter where you live there will be something to battle that can either pull you further away from Jesus or closer to Him.  Choose the latter and pray for your city.    

Romans 13:8-14

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

this, that and some other things

September 21 marked 6 months of the Shelton’s in Seattle.  It is hard to believe it has been that long, but at the same time it seems much longer.  I feel like I have said this many times but I am so grateful that we made this move.  I am grateful for the focus on gaining clarity for ministry but also for our personal and marital growth.   

One thing both Josh and I have noticed is that we are referred to here as “The Shelton’s”.  While this is not to say that that had never happened back in MN- we both were known individually by many being before getting married.  Here in Seattle- people have only known us as married.  It is a simple and small thing, but it is still nice.  I enjoy being known as a team with my husband- it is a marriage strengthener!

While the past 6 months in Seattle have been a time of growth, it has also been one of frustration.  October is a weekend away and I am still without a full time job.  I am struggling against the feeling of defeat and wondering if a job will ever come.  I like structure and a schedule, and I feel I do my best with a regular routine.  It has been hard to accomplish this without the consistency of going to a job everyday.  I am in need of prayers of encouragement and hope.

On a lighter note- I have never seem a more beautiful changing sky as I did this morning.  The view from our window is extraordinary and one that I will greatly miss.  It allows me to be in awe of the vastness of sky filled with puffy clouds and brilliant colors.  Every time I looked out at the view this morning, which was many times in an hour span, the sky had changed to be even more breath taking.  I took many pictures J

I really wish I were in MN this weekend for the women’s Sparkle event at RVC.  I have gone since it started 3 years ago and have greatly enjoyed each year.  So to all my sparkly ladies who are attending- enjoy the time with other women and having quality time focused on God. 

Please be in prayer for Josh and I as there is going to be a shift in our community group.  We got plugged in right away when we started attending Mars Hill with our CG (aka small group) that was just starting.  It grew very quickly and has stayed at a large number of attendees.  Therefore, with the large number of 20-25 people attending a SMALL group, it will go through what Mars Hill calls a “replication” (more so a nice fancy word to say “we’re splitting up the group”).  While we completely understand the need to make the group smaller- it is hard to come to terms with not being with all these people we have gotten to know.  We are at a slight loss of having to pick another group…pray especially for my heart because developing relationships have always been a struggle- more so now with less time to devote to a new group of people.

**Side note- Grey’s premiere last night, and I’m going to have to say it- kind of disappointed and hope this is the last season.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend conferences, retreats, family, friends, whatever you end up doing….one thing I do know for my weekend is that it will filled with some more reading of the Hunger Games! 

(below are pictures from our extended time in Discovery Park- don’t let the beauty deceive you….remember what a BEAST it is to finally get there!)

     

Beloved Fall

In the excitement of the official (calendar) change in season I was sending texts to all my lovelies back in MN wishing them a Happy First Day of Fall.  My favorite response was from my mom who said, “It feels like fall 50.  Dad and I are checking out garage sales.  Happy sweatshirt season!”  That text made my heart melt a little.  If there is one thing that I love and have a slight obsession over its sweatshirts.  I could never live anywhere that it is warm year round because I absolutely love dressing in layers…including sweatshirts.  My mom told me she was wearing her Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt in which made me melt a little more.  I love my parents love for the Hawkeyes!  It is a part of their hometown that they keep with them.  With this change in season I have been missing MN.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons and the fact that I won’t see MN transition from summer to fall makes me miss it more.  Even more so- I miss the chance to give my mom a hug while she is wearing a sweatshirt.  As crazy or funny as that sounds I love being embraced by my mom when she is wearing a cozy warm sweatshirt- it is the essence of a mom hug.        

Josh and I had a successful run of errands last night with an important update!

Good News: we do not need to buy a new laptop

Bad News: we do need to replace the hard drive

Despite the iPhone 5 coming out the Apple store was still very helpful and kind to look at our sick apple.  While I am bummed we will not get anything back from the hard drive- I keep reminding myself how grateful I am that I backed the “importants” up the day before.  Also we get to start fresh- sometimes its hard to sort through all the clutter you accumulated on a computer and it just easier to wipe it all clean and start again. 

Josh and I spent our first day of fall checking out Discovery Park.  We had never been there before but had heard that it is the biggest park in Seattle.  We stopped in the visitor center to check out a map to see the best route to get to the "well-known" Lighthouse.  The woman at the desk made it sound like a simple task of following the loop trail...she lied.  The trails were not marked clearly at all and what should have been an hour endeavor turned into three.  Granted we had good moments of having fun and enjoying one an others company, there were many moments of "where the heck are we".  In the end we decided that the reason they call it "Discovery" park is because you spend all your time trying to discover where you are.  We eventually did make it to the lighthouse and then back to our car.  Note to all our visitors- we will not be taking you to Discovery Park :)      

Tantrums, Directions, Marriages and Memberships

My laptop- not my little typer, but my four-year-old laptop is acting up.  Like a typical toddler it is throwing a major tantrum and not cooperating.  I hope this is just a phase, because while I am grateful I backed up all the important items just the day before- it is too young to die. 

My search for a full time nanny position has ended.  I found out last week that I did not get another nanny position I interviewed for and had declared that it would be my last no matter what the outcome.  I am now gearing up for a temp agency interview.  I am trying to be a big girl in all this- no seriously.  The interview is “in the city” and having absolutely NO DESIRE to drive the rollercoaster roads known as downtown I am opting for the light rail.  Fortunately, on the map the office is a block away from the University stop- but I still am utterly depraved of any sense of direction.  I have the address already punched into my maps app on my phone, I have the address and phone number written down in my notebook and Josh drew me a map and talked me through it.  You should just see my mom and I in the mall- we walk that bad boy at least 5 times around because we don’t remember the best way to get to the stores we want or their location, and yes the maps just don’t seem to help there.  So it is another “stepping stone” in my life of growing up- ha!  Pray for this interview as it could be a good opportunity for work but like I just explained also scary.  Temp work can mean many different jobs at many different locations which requires a sense of direction…sigh…

On the brighter side of things today is my parents 35^th Anniversary!  Wow can you believe it?!  They have the privilege and the honor of saying they have been faithful to each other for 35 years.  How awesome when we live in a world of fleeting marriages- I am so grateful to have them as my parents.  Enjoy the day Mom and Dad- I wish I could be at home to look through your wedding pictures J

PLUS a big WOOT WOOT for my sister who is celebrating 5 years at Beehive!  way to go Amy!!

Josh and I have completed the endeavor of becoming church members.  We initially pursued this process because to serve in the church you need to be a member- and we were thrown into the youth from the start.  But as time has progressed and we have heard Pastor Mark speak/teach/preach on the importance of membership we understand now the significance of joining with this body and serving even if its just for a short time. 

If you really think about it- our journey with Mars Hill has been slightly mind blowing. 

• April 6th Good Friday- first time ever attending anything Mars Hill, though I must say their good friday service was a little scary and intimidating... 
• April 8^th Easter- first time ever attending a Sunday Mars Hill- we were at the downtown campus for the Easter celebration
• April 15^th - our first Sunday at Mars Hill Rainier Valley- located right across the street from our apartment, meeting in the UGM
• April 16^th - our first time in a Community Group (aka small group) that just so happen to be a completely new CG meeting for the very first time
• April 17^th - our first youth meeting and consequently MH Rainier Valley’s first youth meeting- they launched the youth ministry right when we started
• April 24^th - our first youth club and MH Rainier Valley’s first youth club
• June 1^st & 2^nd- Josh and I take the intensive Doctrine class needed for membership
• June 21^st thru 26^th - Josh goes on youth retreat to Malibu, Canada
• Aug 29^th- Josh and I get interviewed for membership and officially become members
• Sept 16^th- our first Sunday night Remix, Josh serves in operations, I serve in hospitality, we both collect offering and serve communion for the first time and we got to do it together!

          

Growing Pains and Hunger Games

I had a realization the other day as I saw a number of high school-ers waiting for their bus…I am going to miss this entire school year.  I have been in the classroom teaching in some capacity since my student teaching, which was September of 2009.  While it is nice not to have the pressure of subbing and not knowing where I am going everyday or the task of lesson planning- I know I am going to miss it dearly.  Pray that even as I am not teaching in the schools I would still be exercising my teaching abilities in some capacity to keep refining and improving them.

Josh and I did a first on Friday night.  We went to the theater together but did not see the same movie.  We had heard about the cheap theater that shows “old” movies- $3.50 a ticket, any time, any day.  Josh had wanted to see the latest Spider Man and I had wanted to see The Hunger Games- neither of us really wanting to see the others.  They were showing 20 minutes a part so it worked out perfectly.  It was also the first time I had ever seen a movie in the theaters by myself.  At first I thought I was going to be the only one in there- but then just as the movie was starting 6 other people joined all over the age of 65.  It was kind of nice to see it by myself and only have a few other viewers many rows away because then I could say comments out loud like, “Oh! Oh!” or “Come on” or “No, run, ah!” and more of the like.  I enjoyed the movie even though there were many times I was close to tears and other times I was slightly disturbed.  Seeing the movie makes me very excited to read the books- now I just need to somehow get my hands on them.  I love children’s storylines that are not magical but fantastical.  The things happening aren’t because of magic, but not quite natural either…its just fantastic!

After the movie we grabbed some Wendy’s (which we have not had since we moved here- kind of a big deal because its our favorite and only fast food) and brought it over to a park on Lake Washington.  We enjoyed our meal outside by the water each discussing the movie we saw- it was a lovely evening together.

 

  

My littler typer.

Josh has said many times how he hates that it seems our lives revolve around a computer.  Quite frankly it seems like it does.  We don’t have internet in our apartment unit and have “condensed” both our computer driven lives onto my Stout laptop (I put condensed in quotes because it seems we have filled it- yes we have managed to fill a laptop and is nearing full again- ugh).  With the limitations in our computer usage we must make mental notes or actual lists of everything we need to get done when our usage time is up.  Such a first world problem we have huh?  Oh boy sharing a laptop...don’t loose sleep for us at night and or lift this up in prayer.  I say all this because in light of Josh going home for a long weekend we have acquired another laptop.  It is a small PowerBook G4 Apple Amy graduated Stout with in 2005 (or was it 06, sorry Amy I can’t remember).  When Amy had a co-worker look up the current value, the large price tag….$100 bucks.  Yup that’s right, an apple laptop worth only one Benjamin.

While neither of us has turned this bad boy on since Josh’s return I had the idea tonight to give this little apple a purpose.  He is going to be “my little typer”.  I recently watched the academy award acclaimed (not really but should be) movie “You’ve Got Mail”.  In the movie, Kathleen’s boyfriend Frank has a strange affection for his typewriter and speaks in the movie about how solitaire had to be removed from workers computers because they were getting distracted!  Oh solitaire, AOL and hearing the computer say “you’ve got mail” how fast things have changed.  Anyways, it has got me thinking that Frank has a point.  A type writer does make a beautiful sound with each tap of a key, only serves has one function and doesn’t have spell check.  I type much faster than I write and feel there are so many times I should write down what I’m thinking, questioning, and experiencing.  Well my little baby apple you do make a nice sound when I type (seriously, I do have a thing for simple sounds- typing, crinkling paper, fans…), and while you do have more to offer than Word, I’m sorry to say you run a little slow.  So all this ranting to say I have my very own “type writer”. 

Saturday was a daylong adventure to, at and from the Gorge.  The Gorge is an amphitheater situated on the side of a cliff overlooking the Columbia river.  It has been a bucket list venue for Josh and therefore I get to rally in the experience.  From Seattle it is about a 2.5 hour drive- thankfully all highway.  The parking lot was opening at noon, the gates at 3:30 and the concert staring at 6- our goal was to reach the Gorge by 1 pm.  We wanted to get good parking, get our bearings, and grab a good spot in the general admission lawn area.  The drive out there was enjoyable because we were taking the same road we drove when we first entered Seattle back in March.  It was much different this time because everything wasn’t covered in snow!  Washington is so beautiful.  It is one of the aspects I will greatly miss when we move back to the Midwest.  Driving the 2.5 hours we got to see mountainsides FILLED with evergreens, rocky terrain that was almost desert like, huge still bodies of water and more.  Once we got to the Gorge, the process of waiting began.  We always bring things to do when we know there will be a lot of down time- like books, cards, and Farkle, but most times people watching is so much more interesting.  When we finally got to enter the venue you had to walk a good half mile from the gate we entered to actually seeing the stage.  The venue, like I mentioned before is beautiful.  We scouted out our spot and “set up camp”.  As time progressed more and more people started filling in all the gaps around you known as “personal space” hence beginning the frustration of the night.  We were shocked and disappointed at the number of people who seemed to attend only for the reason of getting drunk or high.  By the time DMB started more people had moved to stand right in front of us meaning I would have a shifting view of the stage.  Don’t get me wrong DMB was awesome and put on a great show- the fans however decreased the experience.  Knowing that there were 20,000 people in attendance and hearing how getting out can take hours we headed out before the beginning of the encore.  It was 11:30pm and we knew it would be at least 2 am before we were home, but both of us (obviously) had the determination to stay awake.  The drive back was quite lovely.  Seeing that where the Gorge is located could be considered in the middle of nowhere- the highway had minimal to no streetlights.  But the night was crystal clear with a full moon shining bright and it was beautiful.  There was one moment where I saw the silhouette of a large hillside with white puffy clouds just above the top.  They were glowing with a hint of blue from the moon and bright twinkling stars surrounding it all.  I will not get many chances like that to see the state of Washington in the glow of the moon.  Thankfully, our eyes did not feel sleepy and we made it back safe and sound- hitting our pillows at 3 am.

I hope you all have an enjoyable labor day- taking the time to rest before the kick off of fall!  Yippee!  One of my favorite times of year- sweatshirts, jeans, warm drinks, blankets, crisp morning air, warm rich colors, hearty hot meals, oh I love it.