California Dreamin'

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

We had every intent on checking out Rainier Ave Church today, which we did, but not as we had hoped.  We arrived just before the first service and were greeted with many “hellos” and “we are doing church a little different this morning”.  The church was using their Sunday morning to go out and worship in the community.  They were splitting up to groups and either attacking the trash or the weeds in the areas around the church.  Before they left the building the children’s/youth pastor got up and spoke about getting outside of our “Christian bubble” and loving the community around you.  It was actually quite cool to hear how they had gone out into the community on specific occasions in the past and how the youth were very much involved.  They had even given the youth a budget and a challenge to create something to identify and unify their city.  This church is located in the Hillman City, which is right next door to the Rainier Valley.  The youth had designed their own logo for Hillman city, which was printed on posters and shirts.  During the time of service they would be handing/posting them in the community.  The pastor greatly emphasized that their serving was an act of worship for the morning- very encouraging to see yet another church getting involved with their neighbors.  So seeing that we were not expecting this and were dressed in our Sunday best we headed back to our apartment until the second service of Mars Hill started. 

During our in between time, Josh and I took a short walk around the neighborhood to familiarize ourselves more with our community.  98118, the zip code we currently live in, is said to be the most diverse zip code in America.  The city has been trying to improve the area with nicer housing, the light rail system and renovating some of the parks, but like I mentioned yesterday it still has so far to go.  Now don’t misunderstand me here in what I am trying to say because in reality EVERY community in the world still has so far to go because we are not in heaven.  But the darkness is thicker

Now Pastor Mark (lead pastor of Mars Hill) brought the Word today.  75% of the time it is a video of Pastor Mark but it doesn’t make the message has any less of an impact.  We are currently doing a series called “The Seven” that goes through the letters John wrote to the seven churches in Revelations.  The first 2 weeks of this series has been focused on John the author.  Pastor Mark has brought to our attention the incredible credibility of John and his amazing devotion to Jesus.  This morning we went through Revelations 1:9-20 and he had 4 main points: *Do persevere in Jesus, *Do worship Jesus, *Do serve Jesus’ church and *Fear Not, Jesus is with you and us.  I would encourage you to listen to it online because there is so much and he speaks for at least an hour but here are some main things that stood out to me. 

**John started worshiping Jesus before He showed up- John began worshiping in faith.

**Pray for your church, and the church because Jesus loves the church.  Be aware of how the church is doing . The whole first part of Revelations is about churches and being aware of what is going well and what is not.

**Fearing ANYTHING but the Lord is a sin and it should be repented of.  Fear, according to Pastor Mark, does 4 things: its vision without God, its an attempt at sovereignty, it preaches a false gospel and it makes you a false prophet - WOAH 

and with that…

**Numerous times in the bible God tells us to “fear not” and it is a loving invitation because of what is said after the “fear not”, reminding us of who God is and that He is with us.   

I know that God is going to reveal some amazing things to me here- not just because of Mars Hill church but being in a position where I desperately need to understand what the gospel really is.  For so long I have heard that word “gospel” but I know it is so much more than what my mind has known it to be. 

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day out we decided to head to Alki Beach.  Josh had read about it and that it has great views of the city and lots of little shops and restaurants.  It was a pretty sweet spot but it was packed!  It took a long time to find a parking spot moving in very slow traffic.  Once we got a spot we sat near the water, ate our lunch while gazing out at our new city.  Yesterday (Saturday) the Space Needle celebrated 60 years.  When it first opened it had “galaxy gold” paint all over it- but it really just looks like the color orange.  In honor of its opening the top of the dome is the originally galaxy gold.  (We also missed out on the going up in the needle for a $1- the price it was 60 years ago, bummer).  We decided that it felt more like we were in California than Seattle.  The road to the beach was like a typical Cali boardwalk with tons of ridiculous cars with way too loud of music.  The street was lined with apartments and houses facing the “boardwalk” with people hanging out on their front porch drinking and eating.  And all the shops and restaurants were brightly colored and packed with people in their summer ware- yeah its basically Cali.         

I made some delicious Chicken Corn Chowder for dinner thanks to RCV Meals Ministry!  It was my first time making it and has a great Mexican flavor, which is an automatic WIN in my book! 

Thankful for:  the conviction of the Word and good food today (I also had made french toast with caramelized apples and potato cakes for breakfast…AND we found this delicious peanut butter at Target- White Chocolate Wonderful- yeah it is pretty wonderful)

So as I end this SUPER long blog- congrats if you are still reading this far down- I challenge you to really see how your church is doing and pray for them diligently because no church is going to be perfect and Jesus LOVES the church!

good night :) 

fish, burgers and raspberry bars

Happy Saturday!  I had a lot of time with myself today.  Josh had a men’s breakfast he attended this morning before heading to work at noon.  So I was able to get up and work out while watching a little ABC Family J

It was a beautiful day here in Seattle- the clouds burned off from the morning leaving a clear blue sky and a perfect view of the mountain.  Josh and I were able to steal 2 pockets of time on the sky deck taking in the view and sun. 

While I did spend some time job hunting I also enjoyed my Saturday by baking Raspberry Oatmeal Bars- delicious if you haven’t had them you are missing out, trust me.  Plus I took some time to watercolor a fish.  I am not exactly sure on the type of fish, it was whatever was in one of the many Seattle magazines we have picked up along the way.  The more I do it, the more I realize how much I love watercolor.  I am glad I made the decision to bring them along.  I enjoy seeing the lines created where the watercolor stops and puddles up ever so slightly and the pencil lines the peak out from underneath the color- beautiful. 

Tonight we had the pleasure of sharing the evening with a family at Mars Hill Church.  Dave and Joy are the hosts of our community group and invited us over from some grilled hamburgers and veggies- yum.  They have two adorable daughters with tons of cute things to say.  It was a delightful evening of getting to know one another and hearing God’s grace strung throughout it all.  Dave and Joy were also able to share what the area used to look like 5 years ago and it has come a long way- but still has so far to go.  Pray for your community because it is not sinless and is not healed yet!  It was nice to connect with some Midwesterners- they are originally from WI- I know a lot of great people who have come from the land of cheese J I hope that when Josh and I have a home of our own we can use it to constantly be welcoming people in to love on them.  There is just something about being is someone’s loving home when you are far away from your own.

Thankful for: watercolors and good new friends.

I would love continued prayer for my job hunt and for my art.  My hope is to develop myself more as an artist and figure out where to go with it and what to do! 

Tomorrow we are double dipping with 2 churches.  We will be checking out Rainier Valley Church for first service and Mars Hill for the second- woah I know, a FULL morning!  But we are excited to make a final decision on where to settle down with a church home. 

Sweetest dreams and have a lovely Sunday!  

cookies

Today I was delighted to Skype with my family- which included Mom, Dad and Amy AND my Grandma, Aunt Laura and cousin Angie.  It was fun to see them all and to see my Grandma’s amazement of Skype!  She just couldn’t believe that she was actually seeing me in real time talking back.   Seeing all them in my Grandmas place made me wish I was there- I miss the trips to Iowa. 

My Grandma excited to show me her new project

my silly dad :)

Grandma and Amy!

Josh had a successful second day at Starbucks while I continued my hunt from home.  So side note- another reason why this apartment building rocks are the cookies!  Yes down by the front main entrance, next to the offices is the welcoming desk with the plate for cookies.  The past week they have had some BOMB chocolate chip, M&M cookies that are SO good.  So of course I go down just at the right time to “check the mail” in real hopes that I can grab a cookie- and today was a success J

For dinner Josh and I grilled for the first time on the Sky deck.  We had some delicious hamburgers and also grilled chicken for a future meal- a new recipe I am super excited to try- thanks to the RVC meals ministry!

Thankful for: time with the fam!

Well I hope you all have a pleasant Saturday J  nighty night! 

Sitting by the fire on the Sky deck waiting for the meat to cook

the grill master

  

rainy day

I have to say there is not much to report from today.  I did have a conversation with someone at the Union Gospel Mission that was more general, but was still good. 

Josh made it through his first official day at Starbucks and all went well.  He looks very handsome in his all black outfit and bright green apron…I will post a picture as soon as he lets me!

I spent the day at the apartments, job hunting, emailing and starting the process of illustrating a book for a friend.  I am excited about this project.  It will be a good challenge and something for me to work on.  I need a project out here- there was hardly any room for my crafty things in our tiny car, so a lot of it stayed home. 

We did get to Skype with Nicole and hear about her time in NYC- oh so fun.  I am really surprised at myself because before the trip I wasn’t too thrilled about going, but now I would definitely go back (to certain areas!)

Thankfully the TV was working in the media room tonight so Josh and I got to watch Greys by ourselves.  We also got to watch Idol- yes ever since our time with the DeVitos we have become Idol fans (at least for the rest of this season).  We are rooting for Phil Phillips- woo!

Thankful for: the rain.  It was very fitting for a day spent at home to have a consistent rain.

I am grateful for those of you who take the time to read my blog.  Instead of this being a one way conversation I encourage you to let me know what you are up to and what prayer requests you might have- because even though we are over 1,000 miles away I still care about the lives and happenings of my MN friends and family.  Josh and I keep saying yes we are making great connections here but we don’t want to loose the ones we have in MN.

Another day of searching and working tomorrow….sweet dreams.

another day...

Did you know that it is 100 days until the opening ceremony of the Olympics?!?!  (well actually now its 99 if you are reading this).  I went and workout this morning in the fitness room and the Today show was doing all Olympic coverage.  Seriously, the opening ceremonies are one of my favorite things to watch.  It always feels like the world is a peace for a few weeks and it is kind of like a picture of heaven- all nationalities in one place celebrating for one reason- amazing.

Josh was hard at work today on his ministry assignments while I “putzed” around the apartment.  We did go grocery shopping today at Fred Meyer.  It is great to have stocked cupboards but always so difficult trying to grocery shop in a new place.   You all know what I am talking about- you form a rhythm and just know where everything is and what will be there.  It was funny though because the woman ahead of us in line was talking with the employee and said she was going to be moving to MN! Ha- small world. 

I did however get to skype with my lovely ladies back home.  It was nice to see their faces and have a conversation- I just can’t wait until friends and family can come out- giving everyone a better frame of reference of where we are at!

By Josh’s request we did end the evening watching “TRON”.  Not my favorite- too sci-fi for me…honestly kind of freaks me out a little bit.  Love technology but there is just a point with it I hope we never get to (i.e. robots roaming around- scary!) 

Thankful for: full cupboards and friends!

Well it is late and we are tired.  Josh has a full shift at Starbucks tomorrow meaning I have my list ready of things to do!  Please pray for the work transition for Josh and myself.  I fear loneliness will increase until I have job myself to go to. 

Alright all- sleep good!  Tomorrow marks our one month of being in Seattle- woah G’night

ZOO

Out of the many things I miss about home one of the biggest is the zoo.  I have had a membership for the past year and seriously BEST INVESTMENT EVER!  Last summer was fantastic to go to the zoo whenever I could and you get your moneys worth after two times- so all your readers out there summer is approaching- need something to do that is cheap and lasts you all summer- get a pass, have some fun.  Anyways I say all this because Josh and I made the trip out to Woodland Park Zoo.  Every zoo in the country basically is connected so because of MN membership we got a sweet discount to get into this one.   I was so excited.  I love to approach an exhibit, search for the animal and observe its movements.  Some of our favorites from today were the toucans- they were flying/hoping around fighting with each other, the kangaroos- we have never seen them before so cute, and the bunnies- seriously I want one.

A few down sides: there are A LOT of snakes (Josh does NOT like snakes), the trails are super confusing and the maps aren’t always helpful, NO bird show/shows in general (I heart the bird show) and no aquarium (they redid the one in MN and I’m so totally missing it-so go see it for me).

So while it was a lovely day at the Woodland Park Zoo- the Minnesota Zoo is still number 1 in my heart J

On the way back we made a quick stop at the market- way less busy on a weekday and headed back home to chill out.  I applied to a few more jobs and made some calls today to the ones I have applied to- so far not super fruitful or encouraging.  I have mostly left messages- BOO.  So please pray my messages and name/number does not get forgotten/lost and that I would continue to be diligent with calling.

 This evening we attended a youth meeting with Mars Hill.  They are just starting up the youth program and had the first informational meeting about it tonight.  We are still mulling it over in our minds to see if Mars Hill becomes our home church how we will possibly be involved. 

Thankful for:  getting to go to the zoo and see animals we don’t see on a regular basis! Oh and leftovers from the Mongolian grill- yum

Today in “Jesus Calling” I would like to type out the first chunk because it was something I have not thought about….

I am training you in steadiness.  Too many tings interrupt your awareness of Me.  I know that you live in a world of sight and sound, but you must not be a slave to those stimuli.  Awareness of Me can continue in all circumstances no matter what happens.  This is the steadiness I desire for you. 

I have never thought to relate steadiness to awareness of God.  There are a lot of things about how the world functions today that I believe battles with our faith.  Living in a time of great technology and instantaneous fast pace results and information (I think) weaken the power of the mind/brain.  It all in essence distracts us and our ability to memorize/recall (or at least me).  I hope I can develop a sense of steadiness that is not subject to technology and what it has taught me- but in how God has designed me.    

Big day tomorrow- grocery shopping! Woo!  Actually I am excited because I want to cook more- it does something good for me- like fulfilling part of my womanhood or something- I just love being domestic J

Oh couple more things:

1.     Received our first letter today from Amy’s going away gift, a letter from Jasmine!  Yeah so fun- if you are in possession of an envelope and need our address- ASK!

2.     At community group last night, when one of the guys learned we were from MN this is what he said:

Guy:             “MN it gets pretty cold there doesn’t it?”

US:                         “yeah it does”

Guy:            “I mean I have heard people drive on the lakes and stuff.”

US:                        “yeah they even put houses on the ice and could drive a semi-truck.”

Guy:            “what that’s for real?!?!  I thought people were joking when I heard that!”

Haha, things you don’t think twice about when you live in MN!

Alright all- don’t let the bed bugs bite and sleep tight!

shell found my shell!

Egyptian turtle- so cute about the size of my hand!

Josh said he looks like he's about to tell a joke!

crazy wood

eagles top and bottom with giant nest

city from a different angel- driving back from zoo

right?

COMMUNITY

Josh is an official Starbucks partner today.  He went in and filled out the necessary paperwork and will be back to start “barista-ing” on Thursday.  I know, I know we are Caribou loving Midwesterners- but I am excited to join the Northwest and become a Starbucks drinker!

We had lunch with Chris this afternoon at a tasty Mongolian grill.  We enjoyed good food and conversation of life and ministry.  We then headed back to the Renzelman’s for more discussion on Josh’s ministry “assignments” of getting to know more about Rainier Valley and the churches that are here.  It will be great tools and experiences to bring back to MN and really learn about the area. Chris also brought us next door to “the cabin”- a house literally FULL of ministry resources…seriously its crazy, but good to have on hand!

On our way back to The Station we made an IKEA stop for a few small kitchen needs and found a coffee table in the “As Is” section for cheap.  I would say we are officially furnished and it doesn’t look like a college house- bonus/answered prayer!  Oh and Chris loaned us a larger computer monitor so we can watch movies on a decent screen- sweet.

Tonight Josh and I ventured out to a young adults community group (aka small group) through Mars Hill.  To our surprise it was the first official night of this group that literally was thought of last week- fast turn around on getting it going!  Everyone was surprised to hear that our first time at the church was yesterday and we were already jumping into a group.  There were 12 total and the couples house we met at are originally from Wisconsin.  Another girl in attendance recently moved from Iowa and another lady has a 9-year-old son named Dante- crazy.  It was so good to be in community with people our own age with a lot of them not native to Seattle- making us feel not so much like complete new comers.  It was good to get into the word with other believers and to feel like there is actual potential for relationships to be formed.

The biggest theme that keeps arising is community.  While it may seem obvious but I feel that our focus is greatly shifting from building a center to helping build a community (not to say a center is out, but more our attitudes, thoughts etc toward it all).  We studied Acts 2:42-47 which is a prime model of Christians living in utter community- why wouldn’t you want to live in a community like that?  Why wouldn’t you want to encourage the communities around you?  Why wouldn’t you get to know your neighbor?  It is all so obvious, yet Christ is necessary for it all. 

Thankful for:  being sought after in Church and being told about the community group- hence being part of the process of building community.   

Love your neighbors, love your church, love your community.

Good night J