truth

Happy Sunday fellow readers!  Church was pretty great today.  The worship team likes to take well-known songs and add their own hip-hop twist.  For example, this morning we sang “How Great Thou Art” (with a cool funky beat) and in the middle of the song the pastor got up and rapped some words of truth.  We were discussing this with the couple from our community group last week how rap is pretty amazing.   It can fit so much biblical truth in such a short amount of time that it makes it very powerful! 

Pastor Mark spoke on the Letter to Ephesus and how they lacked in loving.  This hit home for me because the Ephesians were faithful servants- they read their bible, tithed, served…did all the things a “good” Christian should do, but still lacked love.  It is so easy to get caught up in everything that you miss the basics.  My prayer and hope is that I am reformed into a greater person of love out here.  I need to be humbled and reminded that I am not better or favored more than anyone else because God does NOT show favoritism…truth!   

I had the great time chatting with my dear friend Brittany this afternoon.  I miss hanging out, making a meal and sitting on the couch discussing our lives over a good cup of tea.  Our conversations always challenge me to think deeper and to be REAL about living a life of faith.  I am grateful for she is friend who sharpens me. 

Thankful for: good friends (even in they’re miles away) and technology to connect me to them!

This week brings 2 nanny interviews and well who knows what else!  I hope you all are well, have a good start to your week and rest easy! J

the parks

Well I must say it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it was Saturday.  Josh had the day off yesterday but worked today so it just kept messing with my mind, especially when I would look out my window and see so many people out during the day. 

I did have a typical lazy Saturday around the apartment.  I was able to do some more fun watercolor- surprisingly I am liking the bookmark size paper- gives me a good challenge on figuring out how to crop my subject of choice.

Once Josh got home we ate dinner and headed out to the Olympic Sculpture Park.  The last time we were there was on our honeymoon.  It is called Olympic because it looks out at the Olympic Mountain Range- sorry Olympic fans it has nothing to do with the games!  We also headed back out to Kerry Park, which has the great view of downtown.  Though we realized how “deceiving” that particular view could be for those who have never visited Seattle.  From the view at Kerry Park- the Space Needle is the tallest “building” of the downtown skyline, when it actually is significantly shorter than the rest of the buildings- just a little tid-bit for yeah!

Thankful for: getting out of the apartment for a while J

Tomorrow brings church and another youth group meeting.  I am going to be taking charge of the meal aspect of youth group on Tuesday nights- I am excited to be helping out by doing something I love- cooking! 

Speaking of cooking I need to figure out a good side dish to bring to the church “State of the Union Address” on Monday evening.  They are having a church wide potluck and I still need to figure out my dish.  Any suggestions for something easy, cheap and doesn’t have to stay warm?!?!?

Well enjoy some pics from our adventure of the evening- I’m off to bed, g’night!

Needle, Calder, Train

one of the coolest pictures my rockin' husband has ever taken- mad skillz

the beginning of Josh's series of photos...we brought the tri-pod and each took a series of photos moving around to different spots...will have to figure out how to best display them!

the end of my series of photos

near Kerry Park- its located in a REALLY nice neighborhood

  

Your Challenge...

I felt like a normal human being today.  Staying in your apartment for long periods of time with no one to talk to can start to mess with your mind!  Josh insisted today that I make the Target run by myself and after much resistance I finally agreed.  Its not that Target is in a rough area or difficult to find I just have been more hesitant to do things on my own being in a new area.  But I have to say I am thankful he had me do that because like I said I felt like a normal human being. 

After lunch Josh and I both headed out to a nearby area called “Columbia City”.  It has a cute main street that has a similar feel to Grand Ave back home.  It has lots of cute shops, and places to eat while keeping that historic feel.  Our top priority in going there was to check out the potential hair salon.  Well let me tell you folks this salon is located in the back of a children’s toyshop!  Now I am not talking about a Toys-R-us here, but a classy fun shop with toys you wouldn’t find in any big name store.  Its called “Columbia City Cuts” and from what we could tell seems pretty legit.  I still am going to have to think about it for a little bit before I make any commitments! J    

This area is definitely a place we would bring people who come to visit.  We also stopped in one of the restaurants hoping to grab a menu.  We chatted with the host letting him know we were new to the area and just checking things out.  He was kind enough to give us a coupon to come back and get a free pizza- sweet free date night!

We also had the chance to hang out with our ladies on Skype- Amy and Tara.  We miss hanging out with them, but it was good to chat “in person” and catch up!

Oh I almost forgot!  I have a challenge for all my readers…

For art supplies I mainly brought my watercolors because they are easiest to transport and least messy of what I have.  I have a stack of “bookmark” sized watercolor paper my sister graciously cut up for me before we left.  I am the type of artist who needs something to look at- and what I like to gather images from best are magazines.  But I do not have access to a lot of magazines that I can cut into/ones that actually have interesting images.

 

So the CHALLENGE:  find me some interesting images in a magazine, cut it out, send it my way and I (most likely) will do a watercolor of it on a ”bookmark” and send it back to you.

Now I am not a fan of landscapes…I am thinking more images with 1 or 2 objects/animals/thing. 

This is a challenge for me as well because:

1. It will force me to try subject choices I didn’t pick

2. The bookmarks are small, I usually prefer to do art on large surfaces…this will help me fine tune my skills

3. I am not great at giving my art away- I usually keep what I make.

So no promises on when you will get something back- I hope to have a full time job sooner than later, but I do want to make time for ART!

Thankful for:  Josh not working today and getting to spend more time with him and the delicious burgers he grilled for dinner…yum

Well friends enjoy your weekend and stay warm- I hear there is a chance of snow, oh no!   Happy dreaming :P

Document9

So what is it about having some sort of a commitment in the middle of the day that paralyzes your morning?  Like when you start work at 1pm or meeting a friend for coffee at 2pm that makes you feel like you can’t do anything until you go to that particular thing.   That kind of describes my morning.  I was waiting for a call to chat with a family about a nanny position and while I did actually get things done this morning- I think I just get so focused on not wanting to miss the call I forget I can function enough to do other things.  

The call went well and I am happy to be feeling confident about the nanny pursuit.  It is crazy how many nanny jobs there are out there- but finding the right one is the key J

I was able to watercolor a little bit again today- but I am not finished with it yet!

Josh and I were able to enjoy Idol and Grey’s in the media room on the super comfortable red leather couch.  Don’t worry, I already have the room reserved for the Grey’s finale on May 17^th! 

Tomorrow Josh has the day off- YEAH YEAH YEAH! So we are going to run some errands, which will be good to get out of this apartment for a while.  We are possibly going to check out a place for me to get my hair cut- seriously this is a BIG DEAL.  Reason being- I have never had my hair cut by anyone else except my mom!   I was asking a gal in our community group where she gets her hair cut and she told me of a place that does a nice job for a reasonable $40.  AHHHHHHh reasonable?!?!?!?  I told her I am used to paying my stylist with a hug!  Part of me just wants to wait until June when my mom and dad come out- but I know I would go bonkers with that long of hair- ugh. 

Thankful: a good youth novel, currently reading the second book in “The Mysterious Benedict Society” series…it’s a good one

Alright folks I believe that is all for now so enjoy your last day of the work week! Night J

Balance.

To start my blog today I would like to ask for prayer for Josh.  He has always gotten really bad canker sores- ones that last forever and have a powerful punch.  Lately, he has been getting them consistently and they are very painful.  Please pray for healing and that they wouldn’t come back!

The latest update on my job search is that I am now actively pursuing nanny positions.  People have suggested it along the way and it is starting to make more sense on that it is something I should pursue.  I love kids, I love art, I love crafts, I love to cook, I enjoy being domestic- ahh duh….be a nanny!  There are a few possibilities so we shall see J

The weather did a good long down pour of rain today- even with a few flashes of lightening and a couple claps of thunder!  I was telling my dad how interesting it is to watch the clouds roll in from the distance.  One moment you see the rain from a far and the next its coming straight down.  It’s kind of funny because before in our apartment in the AV when I was at the kitchen sink I would look at a picture of Seattle we got on our honeymoon.  Now when I stand at the kitchen sink I look AT Seattle.  The colors are awesome, the trees are unique, but the clouds top them all.  They ebb and flow so much you would think there is always something brewing- but they usually drift off and form something new.

We ended the evening with our new favorite- Idol.  We have been going down to the Hart on Wednesday evenings in hopes that the TV will be on Idol.  So far it has been successful and the same few residents are always there J Seriously, everyone left on the show are just so good- it makes it much more exciting/nerve racking. 

Today for “Jesus Calling” it had another good insight:

“Make me your focal point as you move through this day.  Just as a spinning ballerina (or tap dancer!) must keep returning her eyes to a given point to maintain her balance, so you must keep returning your focus to Me”

I am not sure when it started but Josh has always talked about having a sense of balance with everything in life.  So when I read this today I automatically thought of him and how true to is to have good balance.  I love the imagery the author paired with it- though from my dancing experience I disliked “spotting” I still seemed to get dizzy J

It just makes you think- what are you focusing on that is making you dizzy? 

Thankful for: quality time with the Lord, seeing some of the TODAY show, and chatting with my parents

Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite! Chomp chomp J

Orca, orca!

Today was my lovely mothers birthday and I was sad not to be able to share the day with her.  My mom has always been great at making birthdays special for my family.  For me, she would always wake me up on my birthday.  In the Clark household, we learned to get up with an alarm at a young age, so I always appreciated the sweetness of my mom coming in to sing me awake on my birthday! 

my mom's cool orca pin!

Josh and I picked out an awesome handmade pin at Pikes Market to send.  It is a carving of an orca whale- WA state mammal.  I was happy to hear it safely arrived at the birthday girl’s home on time! Happy Birthday Mom- you’re the best! 

Tonight was the first night of youth group for Mars Hill Rainier Valley.  I helped man the food table which I enjoy doing.  I like to serve others food and tonight with the meal being pizza I focused on pouring the drinks.  It was great I was telling Josh; because when I was serving the teens tonight I got to see a side you might not always see and that is gratitude.  They may look like “punk teens” but it doesn’t mean they don’t have any manners on saying please and thank you.  It was just a small thing that showed me that when you step out and serve someone you might see a side of him or her you wouldn’t normally see!

Josh and I constantly have our minds going and thinking about what we will actually end up doing.  While it is obviously not pinned down by any means, we feel it will be a lot different than what we originally thought.  BUT we are only a month in and that means what we are thinking now could be changed once again- so we would love pray for discernment and wisdom.  Like we have said many times, we are learning a lot and therefore ours thoughts should be changing and morphing because it means we are growing in the understanding of what is ACTUALLY needed in the urban community. 

Thankful for: my illustration project- it gives me something fun to do everyday!

Well like the good city of Seattle it is raining.  So stay dry and warm Seattle- g’night.  

loud noises

So when we were living in Valley Pond apartments in Apple Valley I experienced many fire alarms.  They were always during the day (for some reason) and seeing that I was a sub, I was the one to experience them while Josh was at LTF.  The tradition lived on today with the fire alarm going off here at The Station.  I must say it scared the daylights out of me because inside each apartment there is a box by the door that goes off with the other alarms to assure you hear it.  Well there is no doubt in my mind that we will EVER sleep through a fire alarm!  Once outside, we all stood there for 5-10 minutes with the alarm still sounding as I could hear fire engine sirens approaching.  Of all the fire alarms I have been through this one tops them all because the fire truck ACTUALLY came!  In full gear a few fighters when into the building, but we all knew it wasn’t super serious because some of the staff were going in with them.  It was interesting to see them walk back and forth on the bridges- I only wish I would have gotten a picture the time the fire fighter walked across with the axe over his shoulder.

Thirty to forty minutes later we were finally allowed back into the building and I still don’t know what happened- oh well.  Fire alarms are interesting because it is the one time when everyone in a building is all gathered in one area.  No one really talked to each other; we all just kept to ourselves chomping at the bit to get back into our own cubes.  I believe the fire alarm was a God thing for me because just before it went off I was having a very selfish moment of wanting to be back home, teaching art and in an area I knew blah blah blah.  But when we were all outside I looked around at all the interesting people and God reminded me that He loves them just as much as me and that ITS NOT ABOUT ME!  Mars Hill has a sort of slogan you could call it and it is “Its all about Jesus” and well I am realizing that more and more!

We had life group again tonight and had some more new faces.  It was a good night to listen to the stories of what some of these people have been through and are going through.  You know it is a good group when you stop in the middle of discussion to lay hands and pray for a struggle that was shared.  We are a smattering of people at all different stages of life along with many different ethnic backgrounds present in the room but we all have everything in common because we all know the Lord. 

Thankful for: a successful day of working on my illustration project

Tomorrow is the first night of Mars Hill Youth- I am helping set up and serve the food!

Love ya MN and sweet dreams WA J

my crazy orange- one side was normal the other was not

Mt. Rainier from the roof

Alki Beach view

orange top