Brown Envelope with Harp

Today was the first day we started receiving mail at our temporary address which is Matt's mom's house. I was surprised and excited to see a brown envelope with harp on it and immediately recognized it as being from Ireland because of the harp. It was Matt's work permit which we worried would get lost. It was an exciting moment to hand it to him and say, "You're work permit is here!" Praise the Lord!

It looks as though we will be leaving early next week for our new home. We would definitely appreciate your prayers as this will be an exciting as well as difficult time!

Things I Will Miss in Ireland #3

As I was enjoying lunch today at my favorite Mexican food restaurant, Macayo's, I started to become convinced this was not only my favorite Mexican food restaurant but it may also be my favorite restaurant of all time. I cannot get over how delicious their bean chimichangas are smothered in enchilada sauce and topped with sour cream. They also have the best chips and salsa of any Mexican restaurant, NO CONTEST!

Because I am so accustomed to Mexican food living in the southwest I had my good friend Yunuen, who is from Mexico, show me how to make frijoles from scratch recently. I have yet to perfect them but since refried beans is a staple of my diet I figured I should learn to make them.

I will also miss eating at Jason's Deli where I indulge in their scrumptuous meatball po' boy on a wheat french roll regularly with strawberries and fruit dip. And to top it off they give free softserve ice cream cones!

Advice from Master's Seminary Missionary in Ireland

With the help of the Master's Seminary I was able to make contact with a missionary in central Ireland. I have been conversing back and forth with the missionary's wife who has been exceptionally friendly and helpful and has already invited us to come for a visit once we get there. It turns out her husband is a native and she is American. She was able to recommend two churches for me to check out in Dublin ( http://www.grosvenorbaptist.org/ and http://www.grace.ie/page/Home.aspx ) although she said there aren't many good churches there. She also gave me some tips for coming to Ireland as an American. Here is what she had to say....

"Yes, the Irish are generally friendly, and usually friendly to Americansas individuals--they're just not particularly keen on America as a country. Hereare some tips you might find helpful:

1. Don't hang an American flag up outside your house.
2. Don't keep comparing everything in Ireland to America. This is hard, becauseyou keep wanting to say, "Wow, I've never seen a fridge this small...in Americathey're always much larger" or "I can't believe they don't take credit cards inthis shop...in America, every shop takes credit cards!" Etc. I know in yourown mind you would just be making a comparison, but to the Irish it sounds likeyou think America is always better, and it kind of hurts.
3. Talk in a quiet voice in public places...restaurants, shops, and so forth.
4. Don't talk about American politics unless someone asks you, and even thendon't go on and on about it.
5. If someone drops in to your house for a chat, always offer them tea or coffeeand something to eat...biscuits (cookies) are the usual thing. And if someoneelse offers you tea, it's probably easier just to take one cup than to refuse itand be asked 5,000 more times if you're sure you won't have a cup."

I also asked her what was the most difficult thing to adjust to in Ireland. Any guesses as to her reply?

"Probably the weather! It rains a lot, and is damp and cold much of the time. Inthe last seven weeks, I think we've had maybe 3 days where it didn't rain.Admitedly, it's been a bad summer, but it's like that for much of the year.Bring warm clothes!"

What other questions do you think I should ask her???

Good Bye Happy Home!

Three nights ago we left our first house. After a long day of packing, cleaning and making trips back and forth across town we were exhausted. It was sad to walk out for the last time. I looked at the beautiful wood floor, thanked God for all the blessings we had there, and closed the door for the last time. We then made the long track across town with the yowling cats to our temporary home with Matt's mom. She has 6 cats of her own and it will be interesting to see what happens when we let the Sharptooth and Indi out of our bedroom where they have been confined since we got here. Hissing, growling, batting and puffing out is to be expected. I am just hoping it doesn't turn into all out warfare!

Soon to be Homeless...

One week from today we will be leaving our first home. I remember the first time we walked in the model of this home and how we said, "this is too much house for us." I also remember clearly how I fell in love with it and how no other house we looked at could compare. I asked God for it but thought there was no way we would be able to buy it.

God was so good and blessed us with this great house. From the minute we walked in and tore the carpet out we made this house our own- which is why it is so hard to leave. I soon found out that God had gifted Matt in the area of remodeling. Since we have lived here he put in wood flooring and ceramic tile and landscaped the backyard with a brick patio, a flagstone fire pit, a sprinkler and drip system, grass, and an assortment of plants.

There are many good memories here and it is hard to leave something we've worked so hard on. This house has been great, God has been faithful and now goes before us in a direction.

Johnny Mac Rap

Stumbled across Johnny Mac rapping on one of the blogs I drop in on regularly called "Irish Calvinist." It is a fantastic blog and worth checking out. Here is a link to the rap...

http://www.irishcalvinist.com/?p=896

Christian Music

I find it so unfortunate when I come across Christians who bag on Christian music. Now granted, there are some Christian bands out there that aren't very good but to throw out all Christian music because you've only been exposed to say Stryper, Amy Grant or Micahel W. Smith is not only sad but LAME! Below is a song that is musically and lyrically fantastic and expresses a heart attitude that we ought to have as Christians. To throw out music like this (which speaks the truth and is edifying) in favor of filling up on secular music is unfortunate to say the very least.

David Crowder shows how to play his sweet tune at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKPaXd5zRMI

Wholly Yours
I am full of earth
You are heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
You are everything
that is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity

But a certain sign of grace is this
From a broken earth
flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I wanna be holy like You are

You are everything
that is bright and clean
And You’re covering
me with Your majesty

And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands
redemption fell down
Liberating man

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

But the harder I try
the more clearly can I feel
The depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be
the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah
You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

So here I am, all of me
Finally everything
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly Yours
I am wholly, wholly Yours
I am full of earth and dirt and You

1 Cor. 9:20-22

Notice that Paul deliberately refused to customize his message or adjust his delivery to suit the Corinthian's philosophical bent or their cultural tastes. When he says later in the epistle, "To the Jews I became a Jew... to those without the law, as without law... to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Cor. 9:20-22), he was describing how he made himself a servant to all (v. 19) and the fellow of those whom he was trying to reach. In other words, he avoided making himself a stumbling block. He was not saying he adapted the gospel message (which he plainly said is a stumbling block- 1:23). He did not adopt methods to suit the taste of a worldly culture.

Paul had no thought of catering to a particular generation's preferences, and he used no gimmicks as attention-getters. Whatever antonym you can think of for the word showmanship would probably be a good description of Paul's style of public ministry. He wanted to make it clear to everyone (including the Corinthian converts themselves) that lives and hearts are renewed by means of the Word of God and nothing else. That way they would begin to understand and appreciate the power of the gospel message. 

-from The Truth War by John MacArthur

Evangelical Fad Surfing

Contemporary evangelicals have therefore become very much like "children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14). They follow whatever is the latest popular trend. They buy whatever is the current best seller. They lineup to see any celebrity who speaks spiritual-sounding language. They watch eagerly for the next Hollywood movie with any "spiritual" theme or religious imagery that they can latch on to. And they discuss these fads and fashions endlessly, as if every cultural icon that captures evangelicals' attention had profound and serious spiritual significance.-from The Truth War by John MacArthur

Do you know people who fit this? It is so sad when people settle for a shallow Christianity or a an all together counterfeit faith when Christ is SO MUCH MORE!

Dublin Draws Near

I am beginning to dream of moving. Last night I drempt Matt and I were in Dublin looking for an apartment. I assume my dreams will become more and more about moving to Ireland now since the time is drawing near. Our house sold last week which can only be accounted for by God since the house market is so bad. God seems to be bringing everything about in perfect time. It has been quite amazing to watch God's hand in all of this since the beginning when Matt brought home a list of locations which have his program and we saw and considered Ireland for the first time. I thought for sure it was a pipe dream and was shocked when he was notified by Ireland that he was to have an interview. And he found this out the day before he went to Sacramento to interview. Turning down a great job opportunity in Sacramento was very difficult when Ireland seemed so unsure. But here we are and God has been at the center throughout the entire time, controlling all apsects. I am so grateful for this opportunity and this adventure we are about to have. God is so good and amazing and His blessings and provisions are stunning.

Proposition and Personal Element to Truth

"Let's be clear: truth certainly does entail more than bare propositions. There is without question a personal element to truth. Jesus himself made that point when he declared himself truth incarnate. Scripture also teaches that faith means receiving Christ for all that he is- knowing him in a real and personal sense and being indwelt by him- not merely assenting to a short list of disembodied truths about him (Matthew 7:21-23).

So it is quite true that faith cannot be reduced to mere assent to a finite set of propositions (James 2:19). I have made that point repeatedly in previous books. Saving faith is more than a merely intellectual nod of approval to the bare facts of a minimalist gospel outline. Authentic faith in Christ involves love for his person and willingness to surrender to his authority. The human heart, will and intellect all consent in the act of faith. In that sense, it is certainly correct, even necessary, to acknowledge that mere propositions can't do full justice to all the dimensions of truth.

On the other hand, truth simply cannot survive if stripped of propositional content. While it is quite true that believing the truth entails more than the assent of the human intellect to certain propositions, it is equally true that authentic faith never involves anything less. To reject the propositional content of the gospel is to forfeit saving faith, period."

-from The Truth War by John MacArthur

Things I will miss in Ireland #2

I often remind my husband how lucky he is to have a wife that is such a bargain shopper. My favorite stores is Ross followed by Old Navy. I also like to go the Gap at the outlet mall where I get killer deals. These are pretty much the only stores I shop at. I mean with the screaming deals you get at these stores who in their right mind would pay mall prices?! The best day was about one month ago when I was shopping at Ross and I found a pair of Old Navy jeans- and for $7.99 to boot! Shopping does not get any better than that!!

I met an English girl while in Thailand last fall who recognized my Old Navy shirt and told me they don't have Old Navy over there. I am sure there are no Ross stores and from what I hear Gap costs an arm and a leg. I may have to come home just to shop!

Things I will miss in Ireland #1...

I think that I will go on a wild blogging rampage about the things I will miss in Ireland to see if I can get them out of my system by sheer expression...

Things I will miss in Ireland #1...

MY BOOKS! What a wonderful bookshelf I had with a goldmine of books! Man, was it sad to pack this up!

As Dublin draws near I begin to think of the things that I will miss besides the obvious like my family, my friends and my cats (until they arrive in December).

As small as this may sound I will miss Saturday mornings at Brueggers Bagels with my hubby, drinking Bruegger's hazelnut cream coffee (my fav coffee), and eating whole wheat bagels with egg, cheddar, and sausage (my fav sandwich -outside of my mom's turkey salad and egg salad and my mother in law's grilled cheese). This is a serious treat to me! My friend Denise told me she saw lots of bagel shops in Dublin and lots of coffee houses but I think it will be hard to beat Brueggers!

Sweet Catch!

Since my brother-in-law Steven doe snot have a blog of his own I felt that I must take it upon myself to post this sweet catch. Nice work, bro!

One question: Did you use a small dog for bate?

98 Dublin FM

I have been streaming a radio station from Dublin for about the last month. The music isn't my favorite but it has regular news, traffic, and weather updates as well as some call in shows. Listening to it has given me a feel for the people and the city of Dublin.

To take a listen:
-Click on this link http://www.98fm.ie/default2.asp#
-Click on the orange circle on right side that says "Listen Live"

Surprising how much American music they play.

Which Theologian Are You?

Matt gave me this quiz quite a while ago but I saved it and stumbled across it today. Please take it and post which three theologians you are most like.

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=44116


For me:
I came in as Martin Luther and then I had a threeway tie with John Calvin, Johnathan Edwards and of all people... Karl Barth!

...Hmm...

Loome's

Speaking of books, while I was in Minnesota recently I visited the neatest bookstore in Stillwater called Loome's Theological Book Store. The book store is set in a beautifully restored Old Swedish Covenant Church and is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books in the world! They supply institutional libraries, monastic communities, churches, clergy, scholars, and collectors with a vast array of books in theology, religion, and all related areas.

I was surpirsed to read this: "When most people in the upper Midwest think of Stillwater, they are thinking of great food, antiques and the beautiful St. Croix Valley. When people in Vienna, Tokyo, Oxford or Manila think of Stillwater, they are thinking about books.Stillwater, North America’s first Booktown, has been the destination of countless book collectors, librarians and bibliophiles from all over the world for twenty years. They often fly over New York, Chicago or L.A. to get to us. In the world of books, Stillwater is serious business.King Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed monarch of the first Booktown in the world, Hay-on-Wye in Wales, personally named Stillwater a Booktown at the first annual Stillwater Book Fair held in October, 1995."

Fascintating! This famous theological bookstore is located in the town of my birth and as such a book lover I am ashamed to say I never even knew it! Even though a large majority of the books seemed to be Catholic it was really neat to walk around in this very old church, on the creaky floors, and go up the narrow staircase that led to the balcony which overlooked where the pulpit would have been and to be surrounded by tons and tons of old theological books. The only thing that could make it better is if they had coffee in there- I could be lost for hours!

Choosing Books

We have received word recently from the hospital in Dublin that they may be calling for us as early as four weeks from now :) so we have kicked it up into high gear around our place. Last night I had to take down my book shelf and pack up my books which was so sad. I plan on bringing some books with me and so far I have it narrowed down to about 35 books. Realistically I will be lucky if I can fit 15-20 books in my bags. Some of the no contest books are as follows:

My Johnny Mac study Bible NKJV, my Cambridge NIV Bible, The Valley of Vision, Holiness by Sproul, Total Truth by Pearcy, How Shall We Then Live and Trilogy by Schaffer, Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer, Desiring God and Future Grace by Piper, a few philosophy books, and a few books on Great Saints from places I will be seeing like Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Kyper, and Fox's Book of Martyrs.

These are just a few of the books so far. Anyone have any ideas on how I can squeeze as many books as possible into my luggage?

Dublin Webcams

Want to see Dublin? Check out these sweet webcams. Whenever I check and see a sunny sky I have to call Matt up and tell him, "A Sunny day in Dublin!"

http://www.liveireland.com/webcams.shtml

The Cat Is Out of the Bag

Last night Matt and I arrived in Minnesota to tell the family our news. We made them play a trivia game about Dublin to guess where our new home would be. The trivia questions started out difficult but became easier as the quiz went on. I thought for sure the last two trivia questions would give it away but my family was convinced it was in the US so they did not get it. Finally after we talked them through the latitiude and longitude question Cbass guessed Ireland and won the prize, a key chain from Dublin. They all want to come visit!

Is Christianity Good for the World?

A friend of mine recently recommended a debate to me entitled "Is Christianity Good for the World?" The debators are Doug Wilson (team Christ) and Christopher Hitchens (team anti-christ). These are two well studied and articulate men. The dialogue is absolutely fascinating!

There are mutliple parts which may be devoured at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-12.0.html


The debate focuses mostly on being able to account for one's morality. Here is a tidbit I particularly liked written from Wilson to Hitchens...

"You say in passing that ethical imperatives are "derived from innate human solidarity." A host of difficult questions immediately arise, which is perhaps why atheists are generally so coy about trying to answer this question. Derived by whom? Is this derivation authoritative? Do the rest of us ever get to vote on which derivations represent true, innate human solidarity? Do we ever get to vote on the authorized derivers? On what basis is innate human solidarity authoritative? If someone rejects innate human solidarity, are they being evil, or are they just a mutation in the inevitable changes that the evolutionary process requires? What is the precise nature of human solidarity? What is easier to read, the book of Romans or innate human solidarity? Are there different denominations that read the book of innate human solidarity differently? Which one is right? Who says?
And last, does innate human solidarity believe in God?" -Doug Wilson

Ice Cream made with Magic Hands

One of the many highlights of visiting my home town of Stillwater is going for an ice cream cone at my favorite ice cream shop, Nelson's. Nelson's is tiny brown house that sells huge ice cream cones for cheap. And the ice cream is the best I have ever had. Though there are tons of varied and delicious flavors my two favorite are their spumoni and peanut butter chocolate. SO GOOD! While I am down here in the desert I get my fill of peanut butter chocolate ice cream at Baskin Robins and that does the trick. I prefer to have ice cream out rather than buying it from the grocery store because the ice cream that you have out is made with magic hands and is way better. However, just recently I found some ice cream at the store that was made with magic hands. It is Kroger brand Peanut Butter Cookie Dough and it is the most delicious store ice cream I have ever had. In fact, I am eating some at this very moment and must go now to give it it's due attention. Later!

Like Peanut Butter and Jelly Go Together...

Over the weekend I went to Rialto Theater to see the Indigo Girls in concert. Though I don't listen to them much anymore they were my favorite group growing up. I have seen them twice as a young teen. Once they had a band with them and the other time it was just to the two of them with their guitars. I was pleasantly surprised to see them this time with just their guitars which is the way I prefer them. I never cease to be amazed at the incredible amount of talent possessed by the two of them, both with their guitar playing and voice harmonies. I have never heard two voices go together as beautifully and perfectly as theirs do! It appears that God made them to sing together.

It's funny listening to their lyrics now at this age and understanding so much more than I did as a teenager. Though I do not agree with a number of things they sing about I still appreciate their music and talent. I found myself thinking many times during the concert how amazing it would be to hear them singing Christian songs! With their unique style of singing different parts at the same time, perfect harmonies, and passionate guitar playing, it would be so awesome to apply that to the most beautiful songs about Christ!

Anyhoo, you never know what the Sovereign God will do, who He will transform and what He will use to bring glory to His name!

The Graduate

Here is a pic from Matt's graduation last weekend. I was so proud when they hooded him! CAPITAL JOB, HONEY!

Liberty

This is the cutest girl in the world, my niece, Liberty. Liberty is 2 and a half and was born the day the Lord took my father home to heaven. He wanted to live long enough to see his first granddaughter born. When she was born my sister's pastor took a picture of her and brought it over to my dad so he could see her. When he saw the picture he said, "Thank God," closed his eyes, and a few hours later was welcomed into heaven!

Some Camping Pics...

I Can't Wait to Go Again!

When I was young I used to sleep in a tent in my backyard with my sister Regan during the summer. As I grew up I slept in a tent outside of our cabin in northern Wisconsin a number of times. That was my experience of the great outdoors until recently. This weekend I had my first real camping experience. Our friends Ben and Lis invited us to go camping with them in Gardener Canyon which is south east of Tucson near Mt. Wrightston. The four of us miraculously squeezed all of our gear into our Honda Element and headed out Friday night. We arrived to our camp site after dark and immediately lit up a fire and began to have our first camping meal- BRAZILIAN STYLE HOT DOGS prepared by our resident Brazilian, Lis. Delicious! After this we relaxed by the fire, drinking wine and smoking cloves, cigars, and pipes for the rest of the night. It was pretty windy so we kept our fire small and left some coals burning when we went to bed. Ben and Lis pitched their tent while Matt and I converted our Element into our camping home- before you laugh let it be known the Honda Element was made to be a camping vehicle and has many camping accessories made for it. In the middle of the night we awoke to a blazing orange light. Matt looked out the window and said, "Oh my gosh!" As I looked out the window I saw a fire blazing and was afraid the woods were burning down with us in them! In reality our camp chair had blown in to the coals and caught fire. Ben, dressed in his black longjohns and looking like a ninja, dashed out of his tent and pulled the chair out of the fire covering it with dirt. Close call!

We awoke Saturday morning to the sound of light rain and small hail hitting our car. We could see Mt. Wrightston had been dusted with snow. I was afraid our camping adventure was ruined but God was so good and brought the sun out a short time later. We arose and began cooking breakfast on Ben's Coleman stove; eggs, bacon, hash browns coffee and HOMEMADE CHAI TEA Ben had learned to make from a Pakistani friend of his. Delicious! After breakfast we packed up small packs and headed out for a hike. We left the road and headed down a ravine where there was a small running stream. We sat by a little pool for a while where Lis spotted the first wildlife which was a small frog sun bathing in a cleft of a rock. Lis- who hates animals actually cried when she saw the frog- she is so funny! We then hiked up the stream a ways looking for wildlife and having stick races. I spotted a turtle in the stream which we had to pick up and take pictures of. I also saw a snake about two feet long but he slithered away before anyone else saw him. Matt found a very nice log that he had to take back for our fire pit on the hike back. When we returned to camp we had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon reading, gathering wood, and taking naps. Matt drug a 15 foot dead yucca plant back to camp. When Ben saw it he and Matt seemed to exchange ideas telepathically and they began digging a hole in order to stand up this yucca as the "camp mascot, Roger." They dug and rolled large rocks together to stand Roger up. Roger was a ferocious looking yucca indeed. They were proud. Shortly after this some very large cows with big horns were spotted just west of our camp. They hung out for a long time, chewing the cud. A mom and baby calf walked just north of our camp and joined the cows to the west of us.

After naps Matt and Ben built up the fire for the evening's main event, STEAK OVER THE OPEN FIRE. After rubbing them with rock salt the porterhouse steaks were placed on the grate over the fire. In no time we were feasting on some of the best steaks we had ever had along with beans and garlic bread. We enjoyed the fire for the rest of the night, with more pipes, cigars, and cloves. We also indulged in a camping must have, SMORES! We had chocolate graham crackers, marshmallows and Hershey's bars that were filled with peanut butter and brownie pieces. Delicious!

We awoke Sunday morning and whipped up some pancakes along with coffee and chai. We then packed up camp and headed out. Though another hike up the stream sounded good we were all ready for showers. Thanks be to Ben and Lis for taking us. I can't wait to go again!

Fresh from the Womb

This is my cousin Nichole's new baby, Luke. Is this not the cutest picture ever?!

Choose only 3

Let us talk books. If you had to choose only three books to be in your possession for the rest of your life what would you choose?

For me...
John MacArthur Study Bible
Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions
Trinity Hymnal

What would you choose?