Year in Review

2007 has been a pretty good year filled with blessings from the LORD. The biggest of course being our move to Dublin. Its funny to think of how bad I wanted to move here and what I thought I would learn. Living overseas I thought I would be able to soberly assess American culture as well as my own faith- is my Christianity American Christianity or biblical Christianity? I think Europe in some ways is too similar to the US to see clearly on these topics. In other ways it is so different. The fact of the matter is I am impatient and it is too early to tell. But one thing I do know is that God is so faithful and has been with me every step of the way, providing all that we need.

Another big blessing this year was leaving my job at UAPD. It was bittersweet having been there 8 years, making many friends and experiencing so much in the last three years as a police officer and detective. I had so many good times there and was blessed with wonderful fellow officers, corporals, sergeants, commanders and a fantastic chief. As a patrol officer I loved pulling traffic stops and as a detective- oh where would I even begin with all the neat things I got to do?! 

Working as a police officer or detective is a stressful and demanding job but I think there are few that can compare with it's greatness. It is an especially good job to hold as a Christian because you have so many opportunities to share Christ with the endless amount of people you come in contact with, whether they be fellow officers, criminals, victims, or others. But I am not cut out for a job that owns my life as the job of a detective does and I am quite happy to be home now spending my days working on my theology classes, cooking, and taking care of the home and husband.

Well, tomorrow Matt and I leave for Rome, a place I have longed to see for quite some time. I can only think of one other city in the world I want to see more. I can't believe I will actually be there tomorrow- may it not be too overwhelming! 

A happy and safe New Year to you all with many blessings in Christ Jesus!!!

Idolatry

The other night Matt and I went to the city center to do some shopping and see the Christmas lights. One of the main shopping districts, called Grafton Street, always has performers of all kinds dotted up and down the street. At the top of Grafton is a large Christmas tree for the Christmas season. In front of the tree on this night were 4 Native Americans, dressed in costume, playing music, and burning incense. Many people were gathered around them watching. My initial reaction was surprise to see Indians in Ireland and I immediately thought of where I grew up. As I continued to watch I realized what these Native Americans were doing- worshiping. If you look closely in the picture you will see an idol on a stand under the man who has the feathered head dress on, just over the dream catcher. I watched as the man in the middle would dance up to the idol and wave the incense all around it. I was disgusted and thought, how can they do this in front of a Christmas tree, three days before Christmas?! What an abomination! And I began to pray. And I longed for Christ to return because I cannot stand for Him to be so dishonored and I want to the world to know who the true God is. And then I thought of Isaiah the prophet who said:

"This is what the Lord says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing? He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy. The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint. The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire." From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god." They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?" He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?" -Isaiah 44:6-20

As I write this now I also think of the book of Romans where Paul talks about why man rejects the knowledge of God and instead embraces idolatry.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen." -Roms. 1:18-25

Worshiping anyone or anything other than the one true God is called idolatry and it is a LIE. The truth of God is PLAIN and men are WITHOUT EXCUSE. May God be so gracious as to open blind eyes and deaf ears, and give heart transplants which lead to repentance and saving faith in the one true God, Jesus Christ.

God is Loyal, God is Redeemer

GOD IS LOYAL

Once Yahweh entered into the covenant with Israel, He was characterized by steadfast loyalty to that covenant. His loyalty in reference to both the created order and the covenant with Israel is praised in Psalm 136. The term was translated "mercy" in the King James version and rendered "lovingkindness" by the New American Standard Bible. The New International Version renders the word "love." While it is true that love, kindness, mercy all result from Yahweh's covenant with Israel (among other things; see Deut. 7), it should be recognized that the driving force behind all these qualities was his loyalty to His elect people and the agreement that He made with them.

GOD IS REDEEMER
Finally, one of the most significant attributes to surface as a result of Yahweh's election of Israel is His deliverance of them. As His revelatory people, they witnessed His salvation.

"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and My servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe Me
and understand that I am He.
Before Me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after Me.
I, even I, am the LORD,
and apart from Me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-
I, and not some foreign god among you.
"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God."
-Isaiah 43:10-12

One of the best Old Testament summary statements serves as a fitting conclusion:

"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome... Fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name. He is your praise; He is your God," -Deuteronomy 10:17,20-21

God is a Covenant Making God

GOD IS A COVENANT MAKING GOD

The election of Israel as God's chosen people was an act of grace, not of justice. God was under no obligation to choose anyone, and there was nothing Abraham or Israel did to deserve being chosen. Once they accepted their elect status (signified by circumcision), however, they also accepted God's expectations for them.

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD'S commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set His affection on your forefathers and loved them, and He chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.
-Deuteronomy 10:12-15

God is Righteous and Just, God is Compassionate and Gracious

GOD IS RIGHTEOUS AND JUST

The fact that God is holy and transcendent does not mean that He has made himself unaccountable. It is God's nature to be righteous and just, and therefore He reflects those attributes consistently. When at times it may appear that He is not being righteous or just, we cannot assume that He defines those terms arbitrarily to suit His own whims. Rather, such instances reflect our inability to see the larger picture. Righteousness and justice can only be absolute in the company of sovereignty. Our only boast is in the firsthand experience and knowledge of this God:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boast boast about this:
that he understands and knows Me,
that I am the LORD, who exercised kindness,
justice and righteousness on the earth
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.
-Jeremiah 9:23-34


GOD IS COMPASSIONATE AND GRACIOUS

God's righteousness and justice have at times been viewed as negative attributes because they lead to the judgement of the wicked. Since no one but God can claim absolute righteousness, that puts all of humanity in jeopardy. It is therefore essential to balance God's righteousness and justice with His attributes of compassion and grace. These are the attributes that lead Him to act upon behalf of humanity by forgiving and by giving second chances, rather than imposing immediate punishment. They are evident in Nehemiah's prayer of confession on behalf of his forefathers.

"But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they put Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So You handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
"But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in Your sight. Then You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and in Your compassion You delivered them time after time.
"You warned them to return to Your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed Your commands. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on You, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. For many years You were patient with them. By Your Spirit You admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so You handed them over to neighboring peoples. But in Your great mercy You did not put an end to them, or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God."
-Nehemiah 9:26-31

God is Holy, God is Transcendent

GOD IS HOLY

As sole God, Yahweh is distinct and separate from every other being. He is Creator, not creature. This separateness is expressed in His attribute of holiness. The holiness of God is much emphasized in the Pentateuch as laws are given concerning how God is to be approached. His holiness is the standard that is to be considered the normative basis for human conduct: "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:2). His holiness is evident in situations in which it is violated (Lev. 10:1-2; 1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 6:6-10) and is proclaimed continually by the seraphim in Isaiah's vision (Isa. 6:3).

GOD IS TRANSCENDENT

Am attribute similar to God's holiness is His transcendence. This focuses not so much on His distinctiveness as on the fact that He is beyond us. One might say that transcendence defines the direction of His holiness. This means that we cannot always expect to understand His purposes:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts
neither are your ways My ways,"
declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts."
-Isaiah 55:8-9

God warns against underestimating Him:

"Am I only a God nearby,"
declares the LORD.
"And not a God far away?
Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?"
declares the LORD.
"Do I not fill heaven and earth?"
declares the LORD.
-Jeremiah 23:23-24

God is Creator, God is Wise

At the end of my OT Survey text book is a chapter that does a beautiful job of declaring the beauty and majesty of God in a short series of statements on His attributes. Reading it my heart was bursting forth in praise to the one, true, living, and most glorious God. I am going to do a series of posts on what was in the book so your heart can praise Him too!


GOD IS CREATOR

He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals His thoughts to man,
He who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth-
The LORD God Almighty is His name.
-Amos 4:13

There is nothing that God did not create. As discussed in the chapter in Genesis, the point of establishing God as Creator is to establish Him as the Sovereign. There is a straight line of logic from Creation to Covenant to History to Eschatology.
Since God created everything, He is sovereign over everything. Nothing is beyond his power or knowledge; He is accountable or subordinate to no one; He shares His position with no other being. This is affirmed in the testimony of Job: "I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). It is also foremost in God's own presentation of His credentials.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please...
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.
-Isaiah 46:9-11

GOD IS WISE

Creation was not accomplished in a haphazard or arbitrary way. The Old Testament affirms on numerous occasions that God's wisdom is evident throughout creation. Wisdom personified speaks in Proverbs:

The LORD brought me forth as the first of His works,
before His deeds of old;
I was appointed form eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.
When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there was no springs abounding with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
before He made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.
I was there when He set the heavens in place,
when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when He established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when He gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep His command,
and when He marked out the foundations of the earth.
Then I was the craftsman at His side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in His presence,
rejoicing in His whole world
and delighting in mankind.
-Proverbs 8:22-31

Further expression of this is found in the great hymn to wisdom in Job:

Where then does wisdom come from?...
God understands the way to it
and He alone knows where it dwells,
for He views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
when He made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it;
He confirmed and tested it.
-Job 28:20, 23-27

Quote from Upward Call

There is a blog I read regularly from a very wise and godly woman who lives up in Canada. She loves Christ, theology, and books and is my kind of woman. If we lived near each other I would most certainly ask her to mentor me! Anyway I really liked what she said in a recent post and wanted to quote it. You can read the whole post (from 12/12) and check out her blog at http://www.theupwardcall.blogspot.com/

"I have been married for twenty years. Not long in comparison to some, but long enough to have learned some very valuable lessons. Here is the most valuable one I have learned: I have become a better wife and mother the more I have sought to understand doctrine. The more I have sought to understand things like the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the attributes of God, regeneration, justification, salvation, etc., the more content I have become in my role of wife and mother and whatever other role God assigns me. I have learned less from those studies that comment directly on my relationships. Why is that?

It is because the Word of God is not just a book of ethical stories. It is a living revelation. It is the mind of God. How can I but change when I expose myself to that on a daily basis? The more I live in the light of His truth, the more my choices and decisions will be spirit-led."

WELL SAID!

Letter from Hell

Christmas Season Ramblings...

I love the Christmas season with all the Christmas music, lights, and goodies! A few nights ago I attended the Carols by Candlelight service at my church. Our choir is quite good and they did a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite Christmas songs, O Holy Night. I love Christmas music that is about Christ. My favorite song is probably O Come, O Come Emanuel. Yesterday God blessed me with a truly sunny day here. I am talking blue, blue sky and not a cloud to be seen! It was a treat as the weather is getting continually more dismal with more rain, wind and clouds. Tonight Matt and I made some Christmas cookies- Mexican wedding cookies, blooming peanut butter cookies, and snickerdoodles. I'm not sure if any of those really count as Christmas cookies but I never make them any other time of year. The only thing that could make them better is some eggnog!

Things I Miss in Ireland

As I attempted to make one of my favorite bread recipes today and realized I did not have the key ingredient I began to think of all the things I miss in Ireland besides the given (family, friends, and cats) and thought I should get it off my chest in a blog. So, in no particular order...

wheat bread
wheat flour to make wheat bread
non-stick pan spray that works
marshmallows incase I want to make rice crispy bars
Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds
refried beans
black beans
tortillas that are good
tortillas chips that are good
salsa that is good
ice cream that is good
fritos & doritos
chips that are good
lemonade
peanutbutter chips and chocolate chips for cookies
creamy peanutbutter
Folgers french vanilla coffee
Bruggers hazelnut coffee
any good coffee
Bruggers whole wheat bagels
American bacon
American sausage
Brueggers breakfast bagel with sausage, egg, and cheese on whole wheat bagel
Little Caesars $5 hot and ready large pepperoni pizza
Macayos Mexican food
Jason's Deli meatball po'boy on whole wheat french bread roll with strawberries and fruit dip
Petes Wicked Ale Strawberry Blond Beer
chai tea powder from Trader Joes
the smell of rain
warm breezes
mountain sunsets
driving in the car while rocking out to my ipod
Fry's Grocery Store
Fry's Grocery Store Prices
Ross & Old Navy
being able to buy books without worrying about how I was going to take them home (on plane)
watching the local news
watching Fox News
watching Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe
watching Chief Chuck forecast the weather
listening to Christian radio
peanutbutter chocolate ice cream
Baskin Robins 32 flavors
ice cream that is good
cheap fruit for making delicious desserts
graham crackers
pudding in a box
whole wheat pasta
grilling
multiple flavors of cheese blocks
velveeta cheese for grilled cheese
ranch dressing
cool whip
premade pie crusts
fridge biscuits for monkey bread
galons of milk
a two sided sink deeper tha 6 inches
dish soap that actually cuts grease
immediate hot water
businesses that run with common sense
ice cream that is good

Ok, that is enough for now. I'd better stop before I get homesick!

Mere Christianity

I recently finished reading the famous work by CS Lewis, Mere Christianity. I have a love/hate relationship with Lewis who was so brilliant in many areas and dead wrong in others. I enjoyed most of this book and could post tons of insightful quotes from it but I will limit myself to the two quotes below taken from the chapter on hope.

"Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will earth "thrown in": aim at earth and you will get neither."

The Christian says, "Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exist. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistaken them for something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same."

I think this book is a must read for any serious thinker or reader, Christian or not.

I snuck this picture off of my Aussie friend's facebook page so you could all see my pals here in Ireland. Going from left to right is Caterin of Wales, me, Sandra of France, Anna of Australia and Jessica of North Carolina. There is one more Anna from Italy but she was taking the pic. This pic was taken at T.G.I. Fridays in Dublin where my American friend wanted to celebrate her birthday American style. I have been trying to get back into the swing of things this week with homework and all but Matt has had most of the week off so we have been staying up late and sleeping in. This past weekend I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and I will have to say it is probably my favorite fiction book of all time. What an excellent love story! Austen is a very talented writer and I could only wish I had not seen the movie first. If you haven't read it you should and if you have read it please tell me how much you loved it!

Sharptooth video

I received this video in an email from my McMom and my heart nearly melted as it reminded me so much of my Sharptooth. Oh, how I miss his soft fur, blue eyes, pink nose and soothing purr! He is scheduled to be here with his beautiful and perfectly sweet sister Indomitus Plexus Puffytail January 10- we can't wait! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE VOLUME ON!

Team Polican and Team Irlanda

It has been about three weeks since my last blog as we have had the pleasure of having visitors in town. I am talking about none other than the infamous Policans from Tucson. While they were here we drug them around Dublin, spent a day in Belfast, and then took a trip to Scotland. The Policans are like our other half and we always have so much fun together traveling, playing spades, and never ceasing to give each other a hard time! Here are some pics from our recent adventures together in Europe...

When the Saints

Every so often Itunes gives away a free song that is actually good. I recently came across this one and since I downloaded it I can't get enough of it. It's the kind of song that when you listen to it it wells up inside of you and you want to cry for joy! I wish I had the blogger skills to post the song on my blog so you could hear it as the words go so well with the music. I highly recommend purchasing it and playing it over and over!

When The Saints by Sara Groves

Lord i have a heavy burden of all i've seen and know

it's more than i can handle

but your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones

and i can’t let it go

and when i'm weary and overwrought

with so many battles left unfought

i think of paul and silas in the prison yard

i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
and when the Saints go marching in

i want to be one of them

lord it's all that i can't carry and cannot leave behind

it all can overwhelm me

but when i think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life

their courage compels me

and when i'm weary and overwrought

with so many battles left unfought

i think of paul and silas in the prison yard

i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

i see the shepherd moses in the pharaohs court

i hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord
and when the Saints go marching in
i want to be one of them

i see the long quiet walk along the underground railroad

i see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

i see the young missionary and the angry spear

i see his family returning with no trace of fear

i see the long hard shadows of calcutta nights

i see the sister standing by the dying man’s side

i see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor

i see the man with a passion come kicking down that door
i see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road

i see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

chorus

Changing Weather

While talking with my European friends one day they told me they can spot Americans right away because they all wear New Balance shoes and carry backpacks with their names embroidered on them. Well, I am proud to say that my name is not embroidered on my bag but as far as the rest goes- guilty as charged. In an attempt to not stick out like a sore thumb I got some sweet boots today (thanks honey!). Everyone here wears boots with fashion tights and it is very cute. My friend Yunuen had asked me if I noticed people dress differently over here and at first I said no but I think I am beginning to see the difference now. I never thought my jeans were baggy until I lived in Europe.
On a different note, the weather is starting to change here. Not as much sun with more gray setting in and crisper air. The leaves are half gone off the trees and the days are much shorter. Matt and I stayed out all day shopping just because the sun was out and we wanted to soak it up before it goes into hibernation.
We are looking forward to the weekend as those crazy Policans get here Sunday for their 12 day Irish extravaganza. Yippee!

Lesson on Anthropology:Who is Man?

Two nights ago I was again blessed to attend the Truth Project. Lesson three was, "Anthropology: Who is man?" The instructor was right in beginning with when he said the problem of evil and who man is are inextricably linked. As we lay the foundation of anthropolgy (the study of man) we shall see the answer to the problem of evil.

Who is God? Who is man? America greatestest thinker, Johnathan Edwards, said, "Of all kinds of knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important." Quite. The answer to these two questions form the foundation of everyone's worldview. Today we will talk about who man is. What does the world say about man? What does God say about man?

As the instructor looked at man he focused on his essence, his moral state, and his need according to the biblical worldview. The Bible teaches man was created in the image of God. The original state of man was good and innocent. The state of man changed at the Fall- when man disobeyed God. Man's state was now fallen with a propensity for evil. The Bible says "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Rom. 5:12)."

How does the Bible describe fallen man?

• evil
• dead
• blind
• deaf
• lost
• rebellious
• without hope
• haters of God
• desperatelywicked
• children of the devil

As Charles Spurgeon so succinclty put it: "You cannot slander human nature; it is worse than human words can paint it."
So, man's moral state is fallen and he is is in rebellion against God. Only two things can happen here- either man will carry on in his fallen state, living in rebellion against God which will lead to separation from God for eternity in hell, or he will be redeemed. There are only two outcomes becuase of man's moral state. The only way for man's moral state to change is for him to be made alive by the Holy Spirit wherein he places his faith in Christ alone to save him from his sins. The Bible calls this redemtption and says it is what man needs above all else. We saw the Bible's description of fallen man above. Now lets look at what the Bible calls man who has been redeemed:

• saints
• priests
• called out ones
• the people of God
• a holy nation
• elect
• children of God
• Sons of God
• beloved
• born from above
• alive in Christ

So now all is great, right? Not so fast. The Bible says even though we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and made alive from our fallen and spiritually dead state we still carry our sinful nature. Man's essence is dualistic meaning he is both flesh and spirit rather than monistic which means purely material. A battle rages in the Christian between the flesh and the spirit. "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (Gal. 5:16,17)." For further description of this battle see what Paul has to say in Rom. 7:15-25. God calls us to fight sin, in fact to kill it (though it cries to us for mercy!), and this is done with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside the new man.
The instructor contrasted the biblical worldview with the naturalistic worldview as follows: The Bible says that man is created in the image of God. The naturalistic worldview claims that man is a product of mindless, purposeless forces. The Bible teaches man, though created perfect, rebelled against God and is now fallen, his heart desperately wicked. The naturalistic worldview believes man is basically good. The Bible says man needs divine grace, regeneration and redemption. The naturalistic worldview says man must save himself through self-oriented pursuits.
The instructor went on to give interesting quotes from leading proponents of the naturalistic worldview. The beliefs are incredible and heartbreaking. Due to time and space I will focus on the quotes from the famous Abraham Maslow. Maslow is known for creating the hierarchy of needs where he claims that man's ultimate objective is self-actualization- following and doing your inner desires. This claim must be seen in light of Maslow's view of man:
"As far as I know we just don't have any intrinsic instincts for evil" -Maslow
"Since the inner nature is good or neutral rather than bad, it is best to bring it out and encourage it rather than to suppress it. If it is permitted to guide our life, we grow healthy, fruitful, and happy."- Maslow
"If you think in terms of basic needs; instincts, at least at their outset are all 'good'... careful study of them (instincts) will provide the value we need by which better societies can evolve." -Maslow
WOW! Is this the secret to life? Should I, as well as everyone else, follow the desires of my heart because after all, my inner nature is good or at least neutral! Will following my inner desires bring happiness, healthiness, fruitfulness and a better society? Most importantly where will this lead me in the end?
Two verses from Scripture come to mind in regard to my inner nature and where it will lead me:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it" -Jer. 17:9
"For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live." Rom. 8:13
The condition of man and the problem of evil are inextricably intertwined. When someone tries to tell you man is basically good ask him, in what world? Not the one we are living in. One of the so called major problems of Christianity is the problem of evil. People holding to a non-biblical worldview think Christianity cannot answer the problem of evil. The truth of the matter is only the biblical worldview can give a coherent, consistent and truthful answer about the problem of evil because only the biblical worldview sees man as he is: a sinner with no hope outside of Christ.

An education itself...

"God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But, fortunately, it works the other way round. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself. That is why an uneducated believer like Bunyan was able to write a book that astonished the whole world." - C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

Lesson on Philosophy & Ethics

I attended the long awaited session two of the Truth Project last night titled "Philosophy & Ethics: Says Who?" I was very excited as the degree I am pursuing has a partial concentration in philosophy.

The program started out referencing 2 Tim 2:24-26, "And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." The instructor asked the question, "Have you been taken captive?"

He went on to speak about the warning given in Colossians 2:8, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

The example he used for hollow & deceptive philosophy was from Carl Sagan and his "The Cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be" and how "we are made of start-stuff" (who believes this crap??? Oh, the lengths that man will go to in order to escape the God of the Bible!). He went on to talk about assumptive language- a powerful and dangerous form of knowledge.

He described the Cosmic Cube which is a naturalistic worldview that says there is nothing outside the cosmos; reality is a closed box and all truth must be materially perceived. He compared this to a Biblical worldview which presupposes that God is and that He has revealed himself to us (general revelation through our world and specific revelation through his word). This God is transcendent and immanent- meaning He is above and works within the box. The instructor pointed out that when man feels a spiritual void in his life he adds a god. It is interesting to note that this god is almost always a god who is inside the box.

The instructor started to talk about what philosophy is. Noah Webster in 1828 said, "The objects of philosophy are to ascertain facts or truth, and the causes of things or their phenomena; to enlarge our view of God and his works..." Strangely enough Mr. Webster today says philosophy is, "a search for the underlying causes and principles of reality" with no reference to God. Hmmm, I wonder what changed his mind...

One of my favorite parts of this presentation was when the instructor talked about the Universals and the Particulars. The Universals are the big questions of life. Philosophers thought if they could put all the particulars together they would know the universal truths. They in fact had it backwards because they refuse to acknowledge that God has given us the universals so we could make sense of all the particulars around us. As an example of this the instructor talked about the life of Da Vinci who believed he could find the universals in math, then science, then art. He ended up empty and died a despondent and depressed man with no hope.

The instructor went on to talk about the ethical implications of postmodernism. What is right? What is wrong? Who makes the rules? There is no basis for ethical standards in a naturalistic worldview. This will lead to "might is right" and people will become oppressed. In this section Sproul talked about statistical ethics where a culture, who has denied God and now has no basis to determine ethical standards, determines ethics through normalcy and survey data (sound like where the US is heading?). With the condition of the human heart we know where this will lead society!

The instructor showed a clip of a debate between Phillip Johnson and William Provine where Provine, the antitheist, openly admitted the implications of a naturalistic worldview are:

• No gods or purposive forces
• No ultimate foundation for ethics
• No free will
• No life after death
• No ultimate meaning in life

Who can actually live consistent with this??? Who would want to?

A worldview is the set of individual truth claims that you have embraced so deeply that you believe they reflect what is really real, and therefore they drive what you think, how you act and what you feel.

What is your worldview?

• False religions
• Secular humanism
• Marxism
• Postmodernism
• Pagan Mysticism
• New Age
• Naturalism
• Christianity

Have you been taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy?

• Materialism- matter is the only reality
• ldealism- ideas are the only reality
• Empiricism-knowledge comes from experience
• Rationalism- knowledge is gained by reason without experience
• Naturalism- true knowledge only comes from scientific study
• Determinism- there really is no knowledge, you only react to stimuli
• Relativism- there are no absolutes
• Mentalism- mind is the true reality and objects exist only as an aspect of the mind's awareness
• Mechanism- everything can be explained in terms of physical or biological causes
• Solipsism- self is all you need to know
• Subjectivism- knowledge is dependant on and limited by your own subjective experiences
• Intuitionism- knowledge comes primarily from some kind of inner sense
• Hedonism- pleasure is good, pain is evil; if it feels good, it is

The lists could go on. Charles Colson was quoted "The church's singular failure in recent decades has been the failure to see Christianity as a life system or worldview, that governs every area of existence." The consequence of a non-Christian worldview as Christians is that we buy the lies and conform to the world.
The solution to this is found in Rom. 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The word "transformed" in the Greek is "Metamorphoo" which is where we get our English word "metamorphosis." What comes to mind when you hear the word metamorphosis? A BUTTERFLY- because it means to change into a different physical form. As Christians, God changes us as we renew our minds by saturating ourselves in his word daily. But just as it is a difficult and gruelling process for an ugly cocoon to be transformed into a beautiful butterfly so it is with us. The instructor also pointed out how "metamorphoo" is used in only two other passages in Scripture.
"After 6 days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up to a high mountain where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them." -Mark 9:2
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." -2 Corinthians 3:18
Seeing it in these other passages really put it into perspective for me. How amazing!
As Christians we must fill our minds with the truth of God's word so we are able to recognize the hollow and deceptive philosophies and not be taken captive by them. As we are faithful to renew our minds God will transform us!

First Visitors and Trips

We are so excited to be joined by our first visitors next month, the Policans- Ryan and Yunuen! Why do we lovingly refer to them as the Policans you ask? Because Ryan is Polish (and ridiculously proud of it) and Yunuen is mi amiga Mexicana. They are leaving the desert to join us in the Emerald Isle for 12 days. We will be taking our first trip with them while the are here. We will be spending three nights in the enchanting city of Edinburgh, Scotland. We are terribly excited to see them and to go to Scotland since it is Matt's people and all!

We have also recently planned a trip for New Years Eve. Matt's dad will be joining us in Dublin for a few days and then it is off to the city I have wanted to see most- Rome! I can hardly wait to see the Colosseum and all the sweet ruins. On all of Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe shows Italy always seems to have the coolest architecture. I can't wait to see it.

Aside from looking for hotels endlessly I have just been doing my homework. I am in the middle of my first class, Survey of the Old Testament, and it is OUTSTANDING!!!

More USA Booty!

Another package of USA booty arrived today from Matt's dad, Bill and his wife, Yoli. We knew they were planning on sending a care package but we didn't know what was in it or that it would arrive so soon. What a wonderful surprise! We have the best families ever!

The package included black beans, pinto beans, salsas, pita chips, Hershey's brownie mix and the biggest tortillas I have ever seen.

Thanks a mil to the McReynolds clan and doxies!

Our Hood

The long awaited pictures of our flat and neighborhood. Sorry it took so long. Hope to see you soon for a visit!

BOOTY from the USA!

Yippee for the gifts sent to me by my wonderful family! Spices, chai tea, Hershey's syrup, chips of all flavors and PINTO BEANS!!!! Well, I'm off to make cookies. THANKS, FAMILY!

Lesson on Veritology

I attended the first study of the Truth Project the other night at church and found it very thought provoking and good. The first lesson was "Veritology:What is Truth?" Among the things discussed were...

-Why did Christ come into the world?
-The Scriptural emphasis on truth.
-The connection of sanctification and salvation to truth.
-The battle between Spirit of Truth and Spirit of Falsehood- Reality verses illusion.
-Connection between sin, lies, and deceit- every sin can be traced back to belief in a lie.
-How to deal with unbelievers who are captives- as we once were.
-Battle of worldviews- opposition between God's truth and the lies of the world, flesh and the devil.
-What is truth?
-Equating an idol to a lie- lies are powerful and lead us to insane notions.
-What is insanity?
-Our actions reflect what we believe to be really real.

The presentation was excellent. Several different people from all walks of life were asked what truth is. The best answer was given by a 12 year old boy and the worst was given by a female unitarian pastor. People could not define truth- it was so sad. Clips were shown from Ravi Zacharias, Os Guinness, and RC Sproul to define truth. The first session was chock full of Scripture and engaging questions. It answered the questions it raised- Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth (John 8:37), truth is conformity to to fact or reality, insanity is losing touch with reality -which society seriously suffer from! The session ended with this important question: Do you really believe, that what you believe is really real? If the answer to that question is truly "yes" then we- as Chrisitans- ought to turn the world upsidedown!

This is the stuff I LOVE!

God is so faithful to answer prayer. Just a few weeks in our new city and I feel I have found the right church already. I am enjoying my time at Grosvenor Road Baptist Church very much. The preaching is very good and the people are friendly. This week the Pastor will be starting a class that will run every Wednesday night for several weeks. The curriculumn is from the Truth Project which is teaching on Christian Worlview put together by Focus on the Family. It looks AWESOME and I am so excited to go. When I saw the trailer at church I could have jumped out of my seat- this is the stuff I LOVE!



For more information on the Truth Project go to www.thetruthproject.org
You can see teasers of all the different lessons from the curriculumn at this site if you go to the downloads and look at videos.

Piper and Mac Together

My family attended the 2007 National Desiring God conference this weekend in Minneapolis where the key note speaker was John MacArthur. This years subject was endurance. All the lectures are on the Desiring God website for free download. I put a number of them on my pod and am excited to listen to them. I just finished watching "A Conversation with John Piper and John MacArthur" which was a special treat for me because those two are my favorite Bible teachers. I loved the part near the end where the moderator asks each of them how they deal with discouragement. They each give completely different answers. I definitely fall in line more with MacArthur's stoicalness but I love Piper's answer.

Click here to watch or listen:
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/37/

In Our New Place

Well, we are starting to get settled in at our new place. I have spent the week clean and shopping. Who would have guessed shopping would be so much work? It's hard when you don't know what stores have what and who has the best prices. I was invited over to the house of the girls I met for tea this week. While there I met the other roommates, a Welsh girl, and two French girls. All were very nice and it was neat to see how much we already had in common because of Christ. Today I went to the women's Bible study at my new church. They have tea, coffee, and treats beforehand and then split up into groups to discuss the study and pray. All the women I met were very nice and I was glad to see the study was a time of study where the word was the focus. It's so amazing to worship with other Christians on the other side of the globe.

We'll be posting pics of our new place this weekend so stay tuned!

Matt spotted these little beauties...

God is so good. Yesterday we were at the shopping center near our new place when Matt spotted these pinto beans. Of all places to be they were in a herbal health food store! It is a small package- just 500 grams- but I was so glad to find them. I exercised extreme self-control when I only bought one package. They were $1.44 (euros). Tonight we are having our first meal in our new place- roast beef, mashed potatoes and popovers. Tomorrow we will be having what is left of the roast beef with these little beauties wrapped up in tortillas. I can hardly wait. YIPPEE!

My 28th Birthday

I celebrated my 28th birthday yesterday in Dublin. We awoke and went to Insomnia (coffee chain equivalent to Starbucks) for a chai tea and chocolate muffin. Then we went to church at Grosvenors Road. We met more people this week and I was invited to a women's Bible study at the church by a lady from none other than Minnesota! Her and her husband are missionaries and have been in Ireland for 23 years. After the service the church had a potluck which we stuck around for and met our first friends our age. One was a girl from North Carolina and the other was a girl from Australia. Both were very nice and it was good to make friends! There was an man from Iran who spoke during the potluck about what is going on with the Christians in Iran. It was so encouraging. God is doing tremendous work there. This man is working on a team that is translating the Bible into Farsee. He showed a video of Iranians receiving the Bible in their language. They were so excited and so grateful- some were crying. It was amazing to see these people so hungry for God's word when people in the US can have as many Bibles as they want and could care less about them. After lunch we headed back into the city center to attend the Evensong service at Christ Church Cathedral. This cathedral is soooo beautiful and huge and I have been wanting to see the inside and hear the organ and choir. The inside did not disappoint and the singing was like the singing of angels in heaven. The organ was very cool but my favorite was to hear the choir sing with no music. They sang hymns, psalms, portions of Scripture, and prayers. They also recited the Apostles Creed, had two readings from Scripture, a prayer, and an offering. The evensong service is a meant for reflection and has a very serious mood. It lasted about an hour and a half and happens twice a week. I think all the large cathedrals in Europe have evensong services and I can't to see more. After the service we went out for Mexican food. We ordered chips and salsa and chimichangas and though it looked like Mexican food it did not taste like what we're used to in Tucson. I'm not sure if it was more representative of food you would find in the south of Mexico or if the Irish just make their own kind of Mexican food. Anyway, it was pretty good but no Macayos!

One Mediator

"FOR THERE IS ONE GOD, AND ONE MEDIATOR ALSO BETWEEN GOD AND MEN, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS"

-1 TIMOTHY 2:5

The Search Goes On...

Over the weekend we stopped in to have a Guinness and hear some authentic Irish music at the Temple Bar. The music was awesome and the Guinness is always good. We are so excited to have some visitors come our way. We have been getting a little rain lately but its no big deal. I just make sure to have my umbrella in my bag and something warm to put on. I really enjoy this living in the city without a car. Its so easy to walk down to the store and grab some groceries. They don't give you bags here so you have to bring your own or buy one there. It seemed strange to me but then I thought of Sam's Club at home. We are still looking for an apartment but at least have been able to narrow our search down to two areas of town that are next to eachother. We are looking in the city center where prices are a little higher but you're right in the middle of everything- and then we are looking in what is called Rathmines. Rathmines is known as the college kid area of town. There are three good grocery stores right in the middle of Rathmines and it is not far to the city center so I really like this location also. We'll let you know as soon as we get a place- keep praying!

Church in Dublin

This last Sunday I was able to attend my first church service in Ireland. Out of the two churches recommended to me I decided to check out Grosvenor Road Baptist Church first. It seems all churches start here at 11:00 so we had plenty of time to get there. The church, pictured above, is in one of the two areas we are looking to live. The sanctuary seats approximately 225 people and the service was full with people of all ages. They had a missions team there this week from Canada and the US. The team came to help do some work to the church building and teach English to foreigners. The service was very nice. They played hymns on the large organ (pictured above near the right top of the sanctuary) and some more contemporary songs with a small band. There was much prayer throughout the service. Almost all the prayers and all the worship was lead by a woman and though the prayers were very good it was odd to be led in prayer by a woman during church. The Scripture reading was also done by a woman. They also had a time during the service where a person gave their testimony. I am not sure if that is a regular thing. The Pastor gave a very good sermon out of Judges 13 and brought out a number of things I did not know or had not thought of when I have read it before. The Pastor seems to be a good Bible teacher and really shines with joy in the Lord and love for Him. At the end of the service they had communion. It was a little different than I am used to. They pass around a big hunk of bread and you tare a small piece off and all take the bread together. For the wine they pass around a tray of the little juice cups but when the tray gets to you, you take your cup and drink it, put the empty cup back, and then pass the tray on to the next person. I am not sure why they do it that way instead of taking it together. A little old Irish lady was sitting next to us and asked if we went to a Baptist church back home. We told her we had gone to a Presbyterian church. She leaned over to Matt a little later and told him the Presbyterian Churches there have communion only once every three months.

A few people noticed we were new and came and talked to us and were very friendly. I am not sure how many couples there are our age at this church but hopefully we'll meet some soon. We talked to the Pastor after the service and he was very nice. He told us to come next Sunday as they are having a bring and share lunch after the service and said it would be a good opportunity to meet people. When we left we got our first rain since we've been here. It was a light rain and did not last very long but it did cause us to hurry home!

Tacos and Sunshine

The forecast today called for a 60% chance of rain. We awoke to sunshine streaming in our bedroom window and the sun shone brightly all day long. I think I was even sweating today! They don't have air conditioning here so when you're hot you don't know what to do. We have been looking at apartments nonstop and it is getting so old. Oh, to have a home already! I forgot how bad the rental scene is- places are dumps and 20 people show up to view the property and fight over it. Still no places that take cats that aren't in the ghetto. It's like people don't know what cats are here because they can't comprehend that indoor cats don't go outside and are perfect for apartment living.

I have been able to do a lot more shopping these last 2 days and have found more promising grocery stores and a great homegoods store to stock up our place as soon as we get it. I got the ingredients for tacos with refried beans which we had for dinner. We washed the tacos down with an unknown German beer that was on sale. Not my favorite beer. To end the evening we had chocolate cake! It may sound silly that I am blogging about our meals but when you're far from home comfort foods are such a blessing!

Yesterday I found the Baptist Church that was recommended to me. It's in a beautiful old church building and is in the part of town I am hoping to live in. I got to talk to one of the members who was very friendly. I am looking forward to going tomorrow morning and hoping to God that I will make some friends. We have been taking more pictures for y'all and will post them tomorrow night.

Spaghetti Tonight

The first few days I was here I didn't want to live in the city center cause I thought it was a zoo. Now I've changed my tune and we are looking for a place here. It is so convenient to just walk everywhere and not have to take the bus. Plus the architecture is so cool and I love to see the River Liffey. Yesterday I made my first important purchase for life here in Dublin. I went to some store in the mall by Grafton Street and picked out a crock pot from a catalog. You write down the number and hand it to the clerk and then they go to the back and get it for you. Interesting. I did some grocery shopping last night so I could make dinner today. I have been craving spaghetti so I got the stuff for it. Grocery shopping is a nightmare with the prices and little selection. I finally found tortillas which are about 2.75 euro and refried beans in a can are 2.06 euro- YIKES. In case any of you wanted to send a birthday present over the pond I could use some pinto beans, chai tea powder from Trader Joes and spices like chili powder!

FRIJOLES POR FAVOR!

I went to the recommended grocery store last night to check out the prices (CRINGE). It wasn't as bad as I imagined it was going to be (3/4-CRINGE). The portions here are smaller than in the US which is probably what accounts for the smaller size of the people here- that and all the walking they have to do! They certainly do not have the wide variety and selection the US has. I think I saw 6 or 7 flavors of ice cream altogether, the most outrageous flavor being mint chocolate chip. It's funny to see pints instead of gallons. Bread was cheap and milk was about normal. Eggs are kept on a shelf rather than in the cooler. Beer is very pricey here as well as sliced turkey. Anyway, I was relieved not to be completely discouraged by the prices. My only complaint I have is this: WHERE ARE THE PINTO BEANS AND TORTILLAS???!!!

Our First Weekend

I am having a bit of tea as I wait for Matt to arrive home from his first day of work. I searched the online letting sites all day for an apartment. I have one or two to go view tomorrow if I can find my way alright. Navigating this monster of a city is difficult to say the least. The bus system is good but traveling by bus can be very time consuming, espcially when you don't know where you are or where you are going. There are probably short cuts we will learn.

Over the weekend we took the DART train to a suburb outside of Dublin called Dalkey to see the sea. On the way there we met a very friendly young Irishman who gave us the scoop on many things including where Bono lives. I guess you can get a pretty good view of his house and read the lyrics on his gate. This guy told us he saw Bono on the motorway one day in Dublin, sunglasses and all. Apparently U2 plays concerts yearly in Dublin and they always sell out. It would be pretty sweet to see them in their hometown. It was nice to see the sea and there were a few old castles in Dalkey and a large, pretty Anglican Church. You can buy an all day pass for the DART and travel up and down the sea coast along Dublin for a small price, getting on and off at the different little towns.

I was unable to go to church yesterday due to timing conflicts with an apartment viewing. Plus, the two churches I want to check out are not near my hotel so it will be good to get settled nearer to the city center. I asked Matt's boss if she knew where the Grosvenors Road Baptist Church was because it seems to be near the apartment she owns. I think I threw her off. I am not sure if it was that she was surprised there was a Baptist Church in Dublin or if she was just surprised that I was asking for the Baptist Church. I did try to stop in at Christ Church Cathedral Sunday morning because I was near it but I found out mass was an hour and half and I didn't have enough time. Christ Church is absolutely stunning from the outside- the grandest church I have ever seen- and I wanted to hear the organ and hymns but I will have to go another time. I am hoping this weekend to go to one of the two churches the missionary recommended to me and make some friends!!!

About Dublin

Praise God we were able to set up a bank account today which was quite a feat! Things do not work the same way here as they do in the US. There is a large amount of American influence here with restaurants, tv shows, music, and stores- which makes the transition easier because not all things are foreign. Most people here are nice and I have not yet felt hated for being American. It strikes me as particularly funny that I was told more than once that Americans are known for being loud but I find that it is the Irish that are loud! They also drink and cuss a lot and smoke like chimneys! I mean everyone here smokes. I am so glad you can't smoke inside anymore because it's hard to breath outside at times! I am not at all used to city living so it feels like a zoo here to me. The only thing I can compare it to is walking down the strip in Vegas- filled with people. Riding the bus is a new thing for me and is not a bad way to get around. The sucky part is finding the right bus (or buses) to get you where you need to go which is tricky when you don't know the city. People do not give directions here by streets and street signs are near impossible to find. They may give you directions by landmarks instead. For example, we went to look at a rental last and the owner told us to get off the bus at such and such pub. Speaking of pubs we haven't even had time to go out for a Guinness yet! We have been eating out and trying to share meals as much as we can to keep our costs down. I know you are all dying to know if it is really as expensive as people say. I haven't gone grocery shopping or paid any bills yet but as far as going out to eat and checking on the price of broadband and making other small purchases here is what I think so far: if you are living here earning euros it's not too bad. Exchanging dollars into euros is another story altogether. When you give the bank $500 you will get back around 355 euros- OUCH! Save your pennies to come visit!!!

First 2 Days in Dublin

My first impression of Dublin when I walked out of the airport was that it reminded me of Minnesota, with all the green grass, trees, bushes, overcast sky, and mild fall temperatures. It continued to remind me of Minnesota as we drove through the suburbs where the houses and buildings are similar to what you see in the older parts of St. Paul. We spent most of our first day in the suburbs with a short trip into the city center at night. We were so jet lagged we turned in early. We slept until about 2:30 AM and laid awake until about 7:00 and then slept a few more hours. It was hard to get up but we were in store for a busy day of waiting in lines at the social welfare office to get a tax ID number and then the immigration office to register. There are peoples of all different nations immigrating to Ireland. Often times I cannot even begin to guess where some of the people look to be from. It feels weird to be immigrating to another country when the US is the best country on earth (woops, did I say that outloud?). Anyway, then we met Matt's new boss for tea. She was very nice and helpful. It turns out she owns a two bedroom apartment in a nice area of town that she offered to rent to us at a decent price. We are going to look at it tomorrow. After tea we walked around the city c enter for the rest of the night. The suburbs may feel like Minnesota but the city center is as city as it gets with the beautiful European architecture. It is full of people, noise, shopping, pubs, history and awesome looking buildings (to see some pics go to Matt's blog). We are now back at our hotel for the evening and will look for a place to live tomorrow. So far the weather has been nice and we have seen the sun each day for at least a little while and have not yet had any rain. Some of the people here are very nice. I can't wait to make some friends and get an apartment.

I miss you all very, very much!!!

On the eve of my last night in Tucson I find myself excited for Dublin and at the same time very sad to be leaving my loved ones. You have all been tremendous blessings in our lives. Stay in touch and know you have a place to stay in Dublin!

Last Day at Rincon

The last few days have been spent saying good bye to our friends. I quite prefer to avoid anything sad at all costs, however, I have been unable to avoid this. Thankfully, we were able to spend much time this week with the Jankowskis and the Richards as well as other good friends from church and beyond. What a blessing it has been getting to know all of you and what fun times we have had!

Today was our last day at our church as well. Rincon Mountain was an answer to a prayer that I had been praying for a long, long time. I could not have asked for a better Pastor or body to worship the one true God with. What was neat is that a member of Rincon came up to us at the service today and told us he will be in Dublin this weekend and gave us the info for the church his friend pastors in Dublin. This is one of the two churches the missionary in central Ireland recommended. God is so good.

Tomorrow we will spend time with Matt's family and I will call mine on the phone to wish them goodbye... until we meet on the other side of the pond that is! I checked the weather for our arrival Wednesday. Forecast says high of 68 with a 30% chance of rain. Thanks for the umbrella Yunuen!

More on Irish Living

I heard more from my new missionary friend in Ireland today. I had asked her if she has come to a point where she prefers Ireland over the US.

"Hmmmm, that's a good question. There are many things I prefer about Ireland. Lower crime rate, much beauty and history (coming from someone who grew up inLos Angeles!), fewer distractions (it's a much slower pace of life here in thecountryside), and of course a love for the people and culture and the ministryhere.I miss many things about America...cheaper prices! better and cheaper restaurants, FELLOWSHIP with lots of believers, more resources for Christiangrowth (bookstores, seminars, large churches...), more support for home schooling, certain foods...I don't know which I prefer. If we went back to the U.S. I would miss some things about Ireland; right now I miss some things about America.I think it helps, though, that I'm married to an Irish man. I have more of anaffinity for things Irish than I would otherwise. I know other Americans herewho just get really bothered about some things that I see as more amusing."

I also asked her about food/grocery stores there.

"There are many things that are the same. Large grocery stores will carry a lotof stuff that you are used to. There aren't nearly so many mixes, though...nomacaroni and cheese, rice-a-roni, or Hamburger Helper! You can get cake mixesbut they're sooo expensive, like $5 a box! No frosting mixes or pre-madefrosting in tubs. And no Crisco or Bisquick.

I'm looking forward to walking to the store, eating healthier, and losing weight!

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???