who is god for anyway?

Who knew my fundamental beliefs could get challenged again and again? Guess that's why we walk slowly through this life instead of fast forwarding.

Mark put up a post on Thanksgiving that kind of made me think a bit. He started with Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, then who can be against us?" It's another one of those truths I have always believed, but not sure I have always believed IN. I knew the words, deep down I believed what they said, but not sure I really lived my life as if I truly believed in those words - or honestly thought that was the case as I walked through my day.

Here is his post:

"If God is for us then who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

You + God = a majority. If God is on your side, there is nothing you cannot overcome. Why? Because we are more than conquerors through Christ. That is reality. That isn't optimism. It's biblical realism.

If you know that God is for you, then no challenge is too great, no problem is too big, no obstacle cannot be overcome. But most of us doubt this fundamental truth. And I believe it's one of our root spiritual problems. We aren't sure if God is really for us or against us because we allow the guilt we feel over sins committed to infect our feelings. We think God feels about us the way we feel about ourselves! We need to sanctify our feelings.

You need to settle this once and for all. God is for you. God is on your side. God is in your corner. His intentions toward you are always good. Here's an amazing promise in Psalm 84:11:

"No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right."

Where to go from here? Is God really for me? Is he really in my corner? How can I feel that he is really there for me when Murphy's Law seems to always prevail and win out? I think that makes a big difference - knowing deep down he is really for me.

I'm working on this part of my life, trying to feel as though God doesn't have it out for me. Like in the movie Bruce Almighty - where he says he feels like an ant and God is the mean kid with the magnifying glass burning him with the sun. At the end of the day, I know he is for me - there have been too many times in my life when he has come through for me to completely doubt this fact.

I think my outlook on life would be so much better, and much more clear if I believed he was always looking out for my best interests, trying to keep me on the right path and working for me at every turn. Honestly, if he isn't in my corner, then who is? Who am I relying on when the stuff hits the fan? Me? That's more scary than really believing he is there for me, and loving me, and working towards keeping me safe and happy.

If he is for me, no one can be against me. I just hope all those against me know that...

primal book tour

Who knew my blog could get picked to write a book review????

Mark Batterson has written a new book called Primal. He was offering a few free advanced copies from the publisher for people that would read it and post a review of the book on their blog. It was for the first few people that signed up (don't remember how many). So I thought, "Why not sign up and see what happens?"

I got an e-mail last week saying I was going to get a copy of the book and I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to read it, it will be the first book of Mark's I've read so I'm really looking forward to it.

Book should be in hand next week and I'll start posting as I read through it. Here is a little info on the book - for more information you can go to the link on the word "Primal" above - you can even read the first chapter if you want to get a first look.

Let me know what you think as I post info...

Here is a quick book summary:

"Our generation needs a new reformation but it won’t be born of a new discovery. It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient, something primal. The next reformation won’t be led by a single person or defined by a single event. It will be led by millions of reformers who are simply great at the Great Commandment."

thanksgiving

Who knew hard work could pay off?

Well, let's be honest, J and Ann did most of the work - but Thanksgiving was a success. We had Ann, Adam and Ann's father (Conrad) over for the day and had a blast! We had a ton of food - some provided by us and some brought by Ann and family (actually, they brought a ton of stuff!). We had fun hanging out, eating, playing Trivial Pursuit on the Wii (teams were Ann, J, and Nadia vs. Conrad and I vs. Adam and Taylor). Guess who won? Yup, Adam and Taylor...go figure. We also watched the movie Elf while eating dessert - what a great day.

It is hard being so far away from family - growing up Thanksgiving was always a huge event with a ton of family - so not having any family here is tough. We were invited to go to Cheri's for the day (which would have been a lot of fun), but with everything else we had going on this weekend, it just didn't work out. It was a lot of fun being able to have Ann, Adam and Conrad over for sure.

Here are some pictures of the event...it was also Ann's birthday about a week ago so J made a cake for her to celebrate.

perspective

Who knew leaves could turn into hours of fun? Where I see hours of hard work I really don't want to do, Taylor can see hours of fun and imagination.

One of my favorite things in the world growing up was jumping in piles of leaves. I remember raking them over and over again to keep the pile growing full before jumping in, rolling around, and digging through them. This core fun is something I've shared with Taylor - every year since we've had the house, we have made piles and jumped in them just for fun. Of course, after that, I have to stay and finish raking, and picking them up (with the help of J of course).

This year was a little different. Taylor and her friend got the jump on raking the leaves. One day they were hanging out and Tay came up and said, "Is it ok if we rake the leaves in the front yard?" Of course we let them, and here is what they came up with...

Round 2

Who knew Taylor could be cute even with a dirty face and a hump on her back?

Here are some other pics of her play...

Igor

Igor in deep thought

Mr. Hyde

Igor and Luna - the story tellers

Count Dracula

Vampire slayer crew - Dr. Van Helsing, Lucy (his daughter), Jonathan Renfield (his slayer in training), and Mina (Lucy's friend)

Dracula and his 3 brides

Dr. Jekyl and Mary - cutest on-stage couple ever!

The Director - Mr. Rob

Tay's Play

Who knew Igor could steal the show?

Once again, we are the parents of the star of the show...and it's kind of fun being that parent.  Taylor did an amazing job again this time as Igor - which was a tough part to play.  She did an wonderful job and we couldn't be more proud.  We survived through 5 shows in 3 days...pictures of the weekend below.

Thank you to all of the people that came to see the show - it always means a lot to Taylor to have people in the crowd watching her...and it means a lot to us as well.

Ann and Adam

Eddie, Kristina, and Abram

Wroxy, Tay and 'Luna' (Emma - who was the other main character in the show)

Cast Party Cake

Lake, Tate, and Laura took us out for dinner after the Saturday show - we went to Haabs

Not pictured, but showed up to watch were Nadia, Amy, and Emma (a different Emma than was in the show).

4 down...1 to go...

Who knew Taylor's play would be getting press coverage?

So it turns out YYT is getting more and more famous.  Ypsilanti Citizen sent a reporter out to the show on Friday.  You can see his short article and some pictures of the play at this link.  The pictures he took are also posted below in the video slide show.  Taylor is the one in all brown (looks like she's wearing a brown blanket).

Play is going well so far - and they are really coming together.  I would have to say this is the funniest play out of all of them so far.  Taylor is doing wonderfully and all of the other actors and actresses are also performing well.  It's great to see all of the hard work pay off.  I'll post pictures once I get some.

stoopid pelican

Who knew pelicans could cause millions of dollars of damage to one car?

Not sure if I feel sorry for this guy or not...just saw this on yahoo...

LA MARQUE, Texas – A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.

The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist. The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.

Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.

A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million.

ouch

Who knew Dilbert could be funny and make you cry at the same time?

This one hit a little too close to home...I think I'm the chump they are refering to as the 'others.'



After 2 nights of long practices, making costumes, and finalizing sets, Taylor's show starts at 10AM today and runs all weekend long. Even last night at the last rehearsal before the show opens, there were still at least 3-4 kids not there because they were sick. It was tough running through the show without key people there and I think they are going to try to find people to fill a few roles today...we'll see how it goes. The good news is that it's still a pretty funny show and I can't wait to see it. They always seem to pull it off in the end, so here's to hoping...

coolest aunt

Who knew having Nadia around would actually pay off? (Just kidding Nadia, you know I love you!)

Taylor has been sick since Sunday (she's getting better, phew) and Monday was the worst day by far. I think she ate an animal cracker, 1/4 of a push up and 1/3 of a vitamin water all day. She slept most of the day and was just generally wiped out. She was being a good sport about it though.

It turns out, Duff from the show Ace of Cakes was in town on Monday doing a book signing - and it was a popular signature to get - you actually had to have a wrist band to get in line and they only had a limited amount. Taylor (and all of us actually) really enjoy that show and she thinks Duff is hilarious...so we knew she would have loved the chance to meet him, but there was no way with her being so sick. This is the part of the story where we introduce the hero...Nadia.

I got a text page from Nadia Monday afternoon telling me that Duff was in town and she was going to try to get over there for a signature...but they only had 100 wrist bands left and she was still at work (see, I'm building suspense). She recruited her friend Jeremy to run down and get a wrist band (since he works downtown A2).

So...



"Hey Taylor" at the top and then he signed mid-page - the signature on the bottom is his brother who co-authored the book with him. How cool is that??? Nadia also told some great stories about Duff and she was able to see him for a while at Borders - even saw them filming for the show...

It was a very bright spot in a tough day for Taylor...way to come out swinging Aunt Nadia...