How Will You Be Remembered?

I was reading Pastor Perry Noble's blog today, and I wanted to share a question that shook me. He was talking about all the political division and drama going on in our country right now. Our two presidential candidates think they will be elected/reelected by how much they slander the other person. No wonder America is so divided! In this post, he had a question that made me stop and think - not about any presidential candidates, but about all of our lives.

"Will history remember you because of what you were against or what you stood for?"

I read this and thought, "Wow. How many times have I been more focused on what I've been against rather than what I stood for?" That's not at all how any of us should live.

I serve a God who says, "If I'm for you, then who can stand against you? (Romans 8:31)" And since that's our God, why should I even focus on what I'm against? God will take care of all of that as long as I focus on what I'm for. So much peace comes with this. When I stop focusing on all that I am against, God's peace will overwhelm over me.

During this busy season of life and all this political drama, I'm going to focus on who I stand for, and it's not any political candidate.

Settled

It took about 2 years, but now we feel settled here in Washington. We rented two homes before buying this one, so we're happy to not have to move every year (or less)! We both have great jobs that we love, and we bought a house about a month ago. We wish we were closer to our family and friends, but we do love it here! God has truly blessed us for our obedience in moving here.

People have been asking to see photos, so here they are. It's not completely put together, but you won't judge me, right?

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3 - Empty room that needs to be painted. I mean, I love the blue ceilings, walls, and drapes.

Hall Bathroom

Laundry Room

Basement Living Space

Kitchen 

Dining Room

Backyard where fire-pit will be

Sport Court

Backyard with Fort 

Living Room

Living Room from another viewpoint

Office - Don't mind all the stuff everywhere. It's all my school stuff.

Foyer in entryway with the greeters

I never thought I would like the layout of a tri-level home, but it really has an open feel that we love! Come visit us! We have extra room. :)

Good Friday

Many of us treat Good Friday as we would any other day. We get so busy that we forget the importance of this day. What's worse is that many of us live our whole lives in the same way. We go about our daily lives forgetting the importance of each and every day. The Word tells us that each day we're given is a gift from above. What if we really lived with that in mind?

We all know what happened on Good Friday. Jesus was crucified and died for our sins so we can live eternally with Him. Often, we hear that and treat it as if someone just said, "Vegetables are good for you." We know the truth and have heard it so much, we grow numb to it.

Think back to what it was like for the disciples or Jesus' close friends and family on Good Friday. Think about the hopelessness and despair they were feeling between Friday through Sunday morning. Their reason for living, their hope died that dark day. Then on Sunday morning, some friends and Jesus' mother went to the tomb to mourn the death of their friend and son. But the tomb was empty, and Jesus was alive! Their sadness and mourning quickly turned to joy and gladness when they found out that Jesus had risen from the dead. I know from that moment on, they had hope again.

So many people live their whole lives as if the only time they were alive was between Good Friday and Easter Sunday (before finding out Jesus rose from the dead). But we don't have to live in hopelessness and despair because...

"God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His son and forgave our sins." (Ephesians 1:5-7)

We are free! God chose us, despite our shortcomings and issues. He chose to sent Jesus to die a horrible death so we can live in freedom! We don't have to focus on all our problems. God can take away fear, rejection, hopelessness, worry, depression, etc. So let's live out our lives with grateful hearts to a God who gave it all for us! We have no reason to live in darkness anymore, for Jesus came to give us light. Have a Good Friday and a Happy Easter!

Fruit

Hi everyone! It's been a while (sorry about that). Since the last time I've posted anything, a lot has happened, but the biggest change is that we moved. No, not back to the south, but just down the road to a different house. But we love it! Pictures of the new place to come soon!

But on another note, Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm a couple days behind, but it's better late than never. We had a wonderful time visiting with friends, cooking incredible food, doing Black Friday shopping, and decorating the house for Christmas.

We had a game night on Tuesday.

We had a little bit of fun.

We played Cranium...

...and a new game where we put pillows on our heads to look like an Egyptian Pharaoh.

I'm sure you all had wonderful food over the weekend. Turkey is the primary food in the Thanksgiving meal, but at least to me, it's the sides that make the meal go from good to amazing, like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, green beans, pumpkin pie, etc. I was reading a verse about fruit, which made me think of the holidays since sweets are so prevalent in holiday baking...

"When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." -John 15:8

Plants are designed with a purpose in mind. God sends the rain and sunshine to make crops grow and constantly nurtures every plant so it can blossom and produce fruit. When a pumpkin vine bears much fruit, God is glorified. He made it all happen, so He is glorified when a plant fulfills its purpose. We are also designed with a purpose in mind. When we bear much fruit (i.e. have a relationship with Him and act on our faith), God is glorified. If we're not producing fruit in our lives, then we're not where we should be with God. But what's so awesome is that He will help you get there! God meets you where you are. So ask God for help, and He'll come to you.

Philadelphia

Better late than never, right? We went to PA recently for the Penn State/Alabama game. It was so much fun! We were able to see all the historical sites and also the beautiful countryside while heading to Happy Valley. But while heading to PA, we had a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis, MN, so we made a pit stop at the Mall of America (with all our luggage and only about an hour to browse).

Me at the Mall of America--notice the roller coasters in the background.

Our sweet tailgating spot in Happy Valley

Both of our families at the Penn State Creamery. It was so amazing! The Happy Happy Joy Joy is what I ate (coconut with chocolate and almonds). Everyone else seemed to get Peachy Paterno.

Look who I ran into! It's Joe Pa!

Lots of white, but also lots of crimson

We had a great time in Happy Valley!

It's always nice to go home with a win.

This sign definitely bummed me out.

Look! It's a giant UGG boot!

This is the location where George Washington lived while he was president. Unfortunately, a lot of historic buildings in Philadelphia were torn down.

I believe this street was called Jewelers Row. It's all jewelry stores, except for one pizza place.

Independence Hall

This building is where the First Continental Congress met in 1788.

Like I said, many buildings in Philadelphia have been destroyed. This is what they think Benjamin Franklin's house looked like...

Ben Franklin's post office--we went in this building to learn how printing presses worked.

Christ Church--where the founding fathers attended. I sat in George Washington's pew.

I was able to ring this bell is Christ Church. It is over 600 years old!

These cute row houses were built in the early 1700s.

Betsy Ross's house

The non-impressive LOVE sign. It's way smaller than I imagined it would be. You can also see the art museum in the background. It's famous for Rocky running up the stairs. We did it twice.

Philadelphia's City Hall

The Liberty Bell

We were lucky! We flew on the Disney plane back home.

Visiting Philadelphia really made me appreciate our country more. We did go during September 11th which may have something to do with it. But while visiting all these historic places, I came to appreciate our founding fathers more. They gave up their lives to come to America for religious freedom. They were missionaries in a sense. They knew that if they didn't succeed (win the Revolutionary War), they would be killed--not only killed, but their bodies would be completely mutilated as a sign of disrespect to the king. We really do live in an amazing place, and I'm proud to be an American!

Tour of Washington and Canada, eh?

My parents came to visit us for the last week of July. They arrived on Saturday night and left a week after, on a Monday. We packed a lot into a week. Below are some photos from the trip.

Mukilteo Lighthouse

Whidbey Island Ferry

We went on the Whidbey Island Ferry on Sunday. We did a little shopping and sightseeing in Langley and Coupeville; then we headed to Deception Pass, a small inlet where the Puget Sound flows.

On Monday, we decided to drive over the mountains and through the woods to Leavenworth, a little Bavarian town with great views, good food, and shopping.

On our drive back home from Leavenworth, there are amazing views of the cleanest river (I think it's the Skykomish River), so we stopped to take some photos of it.

My mom really wanted to stop here also. This is Deception Falls.

We managed to get back early enough (barely) to go crabbing. We kept two Dungeness Crabs and two Rock Crabs.

On Tuesday, we took it easy and just hung out around Mukilteo. We walked the dogs at Lighthouse Park.

On Wednesday, we went to Seattle. We went to the market, ate good food, and did a little shopping. My parents at Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill, a great photo spot.

We stopped at Edmonds before heading home.

Edmonds Waterfront Park

Cooking Dungeness crab bisque. Notice the apron (Grouchy Chef). There's a restaurant called the Grouchy Chef. He kind of acts like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. He has rules posted on the walls of his restaurant and expects you to follow them. He likes me and calls me Jodie Foster because he thinks I look like her. He just gave me this apron on Tuesday, so I guess he's not that grouchy, but I am a rule follower, so maybe that's why.

They were busy de-shelling the crab for the bisque.

The Fish Market, home of the flying fish

You can see Mt. Rainier behind the stadia.

My mom and me at the waterfront park at Pike Place Market.

On Friday, we took a ferry to Victoria, B.C., Canada. Unfortunately, I think I make this face too often. :)

Friday Harbor, WA

Nap time

Catching up on our sleep

Before heading to Victoria, we went to Butchart Gardens.

View of the sunken garden

Another view with my mom and dad

The Empress Hotel in Victoria

On Saturday, we went back on a ferry to go to the San Juan Islands in Washington. I would love to go back to these islands for a weekend! So beautiful!

Another view of Friday Harbor

We went whale watching from Friday Harbor. The white splotch is a Harbor Seal and her pup.

More seals enjoying the low tide

Spieden Island, part of the San Juan Archipelago. It's owned by the owner of Oakley. In the 70s, game animals were imported to this island, and people could hunt them here. No one is allowed to hunt here anymore, but the animals still live here. You can see Sika Deer from Asia and Mouflon Sheep from Corsica in the background.

Mouflon Sheep climbing up a cliff. Climbing a cliff is as easy to them as breathing air.

We did see Orca Whales while whale watching. They were swimming in a pod of 5-6 whales.

You can see 6 Orcas in this photo.

Bald Eagle

My dad looks miserable. He was getting splashed. :)

All of us after whale watching

After whale watching, we explored the island a little bit. We drove to Lime Kiln Lighthouse. Everyday, the Orcas swim by the lighthouse, and they keep a record of it.

Incredible view of Mt. Baker on the ferry ride from Friday Harbor back home

On Sunday we went to the Mariners game...they lost. :(

At least we the weather was nice, and we got some great pictures of Ichiro.

We also got a great photo of Ackley (missing the ball).

We had a great visit, and the weather was very cooperative! It was sunny mostly every day, and the weather didn't get above 75 degrees. You can't beat a summer in Seattle!