Have you ever felt so full that the only way to let it all out is to cry?
I have. In fact, I just happen to be blogging right in the middle of it. (that's misleading, I am in fact blogging because of that) Regardless, I feel full. Here's what I feasted on tonight:
scriptures on God's presence & fear
laughter shared over a common meal with new friends (lasagna, yum)
"Behold the Lamb of God" by Andrew Peterson
and finally, having a forum (*ahem, neilandcourtney.blogspot.com) to share my 'fullness'
Maybe you've been feeling full lately. Or, maybe you've been feeling empty? I had been running on fumes recently, which is probably why I feel so full now. Pardon me if this grosses you out, but if I ever get stuck in the middle of the desert with little to no food or water, you better believe that I'm gonna gourge myself the next time I pass by a Ponderosa. Thankfully, my Ponderosa came tonight. And it was completely unexpected.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Yapta
I must admit that I have a terrible weakness to really cool websites and games. Some places I have wasted precious hours of my life in the past are homestarrunner, Atomic Badger Racing, The Black Knight, LaunchCast, that game where you are Yeti and you hit a penguin like a baseball, Engrish.com, and looking up obscure baseball stats with Tim on mlb.com. My latest vice is Yapta.com. This site starts off like a regular airplane flight search, giving you the prices of major carriers for a certain date. However, it gets really cool when you can actually track a flight over time and have Yapta email you when the price goes down over time. This method really only works when you know you are travelling about 4 months beforehand (as the price is usually lowest somewhere around 2 months before). I found myself constantly checking the price to the point of annoyance for my wife whom I asked probably about a half dozen times "Do you think we should by them yet?". Her response was always "Yes", to which I would say, "Ok, let's wait and see if the price goes down more!" She's a saint, but I saved us about $70!What's your website vice of choice these days?
Friday, September 5, 2008
Ordination Weekend
Last weekend was probably the best weekend I've ever spent with my family since I left for college back in 2003. Not because other trips have been bad; this one was just that good.
We got in on Friday night and were able to have a quality time just chatting with my parents. Then Saturday was the big ordination day. To be quite honest, when I was originally planning this thing, I was shooting for something very small and absolutely no fuss at all. In my head, I was thinking that this was not going to be that big of a deal, just something I needed to do formally or legally to ever serve as a minister in an American church some day. However, it really turned out to be a special thing.
Most of my family in the area got to come as well as those closest to my family at church. It was about the perfect size for what was taking place. There were the typical parts of the service, but probably the two coolest parts were my father-in-law, Mark, giving the charge and my dad speaking. Mark's words were great and encouraged me to not loose focus, but to always remember the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the gospel. It was really encouraging both to me and to others. Hearing my dad speak was something pretty amazing though.
I was pleasantly surprised when he said he wanted to say something during the service. He got up and talked about how proud he was of me and also my sister and then asked me to continue to remember his parents (both deceased) and how proud they are of me now too. He also asked for many prayers that Courtney and I would continue to be led by the Holy Spirit as we go. It was an event I'll remember for a long time.
Two other events of the weekend made it stand out as incredible. The first was hanging out with my sister and her husband on Sunday night. They moved into a new apartment recently which is really cool and in a nice part of town. It was great to get to spend some quality time with them and just sit down and talk about real events in our lives. My brother-in-law, Daniel is good about bringing up quality discussions, and it was great to see the wisdom that my sister had in the areas we talked about.
The final event was a 4 hour, 40 mile bike ride with my dad. It was really the first time I had ridden more than 1 mile on a bike since I was about 13. I really did enjoy it and had a great time out on the small roads of southwest Indiana. My dad had an even better time though showing my where his grandparents were buried and where his dad grew up. The ride wasn't too tough until we were at about the halfway point and I realized it wasn't going to get any easier. It was a struggle to keep going, but it was worth it to get to spend that time with my dad. Filling up afterwards with my grandmother's cooking also helped take the sting out of my legs. Great times...
We got in on Friday night and were able to have a quality time just chatting with my parents. Then Saturday was the big ordination day. To be quite honest, when I was originally planning this thing, I was shooting for something very small and absolutely no fuss at all. In my head, I was thinking that this was not going to be that big of a deal, just something I needed to do formally or legally to ever serve as a minister in an American church some day. However, it really turned out to be a special thing.
Most of my family in the area got to come as well as those closest to my family at church. It was about the perfect size for what was taking place. There were the typical parts of the service, but probably the two coolest parts were my father-in-law, Mark, giving the charge and my dad speaking. Mark's words were great and encouraged me to not loose focus, but to always remember the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the gospel. It was really encouraging both to me and to others. Hearing my dad speak was something pretty amazing though.
I was pleasantly surprised when he said he wanted to say something during the service. He got up and talked about how proud he was of me and also my sister and then asked me to continue to remember his parents (both deceased) and how proud they are of me now too. He also asked for many prayers that Courtney and I would continue to be led by the Holy Spirit as we go. It was an event I'll remember for a long time.Two other events of the weekend made it stand out as incredible. The first was hanging out with my sister and her husband on Sunday night. They moved into a new apartment recently which is really cool and in a nice part of town. It was great to get to spend some quality time with them and just sit down and talk about real events in our lives. My brother-in-law, Daniel is good about bringing up quality discussions, and it was great to see the wisdom that my sister had in the areas we talked about.
The final event was a 4 hour, 40 mile bike ride with my dad. It was really the first time I had ridden more than 1 mile on a bike since I was about 13. I really did enjoy it and had a great time out on the small roads of southwest Indiana. My dad had an even better time though showing my where his grandparents were buried and where his dad grew up. The ride wasn't too tough until we were at about the halfway point and I realized it wasn't going to get any easier. It was a struggle to keep going, but it was worth it to get to spend that time with my dad. Filling up afterwards with my grandmother's cooking also helped take the sting out of my legs. Great times...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
important additions:
I made Shopska salad today as a tribute to Northside's overgrown food pantry garden and to Bulgaria. Eating it makes me happy and anxious; I can't believe God is allowing us to join NMSI and be a part of His work around the world. We are so incapable and under qualified on our own; He is so good to be our portion and sufficiency in all that we lack.
And, my husband is amazing. I'm sure other good wives of good husbands would contest my next statement, but this is my blog so I can say whatever I want: He's the best man I've ever met.
Thank you Lord for a good work to be done and for a good husband to do it with.
That's all. Going back to my yummy salad. It's hard to eat while typing....
And, my husband is amazing. I'm sure other good wives of good husbands would contest my next statement, but this is my blog so I can say whatever I want: He's the best man I've ever met.
Thank you Lord for a good work to be done and for a good husband to do it with.
That's all. Going back to my yummy salad. It's hard to eat while typing....
It's a Wonderful Life
When you get to post about things such as the following, you just can't deny that life really is wonderful....
Caleb got married on August 9 to the beautiful and formerly known as Christie Ventling. I got to take the entire week off prior to the wedding to help out with set-up and planning, but mainly to take care of mom :). It was great to get that whole week to spend one-on-one time with the fam and to be able to take everything in and 'treasure these things in my heart'. The week was a blast, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was a true party. If there is one thing that the Wright's can do, it's party. Basically, it was a beautiful beginning to a beautiful marriage. We love you Caleb & Christie!
Last weekend we traveled back 'home' to the west suburbs of Chicago. I think there will always be a part of us that longs to be there. We did a terrible job of taking pictures, so don't be expecting too many from that weekend. BUT, it was wonderful. Friday we spent the early evening with Matthew & Kim (Neil's mentor during the internship & his wife, who just happens to be amazing). We ate some delicious burgers & filet minon wrapped in bacon. Matthew = grill master. That night we spent with our small group. It was so good to see old friends and meet some new members of the group. True to style, they are growing and reaching out to new people in the community, welcoming everyone in with open arms. So thankful for them.
Saturday we ate some yummy pancakes with the Andrew & Melissa Brownback (I am still mad at us for not getting a picture). I had pancakes that tasted like pecan pie. Clearly not a weight-loss vacation... It was wonderful to catch up with them and enjoy some good laughs. It is exciting to see the way that God is shaping their marriage and their hearts. We love you guys! That afternoon we met with some friends from the church (Christian Church of Clarendon Hills) and went to the Cirque du Soleil! Now, I knew it would be amazing, but I didn't realize it was going to be a true circus. It was awesome!! We got a couple of pictures of some of our favorite people at Pompei where we ate after. The first is Scott & Andrea, who are getting married this Sunday! The second is Robert & Jenny, who are pretty much always the life of the party.
Alright, no more updating. For your viewing pleasure: proof that it's never too late to bring sexy back...
Caleb got married on August 9 to the beautiful and formerly known as Christie Ventling. I got to take the entire week off prior to the wedding to help out with set-up and planning, but mainly to take care of mom :). It was great to get that whole week to spend one-on-one time with the fam and to be able to take everything in and 'treasure these things in my heart'. The week was a blast, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was a true party. If there is one thing that the Wright's can do, it's party. Basically, it was a beautiful beginning to a beautiful marriage. We love you Caleb & Christie!
Last weekend we traveled back 'home' to the west suburbs of Chicago. I think there will always be a part of us that longs to be there. We did a terrible job of taking pictures, so don't be expecting too many from that weekend. BUT, it was wonderful. Friday we spent the early evening with Matthew & Kim (Neil's mentor during the internship & his wife, who just happens to be amazing). We ate some delicious burgers & filet minon wrapped in bacon. Matthew = grill master. That night we spent with our small group. It was so good to see old friends and meet some new members of the group. True to style, they are growing and reaching out to new people in the community, welcoming everyone in with open arms. So thankful for them.
Saturday we ate some yummy pancakes with the Andrew & Melissa Brownback (I am still mad at us for not getting a picture). I had pancakes that tasted like pecan pie. Clearly not a weight-loss vacation... It was wonderful to catch up with them and enjoy some good laughs. It is exciting to see the way that God is shaping their marriage and their hearts. We love you guys! That afternoon we met with some friends from the church (Christian Church of Clarendon Hills) and went to the Cirque du Soleil! Now, I knew it would be amazing, but I didn't realize it was going to be a true circus. It was awesome!! We got a couple of pictures of some of our favorite people at Pompei where we ate after. The first is Scott & Andrea, who are getting married this Sunday! The second is Robert & Jenny, who are pretty much always the life of the party.
Alright, no more updating. For your viewing pleasure: proof that it's never too late to bring sexy back...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Weekend of Fun
Lots of activities last weekend which left lots of sore places on the body. We were invited by Kevin and Nancy Harper to go out on Taylorsville Lake to do some water skiing. It was just one of those awesome days outside and the perfect weather to be out on a lake. Courtney didn't take too long to get up and show her skills on the skis. After about 2 hours, I got that same feeling the Wright Brothers must have got when I finally got up for about an 18 second ride. It's so great to have generous people in your life who like to share their life with you.
Our weekend continued on Sunday with a full day of experiencing Holiday World. Southern Indiana at its finest. It was a really awesome time spent with 3 of our favorite couples. It was a great feeling to know that we were not being chaperoned nor were we responsible for anyone there. We did about everything including the Jungle Racers about 6 times (Brandon Cook is a human bullet). Good times.
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