Road Trip Tomorrow and the Four Loves

Leaving tomorrow for a road trip to Lisle, Illinois, Benedictine College.

Looking forward to reading “Future Grace” on the van…!

Some thoughts from “The Four Loves” by C.S. Lewis:

“If I am sure of anything I am sure that Jesus Christ’s teaching was never meant to confirm my congenital preference for save investments and limited liabilities…. To love at all is to be vulnerable.”

In the spring I went through a time of realization – where I discovered my heart had been kept in a tomb for a while. The Lord resurrected it – through the help of John 11 and I have been “learning” ever since about the joys and sorrows of having a living heart. And as I was reading about “Charity” (the last of the four loves that CS discusses) I was struck by the comment above. If we are to love at all, ever, then we need to risk being vulnerable all the time.

Blessings to you today – may you love fully!

SUMMER PICTURES

OK - the last one of the day... do you think I set a record for how many postings I have put up in one day???

here's the link to the photo album with summer pics if you are interested in checking them out!

http://photomail.photoworks.com/sharing/album.asp?Key=1~FQQ4aBru.cJS0pfrA6MyItmcsw0D0bln

Summer Updates/Reflections

1) the Brother's Karamazov. Read it. It was incredible. I wept at the end. It made me think a ton about justice. I know its long...read it.

2) On Being 30. Pretty much the same as being 29 at this point. Though I hear my "body will change"... and coincidentally I'm having some tendonitis in my knee... but I'm not believing that its because I'm 30. ... smile.

3) On Being Single. Its much harder to be married than it is to be single. As a single person, everything is about ME. My desires, my plans, what I like. Having a roommate is helping me get out of that attitude a little bit... a little bit. But the truth is, that being said, I like being single most days. I don't think I'll be single forever... but I think I've decided to enjoy it thoroughly while I'm here.

Summer version of Life In Greenville (long overdue)

I will try and bullet point the highlights, and give you a link to some pictures. If its not enough... email me and I will do my darndest to write you back in a timely manner. ... love, Tiff

Highlights:
1) 30th birthday and party - PERFECT summer day (incidentally for the first day of summer) - Leah made me a b-day cake with 30 spelled in strawberries - we grilled about a million burgers and the flames were incredible - had a three-legged race and a water balloon toss... that ended up in me getting splattered with water balloons.

2) a week in Seattle visiting friends and family - the weather was incredible, I got to play volleyball, spend time with the Fergason family, enjoy hilarity with my family at a bbq and a birthday dinner - too many great memories!

3) moved into a new place (fantastico, if i do say so myself!) and am happily settling in there for however long the Lord allows me to be here. Heather (my new roommate) and I are becoming good friends, and we've been able to host a BUNCH of social events as well as general "hanging out."

4) BARB - one of my dearest and oldest friends - came to visit Greenville in July. We had a SUPER time as she was able to help me pack, and keep me company while I moved a bit. We went to St. Louis a few times and enjoyed Thai food on DelMar (the "Broadway" of St. Louis)

5) Speaking of Barb... in August I was blessed to visit Seattle again to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. There aren't words to speak of the fun we had, or of the priviledge I felt to be a part of that event. I am happy to say CONGRATS to Rob and Barb Martin!!!

6) Football Camp began the DAY AFTER Rob and Barb's wedding... so I took the red-eye back to St. Louis after the wedding (and an AWESOME dinner at the Red Lobster with my aunts Gloria, Donna and Anita, and my uncle Brian). We had about 40 guys arrive on the first day, and another 40 on the second day... needless to say, its possible I haven't recovered yet from that weekend!

7) Football Camp and the season has been GOOD. The guys we have on the team this year are uniquely enthusiastic and "on board" with our program. They are loving and respectful and I feel more comfortable than ever here. I'm excited to be a part of this program and where we're going. And I have more opportunities than ever to share about Jesus both in my job and in ministry with women on campus.

8) The 2004 Season has started out rough scoreboard-wise- no wins yet. But we are optimistic that if we keep on with what we believe in... eventually we'll win!

9) BSF: I started BSF again this year. Leah (one of my good friends here) and I began attending the St. Louis Young Adults class a few weeks ago and we're hoping we will be able to continue this entire year. Its already been a GREAT HELP to my spiritual life!

Upcoming Events:
1) MY PARENTS are coming to visit for Homecoming weekend in two weeks (the week of 10/16) and I am SO excited for them to see my new place, meet my friends and see a football game. I can't wait to see them.

2) A couple other friends may be coming to visit on the weekend of our last homegame - please pray that they would be able to travel out here! I want THEM to meet my friends/family here, too!

3) My first trip EVER to Wisconsin (the weekend of the 23rd)

Have you tried this new ice cream place? (subtitled: John Piper and Me)

I don't actually know John Piper. But the former pastor at my former church (United Evangelical Free Church, Ballard WA) was a big fan. He (my pastor) knows how to have JOY in living for Jesus, and he recommended that I read "Desiring God" a couple years ago.

MAN is that book a good'un.

The way I feel about living and about how to live is so well articulated in that book that rather than tell people myself I sometimes want to just refer them to the book!

Ever since then I've been a John Piper FAN. I read "Let the Nations Be Glad" before I went on my first mission trip (to Chile in '02) and its a great treatment of why Christians should be missions-oriented (whether local or foreign). {basically that if we really have joy in following Jesus, then it automatically overflows to us talking about it - like a good restaurant or ice cream parlor - which is evangelism in its purest form}

So today is a great day - because not only did I get a care package from Kess' mom (M & M's and good homemade cookies) but I also received 3 books that I recently ordered, written by Piper.

They are:
1) A Hunger For God (desiring God through fasting and prayer)
2) The Pleasures of God (meditations on God's delight in being God)
3) (the purifying power of living by faith in...) Future Grace

I'm reading "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis right now (thanks, Larina) and so I'm going to double-time it to finish it this week so I can start a new book on the road trip to Benedictine this week! woohoooooo!

Blessings to you!

Tiff's Pic 

I hate the word "blog"...

...but I'm really excited that because of Bethany I now have one.

I'm thinking this may take the place of my former "Life in Greenville" update emails - easier and more likely to be updated regularly than the emailing.

And since I'm 3 months behind.... maybe my friends/family will like this better.

I'll post the update on the summer, soon. (oh, and the first 4 weeks of school)