for some reason the computer i'm using is occasionally blocking pop ups.... there is probably 4 blockers on the computer and I'm only disabling two of them or something.
Anyway, updates to come friends, updates to come. But for now I don't want to annoying pop-up blocked noise to bother me or my dad any longer.... so we'll all have to wait.
Love, Tiff
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
NANO-Nano
Not like Mork from Ork.... "Nanoo, Nanoo" but more like NANO!!!!!!!!!!
I'm really excited about the gifts I received for Christmas. First of all, I recieved a little cash that allowed me to go shopping with my mom and get a few pairs of pants, a few tops and a case for my new ipod nano. :) :)
I also got a new ipod nano. this was the gift I was saving up for myself, but then in the face of a couple unforseen expenses hadn't been able to purchase... In an awesome display of parental love, my parent's purchased one for me. This Christmas was over the top that way. My dad got the big Ipod from my mom (the 40-gigger was on sale for the price of the 20 - shocking!) and my brother got all this poker stuff. Neat.
Anyway, here are a couple pics of the nano. I'm loading it with songs on my mom's computer, then will revamp the lists, etc when I get home.... but I want to be able to listen to it now. :)
(above - the nano with its color screen, in its cute pink case and a side view - this joker is SMALL!)
Anyway, thats not a great update, except I'm excited about it today. More updates to come involving grad schools and jobs.
Love, Tiff
Friday, December 16, 2005
mini-update (#4 - christmas/year in review)
mini-updates (#3 - advent)
Before this year I have not really "experienced" advent as a part of the church calendar. But this year I have really been listening to the advent part of the services on Sunday, and thinking a lot about what it means to prepare ourselves to receive our King.
A friend of mine recently gave me her much used and beloved copy of book entitled: Jesus, Be in My Christmas (morning and evening meditations for every day of advent) by Sarah Hornsby. She told me how blessed she had been by it over the years, how the Lord had used it to minister to her specifically through its pages. And then she told me that she felt like the Lord had told her to give it to me. She didn't want me to feel burdened or as though I had to enjoy it.
But I was able to tell her this week how sweet and special it is to me already.
A few quotes for you to consider:
from pages 84-85: Jesus, Be in My Abounding
"Father God, You are the One who enables me to be faithful. Pour out on me the abundance of gifts needed to communicate Your healing presence in this hurting world. Grow in me the abundance of fruit needed to nourish and sustain life in the Spirit. Jesus, be in my abounding."
from pages 72-73: Jesus, Be in My Plans
Psalms 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
"Mary and Joseph planned their engagement, but God had other plans. Mary and Joseph planned to dedicate their baby and then take him back to Nazareth by the normal route, but God had other plans.... God has a perfect plan for every one in his creation. Only God knows all the circumstances and relationships that touch and shape me and the flow of my history. In spite of all the pressures of the world to conform to its ways, in spite of my own weaknesses and sinful nature, in spite of the hate-filled strategies of Satan's furious forces, I can seek and find God's path. God is committed to me...."
wow.
And the reading for "today" - the third Friday in Advent:
from pages 90-91: Jesus, Be in My Wounds
"The blessing of God does not mean that everything will be easy and comfortable. After Simeon's blessing, he warned Mary that this Child would change the way things had always been done in Israel, in the world. There would be violent disagreements. Powers would clash, a sword would pierce their souls. The conflict over who Jesus says He is continues. Every person who hears of Him must decide if He is Lord. And if He is Lord, He is due total allegiance. That rubs against the grain of all other people and institutions that demand my time, resources, allegiance, homage. I will be involved with some of these, but as a representative of God's kind of government, I will be an advocate for the poor, homeless, hungry, blind, imprisoned, sick. Being involved with these people in the name of Jesus will hurt, but it is also where the blessing of His presence abounds."
I was thinking as I read this today about Mary and Jesus and then a friend of mine was considering Mary and this is what I said in response to her; thoughts which began, I suspect, with this devotion:
I can resonate with your questions about Mary. Sometimes its hard to remember she was a real person, that they aren't just literary characters created to teach us a lesson. I'm glad for the historical references to Jesus outside of the bible to know that he was real, and if HE was real, then he really had a mom. I think that our moms are probably more like Mary in a lot of ways than we realize. The things that potentially made Mary cry: her hopes for Jesus, his fears about his future, contemplating what all the different things said about him (i.e. by Simeon or Anna or the Magi, etc) really meant and how this little boy could do what was hoped of him...... all these things probably made our moms cry when we were growing up, too. You should ask your mom about it. Ask her what her hopes were for you when she first found out she was pregnant with you, what her expectations for you were at that 2nd birthday party.
So I was thinking about this and thinking that ultimately my life will be a thorn, because Jesus was a thorn. Its uncomfortable to think of. I may be a thorn to my family because I make different choices than they, to my friends, my community, the world. But as long as I'm following Jesus and doing what he says, then its what I have to do. Ouch.
So the mini-updates do not conclude here, except "for now". I'm re-reading Hinds Feet and have more of that to include soon, too!
Much love to you!
A friend of mine recently gave me her much used and beloved copy of book entitled: Jesus, Be in My Christmas (morning and evening meditations for every day of advent) by Sarah Hornsby. She told me how blessed she had been by it over the years, how the Lord had used it to minister to her specifically through its pages. And then she told me that she felt like the Lord had told her to give it to me. She didn't want me to feel burdened or as though I had to enjoy it.
But I was able to tell her this week how sweet and special it is to me already.
A few quotes for you to consider:
from pages 84-85: Jesus, Be in My Abounding
"Father God, You are the One who enables me to be faithful. Pour out on me the abundance of gifts needed to communicate Your healing presence in this hurting world. Grow in me the abundance of fruit needed to nourish and sustain life in the Spirit. Jesus, be in my abounding."
from pages 72-73: Jesus, Be in My Plans
Psalms 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
"Mary and Joseph planned their engagement, but God had other plans. Mary and Joseph planned to dedicate their baby and then take him back to Nazareth by the normal route, but God had other plans.... God has a perfect plan for every one in his creation. Only God knows all the circumstances and relationships that touch and shape me and the flow of my history. In spite of all the pressures of the world to conform to its ways, in spite of my own weaknesses and sinful nature, in spite of the hate-filled strategies of Satan's furious forces, I can seek and find God's path. God is committed to me...."
wow.
And the reading for "today" - the third Friday in Advent:
from pages 90-91: Jesus, Be in My Wounds
"The blessing of God does not mean that everything will be easy and comfortable. After Simeon's blessing, he warned Mary that this Child would change the way things had always been done in Israel, in the world. There would be violent disagreements. Powers would clash, a sword would pierce their souls. The conflict over who Jesus says He is continues. Every person who hears of Him must decide if He is Lord. And if He is Lord, He is due total allegiance. That rubs against the grain of all other people and institutions that demand my time, resources, allegiance, homage. I will be involved with some of these, but as a representative of God's kind of government, I will be an advocate for the poor, homeless, hungry, blind, imprisoned, sick. Being involved with these people in the name of Jesus will hurt, but it is also where the blessing of His presence abounds."
I was thinking as I read this today about Mary and Jesus and then a friend of mine was considering Mary and this is what I said in response to her; thoughts which began, I suspect, with this devotion:
I can resonate with your questions about Mary. Sometimes its hard to remember she was a real person, that they aren't just literary characters created to teach us a lesson. I'm glad for the historical references to Jesus outside of the bible to know that he was real, and if HE was real, then he really had a mom. I think that our moms are probably more like Mary in a lot of ways than we realize. The things that potentially made Mary cry: her hopes for Jesus, his fears about his future, contemplating what all the different things said about him (i.e. by Simeon or Anna or the Magi, etc) really meant and how this little boy could do what was hoped of him...... all these things probably made our moms cry when we were growing up, too. You should ask your mom about it. Ask her what her hopes were for you when she first found out she was pregnant with you, what her expectations for you were at that 2nd birthday party.
So I was thinking about this and thinking that ultimately my life will be a thorn, because Jesus was a thorn. Its uncomfortable to think of. I may be a thorn to my family because I make different choices than they, to my friends, my community, the world. But as long as I'm following Jesus and doing what he says, then its what I have to do. Ouch.
So the mini-updates do not conclude here, except "for now". I'm re-reading Hinds Feet and have more of that to include soon, too!
Much love to you!
mini-updates (#2 - nee)
The Normal Christian Life (By Watchman Nee)
Karen told me about this book today. She has been slowly reading it, digesting it in little bits and today came upon chapter 3 which dealt with something she and I had been speaking about recently - living in freedom. We know that living in freedom means "believing you are free" in Christ and in doing so walking, living as though you really are free. Ultimately, our discussion ended by deciding (as many have done) that freedom this mysterious word that is oft discussed but not always understood is found in Christ alone and executed through him alone as well. And that we are simply as free as we want to be and believe we are.
So I looked up the book. WOWOWOWOWOWOW. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 (which you can also read on amazon - link above). Enjoy!
Excerpts from Chapter 1 (p.12-14)
God makes it quite clear in his Word that he has only one answer to every human need – his Son, Jesus Christ. In all his dealings with us he works by way of taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God dies instead of us for our forgiveness: he lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we can speak of two substitutions – a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory. It will help us greatly, and save us from much confusion, if we keep constantly before us this face, that God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only, namely, by showing us more of his Son............
(discussing Romans 1-8): No matter how many sins I commit, it is always the one sin-principle that leads to them. I need forgiveness for my sins, but I need also deliverance from the power of sin. The former touches my conscience, the latter my life. I may receive forgiveness for all my sins, but because of my sin I have, even then, no abiding peace of mind.
When God’s light first shines into my heart my one cry is for forgiveness, for I realize I have committed sins before him; but when once I have received forgiveness of sins I make a new discovery, namely, the discovery of sin, and I realize not only that I have committed sins before God but that there is something wrong within. I discover that I have the nature of a sinner. There is an inward inclination to sin, a power within that draws to sin. When that power breaks out I commit sins. I may seek and receive forgiveness, but then I sin once more. So life goes on in a vicious circle of sinning and being forgiven and then sinning again. I appreciate the blessed fact of God’s forgiveness, but I want something more than that: I want deliverance. I need forgiveness for what I have done, but I need also deliverance from what I am.
Karen told me about this book today. She has been slowly reading it, digesting it in little bits and today came upon chapter 3 which dealt with something she and I had been speaking about recently - living in freedom. We know that living in freedom means "believing you are free" in Christ and in doing so walking, living as though you really are free. Ultimately, our discussion ended by deciding (as many have done) that freedom this mysterious word that is oft discussed but not always understood is found in Christ alone and executed through him alone as well. And that we are simply as free as we want to be and believe we are.
So I looked up the book. WOWOWOWOWOWOW. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 (which you can also read on amazon - link above). Enjoy!
Excerpts from Chapter 1 (p.12-14)
God makes it quite clear in his Word that he has only one answer to every human need – his Son, Jesus Christ. In all his dealings with us he works by way of taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God dies instead of us for our forgiveness: he lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we can speak of two substitutions – a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory. It will help us greatly, and save us from much confusion, if we keep constantly before us this face, that God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only, namely, by showing us more of his Son............
(discussing Romans 1-8): No matter how many sins I commit, it is always the one sin-principle that leads to them. I need forgiveness for my sins, but I need also deliverance from the power of sin. The former touches my conscience, the latter my life. I may receive forgiveness for all my sins, but because of my sin I have, even then, no abiding peace of mind.
When God’s light first shines into my heart my one cry is for forgiveness, for I realize I have committed sins before him; but when once I have received forgiveness of sins I make a new discovery, namely, the discovery of sin, and I realize not only that I have committed sins before God but that there is something wrong within. I discover that I have the nature of a sinner. There is an inward inclination to sin, a power within that draws to sin. When that power breaks out I commit sins. I may seek and receive forgiveness, but then I sin once more. So life goes on in a vicious circle of sinning and being forgiven and then sinning again. I appreciate the blessed fact of God’s forgiveness, but I want something more than that: I want deliverance. I need forgiveness for what I have done, but I need also deliverance from what I am.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
mini-updates (#1)
http://relief.ist.greenville.edu/drupal/node/240
Above is a link to a specific page on our hurricane relief website which shows a video (8 min) of hte trip. The work, some of the "goers" and some who received aid. The song is called "Will You Go?" by Katie Kapteyn - a GC Student (music major) - she's fantastic! She actually performed the song on Sunday morning of our trip, at the services of our host church.( general website http://relief.ist.greenville.edu/drupal)
Tiff
Above is a link to a specific page on our hurricane relief website which shows a video (8 min) of hte trip. The work, some of the "goers" and some who received aid. The song is called "Will You Go?" by Katie Kapteyn - a GC Student (music major) - she's fantastic! She actually performed the song on Sunday morning of our trip, at the services of our host church.( general website http://relief.ist.greenville.edu/drupal)
Tiff
Friday, December 09, 2005
Winter Pics (first giant snow of the season last week!)
We had 2-6 inches of snow (depending on where you measured or lived). It was beautiful and for one day, was less cold than it had been all week (or was Friday). Sunday evening the rain started and now the snow is mostly melted - it looks more like Seattle now. :)
Enjoy the pics!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Of Babies and Bling
Lori and Eric in Leavenworth, after he popped the question.
Newborn Ezra, doing the "cabbage patch" - he can't help it... he loves to dance.
So lately there have been a lot of events occuring in the lives of my friends. Ezra, above, is one of two babies born in the last 3 weeks to friends of mine - one of 5 born this year, with an additional two to come (at least) next year. And further above you'll see a picture of Lori and Eric, friends who recently were engaged; part of a slew of friends (3 couples in the last 3 months) who are newly planning weddings. This is not to mention the friends who recently have found "the one."
As all this was coming to pass, I was ruminating on the wonder of "seasons" in our lives. I remember going through the wedding/engagement season the first few years after college (in the 8-10yr ago range), and I remember when my friends were having babies. Julie and Ryan started the "wedding train" and it didn't let up for about 3 years. The busiest summer saw me attend 5 weddings (I think I was in maybe 2 of them). Julie and Ryan, Alyssa and Sean, Claire and her husband, Alyssa (formerly "Pinky") and Aaron, Anne and Shawn - just to name a few. After that the train slowed and I attended maybe one or two a year for a while. When people started to get pregnant it was a wondrous time - how could we be old enough to have kids?!?! I wasn't even DATING anyone and my friends were having babies - crazy. I remember the vigils (3 in all) with Alyssa and Sean at the hospital as she kept trying to go further into labor and kept getting sent home (Kayli is truly just like her mom - she is strong-willed and on her own timetable!) - I remember coming home from vigil 3 and finding out that Julie and Ryan had delivered Jeremiah while I was out - and holding him the next day. Wow, how many day old babies have I held at this point? I recall the day I had the courage to ask Karen if she was pregnant because I saw a picture in prayer about it - and she was. And I remember holding baby Jared when he was tiny.... and trying to keep up with him now that he's 3+!
And now I'm in another season like that. And as the situations are similar but the people have changed (somewhat), I am in a similar situation, though changed. I am still single, with no immediate thoughts of a husband nor even a man I like in that direction, really. I live a single person's life - feeling free to drop everything and move to another state, to fly to visit people, to go out every night if I want, or no nights. And yet, I'm changed - my commitment to Jesus, my commitment to women and helping them find their identity in Christ, my attitude and ethics; all changed from those days 10 years ago.
This May will mark the 10-year anniversary of my graduation from College. Wow. One of my student workers (none of them really know how old I am, I guess) asked what my major in college had been. I told him and he replied, "Huh, are you going to do anything with that?" I laughed as I told him that I did in fact do something with that - for 7 years....
So anyway as we end this year (shortly) and head into a new one, I thought you might want to rejoice with me and my friends in celebration of these new stages in their lives, and a new cycle in mine:
Engaged recently (last 3 months): Cindy and Sam, Lori and Eric, Leah and Chris
2005 babies: Jonas Brown, Elijah Walker, Tyson Ackerman, John Heater IV, Ezra Swendson
And for those I haven't mentioned, please know I rejoice with you as well and wish you even greater joy in these new stages.
With love from me, and ALL THINGS from Christ Jesus. Tiff
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