A.M.W.

New blog

2009-08-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm moving my blog to http://angwysocki.tumblr.com/ see you there!

CHIC '09 - UNDONE

2009-07-28T18:06:00.001-07:00

Another huge event of my Summer was CHIC. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this event it is a tri-annual event that our Denomination puts on for high school students. I went to CHIC ’97 at CSU in Ft. Collins, Ben went to CHIC ’00 at UT in Knoxville, and this year Sophie went as a student to CHIC ’09 at UT in Knoxville. In planning this event the break up all the areas of responsibility and planning to a team of people and then those people recruit teams to help them. So 2 years ago I signed on with some of my best friends to work on this event. We met for the first time in December of ’07 and have been talking monthly since then and working hard to get ready for this large event.

The week was amazing, honestly and truly amazing to see how everything came together. I love the moment when we were all in the arena with all 5,500 people for the first time. It’s like there was finally flesh on the bones of all that we had been planning for the past 2 years.

In the morning I was in charge of basecamp experience and then after lunch I would switch to helping produce the bands that played at the blockparty that happened every afternoon. It was a challenging week and many different sides of my were used and challenged and pulled. I didn’t sleep very well and was often really hot. But I would do it all again next week if I had to. Why? Well because I absolutely loved everyone that I worked with and it was amazing to see how students connected with each other, with their leaders, and with God throughout the week. That makes it more than worth it!

My Mainstage i-team in the arena the last night

My basecamp i-team in the UT arena March of '08 on a planning trip to TN

Lots of planning, and talking, and walking, and dreaming, and visioning

Glimpses from the week...

First night - Mainstage and the rain curtain

Mainstage night 2 - David Crowder Band

Group1Crew rockin it at the HUB sidestage

Basecamp experience - "My relationship with God"

Students answers to "God is..." on an easel

Salvador drawing in a crowd at the HUB

A little rain at the HUB...only a 20 min delay, good work team!

Mainstage the last night, confetti and all

HUB crew, runners, DJ Promote and Propaganda...love these people

Landon and Liz's Wedding

2009-07-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

After the week with my dad’s family in Maryland we had an excuse to see all of my Mom’s family in New Orleans for my cousin Landon’s wedding. Last Christmas Landon brought his Fiance Elizabeth to Denver to meet the family and it was not hard to quickly like this girl. They were married on July 10^th in New Orleans with a fun reception on a river boat. Ben was in the Wedding and Sophie and I read scripture. It was such a fun weekend and I loved being with them as they celebrated the big day! Welcome to the Family Liz!

Ben, Michele, Laura and I rehearsal dinner-ing it up

"I do"

Ben and Laura being great in the wedding party

Leaving the Church

Mr. & Mrs. Larsen

Mom, Michele, Soph, me, and Aunt Carol at the church

Scuzin Laura and I

Ben, Mich, Landon, Liz, Me, & Soph at the reception

Losing Grandpa Gene

2009-07-28T17:24:00.001-07:00

One of the tough things of this summer was the death of my dad’s dad, my Grandpa Gene. On June 2^nd he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, it was very advanced and they warned us that the end would be very quick. Little did we know just how fast that would be. On June 22^nd he passed away surrounded by all his Children and a few of my cousins. Those last weeks were incredibly stressful and hard on him but we are all thankful that he was not in pain for long and that he was able to have time with all of his kids in those 3 weeks. I was able to fly out to Baltimore with my family for the week to spend some time helping to tie up loose ends and to spend some time together. Amazingly our entire family was able to be at the funeral, all 4 of the kids, spouses, and all 8 grandkids and spouses. It was a tough week but also full of fun and laughter and the usual insanity that comes with that group of people. There is no doubt that grandpa’s death and cancer was sad and hard on everyone but I’m so thankful for an amazing family that could process it together and still have fun together.

Gpa's Funeral

The Whole Family

The post funeral dinner, good to have everyone in the same spot for a night

Sophie always makes the thumbs up pose and so this is us mocking it...in response to her face here she said, "well you all took my pose, so I didn't know what to do!"...hilarious

We have so many pictures on these steps...funny how when everyone is grown up you can't see the steps at all, to many people on them!

Love this Porch

A crowded Dining room, always full when we were in town

Fells Point downtown Baltimore, this used to be Gpa's police pier

Grandpa's Obituary...

Eugene J. Wysocki

Baltimore police officer
By Jacques Kelly
June 28, 2009
Eugene J. "Gino" Wysocki, a retired Baltimore police officer who patrolled the harbor and spent his free time playing the trombone at East Baltimore social events, died of cancer Monday at Franklin Square Hospital Center.

The Dundalk resident was 77.

Born in Baltimore and raised on Bank Street, he studied music with his father, who was organist at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Fells Point.

Mr. Wysocki also attended its parochial school and the old W.S. Seipp General Vocational School on Broadway.

He served in the Navy during the Korean War and survived a 1951 Narragansett Bay capsizing that claimed the lives of 18 servicemen.

Family members said that Mr. Wysocki was an excellent swimmer, a skill that would serve him in later years. He served aboard the USS Yellowstone.

He joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1956 and was assigned to the Eastern and Southeastern districts. For much of his time with the department, he worked on a police patrol boat, the Charles Gaither, based at Thames Street and Broadway.

"In the time he worked on the harbor, there were fires on the old wooden piers and in cargo holds and disturbances on boats he'd be called out for," said his son, David Tirrell-Wysocki of Canterbury, N.H. "He was a very good swimmer and didn't mind getting wet."

As part of his duties, Mr. Wysocki would be called upon to recover suicide and drowning victims.

His son said that his father, who had an upbeat personality, had a stock reply when friends asked him about removing the dead from the harbor: "Well, at least I never had one of them take a swing at me."

Mr. Wysocki also once saved the life of a man who filled his pockets with heavy pieces of masonry and jumped into the harbor at the foot of Broadway.

Mr. Wysocki dove in the water and retrieved the man, who later thanked him profusely.

On another occasion, Mr. Wysocki was pushed off a pier by a surging crowd that had assembled. Dressed in a heavy turnout coat, he sank to the bottom of the Patapsco, shed the coat and rose to safety, his son said.

Family members said he received departmental honors and later served in the department's community relations section before retiring in 1992.

He played in a police combo, the Sounds of an Era and also performed with the Melody Kings and other groups.

"He'd walk into a Highlandtown bar or social event, and maybe a band would be playing polkas," said Ray Bastianelli, a fellow musician. "Gino would say, 'Let's liven this joint up' and then bring out his trombone and start playing big-band numbers."

Recalled as a born entertainer who loved an audience, he was a devotee of the music of bandleaders Glenn Miller andTommy Dorsey and was recalled for his renditions of "In the Mood."

Mr. Bastianelli, who often performed with Mr. Wysocki, said his friend could play any instrument he put his hands on.

"I don't know what he loved more, his music or his family," said John Kaufman, commander of the Parkville American Legion Post No. 183, where Mr. Wysocki was a member. "He was extremely proud of his children and grandchildren."

His wife of 52 years, the former Eleanor Mazzulla, died in 2003.

Services were held Friday.

In addition to his son, survivors include two other sons, Gary Wysocki of Westminster, Colo., and Christopher Wysocki of Abingdon; a daughter, Linda Gates of Woodstock, Ga.; a brother, Alfred Wysocki of Timonium; a sister, Adele Misiora of Baltimore; and eight grandchildren.

Sweet Summer gig

2009-07-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of the school year I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for a job or where I should be living this summer and in the midst of that got hooked up with a pretty sweet offer. I have some friends who work at the Covenant Church in Marin, CA. and knew that a family in their church was looking for a housesitter for 3 months. Enter me…! So I loaded up the car and my friend Brooke met me in Denver and we made the trek out to California. Living here has been so great, and I fully realize that it is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal. I don’t have a job so I get lots of time to unwind and explore the area. I get tons of time with Michele (she and Ben live just 20 min from me), time to explore the area and all the new scenery, and time to be with good friends in the area and make some new ones too. I’ve also had plenty of time to watch seasons 1-4 of LOST (a post graduation goal), and read almost 8 novels. All in all, it’s been unbelievable and so relaxing. I never realized how wound up and busy I was in Chicago until I got here. I just have a few more weeks to enjoy this lifestyle before I start my new adventure.

Dinner outside with Michele

Some pretty rough pool days:)

Inside the Casita (where I live)

Pretty rough view

Jam making day in Santa Cruz with the Mazzariello ladies

Pt. Reyes lighthouse...real foggy

Pt. Reyes beach

Done and Done

2009-07-28T17:08:00.001-07:00

That’s right, after 3 years of classes and one year of an internship I finished up my MDIV this past May. The last semester felt so long and I was SO ready to be done. But then of course the whole week of graduation was so surreal and made me feel like the whole experience had flown by. I never thought that I would be able to complete the MDIV but am so glad that I stuck it out. My 3 years in Seminary were challenging, lonely at times, really busy, really cold, inspiring, formational, and full of great friends. So yeah, it’s hard to sum up. But more than anything I’m thankful for the chance to have gone there and been formed more into the kind of person that I should be.

Here are some pics from graduation…

Spring in Chicago

2009-06-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

ok, ok...I know I'm a little behind in the blogging these days...but the good news is that I'm totally done with school and in theory that means that I might have a little more energy to get this thing updated (we'll see how it goes). This past spring feels a little like a whirlwind of shifts at the hospital as I did me chaplaincy, finishing up school work before graduating, trying to pursue jobs and figure out what my life would be like after graduation, a family trip to San Fran to see Ben and Michele, trying to keep up with my work on upcoming events (mainly annual meeting and CHIC) and trying to fit in some great Chicago things once the weather turned nice. Somehow it all happened and I lived to tell about it! In typical "angie" fashion when I am months behind, you will just get a little highlight of all these events in pictures.

A Kelsey and Ang spring break tradition, dying the river green

Wysocki Ladies in Cali

Wysocki Guys

Sheri's Graduation

Skipping class for the Giants vs. Cubs game...so worth it

1st and ____

2009-03-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Somedays it's annoying to be asked about the Fray so much but somedays it's just really funny. For instance here is a conversation from last night...

Friend #1: "Angie, I just have one question for you"

Me: "What's that?"

Friend #1: " What the heck happened at the corner of 1st and Arlington"

Me: "What...?"

Friend #2: "Dude, don't you mean 1st and Amistad?"

Friend #1: "Yea, 1st and Amistad..."

oh my...

Connection '09 UNDONE

2009-02-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Back in the fall I was offered a position as an assistant producer to Katie Martinez for the national worship events for the Covenant Denomination. The events that this included were the Connection, Midwinter and we are currently working on the Annual Meeting that is coming up this summer. This job has been challenging and also incredibly rewarding. I was a little worried about coming off of my time in Zambia and being thrown into this producer role so quickly. But God was gracious and I felt strong and the whole experience was incredible powerful for me. While there were very stressful moments, lots of details and not much sleep there were also many glimpses of exactly why I love the Covenant so much. These are my friends and the people that love and know me best and it was refreshing to worship with them and be lead in worship by them.

Zambia Pictures

2009-02-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Lined up for Lunch at the school (photo: dan kasnick)

Angie and Cecilia

Best trip leaders ever!

Margaret, Mosonda, and Mavis are who I lived with, they are wonderful hosts!

cooking nshima

Hanging out at the orphanage

Hope Community School

The kids sharing a song at church

A giraffe trying to cross the path while we are on our "safari"

Sleeping in nets is not my favorite, Britta fully embraced it

These were my housemates

The new orphanage under construction...so close!

A game of Simon says at the orphanage on a rainy day

The graveyard

One of a few sunrises we watched while flying

Love us some Coca Cola Light

Yep...steve and his BFF

I can check cooking and eating caterpillars off the list

playing cards for popcorn...another rainy day activity at the orphanage

The Bus - our home away from home

Zambia

2009-02-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

In my effort to update my blog I have not really known how to write a blog about our trip to Zambia. It's just hard to put those 14 days into words. This was a trip that definitely got under my skin and probably one of the best trips that I have been on. While I am tempted to just type up my whole journal I will spare you that and just give you a few highlights (some pictures will follow in another blog):

* I was good to me to be so far away from the western world that I am used to and to feel like a minority everywhere I went

* It was humbling to meet Pastor Charles and his wife Margaret, two amazing people of God who have sacrificed much in their lives to advance the kingdom of God and to make an impact on the children of Twapia

* It was an amazing experience to ring in the new year by participating in an all night worship service. I can honestly say that I have never praised God on New Years for allowing me to see another year pass. Our friends in Zambia were overjoyed that God allowed them to see 2009 and the sang and danced together in celebration.

* I'm used to going on missions trips and hanging out with the children and people who are the worst of. But the children who live at Hope house orphanage and those who attend Hope community school are doing so well because of the ways that hope ministries is offering them resources. They are healthy, clothed, getting a meal, and very loved. This is wonderful to see and left me with an incredible sense of hope.

* I also got to experience a bit of London during one of our layovers, something that I've always wanted to do.

* I realized how far money really can go and how much extra money we in America have...simple but so true

* I loved my team and I appreciated their willingness to go deep together on this trip, we had many rich times together and I was challenged by their thoughts and ideas. Love them!

Ok I could go on but the truth is that I'm still processing it all. But it was an amazing cross cultural experience and I was honored to catch a glimpse of how God is working in Zambia and raising up faithful people who serve him there.

Here is the letter that I wrote to my supporters after we got back:

Hello Friends-
We have been back from Zambia for 2 weeks now and I’m still trying to wrap my brain around all that happened on our trip. As those who sponsored me, I wanted to fill you in on some of things that we did and experienced while we were in Zambia. Our time there was split between hanging out with the orphans that live at Hope House, running a clinic for the students at Hope Community School, and working on the new orphanage building. Throughout the entire 2 weeks we had the opportunity to become friends with many of the Zambians who run Hope Ministries and who devote so much of their lives to helping these orphans. It was inspiring to see how many things they have been able to do to help the orphans and the students at the school. The team of people that they have working at the orphanage, and school are passionate people who want nothing more than to encourage and equip the orphans there. It was an honor to meet them and offer them some help for the weeks that we were there.
Here’s an idea of what we were able to help them with while we were there:
Hope House has 14 orphans and 2 house moms that live in the current orphanage. But they are only a few months away from completing the new orphanage! Having this new house will allow them to have 30 orphans. While we were there we were able to buy all the wire that they needed to wire the house and we were able to help them install the wiring. They are all excited about the new orphanage and the home that it will offer for these orphans.
Hope Community School started a new semester while we were there and we were able to join them for their opening day. One of the things that they have been able to start at the school is a meal program for all the students. We learned that for most of these students this is the only meal that they will get in a day. On our first day there we helped serve the meal and then got a chance to meet all the students. The rest of our time at the school was spent offering a clinic for all the students. By the end of the week we were able to see 300 students.
I am excited about what is happening in Zambia because of Hope Ministries and supporters like you. Thank you so much for supporting me and this trip. If you would like to learn more about what is happening in Zambia because of Hope Ministries you can go to the Spark Ventures website. You can also learn more about sponsoring one of the students at the school if you would like another way to be involved.
I really can’t believe that this trip is over, it seemed to go so fast and there were so many rich experiences packed into our 2 weeks there. But I am thankful for the chance to go and will continue to think and process this trip for quite sometime.

Thanks Again!
Angie
www.sparkventures.org

Family Portraits

2009-02-21T07:53:00.001-08:00

Last year we gave my parents a portrait session for our family. We weren't able to actually have the session until this year but the results were well worth the wait.

I have no idea why this picture of Michele is so much smaller

Christmas

2009-02-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about being a student still is that I have so much time off for Christmas! I was home in Colorado for about 2 weeks this year and Ben, Michele, and Chloe were able to come home for several weeks too. We had a great time all together and I think that this was one of our most relaxing Christmas' ever! Aunt Carol, Laura, Landon and Liz all made the trip to Colorado as well. It was great to be all be together!

Wysocki siblings opening gifts at Gma and Gpa's

White Elephant gifts with the Blue Hair families

Ben wrapped gifts all day on Christmas Eve...what a guy!

Introducing Laura and Aunt Carol to Chedd's...yum

Lovely Larson Ladies working in the kitchen

Christmas Morning breakfast

A little DDR on Christmas Eve after our movie...I think that Laura and Sophie look more like sisters than cousins

Michael, Brittany, Mich, Ben, Janelle, & Dave at the Blue Hair party

I love Ben's face in this one

The Blue Hair Group picture, it just wouldn't be Christmas without this party with these families. All we are missing are the Cuthbertson kids

Sophie's favorite b-day present

Decorating the Christmas Tree in one of Mom's Christmas sweaters

A Fall of Firsts

2009-02-20T07:56:00.001-08:00

Like I said, "hold on" because we are going back a few months. So back we go to October when I was honored to help officiate the wedding of my friends Will and Carin. The wedding was at Carin's parents home and was one of the most beautiful fall weddings I have ever seen. It was a great experience to be able to pray over them and help them as they took their vows. The best was being able to pronounce them married.

Another first for me last fall was my trip to the top of the arch in St. Louis. This first was made possible by my dear fake sister Tate who is from St. Louis and who I met there for Thanksgiving. It was great getting to spend Thanksgiving with the Tate's, the Poshak's, and the Van Rossum's. You'll have to just believe me that they were all there though because I only have pictures to document our trip to the arch:)

back in action

2009-02-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

If you check my blog you may have thought that I died or dropped of the face of the earth or something...don't worry, I'm still here. I've just really failed in my blogging these past few months. As one person so lovingly pointed out, "Angie, you have to blog sometime soon or people aren't going to read it anymore".

The problem now is that a lot of life has happened since October and I'm pretty sure that I won't do it justice as I tell you about it. I couldn't be more grateful for the times that I have had with family and friends, it's really been a super full few months.

So hang on and enjoy the next few blogs as I try and fill in some of the missing gaps on here...

Time Flies

2008-10-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

I catch myself thinking "I can't believe it's October" a lot these days. I know it's somewhat cliche but I really can't believe that we are here. Seriously, October?!?! This semester has been incredibly busy and that tends to lead to time flying by. I wouldn't recommend this pace of living though but it is what it is for me right now. I'm finding that I don't like saying that I'm stressed though because that seems to imply that I'm not happy. Well maybe my definitions are off but I'm definitely happy but just trying to not spill anything off of my very fully plate. God has given me many open doors to experience ministry and to stretch myself and for that I'm thankful. It has also felt really good to be here for a 3rd year. A few weeks ago when I walked into someones house to watch the "Office" premiere and was greeted by a group of 20 or so students that I know and that I love doing life with here. And I realized that none of them were students that I had known from CBC, and I thought "Hmm, when did that happen?" That is just one example of how gracious God has been to me this year as I feel like I have found my rhythm here and that I have built a life for myself...there were days that I thought that would never happen. So now in the midst of a crazy schedule I'm just trying to soak it all up before I graduate and have to move again (that's a whole different blog for a different day!)

Here are a few highlights of my life the past few weeks...

In the past week I have managed to fit in a few really great shows like Sigur Ros, Ray LaMontagne, and Aaron Espe. All of these shows just reminded me how great it is to experience bands and musicians who are all about the music. Don't get me wrong, I love shows with great production too but I have really enjoyed sitting through these musical experiences and taking it all in without the hype and showmanship that sometimes comes with some acts. This is a pic from Sigur Ros...globes, nice...

One of my favorite parts of fall is homecoming and the NP homecoming BlocParty! Our chapel planning team has helped out for the past 2 years by making sno-cones, popcorn, and cotton candy. There are tons of people who come from the neighborhood and there are always lots of great friends that come back for the weekend.

And my days with these two are never boring. It's fun to see how they are growing up and becoming funnier every week! Hanging out with Kyle and Ellie is always a nice break from homework.

Zambia or Bust

2008-10-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

My newest adventure to report is a trip to Zambia that I'll be taking Dec 27th - Jan 10th! For the past few years North Park has sent a team there every December and May to partner with Hope Ministries. I have always been intrigued by this trip but never seriously considered going. Then the combination of several things rolling around in my head and the prompting of some people around here pushed me to fill out the application and see what would happen. And after a few weeks I found out that I was chosen to be apart of the team and go on this trip.

I'm mostly excited, but a little nervous for this adventure. I'm excited to not be a leader and to get to participate. I'm excited to meet new people who are going. I'm excited to get out off of this continent and see how God is working in other contexts. I'm nervous for what God needs to mess up in me. I'm excited to see Tom, Aaron, Rox, and Amanda (NP grads who are living there now) I'm excited because I have no idea what to expect...

For more info on our trip check out the North Park Global Partnerships Website

my first flood day

2008-09-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Front of Von Steuben

I've seen a lot of things on Foster Ave, but this was new

(This is looking west at Foster and Pulaski for those of you who know the area)

Park, pool, or Lake...you decide

The view from the front doors of Anderson

Anderson Dorm, notice how the river flows under the dorm

The Front of Anderson Dorm

As some of you may have heard, we had kind of a crazy weather weekend here in Chicago. The short story is that 90 billion gallons of water rained down on our city in about 2 days. Now I don't have any experience with flooding so it never entered my mind as an option, but flood it did right in my neighborhood. My street was not bad but everything around us was. The flooding really affected the North Park campus and they had to evacuate some buildings for the weekend. All in all pretty crazy. So because of all this we all had a "flood day" today...no class! The good news is that the water is receding, the dorms are open again. The bad news is that our neighbors in this Albany Park area were hit pretty hard.

So Proud

2008-08-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

While this week has been eventful on many levels (ie starting the fall semester and starting a new job), more than anything this week have been overwhelmed with pride and appreciation for my family.

There have been some significant things happening in the lives of my grandparents and I'm proud of the way that my family has acted in the midst of stress. I'm proud of my mom, aunt, and dad have worked hard to help my grandparents transition while still honoring them. I'm proud of Ben for helping to move grandma and for being there for my mom. I'm proud of Michele for jumping in to our family and for loving and honoring our grandparents so much, I can't imagine / remember our family without her. I'm proud of my grandma for aging with grace and patience and for making the best of her new home. I'm proud of my grandpa for deciding to have his 2nd open heart surgery for the sake of those that he loves. The fact is that none of these things are easy but I'm thankful that God has been preparing these things ahead of us and that he has given me a family this wonderful. I am also thankful that my grandpa survived his surgery today, praise God!

Another piece of my week was getting to watch Ben this week on the set of a music video that they shot here in Chicago. Now, it is always good to see him and I am always reminded of what a great friend I have in my brother but it is also just really great to watch him "work". I also get a thrill out of watching him play his music. So it was equally thrilling to watch them tape this video. I love how Ben interacts with everyone on the set and how he knows the name of the little old lady that is assigned to sit next to him in the bus scene. I love how we can have deep conversations about the songs that they have written. And I love that he still has the same sense of humor (you all know what I'm talking about).

Another source of my pride is that Michele started orientation this week as a graduate student. I'm so proud of how hard she works and how focused she is. I'm also so excited for her to pursue this degree and to have the chance to pursue her career as an artist.

So at the close of this week I am tired and feeling weary but I am also so thankful for my family and just wanted to brag about them for a bit...

My favorite things...

2008-08-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

Usually my blogs involve lots of pictures because sometimes I don't know how else to describe what has been going on other than to show you. Unfortunately this summer has been different for me because I haven't been "going" as much as I've been staying put and "doing". Doing the hard work of learning greek (which is over!) instead of taking a bunch of trips was not my first choice for the summer but ended up to be just fine. So in complete Oprah style I decided to share what I would call my Summer Favs, also known as the things that got me through greek!...

Music...

"Take a bow" - Rihanna

" Trying to stop your leaving" - Dierks Bentley

"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles

"Free Fallin' (live)" - John Mayer

"With You" - Chris Brown

"Come on get Higher" - Matt Nathanson

Viva la Vida (album) - Coldplay

Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (album) - Sigur Ros

Till the sun turns Black (album) - Ray LaMontagne

19 (album) - Adele

Memory Man (album) - Aqualung

Books...

While I did read my fair share of novels these were my favorite

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" - by Khaled Hosseini

"So Brave, Young, and Handsome" - by Leif Enger

"The Glass Castle" - Jeannette Walls

Recipe...

This is one that my mom found and it has been a refreshing a simple salad / salsa to have around and snack on

Black bean & Corn Salad

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

2 large tomatoes, finely chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 garlic gloves, minced

** combine and mix with dressing

2 T. sugar

2 T. white vinegar

2 T. canola oil (or I use olive oil)

1 1/2 t. lime juice

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. pepper

** refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve with chips, enjoy!

TV...

The "O.C." (such a guilty pleasure but only a few more discs to go)

re-watching "Gray's Anatomy"

THE OLYMPICS

"It's greek to me"

2008-07-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well folks I'm currently wrapping up my 8th day of intense summer Greek. Now as that might not sound like to much of a big deal to you let me tell you what a big deal this has been for me. I realized this past fall that part of my hesitation of going for the MDIV degree was that I had to take Greek and preaching. I realized that those are lame excuses and so I switched and faced my fears head on. So that brings us to this summer when I'm spending 6 weeks learning Greek. As much as I expected to learn a lot of new things about this language and about the New Testament, I wasn't really expecting to learn as much about myself as I have. This first week really pushed me and it wasn't a very pretty process. Luckily my roommates were out of town so they did not have to try to live with me. But I feel like I'm finding my pace this week and I feel like I just might make it out of these 6 weeks alive.

I've learned that...

1) You really do have to take it one day at a time

2) That it is possible to study something for 7 hours straight in the library (this was a new experience for me even though I am 2 years into seminary)

3) That I'm glad I had to learn all that hard stuff about the english language in Junior High

4) That I can get up and study BEFORE an 8:30 class and not necessarily need a nap later

5) That coffee and diet coke are things that I should not give up

6) That I have never loved the weekend more!

A few weeks off

2008-06-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Winter and this past semester were two things that I thought would never end. That sounds a bit dramatic but seriously there were days when there was no end in sight for either of those things. But the semester did end and I more than survived with all A's and B's (you can applaud...) and the snow did melt and now it rains or is really humid. So there have been a few things going on since the end of school and since a picture is sometimes the best description of these good times enjoy some of the highlights below....

May 18th - Matty and Kris's Wedding

The NPU Gang

Memorial Day - I went home for a week over memorial day which also included a chance to hit up some graduation parties and RV's graduation. And even though it poured on memorial day, my dad found a way to still make it possible to grill and make S'Mores. I like my house and the people that hang out there.

Kristen's big day

The S'More adventure...

Tate's visit - After my time at home Tate come back to Chicago to hang out with me and to get some time with the Van Rossum's.

Classic Chicago bean picture

The biggest tourists of them all...
Tate and the her favorite babies

It's nice to have good weather and some time to relax. I just have a few more weeks though before greek starts and then my summer will look more like flashcards and tests. More to come...enjoy your summer!

Girls Weekend

2008-04-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

I feel like all of my posts this spring have been about trips or people coming. It might seem like all I do is play but really it's just that everything else is just not something that you would really write a blog about. I mean if you want me to post my latest paper or case study or book review I would but I just don't think that would be a real "fun" blog to read. This semester is going well though, I feel like I'm connecting the dots in new ways and I am encouraged by how I am growing and being stretched. I also only have about 2 weeks until the end of the semester so things are a little crazy right now.

The real purpose of this blog is to show you some pics from a recent weekend visit with Melissa and Lily. I'm honored that they came out to see me and I'm also proud of how many Chicago things we crammed into one weekend. Even though we may have worn ourselves out it was a blast. It's fun to see how Lily is growing up and how her personality is coming out and of course it was good for my heart and soul to be with Misa for a few days. I have to admit that I was in a bit of a funk when they left. Having good friends is great...except when you live far away from them. **sidenote...I thought up a new idea today, I think that the year after I graduate from Sem I want to just spend a year traveling around the country connecting with all these people that I dearly love but never get to see. Consider yourself warned**

Here are a "few" pics from our many adventures that weekend...

Riding the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

Molly's cupcakes...enlarge the picture to see the cupcake creation that Lily picked out :)

Lincoln Park Zoo

Energized by some cupcakes and ready for the cubs game!

Lily sleeping off her suger overdose during the Cubs Game

Making breakfast...Lily enjoyed her coffee in a Nordy's mug, that's my girl!

Waiting for the El

Lily Bean and the Bean
On top of the Hancock

Thanks for coming girls, I already miss you and can't wait for our next visit!

baltochicoxville

2008-04-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

You know those cell phone commercials that combine all the different cities into one name...that's what I tried to do...maybe it's not that funny...

Anyways, the point is that to catch you up on the latest happenings in my life involves 3 different cities...Baltimore, Chicago, and Knoxville.

I went to Baltimore for Easter to spend some time with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandpa. I haven't been there for 5 years and the last time I was there was for my grandmother's funeral. It was a great weekend and it was fun to be there by myself but a little weird as I'm so used to being there with my family. It's funny the way that you remember places from when you were a kid and then you go there when you are 27 and it's not quite what you remembered. But I am very thankful for my family and it was fun to spend the weekend with them. I also confirmed that fact that I'm not the biggest fan of crabcakes (don't tell my gpa, good thing he doesn't read this!)

My adventures of the past few weeks brings us back to Chicago next where Sophie came to visit during her spring break. I really love when people come to visit because it makes me get out and do some fun Chicago things. Plus it was just really fun to have my sister here. I think she was frustrated that she couldn't really wear flip flops here seeing as it was snowing when she landed! So we managed to fit quite a lot into a fun weekend and I'm so glad that she came!

Last weekend found me in Knoxville with my CHIC iteam for a few days of dreaming and planning together. While it was kind of crazy how much we needed to talk through and plan, it was a great weekend for me. It was great to be with my good friends who are on my team and to do the hard work of brainstorming and planning together. I'm so thankful for the history that we have because I think it freed us up to collaborate together much better. I was also encouraged with how I found myself engaging in this planning. I found myself thinking about things that I wouldn't have thought 3 years ago and found that I had insights that I don't think I would have had 3 years ago and so for once it just felt like I'm actually changing in seminary. It's hard to get perspective sometimes and this was a chance for me to do that. I get so caught in this world that it is really helpful and encouraging when I can step out of it for a little while and see how all this hard work that I'm doing will impact ministry opportunities that I might have later down the road.

I always think that I'm going to slow down but as you can tell that doesn't happen to often. But I'm thankful for the chance to travel and to have people come visit. That always gives me something to look forward to and it's always refreshing for me to connect with family and friends. So that said, I have 6 days until Melissa and Lily come...YEA!!

Spring Break '08

2008-03-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

This past week was my spring break and I opted to go for more of a Chicago style spring break instead of the beach. Um, actually it was a decision that my bank account made for me:) But I am thankful for the chance to have a slower week around here. This semester has been busy so it was nice to have a chance to play a little around here. My friend Kelsey stuck around as well so we had some adventures around town (That's us taking the very touristy picture of our reflection in the bean). I'm also proud (or not so proud) to report that I finished watching all the episodes of Felicity. I also managed to finish my taxes and give my room a good cleaning which revealed a long lost flip-flop that has been missing since this past summer.

Another spring break accomplishment that I'm not so proud to report is that I managed to get into my first Chicago car accident. Oh yes, it's true and it was totally my fault. But everyone was ok (except my poor car) and it's already being fixed. So for the time being I am enjoying driving a nice red Ford Focus from Enterprise and eating my humble pie.

Kelsey and I also took in a historical Chicago event on Saturday morning as the Chicago river was dyed green (for St. Patty's day). Having never witnessed this before I didn't really think that the river could get much greener but apparently I was wrong. The dump all this dye in which looks orange at first and then eventually turns the river bright green. As we stood there among the crown waiting to witness this unique event Kelsey asked, "How do you think those geese feel about this whole thing". I can't imagine that it's fun for them to now live in florescent green water but who knows. I'm glad I can add this experience to my list of things I've seen in my life.

So that was my spring break, a pretty good week all in all. Plus today I wasn't feeling well at all but that gave me more of an excuse to watch basketball and get excited for March Madness. Some other things that I'm looking forward to is my trip to Baltimore this week to spend Easter weekend with some of my family and then the week after that Sophie is coming to Chicago for her Spring Break. For now, I'm going to bed to fit off this cold.

Women's Retreat

2008-03-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

As an intern with UMIN we all work together on somethings but then are other things that we work on by ourselves. My main responsibility this semester was heading up a Women's Retreat. It's funny to me that this is where I was pouring in most of my time because I typically would not be the type of person who would sign up for a women's retreat. As stressful as it was at times to make sure that everything was getting done to make this weekend work I'm glad that I had the chance to be apart of this retreat. I was struck by how many amazing women I have met in the past year and a half of being back around NPU. So many of these girls I can call my friends and I look forward to our coffee dates and conversations throughout the week. I have the tendency to get caught up in the details of pulling off a weekend like this and I forget the people that will be involved. So sitting there on the floor Friday night it was moving for me to look around the room and realized how much I love those girls. I think that there has been apart of me that still hasn't gotten over my time as dean at CBC and my ministry there. What I mean is that I wasn't really sure how I would ever really love students as deeply as I had at CBC. But this weekend helped realize that I have moved past that and thst my time here in Chicago has been made so rich by the students that I have gotten to know here.

Still on "break"...

2008-02-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month since I've written any blogs and while I still haven't started classes yet there has been quite a bit going on. While January was a break from homework I did not have as much down time as I thought I would. I'm not complaining though because it's all been really good for me and such a needed break from the normal routine of school.

At the beginning of January I took a week long class called "adolescent issues and assessment". I wasn't sure what I was really getting into but I thought it was a good deal to get another 3 credits out of the way. It ended up being a really intense week because every adolescent issue that we talked about would remind me of a student that I have known with the issue and most days just made me really sad. But it also reminded me of how much I love working with students and that is why I am in school. An intense week but a good reality check.

The middle of the month found me back in Colorado working with a team of people to pull off Powderburn again (it's a weekend high school ski retreat that the front range Covenant Churches put on). I helped plan the main sessions this year and had a blast working with my good friends to great meaningful times for students (and the rest of us) to encounter Christ. Somehow God used us and it was a great weekend. A little mountain air never hurt either, man I love Colorado. I also put in a total of 2 runs at Winter Park and was probably the most high maintenance skier that I've ever been! Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Before we took over for the weekend...
Friday night Worship...
Sunday Morning Communion...

January ended with the Covenant Midwinter conference in Chicago. It is always great to see everyone who comes into town for this event. There are plenty of late memories over overpriced food at the Hyatt. But it's weeks like midwinter that make me thankful that the Covenant is small and that I am so connected to people that I dearly love. I helped coordinate the worship connection again this year and while it was tons of work it was a great weekend and a great experience.

So that was pretty much my January. Well all that and the fact that I had a birthday and am now 27...yikes! My next semester start on Monday and as much as I have loved not having homework I am excited to get back into a "normal" routine. Also our semester starting means that we are just getting closer to the day when the snow will melt and we won't have to wear 5 layers to go outside!

A Christmas break montage (of sorts)

2008-01-04T13:39:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas break has come and gone already! I'm back in Chicago after being in Colorado for 3 weeks. It was a really great break filled with tons of downtime...maybe to much downtime! But downtime with family and friends is something that I can never get enough of. Some of the highlights were Bob and Rachel's wedding, Sophie's birthday, the "Blue Hair" Family Christmas party, Christmas Eve at Ben and Michele's, a White Christmas day, and some New Years puzzle making. I've heard that a picture says a million words, so here are some pics (ok maybe a lot of pictures) from the break...

BOB AND RACHEL'S WEDDING...

The Happy Couple

Me and Ben...and rachel's flowers, I'm not sure how Ben ended up with those

BLUE HAIR FAMILY CHRISTMAS...

3/4 of the "Blue Hairs" (missing Teri)...love these ladies!
Robin, Gloria, and my Mom

Laura and I...she is the only one that Bill could talk into wearing the antlers

Dave looks like Harry Potter

CHRISTMAS EVE...

The Fam

Making Dinner...soup and mini grilled cheese, awesome!

A WHITE CHRISTMAS DAY...

On a walk with Soph and Dad

Digging in

Mom and Grandma

NEW YEARS...

We headed up to the very cold mountains as soon as they reopened I-70...you don't even want to know how many times I tried to take this picture

Waiting at the weird stoplight at the tunnel...I like these ladies a lot!

Group pic...Cav and Ev are there behind the balloon

And then this is what we did the rest of the time, a puzzle...it was awesome

Well congratulations, you made it through all the pictures. Christmas really was great, I feel very rested and it was so good to be with good friends and my family. There is just something about going home that feels so safe and familiar. That said, I am very thankful for my life in Chicago too. I was realizing that it is unusual to feel so at home in two different places but for right now I'm thankful that I have a foot in Chicago and Colorado. This year has flown by and I have learned way to much to put into words, but I do know that I am thankful for what has happened and I'm excited about what will happen. At a church service that I went to last weekend the pastor talked about approaching the new year standing still for awhile and reflecting on what you just did...take a breath...what just happened?...then using that to help you move forward. I like the image of taking a breath while standing between last year and the coming year, that's what I hope I can do in this month that I still have before classes start. Yea for long breaks...!

Sophie's Sweet 16

2007-12-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sophie turned 16 yesterday!
So we had a party!

Even Chloe showed up for the party...
Here we are recreating a picture that was taken on her 2nd birthday (the part of Loye Don Williams III was played by Amanda Tate)
My mom sat down once...here it is...
Sophie is such a blessing to our family and to her friends, I think she had fun!

Happy Birthday Sofa Girl!

Light of the World

2007-12-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight was one of my favorite College Life services, the candlelight one. And then this morning at church they also had a candlelight service. I always get choked up and candle light services, I usually think it's because I'm home for Christmas and I'm just emotional. But this year I've have felt different about advent and these services today helped me make some sense of it I think. I have always loved advent, I like the anticipation that builds when we light candles one by one and wait for Christmas day and ultimately wait for the coming of Christ. There has always been something inside of me that just loved that feeling but this year I think I'm starting to understand that I don't fully get what Christ's birth means to the world. I wait for Christmas because it is such a joyful time for me to be home and such. But I'm realizing that our world longs for Christmas because they long for Christ, they long for Hope.

In a staff mtg that I was in last week we all reflected on the line from O Little town of Bethlehem that say "The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in they tonight". Do I really get what it means for all of my hopes and all of my fears to be met in Christ? I can honestly say that I have never felt completely hopeless but I am aware of many people around me who are hopeless and who need to anticipate the birth of Christ.

Another line that has been in my head this week is from O Holy Night and says " Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the souls felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." There are people everywhere who are weary in the depth of their souls, not just a weariness that a week on the beach would cure. But a weariness that only Christ can break into. I think that I just feel overwhelmed by all of the hopeless and weary things that I know of in people's lives today but in the midst of that I can't help but feel the weight of what it means that the light of Christ broke into a dark world. This Christmas is no different, we still desperately need the light of Christ to break into situations and people.

So I think I'm starting to get it, I think I understand why something in me is always stirred by the visual sight of a congregation lighting each others candles and singing "Light of the world, Light of the world, Light of the world you shine upon us..."

Thanksgiving and more

2007-12-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't been doing to well at keeping things up to date on here so sorry about that. Things are going well and I'm looking at just one more full week of classes and then finals left to this semester...yea! That said I have also officially switched my degree from a MACF (Masters of Christian Formation) to an MDIV (Masters of Divinity). What this means is that I will not be graduating this may but instead I will be wearing that lovely hat in May of '09. There are several things that led to this switch for me but I feel pretty good about it. I will be able to have my same internship working with the undergrad students here next year and the thought of being with the same students 2 years in a row is really exciting. And it will be pretty sweet to be able to have my MDIV! Now I'm just praying that they extend my scholarship!

I was also able to be home for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago and got some pretty relaxing (maybe to relaxing) time with the Fam. My Aunt from Louisiana and Cousin from Texas came out to and it was great to see them as well. Here are some pics from the weekend...

The Whole Fam (minus Tate who is taking the picture)

The Wysocki Clan...including the most doted on dog ever

The Gerber clan... chloe is not cooperating

Kristen, Laura, Tate, and I on our downtown Christmas light adventure

Nothing says Merry Christmas like some free Salvation Army hot chocolate!

A glimpse of restoration

2007-11-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

In 10th grade I transfered schools and making friends didn't happen overnight. But a few weeks into school I auditioned for and got a part doing a duet with this girl named Lori. That was 12 years ago and Lori and I have been friends ever since. Our friendship has seen some pretty rough things but it has been so great to grow up together and to watch each other learn how to do life. Last week I had the honor of standing for her at her wedding. This event held so much significance because she and Andy were engaged 2 years ago and their wedding got called off. The easy thing would have been for them run but I'm proud of the way that they worked hard to make their relationship work and worked hard to learn new things about themselves. They fought to restore their relationships and I'm so proud of them. All of these things combined with the absolute beautiful setting of Cancun made it such a wonderful day. It was so moving to see them finally take their vows and be finally be Andy and Lori Plucker...

A few tears at the sight of it all

Here comes the bride

Finally...

Lori, Andy, wedding party, and parents

We love Andy and Lori!

Fall Break in Cali

2007-10-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last week was my fall break so Sheri took work off and we headed to northern California. The idea was to have a fun trip (obviously) and Sheri had never been to San Fran. But we also have people that we both really love who now live in that area. So this trip ended up being a perfect combination of amazing sights and refreshing adventures exploring the area and the chance to be with some amazing people and have great conversations. We stayed with the Mazzariello's in Marin for a few nights, had dinner with the Greco's, and got one night with the Josephson's in Sacramento. Couldn't really have asked for anything better for a fall "break". We took way to many pictures but some of our favorites are below.

Our Adventures in San Fran included...

A Ferry Ride
Amazing views
Cable Cars...is there any other way?
China Town and $4 t-shirts
And shopping

The next day found us in Sonoma and Napa Valley exploring some vineyards, eating an amazing lunch of brie and bread, and ending up in some tasting rooms that were for members only...oops! How were we to know?

Poetry in a bottle, huh?

The colors were beautiful

Grapes don't smell...don't know why I was tryingThe cellars at Schug Winery
Robert Mondavi Vineyards...pretty ugly huh
At V. Sattui Winery...pretty sure that the people who took this picture had been wine tasting for a few hours already, it's amazing it turned out really!

This trip also marked my first visit to Lake Tahoe and my first visit to a Casino.

Lake Tahoe
So cold but loving the view

Our tour guides
And the beginning of my addiction (just kidding, I walked away)

So a few more days around here in classes and such and then I head to Mexico for Lori and Andy's wedding and then on to St. Louis for part of the Youth Specialties conference and to see my Colorado peeps. I Can't wait! I'm just wondering when I'm supposed to do homework this month...?

Marit and Benj's wedding...

2007-10-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Marit and Benj got married! Marit was one of my roommates last year and Benj went to seminary last year with me but graduates last may. They are fun and the wedding was really great. Here are some pics from the event.

The Happy couple
Trying to cross Foster as they led all the guests to their reception
Don't worry, they made it in one piece!
The wonderful candy buffet
The Angie's
Sheri, me, and Kristi

Marit and I
Jamie, Sheri, and Lindsey trying to eat the massive cupcakes

5 weeks already?

2007-09-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

So I had a latte at 7pm, then went to an awesome North Park Homecoming soccer game, then watch "Blades of Glory" and now I'm not even remotely tired. So what better than to catch you up on life around here these past 5 weeks. Yes, it has been 5 weeks already. My weeks go by so fast but so far they have been challenging and really rich. I feel such a freshness this semester and I feel like God has just given me a new perspective on myself and on my life right now. I'm loving working with the undergrads and so far I have remembered most of the names of people I've met...really there are a lot to remember. So it's been good. Here are some of my highlights from these past weeks...

HEATHER'S WEDDING...My first weekend back I went to my college roommate's wedding. It was one of those weddings that everyone went to so it was great to see some old friends. I have to say that it was one of the most laid back weddings I have ever been to. The ceremony was maybe 5 minutes long and it was in this cool garden center. But it's totally what Heather and Jack wanted and we all had a blast. If this picture looks blurry that's because it was so fast! Caleb and Sharon stuck around for a few days and so we threw in a day at the zoo too.

UMIN RETREAT...The next weekend we went on a retreat to Lake Geneva with all of the student leaders that are involved with University Ministries this year. I really love the way that the UMIN staff casts a vision for the year and they way that they raise the bar for their student leaders. It's really just a great group and they aren't afraid to lay it all out for them. I feel like there is a new energy around this group this year and I'm excited to see what God is going to do through them. (sorry there is no picture...I was to busy killing mosquitoes to take any pictures)

MUSKEGON...This year there is a high concentration of my friends living in Muskegon, MI. The Ciccone's are still there, Dave Nagel is still there, Alicia Vela (friend from Colorado) moved there to be an intern, and Laurey Kiehne (former student of mine from MN...and one of my favorites!) moved there are well to live with Tim and Maria and be there nanny. So I went up there for a weekend and it was good as always. Visiting the Ciccone's is so great because I feel so at home with them. They are those friends that you can visit and just hang out all Saturday and it's great. And of course it's always good to play with Caleb and Josiah. Caleb and I tried to play Wii on night but I'm not good and I think that frustrated him so we just pretended that the sticks were microphones...see picture below...
APPLE ORCHARD...Yep, went to an apple orchard because that's what you do around here in the fall. Funny how the day we went though it was like 85...didn't matter, we went to an apple orchard. I went with Jen Zerby, her sister -in-law Amber, and Amber's boys Caden and Tage. We had a blast, not so sure that Amber did (because she doesn't like being outside or walking in grass so she was set up for failure). There were cider donuts and really cool little tractors that I tried to ride. What more could you want really?
BOAT TOUR...This past week we took some of the students from our chapel planning team on the architecture boat tour of Chicago. This was my 3rd tour and as always it was great. I just like that I can go do something fun on a Wednesday night and not feel guilty...yea for less homework and fun students!

And now you are pretty caught up, if you made it through this whole thing. It's ok if you just looked at pictures because sometimes that's all that I do on people's blogs (Cav...use some pics!). This weekend is homecoming around here and it's all pretty fun. So again, not much homework will get done for me. Tomorrow is the bloc party and they are expecting 4, 000 people...hm, if that works well it will be a homecoming miracle. All that said I should try to sleep as I have to run the snow cone machine tomorrow for those 4,000 people...if you're lucky you might get to see a picture of that...!

Believe Big and Travel Together...

2007-08-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

This week found me once again packing up my stuff in Denver and setting out for Chicago, how many times have I done that? If you know me well you know that I absolutely hate transitions, which is funny considering how many times I have moved since high school. So just like every other time I was feeling pretty bummed about leaving Colorado and leaving so many of my refreshing and safe friends. But at the same time there were things that I was excited to get back to in Chicago. AHH, I just love the tension! But Thursday morning came and my mom and I started driving. We had a fun drive, avoided some hellish weather, and spent the weekend playing in Chicago.

Friday I also squeezed in an interview for a campus Pastor internship that I had applied for last may. I never heard from them and assumed that it was already filled and I kind of forgot about it. But the week before I left I got an email asking me to interview and I got my hopes up that this might really happen. Long story short, they offered the job to me on Saturday and I started last night. The job entails working with the Campus Pastor to help lead the chapel planning team and to have a pastoral presence in the undergrad student body. It's really everything I want to do and you get paid for it! North Park just hired Judy Howard Peterson as the new campus pastor after having her here last year as the interim campus pastor. Judy is such a gifted woman and I still can't believe that she is my boss this year. It's funny how last week I had no idea that this was on the horizon for me, what a great surprise. We had our convocation for this school year yesterday and again I was surprised by how great is was to see some people and to be back in this place. Classes started today and it just felt really good to be here and to have some new experiences and responsibilities in the mix for the fall. One of the things I was praying for this year was to have more opportunities to be with undergrads and to have more of a place to belong and to be held accountable. Being on the UMIN staff and having a team to work with this year is a direct answer! ( Check out what university ministries is all about here)

I feel so blessed to have such a great community in Colorado and to have had the chance to jump in there and be apart of things this summer and then to come back to North Park and have another way to jump in and develop some relationships. Judy told us (myself and Nathan, the other intern) that UMIN's focus for this year is "Believe Big and Travel Together". And so on this first day of classes I'm dreaming big about what this year will hold for me and for this campus full of students that I get to work with. I'm also so thankful for you... the wonderful people that I get to "travel" with. I'm praying that you to are believing big...

Everything Fray

2007-08-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

When Ben and I were growing up one thing that we loved (along with most of Denver) was going to concerts at Red Rocks. And this past weekend Ben, and the rest of the guys, reached a milestone in selling out three nights at Red Rocks. The place was packed Sat, Sun, and Mon night with thousands of Fray fans and we were right there with them. How could we miss that! The only down side is that it rained Saturday and poured Sunday night (gotta love summer monsoon season). Even with the rain all three nights were awesome shows and guys never fail to amaze me. It was surreal to watch them and I couldn't help but be proud. I also love seeing all of our friends who come to the shows, a lot of them are people that have poured into our family and it's fun to watch them be proud of Ben and support him. I was thinking about all of this the last night as I watched Jason Stocker watch Ben and Dave. There is so much history there and he was beaming as he watched his boys play! These shows were also a huge milestone in the fact that they were the guys last shows in the United States for a year or so. They have been on the road for about 2 1/2 years and they are worn out. When they hit the road again they will most likely have a new album. So all in all it was a big weekend, kind of hard to explain and put into words so here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Ben...doing his thing

Rain, rain go away...Lindsey, Robin, Mom, and I toughing it out Sat night

And even more rain Sun night...ps I discovered that the coat I was wearing was really not all that water proof, would have been better to know before the downpour!

Crazy fans Monday night

Bill and Robin cheering Dave on

The Wysocki cheering section

This picture made the cut because of Bill's face...I don't think he was all about taking this picture, at least mom and Robin are cute

We love Red Rocks

"Everyone knows I'm in over my head..." all the fans who get to help play tambourine during Cable Car

One of the backgrounds that for their new song "Dixie"...it's going to be big

Summer reads

2007-07-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

Let me say that I really love reading a good book. When I am in school I am forced to read a lot of great stuff (and some not so great stuff) that challenges my mind and influences/ refines my faith. Since I am not taking any classes this summer I get to read whatever the heck I want! So here's what had been on my nightstand / in my purse / in my suitcase so far this summer...

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
Good story, not to terribly deep, lots of character development.

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
Written well but the story is very dark, I'm just glad that I've never lived on the streets or had parents who were addicted to crack!

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
A good story, I liked the shreds of hope that were appearing for the characters in the story. This book also made me wish it was winter and I was in a log home in New Hampshire (that's where the story takes place)

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
This is Oprahs' book club book for the summer so Duh I had to read it. Great book that is written so well. The story is interesting for sure but not my favorite story I've ever read.

The Pigeon Finds a hot dog! by Mo Willems
The Pigeon books are some of my favorite kids books and I completed my collection with the purchase of this book. It is some brilliant literary work to say the least

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This has probably been my favorite book this summer. It's another story that describes a world that I know nothing about. It's slightly sad, but offers redemption and healing for the characters in the end. The movie is due out this fall so read the book before that comes out!

Currently I'm working through...

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
I don't know what is with me but again this is kind of a sad story but yet again I love it. Only a few chapters to go so I will let you know...

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
It's taking me awhile to get through this one but it's not for lack of content or depth...I just don't think my brain is there right now. So far I've loved what he has to say and I'm sure that in a few hours I would finish it and soak it in...just not yet.

The True and the Questions, a Journal by Sabrina Ward Harrison
Lindsey and I stumbled upon this book in Kansas City and we both love it. It is excerpts from her journal mixed with her art and then places for you to answer the same questions that she addresses. It's hard to explain but I think it asks some great life questions that you don't often find in print. I think that I'm going to use it in the fall for my small group. Why is it that some of the best questions about life and faith come from non-Christian writers?

Ok that's it for now, any reading suggestions for me to squeeze in before the homework comes?

Kansas to Florida and everything in between...

2007-07-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

This month has been pretty jammed packed so far and last week was no exception. Last Sunday I jumped in the car with Tate, Kelsey, Cory, and Lauren and we drove to Kansas. Then while they went to camp for the week I grabbed some time with Lindsey, Drew, and Elijah in Kansas City and even a few days in Florida with Matt, Melissa, Bryce, Lily, and their cousin Garrett. It was a little random but such a great week. I appreciate the consistency of my friendships with Lindsey and Melissa and it was so great to hang out with their families for a few days. Here are a few snapshots from all of our adventures...

In the car (notice the DVD player in the middle, kids these days are so spoiled! I bet my parents wished that we had something like that on all of our drives.)
Melissa and Lily picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to the beach...rough huh!
Melissa, Bryce, Lily and I watching fireworks on the 4th
Looking at the gators at the UF campus, Lily was not so sure about being that close (there is one in the water right by us)
Misa and I
Thanks for the hairdo Lily!
Lindsey and I at the Kansas City art Museum
Eli sporting his Cubs gear at the art museum
Thanks to Tate I have been rediscovering the cd that Passion worship put out of Hymns ("Hymns - Ancient and Modern") and listening to it this week on the plane offered me some unexpected rest and perspective. My flight from Florida to Kansas was right at sunset and was absolutely beautiful. I sat there listening to Kristy Nockels sing "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" and just smiled as those words summed up how content and thankful I was flying through the air watching the sun light up the earth below. This week God blessed me in Kansas, Florida and through everything in between.

Family

2007-06-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

This past week held a few major milestones for us around here and was a bit of a whirlwind but still really fun. Monday was my mom and dad's 30th anniversary and Thursday was my Grandma and Grandpa's 60th anniversary. I do think that it is amazing that both of these couples have been married for so long and I'm really proud to have that example in my life. For Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary my Aunt Carol and my cousins Landon and Laura came for a visit. We had a simple dinner with Gma and Gpa's neighbors on Thursday night to celebrate with them, pretty low key and just what they wanted. I love my grandparents and I'm glad that we got to honor them this week.

Landon, Laura, Sophie, and I...the cousins (minus ben and michele)
Sophie...

A yummy cake plus pictures of gma and gpa on their first date, their engagement pic, their wedding pic, and their 50th anniversary pic
Grandma looking at her new necklace from Grandpa, "60 years, no regrets"
Grandpa's toast
Mom and Aunt Carol's toast
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Also we (Sophie, Laura, Tate, Kristen, and I) went to the mountains on Friday, which was awesome. It was my first time up this summer and we went to my 2 favorite places in Rocky Mountain National Park and I just really love those girls and it was fun to hang out with them.

I agree...

2007-06-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is what the totally reliable quiz online said so I should probably follow it...

You Should Spend Your Summer at the Beach

You're a free spirit who is always thinking of new ways to have fun.
And you don't just love summer... you live for it.
So, you really should blow off your responsibilities and head to the beach!

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

Country USA

2007-06-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

I got back last night from Wisconsin where I was working for my dad running camera at Country USA. It's this huge country music festival that lasts for 5 days and had over 175,000 people come through this year. My dad is in charge of taping the bands that then goes on the 2 screens so that everyone can see who is performing. It's a lot of fun to hang out with my dad for those 5 days and then crew that goes is always a lot of fun. We had a bit of an adventure this year when the farmer who lives behind the site was pissed about the noise and decided to get back at the festival owner by shooting his rifle during one of the breaks. It was really freaky because no one really knew what was going on and it freaked me right out for sure. But they caught him and all his shooting friends. It was lots of fun though even though I'm pretty sure I've heard enough country music for awhile...

Here's the crew...
and the festival site from the air...

Who not What

2007-06-22T18:57:00.001-07:00

So far this summer has been defined more by who I've been with rather than what I've been doing this summer. Coming out of this year of school I knew that what my heart, my mind, my soul needed was some rest and refreshment...and so far I have found that in these past few weeks. I was at Jason Stocker's concert last Tuesday night sitting at a table with my Mom, Tate, Michele, Kristen, Debbie, Gloria, Janelle, and others and I was overwhelmed by this room packed with people who I have known for so long and it just felt good to all be there together. I had this image of all these little strings connecting people and representing this community that we have somehow built. And then the sad thing is that we are getting more and more spread out. I guess this is more of a comment on how I few my circle of friends and how frustrated I am that plane tickets separate me from so many people that I love so much and who I want to do life with. I know that one thing that is scary to me about graduating from seminary is the thought of moving somewhere based on the position that is offered when really what I would want to do is move somewhere with my friends and do life together...idealistic I know but it would be cool.

Next week my Aunt Carol and cousins Landon and Laura are coming out so that we can all celebrate my Grandparents 60th anniversary. It's really just so great to have grandparents that are still around and involved in our lives and I think it's amazing that they have been married this long!

Then the week after that I'm packing in a great trip that involved lots of time with some people who make me a better person for sure. I'm heading out to Kansas with Tate and some junior high girls and while they are at camp I will fly to Florida to see Matt, Melissa, Bryce, and Lily Christensen and spend the 4th of July there. Then at the end of the week I will come back to Kansas City to stay with Drew, Lindsey, and Elijah Osborne for a few days. Linz and Melissa I can't wait to see a bit of your worlds!

I love the people in my life...

Summer so far

2007-06-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Life is pretty relaxed and a bit random these days, but the rest and the refreshing change of pace feels really great. Here are a few highlights of the past few weeks...

A week ago we went to one of Ben's rehearsals for their summer tour. One of the things that Ben has started to do for their tours is to help design the look of the stage with the lights and set and everything and this tour is the biggest visual set they have had yet. As proud as I always am of Ben, it was so amazing to see what he helped do with this tour. Another thing about watching them that night that I appreciated was that they are doing their cover of "hips don't lie" on their show and when they play they song it just makes me laugh so dang hard. Way to go Ben, we can't wait to watch you rock it at red rocks in August! ( this is a picture of one of the "looks" of their show)

Along the lines of concerts, Sophie and I kicked of the summer concert season with the John Mayer / Ben Folds show at Red Rocks Friday night. Soph had been sick the day before the show but she pulled herself together enough to go see her BFF John. We had lots of fun, and it was a beautiful night to enjoy red rocks (I freakin love that place). Here are a few pictures from our night...

One last thing is that Sophie left on Saturday for her missions trip to Alaska. She was really excited and we are really excited for her. She was feeling a little sick when they left but I think that she will pull it together and hopefully have a really great week. This will totally sound like a pathetic big sister, but sometimes in my mind she is still 5 so the fact that she is on her first missions trip is really weird and really cool. Here's us at the airport...we are weird...

I will probably have more adventures to tell you about soon!

1,153 miles

2007-05-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

As of Sunday night I am now back at home in Colorado for the summer. Last week my dear, fake sister, Ms. Amanda Tate, flew out to Chicago and made the drive back with me. We left Chi-town on Friday and after a few added stops we rolled into Denver Sunday night...1,153 miles later! (Here's a picture of Tate with Soph and my Mom so that you know who the heck I'm talking about)

Friday night we stopped in St Louis and stayed with Tate's parents and I got the tour of all the hot Kirkwood spots including Ted Drews (yummy custard!) and every school that Amanda went to growing up. Saturday we continued the trip and made our way to Lawrence KS where we stopped and visited a bunch of Amanda's friends from college. I had this sudden jealousy while walking around the campus of KU with her of the fact that they went to this huge University with an awesome campus and good sports teams. So here's a picture of me pretending to graduate (they all walk through this tower thing on their way down to the stadium...I think you get it).

After catching the second service at her old church on Lawrence we started out for the last leg of our journey to Denver. This last day was the longest and the most boring by far (no offense Tate, well a little offense...). So to pass the time we made our way through the atlas figuring out how many states each of us has been in and how many states we have slept in (there is a big difference!) Here's the final count...Amanda has been in 27 states, and has slept in 24 states...Angie has been in 41 states and has slept in 31 states.

We also made a list of things that we want to accomplish this summer. Here's the list so far...
* Go to Pike's Peak
* Go to Rocky Mountian National Park
* Go to a "Film on the Rocks" (that's a movie at red rocks)
* Go to Wyoming (that would raise Tate's state count)
* Hike to St. Mary's Glacier and sled down it
* Eat at Tuk Tuk
* Go to El Salvador (Tate will be the only one to accomplish this one)
* Go camping
* Go sledding at the alpine slide at heritage square
So that's the list, maybe we are being ambitious but it could be fun. Any suggestions of things we should add to the list?

I have the rest of this week as "vacation" and then I start babysitting on Monday and then who knows what after that. I'm just happy that it is summer!

Done and Done

2007-05-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

On friday I took my last final for the semester and it felt great. I am now %50 percent done with my degree which also feels really great. I celebrated on friday by going to the Cubs vs. White Sox game with good friend Jen Zerby. Sitting there watching the game I realized that I had no homework and yes that felt really great as well. As you can tell, this weekend has felt great as I have relaxed and let myself unwind a bit after this semester. Now I just have to wait and see if I passed everything...haha (nervous laughter). Along thos lines, the funniest part of this week was memorizing acrostics to remember which judges and kings are which books of the Bible. For instance the one for 2 Samuel was "MJBAAZ" which I remembered by thinking that Mary J Blige was in the book of 2 Samuel (get it...MJB, Mary J Blige)...lets just say it was time for the semester to be over.

Tonight I went out with Luke and Chrissy Palmerlee, Jeff G, and Kyle and Alicia Quackenbush to celebrate Jeff G's graduation from Seminary and Alicia Quackenbush's graduation from Nursing school. It was fun to hang out with them and to give Jeff his box of cards from everyone. And did I mention that I don't have any homework?...:)

So I am babysitting mon, tue, wed of this week and then heading back to Colorado on Friday. Tate (my favorite fake sister!) is flying out here on thursday to help me drive back home (after a few stops to visit come peeps along the way). The plan for the summer is to be at home in Colorado and babysit for 2 different families and not do homework...

See Ya...

2007-05-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

All of the undergrads are done with finals and moving out tomorrow. It all makes me just a little sad because... a) I'm super jealous and want to be done with my finals (fyi...I only have 2 papers, a presentation, 2 finals, and a theological reflection module to go!), b) it reminds me of moving out of anderson and my lund apartment and of graduating and all those weird transitions, and c) it means that we had our last small group tonight. This is one of the best small groups that I've ever been involved with and this group has been one of the best parts of my year for sure! So they are moving out and heading off to their summer adventures but we will be back in the fall (except Laura, who is heading to Italy!) and I can't wait for another year with them.

Jenna, Erica, Laura, Anne, Marissa, and Stefanie

All of us at Christmas

See ya ladies...

This is so great...

2007-04-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of the funnier things that I've seen in awhile...

82 degrees...!

2007-04-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

The past three days here have been amazing! It's official now that winter is over and the city is rejoicing. Today's high was 82...holla! I am also rejoicing because I have exactly 4 weeks left of school (that does mean that there is a lot of work due in those 4 weeks but oh well). So the weather and the fact that I can see the end to this semster makes me feel so good. And having a really great weekend doesn't hurt either...here's some highlights for your reading and viewing enjoyment.

Friday marked a big first for me, I went to my first Cubs Game! We got some tickets for a rooftop party so we weren't really in Wrigley but it was a great view and perfect weather . The only thing that would have made it better would have been if the Cubs had actually won (dang Cardinals!). We also got a front row seat to a fight between some construction workers who were working on the bleachers on the roof next to us, pretty exciting...yeah we don't get out much!

On Saturday I also had another first when I got up early to go to the library and work on a paper only to walk in a have the lady at the desk tell me that they weren't open yet. Who does that...goes to the library before it opens...I'm officially a nerd!

Saturday night Sheri and I meet up with Kristi (Sheri's sister) and Emma (Kristi and Sheri's friend from Sweden who is living with Kristi...got that?) in the city and we had a great dinner at SoPo's (my favorite place) and then some drinks in Wrigleyville. It was great to hang out with the girls and enjoy the city in the nice weather.
And Emma got to see Wrigley for the first time.

Today topped it all off with an afternoon at the beach with Marissa, Laura, Anne and this attractive gentleman who decided to layout near us. This is why Chicago beaches are a little creepy at times.

Easter in Muskegon

2007-04-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I headed up to Muskegon Michigan with Jeff G and Kurt Roberts to see the Ciccone's. I first met Tim and Maria when I was a sophomore in high school and Tim was an intern at 4C's. Then after I went to CBC Tim hired me to be his intern at Crossroads Covenant in Forest Lake Minnesota. So basically, we go way back...like 10 years back. Maria has some really great pictures of me in high school that should probably just stay in her scrapbooks. Anyways, it's always great to see them and I love that they are only a few hours away. Another really fun thing is that they have 2 great boys now and it's fun to watch them as parents now. Caleb and Josiah are great kids and it was fun to be around them.

It didn't really feel like Easter though because it snowed the whole weekend! Kurt and Jeff shoveled Friday morning, not really a typical Easter weekend activity...

The snow didn't matter much though because we mostly played inside with Caleb or sat in front of the TV playing guitar hero. I'm kind of considering taking up guitar except for the fact that my fingers started to hurt after awhile, or maybe that was because we played for 7 hours straight! This was Kurt and Caleb's jam session while we were babysitting...

After church we stopped and got some treats and Caleb picked out the muffin with the most chocolate on it which ended up getting all over his handsome Easter outfit... oh well, at least it tasted good! To avoid tracking chocolate all over the house, Caleb's handsome outfit came off at the table and then he ran off the chocolate as the Easter bunny...so funny

Kurt told us about a tradition that his family has of having egg wars on Easter. They decorate an egg and then fight each other with them. You have to crack your opponents egg with your egg before they crack yours with theirs...strange...but we did it and it was fun...

Check out Caleb's hair in the background of this pic, oh and this is Josiah...

Anyways, that was Easter. So fun and relaxing but cold, I'm ready for spring to come...

Holy Week

2007-04-03T21:30:00.001-07:00

For some odd reason, I really enjoy Holy Week. I love walking through the events of that week and reading what Jesus said and did when he knew that it was his last week with those people. One of my favorite services of the year growing up was our Good Friday service at church and a big part of me is really bummed that I'm going to miss it this week. I'm also bummed that I don't get to be in the Easter choir at church either, even though many years I just made fun of what we had to sing! All that to say, I just really like Easter. But this week as I have been reading the texts about Holy Week and as I have been walking through everyday life things, I have been more and more aware of the restoration that God seeks for his people. Some of the things that have come up for me in the past weeks have just been messy. Walking through life with people is just messy sometimes and there is nothing you can do about it. As much as you might want to, you just can't fix it. You can't protect them from the messy things, and you can't always stop the messy things from happening to them. The only one who can restore and repair is God. I know this sounds so super basic but I just can't get away from it this week. Also in the midst of chewing on all of that I had a project for one of my classes to create a presentation in which we presented a biblical truth. So below you will find the result of my thinking about Easter and Jesus' death and the power of restoration that we have in Christ. Kind of a heavy subject I realize, but it's been kind of a heavy week...

Highs and Lows

2007-03-23T21:28:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I play this game with my small group or with the girls that I babysit called "high and low". Nothing to complex, you just have to say what the high of your day was and what the low of your day was. So I will play that game for you now...

One low of the week was a sudden shift in summer plans that was thrown at me. I had a girl who had wanted to rent my room for the summer if I was going to go back to Colorado. Well I finally decided that it would be best for everyone if I did go home for the summer. I could save some money by not paying rent and I could get some time with fam and friends in Colorado. It felt good to decide. Then earlier this week that girl backed out so now my heart is still headed to Colorado for the summer while it looks like I will be paying rent in Chicago, what part of that makes sense! There is still time and hopefully someone will turn up that needs a room but for now I'm bummed that I have another detail to work out...

Another Low in my week was that Marissa's grandpa died on Monday. Marissa was in my CBC class last year and is now in my small group this year, but more importantly she is just great and is someone that I love a lot. Her family has kind of been my family away from home out here so it was hard to know that they were all so sad and that they lost an important piece of their family. Our small group drove out last night and went to the wake and then I went to the funeral this morning. It all just reminded me that sometimes doing life with people is messy and a little uncomfortable. I loved watching Marissa love on her family though, she is just so great.

Ok now some Highs...

Aaron Espe was here! He had a show on Tuesday night and then Jeff and I hosted a house concert for him on Wednesday night. It was really fun to have him around for a few days, good conversations and just a change in routine. Aaron reminds me of my brother Ben so that was nice, they both make themselves laugh and they ask good questions...maybe Aaron is our brother and we just don't know it. Also the house concert at Jeff's was a great excuse to have a lot of friends come hang out. Lots of people that I love were there and it was good to listen to Aaron and just hang out. So one of my favorite songs of his is called "Tuesday Morning" but it's not on any CD yet, but here's a clip of him singing part of it...

A high for this week would be that I'm pretty sure it is done snowing here and the sun actually came out this week...who knew it was still there! And in case you were wondering, I wore flip flops on Thursday :)

Another High would be that all my picks for the march madness games tonight won...I'm such a good guesser. Now to bed and I can't even wait to sleep in...

Spring Break...

2007-03-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true that I am 26 and I still get a spring break. It felt weird to have a break when I had only been back in Chicago for about a month but I wasn't complaining. For the first few days I stayed in Chicago and did some work around here. The weather was beautiful and I love this city when the weather is nice because you can go to the lake and eat outside at restaurants. Then on Wednesday night I flew to Colorado for the last few days of break. And nothing is more refreshing for me than some time in Colorado. Ev, my dad, and I spent Thursday skiing and then stayed at the Everitt's condo. Then Friday that plan was for my dad and I to ski again and then head home. But on our first run I had a little fall that ended up cranking my leg around in an unnatural sort of way that really hurt. So it became clear that I couldn't ski on it and I ended up having to get ski patrol to take me down. It was a little embarrassing but necessary. Now I know what it's like to ride in one of those sleds! Here are some pics of the ordeal thanks to my dad, yes he took pictures while I tried to get loaded in the sled!

So in the end it looks like all that I did was sprain my knee, nothing that won't heal in a week or so. But it is so annoying to try to walk or get into cars or go up stairs.

But don't you worry, the weekend was still really great. Friday night we had everyone at our house for dad's birthday dinner (notice the curly candles on the grown man's cake...so classy!) Happy Birthday Dad!

I spent a good deal of my time watching march madness with Tate and Soph and checking my brackets. So far I'm holding on but I could have guessed a little better, oh well there is always next year. Besides the knee incident, spring break was truly a break and for that I'm really grateful! But now it's time for bed because I got up at 3:30am today and I'm starting to get loopy...talk to ya later

hips don't lie...

2007-03-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

And this is why I love my brother...

who covers "hips don't lie"?...oh yeah ben, isaac, dave, and joe do...

my favorite part is ben reading the lyrics, I think he was really feeling it!

check this out "hips don't lie"

...and always will be...

2007-02-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

It has been a pretty low-key weekend for me, very restful and a little boring at times. I did a lot of this...

because the weather outside looked like this...

there was one point yesterday when there was a flood warning for some parts of Illinois, a blizzard warning in some other parts of the state, and a winter storm warning in Chicago...those are 3 very different warnings...I'm ready for spring!

But I'm not complaining at all because it feels good to rest...

I also spent a good deal of time reading the book of Genesis. This semester I am taking Old Testament and so far I am loving it. Through "homework" I am gaining such a new appreciation for the Old Testament. I had a teacher once at CBC who would always say "God has been, and always will be, at work creating a holy people for himself " (Thank you Todd Slechta!). And that is exactly the phrase the kept ringing through my head as I was reading Genesis this weekend. God created us and then the rest of history has been him redeeming us as his people, sometimes through drastic measures (ie floods and becoming flesh). I really think that if Genesis were made into a movie it would be rated R! So once again I'm amazed at this God who would try so hard to redeem the actions of humans and this God is the one who "...always will be..."redeeming his people...

Grammy's

2007-02-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

Going to the Grammy's is the newest addition to my list of surreal events that I've experiences. I've been known to tape the grammy's just so that I can re watch the performances so being there in person was so great. But what made it better was being there with the guys as they soaked in their first grammy nominations. I always have been, and always will be, proud of Ben but it was really great to be there for this "first" for him. Sometimes pictures just tell the story better so here are some pics from the weekend...

On the beach in February...nice...very nice...

All the "Fray" parents...

Lindsey helping Sophie get ready...

"Lindsey, you just have to relax and pretend like we belong here", says Sophie as we enter the Sony after party...

The Whole "Fray" family...

Proud sisters (me, linds, and soph)...we clean up pretty well when we have to...

Perspective...

2007-02-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but I really enjoy reading other's blogs and thought that maybe someone would be interested in reading mine. So to get things rolling here are some things that have been going on these past few months that have given me great perspective on my life...

As you might know I'm living in Chicago right now going to seminary. I started last fall and my first semester was not really what I expected (although I'm not sure I knew what to expect!). But I did enter last semester thinking that I was not cut out for life as a seminarian. I was overwhelmed with class work, friends, working...with life basically. But I survived, and I actually got a good report card! So with that under my belt, I took a break from Chicago and headed to Colorado for a good 6 weeks of Christmas break. And what a break it was! It was the first time in a while that I have spent a lot of time around some good 4C's folk and it was so refreshing. It was also so good to be at home and with the fam for awhile. It also snowed SO SO SO much while I was home, and that was pretty awesome! This is our house with all the snow...

It was also Sophie's Birthday while I was home, the big 15! I know that everyone says this but I really can't believe that she is this old. And I'm so proud of who she is. She is such a great girl and I couldn't be more proud of my baby sister (even thought she isn't a baby anymore!)

New Years was spend up at Ev and Joe's condo with an awesome group of people that made it so fun! I'm thankful for friends that I can be myself around, I realize that not everyone has that in their life. So here's to 2007!

While I was home, Mark asked me to help him out one Sunday in High Impact. I laughed at first and thought he was joking but when I realized that he wasn't I said sure. It was so great to be in that room again, and to be worshipping with all of those amazing students and to realize that God is still moving in mighty ways through the ministry of high impact. It was so good to get some perspective on where my life is now by remembering where I have come from.

Another great part of my break was helping with Powderburn. Ev asked Jeff G and I if we could help produce all of the main stage elements of Powderburn this year. It was so life giving to help with this event that was such a big part of my formation in high school. All in all it was a great weekend. It's so good to be reminded that no matter how hard we plan programs and events, God will still work. Check out one of Jeff G's awesome stage designs...

I have to mention that I got to celebrate my birthday during my time in good old Colorado. It was a good birthday and I got to celebrate with my fam and with some fun friends. I felt loved and that's always good. We also got to go to Sing Sing one night to celebrate Amanda and my b-days. I do love that place but this time around it did seem like the jokes were dirtier than I remembered, but it was still fun. The Birthday Girls and the group at Sing Sing...

So here I am back in Chicago and feeling a little torn between Colorado and Chicago. I miss Colorado, it will always feel good to be there, but I also love my life in Chicago. But I'm learning that it's ok to live in tension like that. God just wants me to take advantage of the life that is in front of me everyday. So I know that this week I will be in Chicago and I will go to class and I will pick up Camille and Madlen ( the girls that I babysit) from school and I will try to be aware of the presence of God in my everyday life...