Some long lost pictures

Sorry that these are so overdue... and in random order. I'm having trouble getting them to go where I want!

giant lily pads at the Missouri Botanical Garden

we won't talk about the score of this game...

Beautiful view from the Cardinals stadium!

Falling Water in Pennsylvania. We went there in July, it was Mark's very belated Christmas present! Amazingly beautiful. Even if you're not an architect buff, go if you have the opportunity!

My baby pouting. We were about 20 minutes away from leaving our apartment in Columbus.
The Arch!!!
My dad & I near the Arch. We took both sets of parents down there when they were here visiting the weekend we moved here. It's quite a sight. (and I'll be the first to admit that I'm way too terrified to go up in the arch!)
Japanese Garden at the botanical garden.

I'll try to get better about taking pictures... and posting them : )

Hold on to Your Bananas

We have put the ducks in their little rows. Planned for circumstance A, circumstance B, alternative to circumstance A, etc. I have created my action item list and made the necessary provisions to stay secure. How often have you heard of someone saving for retirement in a 401k only to find that it has been decreased by 50%?

I hate little quotes about life. It is difficult to say "life is.." and come even close to an all-encompassing statement, but I'm going to attempt one. "Life is bananas." It's uncertain, unpredictable, and most importantly, unmanageable. Plans are disrupted by earthquakes, fires, stock market crashes, and irresponsible regulations, or lack thereof.

My preaching professor recently read to us from Isaiah 6. Isaiah receives a vision just after the popular king Uzziah died in Israel. The death of the king created chaos in the land, and no one felt safe. But "he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple." Today the Lord sits on his throne, and he is in control. These events are not part of my plan, and most likely not part of yours, but the Lord is on his throne.

As Tim Keller once said, "he's not safe. But he's good. He's the best I tell you." Christ is not safe and easy, but has one goal in mind: your heart unconditionally. Instead of investing our security in man-made institutions that are flappable and will never satisfy, put your trust in the stock that will never tumble. No, not even upon the cross. We are in great debt, so deep that we can never repay. We are filing Chapter 11. No chance of recovery. Someone must pay the debt, and he has paid it in full. Run to him.

One for the fridge!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to toot my hubby's horn... he got his first Greek test back on Friday... and his hard work has paid off. He got an impressive 94.5%!!!!! Now according to grading rules, it's not an "A+" as pictured above... but in my book it is!

I am so very proud of him!

Random updates for a Friday afternoon...

Hello! Sorry we haven't posted recently! Here's a few things that are going on with us:

1.) Mark got a part time job working for a family nearby. He'll be doing yard work for them and helping their 2 sons with their school work. So far it's been great, is something that will allow him to work around his school schedule, and will give us the opportunity for him to be off on holidays... so we can go to Ohio!

My husband rocks.

2.) We're going to the Reds vs. Cardinals game on Sunday! We bought these tickets months ago so we're excited to finally get to go! I hear the Cardinal's stadium is really nice.

3.) Molly & Brett find out the sex of baby Smith #2 next Wednesday!

4.) We're having visitors galore in the next month! First up, my mom, Molly, and Lukey are all coming out next weekend! I miss my little man so much, I can't wait to see him! We talk on the web cam, but it's just not the same as seeing him in person & getting to squeeze him (as he wiggles to get free!)
Then, tentatively, Mark, Libbie & the girls are coming the weekend of Oct. 25! We saw them right before we moved, but are really hoping to see them before Mark goes to Indonesia in November. They have put us up so many times, we're excited to finally be able to host them... and show them around St. Louis!
Last, but certainly not least, our friends from Columbus, Dave & Anna, are coming the last week of October. Dave has an interview so they're going to stay with us & hang out too! We hope they move here : )

Anyway, that's about it for now. Hopefully we'll have pictures of something we can post on here in the next few days or so : ) Have a good weekend!

Holding Old Stuff

Holding really old things is much like holding brand new things only much, much scarier. Today I had the opportunity to tour the Archaeology museum at my school, and I was allowed to hold a clay pot that was 3,000 years old. It's quite an ethereal experience, to have something that was used so long ago in my hand that is around here and now. The artifacts in the museum are from various digs around Israel and Jordan and range from the Early Bronze Era to 7th century AD. These are the tools used during the Exodus, the time of David, and the time of Christ. Often the narrative of the Bible gets so shelved like any other stories from the past as being other-worldly. But here were the tools of the world right before my eyes and in one case, in my very hands.

Some of the in the late Roman section had words written in Greek on them. One said Christos, Greek for Christ. Many religions claim many things, but ours has a very special claim: that God came down in history and used tools like these. His hands are in the dirt, crafting all the universe with his fingertips.

In other news:

I heard a story on NPR about classical music riots. People were so angry in the early 20th century about a change in the music of Igor Stravinsky that they rioted outside the theater after the debut. What is going on here? This is awesome.

Also, I hope someone can help us design a new background for our blog. We're very technically unsavvy, and we can only have the Olan Mills template for so long.

Blessings,

mark

When Grown Men Cry

I once watched a man crying on a porch. I didn't so much watch him, per se, but I got a startlingly sense of what was happening, and I quickly darted away as not to interfere, watching the scene over and over in my head as I made my exit. I imagined all the things that might have happened to lead to his breakdown, I imagined his slow recovery, and his re-entrance into his house. I had hoped that it was over something completely trivial, like the final episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but I knew in my heart that it must have been something truly troubling.

Today I witnessed a similar incident. I saw a man become embarrased and leave a room crying. I hate this. My heart hurts badly for him, and somehow I just want the scene to go away. In my sin I want to comfort him enough to extinguish the fire without leaving any smoke. Because I didn't know him, or the man on the porch, I did nothing. I don't know how to love them, but I understand that love is what they need.

I am studying at a great seminary, where I will gain a great bit of knowledge. What excites me more than anything is that anything I learn academically is only secondary to figuring out how to love the guy on the porch. I don't know alot, but I know that when someone shows love to my wife she shows a smile so big it nearly falls off her face.

I was blessed to witness the reconciliation of the man today to those to whom he was embarrassed. There were hugs, a wiping away of tears, and a continuation of some small talk about the weather. At seminary we can't avoid encountering the gospel every single day, whether it be studying a certain passage in its historical context, or learning about why someone can show abundant love when grown men cry.

A lovely night out

After finding out that I got the job, Mark immediately said "we're going out to celebrate!" We don't go out very often, so when we do, it's extra special! He took me to Duff's restaurant in this neat little neighborhood downtown. It was pretty good... I had a spinach/feta pastry on roasted red pepper hummus, and Mark had a steak salad. Plus, he had a really good beer (I don't know what it was called) so that made it even better!

Next, we drove to Bailey's Chocolate Bar in another great area of St. Louis. We went there on the recommendation of Mike & Melissa, who live in our complex & are also from Columbus. This place rocked! The decor was great... red walls, red candle holders, and black tables, chairs & candelabras. My 2 favorite colors! It was very romantic : )

Mark had another great beer, and I had coffee that came with one of the cutest things ever... heart shaped sugar cubes! We both got our OWN dessert (I know, we were spoiling ourselves!). Mark had a chocolate brownie that was filled with warm gooey chocolate, with Bailey's ice cream on top. I had a chocolate bar, which was chocolate cake layered with butter cream, and ice cream on the side. Mark puts it best when he sayd "It's so good when it hits your lips".

We came home and watched the French flick Amelie, which you should check out if you haven't seen it. I'm not a great film critic, so I won't try to describe it... I will just say that it's a great movie about life & enjoying the small things : )

Anyway, the big job starts tomorrow. Please pray for me, as I'm really nervous about starting another new thing... although I know it will be great! I'll post about the job after I've got a few days under my belt!

Love,

Marci