Hamthrax?

Have Hamthrax (aka Swine Flu)?

Make cookies!

Our household (& barnhold) has been sick. So we've been living in the house and enjoying time together. Even if my poor roomie sounds like a seal (cough cough cough). Since some of our friends were sick too we had a sick party and watched the Princess Bride. Good stuff. Eventually we made some sugar cookies, and since we had a pig cookie cutter, naturally we should make some cookies in honor of our disease. The first one went to Nellie's boyfriend (here visiting from AK) who brought the sickness with him. oops. So, it's been a crazy week. But we've had some good laughs.

Speaking of laughs and swine flu, the elementary schools have been particularly hard hit in Lynden. So sad for all those sick kiddos. But most of those who have had it are recovered and back in school and church. I was teaching sunday school for the 4th-6th graders two weeks ago and we were learning about Lazarus. The kids were acting out the story and asked what had made Lazarus so sick. "Did Lazarus have swine flu?" haha. I told them that he didn't, but since we were acting it out, in our rendition Lazarus died of swine flu. But not to worry, Jesus still raised him from the dead just the same!

*Disclaimer: I know that swine flu is a serious disease and has been deadly. And we've experienced the nastiness of it for sure. This post is just about our trying to make the best of the not fun thing of being sick. It is not intended to make light of the deep sorrow that many people have suffered due to Swine Flu.*

PS. All credit goes to John Borries for the name Hamthrax. Brilliant.

Curveballs..

wow. It's been a long time, and much has changed. God threw a few curveballs my way, and it's been a great adventure.

Curveball #1- My school (the CRS) got cancelled.

I had finally gotten my entire application sent in and was anxiously awaiting acceptance when I got an email that the school director had to leave the country for family reasons and there was no one to take their place, so the school had been cancelled. I was definitely disappointed, but am excited to see where Jesus leads next.

Curveball #2- I moved.

Ok, not so much of a curveball, we had been planning it since March, but the timing was certainly surprising. Just a couple weeks after we moved my little sister off to college down south, I was moving out too. So now I live in a barn. It's GORGEOUS. Out in the country. Remodeled. I have two roommates, and they are AMAZING! And one of my roommate's parents live right next door. And they are the most fantastic people!! Living here has been the biggest blessing!!

Curveball #3- I lost my job.

Now this was definitely a shock. Just a week or so earlier, I had told God I really wanted to live by faith. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised! It all happened just a few weeks after I had moved out. Crazy! But, if you were going to get laid off, this was definitely the best possible way. I was given two weeks notice, lots of hours during those last two weeks, extra financial blessing, a goodbye party, and a nice heater from the wonderful ladies in my office (who didn't want me to be cold in my new house). And I come highly recommended by everyone in the office. Great people. I miss them. I know it's crazy, but I am so excited to see what God has for me in this time!

so that's the long and the short of it. God is gracious and faithful. And I know He has big plans for me. I am excited to discover what the next step is, and see how He will move me to get there.

"When God throws a curveball, don't duck. You just might miss something amazing." - extreme days