Quick Update

The past couple of weeks have been good, but busy for us, thus the reason for no post in awhile. Chris is in the process of becoming an official government employee, but is really most excited about the World Cup. We are renting a DVR for the month just so he doesn't have to miss any games (or quit his job to watch them). The most exciting would definitely have to be the USA game this past Wednesday. As last Wednesday was also our 3rd anniversary, he was lucky to be able to take the day off from work so we could watch the game together. It was a great anniversary present to both of us! Later that day, to celebrate the occasion, we went to our first really nice dinner as a married couple. We enjoy watching the TV show Top Chef together, so when we heard that one of our favorite past contestants was going to be the chef at a restaurant near us, we knew we had to go. It was so much fun getting dressed up and being able to watch him cook from our table, not to mention the food was AMAZING! Chris had lamb with jalapeno augratin, roasted apples, and a shiner reduction. Katie had grilled salmon with jalapeno jack cheese grits, iceberg and apple slaw, and a tequila lime sauce. We treated ourselves to dessert also - a mocha tart with peanut-bacon brittle. If you're ever in the Dallas area for a special occasion, try Chef Tre Wilcox at Loft 610 in Plano.

As far as Katie's new job goes, she loves it! There is definitely a learning curve, which is never fun, but it has only been a week on the floor and she is starting to feel like she's got the hang of it. The staff are helpful and nice, and the patients are too cute. She even got to rock a 4 month old to sleep to round out her last 12 hour shift this week...not bad to get paid for that :) When school isn't in session full time, she will be working 20-30 hours each week and in the fall she will fall back to about 20 (unless there is an exam that week). We are so blessed to have this opportunity.

Our section of the book this time focused on how the church can do damage by not showing grace. It was a very insightful section, and I only wish that every church had to explore this book. Seriously, if you have any opportunity to read, pick up this book (What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey). It is a very easy read and goes very quickly. If you know Chris and I well, you will know how special Chapter 13 is to us. Here are a few thoughts from the other chapters in that section, as there are too many to address in that chapter alone:

"Somehow, he (Jesus) gained the reputation as a lover of sinners, a reputation that his followers are in danger of losing today."

"In other words, the proof of spiritual maturity is not how 'pure' you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace."

"Jesus did not fault the Pharisees for extemism in itself - I doubt he really cared what they ate or how many times they washed their hands. But he did care that they imposed extremism on others and that they focused on trivialities, neglecting more weighty matters (justice, mercy, faithfulness)."

"Jesus condemned that pride, and also condemned the tiered spirituality that ranked some sins as acceptable and others as unacceptable."

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

This past weekend, we were able to take a much needed trip to Houston to visit family and relax. On Friday, we spent most of the day at the beach where Chris fished, Katie read in the shade, and Dixie swam. We had a picnic on the sand, under Chris' amazing improvised tent - sorry, no pictures. It is still amazing to us that our precious dog that is scared of almost everything will run full speed into the crashing waves and swim back to shore on her own! Saturday was packed full of fun things to do. First, we started the day with a great brunch at a Mexican restaurant downtown. After that, we headed to the Natural Science Museum where we watched an IMAX film and visited many exhibits. To wrap up the day, we went to a Houston Dynamos (soccer) game. Before heading back Monday, we spent Sunday evening with Chris' family (including aunt, uncle, and cousins) eating good food and playing in the pool. It was such a fun weekend! One more quick note: our baby birds learned to fly and now we are officially empty-nesters. We're so happy and proud, but so sad to see them go. It's not a great picture, but the one below is the last one we could snap of them as they practiced flying.

We are about halfway through our book for our Bible study group, so we've got more little nuggets of wisdom to share with you all. Hope your June is off to a great start!

"We forgive not merely to fulfill some higher law of morality; we do it for ourselves...When we genuinely forgive, we set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner we set free was us...The only thing harder than forgiveness is the alternative."

"By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am. By forgiving, I release my own right to get even and leave all issues of fainess for God to work out. I leave in God's hands the scales that must balance justice and mercy...Though wrong does not disappear when I forgive, it loses its grip on me and is taken over by God, who knows what to do."

"...by denying forgiveness to others, we are in effect determining them unworthy of God's forgiveness, and thus so are we."

"No matter how it looks at any given point in history, the gates guarding the powers of evil will not withstand an assault by grace."