good movies...

elizabeth and i just signed up for netflix again. we figured at $5 a month for two movies and five hours of online movie viewing we would be saving money, since it costs $5 just to rent one movie in the store. there is a problem, though. i logged on after i signed us up to find some movies to put in our queue, but i couldn't really find any that looked all that interesting. very sad. was there a period a few months ago when there was nothing good in the theaters? what is going on in hollywood? do they just dump all their time, energy, and money into the summer blockbusters now? any way, i was wondering if anyone out there in cyberspace had seen anything good lately that they would recommend. if not, i might just resort to renting the planet earth series that the bbc put out. it looks pretty good.

obviously, i am just incredibly bored after finishing greek. hey, don't be too quick to judge. i think i deserve a little break after studying my rear off for greek the past few weeks. plus, you can't expect me to read harry potter, play guitar, clean the apartment, explore pittsburgh, take naps, and surf the net all day. which raises another good question... if you had some free time on your hands, how would you spend it? just curious. maybe i could steal some of your ideas so i don't have to think up my own.

cheers in the land of good, easy livin',
jw

telling our stories

while reading some henri nouwen last night, i read something that really got me thinking. he writes, "the rabbis guide their people with stories; ministers usually guide with ideas and theories. we need to become story-tellers again, and so multiply our ministry by calling around us the great witnesses who in different ways offer guidance to doubting hearts. one of the remarkable qualities of the story is that it creates space. we can dwell in a story, walk around, find our own place. the story confronts but does not oppress; the story inspires but does not manipulate. the story invites us to an encounter, a dialog, a mutual sharing. a story that guides is a story that opens a door and offers us space in which to search and boundaries to help us find what we seek, but it does not tell us what to do or how to do it. the story brings us into touch with the vision and so guides us. wiesel writes, 'god made man because he loves stories.' as long as we can remind each other of the lives of men and women in whom the love of god becomes manifest, there is reason to move forward to new land in which new stories are hidden."

too often i forget that being a christian means being a part of a story, and i simply reduce it to a set of beliefs. when i do this, i fail to utilize one of the most powerful things god has blessed us with - the story of his salvation. instead, i like to wax philosophical about what christianity should be - what it means to believe and act correctly. nouwen reminds me, though, that the christian community has to be a community that encourages and builds each other up in the faith with stories. i don't think that these stories are restricted to those who came before us. i think that the christian community has to be an open, sharing community - a community that not only holds to a set of beliefs but talks about the struggles of living out those beliefs. we have to be authentic with each other. we have to share the worse parts of our lives, so we can share the best. we have to share our salvation stories.

thomas g. pettepiece points out that "there are people who have curled up and died in a corner for no reason other than they lost hope." story-telling is how we offer hope. it is how we say, "you know what? i mess up in life, too. i have been down and out, but god has been there despite my filth. and he loves me and wants better for me. let me share with you how i know this..." this is how we connect with one another and build one another up. this is how we offer each other space to find what we believe and live out those beliefs without forcing our beliefs down each others' throats. no one likes to be talked down to, especially when one's faith is not mature enough to grasp what the other person is saying. growing in faith is a process, in which one needs space, time, and encouragement (and only when needed rebuke and correction).

i confess that too many times i have just shared my thoughts on what i think christianity should be and not what led me to these convictions. i think that this, more often than not, provokes feelings of despair rather than hope. it simply does not help just to point out where we have fallen short if we can't provide evidence that god meets us where we are. may we be more like paul, who stated, "i thank him who has given me strength for this, christ jesus our lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though i formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but i received mercy because i had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in christ jesus. the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners. and i am the foremost of sinners; but i received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, jesus christ might display his perfect patience for an example of those who were to believe in him for eternal life."

i like one of robbie seay's new songs, "shine your light on us" because it is a story of brokenness and redemption. he sings, "i've been holding on. i've been holding on. all that is inside me screams to come back home. and if you feel lost, if you feel lost, sing along. and if you feel tired, if you feel tired, sing along. if you feel lost and tired this is your song. and i've broken down. and i've been broken down. but i ain't giving up. love will come back around."

so may we provide hope in our stories of pain and redemption.

cheers,
jw

it's coming...

get ready folks because it's coming... soon after finishing my greek 2 final and, hence, completing greek on friday, a blogstorm is coming!!!! get prepared now. stock your kitchens. charge your batteries. make sure you have everything you need to survive. until then, check out http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/ for some truly remarkable craftsmanship. jim beaty is responsible for finding this guy!

cheers,
jw

the bop's replacement

one concern that elizabeth and i had moving to pittsburgh was where we were going to get a delicious frozen treat. we had been avid bop's customers in starkville - to the point that the employees knew our names and what we wanted! we didn't think that anything would compare to the exquisite tastes that bop's conjured. to our excitement, we discovered that a homemade ice cream shop called dave and andy's was directly across the street from elizabeth's building at pitt. moreover, there were fragrant scents of freshly made waffle cones coming from this establishment. i remember the first time we visited dave and andy's. they make their own ice cream right there in the store, so there were flavors that i had only dreamed of. i settled on a flavor that had a cookies and cream base with marshmallows and caramel mixed in. of course, i got it in a waffle cone. it tasted like a party in my mouth - a perfect combination of sweet and creamy and a little chewy. at the bottom of the cone, i discovered a little surprise. elizabeth had the same surprise in the bottom of her cone, as well (i won't tell what it is in case some of you have the great honor of ever getting to experience it). elizabeth and i began visiting dave and andy's about once a week to enjoy a different flavor of freshly made ice cream (they rarely have the same flavors). by the second or third time, one of the employees recognized us as "regulars." hooray! i never thought a big city shop, which sees thousands of customers a day, would even notice that we were patronizing their store often. this employee talks to us every time we go in now. so, i have to say that our fears have been relieved. bop's, you still hold a special place in our hearts, though. we look forward to enjoying you when we are back in da ville.


elizabeth and i in front of dave and andy's!


stirling, who is here at pts doing the summer youth institute, was lucky enough to get to enjoy a little dave and andy's. he almost didn't get to experience this pittsburgh pleasure, as we went the first night he was here but couldn't get in due to the block long line coming from the shop. when we went back an hour later, they had just closed. we were determined to get some, though. the next day, while still full from lunch, we went down to find a more available dave and andy's. score!

cheers,
jw

careful what you text and the hotel wagner...

we haven't done a quote of the day in a while. actually, we haven't done much blogging at all in the past week and a half. this is due to a greek 2 midterm that i took today and an anatomy exam that elizabeth has on monday. i am going to try to catch up on the blogging the next day or so while i have a break before the final two weeks of greek.

anyhow, we have had some funny quotes the past few days as our brains are fried from studying. this afternoon elizabeth commented, "next time this week we will be in mississippi." think about that for a while!

also, tonight while she was texting a friend that she was inviting up to pittsburgh she wrote, "the cushi is ready for you." this was supposed to say, "the burgh is ready for you." dang predicative text. we got a good laugh out of it. hilary, you probably did too. i want to take this opportunity to say be careful what you text. who knows what kind of mixed messages you are sending. one of your friends might end up in cushi - wherever the heck that is!?!

speaking of inviting folks to stay. hotel wagner in pittsburgh is now accepting reservations for the fall. ask about our fun 'stay and play' package.

cheers,
jw

floating on the fourth!

i hope all of you had a great fourth. elizabeth and i were pumped to get to spend the fourth with a friend from home, erin goguts. we wanted to do something that was unique to the burgh, so naturally, we headed downtown. our destination was the allegheny river (one of the three rivers in pittsburgh) to rent kayaks. we got to kayak for an hour through downtown right next to pnc park, where the pirates played later that day (btw, the pirates won another against the brewers, who are ranked first in the division. we are only 9 or 10 games behind a .500 season and about 11 games out of first. go bucs!). it was a blast. here are some pics:


for some reason, our kayaks were attracted to one another. we were in this huge river and kept running into one another. then, when we wanted to take a picture, we could not get ourselves near one another. typical. any way, check out downtown in the background!


erin and elizabeth having some fun.

later that evening we had a great american dinner - grilled hamburgers, baked beans, freedom fries (known to some as french fries), and for dessert, an amazing fruit pizza. we spent the rest of the evening catching up, relaxing, and listening to fireworks outside. overall, a superb fourth of july.

erin, we hope to see you again real soon!

cheers in the land of liberty,
jw

quote of the day (actually of saturday) and robbie seay

a little background info... this occurred while we were singing songs about california. don't ask.

elizabeth - "i'm gone to california in my mind..."
me - "um, i think james taylor was singing about carolina in that one."

speaking of songs, you all need to go to www.myspace.com/robbieseayband to hear one of robbie's new songs, "rise." what an amazing song. they will be featuring a new song each week for the next few weeks. their new cd comes out august 28th. you are going to want to pick this one up!

cheers,
jw