pictures

february was a great month, but not very much of it was caught on camera.   so this blog has no theme really... just some fun snap shots. 

nannerpuss let me hold his peel.  we're friends... haha!  my friend carolyn brought him to our last dinner party.  it got a little crazy as you can see!

phipp's conservatory is a must see in pittsburgh.  the flowers are gorgeous!

so... ummm.... this is in a blue hut in a building on pitt's campus.  we meet in it for lunch.  no one else is using it, so we adopted it as our lunch time club house!  this was costume party day!  lunch is so fun!

valentine's day stroll.... so nice!  see the pretty flakes falling? :)

hope you enjoy our little happenings!

e l i z a b e t h

cooking and a quote

i must share the recipe that has gotten us through the bone chilling weather this winter... it also happens to be delicious and easy to make!!!  we have this... probably every other week and never get sick of it!

it is.....

TACO SOUP (yummmmmmm!)

brown 1 pound of ground meat (trader joe's leanest of the lean)

add onions if you like (flakes or the real deal)

pepper to taste

1 package of taco seasoning mix (we totally prefer cheesy taco)

now for the cans... just add them to the meat:

1 can mexican corn

1 can diced tomatoes (or rotel if you like it spicy! ...not for me)

1 can pinto beans

1 can diced green chiles

22 ounces of V8 (for a thinner soup add more.  the canned 6 pack works well)

bring to a boil and stir.  let simmer on low 30 minutes.  TIME TO EAT!

fritos under (for me) if you  like them a little soggy or on top (for jon) if you like them crunchy.  top with a little cheddar cheese and sour cream.  

the most comforting of all comfort foods, my friends!  it is so simple because we always have the ingredients in stock, and we can usually get 6 hearty meals out of it.  

try it tonight!

as for the quote portion...  jon and i had a saturday study date at the border's down the street, and i was sipping my new favorite tea -- good earth -- best ever... i think it will be my favorite forever!  so good earth puts cute little quotes on the tea bag's little folded paper piece at the end of the stringy thing... wow!  did you get that?  i wonder what the formal name for that could be??? i am not savvy with tea bag anatomy!   so... i am not sure how i feel about the quote... but it was interesting for sure.  jon and i exchanged a "hmmm" and went about our studying.  i am still thinking...

"the world is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy for those who think."  --horace walpole

now, make some taco soup and then curl up on the couch with some good earth tea and pretend your are living in a snow globe.  that is how i do it!  by the way... we got another couple inches today!  i still love snow!

e l i z a b e t h

bow ties...

so, i spend way too much time on the internet.  occasionally, though, i do run across helpful and interesting things.  below is one of those! enjoy!

cheers,

jw <><

HILARIOUS!!!

i literally fall out of my chair whenever i see this!!!  i hope this commercial comes on everywhere.  the whole world should know about nannerpuss.  i have only seen it once on tv, but i've watched it a lot on you tube... haha!

i hope nannerpuss made your day!

e l i z a b e t h

Happy, Happy, Happy Valentine's!

well, well, well!  we had a really great valentine's day and weekend!!  

our valentine's celebration started friday morning.  jon does not have class on fridays and my class was cancelled because all my teachers went out of town for a conference... whoo-hoo!!  so we decided to go out for breakfast.  deluca's in the strip district has been voted pittsburgh's best breakfast place... i believe since the beginning of time!  since we did not want to wait in a line around the corner, we have never been on a weekend.  jon enjoyed the steel city breakfast which was the biggest meal on the menu... haha!  it was all VERY good. they have anything and everything you could ever want for breakfast!  we strolled around the outdoor markets and specialty shops afterwards.  if you ever come to pittsburgh, a trip to the strip district is a MUST!

friday night the seminary spouses club had a very cute valentine party!  we decorated "the shak"  (pts student union-ish place) with red and pink balloons and candles... it was really pretty!  we had yummy appetizers and of course chocolate (for those who like it!)  my favorite part was game time... the best part of any party if you ask me!  we played cute newly wed type games even though we had couples of all ages.  it was fun to hear everyone answer the questions.  you learn a lot about people, too... haha!

saturday we went to an afternoon movie at a really fancy theater!  i have been wanting to go to this place since we moved here, but we never had a good excuse to go... til now!  we were planning on cooking together that night, but after the movie got out, we changed our minds.  the theater is right next to a very nice outdoor mall (imagine the summit in birmingham, al) and one of our favorite restaurants, bravo.  it was only mid-afternoon, so we figured we could get our name on the list to eat sometime that evening!  luckily the wait was only an hour and a half, so we were set.  the temp wasn't too bad if you were bundled, and the snow was REALLY pretty, so we shopped around until time to eat.  

then sunday night we finally got around to cooking our valentine's dinner... thanks to brad's fabulous recipe!

this was the perfect weekend after midterms!  i was past due for some chill time!

hope everyone had a wonderful valentine's, too!

e l i z a b e t h 

love...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NIV

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.... God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him... We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:9-12, 16b, 19

discovering our identity...

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him... "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church..."

Matthew 15:15-18

last thursday i wrote on peter's confession at caesarea philippi, as it was the lectionary for the day (if you all haven't noticed, that is where i get the scripture i comment on). any way, today in class one of my classmates offered a pretty insightful thought into Jesus' comment back to peter in this parallel passage in matthew.

my classmate stated that it was only after peter recognized who Jesus was that Jesus was able to tell peter who he was, giving peter his identity in light of who he had discovered Jesus to be. you see, it is only when we have a clear understanding of Jesus that we are able to discover who we are and what we are here for.

so often in life we are so confused about who we are and our purpose here on earth. we look for our identity in all sorts of things... our profession, our possessions, our family, our friends, etc. nothing seems to satisfy though. and we come to wrong conclusions about the negative aspects of ourselves. we convince ourselves that we are just inherently pessimistic, or fearful, or impatient, or untrusting, or easily frustrated, or whatever. we say things like, "that is just who i am." but is that really who God created us to be? i have a feeling that God didn't create us to be things that are unbecoming of His own character. remember, we were created in His image. instead, we have allowed circumstances to place on us these identities.

peter's identity must have been challenging for him to accept, for Jesus gave him a pretty big task. his task was to love and feed the flock of God. peter could have said, "Jesus, i don't think that is such a good idea. You know - i mess up a lot. i am hard-headed. i have problems trusting. i messed up walking on water. i ask stupid questions. i am a little slow. in just a second, you are going to call me satan. in a few days, you are going to get mad at me for wanting to stay up on the mountain to build huts for You, elijah, and moses. in Your time of greatest need, i am going to deny You three times. really, i am just a screw up." instead, in understanding who Jesus was, peter knew that this task could be accomplished. this is because it was God, Lord of all creation, who had spoken this to him. if anyone knows who you are, it is the One who created you.

in fact, God is the only One who knows who you are. so may we stop listening to the world, which tells us we have to prove ourselves and earn our way, and start listening to the One who whispers words of love and affirmation because these things have already been earned on our behalf.

friends, if you want to know who you are and what you purpose is, then figure out who Jesus is. you will discover your identity in Him.

cheers,

jw <><

by the way, thanks james!

the news...

the great theologian karl barth once said that we should read the news with the newspaper in one hand and the bible in the other. it is an interesting idea - that we should be trying to interpret what is going on in the world through the lens of our faith, constantly looking for what God is up to in the world.

today, while reading the news, i was very disturbed (not that i am not always disturbed). the headline story this morning on cnn.com was that there are families in alaska that are starving, as they are having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. right next to this headline were the smaller stories for the day. one of these stories was that a some kid scored 890,971 points playing a video game, which was the highest score ever recorded for this game.

it is just very sad to me that this was even a story that would make the national headlines. as i thought about how much time this kid put into this achievement (if i can call it that), it saddened me even more to think that this time could have been spent on something far more productive. now, i will admit that i play video games every once and a while to relax and do something brainless. i do this, maybe, once every three or four months for an hour or two. it seems that people are spending more and more of their time doing activities like this, though. and for what?

there are families struggling to survive here in america, and we are playing video games. it has convicted me to pay close attention to how i am spending my time. has my life been dedicated to something that is completely pointless - like playing video games? in such an individualistic society, which encourages us to think only about ourselves, it seems that we must be very careful to make sure we are serving one another. our time and energy could definitely be spent making a difference in this world, participating in what God is doing to redeem all of creation.

perhaps the movie wall-e is prophetic in regard to where we are headed if we do not be more careful.

just something to think about...

jw <><

the one and only...

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah."

Mark 8:27-29

caesarea philippi was an interesting place. in its time, it was a center of worship... pagan worship. at one time there were temples there for baal. before becoming caesarea philippi, its name was panias, after the greek god pan, who was thought to have been born there. so, there were temples for pan there, as well. then when the area came under the control of philip, herod the not-so-great's son, he renamed it caesarea philippi, after himself and to honor caesar. so there was a roman temple for caesar.

needless to say, this place was loaded with pagan temples for syrian, greek, and roman gods. interestingly, it is here that peter makes his confession. peter's statement should shock us. he is saying, "we believe that You, the One standing before us in the flesh, are the One Whose name we can't even speak. You are the One Who spoke creation into being, Who spoke through a burning bush to moses, Who delivered our people from egypt, Who has been promised through the prophets." this is astonishing!

what can we take from this? well, to begin with, to confess that Jesus is Lord in the midst of all these pagan temples is at the same time making a negative statement. it is not only saying that Jesus is Lord, but it is saying that this means that no one or nothing else can be.

i am not sure that i often think about what confessing Jesus as Lord in my life means on the negative side. if we are to say that Jesus is Lord of our lives, then we, inherently, have to say that He alone is in control. we have to say that nothing else can be treated as Lord... nothing else can be exalted, worshipped, glorified. this might cause the need for some serious rearranging in our lives to truly be honest with this confession. peter figures this out very quickly... just read the next few verses.

i think that it is also significant that Jesus first asks what others think about Him before asking who they think He is. there seems to be an implication here that the confession that Jesus is Lord has to be ours alone. when we stand before God, i have a feeling that He isn't going to care so much what our friends, family, or pastors thought about Jesus. instead, the question will be, "who do you say I am?"

in reply to peter's confession in matthew's gospel, Jesus states, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."  i will let you all chew on this statement.

cheers,

jw <><

how well do you know scripture?

so... i take my first ordination exam tomorrow - the bible content exam (or as i like to call it - the bible trivia exam). it is, arguably, the easiest of the lot, as the rest aren't multiple choice or so straight forward.

i am telling you this not only to ask for prayers but also to inform you of a great resource on the web for studying for this thing. now, you might be wondering why i would tell all of you about this resource because, probably, none of you will ever have to take this exam. well, i thought that i would pass it along and challenge all of you to take a few to see how you do. it is 100 questions through all areas of the bible (pentateuch, historical books, prophets, psalms and wisdom literature, gospels, acts and pauline letters, and the "rest of the nt"). all of it is multiple choice, and you can even take the different areas separately. at the end, it will show you what you missed (and got right if you want!). plus, it has the bible references to each question that you can click on to read.

the website is: http://www.whitneyhq.com/biblecontent/

who knows, you might find out that you knew more than you thought... or less than you thought. if you are feeling generous, give a donation while you are there. it will keep the site working for those of us who rely on it!

cheers (and happy testing),

jw <><

tradition...

He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" ... "So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God."

Matthew 15:3, 6

i have found great comfort and meaning in the traditions of the church. i have been able to dance with my full attention on the Lord who is leading me in worship because the steps are familiar after years of attending sunday services. they are steps that the saints before me have learned to be effective in giving glory to God. this worship that i share with the generations before me serves as a reminder of my part in this story that God is writing with His people throughout history. what's more, in times of trouble, i have had the apostles' creed and the Lord's prayer close by to remind me of God's presence and who He is for us. i have found instruction in the teachings of the church fathers. tradition is indeed a wonderful thing.

there is great danger to tradition, though. there is a danger to become too comfortable and forget to tremble before God Almighty. there is a danger to worship tradition instead of what the tradition points to. there is a danger that tradition (the living faith of those who have come before) will be come traditionalism (the dead faith of those still living), allowing us to go through the motions while forgetting what we are doing.

for these reasons, tradition, which is a time-tested gift handed down to each generation, requires that each receiving generation must reaffirm it and claim it as their own. each generation must work hard to come to an understanding of the tradition, holding up the tradition to allow God to re-affirm it... or perhaps correct or reject it. in doing so, each generation must accept, change, or reject it themselves. this scrutiny by each generation is extremely important, for what is not understood and not tested should not be accepted. then again, it should not simply be thrown out because it isn't understood. instead, attempts should be made to come to an understanding. without these efforts, it quickly becomes traditionalism.

when left unchecked, tradition has a tendency to be elevated above God. perhaps we should consider what traditions we cling to that have been left unchecked and are, perhaps, making void the word of God. what about our traditions concerning worship? what about our traditions surrounding christmas and easter? there are many, many more that i could question but to name them would be superfluous.

the point is - how have we done at receiving, understanding, and testing traditions in light of who God is for us? how have we done at making sure our traditions are used as a tool to lead us to God instead of becoming a god? do we know why we say and do the things we do? are they meaningful to us and glorying to God?  just something to think about...

cheers,

jw <><

just part of the journey...

Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

And I say, "O that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

truly, I would flee far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness;

I would hurry to find a shelter for myself

from the raging wind and tempest."

Psalm 55:5-8

i must admit... there have been times when i have wished like jenny from forrest gump that i had wings that i could fly far, far away. life certainly deals us some hard times, and the natural tendency is to try to find a way to escape. this is what walter cannon in 1915  dubbed the fight or flight response. i think there are very few times that we actually want to stay and fight. i think we usually fight only because we have been cornered and have no other options.

so i think i have done a pretty good job at "flying," figuring out how to circumvent hardship. i have simply avoided things that i knew would later put me in an uncomfortable situation. but i have done this at the expense of experiencing great things and being put in situations where i am forced to grow.

i have since learned that the key to life isn't trying to avoid hardships or figuring out how to fix them when they come. the key is to live in them. that's right, folks!  live in them. this seems pretty non-sensical, but it is how God, in His perfect wisdom, intends for things to be. 

in one of my classes with dr. barnes last year, he pointed out something very interesting to us about God's chosen peoples' journey from egypt to the promised land. have you ever looked at this on a map? the israelites could have gotten to the promised land in no time. a straight journey from egypt to israel really isn't that far... even on foot. apparently, there was even a highway connecting the two places! but instead, God had them take the long route, wandering through the desert for decades. why? because it is only in the desert that they couldn't have done things on their own... it is only there that they had to rely on God. it is there that they figure out what it means to be the people of God. it is there that they have time to realize that God alone sustains them. this, of course, comes with a lot of difficulty and mess ups. even when the promised land is in sight, they aren't ready for it, so they end up wandering for another 40 years.

our problem is that we want to skip the desert. we want to avoid it. and when we find ourselves in the desert, we are looking for the shortest way out. in doing this, we are missing the point. the objective is not to find your way out. the objective is to live in it, discovering God where He has placed you and allowing Him to use your experiences to move you closer towards Himself. the psalmist knows this. he prays, "But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me... Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." 

i am learning to stop looking for a way out. i am learning to stop looking at the map to find short-cuts and have begun paying attention to the One leading me, trusting that He will lead me out when He is ready... when i am ready. i am learning to look for God in the desert. interestingly, manna and streams abound, proof that God is sustaining me. i have witnessed water flowing from rocks - amazing. God is good and worthy to be praised - even in hard times!

the journey will be long... but the promised land will come. there will be peace because i am learning in this desert to rest in God.

cheers,

jw <><

SIXBURGH

what a time to be in the burgh!!!  the past few weeks have been very exciting.   just as you would imagine people to decorate their homes for christmas or halloween, pittsburghers have decorated in the same fashion for the super bowl... haha!  it is quite a sight to see!  there has also been extravagant pep rallies, parades and  trimming a steelers tree downtown!

the town closed over 100 roads yesterday -- some in oakland, downtown and the southside.  i am guessing to reserve places for people to congregate and go NUTS basically... haha!  well everyone definitely went nuts.  there were people going crazy filling the designated "crazy space", as well as every other street in the WHOLE town!   to counter act this craziness, pittsburgh supposedly had over 500 cops on crowd duty.

we almost could not drive home last night.  we went to a rockin party at my friend darcy's apartment!  she let me borrow her towel throughout the whole game, so i could do the most appropriate steelers cheer there is!  i must say... i did a pretty awesome job even though i was a first time twirler!

there were parades of people on every street twirling terrible towels and screaming and waving.  if you honked at them to move out of the street, they just got more excited because they thought you were pumped the steelers won... haha!  (which is true, but we also wanted to park our car safely in the seminary lot before it got burned or flipped over!)  this may seem a little extreme, but the steelers winning puts the fans way over the top with celebrating.  for some reason it makes everyone very destructive... which scares me a little!  we also saw and heard lots of fireworks during our short drive (but long time getting there) home.

in oakland (neighborhood with pitt and carnegie melon), the craziest of the crazies were hanging out.  this is where they flip cars and burn couches.  the chopper for the news was showing fires in the street last night.  they were burning shirts to start... then a dumpster and who knows how many couches.  this is insane!  who is donating their couch to this cause!!!!???? seriously!  also, i saw parking meters smashed into bar windows.  i am kind of wondering if my school will still be there tomorrow... haha!

today, all the schools had a 2 hour delay that they have been planning since last week. they do this so everyone will not skip school the next day (this goes for bus drivers, teachers and students!!!)

tomorrow is the town victory parade with all the players!  i wish they would cancel school for that!  i mean, come on, this does not happen everyday! 

so... there you have it y'all!  i hope you have a lovely picture of steeler town to go with the six pack!

GO STEELERS!

e l i z a b e t h