Church and Pink Floyd

A couple of months ago Rob and I were watching one of those PBS-athons(you know the ones where they show the really cool music shows and before you know it you've been sitting there for hours). Well, one night they were showing an "Aussie Pink Floyd" concert. Rob was amazed with the guitar solos and visual art on stage. Because of his amazement, I had an AH HA moment, "What a great Birthday Present this would be". Sure enough they were going to be coming to the Fox Theater in St. Louis right before his birthday. AH HA!!! Well, we went, we saw and were well pleased. The concert was by far the best concert I had ever been to. There was so much talent, light shows and visual art through the entire performance. WOW!!! Every song brought a new surprise. And the people watching was FANTASTIC!!!!! Oh, if the Fox Theater walls could talk.

During the concert I scanned my bugged out eyes around the auditorium. I had one of those frozen in time, deep thoughts. My eyes saw 70 year olds and teenagers. I saw some people standing up, waving their hands in the air, while some(like us) just stayed seated. All people were smiling and enjoying themselves. There was so much energy in the room. People waited with anticipation for the next song or light show. I, myself was convicted by some of the words that I heard. THEN, I thought "This is how church should be-minus the pot smoke". No, really.... A church with multiple generations and diversity. A church with people feeling comfortable with their worship style-some would sit and some would stand with their hands in the air. People waiting in anticipation for the next words to be spoken-some would be encouraged some would be convicted. People are smiling and rejoicing. Don't get me wrong, a Sunday morning service isn't supposed to "entertain" us with light shows and far out graphics. A Sunday morning service should bring forth the TRUTH and that's far beyond blown up pink, kangaroos and disco balls. But what if the Church looked like the concert audience I saw, because of the truth that was being taught? HHHHMMMM?

One Whole Year

Yes, it's been one whole year of marriage as of yesterday. My hubby"Holly's Hotty" did good. He surprised me with a weekend getaway. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Herman, Missouri Friday and Saturday night and visited several wineries. It was a great weekend. On the way home we did some reflecting on our one year of marriage. It's been a crazy year. We counted that I had had 4 different jobs and moved 4 different times all since last October. What a crazy year but what a great year. All of our friends keep telling us that if we can get through the first year of marriage it's all down hill from there. Well, we got through that first year and we look forward to many more. God, blessed me with an amazing husband and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him. He's my hotty.(Rob thought he was being funny by putting the above picture on my screen saver....I thought it was pretty funny too. :)Hope you enjoy)

City Living

Last weekend our neighborhood was adorned with many shapes and sizes of rainbows. One of our neighbors even had these unique, rainbow trees made of balloons in his front yard. All the little boutiques and restaurants had their rainbow flags flying high. Our house was surrounded by the Gay Pride Festival. The festival included parades, music(Jordan Knight-for those of you that remember the New Kids on the Block), vendors, a pet parade and lots and lots of people. It was a HUGE celebration. A celebration that brought me to a whole lot of pondering and nowhere for us to park our cars.

We were on our way to church on Sunday morning right as the Gay Pride parade started and I couldn't help but be reminded of God's promises. There was a rainbow on every corner, t-shirt and bumper stricker. The Gay Pride rainbow represents Sexual diversity but every time I saw a rainbow I couldn't help remembering the original purpose for the rainbow-God making a covenant agreement with the people he loves. It's because of that love that I too should be celebrating. There should be parades and music showing how joyful we are of the agreement God has made and how proud we are of our King.

Living with a boy

I've had lots and lots of roomates before but they've all been girls and we've all had our own rooms to decorate. It's different living with a boy. Boy's don't have "decorations". Rob has been so patient with me and my decorating. I LOVE to decorate. My decorating is pretty quirky but I like it. We have 7 rooms in our apartment and all of them have "HOLLY" written all over them. I tried to make an effort in decorating our bedroom to suit both boy and girl standards. I went with the colors brown and blue. That sounds pretty boy proof-doesn't it? Well my blue got kind of teal blue and my browns are in all kinds of swirls and floral prints. OOPS-sorry Rob. I tried. Not only do we have the big obvious difference of the boy/girl thing going on but we have quite a drastic difference in tastes and style. Rob is more the techy/modern guy and I'm the shabby/chique girl. So, to make a long story short- a sad, long story short, what you see above is my husbands appointed space in the house to decorate. He is free to put whatever he wants on that shelf. I sound like a horrible and not so understanding wife but my husband is so pleased with his shelf. He is completely satisfied. Every once in awhile I see him just looking up at the shelf and just smiling.(he's so cute) He's happy, I'm happy, all is good until we have more Dr. Who than shelf room. :)

How could I ask for more?

The last two months have just gotten away from me. I'm not sure why I'm just now writing about them because frankly, I've had absolutely nothing to do!!!!! It's weird that I haven't been working and have been home almost everyday and feel like I'm still going in circles. It's been nice to have this quiet time in my life- God knew I needed it. I'm not sure what I would have done with a job on top of all the other changes. Here, I've been worried about not finding a job and God's timing was just perfect. Surprise, surprise.

We are pretty settled in our new home. Just a few more pictures to hang on the walls. We are really starving for a church family and fellowship. We're getting there-it takes time I know. That's just one of those things that I just want to spead on up.God has blessed me with a job with Parent's As Teachers. I start May 14th and will be very ready to have something to do. Rob has just finished up his first two classes. He's really enjoying his classes and learning a whole lot! Rob is also doing some web design on the side.

We had the great opportunity to spend Easter weekend with Rob's family(above picture). We traveled to Atlanta to see his family. What a joy it was for me to get to know my in-laws. I met them a couple of days before our wedding and that's all of the getting to know time we've ever had. I tell you what-Rob came with the whole packaged deal and what a deal it was. His family is so wonderful.We had so much fun playing games, holding our cute little niece and just soaking in God's love that He has shed upon us. We even got to go to an authentic, Moroccan restaurant. We sat on the floor, ate with our hands and had belly dancing entertainment. No, none of our bellies were dancing. That would have made quite a memory though. Maybe next time. :) We had a great visit. Rob and I have just been so blessed with great families. We have a lot to be thankful for. My cup runneth over......

ME-sort of

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Our Humble Abode

This is our sweet, humble abode. Our adorable land-lady lives upstairs and we have the bottom floor.

We have a lovely backyard. Our landlady called me this morning and told me to help myself to all the tullips because it was going to freeze tonight. "OK, twist my arm. "I actually got to hang up my wind chimes that I've had for years. They've been hanging on lamps and curtain rods and now they are free. All we need is a grill on the patio and we'll be set.

We are 2 blocks from a huge park, several little cafes, our pick of ethnic restaurants,the Botanical Gardens and lots of lots of more fun. We're happy with our home.

Slip Sliding to St. Louis

Yes, I'm back!!!!!!! What a crazy month it has been. I tell you Rob and I have had one adventure after another. It's been stressful but also a whole lot of fun(or maybe I should say "not boring"). A wise man gave me and Rob some great advice the day of our wedding. He said simply, "ride the waves, ride the waves". Well, Rob and I have been in the eye of a hurricane and we're a little sea sick but we're trying our best to ride those waves.

Feb. 24th was our planned date of departure from the great North. That was our plan but it was a no-go. A horrible snow/ice storm came through and there were all kinds of driving advisories. We ended up leaving the next day but it was horrible. I've never seen roads like the ones we drove on. I was in one car with my mom and Rob was following close behind in another car. We maybe reached the speed of 45 mph but that's as fast as it got. There were parts of the interstate that only had one visible lane and that one lane was ice covered. I've never experienced such tension. This tension lasted through both Dakotas. It took us a total of 24 hours to travel to Missouri.

Rob and I hit the ground running and started looking for apartments in St. Louis. Boy oh boy did we learn a whole lot about each other." RIDE THOSE WAVES" It was a great experience for a newly married couple. Not knowing St. Louis all that well it took us awhile to get to know what areas were good and what areas were not so good. Once we figured out what areas we liked and could afford we then had to find an apartment in that area.

The Lord led us to a duplex in the St. Louis city limits. The building we live in is shared by a 75 year old lady that owns the building as well. She has the cutest little backyard that I can't wait to spend more time in. She even told me that I could cut off any flowers I wanted to. It's a dream come true. I can have all the fresh flowers I want and I don't have to get dirt under my finger nails. It's a great place to live and we have plenty of room for any of you that would like to come visit.

Well, we found a place now it was time to move in. Rob's belongings are still in ND and the airforce should be delivering them soon. My stuff however has been in my parent's shed since last May. All of our wedding gifts were being stored in my parent's basement. Our moving date was St. Patty's day. It was supposed to be an easy move. We were going to just pull the Uhaul truck up to my parent's shed and load it up. Easy huh? The Uhaul truck got stuck in my parent's pasture. Someone tried to help by pulling us with his truck. Didn't happen. We then borrowed the neighbors tractor. Didn't happen. We finally had to call a wrecker-SUCCESS.

Rob and I are now in St. Louis and pretty settled. Our next challenge-finding jobs. Rob and I have really been discouraged with our whole moving experience but there are lessons that we wouldn't have learned otherwise. We were reading together last night and came across a good verse for us right now. 2 Cor. 6:10"sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, poor, yet making many rich, having nothing, and yet possessing everything." What a great attitude Paul had about his hardships. Rob and I are trying our best to rejoice in our circumstance. We have so much to rejoice about. Whether we're sliding in the ice or the mud we should rejoice. So, we're dusting off our surf boards and we're going to enjoy those waves. The life God has given us is so totally gnarly.

The Real Stuff never Fails

Today I had fun loving the one God gave me. God has given me someone that I always thought was out there but I didn't think I was going to ever get. I think one of the biggest reasons God has blessed me with Rob is to teach me more about what "HIS" love is all about. Rob knows how to love-he understands what that means. The boy is the most unselfish person I know. He is always putting his needs before mine. That's love. He is always trying to build me up. That's love. He is so very patient with me and living with me requires a whole lot of patience. My husband is always one that wants to perservere and not give up. That's love. As Jack Nicholson once said "You make me want to be a better person". God is using His love through Rob to make me a better person and for that I'm grateful.

My Sweet Valentine

There are mixed feelings about Valentines day but my feelings are all on the positive side today. I've had years that I've been very negative about the whole "Valentines Day" but today I realized how it was all about an attitude. Many of those negative years were spent thinking that that this "hallmark" day was all about others showing their love for me. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! I need to apologize to all those that I love so dearly. I have wasted many a-Valentines Days. Yeah it feels good when others show their love towards me but it feels OH-so good when I show my love to others. Instead of waiting for those flowers to show up I should have been busy sending those flowers. Today I'm reminded of the one true Love-Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful that Christ didn't wait on us to love Him. He sent His love to those that were unattractive, those that hated Him and get this-those that didn't love Him.

On the Road Again

YES, that's right! We're loading up the truck and moving to St. Louis. Someone wrote me the other day and said they had heard a rumor that we were moving to St. Louis. They asked me why I hadn't shared our new, news on my blog. I thought "What a great idea!!!". Rob and I are in need of prayer and wisdom-in that order please. :) We will be packing up and moving in just two weeks. Rob has been accepted to a school in St. Louis-MoTech. We are moving to St. Louis with no jobs or home but with a whole lot of faith. If anyone out there knows of a good place to live or work, please feel free to share your information. We are looking forward to this move. We are looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us and how He will be glorified through it all.

My first niece!!!!!

This is my new niece, Maybn. Isn't she beautiful. This whole marriage thing is so much fun. Not only did I gain an amazing, one of a kind husband but also the blessing of the cutest niece ever. Rob and I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet and boy oh boy we can't wait. The funny thing is, she looks more like the Black family than my own, two little nephews do. Now Rob's baby sister and my baby brother have both had children. Not only have they both had children but they've had beautiful children. Congratulations Penny, Rich!

God's Blessing in the Sky

I've been kind of crabby about the frigid air up here in ND. It's crazy cold up here and it's supposed to get worse. Temperatures are about to go below zero, it's miserable to be outside and we go to bed some nights with a heating pad turned up on high. I have to admitt I've been pretty growly about it.

Well, God decided He was going to help me get out of this funk. If I think about it,He always provides a way out if I choose to see His handywork. Well, His handywork was quite obvious this time.

On the way to work on Monday, Rob and I saw the strangest thing in the sky. I told Rob it looked like the sun was rising in two spots. For the next 15 minutes, while on the way to work, we tried to figure out what this strange image was. When I arrived at school I asked another teacher what this second, sunrise was all about. She said it must have been a "sundog". A what??? She told me it had something to do with ice crystals in the sky. The sun reflects on these ice crystals and makes an almost mirror image of the sun. She said these "sundogs" sometimes create rainbows in the sky as well. Oh, yeah they do!!!! On the way to work today we saw almost a full rainbow and what appeared to be, three sunrises. WOW!!!!!

God, thank you for your surprises and blessings when we are feeling low. Thank you for thawing my heart out and giving me a smile in the midst of this tundra. Thank you for being creative and helping me to find the positive in these icy conditions. Thank you for knowing just what I needed.

The Art of Authentic Praise

Tuesday night, at Bible study, I learned about David's Authentic Praise. Recently I've been feeling that my praise is being squeezed out of me. It's not flowing or gushing like it sometimes does. This is what Beth Moore has helped me to learn about Praise.

PRAISE requires focus. (Ps. 9:1)
PRAISE is not confined.
PRAISE in Hebrew
Yadhah- speak out, confess
Tehillah-hymn, a song
Zamar-to play an instrument or make music
Hala- to be bright, shine, to boast, to praise, the idea of radiance WOW!!!
PRAISE is a choice(Ps. 103:1-5)
PRAISE is to become a habit (Ps. 34:1)
PRAISE becomes compulsory when we experience true intamacy.(Ps. 63:1-4)
PRAISE is contaigous(Ps. 52:9)
PRAISE invites the audience of God (Ps. 22:3)


I so want to be obedient in Praise. I just recently met a family via cyberspace that has and is exhibiting this fine art of authentic Praise. Their Praise has been contaigous to many lives. I read their blog finding myself praising the Lord through tears and joy. They have invited the audience of God, have experienced true intamacy, made a choice and made that choice habit, spoke out, celebrated in song, and are radiant, shining and as bright as bright can be. I'm going to pass this contaigous praise on and you too I'm sure, will find yourself praising without being confined. The Art of Authentic Praise(People after God's own heart)...........................................
http://noahsteven.blogspot.com/

Snow or Shine

This is just really an excuse to use this cute, little picture of me and my hubby in our fun hats we received from mom and dad Phillips. No, not really. I just wanted to write about some of my observations of a ND winter. Snow or Shine, life goes on. YIKES!!!!!!

*We don't get rainy days here. We get snowy days.
*I rolled up to the Starbucks, drive through the other day and my window was frozen shut. I had to open my door to pay and get my coffee.
*We have recess in the snow. Every student brings snow boots and pants, coat, hat and mittens to school. Yesterday we played outside while it was snowing. We build snowmen, throw snowballs and have a great time.
*I have to start my car now and then just so it won't freeze up.
* People leave their cars running when they go in to shop at W-mart. Most people have automatic car starters.
*There are no snow-days here. Every day would be a snow -day. That's very disappointing to a teacher. :(
*Ice forms on the inside of windows.

To be continued........