Some things I like and some things I don't...

Given that life is back to "normal" now, I thought I would take some time to unload some of my current likes and dislikes for your reading enjoyment and likely mockery.

Things I currently like:
+ Brad Paisley's new cd: Fifth Gear
+ The CBS show, Criminal Minds
+ Books written by the author, Richard Mouw
+ Bass, the original pale ale
+ Smoking a mixture of Sunset and Vanilla blends from Tinderbox in my pipe
+ Reese's Crispy Crunch Bar
+ Broccoli
+ My Oakley sandals
+ Chipmunks
+ Crystal Light Rasberry Lemonade

Things I currently dislike:
- Traffic in Charlotte
- Sesame seeds
- Books by C.S. Lewis (minus The Chronicles, of course)
- Humidity
- "Family Friendly" radio
- The media
- The idea that Christian = Republican
- Evangelicals are now a targeted "voting group"
- Post-its that have lost their stickiness
- Seven simple yet profound action steps that will help readers discover the better things they were born for...

~Dan

There is no place like home...

Well, it's Friday evening and we have made it home safely. The flights were a little delayed but we still arrived when we were supposed to. Many thanks to Josh for picking us up at the airport!

Gracie is so happy we are home and we are glad to be with her. We're all being lazy tonight: enjoying some Brooklyn Pizza and watching CSI.

It feels really good to be home...

How do we get there from here?

After Tuesday's day of activities, Wednesday was a much quieter day - filled with business and shopping. Shopping: Meg with Dan's family. Business: Dan typing his Ethics paper due on Friday. One would think Meg had the better day, but as the picture below demonstrates, Dan's wasn't so bad either. In the evening, we did cut out some time to walk along the Blue River in Breckenridge and enjoy a great family dinner.

This morning, we awoke early and took a hike with Dan's dad at Hoosier Pass. Our hike got off to a great start but within no time (literally seconds) we were out of breath due to the altitude and struggling to keep going. We did make it up about a mile up the mountain trail and got some awesome pictures. In the end, the mountain won and we headed back home hungrier than when we began. Dan had hoped to be able to wrestle a bear, but instead almost hit a beaver on the way home.

This afternoon Dan's parents drove us to Denver where we now sit in our hotel room with bellies full of hamburger (from Ted's none the less) and getting ready to enjoy an in-room movie (not that kind of movie...actually, "Reign Over Me") and a later dinner. Our flight back to Charlotte (via Chi-town) leaves early in the morning and we are excited to get back home and see our little Gracie. It's been a great week but there really is no place like home (and we don't mean Kansas!). Here are yet some more pics...

Giraffes like special crackers...

After a very relaxing day on Monday spent exploring Breckenridge and enjoying time with family, we headed off for our day trip to Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning. After filling up on Breckenridge's best breakfast at The Blue Moose, we were on our way. We stopped for some shopping and ice cream in Manitou Springs and then made our way to the Garden of the Gods. That place was just downright cool. It was awesome to see what "the God" has made!

Next, we enjoyed lunch in downtown Colorado Springs at The Phantom Canyon Brewery (Dan recommends the Copperhead - a bit hoppy but still sweet; Megan, on the other hand, thought it must be what Elk urine tastes like!).

We followed that joyous meal up with a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where we got to feed the Giraffes. Yes! We got to feed the giraffes! You had to buy these special crackers but it was worth it. One even tried to kiss Dan or maybe Dan tried to kiss it. Either way, it was definitely the highlight of the afternoon. The rest of the zoo was cool and the Will Rogers memorial located at the top of the mountain offered breathtaking views that we enjoyed for quite a while.

After we made it back to the condo in Breckenridge, Dan schooled Megan on "Double Shot" (the arcade style basketball game) and they discovered that neither were any good at ping pong (and the RTS bretheren are now sad after reading that). Once cleaned up we made our way to our dinner reservation at The Cellar wine bar and restaurant where we enjoyed a flavorful, eclectic, tapas-style dinner. We skipped dessert, but we did go to Wal-Mart for some aloe lotion to care for the sunburns we acquired today. Anyway, below are some pictures. Enjoy!

Van-o-fun...

What do you get when you mix a van full of five people, a fourteen hour road trip, and the entire length of the state of Kansas? Nothing other than a "van-o-fun". Seriously, we have made it to Breckenridge on Sunday and it was all worth it. We love being in the mountains and we absolutely love spending so much time outside. We have big plans for tomorrow that include a trip to Colorado Springs and giraffe. We'll keep you posted.




This is a pic of us when we started the drive at 6:15 AM CDT!










This is Dan driving somewhere in the middle of Kansas...











Megan especially loves the wheat and the corn and the cattle and the flat land in Kansas...she wishes it could have taken longer to drive through. Can't you see it in her eyes?! She is so sad that we are flying home!








And this is the view we were rewarded with when we finally arrived at 8:30 PM MT.

Another great day...

We had another great day on Saturday! We got up early, went for a walk, and then met Meg's Dad and Grandparents at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. It sure was good to see them again. Later in the day, after hanging out with Meg's Dad, we had a cookout with our friends and their kids. When that was all over, we met our friend Nathan for a drink and some good reminiscing. It really is a blessing to see so many people in such a short time! Here are some pictures!

Swings, trains, and budweiser...

It's day two and we've survived the train ride to Centralia and made it safe to Dan's parents' house. The train ride was definitely most interesting - a unique combination of rednecks, beer, and cut-off shorts. We need not say anything more...except, apparently Amtrak allows you to carry your own cooler on board. We love southern Illinois!

Meg had a lot of fun today playing at the park with her niece and nephew. She's never felt so young and so old at the same time before! :-) We also had a great visit with her Grandma, and Meg was really excited to be given a copy of her grandparents' wedding picture taken in Germany. Here are a few pics from day two. Enjoy!

Hanging in Chi-town...

We made it safely to Chicago this morning. We are so happy to be with Meg's family and have had a good time celebrating her Mom's birthday today. It is also a blessing to be with her brother, sister-in-law, nieces and nephew. Although we are only here for a short time, a good time is being had by all. Probably the highlight of the day was the improvised game of "pin the tail on the donkey". Without an actual picture of a donkey or a willing stand-in, Dan drew a pitiful anorexic cat instead. Below are some pictures. We'll continue to update as the trip unfolds...

Fantasy football team name...

If you haven't already...please vote for my fantasy football team name on the poll to the right. I am in a pretty fun league this year composed of current RTS students and recent grads. So far it has been entertaining with all the trash talking going on. The season can't get here soon enough...
~Dan

Planes, trains, and automobiles...

This week has been a little hectic for us as Meg is working 3 days straight and Dan is busy cramming for his Ethics final. But there is light at the end of the tunnel...VaCaTiOn! And, boy, do we have a crazy itinerary. Check this out:

Thursday, July 19: Fly to Chicago to visit Meg's family in Bradley, IL
Friday, July 20: Take the train to Centralia, IL and visit Meg's Grandmother - for about an hour. Dan's parents will pick us up and drive us to Belleville, IL.
Saturday, July 21: Spend as much time as possible with as many friends and family members as possible. Eat good food and drink good beer.
Sunday, July 22: Drive 14 hours to Breckenridge, CO with Dan's family to stay in a condo there.
Monday, July 23-Thursday, July 26: Try to relax, unwind, and enjoy the area. Maybe visit some shops, do some fishing, and who knows what else. Oh yeah, and Dan will write his Ethics paper.
Friday, July 27: Fly from Denver to Charlotte in the morning and try to resume "normal" life asap.

As crazy as all of that sounds, we are actually looking forward to it. We love to travel and we love to see our friends and family. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture above, our cat, Gracie, is not too happy that we are leaving her. She'll be in good hands but she really hates it when we go away.

We'll try to post as much as we can while we are gone. Pray for us - for peace of mind and safety.

Silence is sometimes golden...

Today, Meg and I were reminded once again how we shouldn't be so surprised when God answers our prayers despite our lack of faith in his ability to do so. Let me explain...

We live in an apartment complex that is managed by a nationwide company. This particular company has decided to introduce all of its properties to a new "luxury" service called Valet Trash. What this service provides is a trash can to be placed on your porch that is picked up and emptied by the service workers and carried to the dumpster Sunday through Thursday nights. Bear in mind that the dumpster is not too far away, but the management was employing this service so people would no longer let trash gather on their porches...blah blah blah. The catch is that the service would be free until you renew your lease - then it would be $30 per month. And it is not an option...you have to pay for it to live here. Well, suffice it to say, we were not very happy with this given we have to renew next month! We complained...we complained some more...we voiced those complaints to the management...and we voiced those complaints to anyone else who would listen (probably even you who are reading this right now...). We just were not prepared to pay that much money for something that we were perfectly capable of doing on our own.

Add that to the fact that rent is generally climbing in the area of Charlotte that we live. A quick search on various rental websites showed that similar units in our property were going for up to $100 more per month than what we were paying. So, now, we were faced with the possibility that our rent would go up $130 per month and we were just not sure how we would be able to afford that. So, we prayed... a lot. But in the back of my mind, being the planner that I am, I was already preparing to have to move.

Well, today I talked with the leasing consultant to get our new rates for the next year. She did some calculations and preceded to tell me my options. She started with the 12 month lease: $98 more per month. Okay...then the 15 month lease option: $107 more per month. I was sweating a little at this point and then asked what a 13 or 14 month lease rate would be. She proceeded to tell me that she had to call her boss to make sure it was right but either a 13 or 14 month lease would only be $30 more a month - exactly the increase of the trash service. The rent does not change at all and, needless to say, she was as completely surprised as I was.

So, what did we learn? "Lord, help our unbelief!" We prayed and God answered. Not solely because we prayed but because he is good and he ordained that we would go through this "trial" so that our faith in him would be increased. As he always does, he provided exactly what we needed. The real kicker - Meg got her yearly raise last week and it more than covers the $30 a month increase. Praise God!

The other thing that I personally learned was that next time I think about complaining, I should remember that silence truly is sometimes golden...

~Dan

Priorities, Razor's Edges, Bald Spots, and Pride

"Don't give an 'A' effort to a 'B' priority." Huh? This phrase, uttered by my professor at the beginning of our week-long intensive 'Pastoral & Social Ethics' class, admittedly bounced around in my head and never quite came to rest long enough for me to fully comprehend its relevance at the time. Sure, on the surface I understood his caution: make sure you give your best effort to the highest priority. The part I really liked was the inference to make sure you recognize what are the highest priorities in your life and don't sacrifice those for the sake of the lower priorities. Check! That part I can handle. I fancy myself quite good at understanding priorities and their rank: God, family, and so on...but what was all this mess about effort? I got the prioritizing part but sure didn't get the effort part.

Well, now I stand with the requirements of that class (reading, exam, and paper) due in a couple of weeks and I feel like I am scrambling just to get them done. With all of the business of the summer up to this point, time has went by much too fast. To be honest, I don't find myself in this place very often. Those who know me well know that when it comes to work, school, etc. I give just about as much effort as I can while juggling priorities and not sacrificing relationships, etc. But therein lies the problem - I work so hard that I absolutely run myself ragged at times. To borrow from a colloquialism by John Murray, the difference between priority and effort is not a chasm, but a razor's edge. And unlike Johnny Cash, I must confess that I do not 'walk the line' of that edge very well. I am beginning to see more clearly that the more effort that I expend to do all things well regardless of their priority, the more I neglect myself and my well-being in the process. Now this is not meant to be a pity-party for the sake of poor ol' me, but rather a confession that I need to learn to walk better on that razor. I need to learn to reconcile "do all things to the glory of God" with "don't give an 'A' effort to a 'B' priority." I guess what I really want to know is, can I at least give an 'A-' effort to a 'B' priority???

Perhaps the answer is found in the newly forming bald spot on my head. Sure, I know it's there but I don't really think too much about it - well, at least not until someone mentions it. And even when they do I have a pretty nonchalant attitude about it. It's part of life and, I guess, goes with being in your thirties. But the fact of the matter is that some people absolutely obsess over them and do whatever they can to cover them up: rogaine, shaving, spray-on-hair, toupees, and even the dreaded comb-over. Perhaps the way that bald spots absolutely consume some people is the same way that effort absolutely consumes me? The thought of giving less than an 'A' effort on anything just about makes me want to listen to Michael Bolton for 24 straight hours instead.

All of this thinking has brought me to the conclusion that the center of all this is undoubtedly found in my pride. In my boastful, arrogant, pride I would rather give my best effort to everything while denying myself and thinking that somehow I will be better for it in the end. Heck, that is just as silly as spray-on-hair and will undoubtedly last just about as long. Well whatever the solution is, one thing I do know: I need the grace of God to reveal it to me.

In the meantime, I guess I should get back to that reading and studying and writing...

~Dan

Red Mountain B-sides & The Captains Courageous...

Thanks to Kara for pointing us to the free Red Mountain Music B-sides available for download from their website. If you love old hymns put to new music, then you will likely love Red Mountain Music. Be sure to check them out!

Also, for you Andrew Peterson fans out there, you can now follow the progress of the recording of his new album here. He promises frequent updates and it will no doubt be fun to follow the making of this much-anticipated project.

The Silliest Man I Ever Knew...

Howard K Smith (10/25/23- 7/5/07)

As we were at the funeral home on Saturday, standing in the room where the shell of my Grandfather was resting I got this eery feeling. It was too quiet. I looked at my brother and asked if we had to stay in that room. It was the first time in my life that I had ever been in a room with my grandfather and joking, laughing, and general leg pulling had not ensued almost immediately.
You see my grandfather was the best of leg pullers and teasers. He used to say that he wanted to die when he was 101 years old, being shot by a jealous husband! The Lord chose not to give him that desire of his heart, but God did give him a very rich life of 83 years. And I am blessed that I get to call myself his granddaughter. I truly believe that at least half of my own tendency to tease and be somewhat playful myself comes from him.
At the visitation, many shared what a good and fair business man he was and what a perfectionist he was at his job~ each paint job matched perfectly (he owned/operated a body shop). Some commented on his love of family and his wife. My grandfather was always quick to state that he and Grandma Dot had never had a fight! As a matter of fact, he was so happy after his first month of marrying her that he sent her a rose on the 7th of the next month and then the next, and the next..... It continued for over 25 years. He went so far as to make arrangements that if something were to happen to him that my grandmother would receive them for a year after his death. She precedes him in death by about 2 years. I know that the flower shop misses my grandfather. He was one of those people whose laughter and smile were contagious.
One of my favorite memories ( and I have many) is when I asked my grandfather to teach me how to clean a fish (I was about 8-10). You see, he loved to fish and hunt. He even had a pond in his backyard, and yes I did attempt to fish a few times. Anyway, one day I asked him to teach me how to clean one. His response~ you've got to catch one first. And I did. I don't remember what type it was, but it was puny and about 6" in length. He asked if I was sure that I wanted to try because the poor fish really wasn't much. But I was adamant, I would learn. He took me into the garage and pulled out a large mallet/hammer and instructed me to strike his head. With all the power of my age, and not to mention my girlish strength, I gently tapped him on the head. My grandfather looked at me with his eyes of disbelief and stated something like~ "Girl, you've just given that fish the worst headache that he's ever had!" He then, with one swift blow to the fishes head, showed me the correct method. I was amazed! Let's just say that this brief moment set the tone for the rest of the lesson and to this day I do not know how to clean a fish by myself, but I am able and do put my own worms on fishing hooks!
I could go on about little moments, but I wanted to share just a piece of the silliest man I ever knew. He had a strong sense of right and wrong, could hold a grudge, but was always just as forgiving and gentle. He was not perfect, but he did love his family well. And at the end of day there are only two things that matter~ Do you love God and find forgiveness through his Son, and did your life reflect that? My grandfather has found a resounding yes on both parts.

~Megan

Another Farewell...

"Dr.Brown went home to be with the Lord, Sunday evening, July 8, 2007 at 8:25 pm, passing peacefully and surrounded by family members and close friends."

Dr. Brown will be dearly missed by many, especially those of us at RTS-Charlotte. To read more about the life and work of this man of God, see his obituary.

Christianity Today has also published an article on their website: Theologian Harold O. J. Brown Dies at 74

What you don't learn in Seminary...

Dan had the opportunity to preach at our home church, Ambassador Presbyterian in Apex, NC, for the last two weeks and it was a real blessing and growth opportunity for him. Here is a link to his sermon that he gave on June 24: God is Faithful to Provide.

Unfortunately his sermon on July 1 was not recorded. Ambassador is in the process of building their new church building and they were having their first meeting at a new grade school in the area. There was some miscommunication and no one was there to let us in the building so we had to have church outside! It was actually a wonderful service and everyone did well despite the circumstances. It was also very fitting as Dan's first point in the message dealt with God's sovereignty. As he got up to give his first ever open air sermon he remarked that they just don't teach you these kinds of things in Seminary. Well, thank God for teaching us lessons that we don't normally learn through ordinary means.

Saying Farewell...

Megan's grandfather, Howard Smith, passed away this morning and as a result we are leaving in the morning to drive to central Illinois for the visitation and funeral this weekend. Please be in prayer for us as we travel and for the comfort of all of the family who will be there.

Happy Fourth of July!

This is hilarious! Enjoy Rhett & Link's tribute to the best part of this holiday!

Some Pictures

Here we are at the rose garden in Charlotte:

Here's Gracie enjoying her bed and a sunbeam:

This is us at Biltmore Estate:

One of Dan's favorite pictures of Megan: