i hab a coad. :P

I decided saturdays are the best day to be sick, there is lots on tv.
I've come down with a cold. It sucks. Luckily there were two movies on tv yesterday ("An Unfinished Life," "Zoom"). I crashed on the couch most of the day.
I played the hymns today in church, it went alright (though with my homework free life I need to practice a little more). I've decided that just b/c there are lots of hymns in the service, doesn't mean they have to be vacant of life for the younger people. I'm picking well-known ones and try to play them a little different. (like a little gospel sway to amazing grace). It's gone alright so far. I'm playing through a lot of the hymn book on my own and I have discovered both a lot of really good songs, but also some worthy of "7-11" status that are bland. There's also some fun bouncy hymns and gospel ones that are not usually heard in a typical CRC church, but may make an appearance this summer.

Doug and Pat Aukema down the street invited us for 4:00 coffee (before cow-milking) this afternoon. Should be fun!

--Sara

A little rebellion to nurture my inner child. :D

So, tonight Dave and I did something that would be slightly rebellious to some people.
Since we don't have internet at home yet, we watched netflix at church...in the sanctuary...while eating pizza. :)
At first we were going to sit on a pew, but then I got a great idea and grabbed some couch cushions from the youth group room upstairs. We spent the next couple hours laying in the middle aisle so we could see the screen better and comfier. :D

Today we also finished up the liturgy and music for this coming sunday. Dave did all the speaking/call and response parts this week by himself (i helped last week) and I picked out the music. The church does mostly hymns and has a 3 song contemporary song set at the beginning. It's a little complicated sometimes try to fit their typical liturgy but we've made do find so far. We'll see how the church changes now that their main organist just retired (the wife of the pastor who just retired). The organist is the one who always played the hymns.

One more subject change, here's pictures of the house the church is renting for us:

 view in from near the road

view out to the road

 side view, where we come in

backyard

and here is where we shop! (like D&W)

That's about all for now. I'm keeping occupied while dave's at work by cleaning, looking at recipes,... and maybe watching tv.... But not to worry, I'm not stuck on my butt all day. Reading the bible in one summer is going okay. I'm doing alternating days...though I could feel guilty, I'm actually feeling alright about that b/c it's better than I was doing at seminary.

Agenda for tomorrow:
- Vacuum and wash floors! :P (*blech*)
- continue bible reading
- make Polynesian Roast, and Mile-High Shredded Beef for Saturday.
- make cookies, meet the next door neighbor (with cookies)
- ...maybe scrap book? we'll see.

happy trails,
Sara

First full day in NY

We got in safe and sound last night about 10:30. There wasn't a number on the mailbox, but we managed just fine. Florence (elder) and Pam (elder's wife) greeted us at the door, with a bunch of lights on, ready to give us a welcome and a tour. Nice ladies. After they left Dave and I explored a little, however after wandering around the workshop/garage, me hugging my thudding quilt, I was about all ready to just curl up in bed, overwhelmed. I held it together pretty well considering other times we moved. But, oh my gosh, new things. Exciting. Scary. Overwhelmed.

More funny than upsetting, check out these picture of after I showered last night.

See the black flecks? They weren't from me, maybe mildew from pipes not being used? I guess we'll see if I develop ebola or something. ;)

The house has been mostly unused since the landlord's mother died in December. So I think that just stuff settling in the pipes is probably the issue. No big deal (though I wondered if I should shower again after I saw the stuff).

Marge from the church brought us groceries. Thank you. That was something so nice. And now I have multigrain Cheerios and milk for breakfast! She also 

got us bottled water which is nice b/c the tap water is a decent bit sulfery.

Woke up a bit before 8 this morning though we got to bed at 1:15 (watching tv to calm down). I'm still tense this means. But I'll calm after a little longer. It's mostly the fear of the unknown. What challenges and pressures will we face?

5 Things I'm Thankful For:

1. not living on a mountain in a small 12x12 box right on top of our neighbors like last year.
2. A big backyard (2 acres)
3. The peaceful silence of a Saturday morning to myself.
4. All the ladies who cleaned yesterday and brought us groceries and baked goods.
5. A beginning to a summer with lots of opportunity, hope, learning experiences, and a chance to change lives with/for Christ.

Bible Reading for the Day (working on my continued goal of reading the entire Bible in one summer):

     Gen 1-10

     Matt 5-6

     Ps 4-6

     Prob 1:8-19

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We're now at church meeting a few people and using the internet. We don't have any at our house.

Here's a cute little sign I found.

So cute!
And it's decided. Dave will now be... Pastor Dave! Crazy, huh?

the adventure begins

Hello everyone!
Tomorrow morning, dave and I will be leaving for Binghamton, NY. This semester went so fast! We're both a little scared, but mostly excited.

Things I Hope to Do this Summer:

- Homemakerly: keep the house moderately clean, make dinner most days out of the week, keep my nose out of dave's business as needed since it is his internship (the last will likely be the most difficult, I like to help.... too much), do a bunch of work on my photo scrapbook.

- Spiritual: read through the entire Bible in one summer, pray for dave and others daily, reflect on youth ministry, organize/memorize some bible verses for next years oral comps.

- Relational: branch out, make friends, explore binghamton on my own and meet new people. Stay  connected with peeps back home.

- Go on mini- and mega- adventures. :D (NYC, Finger Lakes, explore the farm next door and local binghamton)


This blog will be about my readings, recipes, ministry musings, and adventures while I am in NY. Future postings will be a little less business and will include pictures!

We won't have internet at our place, only at the church a few miles away. It shouldn't be too hard to post though. If anyone wants to sent me snail mail, e-mail me and I'll give you our address. If anyone wants to visit, we're up for that too!

--Sara