Not So En Fuego-Pt. 2

So, you’ve heard all about En Fuego and the lack thereof. Now for the rest of the weekend…

The weekend just got better from there. (And I'm being totally sarcastic.) I won't take the time to tell you everything that happened, because you probably wouldn't believe me anyway. I'll just say this...by the time we were finally crossing the twin-span back into New Orleans, the wind was blowing so hard we thought we would blow off the road into the river. And had we blown into river, we were not even going to fight it. "Hold your breath ‘til you pass out and just go quietly into the cold, dirty water." That was the philosophy me and MB had agreed upon. But with the way the weekend was going, we probably would've miraculously floated...back to Slidell, where we would've been forced to drive over AGAIN. Obviously, we made it across, and the weekend was definitely an experience, to say the least. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters, so I guess it was a success.

I will, however, tell you a few of the other crazy things that happened in our two-day trip:
-just as the power went out, a roach ran across my foot;
-my roommates had a slight accident in my car while I was gone, resulting in my side mirror hanging by the wire and a few other things;
-the power was out at most every gas station or Wal-mart we tried to go to for about an hour
-we found speed bumps that are so big, they hit underneath the car while we were going over...I guess it's a good thing we didn't get stuck :)
-while eating at El Jalapeno's during TS Fay, water starting coming in under the walls and the wind was so strong it kept sucking the doors open
-MB missed seeing Family Force 5 for the second time this year :(

These are a FEW of our adventures, but you get the idea. But to end on a positive note, a few of the other things that were fun were: learning that the state of Alabama is apparently obsessed with turkey and the girl at Sonic giving a drum roll before giving us our totals, which made me want to tip here a lot.

Now, we are waiting to see where Gustav is going to go. Hopefully, this weekend will not be as "exciting" as last weekend. Pray that it's really boring. :) :)

And now for the finale... :)

Us looking for Family Force 5...or pirates

Then, we resorted to begging Fay to STOP...

Oh well, back to senior portraits...

And when all else fails, dance!

(or jump around and act a fool) :)

En Fuego My Ego - Pt. 1

This past weekend we set off for En Fuego, an all-day concert with tons of great bands. However, our non-friend (TS Fay, as we like to call her) also decided to come to the concert. After driving for a little over 5 hours in crazy wind and rain, we arrived at our friend Jen's house. We drove out to En Fuego just in time for the entire thing to shut down due to 60 mph wind advisories and tornado watches/warnings. Good times. But after driving 5 hours, we felt like we still needed to do something fun to justify the drive (not that hanging out w/ Jen wasn't fun) :) We also needed to test out the 87 cent ponchos from Wal-mart.

So we headed out to some random places around town and eventually end up at Jen's church for our 'senior portraits' with our ponchos. All the while TS Fay is moving in, which did help with the wind effect we needed for some of the shots. :) However, it was kind of scary a few times, what with the transformers surging every time the power went out and the massive tree limbs falling all around us. No, it was probably not the smartest thing we've ever done, but it was one of the funest.

Ok, so originally this post got VERY long, so I’ll divide it into 2 parts. You can thank me later :) But for now, I'll just post some of the pics so that maybe you'll bear with me and tune in for episode 2, coming to a city near you...

Us on the way to En Fuego...

(Jen & Daniel's pic didn't turn out, seeing as they were driving)

Everyone leaving En Fuego as we arrive

Some of the playground pics

Progressive Dinner

Happy Birthday, Mary Beth!!!

So, for Mary Beth's birthday, we decided she should not be limited to choosing one place to eat. So we picked several and attempted to make it to all of them. We also decided to change things up by going to restaurants that we have at "home." (Usually, we eat at restaurants that are unique to New Orleans rather than chain restaurants.) Aaaaaand, we started a day early just so the "day" would last extra long.

We started last night at Olive Garden with appetizers before heading across the street to Applebee's. Other festivities included the word find contest, the chimecheesecake scavenger hunt, and the Earl extravaganza. Those things won't mean much to you if you weren't there, but they were definitely memorable moments. We were planning on hitting up the Kupcake Factory after Applebee's, but they were closed by the time we finished. But did we give up? No! The progressive dinner stretched out over two days, finishing with the Kupcake Factory tonight before heading to the movies to see 'The House Bunny.'

I guess it's not technically a dinner if it lasts for multiple days, but hey, if you're gonna do it, you might as well go big. Don't settle for being confined to one place, day, or dessert! That's my theory.

And in case you don't feel like reading, the picture version is below: :) :)

Day 1 of the party begins...

The word-find race goes down

And the winner is... (Of course, it's me. I have mad word search skills like you would not believe) :)

Sorry, we forgot to get pics of everything tonight, but hopefully you can read, so you don't need them anyway. And if you can't read, then you don't know what I just said, so you are not offended... :)

Hope you had a great b'day, MB. And the fun doesn't stop here. En Fuego, here we come!

Knowing God

Just a few thoughts from J.I. Packer:

"Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord."

"There's a big difference between knowing God and knowing about God."

"What matters supremely, therefore, is not the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters."

"There is certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see (and am I glad!), and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose."

Knowing God - J.I. Packer

Big Foot is Blurry

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about Big Foot and possible new sightings. The late Mitch Hedberg also had a theory on Bigfoot, which I think makes perfect sense. :)

"I think Bigfoot is blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographer's fault. Bigfoot is blurry, and that's extra scary to me. There's a large out of focus monster roaming the countryside. Look out, he's fuzzy! Let's get out of here!"

All this time, Mitch had the answer...who knew? :)

Olympic Fever

So, I officially have Olympic fever! From the opening ceremony, which was absolutely amazing, to swimming, volleyball, basketball, and gymnastics. You name it, I've seen it (or part of it)--even fencing and water polo. Ok, so I haven't watched everything, but I've at least listened to a lot of it while doing other things. But you have to admit that there's something about the sense of patriotic pride you feel when the US takes another gold or breaks another world medal.

See, Phelps is excited. You should be, too.

The best moments of the Olympics so far (although everything has been amazing) were definitely the drums during the opening ceremony (one day that will be me...well probably not, but it would be fun) and the men's 4x100m swimming. Phelps is always fun to watch, but the relay was by far the greatest. I love team sports anyway, but the comeback at the end of the race mixed with Phelps in slow motion jumping up and down and acting a fool was the BEST! I screamed, I held my breath, I laughed hysterically. Sooo much fun.

So to sum things up, represent and watch! (It's good for your health) :)

International Hostess Cupcake Day

Ok, so there's really no such thing as Hostess Cupcake Day...yet. But I think there should be. If, however, there were such a day, it should definitely be today.

As you know, it's officially the one and only time the date will be 08/08/08. What does this have to do with cupcakes, you may ask. Good question. Well, yesterday we had an office discussion on what we should do to commemorate 08/08/08, which led to such ideas as eating 8 of everything or only eating foods that looked like (or could look like) an 8. We also all came to work today at 8:08 (oh, we're rebels-I know) :) While discussing foods and other things that might look like an 8, someone mentioned the hostess cupcake. This would be the perfect snack for today, seeing as there are actually 5 circle loops on the cupcake, which also looks like the 5 olympic rings. And since today is also the first day of the olympics, what better food would fit the occasion so perfectly?!

Therefore, we voted that today should furthermore be declared 'International Hostess Cupcake Day.' So today, feel free to eat as many as you want (or 8). Dress like one. Pretend you are one. The sky's the limit. :)

Below you'll find pics of people (young and old, human and not) who have been honoring the day long before they even knew it existed. Way to support the holiday! :)

Here's to Hostess Cupcakes, 08/08/08, and the Olympics! May your day be filled with calories, chocolate, over-indulgence, and competitive workouts--(what a combination) :) ......Now, that's living!

The AT Experience

So, Mari and I have officially begun training to go hiking on the Appalachain Trail in Georgia. We've been working VERY hard for the past week and a half and can already run 4 times as far as when we started, which is very encouraging. We're also going to run up and down the levees, since that's basically like climbing a steep mountain. (haha)

The actual mountain we'll be climbing is called Blood Mountain, to which I reply, "There better not be a good reason it's named that!" It's also near a place called Slaughter Gut, which doesn't really scream 'fun' to me, either. But now I have learned that it's name comes from the fact that a major battle occurred there, which makes me feel a little better. :)

So as a means of motivating ourselves to train, Mari and I are going to keep up with our progress here - we're bringing out the big guns when it comes to accountability. So enjoy (even though we're probably not) :) We'll make sure to try to post some pics that show our progress without making us look too much like we're dying, which is probably how we'll feel. Just kidding. No, really I'm not. :)

So, until the next update, here's to the AT Experience!

Fighting Strongholds

Last Sunday our pastor preached on learning to fight strongholds. It was both convicting and motivating. As I've been challenged and reminded lately to live life to it's fullest, I realize that fighting the strongholds in your life is part of the process. I'll hit some of the high points of the message, although you should really listen to the entire thing if possible.

First, it's important to realize that the life of being a Christian is war--it involves fighting. I know this is not what we're traditionally taught growing up, but it's true. We're called to be continually fighting our strongholds, or the areas in our lives with which we are always struggling. Everyone has them, and they're different for each person. (Just like belly buttons) :) The danger, however, comes when you are unable to identify these areas, because that means you are definitely not fighting them. And if you're not fighting the enemy, that means he is living among you. The official definition of a stronghold is 'a place that has been fortified against attack,' which means these are the places in your life that when YOU go to attack them, they offer strong and often successful resistance. That is not to say that they cannot be defeated--only that it will be a hard and continuous battle.

There are many possible reasons or causes for strongholds, but most often it has to do with us and our desire to fulfill and satisfy our cravings, whether it's for work, food, drugs, whatever. It is possible for us to unintentionally create an environment that is favorable to strongholds. 1 Peter 5:8-9 warns us to be watchful, because "your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." He has lots of options to pick from, seeing as everyone has a stronghold. But Satan is not looking for just anyone. He's looking for those who are ripe-those he can devour. When we don't fight for ourselves and resist strongholds, we are making ourselves ripe and ready to be devoured.

The best way to start fighting a stronghold is to identify it, which shouldn't be hard since it will be something that is a continual struggle. Also, realize that whatever you make yourself available to will be what rules you. For example, the mind. If you make yourself available to your thoughts, ideas, fantasies, etc., they will start to take over. Also, you must make sure you are thinking accurately about your life. Are you a workaholic? Is that your stronghold? If so, remind yourself that your email is not as important as your soul. We let things take over because they are what we want, but they are definitely not what we need. Lastly, make sure you're prepared to fight each day. Pray on the armor of God each morning, realizing that Satan started the day ready to fight. And if he's ready and you're not, the probability of you losing is much higher.

It's both powerful and discouraging to know that this is what is happening on a daily basis, but it's better to be aware and ready to fight than allow Satan to hinder you from experiencing God's glory or discourage you by using the strongholds in your life. It's pretty powerful stuff, and there is so much more that I'm not going to take the time to write about here. Actually, these are only notes from the last part of the 3-part series. Check out the entire sermon or series on the website when you have time. It's definitely one of the first steps in winning the battle. After all, the first step is admitting you have a problem. :) :)

(http://www.lakeviewchristiancenter.com/messages/) -Both the notes and sermon are provided, so you should be good to go. Enjoy!