Quick Update

Kyle has had another one of those weeks. He preached Sunday night, had a test Monday night, and has a paper due this week, on top of his normal classes, teaching at church, and spending time with little ole me. He is so diligent.

Rebecca is flying in this Friday to spend the weekend with me. So exciting! I have a few ideas for things to do in DFW...we'll see which ones she's most interested in. Of course, it will include some good food at some of the great DFW restaurants. I want to check out the Pit BBQ up on Jacksborough HWY because it was voted to have the best ribs in Ft. Worth. Yum! There's also the Montgomery Street Cafe which is supposed to have wonderful chicken fried steak. I'm getting hungrier just thinking about it. We aren't going to just eat the entire time she's in so I'm thinking about other things like attending a local showing of Sleepy Hollow (very Halloweenish), going to the Farmer's Market (yay for fall!), and shopping is always an option as long as I spend very little money. There are tons of great places to shop and eat in DFW. It would be fun to ride the train into Dallas just because I've never done that before. I've been on the bus in Ft. Worth when I had jury duty but not the train. Oh the options. Then there's the good ole Botanic Gardens and such.

Mom and Dad are flying in for Thanksgiving so I'll have to start thinking of the Thanksgiving meal soon (it's almost November...holy cow!) and things for us to do.

Class is picking up for me as well. I have a group presentation in a few weeks that is supposed to last the entire class period on how to teach and work with youth. I also have to make a Teacher Training Manual with 10 one hour sessions. I really should get cracking on that manual.

Rylie is doing well. She's pretty crazy sometimes but she has a sweet disposition. Kyle is feeling better after his episode a bit ago. I'm getting antsy wanting to paint the kitchen hardware, the mailbox outside, the bench I need to finish. I also need to finish my final set of curtains and take the recycling somewhere that has piled sky high in my garage (no recycling in our town).

The youth are doing well. Kelsey spent the night last weekend and we took a few youth to a football game on Friday. I'm really enjoying teaching my Sunday School class and love the youth in there. They are all so different. I need to pray about being a better teacher to them, especially in light of the lesson today on all the different intelligences, learning modes, and styles that people have. So much to take into consideration!

Well, I think that's plenty of rambling for now. Oh...by the way...pray about the election and go vote. I already have so I don't have to wait in line!

Thanksgiving Video Montage

A little video montage from Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SUCCESS!

Yep, my first Thanksgiving was a success. The turkey tasted wonderful (thanks for the tip, Melba). Nothing caught on fire. No one got sick. And the Cowboys won. Not too bad. Mom and Kyle were great helps on Thanksgiving, Kyle chopping and cutting and Mom making the green beans and corn. I was very thankful to get to spend time with my family. Dad busted out his shorts for the trip. They were appropriate the first few days he was here and then a cold front swept in and made him rethink his vacation attire, especially when we were out in Dallas walking around on the Grassy Knoll. I showed my skill in Guitar Hero (okay, so I only have skill compared to Mom who just hits random buttons and giggles when she tries to play). We took a trip to Ripley's, the Wax Museum, the Maze of Mirrors, and the Grassy Knoll. The Grassy Knoll was overrun with conspiracy theorist, not that all of what they say is false...but there were several there ready to sell something or to give you their spin on the assassination of JFK. Bub requested we go there and I think he enjoyed it. My favorite part might have been the Maze of Mirrors. Mom kept getting lost. The rest of us had already made it through a time or two and Mom was still in there wondering around so we had to go rescue her. Good times.

The fun is over though. It's back to the old grind stone (is that the correct expression?...for some reason now I can't remember). On Thursday Kyle and I are going to see a production of the Messiah put on by Southwestern and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. I'm excited about that. It should be a nice evening. When we went to the event at Bass Hall, it was so relaxing just to sit back and take in the wonderful sounds.

And a quick side note, the Everman Bulldogs have made it through the first two rounds of the play-offs. I'm not used to rooting for a high school football team that actually wins (OC had trouble in my day). It's a nice change.

Thanksgiving and Chapel

This next week and half are going to be extremely busy for Kyle and me so we probably won't be posting much (particularly Kyle-3 jobs and school) until Thanksgiving Break. I know we have few to no readers right now but for those friends and family who might stop in once we get the word out....check back in periodically and know that we're still alive and kicking even if we don't post.

On a side note, Mom, Dad, and Bub are coming for Thanksgiving Break. They'll get to see the parsonage and hopefully have a good tour of Ft. Worth. It will be my first time heading up Thanksgiving so we'll see how this goes. Tips for a successful Thanksgiving dinner are welcome.

Chapel today was a little too formal for my tastes (the whole processional thing and loud organ) but the spirit and message was good. Dr. Priessler was installed in the new Eklund Chair of Stewardship. Dr. Patterson spoke on the sin of Achan when he stole from God in Joshua 7, the herem (or however the Hebrew word is spelled), how our sense of gratitude toward God should inspire us, at the bare minimum, to give our ten percent back to God, and how tithing is a moral law and not a ceremonial law. All good points but if he wanted to point out the New Testament basis for tithing, he failed to mention Jesus' upholding of tithing in Luke 11:42 where he said, "...and these you ought to have done..." He didn't say he was seeking to point out the NT basis for tithing but that seems to hold the greatest weight for me in the "under the grace, not under the law" debate on OT laws. Chapel was also a reminder of how we are to honor our brothers and sisters in Christ without taking the focus off of the one to whom it is rightfully due. It reinforced some of the things I learned this summer in Equipping Believers to Serve. We should take the time to honor those who are faithfully serving God in any capacity. Good note for us to remember as we work with the youth.

A final note and disclaimer: please ignore typos in my posts. I'm not perfect and neither is my typing.