When God closes the doors AND windows, He opens the rooftop. I just hope it's not raining.

I think that's the longest title of all time.

I heard back from the job I REALLY wanted and it's gone. As in they aren't hiring anyone for budget reasons. That's the 2nd job I interviewed for to dissappear in that way in a week. So sad. Today has been kind of a bummer b/c of that. I must say, I am struggling to remain optimistic and full of faith. Back to square one. I even felt good about that one! If anyone has words of encouragement to share, now would be a good time.

10 Year College Reunion

Last Saturday was my 10 year college reunion. It all seems a little surreal. I don't feel old enough to have been out of college for 10 years. Anyway, I dragged poor Heidi to the event. She was pretty bored, I think, but survived okay. I had a great time. There is something about being around people that know you well. I also enjoyed showing off my beautiful wife.

The last 10 years have been great. I wonder what the next ten years hold.

Ugh

I needed a break from working on my application for Mission: Moving Mountains. It's so long!! I don't even know what me views on Eschatology are. Frankly I think there are better uses of my time that worrying about that. :) Clearly, I cannot write that. Guess I'll have to make something up. Just kidding!!

Ok....back to work.

What?!

This morning I stepped outside to see what the weather was like only to find a man taking a little "shower" in the water spicket in the side of the house.

word verification

sorry do this to you guys, but we added this in order to to nix the random computer-generated comments. so i you leave a comment, please type in the word verification. it's easy. that way we'll know you're a human and not a computer! thanks! we love your comments!!

Jobs

Tim and I are both waiting to hear back from jobs that we are really interested in. We really want these jobs, so please keep us in your prayers. We are still applying various places and I have another interview coming up, but our hearts are set on 2 jobs in particular. The end of October (aka the end of paychecks) will come soon and we are eager for the Lord's provision. While we are enjoying the time together, being able to volunteer and see family, it's hard to be in such a restricted state of limbo.

It's official

The photos that Amanda took on Saturday turned out great! (You can see her in the background on the pic I posted) I strongly recommend to all you wives out there to put on your wedding dresses again, if you haven't already done so. Great fun!

The Wonderful World of Aldi

Aldi, a discount grocery store that is sweeping the nation has recently moved into S. Mpls. It is a cultural experience to go there - always full of surprises, but we love it. I now buy most of our food there. You never know what to expect and you need to be prepared with your quarter (to rent a cart) and they only take cash. Produce is usually a little sketchy, but it's the best deal in town for ground turkey and tortillas. Sadly, since they don't carry black beans I am still forced to visit other food suppliers.

Last week and on our way out we noticed the an asian women who had been in line in front of us leaving on her bike. Not an unusual occurrence to see folks biking their groceries home, since we do, after all, live in liberal, environment friendly South Mpls. However, her husband was operating the bike, a small bike at that, the groceries were hanging precariously on both handle bars and she was indeed sitting "side-saddle" on the bar between the seat and handle bars. Her husband was carefully pedaling his oversized load home on the sidewalk. Swerving a bit I might add. I tell you what, living in the city, you just never know what to expect. We felt like we were in Thailand again!! It was crazy. You gotta love Aldi! (They even have .25 cherry pies...yum, yum, yum)

We took some outdoor wedding pictures today! It was really fun. And this way Amanda can start her wedding portfolio!! 

bike adventures with Angela

Today Angela and I went on another exciting bike adventure. We always have fun on our adventures, but this was especially fun. We looped around on the greenway and ended up near downtown right next to my old office! Turns out that her friend now works with Matt so we dropped by to visit. Matt was there and it was great to see the old office again - not too much has changed. Almost three great years there. Ah, the memories....

it suits you, but not me

i wore the new suit my mom bought me even though it's certainly not my style. i will just never be comfortable in a suit. thanks for the insight though, Am. you're always the voice of reason. first interview went well, but short. next one tomorrow and then i have another next Monday. groovey. still waiting to hear from Teen Challenge.

what to wear?!

I (Heidi) have two interviews this week - yay! One with Bethel (again) for a part time job that I am really excited about and one with a Technology firm that Mike G. hooked me up with. Thanks Mike! Obviously, that position is for a receptionist, not a techy. Can you imagine?! Not exactly a career move, but hey, an interview is always a start. And I should hear back from MN Teen Challenge at the end of the week as well.

Interviews

Both of our interviews went really well and we are excited about the prospects! My interview was at MN Teen Challenge and his was at the National Marrow Donor Program. This is a good, but challenging time for us. Job searching is always a little stressful, especially when it seems to drag on. Tim is in better spirits than I have been lately, so I would appreciate any prayers you can spare!! Satan knocks at the door with a spirit of discouragement, but I am trying to stay firm. Blessings to you all.

A Batman Moment

A couple weeks ago I (Tim) was running along the Midtown Greenway, as I often do, and I had a Batman moment. I think that many people have these, but call them something else. My sister, Sally, calls it a "Mama bear" moment. Anyway, as I was running I saw a man cruising the Greenway who I have seen several times before. He was in a motorized wheelchair and I believe he has cerebral palsy. Most likely he has a fine mind stuck in an uncooperative body. He struck me as being very vulnerable to anyone that wanted to take advantage of him. In the moment of that realization, I felt like Batman. I decided that while I am near him on the Greenway, nobody was going to mess with him. I would be his unknown protector. Of course, I could not just follow him around forever, so I had to let him go when I reached the street that would take me home. I took a final look up and down the Greenway to make sure that nobody suspisious was lurking about and headed home.

Have any of you had a moment like that? Let me know what you think.

Also, the movie, Batman Begins, is excellent. If you have not seen it, you should check it out. Leave the kids at home, though.

jobs, jobs, and no jobs

Tim has a second and I have a first interview on Tuesday. We both are really interested in these jobs! Please pray that God would continue to write His story through our lives.

crash!

i was in a car accident tonight. (before i start, let me say that it was not my fault. all the witnesses, and cops, said the same thing.) i think that makes like 10 bad "car incidences" in the last 2 years. well...not exactly 10, but there have sure been a lot. the worst part is that the driver of the car that hit me (as he ran a red light, mind you) drove off. i was a victim of a hit and run. amanda can relate to that. excuse my language, but it sucks!!!!!!!!!!!! big time.

i am doing ok though. this accident doesn't change what God has done in my body in the past 2 years since the other, more physically affecting car accident.

i will say that i felt very taken care of by the uptown community who witnessed this act. two different people came over to me with the car make and license plate and Mike, a helpful, if alternative fellow (who looked just like Gus) said that i should, and i quote: "get 'em and make 'em pay!! that just ain't right" it was nice that the folks at Rudolfs on Lyndale and Franklin cared enough to watch my back after this brutal attack....i mean car accident. :)

on a lighter side, what is with my car??!!?!?! seriously, if i didn't know the Lord i would think that my sweet little Honda was cursed! but i know it's not. so, with that, anyone want to buy a lovely, if slightly scraped-up Honda???????? it runs great!

oh, and the damage to my car was minimal. i was able to slam on the brakes before the imbecil hit me. it could have been worse.

We want your thoughts

It is the 60th anniversary this month of the United States dropping the Atomic bomb on Japan. Heidi and I were discussing what people thought of this and we want your opinion. Please leave comments and tell us. We will tell your our opinions if you ask, but we want to know what people think.

One of the reasons we bring this up is that last week I watched two excellent films on World War 2. Each movie was about Allied soldiers in Japanese POW camps. Both films I recommend, but neither should be viewed by children. These movies deal with true but terrible times and do not gloss over the events.

The Great Raid is currently in theaters and deals with the survivors of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. It is a patriotic, flag waving, true story of a raid by American soldiers to free 511 POWs held by the Japanese. The movie does give its due props to the Philipino guerillas who aided the Americans.

The second film, To End All Wars, is a low budget film that had a short theatrical run in 2001 and went to DVD. While also a true story, it is different from the other film in that the main character, (who wrote the book it is based on) came at it from a Christian point of view. The story is of him and his fellow POWs coming to grips with forgiving their brutal captors. Hollywood had to get its hands on it and dumb down the Christian message, but it still shows clearly that the teachings of Christ were the turning point for those men. The end of the movie shows the soldier clutching a Bible and talking about how his life was transformed through that experience. It is a powerful film.

We look forward to hearing from you.

leaving comments

We fixed our blog site so that you no longer have to register in order to make comments. Maybe that explains the sudden surge of blogs. Sorry about that! So comment away!

In case you forgot what we look like!

State Fair Time!!

We are going to the State Fair this Thursday if anyone wants to come with us!! It's a MN tradition - here comes the food on a stick!