Introducing...

Well, I wouldn't be silly enough to actually name my new guitar...yet. Any suggestions?

Finally, after saving tips and the last couple of checks from my part time barista position, I purchased a new, much-needed, guitar. I have had my old Yamaha since I started playing about 12 years ago, and while I knew it was time to move up a notch or two on the quality scale, I didn't realize how much it needed a replacement. So I am very happy and my friends will be happy to know that I have rediscovered some of the joy in playing and am learning a few new things.

Mount St Helens, May 18, 1980

When I was 8, it seemed that the entire year was filled with news from Mount St Helens. All spring we heard that the mountain was going to erupt, that there were rumblings and shakings and that the beast was awakening. And on Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, it woke with a vengance. Even 150 miles to the north we felt the eruption...our first thought was that it was a larger than normal sonic boom from the local Boeing plant. But my dad flipped on his police scanner and it was announced on the air.

Below is a shot of the mountain the day before the eruption, and a view from the same location, weeks later. The two things I remember most were the man (Harry Truman) who wouldn't leave his home on the mountain that he shared with his precious kitties, and that I was pretty disappointed that the ash headed every direction but north. And I thought ash would be cool. In hindsight, we were spared a lot of damage and work.





There is a creation museum by the mountain that is operated by my childhood pastor and his lovely wife, Lloyd and Doris Anderson. Check out their 7 Wonders website for some great resources on creation, geology and how what happened at Mount St Helens in a very short period of time blows some evolutionary theories out of the water.

And here is an amazing video of the eruption.

On the Air!

We are on the air locally in Minot!

A lightbulb has just gone on in my head regarding the spiritual attacks of last week!

Praise the Lord!

Sigh...

See above for this week's update...

However...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And, I suppose if I really believe the previous post, then I have some repenting to do...

Quote of the Day: Charles Spurgeon

The Bible's Supreme Place

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalm 119:165)
Yes, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us. Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the Lord, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as nothing else can.
The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and sheds abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul.
Nothing is a stumbling block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly. He takes up his daily cross, and it becomes a delight. For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it. He is neither stumbled by prosperity -- as so many are -- nor crushed by adversity -- as others have been -- for he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life.
When his Lord puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes others cry, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" the believer accepts it without question; for his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the Lord, which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows. Lord, work in us this love, this peace, this rest, this day.

Thoughts on 1 Peter 3:3-4

Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

I have always taken this passage to say that our outward appearance should not be our only source of beauty, but rather that Christ in us should be what makes us attractive and appealing. That being said, I am not anti-makeup, etc. I am not at my usual gorgeousness first thing in the morning!

However, I do know godly women who wear no makeup, always wear skirts, and don't let their hair down, all as part of their being "set apart" for the Lord.

The sad reality is that the church looks so much like the world in so many ways, that I do understand the desire to have some outward physical show of the inward sanctification. The flip side is, as Hudson Taylor discovered in China, it can be very difficult to minister to unbelievers if they are distracted by our differences, so why not dress as the general public does (within modest reason, of course).

I am curious to hear what you all think. I know I have a lot of "lurkers" because you send me private emails. Jump in with your comments!

Thoughts on 1 Peter 2:11

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul... 1 Peter 2:11

War: it causes death, scars, injuries, and shows us things that we were never created to see. I picture Peter taking his beloved friends by the shoulders and saying, "Friend, please, stop letting sin rule your life! You are causing immeausurable damage! I beg you!"
We are responsible to tell those we love when they are going against the Word of God. The flip side of that is that they are also responsible to tell us when we are walking in sin!

Another Forehead Slap

Note to self: When singing Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive in the office, complete with microphone, make sure that all the guys have actually gone home for the day. Otherwise your girlfriends with whom you are being silly will have a hard time letting you forget it. Gee, I can't wait for that to come up in the morning meeting.
New office rule: No Disco!

I'm With the Band

Okay...

this is me...

see how cool and

calm I look...

with the lead singer of Audio Adrenaline (Mark), my friend Katie, and Marlon the merchandiser (I have no idea what he is doing...he looks like he's never seen a camera before).

A couple of weeks ago, MercyMe and Audio Adrenaline were here in Minot in concert. Katie and I were the fastest to volunteer for the job of being "runners" for the band. We had no idea what that meant, but it sounded fun and ended up looking like this.

1. Arrive at 8am to sit, wait, and watch the truck drivers and day laborers unload the trucks.

2. Meet the tour manager, and get given the first task of the day. To run to the hardware store for rope. Yawn. But it's okay...I'm helping the band with lighting.

3. Run to the store for soap. Apparently the venue forgot to provide that for the bands...ick!

4. Call 4 laundromats in town to find out that no one does really quick turnaround for laundry in this place. Don't they know that the band needs clean clothes?! Call a friend who is now responsible for doing MercyMe's laundry. Poor Annie.

5. Oh, now for the time to impress the tour manager. Call FedEx to arrange a pickup at my office. Don't mention that the reason I am going there is to drop off 3 loads of dirty band underwear. By the way, if any of that shows up on ebay...I disavow any prior knowledge.

6. Eat the catered lunch (a really yummy chicken sandwich and salad). Very reservedly and with much cool read a magazine while surreptitiously watching the guys in the band. Realize that I would make a lousy groupie...as a few of the guys in the band are the same ones that I was earlier chatting with in the tour manager's office. Duh. First forehead slap of the day.

7. Quickly eat my lunch so I can run to the pharmacy to refill one of the guys prescriptions.

8. Drop the MercyMe guys (yes, really) off at the movie theater. A side note: Bart Millard (lead singer) was mocking me for carrying a phone book in my purse...normally, it's in my car, but remember that I had been calling laundromats earlier...so I told him to "shut up". But in a really nice way...so that the rest of the guys in the car laughed and said I was their favorite runner ever. Oh, yes, that's me! There's another forehead slap.

9. Katie and I take both cars to the mall to pick up the MM guys and realize that the tour manager has forgotten to have one of us pick up Aaron Schust (the opener) at the airport. Katie saves the day and runs to the airport with a couple of MM guys. I, very importantly, must get Bart (who is speaking to me again) back for his sound check with the guitar player.

10. Pick up the now clean laundry for the band. Do much grovelling in thanks to Annie.

11. Take the AudioA guys to Starbucks. I cannot even tell you how cool I am just for being able to do this. Sing Aretha Franklin songs on the way back to the venue. Tell them how when we were leaving Omaha in the UHaul their "Goodbye" song was on the radio and made me cry. Sing more R-E-S-P-E-C-T until I hit a big pothole and just about make the bass player spill hot coffee all over my upholstery.

12. Katie and I go to the local Wal-Mart to get snacks and supplies for the tour buses. For $29.95 I'll tell you what each band likes to eat. Okay, I am kidding...I won't ever tell!

13. Oh, and then there was a concert. Which rocked. And I got a little teary during the "Goodbye" song. But I must confess that what I really liked was being able to walk right past security. Because I'm with the band.

Momentary Panic

We had a fantastic thunderstorm last night, and ND really does need the moisture, but one of the drawbacks was the power outage this morning. That really didn't bother me...as it was a good excuse to light all the candles. What did cause me the momentary panic was the remembrance that I now work on the 8th floor of our building...with no power to the elevators.

Phew...the electric company came through at 7:10am. I'm saved!