Morning, v.3

For some reason, I am aching to return to this place today. Maybe in a few years we'll find ourselves moving to the West Coast? ;) For now, though, I am wildly happy with our new dwelling place in Chicago. (Our kitchen has skylights and appliances from this century!) We spent the weekend unpacking and cleaning, inviting friends over to cheer the once-stale rooms with their company. Though we aren't settled in yet, this place is beginning to feel like home!

Today

Today, I am thankful for friends. Friends who showed up on a cold Saturday morning to load our boxes into a van. Friends who carried furniture up three flights of icy stairs, cracking jokes along the way. Friends who oooohed and ahhhhed over our new place, making us all the more excited to live there.

Until March 1, our new place is only inhabited by the aforementioned boxes and dismantled furniture, and we are camping out inside our now-empty first home together. If camping involves a mattress on the floor, take-out, and watching Doctor Who together (it does), then I'm perfectly content.

Change is comin'

If you stepped into our apartment right now, you would probably feel a little dizzied by the bare walls, dismantled furniture, and boxes, boxes, everywhere. In eight days, our first home together will be left behind for a new one. Isn't that exciting?

Snow Day

It snowed in coastal North Carolina today!

The afternoon has been quiet and restful.  Naps, laundry, eating leftovers, packing, and intense Wii playing.

My sisters built this cute snowman named Fritz.  His eyes are now oozing green dye, but I snapped a photo before he started deteriorating.

My family had planned to spend this evening with my fiance and his family, but the icy roads have eliminated that possibility.  Tonight we are eating [awesome] leftovers and watching TV instead.   "Ruined" plans are disappointing, but a quiet evening is a welcome end to a busy week.

This week has flown past, and I return to Chicago tomorrow!  This has been a blessed time with family, and I will miss them very much.

Tea and Travel

This is my last day in North Carolina!  I can hardly believe that my plane leaves tomorrow morning.  I am certainly excited to return to Chicago (and see my fiance again!), but it is always difficult to leave family behind.  To dull the conflicting emotions, I decided to indulge in a Southern "delicacy" at lunch today.

I used to complain that Bojangles was majorly overrated in the South, but there's something strangely satisfying about those over-salted fries, breaded chicken strips, thick honey mustard, and sickly-sweet tea.  Yay for diabetes and obesity.

I have essentially finished packing my bags.  They are extremely heavy (sorry, Josh), but I intend to weigh them tonight to avoid embarrassment and inconvenience at the check-in counter.

I decided to listen to John Piper as I packed.  Listening to the exposition of Scripture caused me to realize just how starved I am for the Word of God.  This summer, my time on the Internet has taken me through countless episodes of Lost (five entire seasons, actually), hilarious re-runs of The Office, and pointlessly funny sites like FAIL Blog.  Entertainment is harmless, right?  I'm not so sure.

 

Evident in my life is a creeping degradation of the mind.  Reading material which requires me to think (or worse, to feel convicted) is avoided entirely, and I remain unchallenged and unchanged.  Through seeking continual, seemingly harmless entertainment, I have inadvertently exposed myself to sexual references and material which have seeped into my mind like a stubborn stain.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Philippians 4:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

My God deserves better.