It's Heeeeeere!

It's a little scary.

I definitely need a DSLR for Dummies book.

Anyone use one of these bad boys and have any words of wisdom?

Advent Season

I don't ever remember celebrating Advent when I was growing up. I think we did in a round about way, but we never called it advent. A few years ago I read this great book called Girl Meets God. The author converted to Christianity from Judaism, and her observations on the Advent season are quite delightful:

"It is Advent, the weeks before Christmas, which means we are waiting for Jesus. It is the season of expectation, of being primed and pumped, the season during which you are supposed to cultivate longing for Him, the type of longing you feel when you beloved has been out of town for three weeks but you know he is coming home tonight." (p. 34)

In the years to follow my understanding and insight into the Advent season has increased. Last year the Lord really spoke to me that our lives should be kept in a constant state of advent, because by doing so we acknowledge every day that He's going to do what he said He's going to do: come back! This year I already realize that I'm being given a tangible way to experience advent.

My family is coming for Christmas. This is a really big deal in many ways, not the least of which is that this is the first time any family will have come to stay with Dusty and me as a married couple. I have literally been putting thought and planning into this for a few months because I'm just so excited. And today I really feel like the Lord spoke to me and said that this year for Advent he's giving me a physical, experiential way to celebrate. Because any preparation or expectation that occurs in me as I'm awaiting the arrival of my family can directly correlate to the preparation and expectation that our lives take on as we wait to celebrate Christmas, and ultimately as we wait to meet Jesus face to face.

A Dream Two Years In The Making...

...finally came true today:

To be more precise this dream comes true on Monday after work. Which, in turn, will give me something to look forward to as I drudge through my workday.

Oh Nikon D3000... I can't wait to learn how to use you.

Love This

I periodically blog about how much I love Boston Big Picture. Well, here's more reason why!

The Band's Visit

Last night whilst I was home all alone I watched a movie called The Band's Visit. It was super good and here is my favorite scene. I'm going to set it up for you because on this clip there are no subtitles.

Khaled is the man in the blue uniform, and is part of an Egyptian police band that gets stuck in a small Israeli town. There is no hotel so some of the locals take them in. Khaled ends up going out on the town with Papi, the guy in the white, somewhat imposing on a double date.

What we don't see in this clip is that both Khaled and Papi are terrible roller skaters. The girl that is Papi's date (the one in this scene) tries to get him to come out into the middle with her, but he ends up pushing her down and telling her to leave him alone.

Hence, the girl starts crying. The dancing couple the Papi talks to at the beginning of this clip is of no help, but Khaled is quite a ladies man and guides Papi in how to make her feel better.

This is like an Israeli Napolean Dynamite, I'm not even kidding. Just watch, and trust me, subtitles are not needed. The whole movie was two thumbs up and you can instantly stream it from Netflix.

Enjoy!

Real? Hoax? You Decide

Dusty just showed me this video:



I thought it was a joke, perhaps a funny video made for a sermon or something. But then I noticed the website. Click here.

You can pre-order it starting tomorrow! Coming Easter 2010!

So what do you think? Real? Clever sermon illustration?

Catching Up

Admittedly, I have not blogged in a long, long while. Maybe it was an unplanned hiatus. Probably.

Anyways, let's catch up shall we?

On November 2, the niece turned one year old! I cannot believe it's been a year. Here's a picture of the ummm... happy little party animal during cake time:

Is happy the right word?

What else, what else? Ah! As of this week I am no-longer-a-temp-officially-employed at a company that shall remain nameless. I work in Collections and it's a grind. I'm thankful for the job and the extra money is great, but nevertheless... it's a grind.

Is it too soon to decorate for Christmas? Quick poll around our house, I say kind of and Dusty says definitely.

This video is funny:



My friend Devon is going to have a baby soon, I mean really, really soon and a few weeks ago I took some pictures of her and her husband Josh. Here is one of my favorites:

If you are friends with her on facebook you should go look at the whole album. I'm pretty proud of my work. :)

Here are some books I've read recently:

• River Town by Peter Hessler: This book is great if you love China, love the Peace Corp, and especially if you love both
• Unbroken by Tracy Elliot: This book was pretty good; very interesting look at someone who came from nothing and now has something. I didn't love it though.
• Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan: I've heard the movie is trash, but the book was ok. It's definitely childish, but then towards the end it takes this really dark turn and now I want to know what happens. Special thanks to April for suggesting this series.
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: (Currently Reading) Again, this is not an "adult read" or anything, but it's pretty cute so far.
  

Here is some music I am digging right now:

• Is God Listening by Vineyard Music: this is a great little worship album and two songs (Cloud by Day and Flood) were written by the pastor at our beloved church back in Campbellsville. You can get it on iTunes
• Noble Beast by Andrew Bird: My friend Adam T told me about this one, I think. Anyways, I've become increasingly fond of this album for the past month or so. It's so diverse and lyrically sound.
  
• Consumed by Jesus Culture: Heaven touches Earth anytime this album is played in my car or in my house. That's a great feeling.

I think I'm done catching up now. Next post: youth retreat recap!