new blog

so since i changed my name i figured its time to make a new blog. i'm leaving blogger and going to tumblr. dont ask me why, just need some change in my life (as if, getting married is not enough change in itself!) ha. so all of my fans need to go over there. trust me, you don't want to miss it;) my life is OH so interesting...so if you even care. thats where i'll be. love.

p.s. oh ya, here is the link:
http://hollyannastavness.tumblr.com/

p.p.s.
since being married and not having a ton of money, i want this for my swiffer!

the joys of a flat tire

this morning we had a flat tire. surprisingly, i wasn't upset at all. i actually loved it. bryce got right to it and changed it in no time. I helped with the lug nuts but it really only takes one person to change a tire and he is definitely the strongest one of the two of us. it was fun to have a small adventure. we are really on our own. we have to figure out how to get to work and school. we have to pay for the tire to be fixed. it is cool how we have transitioned to new roles. we aren't kids anymore, we are husband and wife and we are trying to figure out our new roles. bryce took care of everything. he changed it and took care of me. he missed his train but made sure i got to work first (only 5 minutes late!). he was the leader, he fulfilled his role this morning. it is amazing how our roles come out clearest in moments of urgency.
i only wished that i would always feel this sense of urgency with the "spiritual". once i got to work i had an email from my mom with a video about this new treaty that the President is supposed to sign in december to establish a "world-government", giving up our U.S. sovereignty. no matter your political view, we are in the last days. Hebrews 1:2 tells us that God spoke to us through His Son in "these last days". The "last days" started a long time ago, and Jesus spoke about them. they are now! this is urgent! souls are at stake. my co-workers are going to die. my role in the body of Christ must be evident NOW! because the last days are HERE! does katie in accounting see Jesus everyday when she talks to me? does Jeremiah see me as he walks by my desk?
but it is so easy to get distracted and wrapped up in life (or a flat tire). it is easy to plan ahead and think about bryce's 2 1/2 years in school, as though after that period of time, i'll have more time to "do ministry". no! there isn't time for 2 1/2 years! its now.

james 4:13 says "come now , you who say, today or tomorrow we will go

to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. you are just a vapor that appears for

a little while and then vanishes away."

ministry is sitting at my desk, doing a fantastic job at work, working with integrity, and talking to people as they pass by. ministry right now is reaching out to them and talking about the hard times, difficulties, joys, sorrows, humorous, and mundane parts of life. my role as a Christ Follower, as one of His disciples, must come out in this time of urgency. May the body of Christ being praying for one another that we would fulfill our roles as we minister to the lost and the dying at work, at school, or wherever else the Lord places us.

a whole lot to update blog

ok, so there are a ton of things going on in our lives right now. let me start off by saying that there are only 5 days left until the big day!!! i can't believe how it has snuck up on us! Let me recap for you a little:

So the past months have been really stressful. we were really feeling called to Fresno but I wasn't finding a job and we couldn't fin

d an apartment and we were wondering if bryce wasn't going to be able to go to PT school or not. there was a lot of crying and pleading with the Lord and worrying until bryce and i took time apart to really seek the Lord to ask Him to make it really clear to us what to do. He didn't give us any direction...all He said to us was "Trust Me" and "Wait". So a week or so later bryce and i still had no clue what to do. I told my mom that the Lord really was going to have to step in and drop a job in my lap because i had done EVERYTHING i could think of to find a job. the next day bryce called me telling me that a place that he worked at last year (in sacramento) was looking for a receptionist. i got an interview that weekend but was holding my breath because nothing was falling into place so far on this whole job issue. i sat down for the interview and the lady said to me, "this is not an interview, i'm just going to tell you what you are going to be doing for me." OH MY WORD....the Lord totally gave me that job. He wanted me to know that He is the provider, not me.

I can't tell you how much this is all falling into place. I start the monday that we get back from our honeymoon! We signed a lease on our apartment on friday! the Lord is just working everything. i am so blown away, and i wonder why...of course He was going to come through! ugh...i'm trying to trust...i have no reason not to, but it gets so hard sometimes.

So, these last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind. we have changed total direction. bryce is going to go to sac state and we are going to live in citrus heights. i am enjoying wedding planning so much more now that i know we have a place to live and a job that the Lord is going to provide everything for us through.

the yard looks amazing! i'm so excited for you all to come over for a wedding! bryce and i are so ready. we are busy this week with crazy last minute details....oh ya, my laptop hard drive was failing and the mac store said that they would retrieve my data for $1000.00. I thought i was going to bawl in front of the lady. praise the Lord that we have a friend who knows everything about computers!!!! he retrieved all of my info, including all of my photos, music, and wedding list!!! (this is why i haven't posted a blog in a long time) the Lord is just awesome and i stand amazed at Him!

here are a few pictures from som

e of the bridal showers. thank you everyone who has given bryce and i such amazing and generous gifts and showering your love on us. we don't deserve it and are overwhelmed by your love towards us!

my friends heather and brit

jill, me and my flower girl maggie (isn't she adorable!!!!!)

my amazing cake at a shower thrown by precious friends from my mom's biblestudy...i LOVE those ladies. they are so wise and i pray that our marriage is as God-honoring as theirs'.

my mother-in-love and my momma:) i am marrying into the greatest family!

51 days and counting

hello everyone....i don't have a lot to blog about but thought i should, cause i know you all are dying to know any new updates of wedding details and how companies are just itching to hire me.

the invitations are almost done. i'm going to finish the address labels tonight and stamp them all so be looking for yours in the mail:) here is a sneak peak of the driving directions...they are my FAVORITE!!

also, the backyard is looking pretty much ready for a wedding. bryce, my parents, and i finished putting in all the plants and hooking up the dripper system. if anyone needs a dripper system installed...you know who to call.

other than that, bryce and i got to go to a giants game last weekend. so much fun. we love sf! and then we went to mimi's for dinner (our favorite place because of the to die for muffins!) and the Lord provided all of the money to go, we only had to pay for gas. really awesome!

(here we are at the game)

other than that, we are just waiting for the Lord to provide a job. i took my cbest test the other day with my good friend heather mazza. it was a crazy day, those people there are scary...no wonder i had so many lame substitute teachers in high school.

ok i think that is it for now...see you soon!

we officially have grass!

hello party people!

so as you know, the whole back yard has been torn apart and the worker guys have been doing a lot of digging and raking and thats about all that it looked like they have been doing, but they must have been doing a lot more than that...because we have a lawn!

now we are trying to figure out how the layout is going to work.  some of you may be sitting on floaties in the pool.

oh and you see that circle of dirt in the cement??  yes folks, that is a fire pit!  who's ready for s'mores????

oh and ONE more thing...engagement pics are up on shannen's blog.  she is amazing and we are so happy with them!  

ok i'm done....bye!

jet lag is just about over!

so we have officially registered!  we are poor so send us gifts...just look at these adorable faces...you know you want to send us gifts!  crate and barrel thought that we were the best looking registered couple so they gave us this free gift.  it is a heart shaped glass candy bowl and we will be selling it on ebay with it autographed by us, so look out for it later on in the week.  

in other news...i found my dress!  yes at a place called Bianca's bridal...its ok to laugh.  i would not recommend anyone to go there to buy a dress because i bought the only one in the store without tons of beading, sequence, and tulle!  it is beautiful...i really can't believe that we found it there.  God basically found my dress and the lady gave it to us half off.  my mom basically bartered with her (mom bartered with no sweat because she had so much practice in Israel).

anyways, so check, check on the wedding dress and registering.  we have only 10,287 more checks to go:)  

oh and the backyard is looking fabulous...actually there isn't anything there except dirt and fresh poured cement...pictures to follow:)

jill's birthday

here is the video that i was teasing you with in yesterday's blog.  

going home!

we are in the airport right now...waiting to board our plane.  i am excited to be going home. being in another country really makes you appreciate your own.  i think i can speak for both jill and i, when i say that we are craving some bacon or even a little meat with cheese.  it was an unforgettable trip and we are so happy we got so many memories recorded!  it is awesome to read the Word and then be able to actually picture where the people were!

i'm ready to get back home to see everyone, especially bryce.  only 83 more days until the wedding.  holy cow, we've got to get rolling!  I will keep updating you on the back yard and how it looks...it looks totally destroyed right now cause the landscaper took everything out, but soon it will look BEAUTIFUL!:)

oh ya, jill and i learned to count to 20 in hebrew.  our tour guide, Avi (Short for Abraham or "Avram") brought his 10 year old daughter Ziv and she taught us.:)  she is a very good teacher.  

well, i guess that is all for now.  i can't wait to have mexican food....we realized that mexican is about as "un-kosher" as you can get cause everything has meat with cheese.  (you can tell that i love food)

i tried to upload a video of avi singing happy birthday to jill but youtube is down right now...so that is just a teaser for later:)!

boker tov! (good morning!)

yesterday we had a free day

here is a video:)

old city Jerusalem-day 7 or 8:)

(in the tunnels)

hello everyone!! ok so it is really expensive to use the hotel's internet but we went down in the lobby and picked up a signal from somewhere else...lucky you because now you get to see more adventures of the Strands in Israel, aren't you excited?!  Sababa as we say in Israel ("awesome!")!

yesterday we went to the holocaust museum, which was really depressing, so we weren't in the funny interviewing mode.  their memorial was incredibly long and they had a vast amount of information.  we went through more than 2 dozen rooms of clothing and stuff from the days of the holocaust.  we heard countless stories from survivors which were amazing!  the room that impacted us the most was a huge circular room filled with thousands of books, recording every person who died in the holocaust.  it was overwhelming. 

today we went to the mt. of olives and to the garden of gathsemene.  it was so amazing to read John 17 and actually be in the garden (or where they say it is:)) you could see how old the olive trees were...ah so amazing!  

(the western wall)

today we also went to the old city of Jerusalem.  it was amazing to see the western wall and see people praying there.  the city is unlike any other that i've seen and you will see some of it in the videos.  it was so cool to see part of the wall that was rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah.  we were able to go down in the tunnels underneath the city right next to the wall as well!  see you tomorrow! :)

(the coolest pic of the day, looking into the men's section from the women's section at the western wall. 

photo credit: jill strand)

day 5

helllllllloooooo!!!!  you are back for more video???  well we have a special treat for you!  today we went to Capernaum and the Mt. of Beatitudes today!!!  i know!!  It was awesome!  David spoke at the mt. of beatitudes and we went through a bunch of the sermon on the mount...wow our calling as Christ's disciples is a high one.  here is a video filled with hilarious, fun filled, exciting from your american tour guides Holly and Jill Strand (p.s. holly will soon be a stavness...in case you forgot!!!)  This is our last night in Tiberias and we will be leaving the beautiful sea of galilee to head to Jerusalem tomorrow, where we will spend the duration of our time.  i don't know what the internet access will be like there, so this may be the last one for a while...but if you are lucky, it won't be long till we are back on the blogosphere! :)  Talk to you soon.  Shalom.

day 4

today we went to Megiddo and Kay taught on Revelation.  it was awesome...the coolest thing about revelation is that we know Jesus is coming back one day, the King of Kings, ruling in His awesome power.  it was such a challenging day to look at how i live my life in light of that fact. most of the time i don't have the urgency that i should have to share the gospel with others.

(the four of us on top of a mountain in Megiddo)

day 2 video

this is a video of a fruit from the tree that they used the branches of to make Jesus' crown of thorns. our guide said that people ate them but i think they eat them when they are ripe:)

enjoy! more video action to come!

day 3

hey you all!  here is a video of the day...we started out at Mt. Carmel where God pretty much powned the prophets of Baal and then went to Cesarea by the Sea where Paul stood in front of Agrippa!  SO AWESOME!  enjoy!

(overlooking the valley from Mt. Carmel)

(the roman theater where Paul stood before King Agrippa)

day 2

hey everyone!  we are all so very tired.  we went to chorazin, one of the cities where Jesus preached and did mighty deeds and yet they rejected him.  in Matthew 11:21 Jesus says "Woe to you, Chorazin..." because they saw Jesus act and yet did not repent.  in Chorazin there was a ruin of an old temple.  it was pretty amazing.  (we have a guide from the country explaining each place that we go)  Kay taught a basic overview from Genesis through 2 Chronicles.:)  Then went on to overview pre-exilic, the exile, and post-exilic periods so that we understood a simple background of israel and the surrounding nations.:)  She did such a great job in such a short amount of time.  Then we went to Tel Dan where the evil king Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:27-33 builds 2 golden calves, one in Bethel and one in Dan.  He builds these so that the people would not go to Jerusalem to the house of the Lord to sacrifice because then the people would return to the Lord and Rehoboam and kill Jeroboam.  

Kay taught on sin and how the sin of Solomon carried on to Jeroboam.  She started with Solomon and when the Lord told him that He would tear away the kingdom from him and give it to his servant (1 Kings 11:9-13).  It was amazing to see the ruin of the altar in dan and read how the sin of a man led the people away from the Lord to build an altar to a false god.  it was a great reminder of how far sin will take you and how much we want to flee from it.  we were reminded why we read and study the word; we study to not be captured by the lies of the world and to know our savior more and more.  

we also stopped at Mt. Nebo, where Jesus told Peter that upon Himself, Christ would build the church.  this place we stopped at was sort of anti-climactic.  it is a big touristy spot and so they were selling ice cream at the bottom of the mountain...it was very disappointing.

then we went back to the Sea of Galilee and rode across it in a boat.  it was so neat to be on the Sea and think of all the time Jesus and His disciples spent on the Sea.  

oh, and the food is AMAZING!  i really could eat this food all the time.  they eat so healthy, there are no fat people at all, they walk everywhere, it is wonderful!  the whether is beautiful right now, although i do hear that it gets hotter.

first day!

shalom!  we are in our hotel right now along the Sea of Galilee!!  yes folks...the same sea shore that Jesus called James, John, Simon Peter and Andrew to be His disciples (i'm sure they were standing right where our pool is).

so our plane rides were ridiculously long and so i had to buy a bridal magazine:))))) but i left it on one of the planes...just like my mother...it's because bryce wasn't there to remind me if i had everything.

this picture is of us getting off of the plane landing in Israel...these are our tired faces.

and this is all of us at our hotel!! ok i have to go to dinner...weird cause we just woke up at 3pm and now we are eating dinner....more to come...we miss you lots!!!!

Here is our first video:)

israel

so i've read a lot about this place in the middle east thanks to my old testament professor dr. mooney and my new testament proferssor dr. mobley.  i hear it is hot and very sandy.  i am so excited to finally get to see the places i have studied.  i'll let you know if i see lots of people with "jesus sandals" on.  if there is anything else you want to know...just ask.  i'm sure that after 2 weeks there i will be an EXPERT!  (actually...you should just ask dr. mooney)  anyways, hopefully i'll have internet at the hotels.  sometimes we are supposed to and sometimes we won't.  

oh i almost forgot to tell you what i'm going to be reading on the plane!  since we have 1,362 hour plane ride i will be reading Before you say 'I do' (premarital book...ya super exciting!!!), Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman (thank you tim cahill for recommending it), and finishing up the book unchristian by David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyon (this one is pretty fantastic so far).

and jill and i will be practicing our hebrew on the plane as well.

shalom (we will see if we can master any other words...doubt it)

or as we say here in america....peace in the middle east.

graduation and kenton jacobsen

so you are reading from a graduate right now.  yes...i've arrived.  yesterday i graduated from california baptist university in riverside, ca.  i don't know when i will be going back there.  i will miss it though.  i will miss the people and my professors.  i will miss the caf (those of you who complain, you should just fast from the caf for a while and see if you still think the caf has no variety).  

here are a few pictures of graduation.  my family came down as well as Paulette (a friend from Biblestudy back home) and Bryce...of course.:)

also, about a week ago our good friend Kenton Jacobsen took a photo shoot of the roommates. he is wonderful.  you should hire him!  here is the proof...we are pretty fabulous looking if i do say so myself:)

i love this one of lauren, monica, and rissa with kenton

(photo credit: yes you guessed it...holly strand!  kenton you should hire me!)

here is one of kenton and me looking pretty fabulous

i'm finally done

i'm officially done with college. wow. i have my bachelors. wow. i am getting married. wow. i can't believe all of the things that the Lord is doing in my life and has done so far. wow. i am overwhelmed right now. 

i will miss this school and how the Lord has used it in my life.  i will miss all of the people the Lord has brought into my life to help encourage me and instruct me and train me and challenge me and correct me.  however, i know that i have been prepared.  let's keep pressing on...

and the job search begins

my resume is done!  i've called Christian schools in the Sacramento & Fresno area.  now all i have to do is send in my resume.  it is pretty impressive if i do say so myself.  you know you want to hire me!

6 & 103 days

helloooo!

i hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  mine was pretty spectacular!  if you don't know who shannen norman is....take a look at her blog.  She took our engagement pics this weekend.  She doesn't have our shots up yet...but take a look at her amazing pictures.  she is WONDERFUL!

it seems that the joke was on me on sunday.  everyone knew what was going on except me.  rissa and hillary and a bunch of my girlfriends at CBU threw a surprise shower for me.  i was SHOCKED!!!  The night before an old friend called (from long beach) wanting to go to church with us and of course i said yes.  bryce did all that he could to tell me that it probably wasn't a good weekend for him to come but i couldn't understand why...(note to self: listen to the advise of my future husband) so my friend, Jacob, came with us to church and then after church bryce and ethan took jacob to lunch with them.  Bryce and Ethan had originally planned to have a secret man date by themselves so i was annoyed when they let jacob go and not me:) haha

then rissa and i went to lunch where she suddenly got "ill" and so we went to the bathroom and she faked that she had diarrhea because hillary told her to stall...(no pun intended).

after 15 minutes of rissa on the pot we went to hillary's to get some medicine and where we found all my girlfriends there yelling surprise.  i still didn't get it at first...i was wondering, "why are they shouting surprise?" haha

here is the picture of me when they opened the door...haha (look at amy!)

it was so much fun.  i have the best friends ever down here at cbu.  i love you all.  you mean so much to me.  it was fun to look around the room and remember how i met each one of you and how the Lord has worked in us and grown our friendship!

oh and i'm graduating in 6 days! WOO! (you know you want to hire me:))))

oh and i'm getting married in 103 days! WOO WOOOOO!!!

bryce is coming...

to town!!!  he will be here soon and I'm SO excited.:)  we are taking engagement pics tomorrow. we are stoked.  had late night breakfast last night...SO fun!  hung out with some awesome people that i will miss a ton.  oh and we are having the wedding at my house (enter excitement/crying/screaming...etc)!!  hope everyone is having a good day.  oh and my grow a paparzzi is doing splendid.  he is about 4 inches tall.  (pictures to follow)

2 more days of school...

holy cannoli...2 more days of classes and then i have two finals to go and two papers to write and i'm officially done with my bachelors!

praise God for getting me through these 4 years...especially enduring mooney tests.  on to other tough things like finding a job, being poor, eating top ramen and buying cheap toilet paper...oh ya and being MARRIED!

so exciting and so ready for the Lord's discipline and instruction.

we have some exciting news...

hello friends!

bryce took me to san francisco saturday where we spent the day walking around the city and enjoying the wonderful weather.  then we went to coit tower where he made a picnic dinner and chocolate covered strawberries (my fav!).  then we went exploring a bit and then he proposed (enter screams here)!!!!!!  yes, folks, we are engaged!  i was totally shocked.  i didn't see it coming whatsoever.  I am so excited...we are so excited!  the Lord has blessed us so much.  we are already in the midst of planning even though i have to graduate still (9 more school days!) because we are getting married.....drum roll please.......

AUGUST 8TH!  4 months of dating 4 months engagement=perfect:)  we are ready for this new chapter and we know that we have lots to learn!  we are excited to see how the Lord is going to enlarge our faith (i still don't have a job...i'm looking to teach...so if you know of anyone needing a Bible teacher...) and grow us closer to Him as we abide in Him.  

our families are thrilled and it has been wonderful to enjoy this time with them.  

we are so thankful for everyone who has offered to help and most importantly...to pray! :)

we love you all!

i see a theme going on here...

I just saw this on John Piper's Blog...i had to post it! I've been studying through Galatians and Ephesians the past couple of weeks and what God keeps teaching me from His Word is that I am a sinner brought out of darkness, formerly walking in the desires of my flesh, and now have been brought forth into His marvelous light, strengthened with power through His Spirit who works within me! I was a beaten up, dirty, wasted rose that is now redeemed and made beautiful and holy because of the mercy of God sending His Son to die on the cross. amen.

15 days to grow a paparazzi

ok, so the title is a little confusing...so let me explain.  there are 15 school days left until i graduate!  wow...Lord where did the time go?  so tonight i decided to take 15 different sticky notes and stick them to my wall for a "count down"!  (this is what i do when my roommate leaves me to go home...sometimes it's a drag to be an extrovert) while I was putting them up, i started to see just how little time i have left.  most of the time we rush through life to get onto the next thing and then we find ourselves at the end wishing we had more time.  so everytime i look at my count down wall i will see just how fast time flies and to take every opportunity of the day to share the amazing work Christ has done in my life.  wow...15 days...God you can do a lot in that little time.  

the other part of the title...well my friend Hillary got me a present:)  it is a "grow a paparazzi".  if you remember, she got a "grow a boyfriend" from her mom and so she bought me a grow a paparazzi!  so exciting!  i'm going to let him grow soon.  i will update to show you his growth...don't you worry!

Christianity a fad?

the Lord has let me do a lot of fun things in the past week.  i flew out to Seattle to teach with Precept's Transform Youth Ministry.  it was a weekend addressing the issue of evil in the world and asking the tough questions about God and His goodness in the midst of suffering.  my group was awesome. i loved every minute of it and it was so much fun to see friends from tennessee. 

i was also privileged to speak in chapel during our "student chapel".  Cara Marsile and Tim Cahill both spoke as well...these two are awesome!  I got to share my passion for the Word and how the Lord has totally transformed me through the Word.  it is exciting to reflect on all that the Lord has taught me through all of the amazing things He has let me be apart of.  I shared a little about how Christianity has become a fad in the Christian College Community and how it has weakened our faith and what God has called us to.  i talked about a video that my friend Sam made at Focus on the Family during our time at our internship with Axis.  i wasn't able to show it in chapel because of the content (it is a video of short clips from the 2008 MTV VMAs) but i was able to explain it. Take a look at it.  Sam is a mac whiz, the video is excellent!  Is this true Christianity??  Doing one thing and then saying another...

me and my twin sister

ok, so she isn't my twin sister but we basically look exactly alike...AND we make a pretty good team.  let's just say that while i'm at school (although the Lord has blessed me with AMAZING friends) i miss my amazing family.  being raised by the same people makes a HUGE difference and there is just something great about sisters.  anyways, this is what we did last night...enjoy!

everything's amazing and nobody's happy...

this video has been going around.  the first time i saw it was a little over 3 weeks ago.  this guy really does have some great points!

twitter

i don't understand the point of twitter...

this is what the website says:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

i'm not trying to judge anyone...but the idea of twitter seems really self centered.

i have an idea...lets try communicating with others through living life together...being WITH each other.

i could be totally wrong...i just don't think its the most useful form of communication to know if you are using 2 ply toilet paper or counting the tiles in the ceiling...

thursday funnies take three

enjoy! :)

AF[H]V

so my friend hillary went to a live tapping of AFV (America's Funniest [home] Videos...i don't know why they don't include the 'H' for Home...weird) and it aired tonight.  ya...let's just say that the camera loved her.

i'm a bit jealous...i think we are going to try to go...bryce is not a fan but ethan is going to try to convince him to go...i'm sure he will give in.  

some secrets that hillary gave me about AFV:

1. it is freezing in the studio (no one likes sweaty faces...duh)

2. the host, tom bergeron is really funny in real life

3. you have to act ridiculously happy and as if you thought the guy hitting his head for the 20th time on the pole was funny, or they won't like you.

dark comedy + minnesota + no money = blog

i just realized that i do NOT like dark comedies...just for the record.

they confuse me more than anything.

i miss my FFI family and especially my minnesotan roommate that helped me improve my northern accent.  

i hate money and that we need it so much.  i should just walk to colorado to go see her...but i would STILL need money for food.

nevermind...i'll just show you a picture instead...ok a few pictures...

this is when buddy got sick and had to take shots of robbitussin

this is in class...this one still makes me laugh hysterically

this is when we dressed up for one of the first parties thrown at the Omega apartments at Focus...this is when we didn't know anyone

fun memories (haha...look at ash's face in the background)

stupidness

you know when you do something but forget about a certain detail that alters what you did into something that you didn't want to happen AND then you just feel stupid?  ya...just did that.

hell and penn

so i have been talking about blogs lately and i had lunch in the caf with my friend rachel the other day...and she says that she reads over 300 blogs or something crazy like that.  what??  wow. i don't even know what to say to that except....wow! :)  she is awesome.  you should go visit her blog.  

a couple things i've been thinking about lately:

hell.  i've been reading a lot about hell in dr. morgan's class (Christian Doctrine) and really trying to understand the concept of eternity separated from God and His just rule.  i get into this circular fairiswheel that i can't get off.  i start thinking about eternity and then i think of how it is going to be when we aren't living here on the earth anymore.  i won't have to worry about the silly things i worry about everyday.  eternity. wow. how do you even think about that? foreverness...what do you do forever?  what does forever look like?  it hurts my brain.  but then i think about eternity without God, suffering more than anything i can ever imagine. then i watched this video of Penn:

"how much does it take to hate somebody to not proselytize? how much does it take to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

then i start thinking about the gospel and what a preposterous thing my salvation is. because of sin, i am against God. i am not a friend of God and i deserve death. i am unworthy of any mercy or grace because of the acts that i do against the Lord. i am made in His image and yet I am an enemy of Him.

the glorious God has made us in HIs image, giving us His glory. But Romans tells us that we have exchanged the glory of God, falling short and have made ourselves the center of the world, wanting to pursue our glory instead of His. And through pursuing our glory, we lose the glory of God that we once had.

YET!!! He sends His Son to bear all of the stuff i have done that goes against God's character and Jesus dies the death that i was supposed to. He pays my price. He does it, not because He is passionate about me or is obsessed with the idea of me, but He does it to exalt Himself. He does it so that I can come into a relationship with God, and act in response of His deliverance of me. Jesus does not fall shourt and because we are tied to Christ's death, we are becoming what we were supposed to be. We are being made into the image of Christ.

wow. dr. morgan (in his book, Hell Under Fire) says, "...the central 'problem' of the Bible that the gospel solves is centered on how God can be holy and just and still forgive rebellious and guilty sinners who trust Him".

wow.

back to penn...i think he said it best.

why don't i love well enough?

66

that is the number of how many blogs i read...addicted maybe??

some of them are my friends here at cbu,

some of them include blogs of professors,

some of them are photographer's (i love pictures...out of a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, definitely an 11),

some of them are pastor's blogs/scholar's blogs,

and some are fun style/design blogs.

i really like blogs...sometimes they distract me from homework (maybe i should fast from them one week...hmm) and sometimes i think about how crazy it is that this "blogosphere" has caught on so fast.

what are your favorite blogs?  what kind of blogs do you look at?

walkin around

hey thanks for stopping by...hope you had a wonderful friday.

it was such a beautiful day here in riverside that bryce and i decided to go for a walk...here are some of my fav pics of the day...

i feel like this one should go on some cool colorful inspired blog

this picture attests to the beautiful day

and this is a fun one of us...

i really want to be a photographer...