DPS Update

We finally have a little news regarding Andrew’s job application process. The last time we heard anything was back in May when we were told that due to everything happening with the economy and budget cuts, the academy was no longer a sure thing, but rather tentative based on funding from a federal grant. If the academy happens, it will start late September. At that time, it was estimated they would find out the status of the grant in early August and Andrew and I guessed they would wait until after that to extend final offers if the academy was a go. Unfortunately, even if the academy happened it would be possible that Andrew would not get an offer… two big variables that would decide a lot for our family in the future.

We have been told again and again that no news is good news throughout this whole process, so we weren’t concerned that we hadn’t heard anything for nearly two months. Typically in the past we’ve been told that offers will be extended via the phone and bad news is sent via letter. With that in mind, you can imagine why Andrew would be a little nervous when he opened up the mailbox this past Friday and inside found a letter from DPS. When he first started reading the letter, however, it seemed to be merely a letter touching base with the candidates again informing them of the tentative academy and when they expected to get news regarding the federal grant. Much to our surprise, however, they decided to extend tentative final offers to those candidates who would be at the 2009 academy should it occur and Andrew got one of those offers. Praise God! We are ecstatic and so thankful that God has brought him one step closer.

Although I wanted to give everyone an update about the status of the DPS job, my primary reason for writing this post is to ask/beg that you would be fervently praying that the academy would get funding. If that is not God’s will, so be it… we will still give Him praise if it doesn’t happen, but our heart’s desire is that it would. It is likely that if the academy is cancelled this year, it will likely not happen again for another few years. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for Andrew to do it now while we still live close to Camp Dodge and we have no children. Again, we would ask that you would be praying that those processing the grants would find favor with the request of Iowa DPS and they would get funding for this year’s academy. Thank you all for your continual encouragement and prayer for us. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we hear something!

Into Stuff

A few days ago, I was talking to someone I dearly love about Jesus. As we were talking, she told me a few times that she hadn't realized how into this stuff I am. It struck me in sort of a negative way because when I think "into stuff" I think religion or church traditions or even dark things like witchcraft or drugs. Being into stuff connotes being into something that is man-made, some grouping of ideas that you can take or leave depending on what suits you. I guess I don't see myself as being into stuff, but into Jesus. I'm not into religion. I'm not into denominations, church sects, or traditions. I'm into Jesus Christ. I'm into Him because He is the only one who has the power to save me, the power to redeem my sins, and the power to cleanse this wretched heart of mine. Out of my own free choice I've thwarted God, I've sinned in vile ways, I've defiled myself and other people. I've sinned against God and because of that, I deserve death, I deserve damnation, I deserve to pay the just penalty and spend eternity in hell. That's the truth and my conscience screams it at me.

I'm into Jesus because out of God's compassion for me, a vile, sinful person, my Father sent His Son to live on this earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit. He lived on this earth, was betrayed by men, was beaten, cursed, and hung on a shameful, cursed cross even though He never did anything wrong. He hung on a cross because He told everyone He was God and the only way to the Father. He made the claim that He was God which either makes Him a liar who deserves damnation just like me or it means that He was actually God and came to bring mankind the best news it had ever heard. He brought the news that He would die a painful death to take upon Himself our sins. He lead a perfect, blameless life in order to make the payment for our sins. He was the spotless lamb that was slaughtered in our place so that we could be made pure, so that we could have communion with God, so that we could spend eternity in the presence of a holy and righteous God. We deserved wrath because God is just and we violated Him. But God is compassionate and merciful and turned His wrath from us to Jesus so that those who have faith in His Son could have their sins forgiven because of Christ's spilled blood.

I'm into Jesus because He triumphed over Satan, sin, and death and rose from the grave victoriously so that I do not worship a dead God, but one who is alive, living, and breathing. I worship a triumphant God who one day will ride to earth on a white horse, speaking the Word of God, with the title "Lord of Lords and King of Kings" tattooed down His thigh. He will come to earth to bring God's wrath on those who have not trusted and worshiped the one true God, and to bring salvation and redemption to those who have.

I'm into Jesus because He freed me from my slavery to Satan and death and breathed new life into my dead heart. He put in me the Holy Spirit to teach me and guide me in His truths. He gave me a heart capable of loving a God that I despised and the ability to despise all the sin that I used to love. I'm into Jesus because He died for me while I still hated Him and rejected Him. I'm into Jesus because He saved me from myself and gave me the most precious gift possible: He gave me His blood in exchange for my sin. I'm into Jesus because He shed His blood for my friends and my family and for anyone who might come upon these words. I'm into Jesus because He will give the gift of His blood in exchange for your sin even though you've done nothing good to deserve it... trust Him as your Lord and Savior.

Plain and simple, I'm into Jesus Christ and I guess if that means I'm "into stuff," I'll take that label and wear it with honor and humble gratitude, it's the best claim I can make about myself.

what it means to be a woman

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a series on Proverbs by Mark Driscoll, a pastor in Seattle, Washington. This series has shaken, challenged, and refreshed me all at the same time. I often have an ache in my heart as I ponder my purpose, my future, and all that I am told by society. As a woman at a liberal college I constantly feel the pressure to “make the most of myself and my opportunities.” I have a bright future and brilliant career ahead of me, right? What happens when my urge is to flush all that down the toilet and do something really inspiring with my future… like be a mom and a great wife to my amazing husband? How have we come so far as to think that inspiring to be a mother is a waste of a time? Sometimes I find myself being sucked into this horrendous lie that our culture has come to embrace. When people ask what I want to do when I graduate, I shy away from saying what is really in my heart. Partly because I am afraid of getting the.. “oh, that’s all you want to do?” response, and partly because I am afraid that being bold would interfere with possible opportunities that I may want to pursue before Andrew and I have children. As the weeks have gone on this summer, I have felt God putting the weight on my heart that I cannot be silent about this area of life that I am so passionate about. God designed us in a very unique and purposeful way and it breaks my heart to see people’s misconceptions and offenses when it comes to that perfect design. Thank you to all you mothers who have sacrificed or hindered your “careers” in order to be the light of Christ to your child/children. I am so encouraged by you!

Stromboli

I've gotten lots of requests for this stromboli recipe, so here it is for all of you who asked. (Thanks Mrs. Sabin for the great recipe!)

For one Stromboli:

1 loaf bread dough (thawed) - I use Rhodes Bread Loaves
1 egg, beaten
Italian seasoning
Pepperoni slices
1/4 lb. thinly sliced hard salami
1/4 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 lb. shredded swiss cheese

Roll thawed dough into a 9 x 14-inch rectangle. Brush dough with beaten egg and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top. Line dough with salami. Arrange pepperoni on salami. Sprinkle cheese on top. Roll dough up like a club (using the longer part of the rectangle). Pinch to close openings (along the top and the ends). Place club on greased cookie sheet (with the seam facing down). Top dough with beaten egg and herbs. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes, until desired brownness. Slice and serve with your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce.

Note: You can add/modify ingredient amounts to your liking. I would recommend leaving a gap at the top edge of the dough when adding meat and cheese. This will make it easier to roll up without fillings falling out the top.

Enjoy!

Lessons

The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately. A few weeks ago God started opening my eyes to ways that I had let school replace Christ's role as the lord in my life. This semester has had pretty high demands on my time with projects, exams, quizzes, time consuming projects... lists of things that need to be accomplished. I found myself worrying and working on all my "to do's" from sun up to sun down while I kept telling God, "I'm sorry, I just don't have time today... I just don't have time for you." Days turned to weeks and, before I knew it, my identity started slipping from God and into school. It's interesting to me how a desire to serve God, to do things with excellence to bring Him glory, can turn into just doing things with excellence and forgetting the whole reason for doing it in the first place.

A few weeks ago, God started convicting my heart of this. At about the same time, Cornerstone announced that they wanted us, as a Church body, to take part in Lent this year in order to focus our attention on Christ and prepare ourselves for the celebration of His resurrection. For Lent, I decided to give up school as my first priority in the morning and replace it with God. Instead of waking up to finish details of a project, study a little more for an exam, or go to work early... I committed to reading God's Word and focusing on Him.

Well, the past two weeks have been amazing. God has not only taken back my heart in the morning, but all day. I've been reminded who Christ is and why I long to serve Him with my life. I've also realized how easy it is to slip into worldliness and complacency. This week Andrew and I started listening to a sermon series called "No More Games." It is about the holiness of God and how we, as Christ followers, should be living and breathing the holiness of God. I've been rocked pretty hard. His sermons are filled with truth and they shine a light on sin and wrong thinking. I often forget about the magnificence and loftiness of God and the demands this makes on my life. God says, "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). We are then told to "live our lives as strangers here in reverent fear" because we call on a Father that judges each man's work impartially (1 Peter 1:17). We were bought with a price, Christ shed is precious blood to redeem us. That is what I want to live for. My prayer is that God continues to teach me how to live and breath His holiness.

Busy day...

Today was a busy day. My morning started out with an eight o'clock exam. From there I went to a three hour lab where I was the kitchen manager of the tearoom (that I mentioned in an earlier post.) If you were in my class and heard that, a look of pity would surely enter your eyes because you know how much time, work, and stress come with the job of kitchen manager. To explain, each week every person in lab rotates to a new position. For example, I was sous chef my first lab, so I assisted the chef and made all the sauce for our BBQ meatballs. The next lab, I rotated into the chef position, where I was completely in charge of getting all the calzones made that we served to a room full of paying customers. Well, as a kitchen manager, it's my job to take assigned recipes and make the meal happen. The planning for this meal began over 2 weeks before it was actually served. It involved making a menu, figuring out how to streamline everything that goes into making the meal, deciding who does what, who measure out the ingredients, who cooks each meal, how it's cooked, when it's cooked... you get the idea. One of the biggest things that must be done is to write up special instructions for everyone working in the kitchen (about 16 people). These special instructions have consumed my life for the past week. Each set of special instructions includes a time line for each person telling them exactly what they will be doing during the entire lab and then detailed explanations about all of their tasks. There are lots of other pieces to the kitchen manager position such as charting out when each piece of equipment will be used, costing the meal... the list goes on but I will spare you the details. The biggest weight, however, is knowing that the responsibility of the entire meal is on your shoulders... yikes! Well, today was the big day... and fortunately it wasn't a big flop. We served the most customers that our lab has served yet at 66, plus we serve a meal to everyone in our lab which brings the total up to about 96. That's a lot of people! There were definitely some stressful moments throughout the morning, but the food all turned out great so I guess that's all that matters. I'm glad I don't have to do it again though! Oh, but lest you think that was the end of my day, it gets better! From lab, I got to go to my final class of the day and take yet another exam! So tonight, I am "relaxing" with my husband, watching more episodes of season 1 of the show 24 (by far the most addicting and exhilarating show I have ever watched.) In case some of you take "relaxing" the wrong way (as my husband did), I say that because it is not really possible to relax when watching 24, it's too intense... Andrew laughs at me for how on edge I get. So, that is the story of my busy day.

Moving on...

Another round of good news!!! Andrew passed his polygraph examination today and is moving on to phase 6 and 7, the psychological and medical exam which will take place next Friday (Jan. 30th). If he passes these two phases and is selected by the department, he'll move on to phase 8 which is an intensive background check. This will consist of the department interviewing all of the references he listed on his application as well as neighbors, school teachers, you name it... oh, and me. Unfortunately, he won't get a final offer until May (we're hoping this date isn't pushed back)... so we still have lots of waiting to do. One piece of good news, apparently due to the state budget, the academy was pushed back a month, so instead of starting June 1st it will start July 1st. This means that I would get to spend one more month of summer with my wonderful husband before he would have to go to the academy AND there would only be ~4 weeks between when he would graduate from the academy and when I would finish my semester of classes. I'm not looking forward to being apart from my husband 5 days a week for 20 weeks... but at least our estimated time apart keeps getting shorter. Continue praying he makes it through this process if that's where God wants him. We're both excited to see what happens. Oh and next time you see Andrew, you should make him tell you about his polygraph exam... it's a pretty interesting process. I'm glad it wasn't me! They even read him his Miranda rights before they started! How bizarre is that? Good thing he's not a crook or he might be sitting in jail tonight! Thanks everyone for your prayers through this process, we'll keep you posted!

The Littlest Daisy

I'm very excited... my sister-in-law Kristen paints these super cute cards and just started selling them on Etsy. Here is the website: The Littlest Daisy. Her philosophy is that even the littlest daisy can brighten someones day. If you need a cute card to make someone smile, you should check them out :)

Holidays and more!

Well, it is time for our once a month blog post...

Andrew and I spent LOTS of time with family over the holidays. We got to see EVERYONE which was wonderful! We ate lots of food, shot Andrew's gun, watched lots of movies, and I even learned how to play the drums! (I'll have to be honest though and tell you it was on a drum set for the Wii, but still... it kind of counts, doesn't it?) Below is a picture of me rocking out on the guitar :)

I started a new semester of school yesterday. It seems like I will have a unique combination of classes this semester. I'm taking a course on world food sssues which will focus on hunger and poverty in the developing world. Then I go to a class on nutrition throughout the life span where I will learn all about the nutritional needs of individuals during infancy, adolescents, pregnancy and lactation, all the way up to the needs of the elderly. Next, I go to a food law class where I will learn all about food laws and regulations and why they have been put in place. Bright and early the next day, I will go to a class about food service organizations (a hotel and restaurant management class) followed by a lab for the same class. From what I understand about lab, each person will move through all the positions found in a restaurant. There is a "teaching restaurant" in one our buildings that is used and the students actually provide meals for paying customers. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing, but I think it will be a great learning experience. My final class is on human and family life development. I'm so used to taking science or nutrition courses, it will be a big change to take a class that focuses more on families and social development. So, in a brief nutshell, that's what I'll be learning about all semester.

Our newest, most exciting news is that Andrew passed another phase in the application process for DPS. He had his interview last week and is now on to phase 5, the much anticipated polygraph examination. He does this next week, so if you think about it, say a prayer for him! There is a packet of information they gave each applicant to fill out before the polygraph. They dig into about any and every area of unlawful activity you can imagine. I'm guessing he'll get drilled pretty hard by the examiner to make sure he's not lying about his lack of trouble making. Fortunately, he hasn't gotten into much, if any, trouble in his lifetime so it should make it pretty easy for him to tell the truth and pass the exam.

Beyond work and school, I've been reading some cookbooks I got for Christmas. If any of you want some good reading, check out any book by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I often tell Andrew that I want to be just like her :) She has a wonderful way of explaining recipes including how to modify the recipe and pointers for success. Maybe some of you will even get to taste my attempts at making some of these newfound recipes :)