If I had to use a picture to describe why I love my husband...this would definitely make the Top 3.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Talent
If I had to use a picture to describe why I love my husband...this would definitely make the Top 3.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
A Post for Justin
You'll appreciate this. Trust me. It gets really good around 1:35.
Jesus loves D&B and Jungle. To the extreme.
Jesus loves D&B and Jungle. To the extreme.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Any day now would be....
...FANTASTIC!
Baby Update - I'm currently 39 weeks, and less than a week away from the anticipated due date! We had a baby appointment yesterday, and everything appears to be normal. I'm almost ready to pray I have the baby within the next week (instead of two weeks after my due date), but I know the whole birthing experience will happen as it should. Oh waiting...seems that is a huge part of life - makes me think of the book "Oh, the Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss! Here is a current picture (yes, a real belly picture). Please don't comment that I'm huge (as a couple of people have in the last week or so). I look in the mirror everyday and can even FEEL how huge I am! :o)
Love you all.
SLK
Baby Update - I'm currently 39 weeks, and less than a week away from the anticipated due date! We had a baby appointment yesterday, and everything appears to be normal. I'm almost ready to pray I have the baby within the next week (instead of two weeks after my due date), but I know the whole birthing experience will happen as it should. Oh waiting...seems that is a huge part of life - makes me think of the book "Oh, the Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss! Here is a current picture (yes, a real belly picture). Please don't comment that I'm huge (as a couple of people have in the last week or so). I look in the mirror everyday and can even FEEL how huge I am! :o)
Love you all.
SLK
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Everything is Meaningless
I have a departmental meeting every Wednesday morning. The meeting usually lasts anywhere from two to three hours. Given that we have twenty-three hall directors on campus, there are usually a total of about thirty people in the room for the meeting. Some meetings are all business and focus on the administrative/task-oriented side of the work we do. Others are more about just being ourselves and learning about what that means. Today's meeting was more of the latter.
There was a guest speaker/presenter in our meeting today who is currently on campus to do some work with the counseling office in regards to sexual assault prevention. She asked us to bring to this week's meeting our favorite book. This caused me pause as I tried to figure out which of the books I've read, exactly, is my favorite. Slightly winning out over The Autobiography of Malcolm X was the book of Ecclesiastes.
I didn't want to be the guy who brought in the Bible as an entire piece of literature and claimed that it was, in its entirety, the most enjoyable book I've ever read. There are two reasons for this... One, I haven't read the entire Bible. How could I say that it's altogether great if I haven't experienced it altogether? Perhaps there's a really boring chapter I've not read yet in Mark all about how Jesus spent an entire weekend just eating Cheetos on His couch. That'd be fine, I suppose, but not really what I'd call page turning material. Second, the Bible is not entirely very good or even interesting. Have you ever tried to read through Leviticus, Deuteronomy, or Numbers? Yikes. So, I picked Ecclesiastes as its own piece of literature and called it my favorite.
Later on in the meeting the guest presenter asked us to write a "message of hope" on a piece of paper and to put it in a "jar of hope." We each then drew out one of the messages from the jar and kept it as our own for encouragement.
On a side note, if you weren't already aware, student affairs is probably the most disgustingly cliche, feel-good, "I'm okay, you're okay," working environment out there. It gets pretty ridiculous sometimes, but it's not always as ridiculous as it sounds.
Anyway... What message did I put into the "jar of hope"? A lyric from Modern Life is War, of course. "The world isn't against you, my dear, it just doesn't care." Super positive!
So, there's a little background for you. I'll now move on to the meat of this entry.
Ecclesiastes is my favorite book because I think it's highly misunderstood. Taken for what it is (like the "hope" quote I chose), it comes across as a very depressing and defeatist text:
"Everything is meaningless... Utterly meaningless."
"It was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."
"The day you die is better than the day you are born"
It's hard to explain why anyone would find this sort of writing to be encouraging or hopeful. Most people aren't built-up spiritually by having their entire existence labeled as meaningless. But I am not most people.
Ecclesiastes was the first book that I read in the Bible after I began to fully dedicate myself to the pursuit of Truth. Appropriate, considering that I was at a point in my life then where I had been looking for things and ideas to validate my (our) existence, and which might serve to better the condition of humanity as a whole. God's response? "Everything is meaningless." In other words, "nothing you can do or say will ultimately make you worth anything more than you are."
Ecclesiastes focuses heavily on the injustice of life. It talks a lot about how things are unfair, how pursuits are fruitless, how life is hard, and how those who toil are less valuable than those profit without labor.
Take just a minute and think about the world in which we live. Can you give a better description of this world than Ecclesiastes has already offered? Is our history not rampant with inequity, inequality, unfairness, and failed ambition? Does wealth buy happiness? Do we really learn anything from those who have come before us, or do we continue to make the same mistakes they made (if not exactly, at least in spirit)? If so, can you really say that our history as a people up to this point has really meant anything?
Now, living a meaningless existence does not absolve us from the responsibility of filling our duties to ourselves, God, and one another. Everything is meaningless, but that doesn't mean that we can't be good people regardless of that fact. Life can be good within the idea that everything is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that "God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." Despite the meaningless which we choose to pursue, I find a lot of hope in the fact that God created us to be virtuous. I'm prone to believe that the intended abilities of a creation are not lost even if the creation begins to find other ways of exercising its abilities. I may choose to make some fairly poor decisions and to run away from the meaning I can find in God, but God has made sure that He didn't create me in such a way as to make me able to run away from Him for good. Despite the meaninglessness of the life I may choose, I can still find God in all of it and be blessed accordingly.
So, my hope in Ecclesiastes is that I will not ultimately be crushed by the weight of meaninglessness which I carry through this life.
Life will inevitably be characterized by ups and downs, good times and bad, prosperity and poverty. The point is not to focus on gaining anything or trying to always be on the up side of things. If you're making that your goal, then your life is meaningless. The point of Ecclesiastes is that we should simply live our lives and enjoy the things that God has given us. Don't take anything too seriously. Chill out. Calm down. Just enjoy the ride "Trust the process," as one of my grad school professors always said.
The lyric I chose to put into the "jar of hope" is simply a different version of this same idea. "The world isn't against you... It just doesn't care."
I've never known anyone to feel like the victim of the world if they weren't taking themselves too seriously. Adopting a victim mentality means saying, for the most part, that your goals and ambitions are more important than those of anyone else in the world and, if they're not met, that you've somehow been ambushed or slighted unfairly. Ecclesiastes reminds me that pursuing the ambitions of my human mind is like "chasing vapors." I can try to get my way, but it's not likely that I'll be entirely satisfied. Even if I did get my way, I can never really guarantee that things will go exactly the way I'd like. I can't guarantee anything, so trying to is ultimately meaningless. The world is apathetic to my plans. It doesn't care enough to sabotage them or to help meet them. If anything, I'm my own biggest enemy for pursuing the desires I have for myself. Who really knows what's best for them in the long run?
At the end of all of this, I ultimately find hope in the fact that God is above all of the meaninglessness and triviality of my day to day existence. I am thankful for the fact that I have a wife, a child (almost), a job I love, and that I'm able to pay my bills. Take any one of those things away, and I still have all of the others. Take two away, and I'm still breaking even. Take away three, and I still have the knowledge that life is a series of ups and downs, and that things will get better. Take away everything that I have, my possessions and the very air in my lungs, and I am still blessed with a God who has provided me salvation.
The point of experiencing all of this meaninglessness is that we learn that there is meaning in Him.
Everything is meaningless!
Stay Gold,
MMK
There was a guest speaker/presenter in our meeting today who is currently on campus to do some work with the counseling office in regards to sexual assault prevention. She asked us to bring to this week's meeting our favorite book. This caused me pause as I tried to figure out which of the books I've read, exactly, is my favorite. Slightly winning out over The Autobiography of Malcolm X was the book of Ecclesiastes.
I didn't want to be the guy who brought in the Bible as an entire piece of literature and claimed that it was, in its entirety, the most enjoyable book I've ever read. There are two reasons for this... One, I haven't read the entire Bible. How could I say that it's altogether great if I haven't experienced it altogether? Perhaps there's a really boring chapter I've not read yet in Mark all about how Jesus spent an entire weekend just eating Cheetos on His couch. That'd be fine, I suppose, but not really what I'd call page turning material. Second, the Bible is not entirely very good or even interesting. Have you ever tried to read through Leviticus, Deuteronomy, or Numbers? Yikes. So, I picked Ecclesiastes as its own piece of literature and called it my favorite.
Later on in the meeting the guest presenter asked us to write a "message of hope" on a piece of paper and to put it in a "jar of hope." We each then drew out one of the messages from the jar and kept it as our own for encouragement.
On a side note, if you weren't already aware, student affairs is probably the most disgustingly cliche, feel-good, "I'm okay, you're okay," working environment out there. It gets pretty ridiculous sometimes, but it's not always as ridiculous as it sounds.
Anyway... What message did I put into the "jar of hope"? A lyric from Modern Life is War, of course. "The world isn't against you, my dear, it just doesn't care." Super positive!
So, there's a little background for you. I'll now move on to the meat of this entry.
Ecclesiastes is my favorite book because I think it's highly misunderstood. Taken for what it is (like the "hope" quote I chose), it comes across as a very depressing and defeatist text:
"Everything is meaningless... Utterly meaningless."
"It was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."
"The day you die is better than the day you are born"
It's hard to explain why anyone would find this sort of writing to be encouraging or hopeful. Most people aren't built-up spiritually by having their entire existence labeled as meaningless. But I am not most people.
Ecclesiastes was the first book that I read in the Bible after I began to fully dedicate myself to the pursuit of Truth. Appropriate, considering that I was at a point in my life then where I had been looking for things and ideas to validate my (our) existence, and which might serve to better the condition of humanity as a whole. God's response? "Everything is meaningless." In other words, "nothing you can do or say will ultimately make you worth anything more than you are."
Ecclesiastes focuses heavily on the injustice of life. It talks a lot about how things are unfair, how pursuits are fruitless, how life is hard, and how those who toil are less valuable than those profit without labor.
Take just a minute and think about the world in which we live. Can you give a better description of this world than Ecclesiastes has already offered? Is our history not rampant with inequity, inequality, unfairness, and failed ambition? Does wealth buy happiness? Do we really learn anything from those who have come before us, or do we continue to make the same mistakes they made (if not exactly, at least in spirit)? If so, can you really say that our history as a people up to this point has really meant anything?
Now, living a meaningless existence does not absolve us from the responsibility of filling our duties to ourselves, God, and one another. Everything is meaningless, but that doesn't mean that we can't be good people regardless of that fact. Life can be good within the idea that everything is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that "God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." Despite the meaningless which we choose to pursue, I find a lot of hope in the fact that God created us to be virtuous. I'm prone to believe that the intended abilities of a creation are not lost even if the creation begins to find other ways of exercising its abilities. I may choose to make some fairly poor decisions and to run away from the meaning I can find in God, but God has made sure that He didn't create me in such a way as to make me able to run away from Him for good. Despite the meaninglessness of the life I may choose, I can still find God in all of it and be blessed accordingly.
So, my hope in Ecclesiastes is that I will not ultimately be crushed by the weight of meaninglessness which I carry through this life.
Life will inevitably be characterized by ups and downs, good times and bad, prosperity and poverty. The point is not to focus on gaining anything or trying to always be on the up side of things. If you're making that your goal, then your life is meaningless. The point of Ecclesiastes is that we should simply live our lives and enjoy the things that God has given us. Don't take anything too seriously. Chill out. Calm down. Just enjoy the ride "Trust the process," as one of my grad school professors always said.
The lyric I chose to put into the "jar of hope" is simply a different version of this same idea. "The world isn't against you... It just doesn't care."
I've never known anyone to feel like the victim of the world if they weren't taking themselves too seriously. Adopting a victim mentality means saying, for the most part, that your goals and ambitions are more important than those of anyone else in the world and, if they're not met, that you've somehow been ambushed or slighted unfairly. Ecclesiastes reminds me that pursuing the ambitions of my human mind is like "chasing vapors." I can try to get my way, but it's not likely that I'll be entirely satisfied. Even if I did get my way, I can never really guarantee that things will go exactly the way I'd like. I can't guarantee anything, so trying to is ultimately meaningless. The world is apathetic to my plans. It doesn't care enough to sabotage them or to help meet them. If anything, I'm my own biggest enemy for pursuing the desires I have for myself. Who really knows what's best for them in the long run?
At the end of all of this, I ultimately find hope in the fact that God is above all of the meaninglessness and triviality of my day to day existence. I am thankful for the fact that I have a wife, a child (almost), a job I love, and that I'm able to pay my bills. Take any one of those things away, and I still have all of the others. Take two away, and I'm still breaking even. Take away three, and I still have the knowledge that life is a series of ups and downs, and that things will get better. Take away everything that I have, my possessions and the very air in my lungs, and I am still blessed with a God who has provided me salvation.
The point of experiencing all of this meaninglessness is that we learn that there is meaning in Him.
Everything is meaningless!
Stay Gold,
MMK
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Time...
I have been a bundle of varying emotions today and this evening. Amidst my tears of frustration I remembered the following words:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
SLK
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
SLK
Thursday, April 16, 2009
BELLY ART!!!
First off, TOMORROW is my last official day of work! wooooot! As i've expressed before, ending my service is bittersweet. I'm sad to leave such great co-workers (and the bit of money I did bring in) but exciting to know I will be entering Mommyland soon!
Today marks 38 weeks. For 38 weeks I have carried this little one around inside of me. I'm still feeling pretty well - just nauseous at times, out of breath often, and tired all the time. I had the normal weekly baby appointment today. Marshall was unable to go with me (he was getting a crown on his tooth, how fun!) and of course, today was the one day were something abnormal came up! I saw a new midwife today, and when she measured my belly (for baby growth) and compared my current weight to the last measurement taken...she was a bit concerned. EEEEK! So I was sent off to the ultrasound technician to take a look at Baby Kole. But after about 2 minutes of looking at Baby Kole, the ultrasound technician informed me everything looked great! Whew! I was more than reliev
ed and ended up getting a good picture of Baby Kole's face!
And one more baby piece I wanted to share - BELLY ART! Marshall and I bought some plaster and made a belly cast of Baby Kole about 3 weeks ago. After letting the cast harden, I decided to paint the "Tree of Life" on it. I'm not typically superb at painting, but I am pretty satisfied with how the project turned out. At some point, we plan to hang the cast in Baby Kole's room. I'm so glad we completed this project - I know later on in life it will be so meaningful to have something like this from my first (maybe only?) pregnancy!
Today marks 38 weeks. For 38 weeks I have carried this little one around inside of me. I'm still feeling pretty well - just nauseous at times, out of breath often, and tired all the time. I had the normal weekly baby appointment today. Marshall was unable to go with me (he was getting a crown on his tooth, how fun!) and of course, today was the one day were something abnormal came up! I saw a new midwife today, and when she measured my belly (for baby growth) and compared my current weight to the last measurement taken...she was a bit concerned. EEEEK! So I was sent off to the ultrasound technician to take a look at Baby Kole. But after about 2 minutes of looking at Baby Kole, the ultrasound technician informed me everything looked great! Whew! I was more than reliev
ed and ended up getting a good picture of Baby Kole's face!And one more baby piece I wanted to share - BELLY ART! Marshall and I bought some plaster and made a belly cast of Baby Kole about 3 weeks ago. After letting the cast harden, I decided to paint the "Tree of Life" on it. I'm not typically superb at painting, but I am pretty satisfied with how the project turned out. At some point, we plan to hang the cast in Baby Kole's room. I'm so glad we completed this project - I know later on in life it will be so meaningful to have something like this from my first (maybe only?) pregnancy!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Futuristic
Sarah and I got new cell phones yesterday. We had to renew our plan and wanted to update/upgrade our phones. It made sense for us to get new phones but keep our old phones as backups in order to be able to drop from our monthly bill the cost of insuring our new phones. We both ended up choosing to go with the Motorola Krave.
Motorola Krave
While LG has generally been our brand of choice, the lack of availability of LG phones and their relatively high cost deterred us this time. After rebates and renewal refunds we only ended up spending about $50 on these new phones. Can't complain about that, you know?
Anyway, these phones are pretty outstanding. While we opted not to get any of the higher-end options (the data package, essentially - internet, TV, email, etc), I'm quite pleased with how the phone will serve it's most basic functions of 1). helping me to talk and text with people quickly and easily, and 2). making me look totally "with it," "hip," and "trend savvy." The touch screen interface took some adjusting to, but also seems to be quite intuitive and fun to use. The phone itself is just very pretty, too. I feel quite futuristic with it in my hands.
Having a new cell phone means having to make new ringtones. I've got some Bohemian Rhapsody, Tenacious D, and Smash-era Offspring so far. I'm sure that there will be plenty more in the future.
Today has been Easter. We had some friends over and I cooked a 10 pound ham. We also woke up at 5:30am to go to an outdoor sunrise worship service at the landing next to the Oyster River in Durham. Two people were baptised in the sub-40 degree water of the river. It was as perfect an Easter celebration as I've seen; not a lot of fanfare or ornamentation about the holiday itself, but instead the simple dedication of two hearts to the humble and lasting Savior. There were no lilies, no purple robes, no banners, no flags. Our pastor wore a wetsuit. It was simultaneously very anti-climactic and overwhelmingly powerful.
But waking up at 5:30am has left me quite tired and without much else to say. So, I'm off.
Stay Gold, people.
MMK
Motorola Krave
While LG has generally been our brand of choice, the lack of availability of LG phones and their relatively high cost deterred us this time. After rebates and renewal refunds we only ended up spending about $50 on these new phones. Can't complain about that, you know?
Anyway, these phones are pretty outstanding. While we opted not to get any of the higher-end options (the data package, essentially - internet, TV, email, etc), I'm quite pleased with how the phone will serve it's most basic functions of 1). helping me to talk and text with people quickly and easily, and 2). making me look totally "with it," "hip," and "trend savvy." The touch screen interface took some adjusting to, but also seems to be quite intuitive and fun to use. The phone itself is just very pretty, too. I feel quite futuristic with it in my hands.
Having a new cell phone means having to make new ringtones. I've got some Bohemian Rhapsody, Tenacious D, and Smash-era Offspring so far. I'm sure that there will be plenty more in the future.
Today has been Easter. We had some friends over and I cooked a 10 pound ham. We also woke up at 5:30am to go to an outdoor sunrise worship service at the landing next to the Oyster River in Durham. Two people were baptised in the sub-40 degree water of the river. It was as perfect an Easter celebration as I've seen; not a lot of fanfare or ornamentation about the holiday itself, but instead the simple dedication of two hearts to the humble and lasting Savior. There were no lilies, no purple robes, no banners, no flags. Our pastor wore a wetsuit. It was simultaneously very anti-climactic and overwhelmingly powerful.
But waking up at 5:30am has left me quite tired and without much else to say. So, I'm off.
Stay Gold, people.
MMK
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
adorable! 36ish weeks
Papa with Baby Kole...cute. MK hates this picture. I enjoy it.
Ahhh, love.
MK says, "Babies are delicious". I'll take his word for it.
SLK
...and accumulating more baby stuff!
Life in the 'shire. I love it! I laughed slightly when I found out snow was falling back home this past weekend. If I do not see snow again this season, I will surely not be a sad lady. We had a few nice days last week but have had a rather dark and rainy weekend. I actually enjoy rain most of the time...as long as I can curl up on the coach and not have to venture outside. Plus, the grass is starting to turn green and that can only mean spring will be here soon!
Last Thursday we had a baby appointment. We will also have a baby appointment this Thursday - we are down to weekly appointments. Can you believe it? Where does the time go?! Anyways, the appointment last a whole 5 or 10 minutes. Everything appears to be normal - heartbeat, BP, position, growth, etc. I will be 37 weeks on Thursday which is technically considered full-term...so realistically little Baby Kole could appear in a few days or a few weeks. Oh, the waiting!
A couple of our dear friends (Marshall's co-workers) threw us a baby shower on Saturday. We had such a good time. Everyone was so generous and more than excited to share their happiness for us. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us with this new stage of life - I don't know how we would do it on our own...both financially and emotionally! We are so blessed.
Welp, the hubby just called me...time for LUNCH! And this Momma does not miss ANY meals!
Hope all is well. Love and hugs. New pictures to post later!!!
SLK
Last Thursday we had a baby appointment. We will also have a baby appointment this Thursday - we are down to weekly appointments. Can you believe it? Where does the time go?! Anyways, the appointment last a whole 5 or 10 minutes. Everything appears to be normal - heartbeat, BP, position, growth, etc. I will be 37 weeks on Thursday which is technically considered full-term...so realistically little Baby Kole could appear in a few days or a few weeks. Oh, the waiting!
A couple of our dear friends (Marshall's co-workers) threw us a baby shower on Saturday. We had such a good time. Everyone was so generous and more than excited to share their happiness for us. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us with this new stage of life - I don't know how we would do it on our own...both financially and emotionally! We are so blessed.
Welp, the hubby just called me...time for LUNCH! And this Momma does not miss ANY meals!
Hope all is well. Love and hugs. New pictures to post later!!!
SLK
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