Time to Think

Well, after a 2 week long anticipation of a new job in Korea, I was sad to find out that the job was given to someone else. But at the same time, I know that that was just not where God wanted me. So in one sense it's discouraging starting back at square one, but on the other hand it's encouraging to know that God is still guiding and directing me (at least away from where I'm NOT supposed to be).

My friend is out of town for the weekend, so I have the opportunity to spend the weekend at her place to watch her dog. I have a feeling that it will actually be very beneficial for me to be here and have time just to think and re-encourage myself to start again.

With all the craziness going on in North Korea, it's made me think a lot about the brevity of life. We're only here for a short while, so we might as well live it to the fullest wherever God places us. I need to make sure that I am making the most of the time that God has given to me here in Minneapolis.

Last night I had the privilege of getting together with a friend from church as well as some international friends from the U of M. They cooked us a beautiful Chinese dinner, and it was so encouraging to talk with them about the peace found only in Christ. Our peace is found in Him, and world peace will not come until He returns. That's not to say that we live perfectly happy and worry-free lives, but when we do struggle with those things, we have a higher power who we know is caring for us.

Wedding

The day finally came--after many years of dating--for my sister to get married to the love of her live, Cory Brunson. My little sister is a Brunson now...

Their wedding was in my parents' backyard, and with weather rainy and cold the previous few weeks, we were all praying hard for good weather. The morning of June 20th, everything was more than beautiful. It was hot, there were no clouds, and the grass had finally finished growing in.

I love Holly more than anything or anyone else. It's kind of strange for me to think of how much I really do love her. It's not strange because I'm her sister, but I just can't imagine anyone loving anyone else more than I love her. I am in awe of the fact that God loves me (and you!) even more than I love Holly. I can't imagine that. And it makes me almost cry thinking about how I would give the world to see Holly happy, and how God DID give His world, His Son Jesus, so we could commune together one day face to face.

Holly and Cory, God bless your marriage. I will keep you both in my prayers and thoughts daily. But as for now, have a happy honeymoon :)

Weeds

Well, there are two kinds of weeds. Pretty weeds and ugly weeds. Dandelions and thistles. What do they have in common?? They grow super fast, sometimes too fast for you to keep up with. Well, I've had both these kinds of weeds in my life this last week.

The ugly weeds, the physical kind, I've been pulling up at the house for the last week or so since moving in with my parents. It's been nice being around to help prepare for the wedding. But boy those weeds grow fast! Every day I finish weeding, I look back on the work and think, "Wow, that looks great!" And the next morning, they're right there back again... Oh well.

Then the pretty weeds. The joys in life that seem to go too fast and are hard to catch up with. This refers to the University job I just applied for. It sounds like a wonderful job! The interview went great, and the job sounds promising. They're going to let me know next week whether they'd like to hire me or not. Everything lines up perfectly and better than what I was hoping for. Except for a few church situations which I just need to talk through with them. I'd not only be an English teacher, but I'd also teach their English Sunday School. So that would be great, but I'd have to figure a way how to get to Seoul International Baptist Church so that I could get fed spiritually as well. So we'll see. God is good, and I believe He'll make things clear for me. Tonight I'm getting together with a friend so that I can get the University's web-page translated into English for me :)

New Things

Lots has happened in the last few days/weeks. I moved out of the house with Holly and in with my parents in Shakopee so that Holly and Cory could start moving their stuff into the house. The school year finished for the high schoolers, so my job also ended. It was a really good learning experience for me though, and it helped me network a little better. I love everyone who I worked with, and am going to miss them this next year. But who knows. Maybe when I get back from Korea I'll be able to work there again. Speaking of Korea...

There have not been many/any job leads yet, but a few weeks ago, I saw a job posting for a Christian University teacher in Seoul. It prefered that the teacher have a masters, but not required it. So I applied not expecting too much. A few days later, I heard back from the recruiter, and I'm having an interview with the school on Sunday night!!! What a wonderful opportunity that would be. I love working with University-age students, and being on a Christian campus (and it being a women's college), will give me many opportunities to meet other Christians. If God wants me to have the position, He will open the doors. Please pray that God would give me wisdom in speaking with the University. Thank you!!

May 12--June 12

Genesis

Exodus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Leviticus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Deuteronomy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

Joshua 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Judges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1

Ruth 1, 2, 3, 4

1 Samuel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

2 Samuel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

1 Kings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 22

2 Kings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

1 Chronicles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

2 Chronicles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Ezra 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Nehemiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Esther 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Job 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42

Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150

Proverbs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Ecclesiastes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Song of Solomon 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Isaiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66

Jeremiah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52

Lamentations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ezekiel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

Daniel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Hosea 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Joel 1, 2, 3

Amos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Obadiah 1

Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4

Micah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Nahum 1, 2, 3

Habakkuk 1, 2, 3

Zephaniah 1, 2, 3

Haggai 1, 2

Zechariah 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Malachi 1, 2, 3, 4

Matthew

Mark 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Luke 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

John 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Blue = Up to May 12, 2009
Green = 5/12--6/12 (63 chapters)

Girls Weekend Away

Rainy start to our trip
View from our hotel room
Holly was sad her cinnamon roll was gone :( Even though we still had tons of fries and our milkshakes left...
Al's Breakfast (the blue and white striped canvas in the alley)Waiting for the people in front of us to finish their breakfast


Our last weekend together, I took Holly downtown to just hang out and relax a bit. The first day, we went to Uptown and went shopping in the rain. It was fun to run in and out of little stores on the strip. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant, and then headed to check into the hotel. It was really nice, and we had a beautiful view of downtown. The farmer's market was still open, so we got a bunch of bananas and peaches for a dollar.

That night we had a craving for milkshakes, so we went to Key's Cafe near the Foshay tower, and had fries with milkshakes. I left the table for a bit, and when I came back, Holly had a huge cinnamon roll halfway finished!

"It was only 75 cents and it's homemade!!" --Holly

Sunday I took her to Dinkytown where there's a really good restaurant I'd heard lots about. It's called Al's Breakfast, and it's won many awards. The restaurant is crammed in an alley, and inside is only wide enough for one row of standing customers, one row of seated/eating customers, and a few griddles to serve from. It's a classic diner feel, and the food is absolutely amazing!!

The Bachelorette

I can't believe that my little sister, Holly, is getting married next Saturday!! These last few weeks have been chaos with parties and wedding planning. Well, maybe not chaos for others, but for my slow-paced way of life, it's been really busy.

The bachelorette party was the best one of all. Carrie and I planned it, and everything went pretty smoothly. We had a chocolate fountain, games, and went salsa dancing at a restaurant downtown. Everyone seemed to have a really great time, and Holly loved it. I didn't realize how fun salsa dancing is... :)

Dogsitting

Holly and I had a great time watching our dogs last weekend when our parents were away. Here are a few fun pictures of us 4 girls :)

ESL Hiking

Last Friday was one of the best days I've had this month!! Yay for ESL students and exploring nature. 2 things I enjoy more than anything else in the world!!

So...what was did was meet downtown and carpool to Taylor's Falls right on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. There were 8 University students and Lianna and myself. Two of them we'd never met, so it was definitely nice to have new faces and make new friends.

We had such a fun time hiking and exploring the deep holes. There were guys jumping off the cliffs across from us, so it was neat watching them as well. And just as we were about to leave, a bald eagle flew right in front of us. It was amazing, and the girls were awed at the size of our national bird--as was I!!

After hiking back to our cars, we left for a game of mini-golf. Most of them had never been before, and it's always such a thrill to introduce new adventures to international students. We all had a great time. Lianna's house was near, so after stopping by her house to meet her family, we drove back to the cities.

What an amazing time and a great opportunity to build relationships. I will always love each of them.

Pizza Dinner
All of Us!!Mini GolfLianna's family and the rest of us