Child's Play

In the evenings, when it is dry, Ross and I often take walks around our local park. On our last walk, we noticed that the park was pretty much empty and the playground was unoccupied. This of course meant that we needed to play on everything our adult forms could fit on.



However, what started out as a playful evening ended up highlighting some further distinctions in our vocabulary. For example in Ross' mind:
Jungle gym/monkey bars = Climbing frame
Slide = shoot
teeter totter= seesaw

This one sent Ross into fits of laughter. He couldn't fathom that anything could actually be named 'teeter totter' and he kept asking me to say it over and over again. I should add here that he also cracks up at the way I say the word 'pecan', which in his scottish accent comes out as 'pee kin'. (What the heck is a 'pee kin' anyway!?) His new favorite game is to catch me off guard and get me to say pecan, usually by asking me what kind of pie I like or what we eat at Thanksgiving. I am so glad that I can entertain him so easily. The next time he gets grouchy I am just going to twirl around the room saying 'teeter-totter' and 'pecan'...

Two things that remain the same:
swings
hopscotch

Romans

Our pastor, Willie, has just started teaching a series on Romans during Sunday morning services. I love Romans and Paul's systematic approach to the meaty fundamentals of our faith in Jesus Christ. Over the years, I have studied this book dozens of times, but it's truths never get old.

The first two sermons in the series are posted up on our church website, and I invite you listen and be encouraged and challenged by the message of Paul in Romans.

http://www.thetron.org/media/

One year and counting... (Old post from July 5 2010)

Ross and I have celebrated two milestones recently- our first wedding anniversary and the anniversary of me moving to Scotland.

It is hard to believe that it has already been a year, and a great year at that! I have absolutely loved being married and not a day goes by that I am not amazed by the man that I get to spend my life with.



Some great things about being married:

1. Getting to live in the same place!- We endured enough of the long distance. I never get tired of waking up and having Ross there, coming home from work and getting to share about our days.

2. Companionship- Ross is without a doubt my best friend and the person I'd prefer to spend my time with. He has the best sense of humor and we have a lot of fun together.

3. Learning- We have learned so much about each other over this last year. We have both grown too, in love, patience and understanding. 'As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.' It is a real blessing to refine and encourage one another.

4. Food- We eat really well. Cooking for Ross has forced me to be creative and we've come up with some winning combinations. I love cooking for Ross because he is so appreciative and never complains. Plus, he usually cleans up the kitchen for me! Score! Cooking is WAY more fun when you don't have to clean up.

I could keep listing stuff, but I think you all get the idea. ;-)

Tron (Old Post from April 2010)

When we decided that we were going to make our home in Scotland, one of our biggest concerns was finding fellowship. Over the past months, we have been truly blessed to make St. George's Tron our church home.



The Tron is an old Presbyterian church, which is located right smack in the middle of Glasgow's City centre. In fact, it has a prime location on the main pedestrian shopping lane, Buchanan Street. This location has presented the church with plenty of opportunities to share the gospel with the surrounding community.



The services are a little more traditional than what you might encounter in a Calvary Chapel. For example, we mostly sing hymns, which are congregationally sung, rather than led by a worship leader or choir. The minister, a former doctor, speaks eloquently and often quite formally and his prayers to start the service are often as long as his sermon! This all took a bit of getting used to, but we have discovered that the method of the service is of little importance compared to the content. And I think we both have come to realise how wonderful those old hymns really are!

Winter to Spring (Old Post from March 15 2010)

There is something incredibly special about Spring- something I had never noticed until I witnessed Spring in Scotland.

Winter, especially this year, was long and bitterly cold. It snowed and everything was frozen and dead for the better part of two months. The sidewalks were packed with inch thick ice that sat for weeks, making the normally pleasant walk to work a hazardous one.



But winter doesn't last forever. Temperatures rose above their artic levels. Slowly the ice melted and the white world turned gray. Little by little the sun began to show itself and the grass began to turn green.

Under the barren trees in our neighborhood the crocuses are blooming now, large blankets of color in an otherwise gray world. Every day I pass by these lovely flowers on my way to and from work. Crocuses are breathtakingly beautiful, with their vivid colors and fragile petals.




It is always these little moments that put me in awe of God's handiwork- the bright delicate flower pushing itself up out of the frozen ground to announce that Spring is near, and that once again, there will be life. I have been really missing my friends and family lately, and sometimes I feel like God put those little flowers there just for me. Just to remind me that He is near, and that my home is really with Him.