It's Official - I live in Washington

As of this weekend, my Washington residence is official.

• I received my WA driver's license in the mail.
• A neighbor helped me put my WA license plates on the car (which included drilling a couple of holes in my front bumper - being from a one plate state it didn't even have an indent for a license plate).
• I received my voter registration in the mail as well.

One thing that might still be lacking is that I haven't been paid in this state yet so I haven't paid my state income tax - oh well, that will come soon enough.

Back in the Northwest

It has been below 70 in my house for a couple of days now (without air conditioning) - I even closed the windows!  I have voluntarily worn socks part of the day two days in a row - they are fun socks.  I even wore a sweatshirt when I went to school this morning.  The weather in the Northwest is definitely different than living in the south.  Although it takes some adjusting, I like it. :)

Another perk of being in this area is the fresh fruit.  Each meeting I have had at school so far has included home grown plums, compliments of our principal.  I have blackberries growing in my backyard, and some in my freezer (thanks dad).  This evening I made an apple crisp with local apples brought to me by one of my student's mom.  YUMMY!

Struggles

Why is it that my current struggle always seems like the hardest one?  Maybe it is because I tend to focus on the struggle and lose perspective.  Maybe because it is hard to compare different kinds of struggles and challenges.

Last night it was good for me to take a step back in perspective and look at try to view my situation from an eternal perspective.  In light of spending eternity before the throne of God, my struggles became much smaller.

I was reminded again to see my situation in light of who God is, rather than seeing God in light of my situation.

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." ~ Luke 18:27

Hope of Easter

It is through entering in to the pain of Good Friday that I am able to experience the joy of Easter.

In looking into the hopelessness of Jesus' followers on Friday night and Saturday, I recognize how the hope of Easter transforms all of life.

In stopping to really think about Jesus' sacrifice, I am amazed and overwhelmed by His grace.

I am so grateful for the special time set aside to remember Jesus' death and resurrection.  I am thankful that through the pain and the struggles we know the end of the story and the hope and joy of Easter.

South Asia

I leave in a couple of hours.  It doesn't even seem real yet.  I am excited, but don't know what to expect.  I know that God has a plan and purpose in this trip.  I look forward to seeing what God has for our team and for the mission field as a result of our trip.

Time and again I have been reminded that this is a spiritual battle.  We have seen it in many ways before we even left, and we will continue to see it going forward.  I continually go back to the Armor of God in Ephesians 6.

I appreciate all your prayers and look forward to sharing with you upon my return.

Praise the Lord!

My health insurance came through.  I was told that they would contact me before the end of the year, which never happened.  I applied to get it before the end of the year because then it is about $100 a month cheaper.  My previous insurance expired on the 4th.  Today I got an email, my application went through and was effective December 28th.  That means that I was able to get it on last years prices, and I didn't actually have any time during which I was not insured.

God is good!

Snow Day - Texas Style

Yesterday afternoon we started getting freezing rain, so we closed the office early.  The policy for bad weather is to follow the local school district, if they cancel school than the office is officially closed.  Some people still go in if they are able, but the office is still closed.  So, even though I am not teaching this year, I was still waiting on a school closure in order to have a snow day.

Last night before bed we did figure out that the schools were closed and we would not be going in to work.  So, as part of my relaxing morning I went outside to take pictures.  Cassandra and I walked around the apartment complex and admired the beauty of the ice on different things, and also the danger of it through collapsed carports.  I felt sorry for the kids who were trying to make snowmen to enjoy their snow day, but were unable to do so because it was more ice than snow.

I am thankful that I do not have to drive anywhere right now.  Although I did remember to take my recently purchased scraper out of my car last night, I would rather not chip away at the ice if I don't have to.

Susy commented yesterday about the 'snow,' comparing to the snow she saw during Thanksgiving.  My comment was that it was more of a mess than actual snow.  It started as freezing rain yesterday and then turned into sleet later on.  We even had short periods of hail.  Although it is not good snow, I did take time to go outside and enjoy it because it may be the only 'snow' I see this winter other than the remnants of the small skiff of snow I saw while in Iowa.