Joy, Joy, Joy!

Hello, all.

I know it's been forever, or so it seems, since I last updated, but...well, you know the next line: TIGS!  Even when classes aren't in session, there is SOOOO much to do!

Last week was wonderful in that respect, though - I didn't have any classes to worry about and I got to just work in the lab and meet with SW and figure out where we are going just what I am doing over the next 2.5yrs (yes, that sounds like a long time...but when you have the to-do list that I have, it seems like that is absolutely NO way I will get all of it done - I will, don't you fret..).  I've decided!  I'm doing a monograph for my thesis work!!  I'll do a post a little later on about what a monograph treatment is.  It's the part of taxonomy/systematics that I love, I'll just say that for now.  All in all, it was a great week.  And I closed it feeling satisfied and accomplished...it's been a while since I've felt like that at the end of a work week.

The 3-day weekend that followed that productive week was pretty grand, as well.  The first half of Saturday was full of Skyping and relaxing, the second half consisted of a ton of fun with Meg and Markster.  Markster picked me up and we grabbed Meg.  We grabbed some lunch at the Mall of America (seriously, there's like a bazillion restaurants in there...and we had some stuff to return and some gift cards to try to spend).  While at the MoA we saw this epicness:

The WHOLE ENTIRE thing was made of LEGOs...I. Want. One!

After running around MoA we continued on our path to REI so The Markster and I could procure our new parkas followed by the 3 of us trying on the most ridiculous winter hats in the clearance bin...oh man...we should have taken pictures.  It. Was. Epic.  And!  We all came away with a new hat that made each of us rather cheery.  After running home to let Jakers out the three of us went back to Meg's to work on....drum rooooooolllllll.....A GINGERBREAD HOUSE!!!  SO FUN!  The house had been constructed a few days earlier and the decorating had begun, but the bug dorks tricked that house oooooout!

Markster working hard on the roof.

 Meg and Markster working hard on adding our Harmonia infestation...that's right we are true dorks and added the tell-tale sign of fall/winter to the lovely little gingerbread house by adding and infestation of ladybird beetles - epic.

Ta-da!!  I was in charge of the icicles and filling in the gaps on the roof - I'm not gonna lie, I'm way impressed with my icicles...like, considered for a split second that I should change careers and be a gingerbread house decorator or something  :)

 See all those little pink clusters?  Those are our little Harmonia!!!  It looks just like a real infestation!  Little aggregations and all!

We didn't finish the backside of the house, the front and sides look pretty darn awesome, we think!

Sunday was a nice chill day...Skypage, church...it was a pretty good day.  I was especially blessed at church Sunday night, and it was wonderful.

Monday was awesome!!  We bug dorks plus a few other friends made brunch and had an absolutely lovely time together.  Everyone brought something to share with the group and we all just sat around with some nice folksy music in the background while we chatted, ate some delish food, sipped on coffee/tea/mimosas...mmmmmhmm!  We closed out our brunch time with some Strong Bad and Teen Girl Squad.  It was glorious.

Post brunch, was positively delightful, as well.  The Markster, Meg, Christine and myself went back to REI so I could exchange my parka for a different size - the sleeves were like half-way up my arms when I put the hood up on the first one...that's something I definitely should have checked at the store.  Oh well, REI makes it super easy for co-op members to make returns/exchanges.  We next ventured to a Starbucks for some coffee (we were all spent) and freaking awesome conversation.  Man, I love these kids so much!  After a couple hours there we went to TJMaxx so Meg could make a return and decided to kickoff our semester with a steakhouse dinner at Timber Lodge.  Oh my goodness, y'all, it was amazingly delicious.  And!  They messed up my order so they brought us a ginormous piece of whipped cheesecake.  Ummm...amazingly tasty.  Soooo grood  :)  We really had an awesome Martin Luther King, Jr. Day...it was incredible.  I can't wait to continue building and strengthening my relationships with my bug dorks here...seriously, such blessings to my life.

Week one (or rather, the first 4 days) of semester two was pretty decent, all-in-all.  Nothing went wrong or poorly...always a nice way to start a semester.  I made some more headway on my semester docket as far as what I need to do for my research/thesis stuffs - I still have a lot to do for this semester yet, but I'll get there.  Classes will be quite enjoyable, I think...just a lot of work...and I mean a LOT of work.  My museum studies - practices course will be especially heavy on the work load.  Yikes...papers and projects due every week!  Most of which require going to museums and writing papers and things about exhibits, pieces, etc...time consuming, to say the least.  Not hard or tedious, just time consuming...busy work.  I am excited to have an excuse to get out and see the museums around the area, though, that will be nice.  Time is just so lacking...oi vey...I so need more hours in the day or another day in the week...something, anything!

I'm trying to remember if there was anything super important that happened this week, or if it everything was just same ol' same ol' in the land of grad school...hmmm.  Well, I'll let you know later if I forgot anything.  Oh, we had our first Pig's Eye of the semester tonight.  I left pretty early, I'm just beat - I've fallen into another bought with insomnia...yay, no sleep!  No worries, though.  This happens from time to time, and it always passes with time..sometimes it takes a few months, but it hasn't killed me yet!

Ok, enough about school and work.  I'm sure you're all familiar with my friend Katy, over in Africa, who I've mentioned a number of times.  Well, if you aren't pay her a visit - her blogging is honest, fun, colorful, exciting, broken for the Lord, encouraging, pretty much just all around awesome.  One of her resolutions was to find joy in every day, whether it be in the little things or in big things.  I really like this idea - I think it will serve to help keep each day in perspective; so, even though I'm a few weeks behind, it's never too late to start, right?  I'll start with last Saturday.

Saturday, 15 Jan 2011:  (<-- it's still really weird for me to write 2011) Fun adventures around town with a couple of my favorite bug dorks.

Sunday, 16 Jan 2011:  Made some new friends at church - a lovely young family with two little boys.  Such a blessing!!

Monday, 17 Jan 2011:  Beautiful, real conversation with 3 of my absolute favorite bug dorks.  SUCH A BLESSING!!

Tuesday, 18 Jan 2011:  Meg and I trying to keep our snickers below audibility during insect behavior...it's going to be a gooooood semester  ;)

Wednesday, 19 Jan 2011:  DAY ONE OF INSECT TAXONOMY!!!!!!!!!!  This class = me.  Oh!  And lunch with some of the bug dorks I hadn't seen since being back.  Oh!!  And surviving the campus connector bus!  (I totally felt like a freshman all over again...)

Thursday, 20 Jan 2011:  First Frenatae meeting of the semester = seeing just about eeeeveryone I hadn't connected with since the break.  I love them  :)  Plus, departmental potluck lunch day...so grood.

Friday, 21 Jan 2011:  Catch up chat on the phone with SW...I am so blessed with two incredibly amazing advisors.  Like, really.  SW + RH = advisors extraordinaire  :)

So, yeah...it was a super blessed week, full of joy, joy, joy  :)

And now, my loves, I am off to bed.  Lots to do tomorrow before Meg's big start of the semester potluck bash tomorrow night.  And so, I will leave you with this:

My sleepy, super, super spoiled Jakers dog  :)

Praying all is well in your worlds.

Much love!

Shalom!

~MW

P.S. - it is officially cold, y'all.  This morning it was -18 degrees F...without wind chill...neeeeeeat!

We are called to be RESOLUTE...a twist on New Year's Resolutions

Ok..I've been promising this post for nearly a month now...and I finally got ahold of the sermon I needed to refresh my memory on to make sure I had it all right...so, here goes:


How many times have we made resolutions for the new year only to forget we even made them by the end of the first week {or sooner...}...? How many times have we said, "This will be the year that I actually do it!"? Pastor Willis brought this point up the Sunday following Dec, 31/Jan 1. He even brought up, what many of us have come to do, that there's a number of us who have resolved to not make resolutions!!! {sheepishly raising my hand right now} But then he want on to say that as Christians, we are called to be resolute and so cannot not make resolutions. I know, my face was somewhat twisted in a confused look, too. He then brought to our attention Paul and his 1st letter to the Corinthians: For I resolved to know nothing amont you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Cor 2:2 ...As Christians, we are called to be resolute.

Now everyone has wiped their faces clean of expression and all are quietly listening...where are you going with this, Pastor??

His next statement was dumbfounding: This year, I want all of you to know Christ and Him crucified by drinking, cheating, stealing, and lying more that you ever have before....

After a brief pause, to let it all sink in, he explained...and let me just tell you: it was amazing.

Drink: Drink the Water of Life.
- When we are all so busy with anything and everything else in our lives/the world how parched do our souls become?? How starved are our spirits for that nourishing elixir of life that is God and His precious Word?!
- Everything else we fill our lives with is nothing but dust in our mouths. Gross...but so true. And, what an effective analogy to demonstrate how much damage we do to ourselves when we aren't drinking from the Word...daily.
- I remember Butch talking about this one time at Living Hope: he said something along the lines of people will die from thirst in something like 4-5days...how often do we go for a whole week without drinking from God's Word??? Scary to think about.

Cheat: Cheat Satan.
- One of Satan's many names is "The Accuser." That's one of the things he will do when we stand before the gates of Heaven -- He will accuse us of all of our wrongs, before the Lord's throne.
- Satan will do anything and everything to fool us into sinning...and then rub our noses in it...awesome.
- How many of us are plagued by sins we have committed in the past...even though we have confessed and been forgiven?? That guilt is something Satan uses against us. Pastor Willis made a good point when he said that sometimes it only takes something as small as hearing a song...even just a line! Or a scent, or a place...a street name...anything can trigger our recollection of whatever happened and result in us resuming ownership of the guilt that came with that sin.
- The Devil robs us of that glorious joy found in Christ crucified...what a tragedy that we allow him to.

Steal: Steal time with God.
- Our lives are too busy...simply too busy. How can we know this? Pastor Willis used the illustration of noting the minuscule numbers of Bible study attendees on Sundays...Tuesdays...Wednesdays...Thursdays...etc. It was a pretty good reminder that we too often hear of an opportunity to grow in the Lord and spend time with Him but turn around and say, "Well, I have this or that on that day...so, I can't go..." Yeeowzas!
- Pastor Willis encouraged us to make time in our day for the Lord.
- We should want and desire to spend time with Him, to be at church/Bible study, to be fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should WANT this!!
- Another sharp point was this: What if we spent even half as much time with God as we do pointing something at a screen...even half!!! OK, Pastor...we're getting it.
- So many of us envy those who truly know the Bible and look something up or rattle off a reference with hardly a thought about it. We want to have that knowledge, but it seems we are rarely willing to make the "sacrifice" of giving up "our" time to spend time learning God's Word and putting forth the effort required to commit it to memory.

Lie: Lie back and rest in the Lord.
- He wasn't telling us to be lazy with this, but rather to find respite in the Lord.
- Time flies so very quickly in the fast-paced world of today. This is especially true when we are investing ourselves and our time in anything and everything but God and the people around us.
- Psalm 46:10 tells us to "Be still and know that [He is] God." What if we really were still and allowed ourselves to truly know that He is God.
- Slow down. Rest in the Lord.


Basically, all this combined means that our lives depend of knowing Christ and Him crucified. Don't discount His call and desire for us to be in Him. Don't be afraid to be resolute and KNOW Him.

So, there is your permission to drink, cheat, steal, and lie more than ever before. Enjoy and good luck!

It was truly an eye-opening reminder of how we, as Christians, ought to live out our lives in and for the Lord.

Shalom!
~MW

P.S. - If any of you want to listen to the sermon yourself, you can find it here, click on "January 3rd 2010 Sermon"