Newkirk Adventures

Shaking it up in Shaker Village

2008-06-14T21:43:00.006-04:00

So, I know that everyone has been dying to know what we’ve been doing for the past few months! Yeah right! It does seem weird writing down what’s going on. I don’t really think anyone reads this anyway. But for our 5 family members who might-here it goes.

Well April was super duper fun because we had 3 visitors in one week!Bennett Holloway came to visit-Monday-Thursday. We ate, went to a movie, watched American Idol, hung out, prayed, played some bumper pool etc. It was great to have him visit and now he’s interning this summer in TX. Thanks Benito for spending time and money to see us. We appreciate it and are blessed to call you friend and brother.

Then Dennis & Marcia came in on Thursday and stayed until Sunday! What a week. We ate some more great food, went to see Narnia, ate some more food, got pedicures and manicures, went to church, played some bumper pool, shopped, and played some mad spades. It was great to have them and we are so thankful that they could come visit.

Our anniversary was June 11th. 4 years! Crazy. Chris surprised me with a weekend getaway to Shaker village. (shakervillageky.org) We left on Friday, it’s only an hour away from Louisville and came back Sunday. It’s this quaint little village, that just so happens to be Ashley Judd’s favorite place to go in KY, and it is a step back in the future-around the late 1800’s early 1900’s. In a nut shell, Shaker Village was a community of people who had a lot of really wacky beliefs. They were basically a cult. We heard some crazy stories about what they believed, but they sure had a great village. It was beautiful and historic. Our room was cold-great in 90 weather and cozy. The view and houses were beautiful. We went on a few tours and heard about their beliefs, worship, living arrangements, work ethic, etc. Very interesting. We also went to see a play at the village that was a representation of what life was like for the women there. We stayed in the Inn and ate some awesome food. They gave you a ton and it was really yummy. To top it off, Chris surprised me by buying this pitcher for me and giving it to me on our actual anniversary. There are some pics below. I had mentioned that I really liked this pitcher that was in our room and we looked everywhere in the village so we could buy one, but found nothing-i'm picky and only wanted certain colors etc. So, he was Mr. Sneaky and bought it from

the management, after much begging, and surprised me with it. It now holds a new flower, our love fern per se, and we’re hoping to keep it alive a couple of months, thus breaking our current plant holding record.
Chris finished is his semester with a bang! I’m not sure what that means but it sounds fun doesn’t it? He worked hard, studied a million hours, and his grades were great-all while being a great husband and spending time with me. So that’s a bang to me-a truly successful semester. He completed New Testament II., Old Testament I, Hermeneutics, and scripture and revelation. He also just finished a j-term class, Old Testament II and is taking another one in July-Biblical counseling.
Lastly, Chris was asked by our pastor and church if he would be interested in interning at the church for the next year. They are starting an internship for men who they have identified who might be interested in church planting-our pastor is part of the Acts 29 network. After much prayer, we decided that this would be a great opportunity for Chris. There are 5 guys who will meet twice a week-early in the morning-hello 6am! They study scripture, read some strategic books, lead a community group, and learn from the leaders at church and much more. They will go and visit different churches during the year and observe church plants and glean from others who have lots of experience in church plants. We put up some money for it and the church matches it. We are really excited and feel like this will be a great opportunity for us to explore this avenue. Who knows!

Anyway, things are going well. I’m still enjoying my job and we’re making friends. We would love for you to pray for us if you think about it. There will be a lot of decisions to make in the coming year and so much to learn. We want to be totally open to whatever God has for us. We want to have our “Yes card” on the table at all times, no matter what he asks us to do. True life, a fulfilling, God glorifying life, TRUE LIFE, a Satisfying and joy filled life, really is taking up your cross and following Him. Mark 8:34 “Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. If anyone wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try and keep your life for yourself you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.” God keeps pounding this in my heart and mind. Maybe He’s trying to get me to grasp something.
Anyway, we love you. We’re coming home in a couple of weeks for the event of the summer, the Wilson/Tate wedding!

See you soon!

Chris and Andrea

What do you want to title this? "I dont care."

2008-04-06T20:03:00.004-04:00

It’s time to update the blog again.

Visitors-Blessed to have 3 visitors this past month. Anyone’s welcome! Hint, hint, wink, wink

It seems like we’ve been busy lately. Micah Rigdon is visiting right now. He and Chris have had lots of fun boy time (sportsapalooza, pizza, movies, pizza) and we’re so glad he got to come and see us.

Pam Yates and Katie were visiting family in Indiana for spring break and they made the trek over to KY to go to dinner with us and see our apt. We went to this crazy little diner and had a great time. It was so good to see some friends and catch up. Thanks for coming! We love you guys.

Retreat-

Today I went the women’s retreat at our church. It was nice to get to meet some new people and experience something different. There were about 120 women there and the theme was, “Growing in Grace.” They had breakfast, lunch, small groups, worship, and a main speaker from 8:30am-4:30pm. Overall it was a good experience.

Traveling- Chris and I did some traveling on the same weekend. The timing worked out perfectly.

St. Louis and Chicago- I played in my first wizard rock show at a library in Champagne, IL. I got to hang out with Cary, Cassie, and Stacy for some much needed girl time. We all met in St. Louis at Cary’s sister’s house, which was our home base. Then we drove to the show to play. There were probably about 75 people there and we opened. It was tons of fun. After that we drove to Chicago for a day of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was disappointing, shopping, eating fabulous pizza, etc. It was a wonderful weekend.

Meanwhile Chris was in D.C. at a conference at Capital Hill Baptist Church with Dennis, Chuck, and Larry. He learned a lot and it was a good time for him to spend with family.

Easter-

We got to go see the Southeast Christian Church Easter pageant. It was quite the production. I’m talking amazing sets, talent, lighting, cinematography everything. It was a really good show too. I mean all the amazing stuff wasn’t a distraction from the story, it just helped make it really impactful and professional. The facility is pretty neat too. It kind of reminded me of a mall though, escalators and semi restaurant, book store etc. I think they have around 18,000 members or something crazy like that. It was a great experience and the tickets were free because a guy at my work really wanted Chris and me to go, so he bought them for us, so nice!

Jobs-

Chris has decided to substitute teach occasionally when his schedule allows. One of the highlights of my month was hearing him tell me the events of his first day with an 8^th grade science class. To say the least is was quite challenging and he will keep well clear of choosing to go to that school again. I believe you can read his face book to get an in depth look at his experience.

I started a new job this week. I now work for Campus Quilt as the customer service/marketing/whatever it takes to make it happen person. It’s a family owned company which takes T-shirts and makes them into quilts (campusquilts.com) . The son & daughter in law of my former boss own the company and hired me after I told my boss at the refrigeration company that I was looking for something else. It’s quite interesting and I’m learning lots of new things. I love that I stay busy! I basically don’t stop until 3pm after UPS picks up all the quilts for the day. It’s really nice and I enjoy the people I work with. I’m very thankful that God has opened this door for me.

Well, I guess that about wraps up what’s been going on with us over the past month. Chris is still doing well at school and learning tons. My class these 6 weeks is New Testament/Old Testament Survey and I love it. I’m learning so much! I recommend everyone take some sort of class like this. I feel like God has given Chris and me this time to really soak up as much as possible and we are. I just pray that as we learn more, that this information would filter into our hearts and grow in us a deeper love for God. Because how can I love God if I do not know Him, and how can I know God if don’t learn from His word that He’s given me to see what He’s like and who He is.

But I know that I am capable of learning about Him and not letting that affect my life and actions. So, I am praying that God will help Chris and me process all these life, school, and marriage experiences so that we can mature and most of all love God and people more. God truly is in every breath, whether I stop and recognize it or not, but I hope that I can be a women who recognizes God in each breath and that as I breath in and out that it would be with a full recognition that He gives me life and breath and that He is the center and source.

We love and miss you.

Chris and Andrea

March update

2008-03-09T18:32:00.006-04:00

Hello family and friends!

We have not disappeared off the face of the earth, but we've had a busy couple of months. In January I went home for Stacy Spencer's wedding to Seth Kastner. It was beautiful and we had a blast! Here are a couple of pictures from it.

Last month I traveled home to get lasik eye surgery. Since we have been in KY I haven't been able to wear my contacts. Something with the different allergies here or something. It's been a bummer and after some saving and gift from family we decided to go for it. I was really blind. Like really. -7 and -6.50 but now, can I get a drum roll>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I'm 20/20! It's amazing. I wake up in the morning and I can see. It's amazing. I would like to take a moment to thank Dr. David Jackson and team at Dean McGee in OK. You guys rock. Anyway, i had a great experience and I'm so glad I was able to do it. (P.S. I flew home by myself because Chris wasn't going to be able to come back with me, but he surprised me by flying to OK on Valentine's Day so he could be with me during the surgery. It was such a blessing). (P.P.S-I was sick with the flew when I came home for the surgery and then got a stomach bug after the surgery so if I didn't get to see you it's because I pretty much stayed at home to mend).

A few days after my surgery I flew to Ft. Benning Georgia to see Zach (my brother) graduate from Army bootcamp. I was so proud of him. He was the best marksman in his whole graduating class. He got a medal and everything for it. Pretty cool. He really likes the army and it seems like it's a great fit for him. We got to hang out with Zach and family for the next few days before I flew back home. Zach got assigned to Ft. Drum, NY where he is right now. He's doing well, but I do miss him.

Chris and I just got done with our memebership classes at Sojourn and we're thinking we'll serve as community group leaders (small group leaders). They need more leaders and we think it will be a great way to help out and do what we love to do.

We had about a foot of snow this weekend in Louisville. It was nice to stay home, cuddle up, and watch some movies. The roads are fine now, so it's back to work tomorrow.

Chris likes his classes this semester and has just applied to start subbing in the Jefferson County School District on his free days.

That's about it! We miss you all and will hopefully get to see you in June!

Love Chris and Andrea

Better Late Than Never

2008-01-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I know it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. I am a horrible person, I know. How could I let a thing like this slide? Anyway, better late than never, right? I know no one wants to hear me go back over the past month so I'll stick to the highlights. How about a top ten list? It won't be funny like Letterman and now that I finished it, I have 13 but whatever. I make my own rules.

1. Dennis and Marcia came to visit early December. It was great to have them here to hang out. We played cards, went to movies, showed them around town, and ate and ate and ate! And played dress up.......?

2. Chris and I went on a Christmas date. Red Lobster and I-Legend. Chris liked the movie, but it was a little scary for me. I'm a wuss.

3. Started cleaning a ladies house on Saturday's for some extra cash. She's extremely nice and very flexible so it's been working out great. Chris helps with the outside stuff at her house and he cleans our apt so I don't have to do both. What a nice fella! What a servant.

4. We came home for a week during Christmas. It was wonderful to see friends and family. We were very exhausted when we got home, but it was worth it!

5. Started visiting community groups at Sojourn. The first one we tried had cats and Chris' eyes swelled up. We tried another group and liked it, but it's large and about to multiply. Hopefully soon we'll settle down.

6. We're about to start new member classes at Sojourn next week

7. Chris completed a Christian Ethics class of the J-term. He's starts spring classes next week: New Testament 2, Scripture and Revelation, Old Testament 1, and Biblical Hermeneutics.

8. I start my Seminary Wives Institute class back up next week. I'm scheduled to take marriage and family. Should be interesting.

9. I came to OK for Stacy Spencer's wedding last weekend. She was beautiful and the wedding was lots of fun. It was a whirl wind weekend dedicated to the wedding, so if I didn't get to see you, sorry.

10. I haven't been able to wear my contacts since I've been in KY. Something with the allergies here or something. While in OK I had an eye appointment to see if I'm a candidate for Lasik. I am and I'm going to be coming home for a week in February to get it done!!!

11. Chris is the best husband ever. This week he has watched Music and Lyrics, Sydney White, and he's taking me to see 27 dresses this weekend to celebrate my birthday. He's a trooper and so sweet!

12. My Christmas tree and lights are still up and I lost the charger for our vacuum. Needless to say I need to get my act in-gear and our floor is disgusting.

13. Chris' birthday is February 1st, so make sure and call or text! He'll be 25! WOW!!!

Those are the lowlights and highlights, folks! We love you and miss you all!

Andrea

Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-24T22:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

So what’s been happening in KY?
Our friend Nathan Wood came to visit a couple of weeks ago for the weekend. It was so nice to have him here. We all went out to eat and to a movie. Then he and Chris hung out the rest of the time, going to Starbucks, playing racket ball and touring the town. We had a blast with Nathan and I hope he can come back again and stay with us.

It was nice to have Thanksgiving day off. For Turkey Day Chris and I went to serve lunch at Wayside Mission center, however they had too many volunteers so they sent us home. Bummer! That was our big plan for the day. We came back home and watched football and relaxed. I made chicken (no turkeyL) , stuffing, and mashed potatoes. I also made my first apple pie and it was delicious! Way to go me! That night we went to see a movie. There wasn’t much out that we wanted to see so Chris let me pick. It was either Fred Clause or Enchanted and Chris doesn’t like Christmas movies, so Enchanted was the winner. Chris is such a sport! The movie was cute but definitely cheesy and girly. I kept hearing Chris make these disgusted noises and see him roll his eyes. He was almost more fun than watching the movie! That night we went home and ate the apple pie with ice cream and watched Shreck 3, which we were both disappointed with.

I was so spoiled working at HHBC! We had great time off. Way to go HHBC for blessing your employees. Now that I work somewhere else I see how other places are and it’s definitely not as fun. I had to work on Friday after Thanksgiving. There were probably only 5 people there on Friday and I had about 15 phone calls during the whole day. Talk about pointless and boring. I read a book the whole day. This weekend I’m going to brave the crowds and shop. I love shopping when it’s crowded. Crazy huh! I’m also going to decorate the house. My tree is about 3 feet! Much different than last year. Last year it took me the whole day to decorate and I bet it only takes me about 30 minutes tonight!
Chris has finals this week, so he’s busy studying. Pray for him when you think about it. I finished my worldviews class, so I’m done until January. We are excited because next weekend when Chris is finished with finals, Dennis and Marcia are coming to visit. We have missed our family so much so It’ll be nice to have them here. Hopefully it will look better than when they last saw it.

I guess with the holidays here, I’ve been a little sad and homesick. Not a ton, but a little. I put in my Harry Potter CD the other day, so I could hear me and my friends singing. It warped me back to our recording days and all the fun we had. I’m also very glad that there are restaurant and store chains. It’s like having some friends in another state. Barnes and Noble, Panera, Starbucks, Target. Those are some of my friends here. It makes it feel like it’s not that far away, ya know.

Anyway, not much else is happening. We miss you all and we’re excited to come home for Christmas! Until then-enjoy the season and soak it up. Tell someone you love them and give them a hug. Drive down the street and look at the Christmas lights and the people. Celebrate God and all He has done! Thank Him for giving us life and hope in Jesus.

Love you! Andrea

November Already!

2007-11-03T18:06:00.000-04:00

The latest update!

I've been scolded by Cassie because I don't update the blog often enough. So sorry, I'll try and do better. BTW...I learned in my voice and diction class that you do not pronounce the "T" in often.

Josh and Cherish just visited this week and it was such a refreshment for us! They arrived on Saturday and we took a tour on campus. Then we went to a carnival at church and at some free food and watched the first Die Hard:) On Sunday we went to church and toured the town. The boys watched football while Cherish and I watched Sense and Sensibility. Now that's a good Sunday. We took at tour of Louisville and went to eat at the Irish Rover. The only problem was that it is closed on Sundays. Bummer. So we went to this BBQ place which was pretty good.

Josh and Cherish visited classes on Monday and Tuesday. I got sick on Monday and came home from work early. I'm feeling better now, but poor Cherish had to share a bed with me all week so I hope she didn't get sick.

Chris took them to the airport on Wednesday and that was it. We had a great time. It was good to have friends here that you already know and who already know you.

My brother, Zach, has joined the Army. He is now in bootcamp. He wrote me a letter and it was great to hear from him. I'm excited for him, but I hope everything goes well and he makes friends. I think this will be a good experience for him. Pray for him when you think about it.

On Halloween I was sick:( All I wanted to do was watch Hocus Pocus and fall asleep on the couch. Unfortunately it was already rented at blockbuster, no doubt by some 12 year olds, and I was too tired to go hunting around for it. After dinner Chris went to "study" but really he went to hunt down the movie for me. He went to about 8 blockbusters, walmart, target, best buy, and finally found it at a blockbuster in the ghetto. He bought it for me along with the next book in a series I'm reading right now. He came back home and I got to watch it while eating a sherbert shake and blowing my nose every 5 minutes. And that's they story of how Chris saved Halloween. I'm so lucky:)

Chris was also a great sport. I had this clever idea to paint our faces for Halloween and take pics and send them to our fam. Great idea right. So, I looked online and found this girl with her face painted like a panda. Perfect. So, Chris painted my face which was much better than my painting on his face. You can see the process in our pictures!

Not much else is happening. Chris got the RA (resident advisor) position on campus that he applied for. He starts in next week. He's studying and writing papers. He only has 4 weeks of class left before his finals. I'm taking a world views class right now with Dr. Moehler. It's very interesting and I'm learning a lot. Nathan Wood is coming to visit this weekend and we're both excited. Okay, I'm going to finish watching High School Musical 2 now. (which is basically a dirty dancing rip off-though not as good but probably more clean). It's my Saturday activity before I cut coupons and make my grocery list for tomorrow. What an exciting life I live:)

We love and miss you all! We're praying for you back home!

Love,

Andrea

2007-10-06T14:32:00.000-04:00

Happy day to our friends and family! (Chris keeps making fun of my greetings, so I'm going to start using the stupidest ones I can. I'll show him, right!)

Chris got you upadated last time so now it's my turn. Things are peaceful here right now. I've been reading a lot and working out. My goal is 10 pull ups by Christmas but we'll see if that actually happens. It's a lot harder that it looks, even for someone my size. I'm on the 3rd Lord of the Rings book, which I checked out from the Louisville Public Library. I'm trying to get more creative in my cooking. I'm such a dope and left most of my cook books back in OK, but I'm getting some off the internet and borrowing some from people around here. I don't really enjoy cooking but the more I do it the better it gets. I think it's just intimidating. Chris is a big help though so that's nice. Chris is currently on his fall break. He's still studying a lot but we're taking a break in about and hour and we're going on a cave tour. Mammouth cave, it's supposed to be the largest cave in thte US. We're taking the twilight tour. I'll post some pictures when we get back. Hopefully it will be fun. The pictures online look really interesting.

Chris told you my brother came and visited 3 weeks agoa and we had a good time. Zach is pretty easy to entertain. Movies, video games, working out, he was probably the easiest guest we'll ever have! Then two weeks later my dad and Kathy came to visit. (which was last weekend). They flew in on Saturday and left on Tuesday morning. We picked them up and then took them on the grand tour of the campus and our apt. What else did we do? Oh yeah, we went to eat that night and then went to see a movie. It was nice to relax and hang out with them. The next day was Sunday so went and ate breakfast at this small cafe and we took them to Sojour. They said they liked it and loved the music! I was excited because I was unsure if they would like it. After that we drove by where I worked and my dad made me get out of the car and stand in front of the building and take a picture. Good thing no one was there.

Then we went to Sonic to get drinks. They have the old sonics here, where you can go inside and eat and order on the red telephones, memories! I go there on Fridays, order a drink, take my lunch, and read in the far back corner. The manager is really nice and sends people out to refill my drink every 10 minutes. The store is really clean and has great service. The manager is nice and we make small talk. He's a Christian and he said has his degree in restaurant service and he makes more at sonic than he could in fine dining. He said they gave him a $2800 bonus last month! Maybe I should see if he'd hire me! Enough about Sonic.

Then we took a drive around the town and looked at some of the houses. Some of them are so old and pretty. Like little cottages. I'll take a pic soon of my favorite one so you can see. My dad likes to make home video's ect so we decided to film a Halloween movie to send to the Moore family in Utah. We wrote a script, which took many different turns, and filmed on Sunday and Monday. It was pretty fun, but I am a horrible actress. Kathy stole the show and Chris ran around in this Elvis/biker mask we found at Target and stalked me. I'm excited to see how it turns out. Dad is going to edit it and have it ready for Halloween. I'm sure it'll be good for a laugh.

On Monday, we went to the Louisville Slugger museum. If you like baseball it's pretty interesting. They show you how they lead you on a tour and show you how they make the bats and then the tour ends in a museum. My dad really liked it because he really likes baseball. After that we ate a burger at White Castle which I will never ever do again. On Monday night we went to eat at King Fish, which is in IN right on the Ohio river. It's cool because the view is of KY's downtown and it's really beautiful at night.

I had to go back to work on Tuesday so Chris took them to the airport, but they stopped by my office and said bye before the got to the airport. They got home safely and this week we've just been hanging out, studying and eating. My introduction to bible class ended last week. They are only 6 weeks long, but I really learned a lot and enjoyed myself. Next week my world views class starts and the president of the seminary, Dr. Mohler is the instructor. I hear he's good so I'm excited.

Last night, Saturday, Chris and I went on a date to the caves. It is Mammoth cave and it's the largest cave in the world. We went on the Star Chamber tour from 6-8pm. It was lots of fun. It felt like we were on vacaction but I'm not sure why. Maybe I associate it with something you do on vacation and all these other people were from other parts of the US and came to visit. Anyway, Chris planned it all and he did a great job.

I probably won't have time until next weekend to update the blog. I signed up to work on M, W, F in the evenings next week to serve at some banquets on campus. I'm excited! I'll make a few extra bucks and meet some people. Chris signed up too, but he'll be working at different time

Until then! Love you!

Andrea

PS>Can you belive that Chris actually pointed at the Amish people! I was so embarrassed but I don't think they saw it. It was pretty funny though!

PPS: Happy Birthday to my mom today! And Happy upcoming Birthday to Zach on Tuesday!

Better late than never.............i think.

2007-09-22T22:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I got on here to see what Andrea had been bloggin lately.... hahaha. thats funny! Not too much i guess.

Thought i'd drop a quick line to let all of you know that we are still alive and kicking.

Stuff is actually going well here. Things are still busy but I feel like andrea and I are getting into a more balance routine.

Tonight - she is having a 'pamper herself night' (im sure she'll take this off if she ever reads it). She came out with a green maskie thing a bit ago - now shes sitting eating ice cream watching some movie about the presidents daughter running away - Ha! I could never make it as a girl. She kicked me out of the living room when i was taking a break from studying. Ha!

But yeah. Things are going well. Andrea's brother Zach was here last weekend and we just had a blast with him - he was our very first visitor! We didnt do a whole lot with him but it was still super fun to just have somebody that really cares for us here! Andreas Dad & Stepmom come next weekend - so that'll be alot of fun too!

Besides that not much is up.....

LOTS of school.
Andreas been working a bunch and then working out alot at nights.
We have dinner most nights together and thats really been fun - one of my favorite things.

This weekend i have been preparing for some of my midterms that will happen next week. Ha - on one of them he is having 40% of our grade be the writing of 40 bible verses (some of which are huge) and he told us on thursday that he will count off for punctuation. Hahahah - He said - "im not going to be THAT tough i'll just count off a point or so for each comma you miss." Good times.

Also, I switched concentrations this past week. I had been praying about it and researching some different options. I switched from the theology departments "christian ministry track" to the mission departments "great commission ministries." Im really excited about it cause it will allow me more flexibility to take some courses i really want to take.
Like i really wanna take a church planting course. And i want to take a course just on apologetics. And i want to take a course just on the life of Christ. THAT would be awesome - and those are some things that I can do more of in this new concentration. And, i get out of taking the class solely on the history of the baptist denomination. hahahaha - not to say i wouldnt really like that.

Today I got up - read some.
Went to starbucks and studied (they gave me a drink for free after 6 hours i believe)
Then i came back home - took my shoes off - rolled up my jeans and walked around the campus for about an hour and a half doing flashcards......
Life is alot slower here and alot different - its weird cause its still stressful - just a really different type of stress.

We love you guys and miss you a ton.
We wont be coming home for thanksgiving so we'll be looking towards christmas!

PS. I know we left you kinda hanging on the church visiting... Here's a quick update:
(I think this is all)
Week one: HighView Baptist
Week two: Clifton Baptist
Week three: Immanuel Baptist
Week four: Sojourn Community
Week five: Crossing
Week six: Sojourn Community
Tommorrow: 9th & O Baptist

We really really liked Immanuel and Sojourn. We liked both alot but I was leaning toward Sojourn more and Andrea was leaning more towards Immanuel - we decided to just split up and go to different churches since we like different things.

jk. We went back to sojourn last week cause we thought zach would like it the best. It was their 7year anniversary. The pastor spoke about their vision and what they feel like their church exists to accomplish. It was awesome guys. It was right up our alley and exactly what we are looking for. I'd be suprised if we didnt end up there -- but who knows friends - Gods weird like that. Its cool cause its really really nontraditional in some aspects - yet pretty traditional in others. They do a benediction at the end of service - and i have really grown to appreciate it. They also do the Lords Supper EVERY WEEK - and that is something that i have really really become burdened for.... only they dont make it easy - they make you get up and take it from a person - not just from a lone bowl. The church is in a poorer rougher part of town and they do community projects literally every week of the year to try to impact within a 1 mile radius of their church - thats awesome. Anywho - check out their site if you'd like -- http://www.sojournchurch.com/ .... you could listen to last weeks sermon on there if you roll like that! Much love to you all.

OH PPS..... The first sunday we went to sojourn - the pastor was wearing shorts and..... (drumroll) CHACO'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahhaha.

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-03T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends and Family,

We had a nice and relaxing weekend. On Friday we went over to some friend's house, Mike and Molly, for dinner. We had a great time and they made us feel very welcome. On Saturday Chris studied and I worked out and cleaned house. On Saturday night we went out on a date. We went to dinner at Rocky's in IN. It's just about 5 minutes across the river and it had a beautiful view (see pics below), but unfortunatley the food wasn't very good. After dinner we drove around town and searched out President Mohler's house. See pics below. It was very pretty and it is located across from the seminary. We rented a movie that night and just relaxed at home.

On Sunday we went to a church called Sojourn Community Church. I met a girl in my SWI (southern wives institute) class who attends Sojourn with her husband. We sat with them and they invited us over for lunch. We really enjoyed the church and will hopefully go back after we've vistied a couple more on the list. On Sunday day, Chris studied and I got stuff ready for the week.

On Monday Chris studied and I worked out and went grocery shopping. It was nice to have a day to relax and spend time together. You'll also see a a picture of Chris and his crushed red pepper spill. I thought it was funny....he didn't but I took a picture anyway. He had a previous experience with this in Nicaragua at Pizza Hut. For all those who witnessed this will be a flash back. We also included a picture of a super secret street entrance that all those who are spiritually seeking will want to check into......

We love you all and miss you all.

A Normal Weekend

2007-08-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends!

I've decided to update once a week and I didn't have time yesterday so here we go. What's been going on??? Not much. Just doing the normal stuff. Chris studies probably 10 hours a day. I work and cook and clean and blah, blah, blah. I watch Seinfeld in the evenings and read. So, what did we do this weekend?

Friday-the school had a welcome back party. you'll see pictures below. There was free dinner, balloon rides, games for the kids, a raffle and live concert. (they did draw my name as a winner, but of course i won a free tire alignment and rotation-not the free night stay at this nice hotel downtown). It was pretty fun. We met up with our neighbor friends (Nathan and Rachel) and Darren, a friend Chris made in Hebrew class. We didn't get to take a balloon ride. It was mainly for the kids and it just went up a few feet and then back down again. However, Chris did joust with Darren and Nathan, even though the games were for kids. You'll see some pics below.

I came back and did laundry for the first time in our laundry mat. It was okay and the washers are nice. you must have a good book to read though or it gets pretty boring. I'm reading the Lord of the Rings series now. I've put it off for far too long and it's time I conquered.

Saturday-Chris studied. I cleaned and shopped for groceries. We had our gym orientation so now we can work out and use all the machines. The facility is pretty nice and it's never very crowded. Maybe everyone is running outside? Who knows. I watched a movie on Saturday night and ate my favorite meal: Kraft Mac & Chz. 3 chz shell. I have now decided that if i could pick one last meal, it would make the cut.

Sunday-We went to a new church. We really liked it. The people were kind and the preacher was passionate and humble. We are still going to try and few other ones before we decide.

Chris studied and I did a bunch of random stuff, which apparently needs to be done and fills up a whole day, but I never really remember what exactly I did. If i remembered it wouldn't be any fun to read about anyway. We had Nathan and Rachel over for dinner. I made poppy seed chicken (Maz's recipe) and no one got sick which makes it a success in my book.

Monday-Today Chris studied and I worked. Tonight I went over to a friend Jennifer's house and watched HS musical to see what all the fuss is about. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty good. Hopefully i can get the sound track and sing right along with the rest of the grade and middle school population. Also, there was a hostage situation at a bank today. it was about 5 minutes away from work and people kept giving updates every 10 minutes. The guy ended up letting the 4 women go, but then they shot the robber. This is right by the Walmart that I go to all the time. Guess I'll have to switch where i shop. Apparently it's not the best part of town. How am I supposed to know that. They should have signs up or something.

Well, that's all for now. Sorry we're not more interesting. I could have written better, however I just don't have the energy tonight. Love you all. Please be praying for us! I'm getting a little homesick. I love our family, friends, and church. Thanks for all your love and support!

Andrea

The Great State Fair!

2007-08-18T21:28:00.000-04:00

Well, it wasn't really the great state fair. The Kentucky fair was no where close in comparison to the one and only real Great State Fair of Oklahoma. After waiting in line for 58 minutes to even enter park, we were bombarded by unhelpful people, except for the guy who tore our tickets at the entrance. We saw a lot of strange looking people, lots of skin, and lots of mullets which are apparently universal at state fairs. And just as a side note, if you are confident enough to wear a bikini to a fair, I say go for it. Embrace the fact that you are in a bikini and everyone else, well, almost everyone else, is wearing normal clothes.

We visited the buildings, the animal house, and the fair way. We stood in line for corn dogs but when I got up to the window I was grossed out by the smell and the guys working there so we left and went to another stand. We tried to see the Tiger show but we were a little late and had to stand behind these annoying people who kept yelling to each other even though they were sitting side by side.

The worst part was they didn't have cinnamon rolls. I was really, really looking forward to eating a cinnamon roll the whole day. I guess I'll just eat some ice-cream tonight to make up for it!

Things are going well here in Kentucky. I'm trying to cook more and the class that I'm taking on Thursday nights starts next week. I'm going to read the first chapter in my book "A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible" tomorrow to get a head start. I'm hoping I'll make some friends in the class. That one thing that's been a weird experience, no one knows me. I have to start out new. It'll be a great learning experience. I saw this girl in the gym when I was running this morning and I thought about if it would be weird for me to ask her to hang out sometime. Uh, yeah, that probably would have freaked her out.

We met a really nice couple, Nathan and Rachel, who live down the hall from us. We ate dinner at their apt last week and had fun. We'll invite them over soon, I just need to pick a dish to make. Seeing as I can only make a few things it should be interesting:) By the way, they make wonderful chocolate chip cookies:) Thanks friends for the gesture. Very kind and thoughtful:) (they read the blog).

Well, I guess that's all I have right now. I'm going to finish watching Tommy Boy and go to bed. We're going to visit a new church in the morning.

I'm attaching some pics from the fair tonight, along with 2 pictures from my work. It doesn't look like much but everyone is really nice. It's a local refrigeration company and I answer the phones and do basic office stuff. Just think of Pam from the office and that's me except I answer the phone and say, " Vittitow refrigeration, this is Andrea, how can I help you." And yes, I did spell refrigeration with a 'D' in it until my second day of work.

Miss and love you all! I would like to remind everyone that Chris took all the pictures at the fair:)

humbling.......

2007-08-14T23:41:00.000-04:00

ill ask from the beggining for you to excuse the punctuation. im trying to type really softly cause im in the same room as my sleeping bride.... so im making every 'click' count. i thought i would update you real quick about some of our comings and goings..... (sorry andrea hasnt updated this yet. im trying to teach her how - we just havent real come around to it yet.)

andreas job seems to be going well. tommorrow will be her third day. she is working for a company here in louisville called 'vittitow refrigeration' - No Bennett not VANCE REFRIGERATION - Vittitow. sounds weird to have her workin there -but its really been a good getup. she is starting as a receptionist but they promote from within and a bunch of the ladies she works with are people who used to be doing her job but got promoted. they must be doing something right to keep that many employees and continue growing and expanding. cool deal. andrea likes the people she works with - and its real laid back and not stressful - which is awesome. this company hires alot of seminary wives and is real flexible with time off n such. so, its still new and fresh but i think andrea feels good about it - which means i feel good about it.

today was my first day of class...... (insert horror music here)

to say that it was intense, intimidating, and hard core would be a severe understatement. My first class is hebrew 1. which i had every intent of working on before today to prepare - but due to our hectic summer it didnt happen. first off my friend 'darren' that i thought was in my class actually wasnt (bummer). the proff came in and the first thing he said was 'everybodies heard about this class right?' and everybody shook their heads and laughed --- me being the new guy - shook my head in agreement and laughed with apprehension. he then said these words - 'this will be the hardest class you will ever take.' and he totally wasnt kidding. he proceeded to explain how it was actually 2 classes wrapped up into one. and gave us the illustration of going up against Sean Merriman everyday - day and night - for a year. he said - if you only have to take a semester of this - take somebody easier - you dont want to be in here with me. He said ' you will HAVE TO work hours everyday just to pass.' HOLY CRAP! i thought to myself. My first semester and i take this devil class. and then he concluded the class by saying - 'alright lets see what youre made of. come back tommorrow with ALL of the hebrew alphabet memorized, all the names of the letters, the phonetic values, the final forms, etc - all the vowels, names , phonetic values, and the 2 charts at the end of the chapter. i dont want you to just have looked at them - you need to have MASTERED THEM by tommorrow. Have a good day.' And that was that. in my greek class our proff gave us like 2 weeks plus to have that much work done - and he gave us less than 24 hours!

(ill speed this up)

I then went to Systematic Theology II - great class. very ministry minded professor - real smart. Then i had a short break which was obviously consumed with Hebrew before i went to New Testament Survey I. This was a great class - probably my favorite. He has assigned crap loads of work though --- and 40 verses to be memorized by the midterm along with being ready to cite specific speeches, acts, miracles, events in the gospels - he'll say beatitudes - and we'll have to give him the reference. Cool deal! I ended the day with Personal Evangelism - and well - lets just say it wasnt my favorite so far. Teacher seems real smart though - which is cool. He assigned a book report for next thursday - which means we have to read the whole book and write the paper by then (all in lue of hebrew mind you).

So, couple cups of coffee later - here i am. taking a short break before i continue to 'master' hebrew. I know it all im just not sure im Sean Merriman ready yet.

Randoms:

Andrea and I are going to the Kentuck State Fair on Saturday - wohooo white trashfest.
Andrea and I worked out yesterday
I have got an AWESOME AWESOME wife! She has been so supportive and such a trooper through all of this.
Thank you for all of your texts and facebook messages - if i havent gotten back with you yet - please be patient with me - im sorry! I am thinking of you and missing you and loving you! Im figuring out how to balance it all.
Missing the breakfast club retreat was one of the hardest things thus far.
We've made a couple friends so far...
Nathan and Rachel, Darren, and our fam Jenny and Aaron - Holla at cha Girl!

ANDREA AND I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

please pray for us that we remain desperatly in love with our Lord - not the thought of him, the theology of him, the writings about him, but desperately passionately pursuing him. Its weird not having 'a place' yet. I sat in four classes today and didnt know anyone - thats a weird thing. I am consistently reminded of my smallness..................

i want to meet him here.

with all our love,

Chris & My Sleeping Bride

Weird.... going to church and knowing NO ONE.

2007-08-12T19:10:00.000-04:00

Well, quick post to just update you on whats going on here. Today we had our first sunday in Louisville so we went church visiting. We visited a multisite church here called "Highview Baptist." In light of whats going on at HHBC i thought it would be intersting to see how this panned out for just a normal - nonstaff - visitor perspective.

First off all - I got lost (idiot) and we ended up getting there about 10 minutes late (perfect we dont have to talk to anyone - right?). We slipped in and really enjoyed our time there. We met the middle school pastor on our way in and he was really nice. All of their greeters wore red shirts with the church name on it - which was actually pretty neat. And their staff members wore white shirts with their church name on it. Boring information to you probably but very interesting to me... it actually made me feel a bit more comfortable because I knew this guy approaching us wasnt as esther would say a "creeper."

The service was good - the pastor said a couple things that were just very much 'on.' We really did enjoy our time there. The music time was good. It was different but very much so good. One thing that the pastor said that i liked was that humanitarian organizations are all very good but basically all that they are accomplishing in and of themselves is making peoples journey to hell more 'healthy' and 'comfortable.' Dang! Thats intense but definitly true. Also, he was trying to make an illustration of belief - and depicted it by fully standing on a stool - saying that its not just putting part of 'your weight' on it - but its fully and completely putting all of your weight on it. I really liked it.

The invitation was neat too - he actually encouraged everybody who felt led to come up to the front and pray for a specific person that they know who isnt a believer. I really enjoyed it. I actually teared up when I saw all these people go to the front - because each and every single one of them was a represenation of a lost person....... WOW. It was a good morning for us.

We enjoyed it alot - but we definitly plan on trying out some different churches before we land on one. You can check them out at http://www.highviewbaptist.org/ . They also have a site dedicated solely to the hispanic community. Cool! I would love to go visit and see how they are reaching out to that people group!

After church we ventured to Big Lots to buy groceries and toiletries...hahaha. thats an experience in and of itself.

Then this afternoon i have listened to FOUR hours of mandatory online lectures about being a baptist. WOW. What an overload.

OH AND BY THE WAY! We switched banks right before we moved because our previous bank wasnt here. So, we switched to Chase. We got here to Louisville and a couple days ago we drove to the bank to deposit some checks. Normal business. Well, that night i was watching the news (which suprisingly is even worse than edmonds - no offense lance) - anyways i was watching the news and THAT VERY BANK THAT WE HAD BEEN AT got freakin robbed and two bank employees were shot - THAT VERY AFTERNOON! Can you believe that?

what else????

- oh yeah, one of our computers basically imploded when we got here. hahaha.

- i've been to walmart more in the past week that in the past three years (honestly).

- i bought a cacti to put on my desk to remind me of my pops.

Anyways - thought you might enjoy my ramblings. We miss you all terribly. Andreas job starts tommorrow morning - and i have one more day of freedom before class starts on tuesday.

love yall.

CHREEEOS.

and yes.... these are all my books... for just one semester.

Pictures from the move!

2007-08-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

Well it's been fun so far! Our apartment is coming along nicely. Just a few more things to do and we'll be all set. Dennis and Marcia were a huge help getting us settled and we're so grateful that they could come and help us out. Here are some pictures of the move. We hope they make you feel like you're here with us!

She Said We'd Have a Blog......

2007-08-08T21:54:00.000-04:00

Well, Im not too experienced with the whole blogging deal yet. But, what the woman wants - the woman gets. We've been here in KY since Sunday night late and let me tell you... it has been a trip. We have totally 'remodeled' our apartment here and it is looking awesome. My folks were here and they helped us out so much. They left tonight and to say that it was heart wrenching would be an understatement.

Stuff is going good here and we are in good spirits. I think this is a good 'first post' since I have no clue if this will even work.

God bless...... Let me know if anyone is going to read this bad boy. Love ya'll.

Chris