DA BEARS!!!!

Merry Christmas!  Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. Happy birthday to our Lord!

it's been awhile since i've posted.  the biggest things in my life so far is i'm getting better with my arrangements at work.  andrew is almost done with his 1st semester of Soph year vet school.  his last exam is tomorrow.  my christmas shopping is almost done--what an expensive holiday!  can't i just give everyone a hug?  also too, without getting into too many personal details, i've been learning a lot about how God loves us even though we wrong Him.  we don't deserve His love, yet it is unconditional and will always be.  so if you call yourself a "christian" and genuinely want to live a God pleasing-"what would Jesus do"- kind of lifestyle then we should be treating people with this in mind.  though family, friends, co-workers, whomever it may be, will hurt us in some way, we have to try to treat them the way God would.  it's so difficult though because we're only human. we love as humans love.  it's hard to love like God does.  i've also been learning that i need to have more respect for God.  He is in fact the God of this universe who created all things.  He didn't have to but He wanted to.  i think it's interesting when we try to question God about certain things.  we tend to think we could handle controlling every human being in this entire universe, as if we could do it better.  God has so much power and authority that i need to be more in awe of Him.  i need more of that "godly fear."  here is a passage from Acts (i'm studying this with a friend of mine) that made me go "wow."  He really is the Big Guy upstairs.  let's just let him do His job and trust that He does in fact care for us and wants our hearts to be right with Him.  His ways might not make sense, but to Him they do.  i've gotta trust in that more.  ok here goes.  bear with me, it's a bit long.
Acts 17:24-31 (Paul was preaching to the people of Athens)
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  For in him we live and  move and have our being.  As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'  Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill.  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." 

Amen to that.

happy thanksgiving to all and to all a great turkey.  what?  anyway i'm headed for FL again.  no tears this time. my p's will be back out to celebrate christmas soon.  isn't that nuts?  christmas is soon!  that means i need to do some serious power/bargain gift shopping.  us newlyweds are on a tight budget this year.   hope everyone likes the dollar store!  =)  alright time to pack up my things and get ready to hit the road for o'hare.  i really hope it's not too crazy.  last time i was there the security line was like the line to get on superman at great america.  i wound up walking into this other random short line and i wasn't technically supposed to i guess.  it was like some special line people pay extra for to stand in because it's shorter and quicker.  the lady let me through anyway.  maybe i'll try that again!  ok now i'm rambling.  have a great rest of your sunday!