Spring Break Getaway

Life has been pretty crazy the last couple of months.  Since I last blogged, Ryan and I celebrated Christmas with our families, we moved to an apartment, Ryan started working full time, and I started the second semester of my clinical education which is insane.
But since several people have asked me about why our blogging has ended, which by the way shocked me (I did not think we were very interesting), I have decided to try and start blogging again.  Try and control your excitement.
Today, I will give you guys a spring break update.  2 weeks ago was my spring break and Ryan took Thursday and Friday off work.  We had a fun filled Thursday in Birmingham which included breakfast at Demetri's BBQ, a walk at Railroad park, and a dinner out at Flip Burger.  Then Friday morning we headed to Mississippi to my family's "farm" where Ryan and I enjoyed the beautiful weather and the peace and quiet.  We rode the 4-wheelers, cleared some trails, went fishing, read, laid in the hammock.  It was wonderful!  We are actually heading back there on Friday and taking our wonderful small group with us, pictures to come.  I think I have posted this picture before but, below is a picture of me, my sister, and my dad at the farm years ago...

The farm is such a precious place to my family, and I am so glad Ryan can now enjoy it, and I look forward to sharing it with friends in the years to come.

It beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas!

I am finally done with exams and one Christmas break!  Ryan and I are looking forward to a couple of days here in Birmingham, for R&R and apartment hunting, and then we are so excited to be heading to Hattiesburg, Ms to spend Christmas with my precious Mamaw and family.  Here is what our house is looking like these days...

Christmas tree.  In the front window of course.

The table for fall... and now the table for Christmas.

Ryan at the door of 204!

Ryan's favorite: our Charlie Brown christmas tree

A couple of days ago my mom suprised Ryan and I with a Christmas basket full of goodies.  Including, cider which I am so excited to make and my favorite Christmas bakery item, Edgar's Stolen Bread.  Delicious!

Ryan's Graduation

Ryan graduated December 10th with a Masters in Theological Studies from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.  Here are some shots from the day:

Ryan in front of the beautiful Hodges Chapel.

Ryan's family that was able to join us.  (Thanks for taking the picture Mom!)

Congratulations Ryan!

What real faith looks like

Image from www.gbcdecatur.com

Over the last 2 years or so Ryan has introduced me to several Christian blogs that have brought me a lot of encouragement, interesting information, and sometime a good laugh.  Below is a quote that Ray Ortlund shared on his blog recently that I wanted to share.  It brought me a lot of encouragement today.

“Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it.  Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes.  For true faith, it is either God or total collapse.  And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him.”

A. W. Tozer, “True Faith Brings Committal,” In The Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, 1955), pages 49-50.

It's beginning to look a lot like finals...

Image from worthingtonlibraries.com

Sorry for the lack of posting!  My life is a 2 page (single spaced, 12pt font) to-do list right now.  To-do items include:

• study and take 8 final exams in the next 8 days of school. 
• finish about 4-6 hours worth of lab work
• complete 2 oral path assignments, one due today and one due Sunday
• review schedule for next week, call patients that need to come in

But on the fun side of my to-do list:

• celebrate with Ryan on Friday for graduation with his master's degree!  (Ryan will probably be pursuing another masters and possibly doctorate, but I am SO proud of his hard work on this degree and and excited that he will be a graduate of a not so easy masters program with an awesome academic record!)
• Head to a party Saturday for my good friend Sybil who is getting married on Dec 18th.
• Finish decorating the Christmas tree!

I will try and do a picture post this weekend from Ryan's graduation and pictures of our house decorated for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving and War Eagle!

Just a quick update post.  What Ryan and I have done the last 3 days...

Wednesday:

• Ryan came to see me at the dental school, as my patient.  I did a cleaning and took some x-rays.  No cavities, although he did have a couple deep pits with staining on some of the back teeth, so I did "drill" a little and placed some sealants.  Awesome. He was freaked out.
• I did a marathon cleaning at home.  Everything had to get organized in preparation for the Christmas decorations that will most likely start being pulled out tomorrow. Once I get it all up I will post some pics :) 

Turkey Day:

• Ryan and I went to his grandma's for thanksgiving lunch.  There we got to hang out with his mom, dad, sister, some aunts and uncles, some cousins, some kids of cousins, so on.  Needless to say crazy house, but we had fun!  Rachel, Ryan's sister, brought home a friend from school for thanksgiving.  Her name is Ahlen (pronounced Alan) and she just recently moved to America from China to get her doctorate.  Needless to say, it was her first thanksgiving, but I think she enjoyed it, especially the rousing round of Uno we played!

Black Friday:

• No, we did not go shopping. (Ryan and I both pretty much despise crowds unless we are at a sporting event or just people watching.)
• We watched "James and the Giant Peach."  I had never seen it.  I enjoyed it, but Ryan is a huge fan.  Any other fans out there?
• Watched Auburn come back from a 24 point deficit to beat Alabama and stay undefeated on our way to the SEC Championship! WAR CAM EAGLE!

Interwebs Roundup

Hey friends. Here are a few links from around the internet that are worth the time to watch or read.

The Dangling Wires of Our Generation - I have enormous respect for John Piper. His heart for the glory of God in all things has helped transform how I read Scripture and live life in multifaceted ways. I've especially loved watching some of my friends get a better grasp on the grandeur of God by Piper pointing them to Scripture to see God's majesty. This clip is a challenging piece that requires some reflection I think.

Where Our Hope Lies - This is in some ways a response to the above link, calling for a discerning look at how we think about the Christianity and the arts (TV in particular).

The Church in North Korea - One of my favorite professors was able to go to the Lausanne Movement conference held in South Africa last month. She shared a week or two ago about a powerful testimony that an 18 year-old girl from North Korea gave. The video is finally up, and I highly encourage you to watch it. We cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are in chains across the globe, and we need to lift our sister up as she shares the love of Christ with her native people.

National Geographic Winners - These are great photos from the annual National Geographic photography contest.

Street Trials Biking - One more fun link for the road. I'd never heard of this type of biking, but it looks awesome! This guy has to have the best balance ever.