No, I'm not talking about a Bible that converts to a purse, or vice versa. I'm NOT talking about this:

 ...although if any of you have one of those Bible covers masquerading around as a purse, I'm not knocking them... they're just not for me.  I'm a bag lady, remember? A purse/bible cover combo would NOT work for me, because I have to have something at least this large:

Seriously. (ps...that little caption in yellow says "I bet Mary-Kate's in there." Ha!)

In case you were wondering what I carry around in my huge bag all the time, you can be assured that usually I have a Bible in there... I call it my "purse Bible," because that's what it is.  But, in order to also have room for my wallet, makeup, camera, umbrella, sweater, journal, book, pen case, planner and snack, I have to keep it kind of small.

I spent awhile looking for a compact ESV Bible several years back, but it was before Crossway started reading my mind and publishing them. When I finally found one, it was at a little bookstore in Pennsylvania that was closing down and having a clearance sale to get rid of the merchandise. They had one little ESV Bible left (in addition to Nate's leatherbound Spirit of the Reformation Bible, which he got for a STEAL at like $12), and I snatched it up for fear that I'd never see one again EVER. I mean who ever heard of a 4x6-inch Bible?? Once again, this was before Crossway started its mass little-bitty-Bible gig.

Because it was the only one there and I was convinced that I had to act NOW OR NEVER, I overlooked the fact that it had 6.2-point type size and was bright green with neon glow-in-the-dark spots on it and called the TruGlo Bible (and yes, it really does glow in the dark. i can't leave it on my bedside table at night because its too bright). Every time I pulled it out, someone would say "Is that your Bible? Its, um... cool." or something equally complimentary.

But the TruGlo glow-in-the-dark neon green polka-dot Bible got lots of use out of it, especially when I started seminary.  With a bag brimming full of binders and theology books, a small Bible was a must.  So I used it constantly and classified it as a "conversation starter." Which it was.

Then the back started falling off, which really isnt that surprising, considering the amount of use it got and the fact that it was constantly getting banged around in my purse, which is a dangerous place. I was going to just superglue it back, but then last sunday I let one of the kids borrow it, and I never saw it again. I have a feeling that it will be permanently backless when and if it comes back to me.

All this to say..... this gave me a reason to go by another purse Bible! When I was in Books-a-Million the other day, I saw one that I had never seen before and knew immediately that I HAD TO HAVE IT.  It called my name. It looked like MY HOUSE, for goodness sake! All my colors, my type of fabric on the front, 4x6-inches with 6.2-point type size (which I'm used to by now and is probably half the reason for my bad eyesight).

I mean seriously... take a look at it, folks.

Doesnt that look like my house? Or at least the pillows on my couch? I think it's lovely (then again, I also think my couch pillows are lovely). I am a red+earthtones kind of girl.

Obviously, Crossway is reading my mind again.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who has so generously donated to our MTW account for the Philippines! We have now raised almost $5000, which is more than we had hoped to bring in!   This should cover our plane tickets, travelers insurance with MTW, and other expenses that we will incur the 2 weeks we are in Manila. We are so thankful that we have our financial obligations met this far ahead of the trip.

Most likely, we will have money left over from this trip that will roll over into our long-term account.  As we start our journey towards long-term missions, we will have to go through things like orientation, readiness evaluation training, cross-cultural training, etc... all of which cost money and require traveling.  The money that is left over from this trip will be applied toward those costs.

We have been so excited and humbled to see how God has just confirmed again and again that we are on the right path and that this is what he has in store for our future.  Thanks for being a part of it!

Praise the LORD. 
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 
his love endures forever.

Psalm 106:1

Nate: You want to see the biggest spider you've ever seen in your entire life?

Me: Ummm... sure. Where is it?

Nate: Outside. Where's the  bleach? He's goin' down.

Yesterday Nate and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.  Although, it kinda seems like we should have been celebrating our 10th or something. It seems like longer than four years. But in a good way.

We started out the day with him kissing me goodbye while I was still asleep - isnt that the best way to begin an anniversary??  He had an early morning class, and I slept in a little, because my morning class was cancelled.  I met him for a free lunch on campus after convocation, then headed off to class.  After class, I went straight to a meeting for church, and he met me there. As soon as the meeting ended, we headed off to actually celebrate with dinner at Bravo.

The dinner was excellent, but the martinis were better!  There was a huge vase of gorgeous flowers on the table for me with a note that said "to my sweetheart, love Nate." After dinner, he filled my car up with gas for me (hey, to me that's sweet!!) and we headed home.

Unfortunately, the next part of the evening wasnt too exciting... it consisted of me teaching Nate the Hebrew alphabet (along with the final forms, begadkephat letters, and gutterals) for his test this morning.  He made fun of me the entire time because I make up lots of crazy mnemonic devices in order to remember things. He said "you'd think that after 4 years, I'd know how your mind works.  But you're proving to me right now that its much crazier than I ever thought!"  Ha... he has no idea.  He can make fun of me all he wants, but when he makes a 100 on his test today, he'll be thanking me for my crazy word-plays and memory tools!!  I even made him a sample test and gave it to him, and he aced it.  He'll do great today.  Apparently my semester of Hebrew is turning out to be worth it... even though everyone harrassed me for it!!

Anyway. The anniversary was great.  It was nice to take a little time out of the day and just spend it enjoying each other in the midst of our crazy schedules.  This semester and next are going to be difficult ones because of our work loads (I'm taking 7 classes, Nate is taking 6, but 2 of his are languages).

We've had a great four years, and the honeymoon still isnt over (:

^ Hebrew

1. Last night I cooked parmesan chicken, Barefoot Contessa's roasted carrots, and bacon-ranch sauteed green beans. And I didnt ruin ANY of it!
2. School starts tomorrow and I AM NOT READY.
3. I am still not finished with all of my work from the Systematic Theology class I took in July. Oops.
4. MHC (the church) is spending this week immersed in a "charrette."  If you're anything like me and have NO IDEA what that word means, here's a little help-- [char-rette: n., a final, intensive effort to finish a project, esp. an architectural design project, before a deadline.]  Hopefully it won't be long until we've got our master building plan complete. This morning I met with the architects about the childrens wing. I can't wait!
5. Tomorrow Janie moves to Chattanooga and starts her freshman year of college. Weird.
6. Thursday is our 4 year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it's been that long?

Well, as of last night, it's official.  We are going to the Philippines on December 8 for 2 weeks. We booked the flights, bought the tickets, and shelled out $2800 in hopes that we'll get enough financial support coming in to be reimbursed for it from MTW. 

Thankfully, though, Nate was able to get a great deal on the tickets and saved us over $1000 on them! Instead of $4000, we spent less than $3000. Not bad. 

Looking at the itinerary, it looks like we've got 22+ hours travel time on the way there, and 23+ hours on the way back.  Aren't you all jealous that we'll be sitting on an airplane for that long? I know you want to go along.

You know its bad when Nate even says "You're kinda slackin on your blog." 

Sorry, folks. I dont really have an explanation other than I have indeed been slacking.

But in way of updates, I can tell you that school starts next week, I am swamped with children's ministry stuff right now, I am trying to finish my Systematic Theology class but not having much motivation, I have started taking yoga/pilates classes and I LOVE IT, and I have an awesome new family heirloom that was given to me this week that dates back to the 1880s.

And yes I am aware that none of those things are remotely related.

Oh yeah, and I can't wait to go to the Philippines in December. CANNOT WAIT.  That's all for now.

...so I can mooch off her skills.

And also because she's awesome.

But mainly so I can mooch off her skills.

^parmesan chicken.

^homemade facoccia bread

^some kind of pasta that was AWESOME.

^The chef being a jerk and taking a big bite of the Barefoot Contessa brownies a la mode... that I couldnt have because of my stupid sugar issues. She was just trying to rub it in. Jerk. But I love her.

I would invite you next time, but it would mean less food for me.  And I'm selfish like that.

1. I did take a nap on Friday.
2. And it totally rocked my face off.
3. And I hear Kevin S. has now adopted that phrase.
4. Which means that Kevin is busted for reading my blog.
5. If you want to know more about Kevin, particularly some embarassing stories, please visit his wife's blog.