And that's all my phone has to say about that...

 Typical morning view:

"Good. I have woken you. Now feed me or I'll start purring incessantly and biting your eyebrows."

 

 some good stuff right there ^^

 

 First ever attempt at making scones. Strawberry with a strawberry and lemon glaze. They tasted like freckled lemonade from Red Robin!!

 

 We bought this cat bed when we first moved here in December. He refused to have anything to do with it until about March. Now he would rather sleep in this than anywhere else. Sometimes he picks it over sleeping with us!

 

 large rock by our front door.

 

 I've become an addict.

 

 Made a trip to the library on base yesterday; it made me happy.

 



 Being unemployed is pretty disheartening. However, reading books in your back yard and laying in the sun all afternoon is pretty darn fabulous.

 

 Everything a cat could want, all in one spot: a cozy bed, a sliding door to look out of, a shoe box full of mousies and jingly things, and a box fort.

 

 this made me laugh. JoJo and I attempted to feed some ducks stale crackers a few weeks ago down at the lake near our house. this sign appeared shortly there after. It is funny because the birds had never been offered crackers and had no idea what to do with them. out of probably 40 ducks we got 2 interested. And a squirrel.

 

 The weather has been weird. Monday it was barely 50. By Thursday it hit near 70.  I've been determined to enjoy the sun (cloudlessness) regardless. Coats and sunglasses combined.

 

 Little signs of life along my walks.

 

LOTS of signs of life in my garden!! I've got foot tall sugar peas, sprouting green beans and little baby spinaches, lettuces, cilantros, and basils. Parsley and Lavender hopefully making an appearance soon. Tomatoes next month! I'M A REAL FARMER!!!!



...Perfect Peace {Isaiah 26:3}

 

Just some weekend thoughts...

 

As of right now this is my verse for the year.

For the last couple months this verse has kept popping up in

 conversations, messages, and elsewhere.

Eventually I concluded that perhaps this was a verse that I needed to beging claiming.

I am close to being an expert at worrying, being anxious, not being peaceful, and not trusting.

This year I am working on the opposite.

 

I'm Back: Military Wife, Military Life and What Have You

Well.

I'm back. Sort of fell off the posting schedule, I suppose. My last post was in November and I figured I was due time to update you, seeing as most major aspects of my life have changed since we last talked.

Quick recap:
Married an Airman on May 26th, 2012.
That Airman Deployed June 4th-December 12th to Qatar while I stayed at home on the East Coast.
He came back and I joined him on McChord Air Force Base, in Washington state December 18th.
We've been married nearly ten months now and have been living happily ever after in the Evergreen State now for 4 months.

I haven't the slightest idea how to bring you up to speed on our lives, and I feel horribly awkward jumping back into posting, but here I go anyway...


We moved to McChord and got ourselves a nice little baby house on base.

 

 

 

We got ourselves a sweet and rascally furbaby. (He actually came 3 weeks before the move across the country and got the pleasure of sharing a 11 hour plane trip with me.) His name is Trinkilo. Not to brag, but he is the best kitten ever.

 

With a bit of church hoping, we successfully found a new church: Puyallup Foursquare! You can check out their website and stream their services live here! We like it a lot there. We have joined a young couples small group and can't wait to get more involved.

 

My new job is finding a job. I spend a large portion of every day on job boards looking for someone to hire me. I've applied to an absurd amount of places in the area, everything from nannying, to retail, to restaurants, to libraries. I am now a pro at submitting applications and resumes. However, I am still without a job... Ultimately, I would like an office assistant/receptionist type position, but for now I would settle with just about everything. We aren't desperate for the income, but I am so very desperate to have some responsiblity outside of the walls of my home.

 

In the meantime, besides job hunting and trying to get my Associates finished through online classes (online, by the way, is agonizing) I have taken up various hobbies and wife-ish responsibilities and I am loving my life!

 

I've taken up gardening. Or I am trying. As of yet, there is nothing growing, but things have been planted! My handy husband helped me build a  raised bed in our little back yard and we've planted bush beans and sugar peas so far, with herbs, mesculine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes to come. I'm sure I'll be posting plenty about the garden's progress as time goes on! We also made our own composting bin out of a trash can, a post on that to come. And as you can see, joblessness leads to increased craftiness: I have been painting garden markers on rocks (another post in the works!).

 

I've been doing a whole lot of cooking and baking. I've always enjoyed cooking, but it was never a necessity before when I was still living at home. Now, if I don't cook, we won't eat (or we will eat one of three things with my husband specializes in: grilled cheese, scrambled eggs, or ramen). Having to come up with three healthy meals a day has become a fun challenge for me. There will be a lot of posting in the future about my cooking adventure, I assure you.

I've made it my goal to make as much from scratch as possible. For example, I've taken up making all of our bread instead of purchasing it weekly. I am also trying to avoid paying for convenience. That means I avoid purchasing mixes and whatnot. McCormick taco seasoning and I broke up after one way-too-salty taco session. The dough boy, Betty and I aren't on speaking terms, as I am not making my own brownies and cakes without their help. However, me and the instant mash potatoes are still buddies. Those I won't part with as I simply loathe making mashed potatoes. Microwave popcorn remains a favorite too.
Hopefully I can get some practical "how to" posts on making your own mixes up for you shortly!

I've been couponing. Is that a hobby? No, not like those people on that show that causes all of our jaws to drop. Not extreme. Just couponing to the extent that I am able to save about $30 off of our grocery bill every month. Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot, but I like the idea of an extra $360 in out pockets at the end of the year. (And for the record, I am only buying healthy things which we would normally purchase anyway, not stockpiling 8,000 deodorants and 60 sugared cereals).

Besides couponing, we are trying to be as frugal as possible. Growing up in a home of 10 people with the thrifting queen as my mother I learned a lot about frugality and homemaking. I am pleased to say that, thanks to God, we have furnished our entire home completely free of debt and are well on our way to saving for our futures. Being responsible with our finances is our goal!

I'm still knitting and crocheting. That goes without saying...

In my mind, I've been painting. I love the idea of painting and my home needs some art on the walls very badly, but I've never been much of a painter. I went out and bought canvases, brushes and paints and so far no art save for the garden rocks has been produced. Let us hope that soon I will be posting some fantastically artful thing.

I've been doing laundry. Lots of it. It is not a hobby I chose: it chose me when I married an Airman. I thought I, as a female, had a lot of laundry. Apparently I had nothing on his at least 3 required (ad thoroughly dirty) outfits a day. The frugality has extended to the point of making my own laundry detergent and fabric softeners though! Thank you, Pinterest!

With the addition of talking to the cat, that is pretty much the extent of what I do as of currently. I am planning to get back into blogging and post a couple times a week so stay tuned for more!


 

More on Tonski Time...

Yes, I do realize I owe you a post about the engagement story, but instead you are going to get a post about why I haven't had enough time to post about the engagement story in the last couple weeks. You see...I'm very busy...planning...A WEDDING.

A wedding in 77 days, nonetheless.

Yes. JoJo and I are going to be getting married on May 26th of this year. While a 3 month engagement is short (and yes, we know this is crazy to try to pull off) we decided together, after much thought and prayer, that it is how we want to do things. Not that we are rushing or anything, it is just that JoJo will be deploying for 6 months to the country of Qatar come June and he and I want to make the commitment of marriage before that.

We will be having a small, outdoor, mostly family, picnic-y and casual wedding at my grandparent's farm 8 days before he leaves. The plans are coming along quite nicely and we are very, very excited about it. But we, along with our families and friends, have been mighty busy. Now onto of my already busy school and work schedule, I am planning a spring wedding. And trying to wrap my mind around the fact that in under 3 months I will be a wife. A military wife. (In case you were wondering I will stay with my family on the east coast, up until he returns from the deployment. They we will see to moving me to the west coast where JoJo is stationed.)

All that being said, you can see why blog posts will be few and far between. But I will *TRY* and keep you posted on all the excitement as best as I can, so follow along with us on our adventure!

Yes, I still do hate Valentine's day, thanks for asking...

*VDAY LOVERS BEWARE. STOP READING NOW.*

Remember this post? About my holiday killjoy-ish and anti-valentine's-dayness? Last year? At a time that was prior (but only by a few days) to JoJo and I?

In case you were wondering, yes, I still do feel that way.

I had several interesting conversations over the last couple days involving my stance on Vday. APPARENTLY people seemed to think I never liked it because "I never had someone."

Let me just clarify that right now: *NO* Wrong. Inaccurate. Not correct. Uh-Uh.

#1- lets not pretend I was a hopeless single moping around, dreaming and hoping cupid would come along and shoot a prince charming in the backside with a love arrow so I would be lonely no more. No way, no how. I was single for 20 years and liked it that way, thankyouverymuch. No regrets whatsoever.
#2- no. I was not covering up some deep emotional longing by acting like I hated Valentine's day. I actually did.

I still do. A lot. Not just because I am a scrooge and a killjoy against holiday commercialization, but because I am very against the notion of having a designated holiday to celebrate being in love. I am against having a holiday that pretty much requires people to do loving things for each other. I am of the mind set that if I love someone (*and we all know who that is*) that I would tell that person daily. That I would act like I loved that person daily. That I would do things that expressed my love for that person daily. That there would be random "just because" type gifts and cute cards and whatnot not because the calendar told me to, but because those things were all GENUINE expressions of my love. I want to live love. Not pencil it in on my calendar when I can manage to find the time.

Basically, I am against the whole "acting upon being loving" thing on Valentines day in the same way that I am against "lets all suddenly be thankful on Thanksgiving day." I don't like a calendar telling me when I should express which emotions (and I don't like being told what to do, period. Have you notice?). Especially if those emotions tend to get seemingly neglected the rest of the time.

Yes. I am odd. Noted.

If you like chocolates and roses on Valentine's Day, then I hope your dearly beloved gets you some. Seriously. If that is how ya'll choose to celebrate the love that you have and you are happy with it that way, then by all means, have at those chocolates!

*side note: I am utterly baffled by all the "my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with chocolates and flowers! he is just the best!" statuses today. Uhm...did you not look at your calendar this morning? It's Valentines day. Not much of a surprise, if you ask me. Surprise means you *don't* know it's coming. Now my boyfriend, he knows a a thing or two about surprises, but that is another story...

But...I don't want that. (I think I am missing some sort of female gene? This is clearly not normal.) Roses, chocolates, and red and pink cards shaped like un-anatomically correct vital organs just on February 14th just aren't for me. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about, but I don't really see this opinion of mine ever changing. Not now, not ever. However, I am very much in love and I definitely don't see that changing. Ever.

I have always felt like this about Vday, but I think my relationship with JoJo has only made me dislike it more (ironic...?). If anything (out of the many things I have learned after *almost* a year of long-distancing it), this relationship has taught me never to take JoJo, or the time I do get to spend with him, for granted. I don't get to really pick when I see him. I don't see him on birthdays. Or holidays. Whether Hallmark says I have to or not. So I have come to a point of celebrating just *being* with him whenever I can. We make our own holidays.We specialize in "just because." And that is a concept I want to hold onto, beyond the point of there being distance between us.

But, even if we were together, we would not be celebrating Valentine's Day in any normal manner.

Oh, and by the way, guess what? No surprise, but my dearly beloved, who has thought processes as twisted as mine, feels the exact same way about commercialized holidays such as Valentine's day (and about being told what to do...). Perrrrfect.

On the topic of helping out...Help my friend Saige raise money for kids with cancer?

This is Saige (the other guy would be my youth pastor Eric Peoples).

She is awesome. 

Saige starting coming to my youth group a little over a year ago with a friend of ours. She got saved and God radically has been working in her life since then. I took the picture above when she was baptized this past September. Watching what God has done/is doing in her life has be so wonderful!

Saige has a heart for people. She really has a heart for the down-hearted, the broken, the outcast, the lost, and the hurting, and I so admire her for that. Saige loves people like Jesus loves people. She is truly...incredible.

Saige is also very brave. She is going to do something not a lot of girls would consider doing: she is going to shave her head. To raise money for a foundation (St. Baldricks) for kids with cancer. She has talked about doing this for a long while (she just recently cut off her head of dreadlocks and has told me multiple times when she did it she would shave her head and raise money). And now she is REALLY doing it!

In all honestly, I personally am not brave enough to do this. I am also bound by a certain contract to a certain Airman with certain rules like "don't shave your head." (Yes. Really.) I have, however, donated my hair to Locks of Love , a similar organization!  I cut off about 16 inches of my hair when I was 15, just after a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and it is certainly something I would do again. Possibly soon, with all this hair I am collecting.

Anyway, back to Saige. A message from her:

"I will be shaving my head to raise money for efforts to conquer kids' cancer. Anyone want to join mine team!? All donations will be helpful! My goal is is raise 500 dollars. The shave date is March 7th...."

You heard her! She wants to raise $500 in under about a month. And then she will be saying goodbye to her hair for the cause! 

If anyone is interested in donating to Saige's efforts, just go check out her page *HERE*. Or if you are interested in a similar project, perhaps check out St. Baldrick's, Locks of Love, or organization of similar mission.  Thanks!

Wanna help me out with a school assignment? SURVEY TIME!

Hey all, this is probably like the most random post I will ever be posting upon My Name is Not King but...humour me.

The short of what is more of a long story is this: I have a survey project due for my math class on Wednesday (involving surveying like 60 people, the survey results, a pamphlet I create based on them, and a presentation to the class) This survey involved 26 campus students (completed that part!), but now I need responses from 26 non-campus people. And I though perhaps some of you would like to participate (/I am desperate and don't want to spend all weekend hunting down people to survey).

The survey, which I am doing on people's view of the existence of God, is directly related to my World Religions class. (and yes, I did have the most complicated survey question of the class. The others involved cars, ice cream and Lebron James. Of course mine took the longest for people to answer...typical sneaky Bella move...)

QUESTION 1:

DO YOU PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A GOD?

QUESTION 2:

IF SO, DOES THAT BELIEF, OR INDICATED LACK THEREOF, HAVE A DIRECT EFFECT ON THE WAY YOU LIVE AND THE DECISIONS THAT YOU MAKE?

IF you would like to help me out, leave a comment *AND PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR INITIALS.* I understand many of you go by cutesy blog names, but first and last initials are required if I am going to be able to use your response in my project.

It would be helpful if you formatted your comments sort of like this:

Q1: Yes      
Q2: Yes  
-IKC

(or whatever your yes or no answers may be).

I have gotten quite intriguing answers so far (I am baffled by the number of campus students who answered both yes and no to their belief in the existence of God...?). Obviously, the answers are all a little vague (What do they mean when they say "God"? Which one? Why? Etc...), but I think this survey will be really interesting nonetheless.

If you could help me out with this it would be wonderful! Perhaps I will share the final results on here next week! THANKS!

Boom, here we go uhgaiinnn...

Me, JoJo's mama and two little sisters are taking a plane trip.

McChord Air Force Base/Airman Tonski, here we come.

In just a little over a month I will be seeing my JoJo again! This will be my first time going to where HE is. This will be my first time on an Air Force base. This will be my first time in the big, beautiful state of Washington. And I am so, so, so excited.

Let the count-downing begin!


**positive thing... 238...(yes, I did just make up that number) about long distance relationships: being able to make little countdown widgets and get yourself all excited days/months in advance!


SIDE NOTE:  Due to unfortunate flight booking circumstances, will be my first time flying alone. The four of us leave the same place at the same time, and get there within an hour of each other, but I wound up on a plane by myself. I have flow many, many, many times, to many, many world locations, but never all by me onesie. Little apprehensive about the quick flight change I have to make in Chicago. So...pray for me.

"When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. "

Isaiah 43 is one of my all time favorite bible passages.
This is the passage I read over and over again when JoJo went off to boot camp.
This is the passage I cling to when I am overwhelmed and uncertain.
Verse five is on an orange index card hanging next to my bed. It was the first thing I saw this morning. "FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU."

I need to know it especially now, just like I need to know it always.
I am between rocks and hard places, as well as several other uncomfortable, scary locations.
But I have been bought with the highest price. I have been called and redeemed. 
I am made to know that He is I AM and who He is.
I am chosen. I will not fear.

Bit of a long passage, but...ladies and gentlemen...

Isaiah 43

The Message (MSG)

When You're Between a Rock and a Hard Place

 ^1-4 But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
   the One who got you started, Israel:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
   I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
   When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
   it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
   The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
   all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
   That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
   trade the creation just for you. 

  ^5-7"So don't be afraid: I'm with you.
   I'll round up all your scattered children,
   pull them in from east and west.
I'll send orders north and south:
   'Send them back.
Return my sons from distant lands,
   my daughters from faraway places.
I want them back, every last one who bears my name,
   every man, woman, and child
Whom I created for my glory,
   yes, personally formed and made each one.'"
 ^8-13Get the blind and deaf out here and ready—
   the blind (though there's nothing wrong with their eyes)
   and the deaf (though there's nothing wrong with their ears).
Then get the other nations out here and ready.
   Let's see what they have to say about this,
   how they account for what's happened.
Let them present their expert witnesses
   and make their case;
   let them try to convince us what they say is true.
"But you are my witnesses." God's Decree.
   "You're my handpicked servant
So that you'll come to know and trust me,
   understand both that I AM and who I am.
Previous to me there was no such thing as a god,
   nor will there be after me.
I, yes I, am God.
   I'm the only Savior there is.
I spoke, I saved, I told you what existed
   long before these upstart gods appeared on the scene.
And you know it, you're my witnesses,
   you're the evidence." God's Decree.
"Yes, I am God.
   I've always been God
   and I always will be God.
No one can take anything from me.
   I make; who can unmake it?"

You Didn't Even Do the Minimum

 ^14-15God, your Redeemer,
   The Holy of Israel, says:
"Just for you, I will march on Babylon.
   I'll turn the tables on the Babylonians.
Instead of whooping it up,
   they'll be wailing.
I am God, your Holy One,
   Creator of Israel, your King."  ^16-21This is what God says,
   the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
   who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
   they lie down and then can't get up;
   they're snuffed out like so many candles:
"Forget about what's happened;
   don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
   It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
   rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say 'Thank you!'
   —the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
   rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
   the people I made especially for myself,
   a people custom-made to praise me.
 ^22-24"But you didn't pay a bit of attention to me, Jacob.
   You so quickly tired of me, Israel.
You wouldn't even bring sheep for offerings in worship.
   You couldn't be bothered with sacrifices.
It wasn't that I asked that much from you.
   I didn't expect expensive presents.
But you didn't even do the minimum—
   so stingy with me, so closefisted.
Yet you haven't been stingy with your sins.
   You've been plenty generous with them—and I'm fed up.
 ²⁵"But I, yes I, am the one
   who takes care of your sins—that's what I do.
   I don't keep a list of your sins.
 ^26-28"So, make your case against me. Let's have this out.
   Make your arguments. Prove you're in the right.
Your original ancestor started the sinning,
   and everyone since has joined in.
That's why I had to disqualify the Temple leaders,
   repudiate Jacob and discredit Israel."

Most Christmas songs don't make me cry but...

...This one, as of lately, does. I have to quickly skip the track on the CD before the recordings of the military members serving in Iraq and their family at home start playing. This song has nothing to do with Jesus birth and it is usually not one of my favorites, but the way that this version in cooperates the military is beautiful.



JoJo is only in Washington state and hasn't yet deployed, but... still.
I'll be home for Christmas, but he won't and it is...hard. I would like to hope for next year but...who knows where either of us will be. That is sort of a difficult way to have to live life, but, as always, it is so worth it. For right now I am just making the best with what we've got and counting the days until we (his mom, 2 sisters and I) fly out in February!

Though they never thought it was possible...

Sometimes it is scary how alike JoJo and I are, especially in the way we think and in our absolutely bizarre sense of humor...

During our mini-photoshoot my mother says something along the lines of "You need to stand up straight!"

Seeing as she directed her comment at neither of us in particular, we both stood up straighter. And I mean straight to the extreme, complete with shoulders yanked up awkwardly, necks extra extended, eye brows up, and weird faces to match. At the exact same time.We didn't coordinate or pose this. We both happen to be odd enough that this is what we thought "stand up straight" should be acted out as. This is simply how our minds work.

A moment later, after capturing this shot,  my mother goes  
"...I cannot believe there are somehow 
two of you in the world..."

And she is right. My whole life I never imagined anyone could be as strange as me. Ask anyone who knows me at all, and they will tell you, I am pretty...unique. But JoJo somehow is as strange (and/or sometimes strange-er), and it is utterly perfect.

Here I am again...more in love than ever...

Dear Bloglandrians,

Here I am, back on blogger, after my wonderful (and very...unusual) visit with my Airman, JoJo.

After graduating from Tech School in Gulfport, Mississippi he came home on leave for ten days. No matter what time they give him, it is never long enough. But still, spending time with him, no matter what we are doing, is the most fantastic thing in the world. I picked him up at the airport on the 25th (there is nothing quite like jumping into the arms of a man in uniform whom you have been missing for 6 months), spent a great 10 days with him, and then returned him, teary-eyed to the Airport early on Friday the 4th. He is now settling into his new base, McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington. He is very happy with the location and cannot wait to begin his career in Civil/Structural Engineering. Other than the fact he is now 3 time zones behind me and about 3,000 miles away, his new place sounds wonderful and we are both very excited about it. I cannot wait to get out there to visit him! Distance is hard, but believe you me, this man is worth it.

I will post more about our adventures (such as being without power for a week, due to a freak Nor'easter in October) and also share some of the pictures we were able to take.

For today, now that I finally have power and internet, I just wanted to give you a quick little update on how things were going and share some pictures of my incredibly handsome man with you.

Love,
Bella

ps: I completely love this guy, in case you cannot tell.

Not like I am excited for anything...

#1 - yes, I am still alive, and I do realize I have a blog. I just also realize that I have an education to get and work to do
#2- JoJo, the super fantastic Airman boyfriend comes home in one week. I haven't seen him in six months...it's not like I am excited or anything. I guess I have nothing better to do than count down each individual second until the time I pick him up at the airport next week. With this countdownr. No big deal


#3- I was lying. I am pretty much excited out of my mind for the 10 wonderful days I will get to spend with him. There will be pictures, I promise!

Christians only...sinners need not apply...

Today it was "club day" on my college campus. All of the clubs (outdoors club, art club, anime club, PRIDE club, etc) had set up little tables in the main foyer and were trying to get new members.

Smack dab in the doorway, separated from the masses, was one table that caught my eye.

"CATHOLIC CLUB."

On the table were some archaic looking pictures of Jesus with one of those orbs of utter holiness coming from his head.  A little box with a slit in the top was labeled "prayer requests." The only person at or around the table was the woman behind it. I couldn't help myself. I had to talk to her and try and figure this out.

"So...are only Catholics welcomed in your club?"

"The majority of the attendees and members are Catholics."

"Why do you have a club?"

"It is nice to have a group of people who share the same beliefs as you on campus. It is a good way for us (Catholics) to get to know each other. It is always nice to gather together, pray and spend time with other believers. If you would really like to check us out you could though."

"Oh, I'm a Bible-believing Christian. I was just curious, that's all." and I walked away.

The woman seemed nice enough. But something bothered me. I was bothered by the location of her table. She was so separate from the rest. The gays, lesbians, Hispanics, African American, culinary arts people, outdoorsy people, artists, military, writers, science majors and everyone else were grouped together, tables forming lines or semi circles. But the Catholics had their own table, off by themselves. I felt like they needed a sign that read "SINNERS NEED NOT ATTEND."

Now, I am not saying bad things about Catholics here. Really. I am also not against gathering with believers and praying. Not all at. It's Biblical. It is good and wonderful to build up each other and share in one another's lives. In fact, I am about to go attend a small group meeting with girls within my church. This is more me feeling let down by the "religiosity" we pin onto Christianity, though it shouldn't be that way.

People stereotype Christians. The horrible thing is that people are usually right. So many Christians come across as religious, "Holier Than Thou," and too good and clean for sinners. Instead of loving people, they judge them. Church gets portrayed as a place for the holiest of holy people who can manage to follow all the heavenly regulations without fail and filthy, rotten sinners need not attend.

Hold up. Maybe your church is fully of saintly perfect people, but I know mine is full of sinners. Lots of them. About 900. *GASSSP* As my pastor would say "there is no such thing as a perfect church and if there was, you'd it up when you start coming."

Church is practically a sinner club. Sounds awful? Not really. We are all sinners. Yes, I am saved and made clean by the blood of Jesus, but I do not live a spotless perfect life. Only Jesus did that. Church isn't supposed to be a place to protect Bible-believers from the big bad world. In fact, the Bible says BE IN THE WORLD, but not of it. Not hide from the world in your clubs and churches until Christ comes back to rescue you.

Jesus loved sinners. He hung out with them and liked it! He didn't do it to condemn them to eternal damnation in hell, but to show them the love of His Kingdom. He hung out with them far more than he did with the "holy" religious leaders of the time. Jesus hung out with the unlovely. The rejects of society. The people no one liked. And he loved them.

Jesus didn't attend community college, obviously, but if he had I don't think he would have joined a group promoting religious beliefs alike only to His. He wouldn't have joined the Jewish/Pharisee/Holy People Only club. But he probably would have gladly joined all the others.

In his book the The Irresistible Revolution, author Shane Claiborne (He is amazing, btw) says this:

What would twenty-year-old Jesus have said if they asked him "What are you going to do when you grow up?" I don't know, maybe something like "I am going to turn the world upside-down. I am going to hang out with prostitutes and tax collectors until people kill me."

I think this view of Jesus loving the unlovely is wonderfully portrayed in the Relient K (a band I once loved, but no longer would recommend) "Failure to Excommunicate." The chorus contains these lines...

"Jesus loved the outcasts. He loved the ones the world just loves to hate. And as long as there's a heaven, there will be a failure to excommunicate."

 I want to love the one the world just loves to hate too. Because Jesus is the one I want to model my life after.

Maybe this is all an unnecessary rant. Maybe there is nothing at all wrong with Christian clubs. But I would feel a whole lot better if Christians as a whole stopped segregating themselves from the world and just got out there and did some loving. Real, Jesus-style.

Hello, Hurricane (Irene)

Collection of shots from Hurricane Irene, as promised:

In Summation: Power outages, fallen trees, downed wires, gas outages, leaves, leaves, leaves, and generators, generators, generators.

 

 

Everybody is safe and sound now and our house is just fine (thank God!). I think at this point most of, if not all, of the state has its power restored and crews are hard at work restoring the millions in damages.

Not the best pictures I have ever taken, but I at least sort of documented the chaos that was going on during Hurricane Irene (which by the way was the worst storm in our area within the last 26 years).

*for the more artistic view of the whole scenario, check out my photo blog: Sometimes I Shoot Things.

What really happened last week...

I told you I was going to school. But that was a lie.

Sort of.

I was supposed to begin my college course load on Monday. My family was supposed to be at a Rhode Island beach and I was going to pop back and forth and visit between class times. But that isn't what really happened. Because Saturday destruction came to town. And by Sunday, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene was creating a full blown power outage in most areas of our state.

700,000 homes in our state had no power. We were one of them.

My family was supposed to head out Saturday, but held off on the drive because of the heavy wind and rain. By Sunday we were waking up in a dark house. After some consideration (and a lot of whining and talk of apocalypses from me) my family packed up and went to my grandparents farm. They live an hour away but they had a generator. We stayed with them, in their well lit, complete with running water house from Sunday to Tuesday.

Classes were canceled Monday and Tuesday. My family couldn't go to the beach even if they wanted to because of flooding, loss of power and evacuation of the beach area they had planned to go to.And back at our house we still had no power.

FINALLY by Wednesday they were able to get down to the beach and settle in. The beach house was safe and sound, save for some driftwood in the lawn and sticks in the yard. I was able to go to classes (I was getting antsy!). Power came back on at our house. I drove back and forth from the beach all week going to classes, going to beach, coming back. We had a really nice time. Even with the chaos, it all worked out in the end.

This is the point where you must be thinking that the storm must have taken away my camera, because WHY would I not have photos of this?

Well...Chaos never sleeps, my friends. I returned home to a computer horrifically infected by a rogue antispyware disease. Not sure how it got there, but it is so bad that we don't know what else to do to remove the horrificality from it, so it is going to see a doctor for a little while until it is healed up all nice and proper. Until then I am on my dad's laptop, sans photoshop. I think it will only be a couple days, so be patient with me. I will share my hurricane damage and beach fun shots with you as soon as possible.

Until then... I have a lot of homework to do to recover from those canceled days. Delicious.

Now, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down...by an Airman.

Yes. This is such a story.  But not one that relates to any guys in Bel Air. This is a story about an Airman.

This a a story about the most intense, adventurous and amazing year of my life.

Approximately one year ago we did this.

JoJo's going away party, August 7th, 2010. (I would be the chick with the rebellious head of hair. JoJo would be the one burning all documentation of his past, pre-military life)

August 8th I hugged him goodbye for the last time.

August 9th I cried my eyes out (...continuously...) as he called to say one last goodbye before weeks and weeks of silence.

August 10th he started earthly hell Basic Military Training in Lackland, Texas.
While I was here, still crying my eyes out. Totally confused and terrified that I had just lost my greatest friend and the most amazing person I had ever met. Just trusting God and crying my eyes out like everyday (ps: I am not a crier. Really. I just care about him THAT much.) One year sounded agonizingly long. 4 years sounded impossible. BMT alone sounded longer than I could ever manage. But I did. We both did.We made it through basic and several months of tech school, until he was able to come home at Christmas for 10 days.

Though, of course, that ended too. Commence with more crying.

But one magical day in February my amazing friend JoJo made a phone call to my dad and became my incredible boyfriend JoJo. Best thing ever, I tell you what.

Then, two months later, that crazy boyfriend of mine lied to me for three weeks and surprised me by coming home for Easter. See video here! 7 Days of absolute incredibleness. Obviously he had to return to his military life, but this I knew he would come back. For me. I would never lose him again. Ever.

Just as some background, I, Isabella Kiss, never really planned on winding up in a long distance relationship with an Airman in the United States Air Force. Of all the hoping and praying I did for my teenage years, that was never really what I was imagining. I had incredibly (almost impossibly) high standards. Compromise of any kind wasn't an option. From 14 years old on I was regularly praying for the right guy and I stubbornly stuck to my standards to the point of other people thinking I was crazy.  I've always been interested in the military and I've always been strong and able to handle a lot, but now all of that makes sense. When, at 17, I became friend with JoJo my life from that point on changed. But I never would have imagined that all of that would bring me HERE.

(Also, as background, JoJo never really planned on being in the Air Force. Just out of the blue he felt like that was what God wanted him to do, and though it scared us both, he did it. And as strong and stubborn as I can be, JoJo is even more so. By far.)

Let me just tell you, a long distance military relationship is hard. It is without a doubt by far the most difficult thing I have ever done. But God is faithful and I know this is all His doing. He answered both of our prayers in really surprising ways and now here we are, one year into this adventure, with something like 3-5 (or...more) to go. It is unbelievably hard, and statistics like to tell us we are going to fail. But the will of God isn't defined by stats, and people as hardcore stubborn as us don't quit.

Yes, this has been the craziest year of my life, but it has also been the best. Any relationship done right and to Godly standards is hard. A relationship done right, with the Air Force and distance thrown in there isn't for the faint of heart, as it is more than enough to totally break you down and ruin you. Sharing he whom I love with the US Military isn't always a lot of fun. I do not recommend such craziness, UNLESS you have a lot of faith and trust in God and unconditional love for the person on the other end of the distance. If you have those things, then it is completely worth it.

There is so much I could write in this post about the last year, but I wouldn't know where to start or end. For the last 365 days I have seen JoJo for 17 of them, but those 17 of 365 have been THE BEST. In one years time, and about 6 months of this long distance courtship we have been through so much and still have so much to go through. It's certainly an adventure and be are both quite possibly insane for being on it together. But I love it. WE love it. Needless to say, we are in it for the long run and we are ever so happy about it.

*also, on the topic of love and anniversaries, today is my amazing parent's 25th wedding anniversary. Pretty awesome, eh? They are incredible and I love them!