Alex Babot Day

There is something to be said about the power of good friends and the impact they can have on us.
There is something even more to be said about the power of fellowship among believers; we, on so many different levels, are capable of reaching so much deeper into each others' lives than just the surface, and have that relationship echo back to us.

That being said [I know, something of an epic intro for what is actually pretty silly], today was orchestrated to be Alex Babot Day among a few of the guys at the Tower. For those of you who don't know Alex, his better half is Lara, and they are the first couple with which we really bonded when we first got to Towerview. I love them to pieces, and wish we had more opportunity to see them outside of church [ah, life]. Anyway, one of Alex's signature trademarks is his affinity with, and absolute ability to successfully sport the bowtie. I'm telling you, it might seem like a dated form of neckwear, but this guy can pull it off.

Erego, Alex Babot Day. :)

joe. pastor ron. adam. jarod.
ta-da! [this wasn't even all of them]
{missing at least jason, jimmy, kyle, and of course, alex! :( .. }

And if you think the fun stopped at the grown boys.....


cutest thing, ever. haha.. little luke!

^ I was actually on nursery rotation this week with Mo & Tanya; Tanya put Kyle's tie on Luke to see how it would look... and might I just say, he was dashing! He looked like a little sub-contractor; Tanya even managed to snag a shot of him making some important business calls. [We don't mean to interrupt, Mr. Luke! ;) ].

Now, because my husband is a married man, he is part of the larger collective group of married men who so often are found with one or both of their feet squarely planted in their own mouths. [I say that lovingly.. lol] In this case, a comment was made that Joe should buy lunch for every participant of Alex Babot day if Alex did not show up to bear witness. Welp, Alex did not make it this morning, so I'm not really sure if or when that's going to actually happen, because today was consumed with last-minute errands before Joe headed out to Cinci tonight. Haha. Good. Work. Joe. :p

Anyway, just a few more days before the next weekend, during which we'll all be in Cinci. I'm chompin' at the bits to get home.. good grief. I can't wait :) :) :)

Almost Monday!

xo | cmd

Owing Some Odes. Chyeah.

Good Tuesday evening, blogbots :)

Wellll... today was the first work day of a now four-day week, thanks to the holiday. I took a deep breath before walking in the door this morning, and good thing, since it was over in a blinding flash of call-offs, fires to be extinguished, and of course the ever-looming task of weekly payroll. Sidenote: Shortened work weeks are good for many things; payroll is not one of those.

Anywho - towards the end of the day, Joe texted me to see if I'd be up for dinner with our pastor and his wife. Duh. Since we're officially "staff" now, I suppose it would've been rude to decline..... Hah....

JOKE! I was super excited - One, it's our pastor and his wife. The two of them are among the coolest of the cool people we know, and in the realm of admirable humanoids, they are at the top of a very sparse list. Two, whether or not we're dining at their house or out somewhere, they always know how to pick cuisine. As we're still quite the novice pair at navigating around the local dining scene, it's always helpful when the places recommended by other people turn out to be awesome.


pretty lil' macro compliment of google...
[because i know some of you would
call me out on the bacon.. haha]

 Word to the residents of, in, and around Fairview Heights: Olga's Kitchen is a gem. I found it quite endearing based solely on face value because my maternal grandmother's name was Olga. [Remember, I'm adopted, erego only Italian by purchase order ;) ........... some of you will get that later] So we rendezvoused with the Woods at St. Clair Square and quickly found ourselves taking quite the liking to this place. It was one of those clear face-palm moments because I've passed by the place surely a handful of times while at the mall, but never had a reason to stop.

Yeahhhh.. so once we had our fill of snackers and Olga's [menu item.. I'm tellin' you, just get there], we went on mall-walker mode and did some light traversing back and forth across the grounds before we did two trips up/down the glass elevator for Syd, egged on especially by Pastor Ron & Debbie [so clearly grandparents ;)]. All in all a great night, impromptu as it was!

Oh, and speaking of Pastor Ron - we are prolific followers of each others' blogs, and tonight he shared with me the journey of one of his former youth group-ers, a gal just a couple years younger than me, who is in the midst of a repeated bout with cancer. [[While I don't have cancer, I've seen the havoc it can rain on any one person and their families. After heading up the Towerview team for the 2012 Relay for Life, I've gained a deep, earnest appreciation for the ongoing effort of the American Cancer Society, and moreso for the courage behind every individual person who has had to stare cancer in the face. MAJOR kudos doesn't even begin to describe the level of admiration I have for the conquerers :) ]] Soooo.. this girl, from what Pastor Ron told me, recently started a blog, and since that seems to be a thread that we both understand, he recommended I check it out. He seemed to think her candor and style of scribing were similiar to mine, too, which naturally peaked my interest.



remember this? :) | relay for life belleville 2012
the towerview fundraising tire

 So I checked it out.
And I loved it.
Blunt. Honest. Funny.
Don't believe me? -- Check it out for yourself :)
I'll be following these chronicles, for sure.

So...

Today turned out to have some unexpected turns:
Thank you to Pastor Ron & Debbie for the dinner invite, excellent company, and new reading material! ;)

Thanks to Olga's Kitchen for being so fabulously delicious... I'm on to you now..
Thanks to Ashley Brown, the girl with cancer who has decided to laugh in its face rather than succumb to it. I think that's the absolute spirit with which we should approach anything threatening to overcome. That, and pray, of course. :) Fresh perspective? Check.

Over and out, folks.

xo | cmd

Birthday Twins [Moll&Care] & Beads Galore!

It would be one thing to have ONE friend as cute as Molly or Carrie, but it just so happens that there are TWO of the, equally friggin' adorable gals to whom I would like to wish the happiest of happy birthdays!

I miss 'em.. it's been way too long since I last saw either one of them, but either way, girls, have the best birthday yet!! [Super shout out, because they're adopted, too. That adoption thing really pays off ;) haha.. ]

Happy Birthday, Molly & Carrie!

moll & care | cute friends.
happy birthday, girlies!

circa 2009..ish? | toooold ya it's been too long.. :(

Gotta love birthdays, yeah? Yeah :).

----

You know what ELSE I love?! My pastor and his wife. I also love amazing dinners and a few hours of playing with boxes and boxes.. and boxes of BEADS. Ms. Debbie had asked me on Sunday if I wanted to come by this week for dinner since Joe is out of town, more purposefully to help her sort through some boxes of beads that had come from Jarod and Ms. Ellen during the cleaning process. By some, I mean almost a matching equivelant of my current inventory. Beads, everywhere was where we started in an effort to sort and consolidate. I gave her some pointers on simple wire working, explained the various tools, and even fixed one of her plaque bracelets that had broken. Sydni kept herself busy in the play room, and when it was all said and done, I toted home an incredible variety of new beads, fixtures, pins, etc. I'm like a little kd when it comes to this... lol. I'm in heaven ;)

almost half of what i now own... whoa.

Craft party, anyone?!?! I need to go to bed before I pass the point at which I won't be able to function in about 8 hours or so. Plus, I'm starting on the mini's birthday shopping tomorrow. She'll be three, all too quickly. Any suggestions?

xo | cmd

Quotes From A Pastor

"Each of us needs a friend who loves us but is not impressed by us." - Pastor Ron | 8.19.12

In other words, each of us impeccably needs that confidante friend who cares for and loves us, but is willing to tell us the truth, based on grounded scriptural fact. We need that accountability of recognition when we fall, when we are succeeding, but especially in hearing those grinding life truths we don't necessarily want to hear.



"mama, close your ONE eye!" .. "okay.."
♥



Powerful stuff. That was one of the bullet points my pastor touched on this morning in a lesson focused on outlining the guidelines we should utilize in deciphering whether or not our decisions are God-based or emotionally-calculated. This was one of those revealing lessons that hit me pretty hard and made me squirm a little in my seat as I sat listening. Believe it or not, I count that as a blessing, for I truly believe it's an indication that God's chosen to use that message to speak directly to the core of... well, me. Thanks, a million times over, for the excellent delivery, Pastor Ron!

I felt caught up to speed after the service, even in lieu of my passing on Sunday school to nurse a migraine [agghh], and felt decently coherent by the time we made last minute lunch plans for Dos Gorditos. As with these lunch arrangements, they so often bloom into a whole party, which is exactly what we had. Robin Werner brought a new couple from the base and their adorable little girl, and we had our usual great time doing that fellowship thing that comes so naturally to us. (:

Back at home, Sydni and I committed to a nap before getting up and seeing Joe off for another week-ish of his travelling for work. I had originally made plans for volleyball, but since I'm still feeling a bit lofty in the head, I'm passing for the evening to hang here with the munchkin. It's gonna be an early night; I'm totally fine with that.

Tomorrow's a new week!

xo | cmd

God's Moving at the Tower :)

Towerview is, as one of my co-workers says when things are a-happenin', Cookin' with Gas!

Happy baptism week, #3!

little tanner!

If there is one reason to reflect back on VBS and be forever thankful, it is clearly evident when a child is moved to be baptized. I was priveleged enough to work directly with two of his big sisters Kirsten & Kaitlyn for the music ministry, so it was between their two beaming smiles that I sat and captured these little shots of Pastor Ron and Tanner in the baptistry. AMEN!

I felt like today flew right on by. My family is still in town, so after church, the lot of us tailed over to McAllister's for lunch before heading home. We all went down for some afternoon siesta time back at the house before rallying back at the church for the business meeting and Q&A session for Joe as he prepares for his transition onto the volunteer staff at Towerview. It was a lot to recount here, but we are certainly blessed, I'll say that much :).

The week starts back in full swing tomorrow. My family heads back to Ohio, along with Sydni [vaca week for everybody while she's with Nana & Pappy! Heh..]. We will certainly miss her, but this time is good for all of us, and we know it.

The jam session is already in progress here in the house - Jonathan & Paul are giving the guitars a workout and I think it's time to join 'em...

xo | cmd

Towerview at the Ballpark!!

Due to the continuous construction that comes inevitably as part of our office build-out, we were granted two consecutive casual days; we all took full advantage of it and geared up in our jeans and t-shirts for the day. Mine was almost thwarted by an early morning client visit; luckily for me, this particular client happens to be within earshot of my house, so if you think I went home after my client meeting to ditch the business garb, you would be totally correct. Haha. Perfect timing on the casual day, too; I was headed straight from work to the Cards game.

baseball time!

Before I get into this one, let me first clarify that in my heart, I'm still Cincinnati, through and through. That being said, I also believe that if you're gonna live somewhere, be there. I'm leading up to the fact that I was pretty excited to get down to Busch Stadium tonight for what was my first Cardinals game this season.

* I never thought I'd hear myself say that. What can I say, I love baseball games. Period. :)

with dawne! :)

Anyway, what made tonight's game that much cooler was the fact that each seat purchased by a Towerview member was from a fundraiser we'd done a few months back as one of our Relay for Life fundraisers. Originally, it was planned that Joe would be accompanying me to this one, but with him in Atlanta this week, that clearly wasn't going to happen. I contemplated just passing our tickets off to someone, but then I remembered that I do in fact know people outside of our church [because everyone there was already going, hah]. I asked Dawne is she wanted to come along, and long story short, we partnered up and made a night of it. I saw some other familiar faces tonight; I'll tell ya what, this St. Louis place sure is starting to grow on me. Yeah, baseball :)

Dawne and I linked up and took the metrolink with Syd [who ended up overnight back at Dawne's because she is just that awesome] into St. Louis and rendezvoused there with the rest of the Towerviewers to enjoy the night. I definitely had no complaints for my first season run at the park. Speaking of which, Courtney from work was down there somewhere too, we just never found each other. Oh well. Next time.

cori. mo. lara

*Note to self, also. The MetroLink is not a force with which you should reckon if you're not entirely prepared. Haha. That is all I have to say about that. Be careful where you stop, and pay attention to where you load, otherwise you could very well find yourself traversing back and forth on that sucker for hours. I'm just sayin'. :p

Anywho, it has been some sort of night.. baseball and all. I loved every second of it, but I think it's about time I grab some sleep before I try to tackle Friday. TGI[backdatedthursdayentrymadesuperearly]F!

xo | cmd

*TIRED OF CANCER!* [Towerview Style]

As we dig deeper and deeper into our fundraising efforts as a church whole, I have to say that I'm quite proud of my Towerview family.

* I am this year's appointed team captain for the First [hopefully annual!] Towerview Baptist organized team for the American Cancer Society's trademark event: Relay for Life 2012. I feel almost sheepish sometimes holding such a prestigious sounding title, since the team Co-Captain, Lara, is really the superstar here; she drives so much of this that it kinda makes my head spin. I would be at a loss without everything she's contributed and the time she's invested into tracking down the right people, creating fliers, and just overall proliferation of response and enthusiasm from everyone we need, when we need it. Thanksxmillions, LB :).

Anyway, last night at the church, a small group of us rallied together to discuss current progression of our team in all areas: fundraising, fundraising ideas, event decorations, even utilization of the ACS-provided web tools. During that time, we decided and set in motion two of the handful of fundraising opportunities we dreamt up in the earlier stages of planning:

1. Sunday morning breakfast at the church, pre-Sunday School. [May 20th!!!, fellowship hall.. free plug yeah!]
2. The 400-lb tire that Alex, Joe, and now Jason play with like it's a toy, flipping it around the track on base like it's no big deal. Our thought was to paint that puppy up and drop it off in someone's yard. That person or those people then donate $25 to get it removed asap and sent off to another yard of their bidding.

We brought that idea to fruition with mad quickness after the meeting; the Babots went home and Alex proceeded to paint it up in the token RFL [Relay for Lif--c'mon, you know...] purple, with huge white letters exclaiming the ironic phase: TIRED OF CANCER.

Can't visualize that? Let me help you:

team towerview: the tire....
- makin' a pitstop at the woods' :) 

A W E S O M E . I love everything about it, and I'm almost a little excited about this puppy making its way to our house for a day or two. Should be fun. Team Towerview is an absolute blast. These are the things we love :)

-----------------

So the rest of today was pretty tame; it marked the end of our first full week sans Meagan; I realized I need to do some serious adjustment on something: time management, shortened lunches, ruthless increase of speed.. something to balance out the work. Hah. It's a good thing with the burst of business we're seeing, but man alive, we are swamped. I love it.

joe & josh: windshield maniacs

Joe's store manager from Atlanta is in town for the insane influx of business they've had in St. Louis post-hail storm; since he's out of his element here, we were more than willing to open up the Dills' hotel once again for an out of town visitor :). He's staying for a couple nights before he heads back to GA. It wouldn't be a real party with the glass boys unless we got to observe them in their natural habitat: They transformed our garage into a temporary bay for Mo & Jimmy's car; it was a seamless operation that ended just about as quickly as it started.

Cooooool. That's a wrap on Friday, folks....

Heeeeeey, it's the freakin' weekend.....

xo | cmd

Life, Oh Life... Hallelujah!

Man oh man, this has been a weekend. I can't complain, not one bit. :)

Friday was our small group.
Saturday was our small group local missions project [hahaha] at the Gobles'.
Today was church, lunch, and just plain old family time.

jump start mma lesson: intro to triangle choke + face bite. hah... :)

Are we blessed, or what??


hilarious.. she put that there and then passed out...

 Our day ran its typical Sunday schedule of Bible study; the DeMonds have joined our class, and Cathie Page's parents were in visiting, as well. I had the opportunity to stand in for Trish in the praise band while she's out of town, which was a great time. Joe was here for the service as opposed to working in or out of town. It was a beautiful morning. We topped it all off with lunch afterwards at Eckert's with Pastor Ron & Miss Debbie. [♥ them!]

Oh, and I wanted to share this, not because I'm so closely or directly involved, but because it moved me :). As we all know, I've been appointed to spearhead this year's Relay for Life team for the church. Since the event revolves solely around conquering cancer and all that goes with it, I felt it completely appropriate to spread this message to cancer: You're at war, and from the looks of it, I wouldn't wanna mess with these guys, either :). One of Towerview's own, Kyle, is heading into his battle with Lymphoma, but he's not going alone. This is just a fraction of the army backing him; in honor of his physical spat with chemo, these guys took the Bics to their heads in support. Jason compiled this montage, and I wanted to share :). I only hope that if I ever find myself staring down something like this, that I'd be so blessed to have such an eager batallion behind me. :) Thanks for the encouragement, all of you - What a testimony!!


jason. kyle. matt
jarod. jim
[[ rallying against cancer! ]]

The rest of the day was spent here at the house, doing absolutely nothing, and more than thoroughly enjoying every millisecond of it. Joe's past work week following the hail storm was maniacally busy, and mine was a bit flurried as well what with Meagan phasing out of the office on a short notice. After a good long nap, the rest of the afternoon meant lounging with the family, enjoying a couple hours of sheer relaxation before finishing up the laundry and putting Syd to bed.
The only problem I can find with jampacked weekends is that they end all too soon and take way too long to come back around. It's back to the grind tomorrow... time to call it for now...

xo | cmd

Fellowship, Mexican Style

If you don't know by now, I love our church and the family it holds. I love our pastor and his family; I love the dynamic of our congregation, and I love the relationships we've already begun forging in the short 7 months we've been here. I have to confess that this is the closest I've ever been to the heart of a church, and I attribute that to the fact that the heart of the church is so genuinely broad and willing to embrace on impact, and unconditionally.

Today was another one of those weekly gatherings with said church family; the message was on point, and our fellowship made its way from the pews to a nearby Mexican restaurant. It wasn't anything extraordinarily spectacular; it wasn't a celebration of anyone's birthday; it wasn't for any special announcements. It was however, another small event that served not only some delicious food, but some casual conversation, funny stories, and hearty laughs. It was a chance for fellowship, and even in its simple, impromptu form, we took full advantage of it.

the motherload of enchiladas

Oh, and for the record, I can't for the life of me remember what the restaurant itself is called, but this sucker came out steaming on its plate and settled right in front of Joe. I have no idea how he finished it off, but I definitely give him kudos for that. We thought we'd photo-document this for the sake of remembering the accomplishment, but also in case we would need to explain to a doctor later on what it was that knocked him out. :)

Luckily, we're still stomachache free, at the end of the day.

Meagan and Rob made their way over after lunch to finally see our new digs, and experience the hybrid indoor cornhole set up in our basement. Once they left, it was naptime for the rest of the afternoon, and that puts us here now.

What a great weekend. :) We are truly, truly blessed.

xo | cmd  

2012: A NOT-to-do List

Dear 2012,

Heya. Nice to see you.
Bring it on. :)

Love,
Cori

It's January 1st, folks! Whoa. It still hasn't fully registered with me that I'll be writing 2012 on everything I date at work now. Oh well. I'll eventually make habit of that minuscule change, but more importantly, I'll embrace this new year, and every opportunity I'll have within it to seize each day :).



the page girls



First, I wanted to wish both Miss Kathy K. & Adam Page a very happy birthday! I would love to have a January 1st birthday - I'd have all kinds of motivation for re-vamping my life every year ;), hah. Anyway, we celebrated this afternoon with a late lunch at Bandanas to celebrate. We had a blast! Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday!!

Today at church, my pastor gave us a message on approaching the 'new year' from an agle with a bit more depth than the traditional resolution. I don't know why I hadn't ever thought of it this way, but perhaps that's why my ears were opened today to a new, refreshing perspective.

my [silly]  loves. they deserve my all in 2012 ♥

I know that yesterday, I gave a list of just 5 fairly broad goals I wouldn't mind accomplishing by the next time December 31st rolls around. Don't get me wrong, I would be thrilled to cross the finish line of another marathon, to obtain professional advance, and maybe even add to my family. Fitness and health are always a priority; our bodies are vessels and therefore required to be respected. Of course, I absolutely plan to get more involved with my church; if one or more of those things are in God's plan for me, then I have no doubt they will happen. What I didn't add, was a list of things I plan on NOT doing in 2012. As I left church this morning, I thought to myself, "Duh, Cori. Isn't that just as important, if not more?"

Well, of course it is. From where I'm sittin', there's a slew of things I could identify in my life that don't need renovation, they need removed, completely. I figured I'd start by sharing some of those things. This will be a running list, so expect to see additions over the course of this year. I'm not numbering these, because there shouldn't be a priority of one over the other. Hold me accountable, yeah?

--*--

NOT-to-do, 2012

- Prioritize anything work, home, or family-related over my one-on-one time in the Word.
- Deny grace to anyone, regardless of circumstance, deed, or perspective.

- Speak brashly, out of anger or frustration towards my husband or child.

- Turn away from an opportunity to share the greatest news of all, no matter how uncomfortable.

- Take for granted of any relationships with which I've been blessed - family, friends, or colleagues.

- Take for granted the moments with my daughter.

- Make excuses for not going after the things I want.

- Hold a grudge, for any reason.

- [Piggyback] Refuse to accept the path God chooses, even if it is steep, rocky, and solitary.

--*--

That's just a start. I'll be the first to tell you that it's not easy to admit that every single thing on that list is to some degree a shortcoming in my life, perhaps not over my entire life, but at the very least at some point in 2011. I don't often wear my heart on my sleeve, but I felt led to put these on paper. It's not going to be easy, but even that shouldn't be a shock to me. The realest walk with the Lord promises that there will be struggles in this temporary life.

My pastor asked us a question today:

Why should we give our lives on purpose to the realization of God's purpose for us?

Answer:

The home we have secured in Heaven is our home for all of eternity. Our lives here on earth are the single, ONLY chance to fight, wholly, on behalf of our Lord & Saviour.

There's not much else to say after that. :)
My one, solid resolution for this year is to adhere to that list, and add to it as I'm reminded.


happy 2012!



I'm still Cori. I'm still a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I'm still an athlete, colleague, and friend. I'm still blemished, and I'm still undeserving of each blessing I have. I'm still goofy, and I still laugh at myself. My prayer for 2012 is for the wisdom to recognize the plan He has written for me, the courage to share His ultimate plan with those around me, the humility to understand when my choices are not part of the plan, and the perseverance to get back up when I fall flat on my face. :)

All right, kiddies. Happy New Year.
Let's get started!

xo | cmd

Dinner with the Woods

Boy this has been a busy week. That's a good thing :).


joe finishing up some hashbrown casserole ;)



Tonight was the last dinner date of the week, and the company was the perfect pair with which to have it. Earlier in the week, Joe had arranged for our pastor and his wife to join as at some point for dinner at our new home, so we settled on this evening.

Pardon me and my short entry; it's been an interesting, eventful week, and frankly, I'm spent. :) It's either that, or the [incredible] hashbrown casserole that Debbie brought over is dragging me into a food-induced slumber that *might just last through the weekend. Whatever it is, I've been reminded all throughout this week that I am blessed. Blessed beyond reason, and blessed beyond imagination.

Tomorrow is new year's eve. I suppose I should get to sleep and start dreaming up some resolutions... or something. Hah.

xo | cmd

And A-Thrifting We Go! [Again]

It’s been one heck of a weekend, in terms of sleep schedule and time management. Joe started into his mid-shift rotation a few days back, and since then it seems like the zany sleeping hours have spilled out onto the rest of us. For instance, Joe headed out for work around 10pm last night; I was up until almost 4am. Don’t ask me how that worked itself out, but it’s my hope that we’ll nail down separate sleeping agendas sometime before his next rotation rolls around.



christopher. loralye. easton. sydni. carlee
&& santa! :)



Anywho, we managed to pull it together and make it to church this morning, which was followed by lunch at the Woods’ with the Werner’s and Page’s. The somewhat bittersweet blessing better known as our small group expansion, has taken off so much so that it was mutually voted upon to split our one bulk small group into three smaller small groups, if that makes sense. That being said, it was decided that Dan & Robin, Adam & Cathy, and Joe and I would be the three couples accountable for hosting and discussion generation during our bi-weekly gatherings. At the last group gathering at the Woods’, names were drawn randomly to assign out all the couples or families to one of the three groups. We’ve landed three of our groups extraordinary couples, as well as two other ladies looking for involvement with Koinonia. Today we met with the other couples and the Woods in a spearhead planning session. We nailed down some solid ideas on how to move forward collectively, which can’t be shared for the sake of being a spoiler! J



ok, fine... i'll take it!

 Upon leaving the Woods’, we made a bee-line back to the house so Joe could get a start on his sleep. Sydni went down for a nap as well, and I headed out to run some errands. I decided to hunt down a mattress for the [Goodwill] bed frame I’d toted home a few weeks back. Along the way, I must’ve blacked out, and when I came to, I was walking through the door of Plato’s Closet. Go figure. I realized the reason for the unplanned stop when I landed one of those deals that remind me why I rarely deviate from thrift-fueled shopping. I finally made it to my original destination and found exactly what I was after: twin mattress. The whole thing is set up now and I must admit it adds a nice touch. I like it!



twin bed :: finished!



It’s been a long day; the work week starts tomorrow. *Sigh.

ZzZzZzzzz….

xo | cmd

Midnights of Heth

hebrew letter heth

For the past few weeks, our Wednesday night Bible study focus has been geared at moving through Psalm 119. Last night we covered v.57-64, also referred to as the Hebrew letter Heth.

As with each of our study group sessions, there are always in attendance at least two different insights and perspectives on various scripture readings. We took our time dissecting this one last night, and I got to thinking a lot about what was said.

Some interesting notes:

v. 57-59: The word promise is used twice, in two separate contexts. First, the psalmist's promise to God to obey His word, and the second in regards to the promise which He has made to us. We spent a few moments in discussion over the human capacity to actually make a promise to God, and to what degree our caution should be in making such a gaurantee. It was tossed out that, in reading forward a couple verses, the psalmist here is reflecting on his current life, situation, and spiritual state, and therefore proclaiming his endeavor to follow the word and comply with the Lord's teachings. Additionally, it was also noted that this psalmist is an old testament figure, thus the concept of salvation was achieved by keeping the written laws and looking forward to Christ's sacrifice. This is in contrast to new testament salvation, which is achieved now by keeping the written laws and looking back at the sacrifice made.

v. 60-62: This was the portion of the passage that struck a particular chord for me. In 61, the psalmist describes the ensnarement of himself by the wicked as being bound by ropes, and declares his unwavering remembrance of his Lord's law. The footnotes in my Bible explained this [ropes] as being oppressed by the world in which we live, which is, by nature, a fallen world. There wasn't much debate over the contextual interpretation of either v.60 or 61, but 62 opened a door to me. In this verse, the psalmist states his dedication in adhering to the written law, even at midnight. There's where it started getting tricky.

First it was translated [by a group member] that midnight was referring to its most literal translation as a point in time during which the psalmist was rising [awaking] to give praise. Interestingly enough, that insight caught me offguard; the first thing that hit my mind was that midnight was alluding to a period of life, a time of darkest hours. I gathered and defended that point by including v. 61 and tying the two together contextually. My mind read that as, the world will attempt to discourage me, many times succeeding for a period, but in those darkest hours, I will praise you.



'hope that stems from midnight' | anonymous



Perhaps it's because I spent the majority of my college tenure immersed in different styles of literature, digging by instruction in every direction for literal or figurative translation of what I had read. I had learned to process every sentence with an objective frame of mind, and that there is usually just a fraction of an entire piece that is not open for interpretation. [i.e. - the crucifixion, resurrection, etc. are absolutely non-negotiable in reading the Bible. Other things, like the midnight reference currently being mentioned, lend more room for personal comprehension.] The whole revelation of midnight hours sent me thinking into some of the darkest times in my life, and the dark hours I've either seen happening in the lives of friends or family, and all the national/global events, natural disasters, and wars that have made such deep historical marks on our world. One of the things we always hear during the coping process after an altering event or series of events is the immediate response of those in prayer. Strangers rally together to pray for others, for their country, for their world. It's midnight somewhere, and God is there.

I like that. It's comforting.

It's midnight somewhere, and God is there.

Not 'but God is there,' rather 'and God is there.' Dark hours will find us somehow, sometime, some way. That doesn't change for a second the fact that God is there all the time. He knows that our midnights will confuse and discourage us, and He also knows that all that will be left at that point is Him. He's there, and he's waiting.

I'm carrying that with me today. I just thought I'd share.

xo | cmd

Towerview Cards Game

One of my favorite things about Towerview Baptist is their diligence in putting fellowship at the top of their priority list. A church cannot be a church without God as the center foundation, but likewise it is, as an organization, nothing without its people. Up to this point, we've found that the people of Towerview are incredibly dedicated to creating and enjoying fellowship opportunities. From Sunday and Wednesday services, to the weekly small group breaks, to random scheduled outings, we are all about socializing with each other and with the community.


busch stadium | some cute guy walking down the bleachers ;)

 Last night, we received a phone call from our pastor about 4 tickets that had just opened up for the Towerview outing to the St. Louis Cardinals game v. the Pittsburgh Pirates for tonight [Friday] at Busch Stadium. Let me note: We are still and probably always will be Cincinnati Reds fans through and through, but baseball is baseball, and it's fun going no matter how you spin it. Hah. Originally, we had thought about it, but then reluctantly decided we had to allocate our funds into the upcoming wedding efforts. So there we were, plopped in our living room meticulously chugging away at wedding business. It was such a kind gesture that they thought of us, and even extended the other two tickets to the new couple that had attended church on Sunday with us [Meagan & Rob]. We figured we would ask them [no harm there!] and see if they'd be obliged.


the greers | the dills

 Long story short, they jumped on the opportunity, and, after dropping Sydni off for some play time with Miss Anita, the four of us rendezvoused at the MetroLink station at SIUE and rode our way in to the stadium, tickets in hand. Alex was kind enough to offer us four of his free passes for the ride home, so we were blessed with an amazing evening of baseball in *perfect* weather, friends, fellowship, and easy transportation, all for just about $5/each. Not a bad deal.



Many, many thank you's to our pastor, his wife, and our church! We had a terrific time!!

xo | cmd

Midweek Message

Usually, when I’m feeling that sense of being stressed out start to creep over me, it doesn’t take long for God to step in and alleviate those tingling worries. This is my second day of work at the new Express office, and already I’m feeling quite overwhelmed by the fact that literally every little detail of processing daily operations is performed differently here, and not necessarily in a way with which I agree.

The downside of being trained by a developer is that now I have ridiculously high standards for others who probably aren’t following protocol.

Soooo, with that being said, I also met another enemy [for now, at least] today:

nasty coworker.



Meet the Avaya phone system. This little jerk invention here would be fine functioning in a household, but not in a business – at least not the model & setup we have. His name is Avaya 5410, and as of today, we are not coexisting well. Rumor has it, he’s made enemies with most of the other staff here, too. Well then.

Anyway, with work frying my brain to near crispy, I went home and joined the husband and we headed across the backyard to church for our first dose of Wednesday evening church service here at Towerview.

Pastor Ron did a great job. His message this upcoming Sunday is going to be based around the song I presented to him last night at dinner. It’s very flattering to have that kind of recognition, and apparently I’m in line to sing this Sunday. Talk about a welcome!

Guess it’s time to dig out that accompaniment track…

xo | cmd

Back to Work

One of the best farewell parties I’ve ever had came from my Express friends back in Cincinnati before I left. My experience with the company up to this point has been nothing but positive, and I see honest opportunity for growth both individually within this company, and as a whole.

So, today I stepped into a different Express office for my first day as a “transfer.” It’s always interesting being the new kid in the office, but it’s even more challenging when the new kid has actually been in the game longer than the majority of the class. I’ve transferred from an office in which the newest staff had been there no less than 3 years, to an office where the senior staff [owners not included] are just approaching their 1-year mark. Hmmmm.

Let’s just say, it’s different here.  There is a copious amount of room for growth here, and I’m confident I can relay some of the things I learned coming from the office of an area developer. Fingers crossed.

With day 1 out of the way, I was ready for some relaxation and good company. Good thing, because Joe and I met up with our new church’s pastor and his wife [Ron & Debbie]. They had invited us to dinner to get to know us a little better, and I couldn’t be happier that we went. It is because of them that Joe and I discovered Eckert’s, which is a farmer’s market/orchard/country restaurant. It’s pretty amazing. They’ve got deep fried biscuits, which I’ve never seen or tasted, but in their defense, I’m glad I did. Not the healthiest thing I’ve ever eaten, but de-licious.



eckert's | fried biscuits

We had a great evening with Pastor Ron & Debbie; we spent nearly four hours sitting, eating, and talking. We are so very fortunate to have so quickly found such an energetic, passionate church with equally enthusiastic leaders. While I truly miss our home church family in Cincinnati [New Harmony!!], I am excited and eager to get involved here.

Oh, and high five for a four-day work week. J Back to it tomorrow!

xo | cmd