on saturday, the arch was calling our name and we made it as far as the subterranean Imax theater housed in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial that includes the arch. the Lewis & Clark Imax film was a great intro to the other Lewis famed in these parts. for example, i didn't know that their journey lasted 28 months or that Lewis committed suicide three years later. we wrapped up saturday on a happy note by watching Florida State beat their arch rival, Florida.
weekend happenings
we visited Forest Park this holiday weekend which houses the fantastic St. Louis Art Museum. we'll be back for their Monet exhibit this Friday evening. we also ventured into the alternative reality that is Vintage Vinyl -- the Lou's answer to LA's Amoeba. imagine jazz aficionados rubbing elbows with hard core punks, corduroy jackets coexisting with mohawks. we dined @ Blueberry Hill, a St. Louis institution that still hosts a monthly Chuck Berry concert.
simple things
Love won a small victory in my life today and I just had to share. You know those people you're convinced dislike you? No? Well, then, consider yourself blessed with some mixture of irresistible charm, confidence, and obliviousness because the rest of us struggle through these relational discomforts from time to time. This friction unnerves those of us who would otherwise be self-possessed individuals.
Well, today I actually had a conversation with "that person" in my life. Heck, she even asked me to help her zip up her dress after CrossFit. I could either pretend like it was all in my head and she really hadn't been avoiding me week after week OR I could claim a victory for Love breaking through the walls we humans absurdly erect around ourselves (me included!).
And thus ends my brief account of Love, oh, except for one more anecdote. John and I have embarked on adventures in cooking. We tried meat sauce with spaghetti squash last week and today I'm enjoying leftover pumpkin shrimp curry over quinoa (thanks to a recipe in Jess' Bon Appetit that was accidentally forwarded to me). Because one of the cafes John and I enjoyed on Kauai had a chef who said she cooked all her dishes with love from the heart, we now refer to these adventures as "cooking with love."
strength and weakness
Look closely at this picture and you'll recognize the (inverted) inspiration for this blog. I opened my Yogi tea sachet and read, "Live in your strength." Sometimes these little ditties attached to my tea are inspiring but today it was yet another reminder of the world's (non)wisdom.The theme of living in my weakness so that God's strength can manifest in my life has woven its way through church services, our small group, and daily readings. It's my pride (& disillusionment) that I am all-sufficient and capable of achieving any- and everything that stands in the way of God's strength. Perhaps my pride has waned today because I'm sick and amidst illness my weakness becomes oh, so apparent. A mere cold, albeit unwelcome, thankfully cracked or maybe even shattered the myth that living in my strength will lead to good, God-glorifying ends. So join me in rejoicing in our weaknesses that enable us to live in God's strength.
October, how thou flew by!
But let me back up just a bit. Here were some of the ramblings I recall from the month of October . . .
-just resting with Dad on our way out, less than a mile from the trail head, was such a peaceful moment. we often forget to savor these moments and was so needed less than a week from wedding day.
-our wedding weekend was magical, from our pre-wedding photo session to the rehearsal dinner and then the wedding day itself. just magical. my sis, Jess, captured much of the day on her blog.
-our wedding night retreat, Winvian, was amazing -- just like you'd picture such a secluded, special place.
-Hawaii lived up to its reputation as a place of spectacular heights and enchanting depths. For shots from a volcano's peak to the ocean's floor, check out my picasa album.
-packing up my life and moving halfway across the country in three days was an amazing feat made possible only through my husband's perseverance and Mom's packing and wrapping expertise.
Now, for St. Louis. I'll post more house pictures once we fully move in (there are a few pictures that still need to be hung into a brick wall and a certain curtain rod to be wrestled with). The photo above is shot from our dining room, across the porch. The leaves are still brilliantly colored out here. I'm excited to go backpacking this weekend and enjoy the foliage. We're also going to check out South Missouri wineries post-backpacking.
Days here have consisted of admiring Japanese wrapping and packing efficiency, finding creative ways to stuff paper into the slots of the recycling bin in the alley behind our house, finding new homes for gently used goods, scoping out job prospects, waiting for handymen to fix the porch light or set up internet access, and checking out various ministries associated with our church, New City Fellowship. We've explored a couple of St. Louis' fine dining establishments and appreciated the eclecticism from Vietnamese pho to traditional BBQ.
Arriving just in time for the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series was also pretty sweet. This is a city that LOVES its Cards. For example, walking to Bed, Bath, & Beyond on Saturday I saw a woman in a Cards t-shirt with a bright red cast on her presumably broken arm. We watched Game 7 at a "stoop party" on a screen rigged up on the side of a neighbor's house.
This transition has been an interesting one full of shifting identifiers, new cultures, saying hello to so much and goodbye to much, as well. I was thankful for one friend's comments to not be alarmed if things feel a bit odd at first. It's fun to have a buddy with whom to approach life. It's a blessing to partner with John who loves the LORD so dearly and me so nearly. It's tough to be without a job and to spend much time on domestic concerns. It's tough to go about setting up a life all over again. It's a blessing to have family and friends who check in on me. Life is progressing as it has wont to do and I'm so blessed and enjoying it.
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