The First Date Fight

Jess: Wes and I really like to "fight." Bickering and joking around are just part of who we are as a couple. It's a fun way to mess around with each other and laugh together. One of these fights in particular has been going on almost as long as Wes and I have been together. Last weekend, we decided that it was time to ask a question of our blog audience: Who is right? We need to know once and for all, so everyone should vote and tell Wes that I'm right--I mean share your opinion.

Now the question is what our first date was. The difference is a matter of two days, but this is of grave importance to Wes and me. Let me set the stage and help you understand:

It's November 2007. Wes and I have known each other since the tail end of August, when we met through Campus Ministry. We have some mutual friends, spend time together at worship services and campus ministry events, and I am Wes' Greek tutor. Several times over the last few weeks, we have spent time together watching movies and TV, but always with at least a few friends around. We both like each other, but neither of us has any idea how the other person is felling.

Finally, I decide that I have enough. I've never been good at asking guys out, so my wonderful friends Christi and Daniel devise a plan to help me out. They decide that we will go see Happy Feet on Friday afternoon. I can invite Wes, and we can hang out in a low-key atmosphere while not being surrounded by hundreds of friends. The situation seems perfect. If I'm not mistaken, I asked Wes over Facebook or AIM (yes, this was back in the dark ages when people still used AIM) because I was too shy to ask him in person. He agreed, but said he would have to leave for a ministry retreat immediately after the movie.

So Wes drove me to the movie and Christi and Daniel drove separately, with the idea being that Wes would leave and I would head back with them. Wes bought my ticket, but let everyone remember that I asked him to the movie, so this was just out of the kindness of his heart. I think it is also absolutely imperative that you know that Christi and Daniel were just friends, so this wasn't a double date or anything. It was just four friends going to see a movie together.

During the movie, Wes and I flirted and joked with each other just like we had been doing for weeks. We ended up holding hands (swoon) and Wes decided he could be a little late for his retreat, so he drove me back to school. End part 1.

That doesn't sound like much of a date to me, but you can be the judge. My reasons are manifold, but I'll list a few: 1) There were other people there who were not dating nor on a date. 2) We would have all ridden together had it not been for Wes' retreat. 3) Although we held hands, that could have just as easily happened during one of the many movies we watched in Wes' dorms with a bunch of our friends. 4) I find this to be the most important: when we counted our "dating anniversary," we always counted from what I consider our first date.

Part 2: Wes returns from his retreat on Sunday and asks me if I would like to go to see a movie with him that night after chapel. Although I had been up since 6 a.m., I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go on what could be our first date. After chapel, we drove to the theatre, where Wes bought my ticket and snacks, and headed in to see Borat.

Side note: Borat is a terrible movie. Don't ever waste your time on it. Even though it was our first date, I refuse to watch it again even for sentimental reasons.

During the course of the movie, we hold hands, which we're pros at by now. Finally, we kiss (double swoon!). Wes drives me home, walks me to my room, and asks if he can change his Facebook status to "in a relationship." I agree and a lifetime of bliss begins--starting on the night of our very first date.

I don't think it's necessary, but I'll let Wes argue his side of the story now.

Wes: Well, Jess got the majority of the facts correct, but she is quite mistaken when it comes to her conclusions. (Also, I had to go through and correct like six grammatical mistakes from her part of the post, which obviously means that you should take my side much more seriously since I am better equipped to use the English language). So here we go.

It is November 2007. I am about to leave for the weekend to go to my favorite ministry retreat of the year--Dive in Deeper. It is an amazing time of reflection, relaxation, and growth, and I got to spend that time with some of my favorite people. As I am finishing packing up (because let's face it, I waited until the last minute to start packing), I receive an IM from Jess, asking if I wanted to go see a movie with her and a couple friends. Now, this sounds to me from the get-go like a date. I change my plans at the last minute and get ready to go see Happy Feet, a movie I knew nothing about but was prepared to sit through if it meant spending a little bit of time with Jessica.

I drove her there and her two friends followed us in one of their vehicles. The whole way, we listen to music together and sing along to every song that comes on my ipod. I try to tickle her a couple times while we drive over there and she shyly smiles at me and tickles back. When we get to the movie theatre, I, being the gallant gentleman, by my date her ticket, hold the door to the theatre open for her, and then by her some popcorn. During the movie, we spend more time tickling each other than we do watching the film and when the moment seemed right... BAM! I went for it. She went to tickle me and I grabbed her hand. And then didn't let go. Also, neither did she. Game. Set. Match. Holding hands.

When the movie was over, I asked if I could drive her back to TLU, and we held hands the rest of the time we were together in the truck as well. Then, after I dropped her off, I spent the next three hours texting her as I drove to the retreat, only stopping when my phone lost service. And yes, I know it was dangerous, but I was in love. So there.

When I got back to TLU on Sunday afternoon, I called her to ask if she wanted to go on another date to see another movie. Now, there wasn't much showing, so we ended up going to see Borat (a couple of my friends told me it was good). The movie was awful. Absolutely awful. But the upside is that instead of watching the movie, Jess and I had our first kiss (and the subsequent ones after it as well). When the lights came on in the theatre, we went back to TLU and I walked her up to her door. I then asked her to be my girlfriend in the cutest way I could think to do so: I asked if I was allowed to change my facebook status to "in a relationship." She said yes. :-)

Now. We are both in absolute agreement that this second outing, when we went to see Borat, was in fact a date. No arguments from me about that. But I firmly hold to the truth that our first date was in fact Happy Feet, and I hold to this for a number of reasons:

1. She asked me to go the movie with her. I had to change my plans to do so, but I did, because I wanted to go on a date with her.

2. I did not know anything about this movie and therefore did not want to see it. The only reason that I went to the movie was to be with her.

3. I drove her to the theatre and paid for her ticket and popcorn. If it had not been a date, I would not have done this because it would have just been a few friends going to the movie.

4. We engaged in romantic discourse. We flirted like crazy. We held hands for the first time. We then initiated a texting conversation of so epic proportions that both of us went over our plans and owed our parents money.

5. There is a difference between dating and being in a committed relationship. We counted our "dating anniversary" from the night of our second date because that was when I asked her to be my girlfriend. It was not the date itself that led to that being our anniversary, but the committal on both of our parts to enter into a romantic relationship together. Therefore, before we were boyfriend and girlfriend, we went on two dates--the first to see Happy Feet and the second to see Borat.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen (and countrywomen): Lend me your ears. I need your help in convincing Jess that I am right. We all know it is true, but her constant need to be right and to win everything is clouding her judgment. Help me rectify this situation. Help me open her eyes. Help me show her that our first date truly was Happy Feet, the horribly cute movie about a dancing penguin.

Only you can help her see the truth. I leave it in your capable hands.

You stay classy, World Wide Web.

-wes (the right one) and jess (the mistaken one)

Sandwiches and Egypt

Jess: Thank you to everyone who made suggestions as to what we should write for this blog. If we didn't use your suggestions, just know that we're keeping them in mind for the next time we can't figure out what to write.

First, we've been asked to discuss the situation in Egypt from our Christian perspective. Wes and I are both pretty bad at keeping up with the news. We read Yahoo news, and I get Time magazine, but that doesn't mean we're always well-informed. We knew a little about the situation, but we did some background research so that we could speak about it from a well-informed point of view. So while we were up at 7 this morning due to the tornado siren, we learned about Egypt.

I don't think that it's right for one person to lead a country in any fashion for 30 years. There is a reason we have an 8-year limit for presidents in the US. Anything they do, any changes they institute, any mistakes they make are just small blots in the course of history. From the religious point, humans are fallible. They are subject to error, influenced by others, etc. There's a reason we needed Jesus to come atone for our sins. We simply can't be responsible for it on our own--we're too messed up. When someone leads a country for so long on his own, problems are bound to happen.

As far as the citizens go, I sympathize with them greatly. I feel so blessed that I have never had to live through a situation like that. I am able to speak freely, practice my religion freely, and not worry about being persecuted for who and whose I am. I admire the millions of people who are standing up for their rights and the rights of their children and grandchildren. I'm also extremely impressed by the military personnel who are refusing to fire on their peaceful brothers and sisters.

I am mortified by the US news agencies' response to this situation, however. Much of the news coverage I have seen has not been concerned with how to get aid to the Egyptians, how this will affect the situation in the Middle East, what the UN can and should be doing or what we could do as citizens of one country to those of another. Instead, it has primarily focused on what this means for the US. I am appalled at how one-sided our news has become. We may be the world's superpower, but we're not the world's only power--and we are far from being the nation that needs the most attention. When did we as a country become so self-absorbed?

Last but not least, I couldn't decide on my favorite sandwich. In all honesty, I'm not a huge sandwich fan. I prefer all sorts of other kinds of food. But I love grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup and BLTs with no mayo. As my brother would say, "It's a BLT, not a BLTM!"

Wes: So let me begin by first sharing why I have a problem following the mainline news stations. I try to get all of my news from the Onion, Jon Steward and Stephen Colbert, and Yahoo! News. When you don't stay with heavily satirical news groups that sneak in a hint of truth right when you think you've had it up to your eyes with the bull honky, you get things like the following. This was a map of the Middle East that Fox News aired during a segment this last weekend:


Jon Stewart was quick to point it out, and I have to agree it is ridiculous. But it does stand as a reminder that we in the United States are so wrapped up in ourselves and in our self-interest that a great majority of us would have a very hard problem finding places like Egypt on a map or globe. The only time we ever focus on other people in other countries is when our interests align with them.

Which is why this thing with Egypt really bums me out. I feel like the reason that we're so upset about it is that the US doesn't know who to get behind. The dictator, Mubarak, has allied with the US and has done some good stuff like kept up peace between Egypt and Israel, but I know he's a jerk too, and he hasn't been the best leader for his country. I think that's one of the problems with any system where the leaders have no accountability and rule without any set term. (Blog about my struggles with United Methodist itinerancy coming soon). I also know that the news is saying that a lot of the planning and organizing of the protests are being led by extremist groups that are using this opportunity to try and gain control of the government. I don't want to believe that is true, but I also know that this kind of stuff happens a lot when protests happen and there's the chance that governments will be overthrown.

Now, I don't feel like I know the right thing for the US government to do, but I feel like the Christian thing to do (and please, for the love of God note that I am not saying what the political, governing body of this wonderful country should do) is to go in an be God's people for the ones who really need it. We should be there feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick and the elderly--this, by the way, being the same thing that we should be doing here regardless of who is running our country or the policies of whatever the current government is. I feel like we spend so much time trying to pick and cozy up to the winning side that we forget that there are people who will be losing no matter who is still standing after all of the smoke has cleared.

I have been thinking a lot about what some of my friends in Texas were doing last weekend and how it relates to the stuff going down in Egypt right now. The Southwest Texas Methodist Conference Youth Ministries are in the middle of their six weeks of weekend retreats, and this last one was the first time one of the retreats has been focused specifically on mission. A little under 100 youth and adults gathered together in San Antonio to spend a weekend ministering to and hanging out with the local homeless community. In a city that has outlawed loitering to a point where anyone without a place to sleep indoors now has the high possibility of spending some time in jail, these people spent the weekend getting to know the men and women who are struggling to stay warm in the winter and find food on a daily basis. Here. Look at a picture of a group of them that I stole from Facebook:


What do you think would happen if we treated the situation in Egypt in a similar fashion? What would happen if instead of trying to take sides and complain about how this might impact our oil prices or vacation plans, we instead tried to help those who are not going benefit either way in this and need someone to come in and minister to them where they are?

Just saying.

As for my favorite sandwich, I would have to go with either a philly cheese steak (MUST BE AUTHENTIC!!! I'm spoiled now since I'm this close to the capital of the steak sandwich--they don't call it a philly cheese steak in philly...) or a corned beef sandwich on chibatta bread. Or meatball marinera. Or grilled cheese. Or... well... anything tasty that doesn't have salad on it.

Well, that's all for now! You stay classy, World Wide Web! (Hopefully people from Egypt will be able to read this soon!)

-Jess and Wes

The Circle of Life

Jess: Wes and I have been talking about the future (that's a scary thought) and children recently. I've wanted to adopt kids for a long time, but I wouldn't mind having a child or two of our own. Since this was so important to me, Wes has gladly agreed to adopt, and we are in the process of looking for an agency to help us through the adoption. We don't want to start having kids for at least another year and half (we figure it makes more sense for at least ONE of us to be done with school beforehand), but adoption is a pretty long process.

We've already found an agency we like. You can check them out for yourselves at Angel Adoption. We're not completely set on it and will definitely keep looking, since we won't be officially applying for at least another year. This agency seems great, though. They're very up-front about cost and how to afford adoption, they only accept as many families as they have birth mothers available, so the wait time is considerably shorter, and the application gives you access to all the help and advertising necessary for 2 years- something like 98% of their families receive a child within two years. We filled out the initial application and got tons of information from them. There is definitely a lot that goes into this process, but I think the reward will be more than worth the effort.

As many of you may know, I freaking love kids. That's why I babysat throughout middle school, high school, and college. It's why I wanted to be a swim instructor, and why I worked at Blue Streak (a horse camp for girls 7-14). Even when I worked at Starbucks, I always had at least a regular babysitting job to complement it, because I couldn't imagine life without kids. When I finally quit Starbucks, I did so to become a full-time nanny, so I could spend time with kids but not feel pressured to have my own just yet. Kids have been an important part of my life since I was old enough to get to hold babies. I have a soft spot in my heart for all kids, and I a big factor in my decision to adopt is that I want to give a loving home to a child who might otherwise not have that opportunity.

So here we are, having completed the absolutely preliminary steps of adoption. I'm reading a great book right now: Adoption: Your Step-by-Step Guide by Mardie Caldwell. It's been really helpful and informative, and I'll definitely be picking it back up next year to make sure I know what I'm doing. We would appreciate your prayers, support, advice, etc. throughout this process. It's going to be interesting to become first-time parents this way, because we have the normal stress of becoming parents coupled with the stress of adoption, but we really think this is the best option for our life and for our future children.

On a separate note, Wes and I have been limiting ourselves to two hours of TV per day. It's still a lot more TV than we probably should be watching, but we don't mindlessly turn on the TV anymore. I've read more this week than I have recently, but I've also been on my computer more. We definitely have to look into replacing our TV time with something better for us. Whenever it warms up, I fully intend on using the extra time to take nice long walks. For now, we can't find the sidewalks...

Wes: So I have to admit that it scares the crap out of me to think about me having a kid. Especially adopting a kid. That's a lot of work and responsibility! And I'm Wes Cain! I don't know if I could handle being a dad... But at the same time it is kind of excited to think about. Especially when you have a last name that lends itself so well to fun baby names, like Candy Cain, or Hurri Cain, or Sugar Cain, or Colton Cain (would would be Co for short), or Walkin Cain (after Christopher Walken of course)... You can see how much fun can be had. Jess did point out the only girl names that would work sound like stripper names, though. That's kind of a draw back for a family where both the parents are pastors.

But yeah. That's fun.

While Jess has been working on reading about adoption agencies and the process through which we'll be going (yes, mom, I can use proper grammar when I want to), I've been dealing with the other side of life. There were two four deaths in our community this last week. Two of them were directly connected to Crosswicks UMC, and I am doing one of the funerals for it. It's my first funeral, and I have to say that I am extremely nervous about it. Writing sermons for funerals is not at all like writing sermons for Sunday service. I am so used to using personal past experiences to share Gospel truths, but the focus of the sermon at a funeral is first on the Gospel and second on the person whose life we are celebrating. I can't open with a personal anecdote, especially when I did not have a chance to meet the deceased, as is the case for the funeral tomorrow. (She was a 94 year-old member of the church who had moved in with one of her kids in Pennsylvania a number of years before we moved here). I had to learn very quickly how to strike the balance between presenting the Gospel text, speaking about the deceased and the life she led, providing hope for the future, and allowing space for mourning. It's a lot harder than I thought.

I also realized that there is a lot of outside pressure when it comes to funerals. You have people expecting you to make it a time of celebration but also a time of mourning. And if you screw up, you don't have another chance next Sunday to get it right. These people need comfort in their sorrow, they need to know that there is peace and that though things may never be the same life does go on and good things do continue to happen. But this dead person, even if I have never met her, is beloved by many, and the expectations that this farewell service be perfect are great!

I will say, though, that I bet weddings are probably much more stressful when it comes to people's expectations. I've attended and been in enough weddings to know that very few are missing that person (or, even worse, persons) who has to everything a certain way and is always looking for something to go on about. (Jon Lys, you know what/who I'm talking about).

But I think that this preparation for the funeral has been full of moments of consolation. God has spoken to me in some amazing ways during this process, and I've really enjoyed planning the service. I also had a wonderful talk with my father-in-law about funeral sermons, one of the best conversations that he and I have had. I am very blessed that Jess' dad is an ELCA minister and that he is very open to helping me out with ministry questions. I'm also very blessed to have a friend and mentor like Matt Pennington who is always willing to read over my sermons and papers for seminary and is always challenging me to go deeper push farther.

So this is how Jess and I have experienced the circle of life in its fullest of late. The only thing more we could do is watch the Lion King or bring down an antelope with our bare hands and teeth.

Well, that's all for now! You stay classy, World Wide Web!

Love,

Jess and Wes

Snow and Other Things

Jess: So, as some of you may know, after going almost all of the end of 2010 with no snow, we have now had probably close to two feet of snow since the day after Christmas. This makes Wes very happy, because Wes grew up in Texas, Hawaii, and Guam, and has never really experienced snow. For Wes, snow is a wonderful, beautiful thing that makes the world look magical.

I, on the other hand, have been completely ruined by all the snow I had to shovel, drive through, miss fun events for, etc throughout the first 18 years of my life. Snow means the car is so cold I shiver for the first 10 minutes of every drive. Snow means I might have trouble getting to work (I didn't care so much when it meant missing school, though). Snow means spending hours shoveling the driveway only to have more snow blow on it. Basically, I'm a snow cynic.

I have to say, though, that seeing Wes in the snow has made it an entirely new experience for me. Sure, I can't forget all of the times my car fishtails, the driveway is invisible, or I miss out on making money because of snow (not to mention almost getting buried in snow by a plow while I was driving yesterday). But seeing Wes practically jump up and down with excitement at the first flake of snow reminds me of something important: snow is part of creation--God's creation. So snow IS magical, wonderful, and beautiful. Just because we have become completely dependent on our cars and our ability to make money doesn't mean snow is any less magical or beautiful. I can look at it with fresh eyes again. And if we ever bother to buy some snow boots, pants, jackets, etc, I'll be right out there jumping in it with Wes. I'll probably also eat some, because it's delicious.

On a completely different note, Wes and I are both making a great effort to be healthier in 2011. My dad got us a Wii Fit for Christmas, which has been invaluable because of all the snow. We both love it--especially the exercises where we can watch TV while working out. In addition, we've made a pact to not eat any sugary foods (a pretty loose term, but basically no candy, cookies, etc) or drink any alcohol for this week. I've found that making goals for a week makes them pretty simple to achieve. By the time you get to the point where you're really craving whatever it is you gave up, you're already halfway there. We're also hoping that doing so will tone down our bodies' desire for such foods, and we can focus on healthier foods even after the week ends. Next week, we're going to cut down on our TV watching, and the week after that (if I can convince Wes), we're going to give up coffee and soda. We'll see how it goes, but I'm pretty happy with the results on the scale so far!

Wes:
We are so not giving up coffee and soda. Just. Not. Happening.

But hey! It's snowed so much! I'm absolutely loving this! I mean, it is such a magical sight when the world is dressed in white. By the way, that's a line from the second Frosty the Snow Man movie. It makes me happy, so I repeat it to Jess every time we go outside and see the world covered in a blanket of awesomeness. The snow is cold, it is crisp, it is pretty, it is fun, and it looks super cool. Also, everyone looks really cool dressed in heavy coats and and scarves. I like it.

I will say that I am very blessed that our neighbor owns a lawn a plow service and that he takes care of our driveway for us. I've only had to shovel once, and it wasn't one of the bad ones that we've had either. It's been awesome being able to enjoy the perks of this winter wonderland and not having to deal with the set-backs of it. I can very easily deal with the salt on the roads (and on our car) and with the knowledge that at some point all of the snow becomes slush. I am just loving the moment: everything is clear, everything is beautiful, and everything is magical. I love it. Also, stomping into the snow like a monster and leaving really deep footprints is really, really fun. The only thing left to do is to make a snowman. I've always wanted to do it, but I've never been able to. Also, a snow fort. Or an igloo. But that's later when I have lots of people to help. Really just two or three people. Or one or two really excited and energetic people. Maybe just me...

So here's the deal with this whole getting fit thing: I've never made a New Year's resolution before. I've always thought they were kinda silly and most people give up on them after a month anyways. So I tend to make my goals away from the New Year, thinking to myself that I might have a better chance to keep them. This sometimes works and sometimes does not. But I decided to live vicariously through Jess' resolutions this year, and getting fit is one of them. I've been using the Wii Fit every day, and am trying to lose some weight and be healthier. I feel a lot better, and definitely would not mind dropping a few pounds.

Also, I'm taking a Methodist Polity class for my short-term this semester. I'm enjoying reading about the inner-workings of the church, and I am excited about being better equipped to change the things in the church that need changing. It is a lot of reading, though. Like, 500 pages a day. Tends to be a little much.

Well, that's all! We hope that you have a wonderful week, and enjoy the weather wherever you're at, especially if there's snow involved!

You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes

Happy Anniversary

Jess: Well, the rest of our Christmas holidays were great. We had a wonderful time with Dad and Josiah, and had a nice relaxing end of the year. We had our first New Year's party, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. I've never had so much leftover food in my entire life!

So Saturday was our anniversary, and we had massages, reflexology, lunch, and pool/jacuzzi time at a spa, then we went to Freehold, walked around a little, and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful day, and I really enjoyed our first anniversary as a married couple.

In that spirit, we decided to make a list of some of the things we have learned about marriage during this first year. We like to consider ourselves experts at this time. First, though, Wes pointed out all of the stuff we've done over the past year, and it's a pretty extensive list:

Got married, moved cross country, started seminary, started new jobs (me twice, Wes once), moved again, hosted our first parties in our own home, cooked our first ham and turkey, hosted Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, and much, much more.

Now, for the awesome list (Wes/Jess):
1. Not picking "sides" of the bed doesn't really work out. We tried to switch off, but now we pretty much have sides unless Wes gets up first and sleeps by the alarm.
2. Eating in front of the TV is perfectly acceptable, but eating at the table and talking about our days is a wonderful way to wind down each night.
3. The best way to end the day together is by praying together.
4. Taking a walk together is a wonderful way to spend time together and exercise, whether there's an important issue to talk about or just to have fun together--as long as no one brings their cell phone. (Also, we discovered a path to Narnia).
5. The radio in the car is always controlled by Jessica, whether she's driving ("The driver gets to pick the music!") or riding ("It's dangerous for you to pay attention to the radio while you're driving!").
6. Going to bed at the same time as the other person really does make a connection--even if that other person falls asleep faster than you and snores like a polar bear (Weskimo?).
7. Having someone to come home to makes even the most stressful days bearable (ahem Starbucks...seminary...).
8. Furnishing, decorating, and organizing a house together is extremely stressful, but ridiculously rewarding (Shout out to all the people who helped our cross wall explode into awesomeness).
9. "Whatever you say, dear" is not always the best answer.
10. Even with a spouse, yard work still sucks.

Wes: That's all for now. Jess already said everything there was to say.

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-Jess and Wes

Christmas Part 1

Jess: I just got a call from Mom and Chris saying that they arrived home safely after our Christmas excitement. They showed up around dinnertime last Wednesday, and we've been having a good time since. We went to New York City on Thursday afternoon to see the Rockefeller tree, and on the way we saw the WTC site, Times Square, a great Italian restaurant, and a couple of other things. It was really freaking cold, but we had a good time and I think they all enjoyed their first trip to NYC.

Friday, of course, was Christmas Eve, so we sat around the house and got some stuff ready for Christmas day, then had delicious stew (made by Wes) and went off to the two services. Mom and I sang and everyone seemed to enjoy that. It was nice to have a service that was out of the ordinary, as well. At some point, we watched one of our traditional movies: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Christmas day was fantastic, of course. Wes and I started it off by making homemade cinnamon rolls for everyone, then Mom and I woke Josiah up--otherwise Christmas would have started at about 3 p.m. We opened all our presents, which was a good time. We did a combination of free-for-all Cain style and the OCD version of Christmas we had at my house. Christmas dinner was wonderful, and then we just sat around watching TV, the most important being A Christmas Story.

We were supposed to go show the family around Princeton on Sunday, but it started snowing at about 10 a.m. and didn't stop until yesterday morning. The wind was blowing so much that our yard has about 2 feet of snow in some places and no snow in others. It's ridiculous. Instead of going to Princeton, we spent yesterday and Sunday playing Wii, watching movies, and reading. It was fun, but relaxing, which is always great for a vacation. I found out that my mom is actually decent at the Wii, which was pretty surprising. We also ventured out for dinner on Sunday, which wasn't too bad until Mom tried to park the car in the garage. Our driveway is uphill and we had about 6 inches of snow in it by then, so she narrowly avoided hitting the garage a couple of times and it took us about 15 minutes to actually go inside once we got home. Good times.

Now, we're sitting around waiting for Dad to show up. He was supposed to be here by now, but got stuck for 2 hours on the Pennsylvania turnpike. It made me glad that we aren't actually traveling anywhere this year. It's too much work. Lol.

Wes: So the other day, one of my best friends, who will remain anonymous (Ryan Anderson), sent me a message on facebook, asking me what was more important: the birth of Christ or the death of Christ. We had a very interesting conversation, starting with another anonumous friend (Jackie Rodriguez), who talked about how she saw the death of Christ as what was most important. Ryan replied that he thought the birth of Christ was the most important. Then I finally jumped in with my two bits, saying that the resurrection was the most important. Half-way through writing it, though, I realized that this is a which-deathly-hallows-is-best question, just like on Harry Potter. Some will hold that the birth of Jesus is the most important, because nothing could have happened without the birth. Some hold that the death of Christ is the most important, because it is the sacrifice of Christ that saved us from our sins. Some hold that the resurrection of Christ is the most important, because we participate with Christ in His resurrection and are made a new creation.

I don't think that having the answer is necessarily important, but I do think it is important to realize that none of them are as important on their own as when they are held together. It is absolutely amazing that God took on flesh and took the title of "God-with-us." That God loved us enough to become one of us is unbelievable. The fact that God showed God's love again by dying in our place is awe-inspiring. That the grave was not strong enough to hold our Lord is worth celebrating over and over and over again. The salvation of humankind is not found in just one of these acts, but in all of them.

Relient K does a really good job of reminding us of this fact. I loved that on Christmas, I could get on facebook and see around fifty statuses (statii?) that all quoted my favorite Christmas song, Celebrate the Day: "I celebrate the day that You were born to die so I could one day pray for You to save my life." It shows me that even in this world that tries so hard to take Christ out of Christmas and make the holidays a commercialized product, people still know and hold to the true meaning of Christmas. It is about celebrating the birth of Christ while at the same time remembering just why God chose to take on flesh.

On a completely unrelated note, Jessica got me my very own chalice and paten for Christmas. (For those of you who don't know what a chalice and paten are, they are the cup and plate used to hold the bread and wine during communion). I feel all pastor-like, now, because I'm not only getting grown-up gifts like sweaters and books, but I'm getting vocational-esk gifts as well. The only thing that I didn't get that would have made this first-real-Christmas-as-an-adult better would have been if I had gotten a cheesy Christmas tie or sweater. Oh well. There's always next year.

Well, we hope that you enjoyed your Christmas and that you are enjoying your four calling birds (shout out to 12 days of Christmas). Goodbye, and goodnight!

You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes

And the new traditions continue (AKA "Eight Maids a Milking, Seven Maids a Milking, Six Maids a Milking, FIVE MAIDS A MILKING!)

Jess: With a week left till Christmas, our new traditions just keep coming. Last week, we went to the tree lighting in downtown Crosswicks, where Santa showed up in what Wes called a "one-police car open sleigh." The tree is beautiful, and we can see it from about half a mile down the road when it's lit up at night. It was a fun time, and we'll definitely be going back to that every year that we're here. Nothing beats small town traditions.

Yesterday, we went to the light show put on at the local Baptist church. It's about 15 minutes of songs, the Nativity, and light excitement. We got free cookies and hot chocolate and had a wonderful time. The church does a lot of little festivals throughout the year, and I think we learned that they're worth going to.

Today, we spent a couple of hours making our first Christmas cookies together. My family has a recipe we always use that has lemon and honey in it, and it's basically fantastic. Wes isn't a huge lemon fan, but apparently the cookies are already growing on him. We'll see if we can make the eight dozen we made last until my family gets here for Christmas. We compromised on the frosting/sprinkles thing and we have about half and half. Basically, they're amazing, and we had a wonderful time baking together.

Wes: So Jessica has turned me on to a new show. It's not very well-known, so you might not have heard of it, but it's really good. The plot is complex, the characters great, and it's one laugh after another. It's this indistinct TV series that aired for a while on NBC before it was canceled. It's called Friends, and it is amazing. I have absolutely loved watching this show, and can't stop laughing over and over again. It's not exactly a Christmas tradition, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it with Jess.

I am completely done with school work for this year. It's very, very nice to not have to worry about writing a paper or getting 1000 pages of reading done for tomorrow's class. I spent yesterday working on chruch stuff and reading FOR FUN! It. Was. Amazing. And now I get like 2 weeks off where I can do nothing but church work and read for fun! I love it! Really, I just can't wait until I'm out of school and can focus only on personal and church stuff. No more school mixed in with everything.

We're having fun with all of the Christmas stuff, and it's neat walking up to the mailbox and getting at least one new Christmas card each day. Making cookies with Jess today was fun, and even though I was helping her, she managed not to burn a single batch! The cookies, even the yuckie sprinkle ones, taste great, and I can't wait to share them with the church and everyone... Yeah right. I'm gonna eat them all.

This Sunday, I'm giving what I consider to be a cutsy sermon... Not something I tend to do a lot... But it is one of those times where I am hoping that image will stick with people even if the underlying message will not. I'm hoping that, like many of the Christmas movies out there today, even if it doesn't really seem to have much depth, it will stick in the minds and hearts of the congregations so that they will ponder over it later. Maybe God will use this sermon to lay a seed in one of more of my congregants that will grow into a deeply rooted faith.

Also, I met the youth director at a nearby Baptist church yesterday, and he didn't believe me when I told him that I was the "big pastor" of the church. He was confused and kept asking me, "So, like, you're the senior pastor?" It was funny, mainly because I still do not really believe it myself most of the time.

Well, that's all for now! Check back in next week to see how everything is going with the in-laws visiting! We'll see if this house... this family... this town... nay, this nation can survive the coming onslaught!



You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes