Wow...

Last night we went to see the new movie by Ben Stein. It's called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," and it was a GREAT film. It was a documentary about how those who even mention Intelligent Design as a viable possibility have been treated in recent days. It shows how these people have had drastic measures taken against them as "discipline" for talking about this issue in public colleges and universities. I will stop there in my description of the film in hopes that you will go see it and support it yourself. However, I will tell you how I was affected by what I saw in the movie.

When we left the theatre last night, I felt alot of emotions stirring around inside. I relayed them to Dustin on the way home, and I found that he was having many of the same thoughts that I was having. Listed below are some of those emotions, and some thoughts that we were left thinking, in no particular order.

Shock: I could not believe that we have dropped so low as a nation. I don't know why I was so shocked by this realization, but I was. It is really amazing that people have such disdain for God, and that they can be so ignorant of the signs that are right in front of them!

Fear: This could also go under "Shock," but it was really scary to see how our freedoms are being limited in the world today. College professors are free to discuss evolution, and even the religious opinions of other religions, but if their comments take any tendencies toward the idea that there could have been a designer, they are disciplined, fired, or warned at the very least. There are limitations on where we can pray, on where we can post the Ten Commandments, and now on what scientific possibilities we can discuss in reference to the origin of the world. I wonder what this world will be like during my children's generation... a scary thought.

Sadness: I am sad that so many people are living without a relationship with God. It was heart-wrenching to hear these people speak with such assurance of a ridiculous and unproven idea like evolution. It was terrible to see the anger in their eyes and hear the hatred in their voices when they spoke about God or the idea of Intelligent Design. It was interesting, though, that the evolutionists were to ones who got really angry, but the Creationists all spoke calmly and confidently.

Anger: I really had control my anger in a few parts of the movie. I was squirming in my chair when Richard Dawkins (an atheist and evolutionist) read a quote from his book about his opinion of God. God gave him life, breath, health, family, and so much more, yet Dawkins denies God's existence and curses even the idea of Him.

Thankfulness: During those angry moments I was feeling thankful for the justice of God. I was happy that one day Richard Dawkins and the other atheists will KNOW that God exists, and that judgement day will not be a happy day for them. But then I realized that my sin is just as ugly as theirs. I am just as guilty of disobedience to God in many areas of my life, and I only have hope because Jesus Christ covered my sin with His blood. So my thankfulness for justice changed to thankfulness for forgiveness and redemption.

Conviction: I am so glad that Ben Stein is making such a bold move. This message is desperately needed in our world. It inspired me to do my part in raising awareness of this issue, but my platform is so small compared to Mr. Stein's. But then I was convicted of how little I take opportunities to share what Jesus has done for me. I may not be able to reach millions, or even hundreds, but I have no excuse for keeping my joy to myself.

In conclusion, I hope that all of you will go and give this movie your support. It is worth watching several times, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again!

We're Still Alive!!

I got an e-mail from my Mom the other day saying "you must be really exhausted; you haven't updated you blog in over a week!" She is right. I love posting on the blog, so when I go so long without a post, you know that something is going on.

The reason for the lack of updates is that I have been working full-time at RBC. Since I finished my training in Raleigh, I have worked my normal schedule for one week, and the rest of the time I have been helping out by working full-time while we look for one more teller. I am hoping that next week will be my last full-time week!

Now most of you work full-time every week, and you know how tiring it is! But for those who do not, IT'S TIRING!!! Not only does it take alot of time out of every week that could be spent on other chores, but for me (right now) it is also very stressful! I have had so much to learn about banking, laws and regulations, procedures, program requirements, etc. It has been really overwhelming to try and remember everything each day. I find myself having to really concentrate all day every day, and it is mentally exhausting. And right now I feel alot of pressure, because I am so new to this, to get things perfect in each transaction- after all, I'm dealing with people's money!

In addition to the above, I have also been having problems with my eyes. I really need to have them checked! For one thing, I am not used to staring at a computer for forty hours each week. I am squinting alot to focus, and the strain is causing terrible headaches in the afternoons. I have also had a twitch in my left eye for the last few days. It is a little embarassing! Even some of my customers noticed it yesterday and asked if my eye was alright. Thankfully my eye appointment is coming up soon. And Dustin's mom gave me a great tip- if you put cool cloths on your eyes and lie down for a while, your eyes really do stop twitching and start relaxing! Yay!!!

Dustin has been really busy with work and projects too. He has been doing alot of yard work on his days off, and he has been getting into bike-riding again, for exercise and for transportation to and from work! Hopefully that will save us some gas money! We have had things to do almost every night, it seems, which does not leave much time for resting. I don't think I have felt this tired since college. We finally did get to have a date night last Friday, which was wonderful!!

Anyway, this is not meant to be a sob story, just an explaination of what's been going on with us! I am actually updating right now from my computer at work while we are having a slow moment. The last thing I want to do when I get home is stare at another computer!

Hopefully we'll have some more interesting posts coming up in the future!

A Restful Weekend

After a very hectic week, and with another busy week ahead, we are planning to enjoy a very restful weekend.

This is what the weekend will look like:

Sophie is enjoying a nice nap. Can you believe how big she is? She is the length of half our couch, and our couch is BIG!

A Disgusting Dinner

Last night we had an absolutely disgusting experience at dinner. I had prepared the meal and put it on the table in the dining room. Before we sat down we noticed that a huge fly was buzzing around the house. I'm serious, this was not your average-weight flying insect. We got the fly-swatter and ran around trying to kill it. Sophie, our delicate, prissy, girly-girl cat, also jumped around trying to help us catch the fly. Dustin and I laughed at how high she jumped, each time coming nowhere near the racing insect. We talked about how funny it was that she was trying so hard because "it's not like she could ever catch him." She would not give up. Each time the fly passed her she jumped into mid-air and then sprinted after him.

After a while, Dustin and I gave up on the fly and sat down to eat before the food got cold. When we sat down I noticed a spider on the floor near the window. Dustin, my resident spider expert (he knows what alot of spiders are supposed to look like), bent to check him out. Well, this spider was not just an ugly little house spider. He was a Black Widow. Yes, I repeat, he was a Black Widow. Just as I was about to call 911, Dustin got his shoe so we could kill the intruder. We stood there for a while and stared, first at the spider, and then at each other. We debated what would be the best weapon with which to kill him. I didn't want spider guts on Dustin's shoe, but he didn't want spider guts to squirt on him through the holes in the fly-swatter (which was already handy because of the fly that was still buzzing around us, with Sophie still in hot pursuit).

We finally decided to use the shoe method, but then we had to decide how to make the kill. Dustin absolutely hates spiders because of a bad spider-bite that he got as a child. So he kills the camel-crickets if we see one (I feel nauseous every time I see a camel cricket because of a bad splattering-death that I inflicted on one a few years ago), and I kill the spiders.

Just as I was about to end the life of the unwelcome dinner guest, Sophie came running over, still chasing the fly. We watched in amazement as she trapped him in one corner of the dining room, right next to the black widow. Our mouths dropped as she stopped the fly in mid-wing-flap with her fluffy little paws. Then we heard it. Apparently our cat is not as delicate and girly as we thought. The fly CRUNCHED between her teeth, and she chewed him up with great satisfaction. Meanwhile, Dustin and I ran from the room, covering our faces and shrieking in disgust. Our stomachs were feeling a little weak because of the gross event, but now they were hurting because we were laughing so hard. We really had not given Sophie much credit, but we now know that she is a priss AND a huntress.

Now that the fly was gone, it was time to get rid of the onlooking spider. I grabbed Dustin's shoe and made a bank-shot off the air vent. Dustin was kind enough to get rid of the corpse while I went outside to rub his shoe on the grass. After studying the victim as he floated around in the toilet, we both washed our hands and sat back down to a cold dinner. Then Dustin said exactly what I was thinking: "It's amazing how quickly you can completely lose your appetite."

I'm glad we were just having leftovers.

A Beautiful Surprise!

I am staying at my parents' house this week while I train in Raleigh for my new job. Today when I got back to the house I found something wonderful on the kitchen table!! My husband is so incredible. I am very blessed (and a little spoiled...)!

Thank you so much, Baby!! You amaze me every single day. I love you, and I miss you so much.

Jennie