Organizing, tossing, meeting

I don't know what started it, but I've been on an organizing kick recently.  I don't think we have a lot of stuff, but when I start opening closets and looking in bags and boxes, I wonder, "what is all of this?!"  In the last few days I've thrown away old school notes, random pieces of fabric, unwanted gift bags, old shoe boxes saved for shipping, etc.  And it's still not done!  Next we have to go through Amos' school notes and old bills; hopefully we'll get rid of a lot of those. ;)

In our living room, I have one and half tubs full of things to be sold.  I'm not really confident that we can sell all of it (video monitors, Madame Alexander dolls, Zeusy's old tank, etc.), but I might as well try!  Two boxes of books and sci-fi magazines are waiting to be taken to the used bookstore.  Two boxes and a bag have been dropped off at Goodwill, and I'm sure we'll fill at least one more before we are done.

Besides the organizing, Amos and I have been going to a lot of meetings, with more to come!

Wednesday: Staff meeting, 30 Days of Prayer meeting
Thursday: Girls' dinner at our small group leader's house, phone meeting for Amos
Friday: Lunch meeting with old college friend Alicia, phone meeting for Amos (canceled)
Saturday: Website meeting for Amos
Sunday: Church, The Gospel in the Muslim World meeting
Monday: Interview for Jennica, tech team meeting for Amos
Tuesday: -nothing...yet-
Wednesday: Staff meeting, interview for Jennica

It's a little crazy over here, as you can tell by the disjointed sound of this post!

Camp memories

Some of my favorite childhood memories happened at camp.  I first went to Awana camp when I was ten years old.  Despite feeling left out for the first half hour or so of camp (I was very shy, and my friends were in a different group) and getting really sick later in the week (I threw up in the nurse's office), I had a great time!  I attended Awana camp for seven years, only missing my last year because I went on a mission trip to Zambia.

My first year at CYIA camp was when I was twelve.  This camp trains you to teach Bible clubs during the summer.  My favorite memories include the annual skit and talent night and the daily practice groups, where we took turns telling our Bible stories to our peers.  I attended CYIA for five years.  I missed the last year of this camp, too, because I was in Africa.

Amos also went to a summer camp for a few years, but he didn't have as good of a time as I did.  Some of the boys in his cabin were little punks, and they threw his pillow in some poison ivy!

Now my little sister, Brenda, is off to Awana camp!  Amos and I packed up a present for her, and I shipped it off on Friday.  I'm pretty sure she's going to like both camp and the present. :)

Everything was stuffed in except for the sticky notes, some glo sticks,
and some pixie sticks

Ready to go!

Open Letter to the Lord of the Universe

Amos is a college graduate, and I am a college graduate and teaching credential holder. We reside in Southern California and both hold two jobs each.  We live in cheap housing, spend a very small amount on groceries, and eat out probably five times a month, at most.  We pay our bills on time, including our car payment and student loans.  By all accounts we should be living the good life (if you believe the messages painted on our city buses).

Yet we make it by with a rather small surplus every month.  So small, in fact, that we can't afford to pay for benefits, even for one of us.

And then there is Obamacare, which says that we must have benefits or we will be fined hundreds of dollars per month, and we still won't have benefits.

And I'm afraid.  How can we pay for everything and not become homeless, when this bill goes into effect next year?  What if one of us gets sick?  How will we pay for dental care, which is sorely needed?

And then I think, "I'll write President Obama a letter and explain everything.  I'll send it to the White House, and he will read my touching, reasonable, persuasive letter and drop his bill."

And then I think, "What if it never reaches him?  I know he doesn't read all his mail; I know that there are employees who have probably read thousands of just such letters, and that the letters have probably been filed or tossed.  Oh dear!"

And then I think, "Who needs the President?  I have the Lord of the universe on my side, and He hears me night or day, rain or shine, hell or high water, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, private care or Obamacare, till death we are united."

And so I put fingers to keyboard to write a prayer letter to the Lord of my life, who will sustain Amos and I through it all.  This is not easy to write, and even harder to live, but I do believe this prayer and trust that the Recipient will read it and act.

Lord,

You put President Obama in power, and You turn and have turned his heart where You will.  For some reason that we cannot see, You allowed this bill to be passed, and now millions of people will have to pay, literally.  It is scary, and we do not like it at all.  It doesn't seem to be the right thing for You to do.

But God, we place our sure hope in You, Your character, and Your Word.  We do not hope in men who fail or bills that pass or bank accounts that just won't fill up. You are the sustainer of our lives, and we rest in You to care for us.

Help us neither to be lazy and listless nor to work ourselves to death.

I echo Psalm 112,
"[The righteous man] is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady, he will not be afraid."

I claim Psalm 118,
"I shall not die, but I shall live,
 and recount the deeds of the LORD."

Lord, You wrote these truths, You will bring these to pass because You cannot lie.

We do not know what the next year will bring, but we trust You to be true to Your Word and to care for us, through thick or thin, rich or poor, in sickness and in health, from this time forth and forevermore.

Trusting and trying to trust,

Jennica-Ayelet

Green and Blue

Amos favorite color is darkish-bright blue, and my favorite colors are cobalt blue and olive-ish green.  Hence our wedding colors, which I think looked very nice together. :)

Happy Wedding Day! July 9, 2011

Anyway, a few weeks ago Amos and I went to Goodwill.  Amos wanted to see if they had a bulletin board.  I wanted one for a project, but he hadn't been able to find one at the Goodwill across town.  We didn't find a bulletin board this time either, but I did get four books. :)

I finished The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik, one of the books I bought at a Borders going-out-of-business sale (I saved $60.00 in books, only spending $18.00).  It was an interesting memoir about life in Iran.  Interesting, but I did not like Darznik's writing style.  Anyway.

I finished The Good Daughter and picked up Down the Nile: alone in a fisherman's skiff by Rosemary Mahoney, purchased for $1.99.  As the title says, she wanted to row down the Nile in Egypt in a skiff.  Last night I was reading  her descriptions of Elephantine Island and Kitchener Island in Upper Egypt, near the city of Aswan, all of which I've explored.  One of the reasons why I love books about the Middle East is because oftentimes I can say, "I've been there!  I've seen that!  I had that same observation about the culture!" and sometimes more arrogantly, "that's not what it's like there" or "what were they thinking?"  Oh dear.  In any case, I love reading about the Middle East, and this book is awesome so far.

Mahoney describes Kitchener Island as an island stuffed with exotic plants and trees.  I visited this island with a few friends in 2006 while I was on spring break from IBEX.  I tried to write down everything about my semester in Israel and my spring break trip, but there was too much to do; I didn't want to spend my time writing when I could spend time doing. My very brief notes on Kitchener and Elephantine Islands read:

Botanical Gardens on [Kitchener] island
  very pretty
  guy with gun 

Elephantine Island
  Nilometer
  creepy guy

Haha!

Anway, back to Down the Nile.  I was reading along, identifying with all of Mahoney's descriptions, when a few sentences just about leapt off the page:

...[Mahoney] moved on past Kitchener Island, a small island wholly taken up with the most exotic botanical garden I had ever seen.  It was filled with tropical trees and flowers, everything marked in Latin and Arabic.  On another trip I had seen a horseradish tree there, a cape honeysuckle, a mountain ebony, baobab, an ironwood, a rubber vine, a spotted gum, a sliver trumpet tree, and an enormous mahogany.  I had seen a Strychnos nux-vomica, a strychnine tree, and had put one of its spherical seedpods in my pocket, then later threw it away for fear it would poison me.  Kitchener was cool and quiet and shady, and it was home to a curious cat that had one green eye and one blue.

Wait, what?!?!

...it was home to a curious cat that had one green eye and one blue.

Whoa.

Whoa.

I had a picture of the same exact cat.  I was so thrilled and excited that I read the last sentence to Amos before interrupting his time on the computer to find the picture I had taken five and half years earlier.

The famous kitty

Even this morning I was so excited that I had found that sentence and that I had actually seen, with my own eyes, the same green-and-blue eyed cat that this author had seen, on a very small island in a foreign country on the other side of the world.

Have I mentioned I love books?

*sigh*

Brunch

Amos and I went to brunch on Tuesday because Amos said we'd been married two months already and he is really happy. :D  Awwwwww!!!

We went to Egg Plantation, a place just around the corner.  The menu lists at least 100 different kinds of omelets in addition to other breakfast and lunch choices (though I think I've always picked an omelet).  Amos agreed to sit outside  where we watched a server nearly fall off the steps into a potted palm tree (it was a small tree but a big pot!).  I later tripped on the same pot, but that is beside the point. ;)  Amos had orange juice and I had a mocha, which was awesome.  I don't think I'll get one at Starbucks again after that one.  Amos and I both ordered hash browns and a biscuit as sides for our omelets, without talking to each other. ;)

I just love Amos.  He listens to me when I'm tired, is calm when I get upset, laughs at the silly things I do on purpose and on accident, and gives me lots of hugs.  I like talking to him.  We talk about silly things and serious things, like church, financial decisions, dreams, plans, decisions, opinions, how to impact others, etc.

In other news, Amos and I started dating three years ago yesterday.

Since...

This is turning into a wedding-Amos-and-Jennica-too-busy-to-write-much blog,

here:

Have some pictures.

:)

My best friend

I love him a lot.

He's so handsome.

Lukas Van Dyke, our wedding photographer :D

Glendale

Amos' schedule is not conducive to hanging out with me, his girlfriend.  From Monday to Thursday I saw Amos a total of two hours. Two. Dos.  Not very many.  Too few.

Awwwww, he's so cute!

I saw Amos for an hour on Monday afternoon and an hour on Thursday morning.  On both days I thought I'd be able to see him later on in the evening, but he's been very tired with work and school, so it was not to be.  We could have hung out all day on Friday, but I went to work and Amos went to CSUN to check out some articles for a paper he is writing.  I'm proud of him. :)

On Saturday, I got to hang out with Amos for quite a while!  I was one happy camper. :)  We went down to Glendale and visited the famous Porto's Bakery.  They always have really looooong lines, but we made it through pretty quickly.  We got a chocolate cupcake to share then went to Brand Park.

Brand Park is a really pretty park.  It isn't huge, but it has a library that used to be the Brands' house, a Japanese tea garden, and a transplanted Victorian house from the 1800s.  The architecture of the house-turned-library and the sort of gate at the beginning of driveway was reminiscent of the Taj Mahal.  I told Amos I should take a picture and say, "Haha, I tricked you all!  I really DID see the Taj when I went to India!" (I actually didn't see the Taj in India; I was really sick.  I'll just have to go back. :) )  We walked around a bit then found a place in the sun.  I discovered that the poor cupcake had flipped upside down, and his frosting was spread all around the inside of the plastic box!  Those who know me are not surprised.  We ate him anyway and decided he was pretty good for only costing $1.50.  The cupcake was chocolate with a kind of chocolate whipped cream frosting.

Maybe Amos should have taken a nap instead of me...

Anyway, Amos had to read some articles for school, so he read articles, and I took a nap!  It was really nice.  I eventually woke up and read about two pages of my own book.  We hung out for a while longer before heading home.  For dinner we decided to try out the meatballs at IKEA.  We drove back to Burbank and ordered one meatball meal and one Caesar chicken salad.  We split both of them, so it turned out pretty well. :)  I asked Amos to try some of the special lingonberry drink they had because I was just getting water; we both decided it tasted like Kool-Aid.  The salad was pretty good, but the meatball dinner was just ehhhhhhh.  So, the dinner was about four stars, but the company was ten-plus!

I'm not looking forward to being without an Amos for most of the semester, but two weeks are already gone, and I know I'll survive.  If you think of us, pray that we will be diligent in the different things we have been called to do and that we will not be frustrated but trust that God knows best.


[This post written with Patty (my mom) and Barb (Amos' mom) in mind.  I know you two like hearing about our adventures. :) ]

Cooking...

So, I was thinking of sharing a recipe with you, but then I thought, "I don't want to write out all the steps, make sure I have the correct proportions, test the recipes again to make sure I did it right, edit, re-edit and re-re-edit the recipe, etc."
Instead, I thought I'd just give you my cooking ideas with the ingredients listed and let you experiment with the proportions, process, temperature, cook time, etc.  Hopefully it doesn't irritate people that I'm not giving instructions.
So here we go!  I have TWO recipes to share with you.  Please let me know if you try either of these. :)

Honey Ginger Chicken
-Asian food-

Olive oil
Chopped bell pepper

Chopped onion
Cubed chicken breast
Soy sauce
Finely chopped raw ginger
Water
Honey
Salt
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Corn starch

Non-Traditional Grilled Cheese
-American food-
French bread/ciabatta bread/roll
Butter
Sliced Monterey Jack cheese
Sliced onion
Sliced bell pepper
Rosemary

Dos

I wanted to title this post "Two," but I looked back at my previous posts and realized that I already had a post titled "Two." And the more I look at the word "two," the more it looks misspelled. However, there is no squiggly red line under it, so I'll just leave it. ;) All that to say, I was going to title this post "Two," but since that was taken, I'll go with "Dos."
Anyway, I am very happy to announce that I have two days/seven periods left at the high school!!! It is very interesting; on the one hand, I am very happy to be leaving. I won't be with my annoying/misbehaving students any more. I won't have to get up at 6:16 every morning. I won't have to spend hours every night writing lesson plans, thinking about students, creating worksheets, and making PowerPoints.
On the other hand, I will miss my students. I really like my sophomore students; we get along really well. Seriously, some of my kids turned an Emily Dickinson poem into a rap, complete with beat-boxing! They are hilarious! I'll also miss getting a nice paycheck every month. I'll miss getting more practice as a teacher.

Thus, I have two more days, and I have mixed feelings. It's a little concerning to be ending my job right now, because I am going on a mission trip in July + I'm losing some of my tutoring kids. However, I have another paycheck coming in April, and God won't forget about me or make mistakes. I'm sure I'll survive. :)

Green

Environmentalism is green.

Amos and I went to the L.A. County Fair on Friday. Some of the booths were eco-friendly. We had a great time looking at dinosaurs, discussing ridiculous things people were trying to sell, and watching screaming fair-goers get launched into the sky on various rides. We also got pictures in the photo booth, which I've wanted to do since forever. :)

Rose stems are green.
Amos gave me a dozen roses, two red and ten white, because we have now been dating for two months (this time). :)

Guacamole is green.

Amos and I went to the Avocado Festival in Carpinteria on Saturday. There were a lot of people, a lot of crafts, and few avocados. It was kind of disappointing in the avocado department. However, I still had a great time eating guacamole and hanging with Amos. Of course the second thing was better, but why not combine it with the first? ;)

Money is green.

I now have four inconsistent jobs. I'm going for an interview tomorrow for a fifth job. I'm hoping to keep three consistent or semi-consistent jobs and to drop the other two. Hopefully this will increase my bank account, which is necessary and would be really nice!

Overwhelmed and underpaid

UPDATE: Since writing this...yesterday (27ish hours ago), I have gotten a job as a private tutor 2 days a week, worked about 2 hours at a tutoring center where I will be for another 2 days of the week, and worked 2 hours babysitting 2 little kids, with the proposal of subbing for 2 days in the first week of October. God is good! And maybe He wants me to love the number 2, since that is how many days I had worked up till now, with 1 sub job and 1 day of babysitting (2 hours, with 2 kids)...this is getting weird. ;)

Yes, that is me. If I could get paid to worry, I would be a billionaire without even trying! However, God says not to worry. So that is out.

The thing is, in my seven weeks now that I have been down here in SoCal, I have worked ten hours. Yes, TEN (10) hours. That's all. Ten hours + selling books on amazon. That does not add up to much. At all. Very small amount.

Unfortunately my car doesn't understand that I haven't worked that much. It still wants gas.

Sadly my stomach and the stomachs of my roommates can't go without food for seven weeks (I think that exceeds the Forty Days in the Wilderness limit).

And really, can't my car insurance understand that I am not working right now? Sure, I'm basically hired by three different businesses, but that doesn't matter that much if you don't actually work.

What to do?

Basically to pray. To be happy for those friends (and roommates) who get the jobs, while I sit at home for another day, wondering when MY phone is going to ring. To find things to do that are profitable, even if those activities aren't profitable in the monetary sense of the word.

It is hard. I don't like it. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like waiting. I don't like it at all.

So if you think of me, pray that I get called soon for a job, whether it is tutoring or subbing or babysitting or something else. Pray that I will pray about this and give it to God, Who loves me and wants what is best for me.

Two

Wow, I haven't written in a week! Sorry folks. Every time I would consider posting I would think, "No, you just posted!" Well, maybe that was true last Monday, but it wasn't true by the end of the week! Oh well. ;)

Here is a quote from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I found it on Pastor Todd's site a while ago.

“The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’ - what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’ - instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.’"

Here is another quote from the guest speaker in church today, Amir Tsarfati (an Israeli national!).

"Jesus told the disciples that in the end there will be wars and rumors of wars [Mt. 24:6; Mk. 13:7]. This is not good. But it is called the Good News."