In a moment of extreme husband adorableness, Patrick bought us a game to take our on European travels and we've tried it out several times already to make sure it was worth taking along. It's called Forbidden Island and so far we love it!
The thing we like most is that it's not a competitive game, it's a collaborative game. So Patrick and I (and up to two other people) work together to win or lose. You talk & plan throughout the whole game so that at the end, if you lose, you lose all together and everyone's equally to blame, or if you win, you all rejoice together.
And it's a really clever game, too. It's complicated enough to stay interesting, but simple enough to only take one time through to know how to play. It's also fun to play because at times, you are on the edge of your seat wondering if you are going to pull out the win or not. It comes in a nice tin box for storing it, but all the parts combined could easily fit into a Ziploc or small cloth bag - so it's great for travel!
Check it out at Amazon.com!
Castle fans will appreciate the t-shirt :-).
The book is aptly titled, as it's been a long time in coming, since he submitted his completed manuscript a few months before our wedding. I read it then, when we were a giddy engaged couple, and am reading it again now, to remember the particulars. Using the setting & characters of his first book,
It's a Dance: Moving with the Holy Spirit, Patrick takes us through the book of Exodus, drawing us into the narrative and helping us to see parallels to our own lives and struggles, and our own call to follow God even when it's not making sense.
Death. Disability. Loss. Illness. Disappointment. Infertility. Unemployment. Apathy. Aimlessness. Where is God in all of this? Through the conversations of his characters, Patrick explores this question, and provides--if not always answers--deep biblical insights, and encouragements for those who find themselves asking this question.
We are hoping to plan a couple of book release celebration events, both in Pasadena and in Portland in the weeks/months to come - so we'll keep you posted.
I used to think that blue shoes were the happiest on the planet. I'm now pretty sure that it's red shoes.
These are the new red shoes I bought from Amazon.com (
Keen Paradise Mary Janes) for our upcoming three week voyage to Europe! They're wonderfully comfortable and they make me happy all over. They should be great on the cobblestones! :-)
Beginning May 8th, Patrick I will be traveling to France (Paris, Carcassonne, Montauban and Toulouse) then to Germany (Tubingen, Leipzig, Schkeuditz) and at least a couple days in Prague, for this three-fold-purposed adventure: 1) The-Honeymoon-We-Never-Really-Had, 2) Patrick will be doing some "studying abroad" - that is some dissertation preparatory work in person with
Dr. Jurgen Moltmann in Tubingen, and 3) visiting a whole bunch of amazing people that we have the privilege of calling friends.
We are so grateful to God for this opportunity, as we have watched Him open door after door to make it happen. At first, it was truly a leap of faith - as a trip of this magnitude on the sort of budget we're operating on was completely ridiculous. But He has provided in so many ways to both make it happen and confirm that this is what He wants us to do that I even felt free enough to buy myself some new things like shoes - something I almost never do :-).
While we're gone, I am hoping to update this blog along the way - as a scrapbook of sorts - but, then again, I may just enjoy Europe and my husband and my friends and my new red shoes, and write about it all later.
