Faith in the Face of the Giant - Story of David

The story of David is found in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The action of 1 Samuel contrasts the tumultuous life, reign and decline of Saul with the rapid rise of the young and FAITHFUL David. We took a look at that incredible Godly trait this week.

At the start of this book, the people of Israel are in a spiritual low. Around the time Joshua died, the people were living in peace and harmony with God. But after that generation died out, a new one rose up that did not know God or the incredible things He had done for them. So they sinned and did evil. God provided strong and just leaders to get them out of trouble and lead them in righteousness, called the Judges (book between Joshua & 1 Samuel). But they continued in this roller-coaster cycle of disobedience and repentance. Add to that a military threat from the neighboring Philistines, and the people were desperate for a king to protect them.

God knew that what they needed was to realize that He is their true king and that He is the only one who truly loves them and can take care of them. But he agrees to give them a king and raises up a man named Saul as the first king of Israel.

Saul was a very tall man, with lots of charisma and seemed like he would be a great and glorious king. He started out well. However, the story of Saul reads like a Greek tragedy. He was undone because he had one tragic flaw: He wouldn't obey God. So God saw that Israel needed a new, more faithful king. So he sent his prophet Samuel on a mission to find him.

Samuel went to Bethlehem and sought out Jesse, for God told him that the new king would be found among his sons.Tthe people wonder why the great prophet of God is there in their town. He doesn't want to reveal his mission right away, so he tells them he's there to offer some sacrifices and asks Jesse to bring out all of his sons so they can worship with him. Then it says in v. 6-7 that when he saw the oldest, Eliab, he thought "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

But God says in v. 7: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

So Samuel goes through a kind of Cinderella-esque process where he looks at each brother in succession, trying to find the one that God has chosen to be the new king of Israel. But he doesn't find one. Then he asks Jesse if these are all of his sons, and they say that the youngest is out watching the sheep. When David arrived, Samuel saw that he was strong and handsome, and the LORD told him to anoint the boy for he would be the king. Samuel obeyed, and from that day David was powerfully filled with the Spirit of the LORD.

Now, Samuel didn't tell them WHY he was doing this. They didn't know he was destined to become the king of Israel. So they continued to treat him like their little brother, and he continued watching their flocks of sheep while his older brothers went off to war with the Philistines.

Ch. 17 describes the famous story of David and Goliath. Basically, Israel and the Philistines were positioned on the hills on either side of a great valley. It was kind of an awkward space to fight in, especially since the Philistines liked to fight with chariots. Hills are kind of a problem. So they're just kind of camped out - staring each other down. And the Philistines send out their champion - Goliath of Gath - to challenge them in a one on one battle to the death. It's kind of like in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian where Miraz and Peter have a show down to decide which side won the war.

Goliath was over 9 feet tall, his armor weighed 125 pounds, and the iron tip on his spear alone weighed 17 pounds. But The worst thing about Goliath wasn't his size or the threat he posed on the battle field. No - every day he would come out and defy the people of Israel and essentially insult their God. But the Israelites were "dismayed and terrified." They had forgotten the great things their God had done for them in the past and couldn't face this man.

One day, Jesse sent David to check on his brothers, bringing some food for them to eat. When he gets there, he hears the men talking about what was going on. They said that the man who defeated Goliath would be paid richly, get to marry the princess, and their family would be exempt from taxes for the rest of their life. But the faithful David was only concerned with one thing: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (17:26)

David goes to Saul and says he will fight the giant. Saul laughs and says there is no way - he is but a boy. But David said that God protected him from lions and bears while caring for his father’s sheep, and He would protect him from the Philistine. So Saul agrees and tries to dress their champion up in the royal armor. However, it is too heavy and David can’t move. So he decides to trust in God’s protection and takes only the weapons he is used to with him onto the battle field - his shepherd’s staff and a sling.
David steps out to challenge Goliath in 1 Sam 17:42-47:

"42 [Goliath] looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Then David rushes Goliath, slings a rock at his head, and kills him, proving that our God is greater! David goes on to become a favorite of the Israelite nation and of Saul's son Jonathan. Saul and David don't get along so well and he pursues David all over the country trying to kill him (hence all of the Psalms that are crying out to God about enemies trying to close in all around him.) But eventually Saul is killed, and David becomes the best loved king of all Israel.

Now, this story is about a young person like you all, who was faced with a gigantic challenge - something that was scary and seemed impossible to conquer. No one else was willing to step up and do the right thing. But David had faith in God’s power and goodness, and acted on that trust. I think it’s easy when we hear these stories growing up to get a little desensitized to what a big deal this is. But Imagine if you had to step forward and face a 9 foot tall giant carrying a spear with a sharpened iron point that weighs enough to shoot straight through you! Would you trust God enough to do that - with everyone watching - and no armor? In this life-or-death scenario, David steps out in faith. And through all of the ups and downs of the rest of his life, he never once loses his faith.

I want you all to take a couple minutes and think about what your Goliath might be? What is the giant issue, the scary idea, the seemingly impossible task that you have before you? What are you afraid of? What do you struggle with? We wrote these things down on a big piece of butcher paper. Then we discussed why they scare us, and how the worst thing that could happen to us on earth is death. But we don’t need to fear death as long as we have accepted the Lord as our Savior. God has the power to help us and save us from anything. It would be much worse not to obey him. As it says in Matthew 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

I think this is particularly important in reference to the task Jesus has given us to share our faith with others and help them to have a relationship with Him. Sometimes that seems like the scariest, most impossible task. Sometimes I think it’s easier to deal with my own problems, no matter how bad, than to risk offending someone or being rejected by bringing up such a deeply personal topic. But this is a life or death mission, just live David faced. And unlike an earthly battle, it’s one that has eternal consequences!

We have learned during this summer series that God can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. He can do the impossible! He will take care of us! He rewards those who are faithful!

Our memory verse for this week is meant to encourage us when things seem to be impossibly difficult. Matthew 17:20: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

One of the greatest things David as king did was to rescue the Ark of the covenant from the Philistines who had stolen it. When they bring it back, David dances like a fool in the streets, caring about nothing but worshiping God. His wife is embarrassed and kind of yells at him for acting that way in front of the people, but David answers that for God’s glory: “I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.”

This is a man who was willing to sacrifice everything, including his own dignity and his life, because of his faith in God and his love for the LORD. May we be the same!

PYOC Summer Camp Out

I find that I often have a "Go big or go home" mentality when it comes to ministry or event planning. So I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that the very first time I go camping, it's because I'm planning a trip for about thirty people, twenty of whom are teenagers! The students in our youth group have been clamoring for an overnight event this summer. So we decided to hold a summer camp out at base beach on Friday night. We rented a small two room cabin, and planned to pitch a bunch of tents around it. The kids could spend the daylight hours playing out on the lake, and we could have fun around the camp fire at night. It took a lot of work planning this thing - but we knew that if everything worked out, it would be a very memorable and worthwhile investment. Especially since these teenagers have so little to do here in Misawa.

Planning something like this in Misawa during the summer is always risky because the weather is so unpredictable. And sure enough, we woke up on Friday morning to gray skies and rain. Weather.com said there was an 80% chance of rain through the evening as well. But we had just learned the previous week that God can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. So we all prayed desperately for good enough weather to hold the camping trip. And sure enough, about an hour before it was time to head down there, the precipitation relented and we had perfect conditions for our water activities! God is SO good.

I don't think the kids could have had any more fun if they tried. We rented a motor boat so they could go out tubing and wake boarding. We also rented canoes and paddle boats. So for three hours on Friday afternoon, and two on Saturday morning, they were all out in the water - splashing around and having a great time. It was so fun watching them through the zoom lens of my camera!

After dark, we pitched our tents, ate dinner, and the split up between guys and girls for a short devotional. Since we have been studying the great stories in the Old Testament this summer, we chose two people we thought would be particularly inspiring to our guys and gals. The boys studied Joseph, and learned about trusting God and persevering in your faith through trials. The girls studied Ruth and learned about loyal love.

Once the serious part of the evening was over, we regrouped around the fire and played games and roasted treats in the flames. Of course, there were the traditional s'mores. But we also roasted Twinkies and learned that s'mores are way more tasty when made with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I had fun getting to know some of the students and leaders better during this down-time. A couple of my new friends named Josh and Kristin came out and volunteered for the weekend so it was fun spending more time with them as well!

Around midnight we finally started trying to separate the girls and boys into their tents for the night. That did not go over very well as they were hyped up on sugar and caffine and wanted to spend precious time with their friends. But we as church leaders felt strongly about encouraging good boundaries so we stood firm. Anyway, the sun was up at 4 am, which meant we were all up bright and early and had PLENTY of time to hang out before parents came at 10 am.

In addition to boating and swimming, we filled up a bunch of water balloons and let them have a water fight in the morning. I'm sure it felt good, as the weather was stifling hot that day. I think we all left with sun burns and bug bites galore. But it doesn't even matter because we had so much fun!

The Courage of Joshua

Tonight we’re talking about the next big character in the Biblical narrative - Joshua.

Joshua was one of the Israelites who escaped from Egypt, following Moses. When they arrived on the edge of the promised land the first time, Joshua was one of the spies Moses sent in to Canaan to scope it out. They saw that the land was indeed wonderful - flowing with milk and honey. But it was also filled with strong, fortified cities and giants! Most of the spies were afraid and tried to persuade the Israelites to turn back because they had no hope. But Joshua and his friend Caleb stood firm in their faith and said:

“The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Num 14:7-9)

What is different about Joshua and Caleb? Where did his confidence come from? It came from God, and trust in His promises.

In Numbers Ch. 20 we see that Moses has a moment of doubt. Instead of trusting God and obeying a command, he stuck with what was familiar. But because he disobeyed the LORD, God  said in v. 12 “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” Ouch! If Moses isn’t going to lead the people into the promised land, that means the Israelites need a new leader! So who do you think that’s going to be? In Numbers 27 Moses commissions Joshua to be the next leader of Israel!

So here we have this guy - military man, smart, gifted in leadership, not afraid to speak against popular opinion and do the right thing even when it’s not easy. Seems like a pretty cool hero, don’t you think?

In Joshua Ch. 1, God speaks to Joshua and encourages him in kind of His own Divine Change of Command speech.

Joshua 1:1-9: “1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

God repeats the phrase “Be strong and courageous” three times, which means it is very important to God. So the Godly characteristic we focused on tonight was: COURAGE.

Tonight is the first installment of a two part mini-series on men of courage. Next week we’re going to talk about David and Goliath - another example of a Godly man with some real guts.

If you look at these three verses, God relates strength and courage to leadership, to obeying God’s Laws, and to having faith that God will be with Him wherever he goes. So it’s not military related. God wants to make sure that Joshua is solid spiritually, first and foremost.

That might seem like a weird concept. How can we be spiritually brave?
Look at v.5 “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Our courage and confidence comes from God, not our own strength
v.8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything within it.” Making sure we’re in the Word all the time, and being reminded of how great our God is and of His promises helps.
Prayer - talk to God and share your fears with Him, allow Him to comfort you!

I think this particular section of scripture is extremely encouraging, and one that I go to often when I’m struggling or freaking out about something. So I think your scripture memory verse should be Joshua 1:9. It’s a good one to have in the back of your mind at all times.

Now, as I was reading through it and meditating on its meaning earlier, there was one word in there that caught me off guard. You know what it was? “Have I not COMMANDED you?” It doesn’t say He encourages us to be strong and courageous. Or that it would be a good idea. This is a commandment, just like “thou shalt not kill!” How can God COMMAND someone to be strong and of great courage? Keep thinking about that - we’ll come back to it in a second.

Moving on to the big story of the night - the attack on Jericho, which is found in Joshua ch. 6. Jericho was a city of the Canaanites - who were an evil people and God wanted to wipe them out and give their land to the Israelites. But He wanted to do it in a way that was honoring to Him so that no one would doubt the defeat was because of HIS power, not man’s.

Joshua 6:1-5: “1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

There are two things I want you all to notice here. First of all - God is laying out his battle plan, but there is no fighting mentioned. How do you think Joshua, the warrior, would have reacted to this plan? It takes a great deal of faith and trust to follow God’s plan when it doesn’t make sense to us. But Joshua did what he was told and was victorious!

Also, in v.2 God tells Joshua, “See I have delivered Jericho into your hands.” God gives Joshua assurance that He is in control, that He has already written the ending of this story, and that Joshua has already as good as won.

I want you to think for a second about the things that make you afraid or nervous. Would it give you a lot more confidence and courage if you knew how it was going to end up and that you were going to come out on top? I think that’s how God can command us to be strong and of great courage. Because our circumstances might change, we might be facing something different that scares or intimidates us, but our GOD never changes - and He has already told us the end of the story.

In John 16:33 it says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Our enemy is cunning, and will do everything in his power to trip you up, to distract you. He’ll lie to you and get you to stay focused on yourself and your flaws so that you feel weak and forget how great God is. But ultimately, his power is NOTHING compared to our God. We’ve been given a glimpse at the end times in the book of Revelation and we see that Good WILL defeat evil. Our story has a happy ending. So we have no reason to fear. Instead, we must be strong and courageous, meditating on the Word and Promises of God, and being obedient so that He can do great works for His Glory and our Good through us.

Take some time this week to think about how this applies to us directly.
* What are some situations where we need courage?
* Is there anyone who would like to share about a time where they were afraid, but their faith gave them courage?

One of the best things that has helped me when I’m afraid is to look at all the times God promises us that He will take care of us. So I’ve got a bunch of verses about courage that I want to give you all.

1 Chronicles 28:20: ‘David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the LORD God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”

Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heat of the sea.”

Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 43:1-3 “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”

Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

Romantic Hakodate

James has had very little time off this summer, with numerous exercises and TDY's making it impossible to take leave. So we decided to take advantage of the long 4th of July weekend to make a trip up to Hakodate, the southernmost port city on the north island of Hokkaido. (If you look at the map to the left, you can see Hakodate situated on what looks like the heel of a boot on the bottom of the island. We live at the base of the gray hatchet south of that.)

There are various ways to get up to the north island, but we chose to travel by train. How does one take a train across a big body of water, you ask? They have an underground tunnel that passes 100 meters under the Tsugaru Straits. At first I was really apprehensive about taking a train deep underground while we are continuing to have earthquakes. But the line goes between the western peninsula of the main island and what looks like the toe of the boot at the bottom of Hokkaido, so it's much further away from the eastern fault lines and seems to be running normally. Thankfully, we made it safely. The train was actually very nice and relaxing. The trip from Misawa only took three and a half hours with a switch in Aomori, and cost only about $200 for both of us - round trip. That's about how much it costs for one person to get to Tokyo, only going ONE way. MUCH better vacation alternative!

While in Hakodate, we stayed right downtown in La Vista Resort & Hotel. It was a beautiful, American friendly hotel right in the heart of the tourist district. We reserved a twin room with a fantastic waterfront view. It was a Japanese style room, where we had to take our shoes off and step up into the living area. The furniture was low to the ground, but very comfortable. We enjoyed just hanging out in our room and relaxing quite a bit. The hotel also offers an open air, rooftop Onsen (public baths heated by natural hotsprings.) I highly recommend this hotel!

After we checked in to the hotel, we went out and wandered around in the many shops and restaurants inside the old red brick warehouses down the street. We didn't really buy anything (except for sweet things to snack on.) But each shop was unique and filled with wares from all over Asia. I was excited when we found a health food store that made honey ice cream, similar to what we had in New Zealand. Mmm....


 Another exciting thing about our visit to Hakodate was the fact that they had a gorgeous, two story Starbucks right on the water. We do not have Starbucks in Misawa, so it's always exciting to get a little taste of home when we're out traveling. One of our big goals for this weekend away was to take time to just relax, read, and enjoy some quality time together (as opposed to scheduling every minute sight-seeing.) So we spent quite a bit of time sitting in this shop and reading.

Our first night in Hakodate, we found a beautiful Mediterranean-Japanese fusion restaurant with an open-air dining room. We got there right at sunset, and the weather was perfect! I got a margarita pizza and James got a steak. Both were very delicious!

 After dinner, we hiked up to the ropeway that took us to the top of Mt. Hakodate. They have an incredible view of the city from up there, and it's a very popular place to go watch the sunset. We got up there a little later than I would have liked so we had to fight for a spot by the railings to get a clear shot of the city lights, but it was worth it. The pictures and the view were spectacular!

After we'd gotten our fill of the beautiful view, we descended the mountain and wandered through the historical district. Hakodate is a really interesting city because it was one of the first Japanese cities to be opened up to international trade. Consequently, there is a much more international feel there - with marked influences from Russia and Europe. This is evident in the more varied restaurants, shops and tourists than you normally see in Japan. But there were also a good number of churches here (very unusual in Japan). There are three in particular that serve as big tourist spots because of their striking architecture. In the photo below, you can see the Hakodate Episcopal Church, flanked on the left by the Russian Orthodox Church and on the right by the Motomachi Roman Catholic Church.

 I really enjoyed walking the streets at night as everything was all lit up. They often had music playing, which married with the sound of the softly lapping waves in the bay to create a very romantic atmosphere indeed. =^)

 The next morning we took a taxi to the Goryokaku Tower and park. This site was once a star shaped fort, but has been converted into a beautiful park and tourist attraction. Apparently there are thousands of cherry trees planted along its moats so I'm sure it's a fantastic place to visit while they are blooming. In the center of the park is the old magistrate's office, which you can tour for free. It's built in the traditional Japanese style and is very beautiful.

Right across from the park is the Hakodate Art Museum, which we thought might be worth checking out. The problem with going to museums in Japan is that the explanations of everything are almost exclusively written in Japanese. We thought that art, being highly visual and not verbal, would be a safe investment of our time and money. Unfortunately their only large exhibit was of large scale kanji calligraphy. It was disappointing, but we turned lemons into lemonade by trying to discern shapes in the brush strokes, almost like we do with clouds.

 That afternoon we had lunch at California Baby - a cute, retro cafe with pasta, sandwiches and "American" coffee. Then we walked up to the Old British Consulate for afternoon tea. I'm not much of a tea drinker but we couldn't pass up this unique opportunity. James ordered a pot of cinnamon tea and a plate of homemade cookies. They were delicious, especially when dunked in my spiced tea!

We continued to while away the afternoon by wandering around the various historical sites and taking silly pictures with public art sculptures. Then, that evening, we went in search of a meal. There were so many restaurants, it was kind of hard to choose. We kept walking from door to door, looking at the menus and pictures they had posted outside and trying to decide what sounded good.  Eventually we ended up in the Hakodate Beer Brewery, which is inside the red brick warehouses. We ordered some extra long strips of garlic bread as an appetizer, and then split a sizzling plate of Mongolian beef BBQ for dinner.

By that time we had seen most everything we wanted to see in Hakodate, so we spent our final night reading in a cozy corner in Starbucks. I had downloaded Jane Eyre for free on my kindle before leaving on the trip and couldn't put it down! It was nice to take a break from all of my research and work-related writing and escape into a fantastic novel for a weekend.

We woke up to a classic Asian morning on Sunday - with sea fog swirling over head and shrouding mountain peaks. We grabbed a final morning treat at Starbucks on our way to the train station, and did our best to maximize our quiet reading and writing time on our journey home. Needless to say, it was a fantastic weekend away and we were sad to leave. But life must go on, and there are many more places to visit before our time is up in Japan!

Independence Day Through the Years

I just got to thinking the other day about what I did on the 4th of July for the past several summers, and who I spent it with. It's a series of memories that really shows how far and how fast my life has progressed since graduating from high school. It also made me miss a lot of my friends. Thought it would be a fun walk down memory lane to list them for you all.

2010 - Spent the week visiting James, his brother Jon and my sister-in-law Claire over in South Korea. James and I took a tour of the historical sites in downtown Seoul, then watched the fireworks over Yongsan Army Base from the top of Seoul Tower.

2009 - Had Caleb and Jordan Cienski over for an American themed dinner, to welcome the newly-weds to Phoenix. Then we all went and watched the fireworks in Goodyear Stadium with the Ludingtons. This was the weekend we were accosted by crazy jean skirt lady while waiting for the shuttle bus!

2008 - About a month after we got married, James left me alone in Del Rio to go to resistance training in WA. So Nick and Kristyn Szala were awesome neighbors and took me out to see the fireworks even though we had never met before. =^)

2007 - I was doing summer school at SIUC, so I spent the holiday in Carbondale. On the actual 4th of July it was pouring so Diana and I went to a BBQ at Brandon Geier's house and watched reruns of Scrubs. A couple of days later they held the postponed fireworks in a local park so Erin Bray took me out there to see them after our summer IV Bible Study led by Zack Ooms.

2006 - James and Ryan Worrell were on their baseball roadtrip so I went and hung out with all my Seekers friends at Mark Epperson's house, watching 'Independence Day', and then we went over and tried to view the fireworks in Memorial Park from the top of the Memorial Hospital parking garage. Not only was it not fun to be back at that particular hospital, but our view was interrupted by the new children's ward that they were building AND we missed out on the music. Oh well... I had fun riding around with Jeremiah Johnson and trying to find a parking spot. =^)

2005 - A week after I came home from the hospital following my back surgery, my parents kept finding friends who were willing to come over and "babysit" me while they went out and played in Memorial Park for the 4th of July. Ian Krammer and Ryan Durbin came over and hung out with me. We had an awesome time playing with all the random things people gave me while in the hospital (balloons, play doh, colored pills that grow into dinosaur shaped sponges in water). It was epic!

Love you all and miss you! Happy Independence Day - 2011!!