Zoo Trip

Charlotte and Adam went to the zoo with the Hurleys today. Because he is a wonderful husband, Adam took pictures and a video for me to post on here. Above, Charlotte is waiting for the Hurleys to arrive.

Here are the monkeys which Charlotte particularly enjoyed. Then, they took a little bit to play around in the playground, including the slide. This clip was filmed by our dear friend Sarah, who you can hear in the background. Charlotte wasn't sure about the slide at first, but in hindsight, she liked it and wanted to do it three more times.





And of course, at the end of every good outing, every red panda and toddler crashes into exhausted sleep. Ah...summer.






























One week of school down, and one to go. The air conditioning at my school is being remodeled, and the lack of air conditioning has made this last two weeks especially taxing. We graduate next Saturday, and I can hardly wait to check this year off, as my father would say. No other news; don't worry, I'll let you know when there is some.

Allison and I are contemplating which book to study next since we are all but finished with Radical Womenhood by Carolyn McCulley. That book was a very eye-opening mix of history and theology, scripture and feminist thought. After Wednesday's sermon about Abram and Sarai in Egypt (the first time when Abram lied about Sarai being his sister, etc.), my curiosity about God's character was peaked again. I came home and rummaged through the boxes of our packed books in the basement until I found what my soul thirsted for: The Pleasures of God by John Piper. I read this book two summers ago, but now I intend to savor it as I read. The whole premise is that by understanding what gives God pleasure, we more intimately and completely understand the character of God. What I have been considering since Wednesday night is that we serve a HAPPY God. He is not sullen or moody; He is not angry or silly; He delights in being Himself. God doesn't hate or resent His job, duty and position - He delights in it. He delights in revealing Himself to us, because He could've been the God of Deism who put the universe together and let it go on its own. He is not this type of God; He cares for His creation, giving us all the common grace of sunrises, breaths, food, relationships and creation. He speaks to us through His perfect, unerring Word, even though He is under no obligation to explain His ways to us, vessels which He created. Again, the emphasis in all of this is that He is happy. He is a joyful God. That is wonderful, glorious truth, and I am honored and thrilled to serve a happy God.

Lastly, today is Adam's sister, Liz's birthday. Happy birthday, Liz! Enjoy your pizza!! :)