I'm dreaming of a White Christmas (or the week before)

We're currently experiencing the Blizzard of 09 here in Blacksburg! It just started snowing at 2 pm and you can tell by the picture below, it's already snowed A LOT. The weather forecast says it's supposed to continue snowing through the day tomorrow. When it's all said and done we may have up to 2 ft of snow. Good thing we don't have anywhere to be this weekend! For now we'll sit by the Christmas tree and enjoy watching the many snowflakes as they come down. Hopefully the power won't go out!

Our front yard and the street in front of our house

Lessons learned from TV (Warning-Spoiler Alert)

As mentioned in a previous post I love the show Glee. There has not been a Wednesday night that has passed this fall where I was not parked in front of the TV at 9pm (unless of course I had a mandatory event scheduled during that time in which case I watched the episode on Hulu the next day). Anyway, a couple of Wednesdays ago was the fall finale, and though I could easily argue that this episode was the best so far, there is one scene that continues to haunt me. You see, Mr. Schuester's wife Terri has been faking her pregnancy throughout the entire season and last week Mr. Schuester found out. But the big news broke this episode that he decided to leave his wife and be with the high school guidance counselor Miss Pillsbury.

As the two embrace for a kiss in the final scene of the show, I found myself torn. On the one hand, I'm shouting with joy because they've finally ended up together! Everything in me despises his wife because she is conniving, demanding, and annoying; I totally understand why he would leave her. And Miss Pillsbury is so sweet and innocent, doesn't he deserve her after everything he's been through with his wife?

But on the other hand she is his wife. They have pledged their lives to each other (yes fictitiously I realize) and you can't be going around kissing other women when you're STILL married! I am a firm believer that the vows you make to one another on your wedding day are one of the most sacred acts you'll ever be a part of on this earth, yet that night in front of the TV I found myself encouraging Mr. Schuester to break them!

Now don't hear me wrong here, I'm certainly not saying we should avoid TV shows like this because they depict immoral behavior. In fact I think quite the opposite. I love TV shows, movies, books that make you think like this. They put you in a place where your faith becomes more than what you say but what you do and how you act when reality comes knocking. A few months ago Nic turned on TNT to find A Time to Kill playing. I sat on the sofa nodding in agreement with Samuel L. Jackson as he opens fire on the two white men who raped his young daughter. Wait a minute, why am I agreeing with murder? Didn't Jesus say in Matthew 5:38-39 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also?" My friend Karin told me about another movie like this called The Boondock Saints, where you find yourself cheering for revenge and retaliation and putting the world to rights in this strange kind of way. I must admit I haven't worked up enough courage to watch this one yet, but I really want to. Are there others that I should know about, (and it doesn't have to be just movies either)? Let me hear your thoughts!

December 7, long time no post

Turns out we've been pretty horrible at this whole blogging thing recently. To bring you up to speed, here's a few recent highlights. Nic is almost done with his first semester of seminary! He is in the process of composing his 15 page research paper & finishing up the last pages of his 2,000 page reading requirement. I've been keeping busy with a random assortment of things. One of them is my BLAST program. I recently finished the book If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat by John Ortberg, which I absolutely love & highly recommend! I must say this is one of those books I never would've read on my own-the cover is really glossy and bright blue with a boat on it but that old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is certainly true in this instance. I'm currently working on What's so Amazing about Grace? by Philip Yancey and I'll report more on that later.

Christmas has certainly arrived here. We put our tree & decorations up last weekend and we had our first snow of the season here in Blacksburg on Sunday. Nic's parents came for a visit this weekend and we had a wonderful time hanging out with them! They even installed a new lighting fixture in our dining room that looks awesome!

Last night we had our 2nd annual Discipleship Leader Christmas dinner. It was so much fun to have everyone over and decorate our house with festive plates and napkins :). I love having people in our home A LOT, I've been telling Nic lately that's something I really love about our job. And I really hope no matter where God leads us in the future that's something we can continue to do. That's it for now, expect some pictures to follow! Merry Christmas!

Seminary So Far

Up to this point, I have greatly enjoyed my first semester of seminary classes. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to manage the added time commitment that my classes add on top of my work at BCM, but the only part of my life that has seemed to suffer is my blogging performance. In fact, I have enjoyed some of the increased workload; it seems like I don't waste as much of my life these days. Plus, it helps me sympathize with BCM students who are always struggling with (and complaining about) their school work.

The two classes that I'm taking this semester are Church History and Hebrew; I'll be taking the second half of these classes in the Spring semester as well. Since I've always loved language classes, Hebrew class has seemed very natural and interesting for me. It has definitely been a challenge to start to learn a language that is so different from English, but the kind of challenge that I enjoy. We've already started reading from the book of Ruth, and some of the readings we've done in class from Genesis and the Psalms have been amazing. It is a really rich experience to be able to read these passages in the original language.

My Church History class has been a little tougher for me because the style of learning is different from what I'm used to. We are responsible for a lot of reading (2000 pages!) and writing a research paper by the end of the semester. Since my undergrad degree is in Computer Engineering, I haven't done much research, reading, or writing on a college level. I can definitely say, though, that this is the first time I've ever enjoyed reading a class textbook. Although I can't say I'm looking forward to writing this research paper, I can say that I'm excited about my classes in general and seeing how God helps me grow in my ministry through the experience.

a Confession

I have a confession to make. I'm an addict-a Glee addict. If you haven't watched this new show on Fox yet I highly encourage you to check it out. It comes on every Wednesday night at 9 pm and every Wednesday night around 10:02 pm I am singing my lungs out to their latest tune. Perhaps that's why I enjoy the show so much- I get to imagine for an hour that I have an amazing voice and I live vicariously through the lives of other 20 year olds pretending to be high schoolers.

A few weeks ago the episode featured a performance of Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it) by the "Boy's Varsity football team." Moments after the show was over I was looking up the choreography on Youtube, shaking my white girl booty as best I could, and making Nic roll on the floor in laughter. I'm not much of a dancer, well except for my Zumba skills that is, but there is something about Glee that brings out that longing in every girl's soul to be a performer. That's why when I read this article my heart leapt for joy. You better believe that one day my little toddler will be bouncing along to the latest Beyonce tunes.

So if you ever find yourself in Blacksburg on a Wednesday at 9pm there's always a seat waiting for you in the Uebel living room (maybe we'll even throw in free popcorn and a drink)!

A Mist

As I write this blog Nic is out playing a game of flag football with a bunch of guys from BCM. As he was leaving I said "Please don't get hurt" and in typical Nic fashion his response was "I won't." I've been thinking a lot about getting older and the effects it takes on your body recently (seeing as I am approaching 25 a month from tomorrow). Last Friday I had to have minor surgery and it's been a slow go on the road to recovery ever since. In our Homegroup we've been going through the book of James and last week we discussed chapter 4. I've been thinking a lot lately about verse 14 where he says "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

Our lives are such a gift from God and we should live them to the fullest every day, appreciating every thing we're given. So instead of sulking I will choose to praise God for his many blessings. For the beautiful trees outside my window that look like they're on fire b/c of their rich color, for my incredible husband who has gone above and beyond the call just to take care of me, for my friends who have sent me encouraging emails or texts and brought me food and flowers, and above all else for a God who sent His Son to die for me!

Welcome to the world Little Miss Fraser!

I suppose it's about time for me to post a blog. A lot has been going on lately, hence the lack of activity in the blogging world, and I feel like I'm finally at a point where writing is fun again and not work.  

This past weekend my friend Lauren & I went out to San Francisco, CA to see our friend Megan, her husband Joe, and their new baby Sophie.  It was extra exciting for me because not only did I get to meet Sophie but it was my first visit to California!  Sophie was super cute (see picture below) and such a sweet baby.  I can't decide if she looks more like Megan or Joe but nonetheless I would certainly be well pleased if my kiddo looked like her one day!

Many of our Philly friends hail from the land of Cali so I certainly had high expectations.  I'm pleased to say they were met!  San Francisco (especially when compared to Philly) is such a clean city, so white and sparkly.  The people were so friendly too, even the employees at the airport.  After hearing so much about In-n-Out we had to make that a stop on our to-do's and I was amazed at how cheap and delicious it was.  Maybe In-n-Out if you wanted to make your way to the east coast I could be your marketing genius?    

I do love my mountains here in Southwest VA though.  The leaves are finally starting to fall off the trees, Hokie football is in high gear and I can smell fall coming.  So here's to cool evenings, hoodies, and the smell of campfires!