Blessings and Friends!

This past weekend was an amazing one--full of many blessings and friends. I went down to Berrien Springs to visit one of my best friends Melanie. It was a spiritually charged weekend and a fun one as well. On Sabbath, my friend Reuben preached. His sermon touched on the fact that it is our God-given commission to make disciples. But in order to make disciples, it is important to know what a disciple is. What are the characteristics of a disciple? He then took us to John 13:35 that says we will know a disciple by one main characteristic--love for one another. That love consists of being willing to give and receive reproof and correction that is intended to build up another person and help them in their quest to be more like Jesus. The motto that we each should have when a person shares with us our faults is to say, "Thank you for caring enough to share." It may not always be easy to take, but if it means having a character more like Christ's than it is more than worth it!

After church we had a young people's potluck during which I found a little bat drowning in the toilet! Poor thing! He was more than grateful to be rescued. (To say the least, he shocked me a great deal. That is not what you expect to find in the toilet!) Then after visiting and singing to several individuals in the community, we went to the beach to have sundown worship. It was amazing!! I miss the beach so much. Here are a few pictures...


Melanie and I. Melanie is one of the most awesome friends you could ask for! Thanks for letting me spend the weekend with you!



There were some awesome dunes that you could jump from. Here Melanie and I are trying pair jumping. Kyle says that we are so good we are on our way to Beijing for the Olympics. I do think our landing needs a bit more work!











Crazy friends are the best. Do we win the prize for cheeziness?



I had no idea Melanie was making a funny face and she had no idea I was. Well, here is the result. Great minds think alike!



On my way down! Thankfully Reuben caught me.













This is how people from Tennessee wear their pants. Or maybe it is how they keep their neck warm. We are still trying to figure it out. Maybe Kyle can help us understand the mind of a Tennessean...











Kyle's prized catch--fillet of sole.









These next four pictures are the artistic talent of Melanie. I think they are awesome and wanted to share them...

Great Bear Tips!

Today I was doing some research on the internet to learn more about my new home in Lillooet British Columbia. I came across a website for the District of Lillooet British Columbia that has tons of information about its history, things to do, places to see, etc. One of the sections had pictures of wildlife that live in the area including mountain goats, big horn sheep, cougars, and of course, bears. I was especially amused by the caption under the picture of the bear.

Wear small bells to warn bears you're coming and carry pepper spray. Black Bears are in the area if you see 'scat' with berries and rabbit fur in it. Grizzly Bears are in the area if you see 'scat' that smells like pepper and has small bells in it.

Wow! That's one important informational tip! I will have to remember that when I get to Canada. I think I'd rather look out for the bells though considering I don't treasure the thought of sniffing bear 'scat'! I'll let you know if I come across any when I am up there.

Musings About Brussel Sprouts

I have been doing a lot of serious thinking today...about brussel sprouts. (Ok, please don't laugh. I have been submerged up to my eyeballs in Algebra 1 preparation for next school year so I needed something a little less "brainy" to think about!) So if you care to know my deepest thoughts about brussel sprouts, then read on...

I can vividly remember my childhood exposure to those little round green things that my mom tried to convince me were little cabbages. All her prodding and coaxing never convinced me of that fact. Granted, I liked cabbage, but those little “look-a-likes”? Ugh, I just despised them. But none the less, my mom always insisted I had to eat at least one or two every time she served them. (She said they were good for me. Hmmm. Do all good things have to taste that bad?) No matter what I drowned them in—salt, salad dressing, etc.—I could never escape that unique brussel sprout flavor. It permeated through everything.

Well that was during my childhood. Thankfully now, mom doesn’t make me eat them. But they still frequent the dinner table. Especially in the last four months or so, my mom and sister have been having major cravings for brussel sprouts. (I know, I am still in shock and disbelief.) From what they have told me, they eat them at least once or more a week. But thankfully I haven’t been living at home to experience this latest craze at the Osterman house. But just in the nine days I have been home, they have already appeared on the table twice. Well, today, was one of those days. I decided to be brave and actually see if my childhood dislike has somehow morphed into at least a tolerance for the little “cabbages.” I had some leftover Italian dressing in my salad bowl, and thought that maybe it would help to at least drown out that brussel sprout flavor and make it somewhat tolerable. After making sure they were well drenched, I bravely faced the taste test. The result? Even after all that dressing, that pungent flavor still screamed at me—“I am a brussel sprout. You can’t get rid of me no matter how hard you try!” As I choked down the rest of the sprout in my bowl, the text came to mind, “Can a leopard change his spots or a brussel sprout its flavor.” (quoted from the Textus Autumnus)

My sister chided me and said that I should congratulate that sprout for maintaining its true identity and not letting anything change what it really is deep down inside. Well, I guess from that point of view, I will just have to concede that once a brussel sprout always a brussel sprout and I will just have to refrain from eating them.