What's happening lately, in bullet points.

• We're heading towards finals, which means Jeremy and I both are spending our entire lives on our computers, in the library, or with our head in a book somewhere doing research and study. Hooray!
• I've developed an addiction to gummy bears and decided that I prefer white wine over red, but I'd drink either one.
• It turns out I don't think I hate Adam Lambert as much as I thought I did. Now that American Idol is over, I can appreciate his talent, and I think I was more reacting to the way the judges were clearly defining him as the winner, and simply thanking everyone else for showing up to the Adam concert. So, please accept my apology, Adam, although I must say you're still not my favorite. Judges...boo to you.
  
• I recently lost my babysitting job when the father of the 2 kids got laid off. So, we're back to square one. Jeremy has a job doing telerelations for Fuller - a fancy way of saying he's calling alumni to ask for money. Not his favorite, but it's something. Meanwhile...
• ...we do have some exciting job opportunities! We're currently in conversations with two different churches in the area regarding some open positions. One church had just opened up a search committee to find an on-staff, part-time worship leader, when they were given Jeremy and my resumes by a connection of ours. So, we officially have an interview with them, first informally on June 21st, then more formally to follow, along with a "trial run" of leading a service for them and some observations, etc. etc. etc...
• ...The other church is looking for some help developing their youth program. Part of this will be an entire youth-centered worship service, which Jeremy and I would lead, among some other things. It would be with mostly high school students - maybe some junior high - but what we like about this position is that it's very multi-cultural. The church has 5 different congregations that meet for worship seperately (except for a once-a-month combined service) because they're primarily made up of first-generation immigrant families. However, most of the high school/junior high students were born in the US and primarily speak English - plus, their friends are English-speakers who aren't necessarily of the same ethnicity - so they're really craving a time when they can worship with the people they feel more of a community with. So, the church's big vision is to create a youth-centered, multi-ethnic worship service that would meet seperately from the other 5 services held at the church, in hopes of creating a sense of reconciliation and grooming the next generation to worship together as one body of Christ. That's pretty cool. :) Also, another issue a lot of the youth are facing is the tension of essentially having two cultures, since their parents are relatively new to the US, but the youth have spent their whole lives here. That tension is something that Jeremy faces, as well - and, together, Jeremy and I often face issues of multi-ethnic relationships, etc. So, it's pretty exciting to think of having the opportunity not only to minister and develop young leaders in worship and faith, but also to use some of the unique aspects of our relationships to minister to others, as well.
• Basically, though...we need money. So, we're praying that something comes through and quickly. While the second option would be more of a challenge, we think we're decently equipped to do either one (maybe the first one more so, but the second one, too). The tricky thing is thinking of our financial needs in tension with the needs of the individual churches...and, ultimately, the kingdom of God, really...so...we're praying.
• Charlie is always discovering more and more ways to be weird. These ways include drinking from the toilet, "boinging" the door stops, climbing to the top of Mt. Puppy Pooper (otherwise known as the top/back of our couch), opening and closing doors with his nose, undoing zippers, and pushing library books across the floor.
• He's also developed a crippling fear of garbage trucks and dumpsters.

Those ended up being longer bullet points than I anticipated. Oh well. Here's a picture to make you feel better.