Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to two of the most wonderful and vital people in my life! I love you both more than you'll ever know.

Sunday Snapshot on Monday

I missed Sunday but still wanted to share this quote.

Love,
ef

Happy Friday!

Pic from one of my favorite blogs...about Ireland!

Happy Friday everyone! I couldn't be more thrilled that the weekend is here again!

What are you up to this weekend? Tonight, husband and I are hopefully watching my brother's star performance in the musical Hairspray via Skype. And as Monday is G's birthday, I have a surprise for him this weekend that I will post about next week. :)

Here are some fun and thought-provoking things I've found around the web this week.

Love,
ef


I'm totally not into the zombie phenomenon right now but doesn't this movie look so good?!

An interesting opinion on addiction. What do you think?


I constantly want to get married again - it was so fun! It's stuff like this that spur that desire further. Maybe I'll just have to throw a party so I can use them.


One of my favorite food blogs who's recipes look divine but terrifying!


Husband and I got to see this musical last night - for free! Such a great show and wonderful date!

My major award

So this week, something terribly exciting happened to me...

I won!

And I never win anything. No seriously.

(PS - This will probably not be that exciting to you, and I know it's silly that I'm this excited...so just bare with me.)

Every day when I drive home from work at 5 o'clock, one of the radio station's here in Joburg (94.7 Highveld Sterio) does something called "Joburg's Most Wanted". You email in six songs - 3 "old school", 3 "new school" - and if they pick you, you win! And what do you win, you may ask?

Well, they play three of your songs on the radio and then you win a two night stay at a four-star hotel, with spa treatments, a round of golf, and dinner. And I. WON! It was the perfect booster to my day because I was quickly coming down with the flu and after the excitement and adrenaline wore off, the aches and pains of the flu set in anyway.

Almost better though, and soon, hubby and I get to have a FREE getaway!

How is your week going? I think the change in weather has lots of bugs going around - stay healthy!

Love,
EF

PS - And how ironic that my winning post is also Days of Gumption's 100th post! Happy Birthday?!

Sunday Snapshot

Just something stunning to gaze upon.


Southern California
David Orias Photography

Falls (and a brief ode to the autumns of my Boston years)

So, I’m very aware that this post might be a bit (or a lot) out of current context for you – but please indulge me.

Yesterday’s high (temp) was about 65°F and the low, about 51°F. I woke up this morning to a temperature somewhere in the 50s, absolutely clear, blue skies, and a bright, brilliant sun. This is the first day that really feels like autumn – and it so glorious!

Such brilliant fall weather brings a flood of emotions and memories. This weather instantly takes me back to the autumns of college – to sweaters and boots and studying in the library, to cheese bagels from Einstein’s Bagels, or Caramel Apple Spices from Starbucks (I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker in college). Or, to hot, perfect rolls from Bertucci’s in Kenmore Square or to Halloweens and apple picking and pumpkins. Fall also includes memories of intense moments emotionally and spiritually. I don’t think I had yet seen the spiritual battle so acutely until I was in college; the constant battle in my own heart to “finish the race” (Acts 20:24) and the battle to win peoples’ souls. They were sometimes times of testing, times of pushing myself, times of wrestling with my own selfishness, laziness, and pride, and times of fighting both to help others know God and to help my own heart want to share the gospel more. The struggles were hard but victorious. And all of those memories are filled with the presence of so many amazing, so fun, hysterical, loyal friends, who I still treasure deeply.

Falls in college were a time for a new start: a new start in academics: new classes, new schedule, new papers and exams; a new start spiritually: a chance to change things that were previously a stumbling block to me spiritually, a chance to grow in the things I had learned in the previous year and that really worked, a chance to find new, open people – people searching for God.

I honestly don’t know who I would be or where I would be (literally – I mean I now live in AFRICA?!) without those friends or experiences – each and every one of them.

These are such fond memories, but at the exact same time, they are equally heart-wrenching (I know that is a bit of dramatic word choice). I love these memories and I loved those times, but I also miss them terribly. Autumn here is wonderful, but it makes me miss those autumns. My life has taken so many different turns since then, I don’t know if I’ll ever experience similar autumns again; maybe I will – and what a blessing that will be! – and maybe I won’t – what an adventure that will continue to be!

As life has taken so many unexpected turns and roads, fall now brings a new set of memories and emotions that I have not anticipated feeling. As I remember the autumns of college, I also remember autumn two years ago. It was my first one in South Africa, in the Southern Hemisphere; my first autumn in April, May, June. (It’s crazy that enough time as actually passed to see seasons in my life here in Africa.) In that particular autumn, I had just started dating my now husband – which was so exciting, new and blissful. My family came to visit me; to see South Africa for the first time. They met G for the first time. We were a part of our first Southern Africa church conference (which is actually starting today for this year’s conference); meeting disciples  for the first time from form other parts of SA, from Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and other Southern African countries. It was exciting and inspiring. My family and I went out to KRUGER NATIONAL PARK for the first time, and saw wild lions, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, monkeys, and so much more. It was surreal to see that this was my life now. I cherish the memories of that time – as I do any time we get together – because they are not as often as we wish they could be, at this time in our lives.

And now that autumn is here again and the 2013 Southern Africa conference is starting tonight, I am filled with so much excitement and gratitude. Excitement for a weekend of spiritual growth and inspiration; excitement for the future and whatever may lie ahead for G and I; excitement for rekindling old friendships. And I am filled with gratitude for the chance to be a part of such an amazing church and spiritual kingdom, that reaches far beyond the borders of South Africa; gratitude for inspiration, grace, new opportunities to grow and change; gratitude to be called to help spread the gospel (Romans 1:5); gratitude for a godly centre and for hope in our marriage. And of course, excitement for more refreshing and invigorating weather! :)

And I have one can of pumpkin that my mom gave me last time she was visiting, so bring on the pumpkin pie!

Lots of love from the chilly Southern Hemisphere,

Ellie

Easter Weekend/Four-Day Weekend

Hello all!

I hope everyone had a relaxing Easter weekend. This past weekend we (here in SA) were blessed to get a four-day weekend! Friday was a national holiday for Good Friday and Monday was a national holiday for...either Easter Monday or Family Day. (I think it's one of those, "they originally made it a holiday for Easter but now they can't make it exclusively a religious holiday, so they decided to make it Family Day". Either way, I'll take it! And which has meant that this week has been a four day week!

Husband and I spent most of the weekend relaxing, eating good food, and watching movies...and then made up for the lack of physical activity on Monday with a 12-15K hike. It was so. great! Sometimes, I can really struggle with sitting inside all day for work, so it really does me good (which means it does the husband good too) to be surrounded by the outdoors.
We went with a large group of friends and their kids (see pictures below); saw weird bugs, and swam in freezing, natural springs (and jumped from high heights to get into them...although I'm lacking pictures of this since I got roped in to jumping too). It was such a wonderful way to spend these last few, glorious summer days! (That actually may have been the last, as it is now cloudy, cold, and a bit windy.) And I personally think being outside is one of the BEST ways to get closer to God; and after Easter Sunday - the conclusion of a week of studying (for me personally) and being reminded of the truly, AMAZING grace we're given when we really do not deserve it - I just felt like I was basking in God's glory and kindness.

How was your Easter weekend? Hope you got some more time off than just two days and are enjoying the oncoming change of seasons. It's refreshing either way (spring or fall). :)

Love from the Southern Hemisphere,
EF

I love the African high veld!

So beautiful!

I love this picture! You could hardly see through the brush and then...Luke appeared!

Crazy, colourful grasshopper.

The water was FREEZING (I'm really not exaggerating) but so refreshing. The boys were the brave ones who went in first.

After the big jump and swim (behind all those rocks) and starting to dry off. 

On our way home, we stopped at this charming restaurant that has been there since 1921! They had dried fishing hanging in the foyer...I'm not sure why and it is a recent addition...that smelled like it had been there since 1921.

View from the restaurant.

A stunning end to a glorious, summer day.