Hebrews 10:24-25



Rachel, Evangelina, Me, & Sally eating our first MRE

What a great weekend!  We spent the majority of the weekend in fellowship with our newfound friends, many of which also go to CrossPointe Church.  Our sweet friends, Josh & Evangelina Garcia, graciously invited a group of people over for dinner on Friday night.  Initially, I thought perhaps another couple in addition to Jon and I would be dining at the Garcia's on Friday, but boy was I wrong!  Evangelina cooked for 10 couples + her and Josh + 2 adorable toddlers = 12 adults and 2 toddlers!!  She truly is an impressive lady!  I mustn't forget that Josh cooked for us as well... at some point in the night the conversation turned to MREs. MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat and it is what the military uses as meals when in combat or during training exercises in the field.  Clearly all the husbands at dinner were very familiar with MREs, some were even discussing their favorite flavors!  But, folks, do not be deceived, this is not a "lunchable" type meal (you know with the ham, cheese, and crackers).  MREs are meant to be a complete meal, each one providing an average of 1200 calories.  Although safe to eat cold, all MREs come with a flameless heater because MREs "taste" better when they are warm.  Josh was kind enough to heat up a chicken fajita MRE for the ladies by filling up the water-activated heater and letting it rest for a few minutes.  All the girls, minus Allie because she's pregnant, put together the tortilla, refried beans, and chicken fajita mixture topped with the cheese sauce and sampled our first MRE!  My conclusion?  It is edible but I will never choose to eat it again.  Now, Evangelina's sopapilla cheesecake?  Yes, please, I'll have seconds.



Columbus Public Library

Late Saturday morning, we drove over the the Columbus Public Library and got library cards!!  I'm not kidding, and we were super stoked about it too.  I could not believe how big and how pretty the Columbus library is - it is an incredible library and it is in COLUMBUS, GA!  We wondered around all over and even checked out some materials for our Spain trip.  Oh and I also found this cookbook, Hodgson Mill Whole Grain Baking: 400 Healthy and Delicious Recipes for Muffins, Breads, Cookies, and More, yes, I do love the library!  Eventually, we finally made it back home only to soon head out again.  Our church hosted a large potluck dinner/bonfire Saturday where I took some Spiced Caramel Apple muffins and we all feasted on an overwhelming amount of food and an even more amount of dessert!  We had a blast meeting some new folks and hanging out with our new friends, Peter and Sally Arendt, who were also at the Garcia's the night before.  Evangelina and baby Isabella were also able to join us at the potluck even though poor Josh had to do some training in the field.  So while we all had BBQ and a million side dishes, Josh was probably chowing down on an MRE...  We also had the privilege of chatting with our pastor, Brad Evangelista, briefly before leaving, which is always so encouraging because he is one of the most genuine and passionate people I have ever met.  After leaving the potluck, we really wanted to watch "A Better Life," so much that we drove to three different Redbox locations looking for it.  Unfortunately, it was out of stock at all of them so Jon rented "The American" with George Clonney, who is getting pretty old by the way.  Movie review?  I've been pretty disappointed with the last two George movies I've seen, this one included.  It is a muted romantic thriller oozing a little too much with existential angst.  I know a few people that would definitely enjoy this type of film, but I was not a fan.

After getting an extra hour of sleep Saturday night due to the time change, we went to church, where Pastor Brad preached on the theology of adoption.  Sunday was Orphan Sunday, an international movement among Christian churches to recognize our responsibility to care for orphans and promote this culture within our church.  We may not all be called to adopt, but we are called to participate in the process - either by financially supporting, fostering, praying for families and children in the process, or ourselves adopting.  It was a beautiful message including the wonderful testimony of a family that has adopted a little boy and is in the process of adopting a little girl at our church.  As always, I recommend you to listen to this inspirational and truth-bearing message that can be found on the church's website.  After the service, we hung out some more!  We went to Panera with a group of people from church, Tyler & Jordan Matthews (met at Lifepointe Group), Peter & Sally Arendt, and Josh & Evangelina Garcia.  It was great spending so much time in fellowship this weekend and I truly believe that having a church family has had a direct effect on our positive attitudes about Columbus.  We didn't have this type of community in Clarksville, which made it difficult to adjust to being far away from friends and family.  Given that Jesus’ final words to his disciples were delivered in the context of a group meal, I think we can surmise that fellowship is pretty important.  That said, sharing an MRE, going out to lunch, hanging out at a friend’s house–all of these activities are valuable forms of Christian fellowship. We may not be explicitly talking about Christ the entire time, but the way in which we listen to one another, build one another up, and create an environment of trust has the fingerprints of Christ all over it.   I am so thankful for the amazing church we found here and the awesome relationships we are forming! 



And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25