engagement pictures

Abigail Criner is pretty amazing - we had so much fun taking these pictures with her! check her out at www.abigailcrinerphotography.com

Get em while they're hotttt

Not that saving lives ever goes out of style... but these shirts are hot off the... place that shirts come from. If you haven't heard about buy shoes save lives, allow me to inform you (and inform yourself at www.buyshoessavelives.com)
There are these awesome handmade shoes called 'Klashi Kurdi' that are made in Northern Iraq by the Kurds. They are beautiful, not to mention stinkin' cool looking. I hear Justin Timberlake wishes he had some Klash...
So, the saving lives part...Medical care in Northern Iraq is not up to par and there are TONS of kids that have heart problems and without a heart surgery they will either die or suffer from an otherwise curable heart condition.
In collaboration with Brothers Together (www.shevet.org) Buy Shoes Save Lives is using the proceeds from the shoes and T-Shirts to fund heart surgeries for these Iraqi children.
What is even cooler... The doctors doing the surgeries are Jewish and the children receiving the surgery are Muslim. It is a really incredible way to bridge the cultural and religious gaps that have historically existed. So buy some gear - the T-shirts are brand new and even cooler in person and the shoes are custom made to fit. What are you waiting for? go to www.buyshoessavelives.com NOW

NEW YORK NEW YORK!

This is us in Times Square - it is CRAZY here... maybe I would have felt like this about Taksim if I could have understood what everyone was saying???


This is all of us at Battery Park where you can see the statue of Liberty


We're in love... it would have been cuter if we climbed in the love so that we could actually be IN 'love' - but, laziness prevailed.


We got the hook up at the Allentown fair and got to meet Taylor Swift - let me just say that she is actually just as hot in person as she appears to be in the media - she sounds just as good live too.

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

I love this title of a book by Thomas Merton. I've been needing to remind myself this a lot. The new Caedmon's Call album is really good - there is a song on it I've been listening to a lot lately called 'Share in the Blame.' It has been good for me. Without realizing it, I was becoming more and more judgemental towards people, issues, problems etc. I have all kinds of theories and ideas about solving the world's problems and who should do what and who is contributing to them. While it might help me to grapple with some of these issues, it doesn't help my soul to place the blame on others. I've been reading the gospels a lot lately and there is a clear message that Jesus sent to the world - Mercy triumphs over judgment. Always, it always wins to be merciful.
I don't think that this means I shouldn't think long and hard and be hurt or angry about injustice and things that are happeneing in the world... but ultimately, blame placing, or judgement making aren't hurting anyone except for me. I've just been struggling with what it means to be ultimately merciful and loving while still holding others responsible for their actions and standing for justice? The more I think about it the more I think that I don't understand justice and I don't understand mercy. Praise God who is greater than our hearts right?

Just musings...