catching up

so, jode, you can celebrate that i actually figured this thing out!!!
yes, though i walk through the silicon valley of techies, i remain in cyberspace darkness.
so, i'll write!!!!

i am just finishing an evening at Jeremiah's Promise (where i will be working full time in the new year--living there half of the week!) filled with gifts for three of our young ladies (ages 18-20), my three -workers (the founder and director, the resident manager, and our social worker) and one of our former girls and her baby (who greatly enjoys chewing on tissue paper). i received some lovely gifts, but they just aren't me. i really hate when that happens--you know a big gift certificate to a sushi restaraunt to a girl who doesn't eat sushi! so...the joy will be in blessing others with some of my gifts. i seem to find that i have more fun giving gifts that people really enjoy anyways. =)

you'll find out slightly more about my new job in your christmas letter--sorry john, your's hasn't gone out yet. the cards are going out in shifts! some, like most years, will be after the fact, but hey, i'm all about spreading out the joy for longer periods of time! ;)

and did someone say boggle!!! wow, i haven't had the joy of playing for quite some time. yes, we will indeed do so in times to come.

did any of you see the movie "the chronicles of narnia" yet??? it is AWESOME!!!

hmmm...i'm being very choppy in this vignette. alas. sorry. just to let you know that things haven't changed in my personality too much, let me mention a few tidbits from my quirky file. while in a rush, i spilled coffee on myself the other day. i also wonder if i have early altzheimer's (not to be overly joky b/c my grandmas does have it and it's tough!) b/c i never cease to amaze myself at the number of times i leave things behind. i'm worse than when i was a kid!!! i recently received my favorite ice cream from a friend--bubble gum!!! now why is it that this wonderful flavor is reserved for creameries and NOT the grocery store???

surprise of the year: angie needs to reform her diet. yes, heath, after all of your imploring of me to cut my sugar intake, i'm finally realizing the need to use this addictive substance sparingly. you see, western medicine can no longer help me in certain areas. my allergies remain a constant source of nagging and hopefully comic (and not only tragic) relief. however, there is nothing comedic about the headaches, sore throat, thousands of used kleenex, and sinus pressure. yowza!! so, my allergist, after having had 7 years of allergy shots as a kid and 1 1/2 years as an adult, said that my shots weren't working and he couldn't help me. apparently, i had exhausted his expertise, not to mention umpteen different vareties of allergy drugs on the market. soooo...i'm joining the ranks of the medically disenchanted seeking healing and health via vitamins, minerals, better diet, deep breathing, etc. ahh...yes. just a short time ago i was laughing at the thought of visualization. i tried it in one of my counseling clases and just felt absurd. well, the tables have turned and i'm open to so much more. no, i'm not even thinking about anything remotely related to eastern religion but i am open to prayer healing, fasting, yoga, eating whole garlic cloves (great antioxidant but disgusting tasting!!!!), and the like. this will be quite the journey. the new year shall prove the strength of my committment!

speaking of health, please be in prayer for my dad. a few weeks ago, he mentioned to my mom that he experienced something that felt as bad/or worse than a heart attack. of course, being the dutch farmer that he is, he did not wake my mom in the middle of the night when it occurred!!! so, like me recently, he had an endoscopy--sticking a scope down into one's stomach. he then had a biopsy to see if there was any cancer. his father died in his early 50's (same age as my dad) of throat cancer--which my dad has always said would be his fate. dad has not gone back to the dr. yet, so we don't know the status.

alas--nothing new in my love life--but i think a guy asked me on a date--a mention of coffee or dinner from someone at church on the prayer team, of which i'm co-leader. hmmmm....not crazy about the guy, but i'll try not to "kick him to the curb" too soon as i'm often accused of doing among the girls. ;) the closest thing to love in the romantic sense i've experienced lately is more of my roommates getting married. yasi will get married in early feb. so again i am roommate hunting. i have a revolving door of marriable ladies. but, alas God is ever faithful in providing new roommates, a job where i can build family-like relationships (in time), and a few solid guy friends who stand in the gap of showing me the care, love, and consideration of a the opposite gender that has taken me longer than the average female to discover.

i will close with a verse that i've committed to memory and have come to love from isaiah 30.

"repentance and rest are your salvation,
and quietness and trust are your strength."

may the Lord grant us an increasing measure of these.

with love bigger than distance, deeper than daily experiences, and more faithful than my blog entries,
ang