downtown adventures.

we have been exploring the city of san jose a lot this weekend-and we think you should visit. so to entice you to come to our wonderful city i am posting many pictures along with narration of our weekend thus far.

photo 1: a picture taken in our apartment with our wonderful table and chairs from mom and dad snow, set with many wonderful wedding gifts from friends and family. (more apartment pictures to come at a later date)

photo 2: taken in honor of miss jennifer denouden-who will be getting married next june to dan broersma...mirabella is one of the girls who she babysits and will be in the wedding. (this picture was taken in downtown campbell-near one of the libraries we visited today)
photo 3 and photo 4: you thought you've seen all the different variations of monopoly there is to see...we'll you are wrong!!! there's monopoly in the park in downtown sj! it has the record of being the largest permanent monopoly board (and you can even make reservations to play online).
(side note-see the big white thing that looks like a t in the background? that's part of the VTA light rail in the background-our means of travel for the day-you can get an all day pass to take you all over the city for only $5.00!!! you never have to worry about parking or dealing with traffic-a major bonus!)
photo 5: next stop, the children's discovery museum of san jose. the largest children's museum on the west coast. (also a busy place on a rainy saturday-the first one since we have lived here) this picture was taken inside of a dodecahedron of mirrors-crazy as you can see :) photo 6: after the scads of children retreated from the ambulance, i felt it was my turn to occupy the gurney. ashley-this one is for you! don't i look injured and in need of medical care?
photo 7: the water exhibit! who knew water could be so much fun? this is where all the little kids have fun getting themselves wet-and grownups like us (with no children) help them get wet! just kidding about that last part-we didn't try to get them wet-it just happened :)
photo 8: throwing balls into the water tornado...it was sweet.
photo not available: inside of the downtown san jose library-with at least 6 floors to make any book lovers dreams come true.

photo 9: after a stop at starbucks to fulfill my pumpkin spice latte craving, we returned to our apartment via light rail.

until next time, this is jackie signing off :)
p.s. like i said before come visit us...there are many cool things to do in san jose!

similar aims, dissimilar results

Ever wonder what God put you on the Earth to accomplish? I do. All the time. And so, as is my fashion, I decided recently that God would tell me exactly what I needed to know through the reading of a book, or perhaps two. Providentially, I was just given a book on vocation as a gift from a friend, and Bill Hybels' newest book is on vocation. So, not wanting to look a gift of providence in the the mouth, I read them. The first, Parker J. Palmer's Let Your Life Speak. The second, Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels.

Let me start by saying that I appreciated the insights into life that each present; however, each of them approaches the concept of vocation and calling from a different direction. Palmer chooses an inward direction for the thrust of his message, whereas Hybels travels outward.

Palmer begins his book exploring the idea of the "true self," later referring to the concept as the seed of ourselves that has been planted inside each of us. He continues, saying that, while we can never reach this ideal self, we can get ever closer by taking a close look at what it says.
His explanation of the title, in the first chapter of the book, is very telling of his idea of vocation. Palmer takes his title from an old Quaker saying which implies letting your life be a witness to others. Palmer reinterprets the saying for himself so that it means:

Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.

This is at the same time an incredibly helpful, and largely unhelpful statement. In a culture where segments never take the time to stop and think if there's anything more to life than death and taxes, the idea that there is a deeper reality could create a new way of thinking. For someone who attempts to live in the deeper spiritual reality which God has created for us, Palmer's statement comes off as existential navel-gazing.

From a faith perspective, Palmer fails to follow-through with his theology. While he begins with God as the creator of our inner-self, he never claims Him as the end. At places, Palmer alludes to it, he dances around it, but he never comes out and says that God has anything to do with our vocation, other than creating it. That being said, Let Your Life Speak never claims to be a primer on theology, and in what it sets out to do, the book is sufficient.

Bill Hybels, on the other hand, addresses the issue of entering God's will right from the get go. Holy Discontent is primarily concerned with the question, how do we find, and maintain, vocation which we are passionate about. Hybels' answer, which he pulls through the entirety of the book is, essentially, that each of us has an inner Popeye. Hybels uses stories from the Bible, from his life, and from people he has had the privilege of meeting over the course of his life to show moments where God has used a fire of passion to direct the person to movement. With Popeye they've all said, in one way or another, "That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!"

Hybels does an excellent job avoiding ambiguity and generalities, providing concrete examples and direction of how to approach your "Holy discontent." I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for direction in their life, and who care as much about the "God aspects" of vocation as the personal ones. While Hybels doesn't give any concrete answers about what you should do with your life (much to my chagrin), his book does help by providing places to look for clues and ways to confirm those suspicions and passions that are lurking at the back of your mind.

I found both books very helpful in my quest to discern God's will for my life, but if I had to recommend only one, it would be Holy Discontent hands down. Although, it might be because I hummed the Popeye theme-song while I read the book.

My Class

Here is a picture of the little cuties :)

Christmas is coming!!! (and my dad likes allis chalmers tractors)

We will be coming back to Grand Rapids for Christmas!!! We will be in Michigan from December 24th-January 1st :) I'm pretty excited about this-just thought you might like to know.
Also-dad these pictures are for you-they were taken at the California State Fair. Even Allis made it to the fair! And yes that is a picture of me with the Governator:)

fun with the camera.

we had a great time with the branders last weekend and let's just say the younger branderhorst boys like the iSight camera on my mac and the special effects it can do.

way to go OSU!

although we have moved to california, we still have a fond admiration for osu's football program. also we would like to console all of the u of m fans...sorry about that loss to appalachian state. here's a picture to display our pride. we miss you columbus friends!

Room 6

tuesday: back from a long weekend i hear at 10:30am that i am getting a new student.....today. God sure does like to surprise us! She is a great student, very loving, fun, well behaved, and fits in just perfect. she's a blessing :) here are some pictures that i took last week friday of my organized and student filled classroom! also there are a few pictures of my students.

an incredible journey pt.2

well, we've returned from the fun and frivolity of the state fair (which deserves a post in-and-of itself), and now it's time to get back to business.
So, here we go.

DAY 1


On the open road.
(I don't like this picture very much...but it's all we have in MI)


Our first rest stop.
Notice how Jackie still looks so vibrant and full of life.


There was a slow-down just before we passed this mess.
I'm not sure why exactly, I got a pretty good look at it.


Not even out of Illinois and we see signs leading us back to our friends in MI.


This one pretty much speaks for itself.


Just when we thought the tears were dry...our second rest stop...I think...


I like to call this one - The Custard Station.
I found this "hatch" right outside of a Culver's.


This is the best we could do for Nebraska(which is actually better than I thought).
It's hard taking a picture as you drive into the setting sun.


This is Jackie Outside of the KING KONG Burger.
We didn't eat here, but we thought the ceramic monkeys were ridiculous.



Well, that's about it for day one.
Day two coming soon.
And the review will be up as soon as I finish the second book and write the review.

Peace.