Welcome....Here's a glimpse of our happenings!

The verses that have REALLY spoken to me (Sarah) lately....



"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25



Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. I Peter 5:8-9



From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:26-28



May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14



So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32-33



God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation. Deuteronomy 29:29 (The Message)

About the Friesen's....

We are Marc, Sarah, Luke, and Kate Friesen. We were married June 5, 2004. We have one son, born July 21, 2008, named Luke Andrew -- now 4 years old. We also have a daughter named Kate Christine -- born June 6, 2012. Marc is working at Cessna as a Senior Accountant, and Sarah stays home full-time with Luke. Sarah also gets to work very part-time at home for Graber Backhoe -- an excavation company AND VERY part-time at our church. We LOVE being a part of Grace Community Church here in Newton, KS. We lead a Community Life Group of other wonderful couples. Marc thoroughly enjoys long-distance running and Taekwondo. Sarah thoroughly enjoys walking -- especially when the weather is nice to take Luke and/or out in the stroller. Thanks for reading our blog!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Day Trip A Few Hours Northeast of Here....

Two days after Thanksgiving (Saturday, November 28), my friend, Sarah, and I traveled up to Kansas City for the day to visit our friend Lisa. Several posts ago, I made reference to Lisa in that she's been up in Kansas City for several weeks undergoing a Stem Cell Transplant for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

For the previous two Sundays, our Sunday School class at church pooled some money together to give to them for whatever expenses they might want to use the money for....

So, Sarah and I left bright and early in the morning for the 3 hour (or so) drive.

First, we stopped and purchased some balloons and a card for Lisa. Here's Sarah -- modeling with the nice balloons.



We had told Lisa we wouldn't be there until after lunch, and so first -- eating lunch. Sarah and I both agreed that we would eat at establishments we did NOT have locally. So, we managed to find a Jose Pepper's. Mexican food is always yummy!

After we were seated, we decided we should have some guacamole as an appetizer. Personally, I thought this guacamole was pretty good! I'd recommend it if you ever go to a Jose Pepper's. Here's the interesting part of our experience, though. They placed hand sanitizer at each table for you to use. Perhaps that's common now (Marc and I don't eat out too much). But, that was a first for me.

Yes, this photo is to show the hand sanitizer, but it also manages to show the guacamole.



I must digress from the point of this post for just a moment -- I'm all for sanitation, killing germs, being clean, etc. etc. etc. But, every once in awhile, I feel we've gone too far. Are we losing the opportunity to build up our own immunity in our bodies?

Who knows? Those thoughts just really crossed my mind as I sat at a restaurant where hand sanitizer was given at the table :)

Overall, I enjoyed the restaurant and the shrimp taco I ate. I'd recommend it for a change from what we have around here. You'll have to talk to the other Sarah for her opinion.

After eating, we headed to Lisa's aunt and uncle's house. She and her husband Mark are staying at this house for recovery -- until she's released by her doctor to return home.

So, with the balloons in hand, we headed inside.

We sat and visited with Lisa & Mark for close to three hours. It was good to see them both. It was wonderful to be able to present them with the balloons, card, and money from our Sunday School class.

We also presented Lisa this devotional book.



Our friend Jess has mentioned this book on her blog. This book has spoken to her, and after speaking with Jess about this book, we decided to give it to Lisa as well.

We're sure Lisa was tired after our visit. So, at that point, we left.

Lisa -- if you're reading this -- know that we're all praying for you down here. We're hoping you guys get to return home soon!

Sarah and I decided that we'd been sitting too much that day. Before the three-hour trip home, we needed to walk around a bit....

So, how about a trip to Oak Park Mall?

It was packed with people, of course. But, Sarah and I both managed to find a few things. For me, a new coat (of all things) and a cute shirt for Luke (it'll be his Christmas shirt -- so stay tuned for future photos, I'm sure). You can ask Sarah in person what she purchased.

Finally, we decided we probably should head home. We were already going to be getting home later than what we had told our husbands.

Again, we wanted something we couldn't get here to eat for supper. We had seen a sign earlier for Chick-Fil-A. You know -- that wonderful chain of restaurants that exists primarily in the south. Wichita does have one, but it's on the Wichita State University campus -- not exactly convenient for us.

When filling up the car with gas, we managed to find somebody who could give us good directions to one. It was a bit out of our way, but we did it anyways.

Here's the lovely photo of myself in front of Chick-Fil-A.



We're both sooooo glad we went out of our way. It was just such a wonderful experience. The food was good! The service was fantastic. The employees were courteous. The restaurant was clean. One of the teenage employees even came out when we were through eating and took our trays for us. He then offered to refill our beverages -- which we definitely took him up on.

It was such a wondeful experience that I did get on the Chick-Fil-A website to compliment the staff.

By then, it was time to head home.

It was a fun trip to take even though we both would agree that we would have done anything to not have had to make the trip. We wish Lisa didn't have to endure cancer. We wish she wouldn't have had to be up in Kansas City for close to six weeks to undergo treatment.

Lately, it seems that God has really been laying on my heart that suffering is part of the Christian life. We always want life to be easy. Just because you are a Christian absolutely does NOT make you immune to suffering. I know that God's glory will ultimately shine through all of this cancer ordeal. Only God knows what the overall plan is for this....

Here's a verse that's been running through my mind so much lately. In fact, after returning home on Saturday evening, this was the verse I wrote in my journal. I also shared this verse this morning with my Tuesday morning Bible Study Group.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Romans 8:18-19

2 comments:

jeanie@mageditor.blogspot.com said...

Hi Sarah. My name is Jeanie and I live in Wichita. I found your blog from some link long ago but anyway...enjoy reading about Newton and Luke and etc. Anyway..I didn't know if you knew that we have a Jose Peppers in Wichita now. It is located in front of the Warren Theater on East 13th. I would agree with you, it is very yummy! If we could get our own Chik-fil-A...life would be good! LOL
Anyway, thank you for writing an interesting blog. I do enjoy it. My daughter is considering Bethel for college so it's always fun to read about Newton too.
Christmas Blessings to you and yours!
Oh and on the Luke walking front...my youngest child didn't really walk until 15 months and didn't talk until well over 2 years old. We had him tested for all different things and the conclusion was that he just didn't want to talk. He's 13 now and a straight A student, extremely intelligent and quite vocal. He is a deep thinker and my most eloquent child, so there you go. I guess kids just progress at their own God given rate.

Candice said...

Hand sanitizer at the table. Strange...

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