101 things

Colin here.

I've always enjoyed other people's 101 things, so I thought I'd be fun to do one myself. Just some musings on life...

1. In the beginning, God was beautiful, glorious, and holy. He still IS.
2. The resurrection of Christ is so much more than a doctrine, it is a real, world-shaking reality.
3. I love Rachel Kiser. Best friend and mate for life. She is beautiful.
4. She consistently demolishes me in rock/paper/scissors. I'll never win.
5. In the last two years, I've come to see that soccer is indeed the Beautiful Game.
6. How about that goal in the 91st minute to beat Algeria...Ecstasy.
7. I read Biblical commentaries for fun. right now, Romans by Schreiner.
8. Barber's Adagio is probably the most beautiful song ever written.
9. "We shan't be telling your mother about this, shan't we?"
10. I work at Otis Spunkmeyer making subway bread rolls. 8 hours of mind-numbing nothingness.
11. I am actually at work right now as I'm writing this (I don't have much to do).
12. Rachel and I have the best dog ever, Abner. He is a fluffy dog/sheep/fox/wolf/bear.
13. I have to cut out thick dreadlocks from his fur frequently. he is Jamaican.
14. The Dear Hunter. Go listen.
15. Our long-term goal: teach and train natives (South Asia?) to live/preach the gospel of Jesus the Messiah.
16. My Rachel is so loving and considerate of needy and hurting people. it challenges me.
17. The Rimp is at last tamed.
18. I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
19. Twilight = emotional pornography/the pinnacle of fantastical romanticism.
20. Enough with the Calvinist/Arminian debate, where you have to choose and commit to a system. let's just be Biblical. Hard, but worth it.
21. But then again....Monergism, baby!
22. Griffin Thompson = cutest child around.
23. In his first ever poker game, Collin Cornell caught a royal flush.
24. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks!
25. I want to know the Bible better.
26. mewithoutYou, what happened?! From what heights you have fallen!
27. When ice is sticky, the sound and feel of it makes me self-destruct.
28. Three years ago I went to Nepal and India for a summer. It was a hard yet formative time that began the most grueling and painful two years of my life. Asia messed me up. Strangely, I feel called back.
29. Indian food. Nectar of the gods.
30. Led Zeppelin rocks harder than granite.
31. If you haven't seen Megashark vs. Giant Octopus, drop your plans for tonight and rent it. It won an Oscar.
32. They need to make a Pilgrim's Progress movie with Liam Neeson as Christian.
33. Rant: if you don't tip your server well or at all, don't eat out anymore. $2.13/hr doesn't add up.
34. "You wanna be free? You wanna set me free? well that can only come from a union with the One who never dies!"
35. McDonald's. How can something make you feel nauseous and at other times make your mouth water?
36. Colossians 1:27 should be read, "Christ among you (Gentiles), the hope of glory." Ask me why.
37. For our one year anniversary, Rach and I are going on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise.
38. You can find almost anything cheap online.
39. I mean this literally... what IS a rainbow?
40. Imagine the physical world without friction.
41. Mixed Mondays. yes.
42. It's only #41? whew. I'm running out of steam.
43. Rachel writes down all my sleeptalking activities. She wrote an entry on it below.
44. Three most constipated men in the Bible: Moses because he took two tablets and headed into the wilderness, King David because he sat on the throne for 40 years, and Cain because he was not Abel.
45. The Road by Cormac McCarthy was intense and made me cry at the end.
46. I have the undesirable tendency to not finish a book.
47. Proclivity
48. Dr. Joel Williams, PhD will be dearly missed at CIU.
49. Kevin Hughes' floccinaucinihilipilification irks me.
50. One time, Nick Jones ate and digested a steel rod.
51. In middle school I was the semi-smelly kid who wore one of three professional wrestling shirts every day.
52. At Subway: Footlong Italian herbs and cheese, ham, pepper jack cheese, toasted, with spinach, tomato, cucumber, jalapeno, pepper, oil, and vinegar. $5.35. Yum.
53. Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright changed my life. Read it.
54. Messi, Messi, Messsiiii!!!!!!! GOOOOOLLLLLL!!
55. God's salvation is not simply for the individual. God is saving, sanctifying, and working in the world through the Church, not you or me. People of God, not persons of God.
56. Hymns. they don't write them like they used to!
57. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.
58. Did I mention Rachel is my favorite person?
59. Favorite meal cooked by my awesome wife... pork tenderloin with Nick's rub, Asparagus, and onion-roasted potatoes.
60. On our honeymoon in Mexico, we went snorkeling. I got sea sick on the ride there, and while snorkeling vomited in the water, multiple times (once underwater). After I threw up, within five seconds there was a frenzy of at least eighty tropical fish of all sizes and colors swarming around me, eating all of the vomit.
61. Shall we sin so that grace may abound?...no freaking way.
62. TAKE THAT, DR. MURRAY!!
63. Cold water hurts on the way down.
64. Collin Cornell is a Princeton man. Proud of you, adelphos
65. Flannery O'Connor's short story A Good Man is Hard to Find is excellent. After learning about her themes from Rachel, I've found O'Connor to be magnificent.
66. People, the last book in the Bible is named Revelation, not Revelations.
67. If you don't love Jesus, you need to. You were literally made for Him, and you'll never be fully human until you're redeemed by your Creator.
68. It is hard to see the suffering, disease, decay, and evil in the world. God has already begun to renew the world through Jesus and promises to complete it. He is faithful to do it.
69. What I mean by that is not a gradual improvement in the world (sorry, Reformers), but God redeeming humanity and then loosing all of creation from it's bondage when Jesus returns. He will remake the world into the New Heavens and New Earth, and His people will enjoy Him and His creation free from sin.
70. I get upset when prosperous companies pay their workers poorly. Oh, the greed of oligarchy...
71. The coolest pet would be a dolphin.
72. I want to visit Tibet.
73. I've been struggling over the past year with the issue of non-violence for the Christian. Does the rapist or murderer go unstopped? Jesus says some tough statements that I want to simply obey and not work around. This is a hard issue.
74. I say this in the context of being an evangelical, but on a related note, evangelicals have a Biblically inaccurate view of God as a solely merciful and compassionate Being. Since we receive the Bible as God's own Word, we can't shy away from testimony and teaching about His wrath and justice, which many times does not fit into our grace festival.
75. See if that will preach on Sunday morning...
76. When I forget to wear a belt I feel naked.
77. God bless liturgy. Rachel and I thoroughly enjoy Church of the Apostles. Great community.
78. My Sunday School kids call me "Stalin." wow.
79. On the subject of names, I was called "Colon Kisser" my whole life. That is one of the worst variations on a real name that I have ever heard.
80. My little sister Brianna is really cool. I wish she lived closer so I could get to know her more.
81. Matt Clifton got me through high school. miss you, dude.
82. Matt Clifton, Zach Simmons and I made a video project in Government class about a supreme court case that defined obscenity and indecency. Our video turned out to be so obscene that after pre-screening it, our teacher wouldn't let us show it in class.
83. My parents have been very gracious and supportive in the past years. I am thankful.
84. ETB.
85. Shad-nuh!
86. Sex with my wife is beautiful.
87. I can't wait for soccer season in the fall!
88. I can't wait for the fall period!
89. Home is where Rachel is.
90. While driving 70 MPH on I-126 yesterday, Rach and I saw smoke ahead of us and a fairly sizable object flying over a car and hitting the road in front of us. it was a deer.
91. Rachel was mortified. I was amazed.
92. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a perfect summary of guys and girls.
93. RUM.
94. The professors are what make CIU.
95. A huge regret in life: not continuing to play the upright bass.
96. When did life get so expensive?
97. I love teaching the Bible. it feels right.
98. I miss intensely studying Greek and Hebrew.
99. Moose Antlers and Plateau feet.
100. True theology ends in doxology.
101. Praise to You, Lord Christ.

my sisters.

a few things to sum up a great weekend.

i value friendships like the ones i have with these girls. everyone talks about those certain, few and far between friendships that are able to consistently pick up where they left off, no matter how much time has lapsed. i am so thankful to say i have that in these girls! the same memories are still dear and funny, the same jokes, everything. it's a bond.
i love that Caitlyn knew me both before and after i knew the Lord. she was sitting in the pew a few seats down from me praying along with the other girls i had befriended that summer that my heart would be moved. it was. i love that we left college closer than we were before it had started, even though we were all the way across the country from each other. i love that Swhite is the reason that i even heard about CIU. i love that she used to see me freshman year in earth science class and secretly think to herself that i was a huge skank (little did we know that this 'skank' and ROTC girl would soon be each others' life lines later on in high school..). God is funny.

i can truly say that i hold my friendships to a higher standard because of these girls.

thank you for braving mountain passes and the most humid weather you've ever experienced to come visit us in our little trailer. 'Abby' misses you already!

contentment and desire.

i feel like where we're at has to be the strangest, most divided stage of life.

in one sense, my mind is absolutely swimming with possibilities and desires. we've graduated college with degrees in both bible and some sort of science/art (me: psychology, him: biblical languages), we are married, and we're paying off our school loans piece by piece. we've prayed for years and years and felt led by God in our giftings and desires. we've sought wisdom and teaching from those around us. my heart feels absolutely overwhelmed at times with longing for places i've never even been. Colin and i frequently play a game where we ask each other random questions throughout the day, just to hear the response. most of the times they're silly or imaginative questions. it seems as though anytime he's asked me, "if you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?" i respond with, "india." plain and simple. my heart is yearning for that place. not for any romanticized view i have of it, or for the food, dress, or culture... simply because i feel as though God has placed the desire in us and there is work for us to do. i can't explain it, but my soul groans for that land.

but in another sense, my heart is oddly and wonderfully content here. although neither of us have jobs that we love or family in the area, we are surrounded by good friends, a church that we love and are able to serve in, and a knowledge that God has us here right now. i think one of the worst things that we as young people do is yearn so much for the next stage of life or other places that we forget that God has us here, and we are called to obey, minister, and be joyful in this moment. wherever we are, and however pleasant or unpleasant it is. i think we miss out on so many opportunities to grow and serve when our hearts are overwhelmed with want for another place or another point in time. this contentment is beautiful. we can see God teaching us things that are best learned here and now; stretching, growing and sanctifying both in small steps and in long strides.

Colin and i have always said that we want to stay in our old trailer, with terrible air conditioning/heating, a leaky roof, no yard to speak of and few possessions rather than moving into a larger and nicer house/apartment because we refuse to become attached to our material things, knowing that we aren't supposed to stay here. too many people become entranced by their collections and comfort to the detriment of their calling. the reason i write this is because Colin and i can see why-- we can see that tendency in ourselves, however small it may be, to want comfort over discomfort. we refuse to foster it. we want to trust God for everything and be ready to give it all away for the sake of the Gospel and our specific call to take it to india, if that is His Will.

pray with us in this time, and rejoice in the circumstances that God has provided, because He is good and worthy of our praise!

grace and peace,
the wife.

just life.

a list.

-work is good. there are elements that i miss from being unemployed, but i'm glad to be helping Colin with the bills. we're almost done paying off his loans-- then onto mine!
-we are planning a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines in October. we decided back in April to save the majority of our tax returns to spend on a vacation where we could get away and just be together. we originally wanted to go for our anniversary in July, but 1) we would have had to go on a cruise that isn't as nice because it was more short notice and 2) we would have only had enough money to go on a 3 night cruise. so we're planning on taking a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise! hello, Roatan/Belize City/Costa Maya/Key West. hello.
-i love Jesus. i love being in a place where i know that i can..should..and need to rely on His grace. it never leaves me wanting. there have been so many times in life, a lot of them in the past year, where there's nothing to do but relinquish everything and admit that our feeble attempts are just that.. feeble. but He's not feeble. the strength and goodness of our Lord is constant. ah, love Him.
-i get to see my best friends in a week and a half! so, so ready. can't wait to see you, swhite and cait!
-every monday my favorite bunch of village-ers get together and have a cookout and strawberry daiquiri party, which ends in a book club (haha)/bonfire. i have come to cherish Monday in a huge way. knowing that we get to rest with some amazing friends and have that fun time carved out is such a blessing!
-i love seeing people's earnest, purely unadulterated hearts. it is such a loving and trusting thing when someone lets you see that part of them-- either pure pain or happiness. we need each other, and it's so detrimental to keep our wounds covered. i'm thankful for those kinds of friends.

and, for those of you who are having that kind of day where you feel completely defeated/tired/worn out, let's pull off of this little girl's intense positivity! love it.




grace and peace,
the wife.

a little rant, here it goes..

i'm a little annoyed. i talked about this with a good friend yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since. and since this is our personal blog, i'm going to go ahead and put this out there.

i get really hurt and offended (for other people at this point, but for myself when i was engaged) when people belittle the blessing of marriage, having a baby....etc. by being just plain bitter or lumping it together as some weird social phenomenon. okay, yes, it might be weird that a lot of people around you are getting married/having babies, but the facts are, if you believe this, God does marriage. God creates life. He chooses when and who and in what timing. chances are, the people you're talking about have sought the Lord into the ground about the decision to get married, and He has led them to that point. to be bitter about people getting rings put on their finger/walking down the aisle/finding out they're having a baby is actually belittling God's work, so please don't do it.

it also makes people have a sense of guilt that they should not have over something that God, in His grace, has given them. if someone is going through such a landmark time in their life as these things, REJOICE in it with them! there isn't a reason that they should have to stifle their joy. i'm not talking about gloating or boasting, which is also wrong, but celebration over God's blessing should be shared with our brothers and sisters. having to walk on eggshells when planning a wedding or be constantly weary of pregnant-woman conversation is not suiting to these situations.

(i am not, however, talking about people in our lives who are suffering some related pain and loss in their lives or who have in the past. of course there are huge exceptions to this rant, and we should be loving and considerate of those who have suffered pain. this post does not include them.)

grace and peace,
the wife.

LOST, just like everyone else

Colin here.
I dont know why I didn't believe Rachel. She called it when she condemned my hope that somehow the entirely-drawn-out-too-long show LOST would redeem itself at the end of its' final, blunderous season. I refused. I would not believe that the show that had me preaching the good news of LOST would let me down in the end. But alas, I confess...Rachel, my love, you were right. I will spare everyone the pain of reliving this past season through a critique. Rather, I will leave off with this video, which says just about everything.




Till next time

the sleeptalking chronicles.

okay. this is an ode to my most favorite husband, and the most talkative sleeper i've ever known. either his brain is just super active, or he just loves to talk, even in his sleep (everyone who knows Colin will probably take the latter:)).

since Colin usually has to get up so early in the morning, around 5 am, he goes to sleep while i read my book or do stuff on the computer/watch movies. most of the time he starts talking before i go to bed myself, and i've taken to typing them out on a word document to tell him about the next morning and to chuckle at myself.

ps. in some of them i'll put what i said back to him. sometimes i like to try and talk back to see what he'll say or keep the conversation flowing. some may call it manipulation, but i call it fun. :)


(Colin sits up and looks around)
Me: What are you doing?
Colin: um.. i just came to make adjustments.
Me: really?
Colin: yeah. size-wise. to the....um, i don't know. i can't think. i'm really tired.

Colin: Dominos...Intercourse.
Me: What's that about intercourse?
Colin: Well, how else are they going to get there?
Me: by intercourse?
Colin: yeah, some of them.

Colin: it's okay rachy. the real world has stuff that's tough to deal with in it.

Me: what are you doing?
Colin: nothing.
Me: nothing?
Colin: (smeagol voice) nothing!

(lays his head on my chest and starts mumbling)
Me: what's that?
Colin: oh, don't mind me, just talking.

(singing loudly, pausing between each word)
Colin: LUBLLLYYYYY, FLEEEEEALLLYYYY, FLILLLLLY............ okay, what are the words again?

(humming)
Colin: those freaking exits are terrible
Me: exits to where?
Colin: anywhere
(he looks at me and we both start laughing)

(grimacing)
Colin: um, kinda nasty. (groans) oh, happy dog.

(with his hands up in the air, thumbs up sign)
Colin: YES. that is a GREAT idea!

Colin: it was kinda...you know, the guys were in the middle. they were the gestapo, you know, directing flow.



i like Colin so much. he keeps me laughing, even in his sleep.

grace and peace,
the wife.

"maybe i came on too strong...?"

okay. as if you're not sick of me and ready to hear Colin's voice on here.. well, Otis Spunkmeyer owns him this week, so it's just me. sorry. :)

so i give you... Mr. Wind. one of my favorite commercials, couldn't resist sharing. hope it makes your day like it made mine!