The Watson Adventures

We've moved!!

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:37:00 +0000

We have permanently moved our blog, come join us in our journey to Africa & beyond at:

www.joelandmelissawatson.com

See you there!

It's not over! Rediscovering Christmas pt. III

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Hello wonderful friends...

Did you know that Christmas ISN'T OVER? Well, I didn't. Not until early this year when I learned lots about the liturgical calendar & seasons of the church.

Remember the song "The 12 Days of Christmas"?

It's real.

There are 12 days.

And they start on Christmas day.

Not end.

"What??!?" you say?

It is true.

Part of rediscovering Christmas for Joel & I has been realizing that there is a whole Christmas season in the church, starting on December 25th and ending on January 6th.

January 6th is Epiphany - a holiday I had never even heard of before.

It is the day that we celebrate the three kings showing up to worship Jesus. They were the first Gentiles to worship Him, thus revealing Him as Savior for all of mankind.

Gentile.

That's me.

So happy 9th day of Christmas.

One more quick thing...

That slightly annoying song about the 12 days? It potentially has roots in the 16th century & is a mnemonic for 12 of the important tenets of the Christian faith.

Joel & I plan to teach our children each of those tenets.

And thus, our Christmas season will end on January 6th.

Joy to the world, the Lord has COME.

Merry Christmas, dear friends!

Rediscovering Christmas pt. II

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Joel and I have talked quite a bit this holiday season about our traditions and our family. We both want the Christmas season to be filled with lots of wonderful memories for our future kids. One of the most beautiful things I have discovered as I have grown in my faith is that there is a wonderful season called Advent. Now for many of you this is a well-known part of the Church and Christmas, but it has only been a few years since I have even known what this is!

Joel and I have decided to make the Advent season an integral part of the way that we will celebrate.

Combining the wonderful memory of the nativity scene that I grew up with & this beautiful waiting, here is what it will look like in our house in years to come:

These are beautiful Fontanini nativity figures, which I picked specifically because....

There are enough to fill a 25 day Advent calendar (these cute stockings found at Hop Skip Jump). Now usually Advent calendars are filled with candy, a Scripture, etc. Ours will be filled with small 5" figurines.

Each day leading up to the wonderful day of Christmas we will pull out a new person/animal to slowly create our beautiful nativity scene. It will grow every day until....

Jesus comes.

Rediscover Christmas is rediscovering Christ!

Happy Advent friends, lets rejoice in the coming of our dearest friend, the lover of our hearts, the Savior of the world.

Rediscovering Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Growing up, Christmas was always such a special time of year. My mom is an incredible decorator, and I remember her spending hours, days, preparing the house. One of my favorite memories was our nativity scene, which would often take up the whole fireplace (Kenya is hot during Christmas) with a lovely story of Christ's birth. Christmas Eve our wonderful community of friends would come for the yearly hors d' oeuvres party, followed by my dad reading the Christmas story from Luke by candlelight & getting to open one small present. Then off to bed, trying to sleep until Christmas morning. We would sit on the stairs just waiting to hear the call that all was ready....glorious memories.

And now my husband and I are slowly making our own traditions. And, like most things we do, we are carefully asking ourselves why we do what we do & whether or not that is how we want to do them. We don't have any kids yet, but we both want our children to love this time of year and have special memories.

So we are dreaming of some great Christmas traditions to pass down. More to come on those in the days ahead, but what about you? What special Christmas traditions did you have? Are there any you are creating?

The Manhattan Declaration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:17:00 +0000

I read something today that stirred my heart. If you have not heard about it, I would like to introduce you to my new friend, the Manhattan declaration.

Why I am so taken by this document:

It looks like Christians daring to take an uncompromising stand on Biblical truth. The Church is called to make a difference in the world, even as we are in it. I think that living in agreement with this document looks like Christ and looks like love. It is not a push-over, teddy-bear edict with no substance. This is real. It covers three central themes, the value of human life, marriage, and religious liberty.
It is coherent. It is well-written and thorough. I applaud those who invested in the drafting of this document.
It is unifying and not divisive. This document represents Christ-loving leaders from the evangelical, Catholic and orthodox churches cooperating to take a decidedly Biblical and Christ-reminiscent stand against the humanistic policies of the American political scene. It is a beautiful product of true Christian synergy and "inter-faith" cooperation without compromise or dilution of the vitality of Christ and his message.
It is courageous. This document proclaims boldly, "We will render to Caesar what is Caesar's, but we will not render to Caesar what is God's." That simple, bold statement sounds through the valleys of my heart like a summons to stand firm.
It is a commitment. If you sign this document, there is no 'unsigning' it. You are publicly committing and declaring your stance. We must pro

There is a time to walk softly and a time to ruffle feathers. My heart is encouraged to see this beautiful sign of life in the Church as she stirs herself to an uncompromising and public stand for what she believes. So many battle metaphors are rattling through my head, but this is less a revolutionary call to fight and more a call to stand unflinchingly.

Melissa and I have both signed it. I hope you take fifteen minutes to read this and ponder it in your heart. This document reminds us that we are called to live our lives for something far greater than ourselves. Link to download the full document here.

Prayer & Faith

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Physician's Prayer by Nathan Greene

My husband & I (and several others who we have engaged in dialogue) have recently been discussing prayer & faith. I think especially since we are going into medical missions & therefore will continually deal with disease, we are both trying to figure out where & what faith looks like in prayer.

My thoughts about this right now are rather scattered & I would love to hear what you guys all think -

What is the role of faith in prayer? Do we pray "Lord, if it be your will, heal this person"? Or rather "Lord, let this person be healed in the name of Jesus"?

What if they are not? Lack of faith? A misunderstanding of God's will?

Please share in our conversation. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Lost & Found....

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Unbelievable.

This showed up today...

Yep, my wallet.

After all of that dumpster diving & the what-not, it was found a week later at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. And they sent it UPS to my house (obviously it was in a box & not just in the mailbox).

But it was all there.

Cash.

Cards.

Receipts.

And, most importantly, my frequent drinker card for the cafe at my church....*whew* (I have to admit I was mourning that loss because I had a free drink coming to me!! O the pain, the sorrow, the grief).

I am a Cracker Barrel fan for life. And a fan of whoever found it. Whoever you are, thank you, thank you, thank you.

In other news, check out what I did:

Cut those letters out free hand & I am pretty proud of my crafty-ness.

Also, I've been doing quite a bit of road-tripping lately, chasing my love all over the country as he goes & visits potential residencies and the etc.

On the way home from one of these I snapped a few pics of the sunset. Thought I would share:

Forgive the fuzziness. We won't discuss the speed I was going, or that I was driving as I took these, or that I might have also been trying to talk on my cell phone.

I leave you with this Old Irish Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Just a little high

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:52:00 +0000

Well friends...it's been a little while since I blogged. Sorry about that....it's been a rough week.

First, I threw my wallet away. Not on purpose, of course.
So, I went dumpster diving. Behind McDonalds. In a cute shirt & jeans.

But no luck...

This guy isn't me, but it could have been...what an adventure.

Then, I got a kidney stone. Third one in a year. Wowzers. Actually, "got" is the incorrect tense. I have one currently as I am writing. And I am a little high on some pretty strong pain meds, along with some anti-nausea & antibiotics.

Unless....

In Our Younger Years

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:44:00 +0000

Because I think you need to meet the Joel & I that we first met.....introducing us in 3rd grade.

Here is my adorable husband as an 8-year old.

And here I am! This is actually right before I got glasses

that rivaled Joel's in coolness-quotient.

Hmmm....I wonder what our kids are going to look like. Probably a bunch of dark-hair, dark-eyed cuties. Probably.

And here we are a few years ago -- I love this picture of us.

They laugh at the days to come.

(just a slight modification of the verse, right?)

Most of you know the story that Joel & I met in 3rd grade in Kenya while his parents were studying Kiswahili there during that year....and then we met again in a bookstore 16 years later...

For three years after we met we didn't interact, weren't friends. We graduated from college & reconnected through the missions program at our alma mater. 9 months after we started dating we were standing at an altar.

What a glorious story.

A story only One author could write.

And He is still writing it....

I am not big enough

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who has interacted with me on the questions I had during my last post...I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts. All of you have been encouraging and challenging my heart.

I think that this is the conclusion I have come to as I have thought & prayed about these and other questions:

"I am not big enough"

I am not strong enough, brave enough....

I think that God has so kindly but surely exposed a thought in my heart that was deep & unknown. I have thought I could hack the missions field because I am a MK (missionary kid). A few months ago I was reading a story about some missionaries serving in Chad.

Chad.

Like the really desolate place in Africa.

That has deserts.

And the female missionaries have to wear skirts and head coverings.

I remember thinking "there is no way I could hack that".

And the truth is that I can't. I need Jesus. I need the Loving & Good Shepherd of my heart to lead me there & take care of me.

It's a simple thought, but one that is shaking me to the core.

I must decrease, but He must increase.

The Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Engagement picture nearly 5 years ago...

Each day that passes Joel & I step closer to the mission field our hearts long so much for. In a little over 100 days we will leave on a plane to spend three wonderful months serving in Kenya. We can't wait! So much to be done between now and February 1st:

- Joel will rotate at several locations that we are considering for residency

- We will pack up our house & move it all into storage

- We still have just a "few" ;) dollars to raise towards our trip

I am writing this sitting in a cafe in Wichita, Kansas - visiting Joel during one of those aforementioned rotations. He is working in a pediatric clinic today - I am exploring this fun little city....

Of course, the exploration hasn't been too overwhelming.

Found a coffee shop I like.

Yep, that's about the sum total of the exploring today :)

There are so many thoughts in my heart/head about Joel's & my future (grammar? why don't I just say "our" future? So much easier, so much more boring. Plus, while our futures are intertwined they will still be experienced differently). I wish I could take time and really write them out, but I think I am still unsure about this blogging thing.

Truth be told, I blog because I hope that there will be people out there who care to know about our journey towards the field. Who will be interested in what it means to hear His voice & really follow it.

But then I wonder if there really are those people, and I don't really need to blog for my own sake - that's what I journal for.

Or maybe I do.

Well, here are a few of those head thoughts/ potential future blogging material:

- I wonder if I will be ready for the missions field. I have spent so long in the comfort of the U.S., will I really be okay with picking out sticks and worms from my beans before I cook them? Do I have what it takes to live a fairly consistently uncomfortable life?

- What is the role of suffering in our Kingdom walk? How does the reality of God's grace, love & shepherding intertwine with "in this world you will have trouble"?

- How can I be intentional in the years remaining (3-4ish) until we finally have that one way ticket?

- Am I being called in by the siren song of American culture in a way that supersedes the Shepherd's voice in my heart?

And so I ponder. But I would love to hear your thoughts on any of these musings too.

Come, let us reason together.

Pain De Provence

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:40:00 +0000

It is pretty busy season in the Watson household. Joel is spending the next two months doing lots of traveling to various potential residencies & elective rotations. Thankfully, I get to see him on the majority of weekends, and I have found some awesome new blogs (check out the blogroll to the right) to keep me company in the meantime!

Joel was able to come home this weekend, which he did to watch our dog so that I could attend the Believer's Church women's retreat.*Small time out: okay, when I was growing up we always had people who lived at our house. So, when we left for vacations, etc. we never had to "find someone to take care of the dogs" - there were always people there! So, having to actually PLAN for the dog is such a strange a foreign concept. I mean, come on - it's a dog! But it belongs to us, and so we plan. This concludes the time out*

Aforementioned dog.

Part of Joel coming home was a wonderful, extended "date" where we got to bake "pain de provence" - a traditional French bread FULL of herbs. 1/2 a cup, to be exact, of a mix of fennel, sage, basil, savory, marjoram and some other stuff probably. It was a frightening green, but turned out pretty delicious.

Check it out.

And so it begins. Please notice the clear glass which has the "poolish" (we learned all sorts of new words during this process, as you shall see). This is a mix of yeast, flour & water made at least 8 hours before-hand.

This will become bright green bread.

More mixing. Yes, that is a washer & dryer we are using as countertop.

Mixing in the "herb de provence". Please note the professional knife-gripping.

Joel's patented & awesome kneading technique. Works amazingly.

While the bread is rising, Joel takes a minute to switch out the heater filter. Yes, why it must be accessed this way doesn't make any sense to us either.

After the first rising we had to "degas" it. Hmmm, also a new word to us.

The dough rising again. Thanks for the pretty bowl Marcy Leute.

Waiting patiently. As you can see, it's dark now. Three risings = 7 hours later.

Baking. Please note the pan of water underneath by which we created steam & therefore a perfect crust. Yes, we are professional. Don't hate.

YAY! We did it!

Wow. That's green. *Don't hate on the Country Crock. To each his own & we didn't have any butter* :)

But, still good! :) Nearly midnight, and the bread is done - enjoying it with some butter.

It's such a wonderful time in our marriage, which could seem odd since Joel is gone so much, but God is really blessing this season. I am grateful.

The Wandering Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Joel & I recently returned from a wonderful 11 day vacation, and it was such a refreshing time - best vacation we have ever had together.Here's a little pictorial overview:

Day 1: Drive out to an awesome lake cabin & spend time with dear friends - the Clarks, the Miles's, and the Maus's.

Day 2: Spend the day at the lake & then drive down that night to the Peterson's in OK City. Goodbye lake house! Goodbye friends!

Day 3: Joel participates in a triathlon. *Wifely bragging moment to immediately follow* He placed third in his age category, and 69th overall (out of 328). It was a lot of fun to watch. And yes, that's all I did is watch. O, and take pictures. At the end of the race as he was sprinting across the finish line, the guy standing next to me said "that guy is fast." I proudly replied - "that's my husband!" And then he looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. I dunno, maybe it was my baggy pants and sweatshirt and pigtails and still-groggy morning eyes.

We spent the rest of that day driving 12 hours to Louisville, KY.

Day 4: After spending the night at some really precious friend's house that we had met last year at the Global Medical Health Conference, Joel and I got on the road again for another 10 hour drive to Virginia Beach. Seriously gorgeous drive, through the Shenandoah Valley.

Day 5: Spend the day with Joel's brother Micah at Regent's University, where he is pursuing some higher education. We also went to the beach :) Yay!

Day 6: A "just Joel & I" day. Mostly spent at the beach. We sat for a long time & looked at the ocean. There were porpoises playing in the waves, and some really cute ladies taking a painting class. O, and in the east, the woods go right up to the ocean practically. Very strange, but also beautiful in it's own way. Dinner with Micah to celebrate his 26th birthday.

Day 7: Spend the morning at the Jamestown Museum, which was uber-cool. All about the beginning of the American nation, some of it really sad, some of it really brave, but all of it just a slice of God's story. Drove 8 hours to Knoxville, TN.

Day 8: See our dear friends Blake & Beth Stice. Hang out at their recently-totally-flipped house, which looks awesome. Got some fun girl-time with Beth-we saw "Julie & Julia". So, so great.

Day 9: Morning spent at a coffee shop with my cousins - the Burns. A late breakfast at Cracker Barrel (o, how we love you!) with the Stices, and then back on the road to drive to Memphis, TN. Spend some time at my old school, University of Memphis. Check into a gorgeous hotel room (thanks Siebelings!) at the Hampton Inn & Suites. Really special way to end the vacation.

Day 10: Service isn't until 1145, so we sleep in and then watch cartoons on the HUGE flat screen TV. Join the Body at the Life Church of Memphis which is wonderful & full of memories for me. Lunch with some of our dear Memphis friends (including the Siebelings & Sciacchetano's). Back on the road for the 6 hour drive to Tulsa!

Stats. Because you need them:

Miles driven: 2653

Hours in the car: 41 hours, 36 minutes

Minutes driven out of the way to consume Raisin' Canes: 40

Number of license plates spotted (out of the contiguous 48): 43

Other license plates spotted: Alaska, Washington D.C, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia

Number of first permanent English colonies visited: 1

We had, as I hope you can tell, a wonderful trip. Hope you all get to do the same sometime soon!

If you would like to check out some more vacation pics, go here, where you can check them all out!

Our Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:35:00 +0000

I read this recently on another blog and thought I would share it. This perfectly encapsulates the prayer of our hearts as we dream about the missions field & our journey towards a life serving.

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

[Sir Francis Drake]

Retro-ambulation: the mysterious future

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:14:00 +0000

The future has been a mystery ever since God first hinted to me about this whole "medicine idea" of his. I was simply minding my own business wondering what on earth I was going to do with my life, when he opened a can of mystery on me. Now, to be fair, I had been praying for God to speak to me about what I should do with my life, but I had no idea what I was asking for. I wonder how often we really do know what we are asking for when we pray? I know for sure that medicine was the last thing I would have guessed He would direct me into! I expected God to respond with an answer, like, "Joel, seek ye training in plumbing." Simple, easy to understand, no ambiguity. Instead, God only offering me a "next step" and has continued to guide me uni-stepically. I know I am learning to trust him as my future unfolds daily.

Melissa and I can, at any given moment with no advance warning, rattle off an amazing list of questions we want God to answer. Here are a few samples (though if you have been interacting with God much, I suspect you believe me without needed any proof):

What nation will we spend our lives serving in?
What sending organization will we operate under overseas?
What aspect of medicine will we be involved in?
What additional training should we get now?
What residency program should I attend?
How will we support ourselves overseas?
How will we pay off our educational debt?
What should we do today for our future overseas?

And on it goes. For all the information I have about the future I am walking into, I might as well be facing backwards. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the stunning barrage of questions. For me personally, it is even easier to go numb and wallow in the tepid tide of complacency ("If I don't have answers then I might as well stop asking questions and seeking answers."). In so doing I run the risk of failing to seek, ask or knock (Luke 11:9) and thus forfeit the answers. My prayers have been for awakened hunger to seek God, that I find the Sought.

Days are passing 24 full hours at a time and we are learning to trust Him more and more. For this season at least, Melissa and I are walking backwards into God's future for us. We are excited to get there, and by His grace we will get there.

The Fence Saga: it is good

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Welcome to our new home for the next 8 months! This is the old and quirky home Melissa and I have taken up residence in. We prayed and thought about our upcoming trip to do medical missions in Kenya and felt that is was a good thing to save all we could. We weren't honestly very excited about leaving our previous and very comfortable apartment. We believe one of our purposes in America is to be good stewards of our finances. This older, cheaper home will definitely help save us money. The house was built in 1928 and we call it our "practice home" because we are practicing some simple home repairs and yard work. The tree in front was a little shaggy the day we took this photo, but we made it get a hair cut.

One of the additions that was very important to us, was building some sort of privacy fence along the north edge of our lot The house sits right on a major arterial street and it was very noisy (especially with all the jacked-down cars blasting music from their external speakers and the ambulances and police chasing said cars). Buying a new privacy fence was far

out of our budget for this, so we set off on a hunt to find cheap materials. When I say we, I mean my astounding wife applied her sleuthing skills to uncover what she could uncover. I am so proud to inform you that she found over 70ft wooden privacy fencing for free! Some guy was tearing down his old fence to build a new one. This was fantastic because it was built of 2x4's and, though weathered, the wood was still in great condition.

So we rented a gas-powered auger (which was glorious), borrowed some good friends, purchased cement and built our 70ft of wooden privacy fence. I am quite proud of the fence... it hasn't fallen yet and doesn't look like it will anytime soon. Huge thanks of course to everyone that came and helped, Joel Maus, Bobby Parks, Kris Crawford, Josh Weed, and Brayden Heath. There is no way I could have made a good fence that straight, sturdy and quickly without their input and vast brawny abilities.

The fence works good and the house is quieter, especially at night. As an added bonus, strangers no longer walk through our yard to access the bus stop on that major street. They actually have to walk around our yard. This is great because it is very disconcerting to wake up in the morning, be standing in your kitchen to get some orange juice and see and Mr. Unkempt amble through your yard. Mr. Unkempt meant and did no harm, but I am glad he walks around our house now rather than through it. If you want to see more pictures of the process, you can visit our facebook album of the event.

The fence saga was a refreshing evidence of community. Without the help of everyone along the way, we never could have accomplished this. Thank you to everyone for your help. Thank you, Lord, for inventing community. As we look on all He has done we are resoundingly convinced that it is good.

God’s provision: automotive edition

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:25:00 +0000

The evidence of God's provision has been so clear in our lives recently. That is Christian code for, "life has been rather stressful lately." As I remove my tongue from my cheek, I should introduce our actors today.

Cricket is what we call our 1990 Toyota Camry with 220,000 miles on it. Dolores is our 1999 Pontiac Grand Am with 160,000 miles. Her name means pain and she has frequently succeeded in living up it. Zungu (a take from "Mzungu" = "white man" in Swahili) is our 2005 Genuine Stella scooter. Melissa and I bought Zungu used last year and have had the most enjoyable time, puttering zoom-ily around Tulsa. We think Tulsa is the best town to own a scooter in because you can get everywhere easily on the city streets. Small streets are excellent on a scooter that tops out at 55mph – not very safe highway speeds in my book. Anyway, besides the four feet we own between us, this is our transportation lineup. As much as possible we try to use one car and the scooter to save on gas money, but we can't practically get rid of our second car. My medi cal school rotations take me so many different directions at such odd hours that we haven't figured out how to make a single vehicle plausible.

God's provision started with the front end of a Chrysler Pacifica (one of those weird station-wagons-on-steroids type SUVs). Three weeks ago the jock station wagon entered our automotive lives by picking a fight with Zungu at a stop light. The Chrysler won. I was riding alone and stopped at a light when I was rudely flipped backwards off my mount. Zungu went sliding off a couple yards on his right side, g rinding the 10mph worth of energy he had absorbed from the Chyrsler into the asphalt. I was entirely unhurt, landing flat on my back in the middle of the road. The Chrysler driver was horrified and apologetic, and had good insurance. After all the formalities and phone calls, I ended up pushing the non-functioning Zungu several miles home… which really wasn't so bad as it sounds. I rather enjoyed the nice weather. Also, Chyrsler-man was kind enjoy to hit me on a rare day in which I had no immediate obligations on my time – so I actually had time to push a scooter for a few miles. I recommend it for the soul actually. The end of the story is that we are now -1 scooter (hoping to repair it cheap, African fundi style) and +1 insurance $. We sat on the money, not sure what it should be used for, but God opened a door to apply it very quickly.

God's provision continued two weeks later when, after several months of struggles, our Dolores went to the great salvage yard in the sky (North Tulsa actually). Can I just take a moment to say that it makes me secretly happy that old man Cricket still drives fine? Dolores' non-bang, extra-whimper exit from our f leet left a critical hole that needed to be filled quickly. This is an excellent time to brag on my wife for a minute. She is so amazing and bore the brunt of the inconvenience the repair work on Dolores generated. She has explored and used almost every alternative transportation form available in Tulsa: carpool, carpool, Tulsa buses, driving early/late to drop off/pick me up, and carpool. We used a rental car once or twic e, but prayed for God to provide because that was expensive in a hurry. God provided. The physician I am rotating with loaned us his car for several days (which is unheard of). Several friends offered to loan us their cars for a brief time (which was unexpected). We were so well taken care of.

We began to seriously scour the interne t for a dependable used car and pray for God to open the right doors for us. Here are the websites we used and our post-purchase analysis of them (based loosely on a meat scale since meat is a universal language)

Consumer Reports – well done, unbiased reviews of used car reliability for the past ten years or so. A subscription is req uired, but the $5.96 for a month was worth it to get trustworthy information on car makes, models and years.
eBay Motors – medium rare, clean site but the purchase interface still makes me nervous (thousands of dollars on eBay? This MK's a little leery)
Craigslist – medium, difficult to wade through the chaotic listings, but the greatest potential for a good deal – chec k it daily!
Autotrader – medium well, has good price range and excellent search engine. Ultimately led to the discovery of the car we purchased.
Vehix – medium rare, more expensive

After spending hours and hours rese arching and searching and reresearching, we had it figured out. We were going to buy either a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. I know, neither of those choices is very fun, but our first priority was to get a vehicle that would last until we go overseas (4-5 years). We calculated that we drive approximately 20,000 miles per year so we needed a low mileage car that we could safely put 100,000 miles on. As far as personal taste, I wanted a manual (for the authentic third-world feel) and Melissa wante d one of those auxiliary audio ports that plugs iPods straight into the sound system (we have used the fuzzy-sounding radio tuners for years). God had a few tricks up his sleeve. After several unexpected twists just in time (neither early nor late, as God is wont to do), we drove 1.5hr to purchase a 2007 Hyundai Elantra with 44,000 miles for $2,500 off the asking price! It was exactly what we could afford, and a much younger piece of car than we ever expected. Thank you, Lord! The car is a manual and it has an aux audio input… naturally. That is so typical of God. We are very happy with the car and so excited at how God has taken care of us.

Our current fleet:

If you would like to help us name the newest fleetling, please do! We will be scouring the comments for awesome names to consider. Naturally we will let you know what we ultimately decide. If you need some inspiration, here is a link to some photos on facebook.

Recent Pictures of our Life - Enjoy!

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Hope you guys enjoy a little glimpse into our life recently:

Here is our wonderful small group at Believers Church -- it has been such a privilege to journey with them this past year and we are looking forward to another year together!

Just a little peek at our humble Christmas tree :)

We got to spend some time with the Watson family. Micah and Joel get some quality time with Wii Boxing.

Joel also got Micah a Red Ryder BBgun...

Here they are with Lego the attack dog.

We got to spend New Year's Eve with lots of really precious friends. $3.00 burger night & going to see over a million lights at Rhema Church -- all in a 15 passenger van. Great fun!

Winter wonderland = two days off for Melissa, Joel still goes to work :( Lego is not the biggest fan of the snow.

Love from us here in Tulsa!

If I ever preach at ORU...

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Or any large Christian college, or anywhere there are lots of young people, I have been thinking about a sermon I would love to give. Probably because I need to hear it. Also because I work with awesome college students all day, some of whom seem to have not a clue.

I actually have two sermons. The first one is called something more catchy than this, but in essence: "Scriptures people always misquote or don't finish and it bugs the heck out of me because it's just bad theology"...but my OTHER message, the one I am talking about here - is about obedience.

I think (disclaimer: I am not a theologian) that Jesus had something about obedience. I think God the Father and the Holy Spirit agree with Him. When I say I think, I mean I know. It seems to be the greatest lacking characteristic trait in many believers lives (although, technically speaking, if we love Him - we follow His commands...so if we don't follow His commands, does it then follow that we don't love Him...??). Especially in this gray and murky postmodern culture we call America.

I love my mother. She is full of wisdom and talks to you straight. I was once expounding to her several years ago on my great revelations about Truth (and they were very real and beautiful)...she, being the wonderful person she is, proceeded to tell me after I had exhausted all of my theological wanderings - "Melissa, that's great and all, but knowing truth doesn't amount to a hill of beans if you don't obey"...
Okay, not word for word, but that was the gist.
And it's stuck with me.

Obedience. This would be the center of my message - if we love Him, then we must obey. We don't get to obey when we feel like it, or if we "agree" with the command.
My husband also graciously pointed out that all of this must be cloaked in grace...which is another post all together (see the one right before this)...

The greatest example of obedience:

On Humility and Trust - the path to Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:24:00 +0000

I have been recently exchanging mental blows with a number of very deep and challenged ideas. Two books have functioned as the right and left hooks of the Holy Spirit: "True Faced" by Bill Thrall et al (always wanted to say that) and "Humility" by Andrew Murray. My ego is deeply wounded, but my heart is healing nicely (and all this is good, come to find out).

Tracer thoughts:

- "It is not sin that humbles us most, but grace."
- "His humility is our salvation. His salvation is our humility"
- "Humility is the only soil in which grace takes root; the lack of humility is sufficient explanation of every defect and failure."
- "Nothing is more natural and blessed than to be nothing"

To start, here is a fantastically trembling concept from Andrew Murray. He describes two motives which urge us to humility: one is as a sinner and the other as a believer. I was intimately familiar with the first - it appeals to the fallen state, calls for reprentance and admitting we are broken. It is painful - but the pulpit instructs us this is right and good. For this reason I have walked through that process of admitting sin many times. This has lead me to adopt the erroneous ideas that "perhaps we must keep sinning to remain humble" and that "the strength of self-condemnation is the strength of humility." This is so wrong because of the second motive - which leads to grace. It is sadly almost entirely ignored by the pulpit. The distinction is clearly stated thus: "...if humility is to be our joy - we must see that is viewed not just as the mark of shame because of sin. It must also be understood apart from all sin as a covering with the very beauty and blessedness of heaven and Jesus." Humility is not shame! What a delight!

True Faced describes the Christian life in terms of two "rooms." Every Christian is faced with the choice either to please God (room #1) or trust God (room #2). At face value both options seemed good to me, as the Bible makes it clear we are to do both. I was shaken to realize that the first is an effort-based approach to God and was the room I was living in as a Christian!

The whole matter is further complicated because of the lack of importance our pulpits lend to humility as a lifestyle. I cannot recall hearing a sermon ever, which culminated in a call to living a life of steady humility (beyond repentance). Humility is a good thing, they say - but never have I heard a clarion call to take upon myself a lifestyle of humility. This is all the more terrifying as the implications and necessity of such a life for walking with God thunder into realization in my heart. Murray explains, "Humility is the only soil in which grace takes root; the lack of humility is sufficient explanation of every defect and failure." As I think back to the fall of Lucifer and the fall of man I am sobered at the prominent role of pride. I think I must second St. Augustine's assessment that pride is the root of all sin.

The door to the second room (in the tasteful "room" metaphor I borrow from Bill Thrall) is opened with the doorknob marked "humility." (only the humble can trust) It is a frightening room in which all masks are markedly absent for they are not needed! Rather than striving through personal effort (sin-management theology) to be all God wants me to be, in this room I am bidden (and wonderfully freed) to humbly trust God and live out of who He says I am (though it is not yet fully realized). I have always viewed my sin as a piranha-filled moat which "separated me from my God." He stood on the far side and genuinely loved me, but before I could get close to Him I had to clean up my sin. By contrast, the room of grace features my sin as a huge pile of crap in front of me with God standing by my side looking at it and working on it with me. I have always been afraid that if I believed in sin without shame I would give myself license to sin. I feared I would adopt the lifestyle of sinning more that grace may abound. This has been so far from the reality thus far. My heart has collapsed in such grateful relief that I am loved in my sin. I have been required to trust Him in a deeper way than ever before. He is with me. I can admit my sin. He knows my sin. I trust Him. I begin to glimpse for the first time ever that I am redeemed as a believer and yet still being redeemed. The humility and trust we are called to make this impossibility possible.

I hope to realize this statement one day and live it out: "Man's chief care, his highest virtue, and his only happiness, now and throughout eternity, is to present himself as an empty vessel in which God can dwell and manifest his power and goodness." On that day, I will truly rest.

If you want to think, read either of these books. If you want to be challenged, read them together.

Living in the Tension

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Our pastor this morning in church spoke about the tension of wanting God more and being thankful for what He has done in our lives until this moment.

Two statements caught my attention:
"Joy is the capacity to simply realize that God is here, present in the situation"
"Thankfulness and gratitude are what keep our hearts tethered to the Kingdom"

Wow. This sermon tied so closely to another topic, one that my husband and I have been talking about quite a bit lately (hopefully he will have time soon to get on this thing and post about it...his thoughts often run deep and true). It is the topic of grace v. good intentions. In fact, we stayed up WAY past our bedtime last night (11pm!!!) pondering this very thing. And then in church this morning to hear that we have to learn to "live in the tension"...it all tied together so beautifully.

I hope you enjoy pondering the statements as much as I am.

Bing Crosby and good thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:19:00 +0000

So last night my husband and I had the chance to watch a classic - "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Really, what would Christmas be without it?

As I sit here in the 70 degree weather that Tulsa has graced us with this morning (it's wonderful - I feel like I am back home again), I have been singing Bing Crosby's song all morning --- no, not the famous one that titles the movie -- the more obscure "Count Your Blessings"...

It goes something like this:

when you're worried
and you can't sleep
just count your blessings
instead of sheep
and you'll fall asleep...counting your blessings...

Isn't that a delightful thought? And so, I thought I would take a moment to do just that:

1. My heritage: Joel and I spent some time yesterday Skyping my family and I got to laugh with them and talk to them...really, how blessed am I? I understand God's love, grace, joy and forgiveness because of the awesome parents and siblings God has given me.

2. My husband: Marriage is like following Jesus - it's the best decision you can ever make...and your flesh will die daily because of it :) I would never call marriage "easy" but it is SO good and right. I married a wonderful man. He loves the Lord and me.

3. Financial Blessing: Even though where I work isn't famous for it's incredibly large salary, and we are paying for Joel to go to medical school - we are incredibly blessed. Two cars that don't have payments, a cosy apartment, a puppy, food for the table, clothes for our back, an emergency fund for those unexpected moments, money for date night, money to give---it's such a joy to know that we are MORE than provided for. Thanks to some awesome financial teaching and good choices we are safe and secure in His provision.

4. Our health: Joel works all day with people that are very sick. We are grateful in new ways continually with how well our bodies work!

5. Time to rest: Rest is one of those core values that Joel and I both deeply believe in. Joel is in the middle of the four toughest months he will have during rotations and yet somehow he has been blessed with 4 whole days off! That is nothing short of a miracle. In addition, he just found out that his next rotation doesn't start until January 5th...which means another 4 days off next week! Sipping green tea, a warm fire, freshly laundered blankets, time to take walks, a candle-light service. We really are blessed with time to truly rest.

There are a MILLION other things I could take time to write about - what about you? Where has God shown Himself faithful this year?

Here are a few recent pictures for you! Enjoy...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Joel and I at a recent "ugly sweater" party

My mom and I at my Aunt Leah's "Thanks-mas" day...so great to see her!

A few recent pictures of Kueta T - my grandparents camp. This is the swing where my husband proposed - three years ago yesterday!

Well...that's all from here for now...

The Short List

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:18:00 +0000

Because all of our avid readers need updates :)

Our puppy -- really cute....when he's not chewing on EVERYTHING. But we sure do like him, he's a little gift from the Lord.

Melissa turned 27. Wow. This is at her lunch with people from work...showing off her "Benny Hinn" staff sticker. Nice.

Joel planned a tubing trip down the river with great friends for Melissa's birthday

There was a large rock that needed to be conquered

...and conquered it was.

Our dear friend Billy came to visit. Here he is by his picture on our map of prayer.

We got to go to the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. It was incredible. Such a time of refreshing & dreaming.

Because God is who He is, we got to meet up with some of our very best friends there. David & Krichele Jeffcoach are such an encouragement and joy to us both. Like hearts, like humor. And also daring to try and be on the good-looking long-term missionary list :)

The four of us ate at this adorable (Mel's description) and delicious restaurant that seats about 15. Then the guy with the accordion walked in...are you kidding me? It was awesome.

It's fall here. And gorgeous. A season of change for us both as we look to the future with hope. More to come soon, but thought you might enjoy this little picture journey!

-- Joel and Melissa

Check it out

noreply@blogger.com (the Watsons) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Very Thought Provoking

http://vimeo.com/1304280

The Excitement of Rotations

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:46:00 +0000

It has been such a blast to begin rotations and get my first taste of "real" medicine. I learned a lot in my first two years, but almost all that knowledge was passed to me by a book. Books are essentially people writing about their ____ (experience, knowledge, dreams, etc) so that people can share the ____ without actually having their own ____. Thus, I am very excited to set the books aside (to a large degree) and brave the world of helping real people.

It really is a test of bravery because the next two years mark the transition from brain to hands - quite a leap. It is not unlike the instant when a baby bird is no longer watching others fly, but is pushed from the nest. I claim the following adjectives... unnerving, intimidating, fun, practical, changing, and novel. I am so glad to be where I am. I am glad that God has carried Melissa and I through the first two years of medical school. I am glad to have such a beautiful, supportive wife as I negotiate my education. I do not believe passing my first two years would have been possible without her continual help.

Here is a list of my rotations thus far and a few highlights from each:

July 2008 - Dr. David Asher - OMT specialist at his clinic in Tulsa

Dr. Asher is a Christian physician who takes care of chronic pain patients. He has designed his practice specifically to cater to his strengths in loving people. He takes over an hour with each patient, using that time to fully explain the confusing medical stuff and to perform thorough OMT on them. He showed me a great example of applying ones strengths in order to love people well.

Aug 2008 - Dr. Steve Nussbaum and Dr. Barbara Rygiel - two ER docs at their ERgentcare clinic in South Tulsa

Both docs are also physician Christians! I am so blessed to have had two rotations under Christian preceptors. What a great way to start my clinical education. Melissa and I very aware of the need for more than cold, clinical information. I need watch Christ's love flow through the hands of His servants, so that I can model it.
On this rotation I performed my first stitches!! Very cool! I actually saw several of my patients come back to have their stitches removed, and they healed up very nicely.
I did two volunteer days at an ER with Dr. Nussbaum. Great chance to get early exposure to emergency medicine, since I am earnestly praying about it as a specialty.

Sept 2008 - Dr.Pickard - my required Family Medicine rotation at a clinic and hospital

I took a mini-class on medical jurisprudence. Sounded quite intimidating, but what it amounts to is "how to not get your tail sued off." Said more nicely, "here is the law, follow ye in it." It was actually quite fascinating... now I know what tort means. Yay.
Which brings us to today. I helped definitively save the life of my first person!!! WOAH! I helped on an emergency code and did chest compressions (CPR). I was crazy nervous! (even though all I did was push up and down... not very complicated) The amazing part is that the person who "coded" was successfully rescucitated. Apparently this is actually not very common.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to learn. Melissa and I are earnestly praying for direction in the looming life decisions ahead of us. What specialty to choose? What organization shall we partner with? Who will go with us? What nation will we serve in? These questions and many more we are laying before God: He alone knows our path.

If you would like to keep us in prayer, here are a few areas in which we could truly use your prayer:

Global Health Medical Conference. This is a huge gathering of people with hearts and passions similar to us. Sending organizations, individual missionaries, medical students, fantastic teachers, practical knowledge workshops... the list goes on. We are praying for favor with my November preceptor to get time off for this.
The next step. We desire to start preparing now for the future God has planned for us. My medical education and Melissa's M.Ed. are like one-size fits-all T-shirts. We want to start focusing our activities and energies to tailor our the "shirt" to our specific calling. While we would love to know many details about the future, we most earnestly desire the next step.