Thursday, July 24, 2008

Don't Mess

That's right, keep your distance, ladies and gentlemen, we mean business!

This shot was taken the other night at Disneyland's California Adventure, which now features the coolest ride ever. Actually, it's not really a ride, more like an attraction, and boy were we attracted (and attractive, if you don't mind me saying).

Back to the attraction itself, "Toy Story Mania"--it's like a 3-D carnival in there, complete with plates to throw virtual baseballs at and aliens to throw virtual rings around.

We played it twice with our friends, the Blakeys, who--incidentally--were there to snap the shot of us in our 3-D spectacles. We won the first game by a hefty margin, but then they snuck in under our radar and picked up the victory in game No. 2, a stunning upset.

So, we have unfinished business with the Blakeys, which I'm sure we'll take care of soon. But for now, we're going to play some tennis, which could end up ugly like our last tennis date in the Summer of '07. But then again, you never know...

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we're finally home and getting settled into our humble abode here in Corona. Our travels have taken us to Banff National Park (Canada), Clear Lake, Greenwood, and Big Bear, but we're finally home.

God has been so good to our little family in the past month (i.e. the only month we have been a family), we hardly know what to do with ourselves. In the midst of all the blessings we're constantly surrounded by, we're striving to view God Himself as our reward and treasure, and it's so incredible to exalt our King together as the Hobbs family!

As I said in our last post, I found out about a Sports Information Director position at Concordia University the day before the wedding, and after a couple of interviews and plenty of prayer, we accepted the position earlier this week. It's going to be an interesting adjustment for me after taking a year off to pursue seminary education, but I stoked about the job in every respect and I'm looking forward to working hard for the glory of God wherever He places me.

It's been cool to look back and see the Lord working in my life over the past year, working at the Macaroni Grill and going to school full time. Somehow, I feel more like my most important education came at the Macaroni Grill, fighting to live a life worthy of the Gospel and learning what it is to battle against pride and selfishness on an everyday basis.

With the Mac. Grill training under my belt, then, I feel armed and ready for battle at my new job at Concordia. There's plenty of minutia to get lost in and discouraged by, because sometimes you feel that nobody notices your work and effort, but what God has been in the process of teaching me is that friendship with Him and fellowship in the type of humility that caused Jesus to regard equality with God a thing "not to be grasped" is far more important and satisfying to the soul than a sturdy pat on the back could ever be.

That "well done" is best to be communicated by Jesus in the Kingdom He has purchased with His own blood--I can more than stand a little non-recognition here on earth.

Plus, things are so much different now that I have a wife. Janelle came out with me on my first two days of work this week, and let me say that literally having her at my side is such a motivator and adds a satisfying element to life. I wonder how much more Adam knew the same phenomena when God presented him with bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh?!

On that note, how much more complete is Christ along with His Bride, the Church? His union with the Church is something so astounding that we'd never begin to understand it without all the models and pictures He has placed all around us.

I just pray that God would mold Janelle and I into one of those models of His redeeming love for the Church, His Bride who was purchased with His blood.