Ice Cream, Fairs, and Festivals Oh My!!

At this season in our lives, God has placed Luke 12:48 heavily on my heart.  "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."  We are both being given so much training while we are here at Southern Theological Seminary.  I truly feel like a sponge doing my best to be saturated with the good Godly teaching we are being influenced with on a daily basis.  Then, it dawned on me the other day, we are going to be very responsible to the congregation that God leads us to after graduation.  We have been given much, and then it will be our turn to give back.  That's definitely a scary thought, but I have all confidence that God will never give us more than we can handle, and that He is always there to strengthen us to the task He has laid before us.  Which brings another excellent passage to mind from Joshua 1:9b "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  What an excellent promise to hold on to wherever God has brought us to in our lives.  He will be with us wherever we go.  Once again I stand in absolute awe of what an awesome and mighty God we serve!!  We are definitely enjoying this season of intense training in our lives right now.  Which is good, because we have 3 years and 11 months more of it, not that anyone's counting down or anything. :)  Besides a busy schedule of studies, Matt and I find time to enjoy the Southern life here in Kentucky.  So, without further ado, here are the pics of what we've been up to since the end of July.  Enjoy!!

Ok, I had to start with this pic, because we have eaten more than our fair share of ice-cream this Summer. :) 

We experienced our first tow.  It was fun!!  It didn't cost us anything thanks to good Costco Insurance, and it ended up being the alternator which Matt was able to replace himself.  In the pouring Summer rain, it was a pretty interesting experience, but one that God blessed throughout.

Louisville is definitely known as a foodie Mecca.  So, we've been trying a lot of the local restaurants.  I loved the grilled cheese at Tom and Chee, but Matt didn't like it so much, probably due to the fact that he's really not a cheese lover. :)  I'm so blessed with a husband who took me to Tom & Chee anyways because he knows that I LOVE cheese.

See, we really don't just go to festivals and eat all the time, Matt does a lot of studying too.  

I just had to mention this.  I don't think I'll ever stop saying "you guys."  

That's what a tobacco plant looks like.  It kind of looks like seaweed to this CA girl.  There was a whole exhibit of all the varieties of tobacco at this year's KY state fair.

Ahh...now doesn't this State Fair exhibit look so healthy?  Do not be deceived though, this is not how all Southerner's truly eat....see the next picture and you will know what I mean.  :) 

Yep, you're seeing this right, Krispy Kreme Donuts on the grill!!

And here's what they're turning  those Krispy Kreme Donuts into.  Jelly filled sloppy joes, and donut burgers.  

I know...You're asking yourself, "who would eat such fattening weird food?"  Well, this picture says it all.   Hungry seminary students will! :)  Yep, Matt loved them, me no thank you.  :) 

Ok, this is the last fair picture, but isn't it just so creative?!!

For my birthday this year, I got the most amazing dutch oven ever!! Thanks to my wonderful husband and mother -in-law.  I've already cooked pork roast, and creamy chicken noodle soup in it and they both turned out amazing.  

One thing about being way out here in KY is that I don't get to go shopping with my mom for my birthday. :(  But, she sent me a JCPenny's gift card and I was able to buy a whole new outfit.  I was so excited because I have lost 25 lbs since we've come to KY and my clothes were making me look like an orphan.  It's so nice to have an outfit that actually fits now, plus I had fun picking it out.  

This lovely little Southern vegetable is called Kushaw and it's actually from the pumpkin family.  One of the men from the church in Turner's Station was always sharing produce from his garden with us, and one Sunday this is what we got.  They told me that pretty much anything that you make with pumpkin, you can use Kushaw instead.  So, I was pretty excited to try cooking with it.  I have to say, it made me feel kind of Southern. :)

Here's what it looks like on the inside.

And here's the finished product....Kushaw pie.  The verdict:  it tastes even better than pumpkin pie!!

Ok, we've discovered that late Summer and early Fall is definitely festival time here in Louisville.  Matt enjoyed at least 3 of these pina colada's at The World Fest in Down Town Louisville.  I know what you're thinking...no they didn't have alcohol in them, we're in Seminary. :) 

While at the World Fest, I thought I died and went to Heaven when I saw that they had Elote...which is Mexican corn on the cob.  Oh how it made me miss the little street vendor in San Jose, CA that I used to buy it from every Saturday while I was going to college in the Bay Area.  

And the festival's continue with The Bluegrass Festival.  The Kettle Corn was amazing!!

So, what's the best way to enjoy bluegrass music?  Flat on your back on the lawn according to Matt.  

Before the Bluegrass Festival was over, God decided to roll in some "music" of His own with a huge thunder storm and buckets of rain.  Needless to say, the rest of the festival was canceled for the night.  That was okay though, because Matt and I enjoyed watching and listening to God's "festival" much more anyways.  Not that bluegrass music is bad or anything, you just can't compare to perfection.  

At the Seminary's Fall Festival this year, the them was "The World's Fair 1904."  We had the best time ever.  We were so surprised to see that they even had boba.  We haven't seen boba since we left CA, where we used to get it every Thursday night after classes at CBU at Boba Loca.  The night ended with an amazing light show right on the face of the Seminary's library.  I'm so thankful that we attend a Seminary where they truly care about their students.  

Ok, this last picture is just so you guys don't think that all we eat is fair and festival food all the time. :)  We actually eat really healthy during the week thanks to a great local farmer's market that we go to just about every Saturday.  

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that picture journey of our lives since the end of July.  I just wanted to include a list of a few things that we would like you to join us in prayer for.

1. That God would lead us to a permanent church home here in Louisville.  Matt finished off the summer preaching at the small church in Turner's Station, KY.  After much prayer, he decided that he would not be able to have the time to adequately server the church there during the school year.
2. For Matt's studies here at Seminary.  Especially for time management.
3. For both of us to be a light and witness at our jobs.