Dear wonderful friends and family,

Amidst the busyness of this season, I would love to wish you a Merry Christmas and to update you on the world that Jody and I have been living in this past year. I pray that windows of time will open up in the near future when we can catch up on your lives as well.

As you probably know, Jody and I returned from Korea in September 2008 for him to attend Denver Seminary. Our heart has been for him to be equipped to love and serve people in whatever ministry God directs us, and after much prayer, we left our jobs and world in Korea to embark on a new adventure! Last fall he applied to Denver Seminary and was accepted for the Spring semester, and in January of this year we moved to Littleton, Colorado. This move was especially meaningful to me, as I was born in Colorado and grew up an avid Broncos fan. I have loved getting reacquainted with Colorado as an adult. Simple discoveries I have made in this past year of living here:

1. I love the mountains just as much as I thought I did.
2. Coloradans are extremely proud of being natives…as few can claim that status. It’s hilarious, actually.
3. King Soopers, the Kroger’s branch here in CO, is straight out of the 1980s, and I love it!

When we moved in January, Jody and I settled in a basement of a family’s home, where we lived for six months. When I got a job, we moved into an apartment within walking and biking distance from the seminary. Daily I praise God for having a roof over our heads and a place to call our own! We also began to explore the area, biking in the foothills, and driving into the mountains to hike and camp. The picture above is from the mountains near Leadville, where we camped this summer. Breathtaking!

Jody started at Denver Seminary in the Masters of Divinity program, but upon much prayer, he switched to the MA Leadership program in the middle of last semester. We are so thankful for that decision, as we feel the Leadership program is more practical, shorter (thus cheaper), and is more suited to Jody’s passions and giftings. As of this month, he has completed half of the program and, I believe, has learned a great deal from the challenge that seminary provides. We look forward to him completing his degree and having a degree flexible enough to work in churches or non-profits, however God should lead.

An exciting decision Jody and I made back in February was to get a dog. I had never grown up with one, and Jody had only grown up with outside dogs. Well, on Valentine’s Day, Jody and I drove an hour away to pick up our little puppy. We chose a female dappled miniature dachshund, and we decided to name her Eu-mi (which is pronounced ‘You-me’ and means ‘having or possessing beauty’ in Korean). Overall, she has proven to be the greatest joy and challenge, and we love her to pieces. This week she turns 1 year old! My, what proud parents we are!!

So, last spring as Jody was studying, I was busy potty-training Eu-mi, and I began the monumental task of applying for work in an area I knew nothing about and in the worst economy ever! Needless to say, this kept me on my knees. After nannying for a brief stint, the Lord sovereignly opened up the door at Southeast Christian Church, in Parker, Colorado. I applied to be the Missions Assistant and was hired in May. I have thoroughly enjoyed the job, the chance to learn from the men I serve and the blessing of being part of a wonderful community on staff. God is so good!

Some other highlights from the past year:

1. I finally got to visit Fun Valley, which is Jody's family's favorite vacation spot. It is a family resort in the mountains of South Fork, Colorado. We spent a weekend there with Jody's parents and his brother Brad and Brad's wife Lindsey. What a fun time!
2. I was able to go to Virginia to see my family for Thanksgiving. LOVED IT! Love my family! Here’s everybody now: (Top Row, L-R: Daniel, Josh, me, Rebekah, Chris, Luke; Bottom Row, L-R: Sarah, Mom, Dad, Anna).
3. We got a 2nd car! On Halloween, after Jody had done SOOO much research, we happened upon a 2002 Toyota Echo via Craigslist. We bought it from a nearby Auto dealer and drove it home that day. God has been so good to provide, and we love it!
   

To wrap up this ridiculously long letter, Jody and I want to send you our love and a huge hug. We pray that amidst all the Christmas busyness, you and your loved ones will be able to focus on Jesus. It’s cheesy, I know, but He really is the Reason for the season.

Hugs from us,

Jody and Ruth Been (& Eu-mi!!!)

Prayer Request

On Thanksgiving morning Jody went to play some football with people at our church. I was away in Virginia for a few days, so I encouraged him to hang out with people as much as possible so he didn't feel lonely (at least when he had time to spare from do school assignments). Well, lo and behold, he goes all out, tackles and tries to catch crazy passes.... and somewhere along the line hurt his finger trying to catch a pass from TJ - our pastor and one of Jody's seminary mentors. Of course.

His right ring finger - at the joint closest to the finger nail - was swollen, red, bruised and refused to straighten up. I am so thankful for insurance, but sad we have to use it. He went to the doctor and got some x-rays done. From the top it looks fine. From the side, you can see that a corner edge of bone has chipped off and is floating above the rest of his finger. Today he goes to see an orthopedic. Please pray for God to heal Jody.

But my real prayer request is that God would completely heal Jody all over. In the past year since we have returned to the States, he has hurt his knee twice, his shoulder, and his foot. And now his finger. Since we didn't have insurance, we didn't get any of those injuries prior to this finger checked out, so we don't really know what happened to them. Really, I am just praying that God completely heals him and that these injuries stop!

I am thankful we serve a God who heals. Many claim that the God of the Bible no longer works miracles today, but I love being able to say that I have seen Him work miraculously in my life and in my childhood growing up. I love that His Word says , "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13,8) and that we are called to "Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103, 1-5).

The same unchanging God, who raised Jesus from the dead is more than able to handle our fragile bodies. I am so thankful for that assurance, and my faith remains in the Lord - no matter what happens.

Please join me in praying for God to bring complete healing to Jody's body.

Introducing...

Jane Farrow Holt

7lbs 7oz. 21in at 7:03 am October 25, 2009

I know this update is a little late (okay, almost a month overdue), but I wanted to publicly announce the wonderful birth of my sister's baby, Jane Farrow Holt. After a very stressful pregnancy, we are all rejoicing with Rebekah and Bryan that Jane has made a safe and healthy entrance into the world. The family has described her as peaceful. That is a wonderful, wonderful word. I am truly looking forward to holding her in my arms. Here are a few pictures from Jane's first few days in the world.

rebekah with all her children: chloe, nathan, micah and now baby jane

rebekah and bryan with little jane, while family took the rest of the hoodlums!

mom holding her 4th grandchild. doesn't rebekah look amazing?!

look at those faces!

SO, SO EXCITED!

Tomorrow is going to be a wonderful day, and I just wanted to share my excitement with you! I will be flying out to Richmond, VA to spend 4 full, excellent days with my family and hopefully a few friends, as well.

Since Jody and I have been stretching every penny these days, flying or even driving to be with our families this holiday season did not even cross our minds. And everyone knows it's expensive to travel, so we can't afford to worry ourselves too much how in-laws might feel. They know graduate school is tough, expensive and exhausting. And while seminary students are posting statuses on facebook saying, "Heading home in 10 hours!" and are constantly flying back to spend weekends and holidays with their families throughout the semester, Jody and I have contented ourselves to remain with each other wherever we are, trusting that our families know we love them and treasure every opportunity that we do get to spend together. Our thought was always, "Well, we might as well start our own family's holiday traditions now!"

Needless to say, with that in mind, I was shocked when my family offered to chip in to buy a plane ticket for me to come home for Thanksgiving. My first concern was Jody, of course. I wanted to spend it with him. But as time drew close to make a decision, we realized that he had too much schoolwork and could not in all good conscience just leave it all behind for almost a week. As I talked with Mom and as Jody urged me to not worry about him and to just go, I realized I had better jump at this opportunity.

For the first time in 3-4 years, I am settled in the United States again. Rebekah and Bryan have decided not to go to North Carolina to be with Bryan's extended family, since they just had their 4th baby (Pictures will be posted after this post!) It is Daniel and Courtney's year to spend Thanksgiving with our family. And Luke is now in the National Guard, with the very real possibility that he could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan in the next year. And even Chris will be making it down from New York. Poor Mom, she has done so much to rally her brood around for a family get-together... so hard when you have 10 people running in so many different directions! We haven't all been together for the holidays in 5 years. That is too long.

In short, I didn't want to spoil the family get-together yet again. So I accepted their amazing gift, and I am going to Virginia tomorrow! I am praising God for the opportunity and already rubbing my hands together in anticipation of all the pictures I am going to take, all the hugs I'm going to grab, all the nummy nummy food I'm going to eat, and all the family updates and stories I'm going to hear. Oh yes, and all the holding I can get of Baby Jane before she grows up and gets a 'tude like her big sister Chloe. Ha! So, so excited, and so, so thankful! Thank you, family for helping me to come, and thank you, Jody, for encouraging me to go without allowing me to feel guilty at all. And thank you, Lord, for giving me such a wonderful family. I am so truly thankful!

Psalm 100
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

An answer to prayer.

As many of you may know, Jody and I have been praying and looking for a second car. When we moved to Colorado almost a year ago, we heard that Colorado experienced 300 days of blue skies a year. It is a kind of boast here, we have realized since moving. However, as of yet we have seen such variance of weather that it has been hard for me to take our sole car to work, leaving Jody to figure out how to get to the seminary for classes, training and mentoring at Englewood (our church), or any meeting he would need to make.

As we have been discussing next year, Jody has expressed a desire to slow down (in the number of credit hours he takes) and to start working part-time. So that pretty much sealed the deal. We began the car hunt with much prayer and diligence.

The Lord has been so good! Yesterday we went to look at a few cars at an auto broker, and within a few hours Jody drove home in a new (to us) car! We chose a 2002 Toyota Echo... it's bright red, and the best way I can describe the way it handles is 'peppy'. It responds quickly, and it has fantastic gas mileage - 40 mpg. It will be perfect for my daily commute to work. Anyway, I just wanted to publicly praise the Lord for His wonderful provision, and that I'm so encouraged to see Him answer in such a wonderful way!

October Snowfall

This past week it felt a little like Christmas here in Colorado. I found myself wanting to decorate the apartment and put in a CD of Christmas carols. Ha! Earlier on in the week, we began to hear reports of a potential blizzard, and on Tuesday night it began to snow. It didn't stop until Thursday afternoon... when we had two feet of light, perfect, fluffy snow. It was fantastic! Neither Jody or I have experienced this much snow in years. We felt like little kids and loved every minute of it. Sadly I had to inch my way to work on Wednesday, but thankfully I got Thursday as a snow day. It was fantastic to have an excuse just to play and rest! Jody also did not have classes at Denver Seminary on Thursday, so he missed a huge exam (which he has to make up this Thursday... of course).

(click to enlarge)

Instead of humdrum work on our uber-special and unexpected vacation day, we ate pancakes and watched a movie, then we met up with Sam and Britt and went to the park to play in the snow. The boys threw the football, and we just took pictures, sat in the snow, made snow angels and just reveled in the beauty of it all. That evening Jody and I celebrated by buying 2 Little Caesar $5 pizzas and watched another movie! It was a fantastic day! ... And now... 3 days later, the snow has all but melted and it was 64 degrees today. Ahhh, I love Colorado weather. :)

(click to enlarge)

Letting Go

I think it would be a good idea for me to sit down and write, but I confess I'm not really sure how I should put all my thoughts down in such a way that it would be coherent and/or beneficial to those of you who actually read my blog. There is so much going on in my head right now!

Right now the apartment is quiet. Jody is reading a book for his Old Testament class, Eu-mi is curled up on the back of the couch sleeping, and I am baking some more chocolate chip cookies (more on them later!) so there will be desserts the rest of the week.

Has the Lord ever given you a message in several different ways... on several different occasions, until you wanted to put your hands up in surrender to heaven and say, "Ok, Lord! I get it!" and truly give up? I feel like I'm in one of those places right now.

On Friday night a friend of mine, Sarah, invited me to attend an event that was held at Southeast. Sheila Walsh was the guest speaker, and her main message that night was on forgiveness. She shared a recent event in her family's life in which she was required to forgive her husband an enormous list of offenses. One thing she said that struck me was, "Forgiveness is God's gift to you..." I don't remember the latter half of that sentence, but it has stuck with me the past few days as I have mulled over the power of forgiveness, and how it really is a spiritual transaction that requires 100% of God's grace. I know there are many times where I choose to forgive someone with all of my will, but the heart transaction that takes place, where I truly extend 100% grace to someone and basically can say "You don't owe me anything anymore"... and my heart is truly free of any pain or offense in my heart - that is a transaction that requires the Lord. I am praying God calls to mind people I need to forgive, because I know I need to let go and get free. I want to be able to say about each and every person or situation that I have released them and they owe me no debt, because the Lord does not hold me accountable for my own sins (Matthew 18).

Also, I have been studying Beth Moore's Bible study on the book of Esther. On Saturday the girls in our Bible study watched session 6 together. In it, Beth's main point was that God is in control, and we do not have to figure out the 'how' of our lives. What a basic principle, and yet how powerfully it hit me.

The past few weeks have been really stressful for Jody and me, as we have been trying to figure out what will happen next year concerning Jody's school. How are we going to pay for it? The second stressful situation has been the hunt for a second car. Jody's Toyota has been a champ, but I take it every day to work, and so Jody is left to get to school no matter the weather. And while many say that Colorado is the place of 300 sunny days, we have yet to experience that. There has been so much rain, snow, sleet and general stormy weather, that I am eager for him to not have to rely on his bicycle or motorcycle in the elements. Both of these situations have been challenging and kept me on my knees. I confess I have been playing the "if we do this, then this will happen" game, looking at all the various options and playing them out in my head. All in all, it has been exhausting, and I know why God calls me to let go and let Him handle it.... I certainly can't!

The good news is, (PRAISE THE LORD!), that we qualified for loans that will pay for his classes in the spring. Fall of 2010, I do not know yet, but one step at a time. God is good, and I am thankful for this provision. As for a car, we are still hunting and praying for the right one. Please pray for God to provide the perfect vehicle for us. The potential plan is that Jody will slow down classes a little and work part-time on the side. We'll see what happens. Again, I am constantly challenging myself to just let go. It is in the Lord's hands, and I don't need to figure out the 'how' of life.

Amidst the stress, I am also challenging myself to take pleasure and joy in the little things of life. For example, I love making chocolate chip cookies. In fact, I have a recipe that I tweaked from one given by my dear friend Britt, and now I love it, make it almost weekly and love giving to friends to cheer them up. So here you see them in the process:

I love these cookies, and I'm so thankful for the joy that they bring to other people. :)

Another blessing came in the mail the other day... a package from my Mom! In it she gave us a flashlight (!!!! You have no idea how much we needed one!), as well as cloth napkins and placemats. I was thrilled! I have been eyeing things at TARGET for months, really, but could never justify the purchase. I have to say my heart jumped for joy when I saw them. Surely the Lord sees our situation and knows what is going on. If He can see that we needed a flashlight, and that I have been wanting silly cloth napkins and placemats, then surely He knows our greater needs and desires. I take comfort in this gift, and I praise God in faith, knowing that "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34, 16-18).

Please notice Jody's amazing napkin-folding skills!


Thank you so much, Mommie, for your wonderful gift. I has encouraged me so much!

The Duplers' Visit in Pictures

Wonderful friends from Korea, Marc and Jenny Dupler, came and visited us a little over a week ago. While it was a busy weekend, and both Jody and I were exhausted from September, it was a wonderful way to finish out the month: visiting with friends, talking about what we learned from our experiences in Korea, sharing the struggles of life after coming back from Korea, as well as just the struggles that come with following God in this life. I am very thankful for Marc and Jenny, because I know that they too are struggling and yet they are so joyful! It makes me think of the verse, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." (Romans 12:12) That is what the Duplers are, and I am thankful for their example.

Interestingly enough, one thing Jenny loved so much during her visit was the grass here in Colorado. It was so green, she said! And I could not agree more. Jody and I love to go to the park near our apartment and just soak in the goodness of being outside.

Here are some pictures from their visit. Thanks to Jenny, for her amazing photography skills and her willingness to post these brilliant pictures.

If you like what you see, visit Jenny's photography site: http://www.jennydupler.com/index2.php

Our baby at 9 months...

This is my little tribute to our little puppy, Eu-mi. We got Eu-mi at 8 weeks on Valentine's Day this year, so we're tracking her birthday as 12/14/08. Thus, she is roughly 9.5 months right now. I can hardly believe it!

Since we brought her home: she has learned to go potty outside, ring the bells at the door to let us know she needs to go potty, sit, lie down (when food is at stake, especially!), and heel (when it's convenient, Jody says). Overall, I am proud of our little girl. She is definitely a dachshund- bold, courageous, stubborn, very intelligent, and overall, a little rascal. But she is our Rocky Mountain Wiener Dog, who loves to go on hikes and loves to fetch. She also has become my new running buddy! I can only imagine how silly we look on the South Platte River Trail: me with a pup that stands 10 inches off the ground. But she's such a trooper, and I love her so much!

For more pictures, click on this link to see more pictures in a facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=332973&id=853925610&l=3c9e762c7d

Here's a little video of her fetching a lacrosse ball at the baseball park. Go, Eu-mi!