New Stroller!

We had to find someone to test our new stroller! Maggie was very willing! :) Thanks for the gift Grandma Linda (mom).

- Andy n Sara (and baby to be)

She's growing...

Sara is feeling wonderful and the baby is obviously growing at a steady pace. My job is incredibly taxing mentally b/c I study all day for about 8 hours but it's ending soon so I'm keeping the faith and the focus as much as I can.

Got a stroller for the baby today (thanks Gramma Linda!). We'll post a picture soon.

We love you,

Traubs

Traub Baby Pictures - In 3D!!

First day on the job...kinda

My first day working for Thrivent was pretty uneventful. No one was in the regional office on Wednesday b/c they were on the road or on vacation so I had to do my studying at home and at a local coffee shop. It was hard to concentrate that long on one thing and I sure learned a lot as I studied for my tests that I have to take next month. It made me wish that I had watched more CNBC. I think I should have read, "Money terms for dummies" before I started this thing.

Today I get access to my office and that'll help with my focus. Sara's babysitting for some friends and has a doctor appointment (nothing serious, just routine baby stuff) this morning. She's been working like crazy on cards and has over 800 made now for her weekend arts festival on Saturday. The weather's supposed to be amazing so come buy some cards! If you want to know her location then by all means give us a call and we'll let you know where her booth is at.

Off to learn about Debt. That's the chapter I start today. Unfortunately I already know about that topic. :)

Sara's Card-Making Skills

This is Sara's style of card making, but her individual stock varies b/c she's always using new papers, colors and stamps. If you've got requests just leave a comment on this post and she'll get back to you real soon. Thanks for looking!

LifeLight Music Festival - 250,000 people

Sara and I were blessed to be able to give some backstage tours at the annual LifeLight Christian music festival here in Sioux Falls.

Here are a few pictures from our night. I'd say there were about 70,000 people there tonight!

William-Penn 30-Marian College 15

Sara finished a scrapbook for someone in Sioux Falls today while I ventured to the first ever Marian College football game in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Both of my parents and my sister Susan went to Marian. Susan lives in State Center, Iowa, about an hour and a half from the football game. It was really hot, we lost and the referees were as bad as my car's gas mileage but it was still a great day to spend with the family. Sara's going to hear Chris Tomlin at lifeLight tonight (I am increasingly jealous) and I'm about to sit down for dinner with my dad, sister, nephews and bro-in-law. Life is good in the middle of nowhere/Iowa.

Heading to Iowa…missing Chris Tomlin and my wife

Hey friends, I (Andy) am heading to Iowa in just a few short hours to visit my dad, sister, brother-in-law and nephews in State Center. We're heading there to see the first football game of my parents and my sister's alma-mater Marian College in Indianapolis, Indiana. I'm going to be missing my favorite worship leader Chris Tomlin playing tomorrow night at Lifelight (Huge Christian music festival here in Sioux Falls – apx. 250,000 visitors over three days). But, it'll be good to get away and to spend some time with my family. I'll also be picking up my old dog Surrey! (The black dog below)

Sara will be hanging at home, making lots of greeting cards and finishing a scrap book for one of her lucky customers. I'll try to post some more pictures of her cards since some of you mentioned you'd like to buy some. She has to hold on to her inventory until October b/c she has a huge trade show on the 19^th and will also be hosting a booth at the Sioux Falls Sidewalk Arts Festival next weekend (Sept 9^th). She'll have Maggie (brown dog) to keep her company. Here's to safe travels, old dogs, great family and productive scrapbooking…

Thoughts from a lonely soul

Maybe it's because I was raised watching Oprah, Dr. Phil, Phil Donahue and Ricky Lake, but I want to talk about how my life is going and I want an audience. I don't want a studio audience with one of those signs that lights up "Applause" when they're supposed to clap. I want trusted friends around me who will listen to my experiences and honestly share theirs as well. I need kindred spirits. Maybe the Book of Acts is like a sitcom, full of unrealistic living that we all just idolize but can never attain without television magic. Maybe the Book of Acts is true. Maybe the early Christians, with their tightly knit Jewish culture still fresh in their minds were able to achieve something that we can't achieve in our church, community. Nobody knows exactly what it looked like but we have an idea.

"All the believers were one in heart and mind." – Acts 4:32. I don't know if that means they were all Democrats or Republicans. I guess that's how some people view Christians today, they all have to love George Bush and believe that Al Gore is as honest about the environment as he was about inventing the internet. To have the same heart though, goes way beyond Donkeys and Elephants, it gets to the core of our purposes. What's our purpose for giving to our church? What's our purpose for owning things? What's our purpose in paying taxes? It is what is in our heart that motivates us to take action. The beautiful part of the early church is that people KNEW what was going on in each other's hearts. Today, we have no idea.

There isn't time in between services and there's no talking out of turn during the jumbo-sized Bible Study classes/lectures to actually converse. The service is just that, something to do. Maybe the Sunday service is just supposed to be something you attend, but what of the rest of our energy? What do we do with the rest of our resources? (I'm talking about our prayers, our people and our possessions). I say we agree that we're supposed to have the same heart of Christ and then we decide what to do with those resources. It seems like our plan instead is, "What's been done before?" "What got us to where we are today?" The problem with that thinking is that the world is always changing. My father's generation doesn't trust psychology and expected to work for one company their whole life. My generation is overmedicated from too many Dr.'s visits and we change jobs every 3.2 years. My generation is transient, mobile and ready to pick up our roots. We don't need a building, we need a Church. A catholic (notice the small "c") church, one that is truly universal.

Do you know that Christian leaders actually criticized Rick Warren and some other pastors for focusing too much on the AIDS situation in Africa? They actually argued the point that some people were caring too much about people dying from a preventable disease that has left a generation of children orphaned! They said that the focus on AIDS took away from more important issues like salvation. OK, well then how about the critics go over to Africa and try to get kids who are 8 years old and are running their homes to listen to them talk about Jesus? Or maybe we could feed those kids first and toss in a little medication that could prevent the spread of AIDS and THEN talk about Jesus. It is truly disheartening to see how far we are from all the believers being of one heart and mind. We cannot expect people who's needs are not being met to be good listeners. An empty grumbling stomach is always louder than any other noise.

I am so sad and so tired of wanting and of needing a safe place to worship, fellowship and serve and coming up with pink walls, polite greetings, dressed up souls that weep under their Sunday's best and an expectation that church is the Church. I know I need the Church and I that I am the Church. I want to be a part of the solution, not one of the crabby, "I've got it all figured out" whiners who spend all of their energy complaining. I want to help. I want a voice. I want us to reach out people who are too afraid or angry to walk through the doors of a building that says church on the outside of it. I want to connect the people inside of the building with each other because when we love one another the world knows that we are followers of Christ. Our Leader said this, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." – John 3:34,35 He didn't say have another Bible study, give another sermon and make sure your kids go through confirmation. He said "Love one another." Why aren't we doing more of that and less of the stuff that keeps us busy while we're in our church building? What if we did less good things so we could do fewer but greater things? The greatest thing we can do is show people that we love Him, and we do that by loving one another. God, help me figure out how and where to do that. I feel very lost.

Recuperating...kinda

They put in an IV, I remember talking for about 2 minutes and I woke up an hour and half later with two less teeth. They were two extra teeth so that made it worth it. My recuperation has been awesome, with Sara hanging out with me almost all the time while I eat/slurp soup, yogurt and apple sauce. This is the life!

Sara's been working hard makings lots of cards. She has a goal of making 30 a day for the next 60 days so she's ready for her big trade show in October. She's gonna do great! She has a few scrapbook jobs lined up as well before her sidewalk arts festival booth in September.

Sara is so gifted at her scrap booking and card making. You can scroll down on this page so see pictures of her work. Have a wonderful day!

Andy, Sara and baby to be named