This morning, I awoke to the sounds of hundreds of people cheering - not just cheering for a moment, mind you, but for hours... Today is the Chicago Marathon. Over 30,000 people running through our city a course of over 25 miles, all pressing on toward the same goal. Not only did I hear it when I woke up, but when I went down to head to church, I SAW IT. And not only that, but then I WENT THROUGH IT! To get to my friend's car I had to cross Wells Street (one of the streets on which the marathon was being run) - this involved me gathering up a lot of nerve, because as I looked North down Wells, all I could see was an endless stretch of runners. It was amazing. And crazy. And all of a sudden I made a break for the other side. Looking back on it, it reminds me of a river, just a huge river of people, constantly flowing its course. I'm so wowed by the fact that I get to see such unique things as this because I live here in downtown Chicago. Do I live in the coolest city in America? Yes, yes I think so.

This morning at Harvest Bible Chapel, Pastor James MacDonald preached about spiritual gifts, and as he went through a list of about 20 which are listen in the New Testament, I thought about where I feel God has gifted me. On the way home, my friend Annette said she thinks I'm gifted in Helping and in Mercy. It's just such an interesting topic to think about. You should take a second and think about it! What are YOUR spiritual gifts?

Yesterday we had a soccer game which ended as a tie in double overtime. Double Overtime! It was stressful to watch, Kate and I were freaking out on the sidelines at the end... Whew. Oh yeah, and Friday night we got to go to a Chicago Fire soccer game, and sat in the Club Section (it was niiiiiice!). I felt famous or something. We sat with the parents and wives of the players, which was interesting and cool. That was a sweet way to end the week! This next week is Missions Conference, and I'm looking forward to a break from classes and being immersed in missions for a week! My prayer is that God will really use this conference to give me major direction for the next year...

That's all for now, folks. The week has left me a bit tired, and I am going to have a little nap now. God Bless you all!