Here and Now

So I'm sitting at the Crossing right now - we were really busy when we opened and then everybody left all at once... So it's just me and a guy sitting at his laptop with his iPod - no community building right now - just two guys sitting twenty feet from each other...worlds apart. But that's kind of the nature of this kind of place, isn't it? I mean, go to Starbucks (heh, not around here...but, let's see, go to Fresh Cup or to Mugs in Youngsville or...oh, yeah, Starbucks in Jamestown) anyway, what you see are mostly people either alone or in small isolated groups. We're connected only by the fact that we're sharing the same air and wi-fi. And I see that everywhere. But we're made to be connected - not by blogs and emails and cell phones - but real, look into my eyes and see that it's not a very good day face-to-face communication - communion... Of course things picked back up - couples came in, little groups of people. Still, not a lot of interact...

"If you think doing your job to a level of continued excellence sounds like too much work, perhaps you need a different job."

...to no one there. And no one heard at all, not even the the chair. Really? Who would write such drivel? Um...it was a hit... Anyway, I am now who I am. It seems that I forgot to change my blog profile info when I moved but now, as I said, I am who I am...

Just because I'm going to say this in three days: "Perhaps" might be one of the most powerful words in the Kingdom. It's something Jonathan said when the Israelites were pinned down by the Philistines (I Samuel 14) and Jonathan can't take it anymore so he tells his armor bearer that they're going to cross enemy lines and he says "Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf." No assurances written on the sky. No pre-confirmation of God's providence. Just Jonathan saying to himself, "We've been doing nothing and nothing has happened. So I'll do SOMETHING." If it's the right thing, God will confirm it, if it's just me and my imagination, well, God will confirm that, too, right? Gamaliel in Acts 5 says something similar about the Apostles (though, like Pontius Pilate and the High Priest, his statement which is intended to be critical or mocking, ends up being a Divine irony) after mentioning some other revolutionaries who cam...

Now, I didn't mean to give the impression in my last post that there's anything wrong with our yard - or that, somehow, I hate mowing THIS yard, or whatever. It's a general grumpiness I have with anything that feels like a "waste of time that I have to do over and over again." Ask Lori how I feel about getting my hair cut or even making the bed. It's like that. What I WANTED that to be about was "redeeming the time" - you know, praying while mowing - which doesn't make me enjoy the mowing, but my whole attitude about the process is better. I think. Okay - that's enough of that. Let me tell you about my daughters who can now be called Monkey Girls. There's this great week-long drama camp here in town and they're putting on the Jungle Book. Now, the girls came kind of late to that party (I think) since we just moved up here, so we didn't really expect they'd be much more than "extras" in the play. But Rachel got...

Okay, still not in tune with re-starting the Monday Update...we'll put that one on hold for another week (at least!). But, as a bit of an Update ABOUT Monday, er..., I was mowing the grass yesterday. Now in Bethel Park, mowing the grass was often something I did on my lunch break - I'd come home, push mow the grass, grab a sandwich, and still be back in a little over an hour or so (including the 10-15 min drive each way). Not so, here. Now, don't take that as complaining - we LOVE the new yard. We have lots of space for the girls to play - next summer we're hoping to put some fencing in and maybe get a dog. So we're really happy with the yard...except. I hate mowing. Now, I have ALWAYS hated mowing the grass - one of the reasons that I would mow on my lunch break in Bethel Park was because I didn't want to waste any "important" time (that is, family time or work time) to mow. So I'd use meal time... I said once to a guy that I hate mowing and ...

In less than 12 hours, I'll be listening to Mike Roe of the the 77s and the The Lost Dogs live at the Crossing. Can't wait. Be there or be...um...somewhere else...

It seems that bad habits are easy to slide into, but good habits are just as easy to slide out of...argh. I'm so out of the groove in blogging, that I hope you'll bear with me (if anyone is still reading this thing) as I try to get back on my blogging feet. In other words, what follows for this and the next several (probably) posts might not be as stunningly coherent and insightful as usual...or...um...maybe moreso, not sure... Anyway...deep breath. I was reading the other day (okay, I was skimming ) an old H. G. Wells book called In the Days of the Comet . Here's a link to the full text: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3797/3797.txt And a link to the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Days_of_the_Comet Okay, back in the day (like, when this thing was published, a hundered years ago) were I alive, I would have snapped this thing up and devoured it over a couple days. I don't find Wells super accessible (I HATE first person narrative - I hate it, I ...

I've been reading Jeremiah lately because Jeremiah 29:11 keeps poping up on my radar ("For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a fuutre.") which I will probably deal with in tomorrow's returning "Thursday Theology". But today a thought struck me. Jeremiah 30:22 says, "So you will be my people and I will be your God." And I thought, "That's a great verse - I need to tuck that away in my heart." And that's true, it IS a great verse...but I want to hold on to it in isolation. As just that verse, and not the whole of this part of the book of Jeremiah, where it really matters. You see, Jeremiah has just been telling the people that they're in exile because they really sinned against God and God warned them and warned them but they refused to stop. So God took some drastic measures. And even in exile, they're starting to listen to other voices than God...

Not ready for the Monday Update, yet. But here's some bits and pieces from the past...sheesh...four weeks or so... We moved our stuff to Pittsfield June 15th and 16th - geez, it seems so long ago not, what, 3 weeks? It's now...July 6th and Lori has most of the rooms unpacked - but the house is still pretty disorganized. We downsized going to Bethel Park, downsized again moving here...and now we're downsizing some more (sorry to the 20+ people who helped us move!!!). Oh, yeah, it was AMAZING how fast and careful the folks from Otterbein church were in loading and unloading our stuff. We're so thankful for all of the help. If any of you are reading, you're a blessing that we won't forget. Elie spent one of the past weeks at grandma's and Rachel spent one week at grandma's - but this week they're both here and both avoiding unpacking/organizing/cleaning their rooms (take after Daddy on this one). Elie has two new obsessions: the trampoline her pap...