Lowell, MA

The good news: I think my mononucleosis is pretty much gone. What happened to the mononucleosis? I think it got bored. I say around my parent's house for a few days, sipping on some Gatorlade, watching some Hot Fuzz, and reading some gnarly fantasy novels.














My wife and posse were all up at Hume. It was pretty sad, and that's why I think the mono ditched me.

We hired Nater Tater as the new High School pastor here at the CS. I'm pretty excited to have him around; the students are too. We are heading up to Hume San Diego tomorrow, to check it out. I think it should be a fun day or so!

I'm pretty excited about Merge tonight. We are going to have a special guest speaker named Mama Zipporah. She runs an orphanage in Kenya, and played a roll in helping start a little thing called Invisible Children. She is here is Arizona raising money to build new dorms for all the orphans they take in. Katie got to spend three weeks with her in Kenya a few summers ago. I would love to go some day!

Alone in Kyoto

I can never think of sweet titles for my posts, so I've decided call them by the name of the song that I'm listening to when I post. We'll call it inspiration.

Finished my book last night; Richard got a pet short-tailed gar.

We watched a message by Bill Hybels today in staff meeting. I really enjoyed it. It was pretty crazy to hear his personal story as well as that of Willow Creek, and how there were several times when it looked like failure was bound to occur. It wasn't the deepest message in the world, and I'm glad. Lately I've found myself struggling, not with deep, faith-defining questions, but some pretty basic stuff. Throughout his story, Hybles drew attention to several different times when there was a decision to be made, and things could have gone either way. He stressed the fact that in these times, God's way is the only way. How much more basic can you get; this is preschool stuff!

And yet, making the right decision can crush us. Making the right decision can mean leaving jobs, and losing friends. It can mean that people will leave you church. It can mean the end of a decade of growth.

For me, it is not very hard to wrap my head around the idea that following God means risking everything. I think I actually get it. You learn in Sunday school about making sure to give back to God. You make sure and give to God, even if it's money you think you need. It's not an option, by my responsibility. This idea has been ingrained in my head for years. Doing what's right mean risking it all.

The problem is this: I really suck at acting on what I know is right. I'm not really one for excuses. I recognize my failures. I just have the hardest time willing myself to succeed. I feel like I've failed at things for my whole life, and I the idea of suddenly doing stuff right is beyond my grasp.

I'm not expecting perfection. Not even close. I just want to be to a point in my relationship with God, where I become broken over my mistakes. Where seeking the right thing is my goal. Where I don't even calculate the risk. Where I recognize the value of serving Him for who he is, and nothing more.

I'd love some prayer in this.

Each Coming Night

It's been some time since I posted, but hopefully this will be the beginning of the end (of me not posting). As you probably noticed, the blog is no longer called "Our Blog," but has switched to "en el jardin" (Polish for "I love my wife"). The reason: I gave that coyote the boot. If you'd like to visit her blorg, swing on by.

There is one thing I would like to point out about Katie (coyote): when we started this blog, she was ALL ABOUT plain old Jane. It was a huge battle just to get her to let the headings of each post be green. Now, she starts he own blog, and I find her downloading all these sweet layouts with color and swirlies and colors! Free Until They Cut Me Down, ya know?

Yesterday, I decided I wanted to be cremated (in case I die before I ever make a will, please feel free to look to this blog to see that this was my wish). I told Katie that I would like to have my ashes spread across the 101. I'm thinking you get in the sweetest Sebring you can find (15-inch alloy if you know what I mean), drop that top, and head south. We can drive in the new HOV (carpool) lane, since there are guaranteed to be at least two of us. When you hit Guadalupe, chuck the whole urn right out the driver's-side window, and let me hit the ground rolling.

This is where I spend my life these days. You should to.

Myanmar

I am so appalled by how Myanmar has handled the cyclone disaster. How in the world can a country be resistant to humanitarian aid? It seems that in the midst of crisis, it would be easy to put politics aside. It blows my mind that people can be so prideful.
According to the Danish Red Cross, one out of ten people have received some kind of aid. That is so wrong. I also heard that in a village of 4,000 people only 400 survived. Wow. What's even crazier is that on the Today Show the headlines read, "Obama seems to be pulling ahead of Clinton," followed by "A massive sting ray is being released from captivity," and an "oh by the way thousands of people are dead or missing in Myanmar." How can that fly so low on the radar?! It makes me angry.
Also, Andrew has been supporting a little boy named Soe through World Vision. He lives in Myanmar. It was really weird to think that maybe Soe is one of the 100,000 people dead or missing. We pray he's alive.
I hope I can find a way to channel this anger into something more proactive.
-katie

wisdom

"As the scriptures say, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.'
So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters?
God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish."
...1 Corinthians 1:9-20

I read this verse a few days ago, and it keeps popping up in the oddest moments. God's been trying to speak truth into my life and I've been too busy to be still and soak it in.
I tried today-to soak it in- I'm not sure what to think. This is what I've come up with so far:

-I know I've made education a huge priority...it's really important to me. Sometimes it's too important. Paul's saying that all the intelligence and wisdom I glean from school looks foolish compared to God's infinite wisdom. I work so incredibly hard to get A+++++s...and for who? My parents always gave us an incentive of a frosty from Wendy's for good grades, but that only goes so far :) If I put half the time into deepening my relationship with Jesus as I put into school, I'd be a super Christian. How much more valuable. If I studied the Word like I studied my book about neurogenic communication disorders, I would be wise in Christ.

- It's made me question getting my PhD...not that I think God would disapprove. It just makes me wonder what significant things I would be missing out on, while going to school for seventeen years. I need to sit on that one for a while....

-I don't want this verse to be a justification for laziness.

God’s created in me a desire for knowledge. I want to be sure I’m using it for His glory…

crushed

If you've ever had a child, you know what I'm talking about. That pride you feel when you see them succeed. The astonishment you experience when they "grow right before your eyes." And when they do something silly (like bite someone), there is always a slight feeling of disappointment. These have been my experiences over the last 6 years, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

But, watching them grow up breaks your heart. I remember when I could hold him in just one hand. I remember when when he used to play in the bathtub for half an hour. I remember how much he used to love when I'd take him in the backyard, and he'd play in the grass for hours. Now, all of that has changed.

I can barely pick him up at all anymore. He barely comes out of his room. He is enormously messy, and it's all I can do to convince him to take a bath. I sure do miss the old days

I miss being there to see everything that happens. I hate having to hear about when my step mom stood on his back, and he got up and walked. I wish I had been there.

I miss going over to my grandma's house and picking off all of her hibiscus flowers (his favorite food).

I miss walking out into the backyard to see that he moved everything (ping-pong table, bikes, etc) off the patio so he could hide in the shade.

Crusher, my African-Spurred Tortoise is awesome. If you have painted toenails, he'll try to eat them. If you open the back door, he tries to sneak in. He's only 6 years old, but he weighs more than my wife. He is the coolest pet you could imagine. I recommend getting one. If you live in Arizona, they sell them at Pets Inc. in Tempe. You can bring yours over for a play date.

rules and regulations

Today my dad and I went to "Salem Boys" to wash my car. It's the type of car wash that you use quarters to buy time in the bays. You're supposed to wash your car in the bay and then drive it forward to a spot where you can dry and vacuum it. If you'd like you can even buy some awfully potent scented trees.

Anyway, after we washed my car (by "we" I mean mostly my dad), I opened the driver's side door to get in and pull it forward. My dad had a different idea. He wanted to dry it in the bay. This was clearly against the rules. I know this mostly because of the huge red and white sign that reads "NO DRYING IN BAYS." This really stressed me out. I can't veto my dad's decision, but he was breaking the rules! My dad isn't a lawless criminal, he just didn't see the reason for following that specific rule on a Thursday afternoon when no one was there. NO ONE was waiting to use the bays. In fact, we were the only ones washing our car and there were three other bays open. Nevertheless, I was stressed.

I don't know where this desire to follow even the most silly rules comes from, but it's there. You would think I had a scary childhood full of dire consequences if I broke a rule. But I didn't....not in the least bit. I am so tightly wound and I have no reason to be. Today was a good reminder that I needed to loosen up :)