trying to simplify the life. i'd really rather do a couple things really well, than many things with mediocrity. and i've fallen into the latter category, once again.
with that comes some big-time decisions over the next six-ish weeks. stay tuned.
MuteMath rocks my world. and this rocked the city yesterday...fun times.
01 February 2007
16 January 2007
winter-inspired haikus
15 January 2007
oh-seven
the holidays were simply fabulous. time with very treasured friends and family left me super-saturated by love and grace. i am so incredibly blessed.
me and the fam on Christmas. we are a small bunch, but we are stellar. especially my grandma, the coolest 91-year-old you could ever know...
after Christmas, i made some trips: to MI (for Kristi and Ben's wedding) and FL (for the Purdue bowl game). good times. :) and my time in indiana was incredible, seeing dear friends - some of whom i haven't seen in 2-4 years - and just resting and eating enough to feed a small village. so yeah, i won't clutter up things with a million pictures, but for those i got to see, no matter how long the time spent together, know that you blessed me immensely. really.
i'm not big on the whole New Year's resolution thing, but i do like to make some changes at the start of the year, since that seems to be a natural time of reflection and such. the things i found needed tweaking i'm not going to share here, but basically i found that i need to take better care of me. the past year i've let some things slide, and that has produced a not-as-good kimmy at times.
so, to that end, today i went grocery shopping and bought some real food, including...MEAT. and this week, i got new contacts and glasses, very much needed and momma's generous Christmas gift to me. so with increased protein consumption and better vision, '07 looks to be a banner year...
(me + glasses = smarter? dorkier? grad-school-student-ish? i'd love a little feedback...)
me and the fam on Christmas. we are a small bunch, but we are stellar. especially my grandma, the coolest 91-year-old you could ever know...after Christmas, i made some trips: to MI (for Kristi and Ben's wedding) and FL (for the Purdue bowl game). good times. :) and my time in indiana was incredible, seeing dear friends - some of whom i haven't seen in 2-4 years - and just resting and eating enough to feed a small village. so yeah, i won't clutter up things with a million pictures, but for those i got to see, no matter how long the time spent together, know that you blessed me immensely. really.
i'm not big on the whole New Year's resolution thing, but i do like to make some changes at the start of the year, since that seems to be a natural time of reflection and such. the things i found needed tweaking i'm not going to share here, but basically i found that i need to take better care of me. the past year i've let some things slide, and that has produced a not-as-good kimmy at times.
so, to that end, today i went grocery shopping and bought some real food, including...MEAT. and this week, i got new contacts and glasses, very much needed and momma's generous Christmas gift to me. so with increased protein consumption and better vision, '07 looks to be a banner year...
(me + glasses = smarter? dorkier? grad-school-student-ish? i'd love a little feedback...)22 December 2006
closing out '06...
the lines at the post office have been crazy long, i've eaten nothing but sugar for the past week, and my grad school apps are finally done. which means only one thing: Christmas is soon! i'll be traveling a lot in the next couple weeks, so until sometime in '07...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
the office...
this is the smaller half of our shared office with Reunion. the back room with the chairs is Reunion's office...
...and this is our space.our offices are looking SO much better with the new addition of CARPET!! they are still a little ghetto, what with the cat hospital two floors below us and the lovely urine-smell in the stairwells...but hey, it's an office and we like it.
18 December 2006
it's the little things...
yay valium! i got these little guys last week (prescribed, see?) and they are just super! good for so much more than curing muscle spasms...
and another wonderful little thing: the new charlie cards. just tap and go! sooo great! making everyone's T experience a bit better...
29 November 2006
who's serving whom?
i was talking with my friend derrick tonight, and while so many things became stunningly clear, a couple questions really broke out of my heart.
for one, when we hang out with our homeless friends each wednesday night, serving them food, giving them some warm clothes, talking, singing, praying, and [more than anything] listening...who is serving whom? i wonder because many of these people are very much my friends, and bless me with conversation and hugs and love. it's a wonderful community, on the edge of the Common, a place where at 10 o'clock at night you shouldn't feel safe, but i...do.
so yeah, i guess the answer is, we serve each other, in some ways different, but in many ways the same. it's so good. i'm reminded of hank's sermon on sunday. [oh yeah, have i forgotten to mention...Reunion launched two weeks ago! yay, we have a church!] hank talked about the need for each other, for togetherness on this crazy road we travel. and that's been a paramount thought for me lately, just that people need people. God made us to love and be loved by others. that's why He made stellar things like marriages and families and stuff, which, like so many things He created to bless us with, they are so many times associated with tarnished images, thanks to our human-ness and tendency to f things up. [exit soap box.]
so then i wonder, as hard as it sometimes is for me to desire to help the rich [and by sometimes i mean most all the time], how do we bring love and community to those people? because i know there's got to be a few pretty lonely people tucked away in their bizillion dollar Beacon Hill condos. i'm thinking we could just relocate our little community from one side of the Common to the other [where Beacon Hill is]. just start knocking on some doors, handing out free high fives and hugs...["hello, John Kerry, would you like a hug?"] :o)
what were the things that became clear tonight? i'll highlight just one: derrick said, many times, this wonderful phrase [definite inspiration for my next song]:
"as long as you are in the Light, you're going to be alright."
simple? yes. but derrick has this amazing way of speaking simple-yet-profound truth and encouragement into my life. his words tonight were exactly what i needed to hear.
derrick is a poet and my Brotha' and my jamaican homeless friend. he does my heart good.
for one, when we hang out with our homeless friends each wednesday night, serving them food, giving them some warm clothes, talking, singing, praying, and [more than anything] listening...who is serving whom? i wonder because many of these people are very much my friends, and bless me with conversation and hugs and love. it's a wonderful community, on the edge of the Common, a place where at 10 o'clock at night you shouldn't feel safe, but i...do.
so yeah, i guess the answer is, we serve each other, in some ways different, but in many ways the same. it's so good. i'm reminded of hank's sermon on sunday. [oh yeah, have i forgotten to mention...Reunion launched two weeks ago! yay, we have a church!] hank talked about the need for each other, for togetherness on this crazy road we travel. and that's been a paramount thought for me lately, just that people need people. God made us to love and be loved by others. that's why He made stellar things like marriages and families and stuff, which, like so many things He created to bless us with, they are so many times associated with tarnished images, thanks to our human-ness and tendency to f things up. [exit soap box.]
so then i wonder, as hard as it sometimes is for me to desire to help the rich [and by sometimes i mean most all the time], how do we bring love and community to those people? because i know there's got to be a few pretty lonely people tucked away in their bizillion dollar Beacon Hill condos. i'm thinking we could just relocate our little community from one side of the Common to the other [where Beacon Hill is]. just start knocking on some doors, handing out free high fives and hugs...["hello, John Kerry, would you like a hug?"] :o)
what were the things that became clear tonight? i'll highlight just one: derrick said, many times, this wonderful phrase [definite inspiration for my next song]:
"as long as you are in the Light, you're going to be alright."
simple? yes. but derrick has this amazing way of speaking simple-yet-profound truth and encouragement into my life. his words tonight were exactly what i needed to hear.
derrick is a poet and my Brotha' and my jamaican homeless friend. he does my heart good.
21 November 2006
sifted.
Well, I’m not really sure where to begin…the past few weeks and months have been altogether difficult and wonderful. There are lots of thoughts churning in my head, lots of feelings in my heart. I feel I should try to restrain my words, but know all too well that I’m about to vomit all over this blog. And for that, I’m sorry. But not really.
I guess it all started sometime this past summer, and by “it” I mean a very extended wrestling match with God. Yeah, super idea, right? And whenever I enter into such foolishness, defeat is certain and known…yet, I continue. You wonder, what was it I was bringing to the mat? Well, essentially everything: my job(s)…my family…people’s pain…my friends…injustices…my future. Unfortunately, much of the wrestling had to do with myself, mainly because I can be a pretty selfish bastard. And I hate that.
Much of the summer and early fall was spent wrestling, some days for people and situations my eyes had been opened to, other days for my stupid little life, and still other days for things I have yet to know. Sometimes being pissed off at God just feels…good. He knows I love Him regardless, and many times I think He’s the only One able to hear what I need to say, able to handle prayers where F-bombs dominate.
So, sometime around September, I was getting pretty tired of wrestling, and losing pretty good at that point. As I stepped away from the wrestling mat, I instantly fell into a large sifter. The best way I know how to paint a picture of this is the following:
When I was a kid, probably preschool age, my mom would take me to the children’s museum. They always had a couple of rooms to explore and play with water and sand. There were all sorts of buckets and shovels and other things to entertain a four-year old for hours, including a big area where you could dig for “fossils.” So exciting. I remember scooping up large amounts of sand into a plastic sifter, eagerly anticipating the discovery of a new-found object. The thing with those sifters, though, is that the holes are so very small, and shaking is definitely required. And when a four-year old teams up with other four-year olds and they begin to shake a bunch of sand around, you get…a big mess. But in time, the treasure is found, amidst jubilee.
The past few weeks have been this: I am the plastic sifter; all the crap that has resided in my heart way too long is the sand; and God is the four-year old having way too much fun. And what’s left…well, that is a treasure. I’m not sure exactly what it looks like yet, but I know it’s a good thing. A refining of my heart, if you will.
I think the past week has been one of emergence from the sifting phase. Not that the sifting is stopping, just slowing down a bit. Let’s face it, there still is so much that I really suck at, and I have a definite growing cynical side…but I don’t think that’s all bad, and yeah…I’m just content with all of that for the time being. This past week…the convention in Indy and the amazing conversations that took place there; spending time with the fam; being encouraged and loved by some really stellar friends…yeah, it’s been incredible. After all the wrestling and sifting, some rebuilding and reuniting was very much needed.
So, what does all of this cryptic talk mean? I don’t know exactly. All I know is God loves me more than I can stand to feel. I know Boston is my home, Sojourn is my job, community is being built again in my life, and I must continue to be patient with basically…everything. Grad school and overseas work is coming…or at least I have significant hope for those things. Discouragement and frustration will probably still come – daily - and winter will be cold and dark; my homeless friends will shiver in the night, and kids I tutor will continue to fight for their education; empty, angry people will pass me on the street, and I can choose to either share or restrain the joy I have in Christ. In whatever comes, my best is all I can give…and that’s what I want to do. That’s what I must do.
This entry is a bit long and heavy, and…well, too bad. This is just a little of my life, a little of my heart...
I guess it all started sometime this past summer, and by “it” I mean a very extended wrestling match with God. Yeah, super idea, right? And whenever I enter into such foolishness, defeat is certain and known…yet, I continue. You wonder, what was it I was bringing to the mat? Well, essentially everything: my job(s)…my family…people’s pain…my friends…injustices…my future. Unfortunately, much of the wrestling had to do with myself, mainly because I can be a pretty selfish bastard. And I hate that.
Much of the summer and early fall was spent wrestling, some days for people and situations my eyes had been opened to, other days for my stupid little life, and still other days for things I have yet to know. Sometimes being pissed off at God just feels…good. He knows I love Him regardless, and many times I think He’s the only One able to hear what I need to say, able to handle prayers where F-bombs dominate.
So, sometime around September, I was getting pretty tired of wrestling, and losing pretty good at that point. As I stepped away from the wrestling mat, I instantly fell into a large sifter. The best way I know how to paint a picture of this is the following:
When I was a kid, probably preschool age, my mom would take me to the children’s museum. They always had a couple of rooms to explore and play with water and sand. There were all sorts of buckets and shovels and other things to entertain a four-year old for hours, including a big area where you could dig for “fossils.” So exciting. I remember scooping up large amounts of sand into a plastic sifter, eagerly anticipating the discovery of a new-found object. The thing with those sifters, though, is that the holes are so very small, and shaking is definitely required. And when a four-year old teams up with other four-year olds and they begin to shake a bunch of sand around, you get…a big mess. But in time, the treasure is found, amidst jubilee.
The past few weeks have been this: I am the plastic sifter; all the crap that has resided in my heart way too long is the sand; and God is the four-year old having way too much fun. And what’s left…well, that is a treasure. I’m not sure exactly what it looks like yet, but I know it’s a good thing. A refining of my heart, if you will.
I think the past week has been one of emergence from the sifting phase. Not that the sifting is stopping, just slowing down a bit. Let’s face it, there still is so much that I really suck at, and I have a definite growing cynical side…but I don’t think that’s all bad, and yeah…I’m just content with all of that for the time being. This past week…the convention in Indy and the amazing conversations that took place there; spending time with the fam; being encouraged and loved by some really stellar friends…yeah, it’s been incredible. After all the wrestling and sifting, some rebuilding and reuniting was very much needed.
So, what does all of this cryptic talk mean? I don’t know exactly. All I know is God loves me more than I can stand to feel. I know Boston is my home, Sojourn is my job, community is being built again in my life, and I must continue to be patient with basically…everything. Grad school and overseas work is coming…or at least I have significant hope for those things. Discouragement and frustration will probably still come – daily - and winter will be cold and dark; my homeless friends will shiver in the night, and kids I tutor will continue to fight for their education; empty, angry people will pass me on the street, and I can choose to either share or restrain the joy I have in Christ. In whatever comes, my best is all I can give…and that’s what I want to do. That’s what I must do.
This entry is a bit long and heavy, and…well, too bad. This is just a little of my life, a little of my heart...
30 October 2006
22 October 2006
game, set, match.
small victories of the past couple weeks...
**successful = no injuries/frostbite. AND, it was actually several steps beyond successful [i.e. amazing], thanks to a little stop here.
- 665 Beacon St: our new* office.
- B.A.A. half-marathon: check.
- first camping/hiking expedition in VT: first successful** trip with nate.
- bike accident in packard's corner: didn't die.
- second attempt at the GRE: improved by a whole 10 points.
- submission of first grad school application: not super-confident, but hopeful.
**successful = no injuries/frostbite. AND, it was actually several steps beyond successful [i.e. amazing], thanks to a little stop here.
19 September 2006
what runners may come
You swear you recall nothing at all
That could make you come back down
You made up your mind to leave it all behind
Now you're forced to fight it out
You fall away from your past
But it's following you
You left something undone, it's now your rerun
It's the one you can't erase
You should have made it right, so you wouldn't have to fight
To put a smile back on your face
You fall away from your past
But it's following you
You fall away
Something I've done that I can't outrun
Maybe you should wait maybe you should run
But there's something you've said that can't be undone
And you fall away from your past
But It's following you
You fall away
It's following you
- Fall Away, The Fray
regina spektor and the fray are my two newest loves. you should check them out.
along with that, the book The End of Poverty, by Jeff Sachs. incredible.
Sojourn things are really picking up, and so is my attitude, which has kind of sucked in recent weeks. so that's very exciting/encouraging. we have a weekly meeting for BU undergrads, as well as a weekly meeting for grad students throughout the city. and we should have our offices (shared with the Reunion guys) soon! [oh yeah, p.s. the Boston Partnership church-plant we are kind of partnering with, chose the name Reunion Christian Church a while back...and they are due to launch in less than 4 weeks.]
um, yeah. that's the very condensed version of new news, and it's the most important, i think.
i've been pretty torn lately, with way too much to mention here, but basically with thoughts on what is to come...and where and why i fit into whatever that is. when i stop and am real with myself, i am confident with whatever the whatever is. but many (wasted) minutes of my day are spent trying to tame my restlessness, or attempting to gather the little pieces of confidence left over from hearty blows to my soul, or wrestling with the daydreaming of new and fresh adventures while focusing on my work here. why can't i settle? where is contentment? why, when knowing and loving vulnerability, is it still so stinkin' hard? and from where do those stupid walls in my heart come?
don't get me wrong, i really love my life here, this far-from-mainstream life God has opened up to me. but the weeks, and days, and literally the hours of some days can be pretty rollercoaster-ish. if the foundation of my life is God, how can that be? i think a lot of it comes down to trust...and for that, i share with you a story:
i was running the other day, testing out my brand new running shoes, which was super exciting. anyway, i was approaching a rather busy intersection, so i thought to slow a bit, but the light was green so even a block away, i was totally going for it. on my right i was shadowed by a large, ugly brick building...on my left, i checked for cars...all clear. and then it happened. as soon as my foot fell in line with the building's cornerstone, BAM! a runner coming from the right barreled into me...or maybe i slammed into her. in either case, it was my first experience of literally running into someone while running. and honestly, after the initial shock and pain, it was pretty hilarious, i'm sure especially to any witnessing motorists.
i realized i put a lot of trust into my feet and my shoes (and as i get older, my knees) when i run. and, up until the other day, i guess i gave a fair amount of trust to my peripheral vision and my fellow runners as well. and the funny thing is, none of those things ever asked to be trusted, really. but Jesus asks me for my trust, to get up and follow Him. and i do; and i will. but i want to do a better job of that, you know? really lay it all out there, and not fear the unseen headphones-blaring-in-their-own-world runner; not fear whatever the whatever is.
slowly and steadily, my trust is deepening. and that's really, really good.
That could make you come back down
You made up your mind to leave it all behind
Now you're forced to fight it out
You fall away from your past
But it's following you
You left something undone, it's now your rerun
It's the one you can't erase
You should have made it right, so you wouldn't have to fight
To put a smile back on your face
You fall away from your past
But it's following you
You fall away
Something I've done that I can't outrun
Maybe you should wait maybe you should run
But there's something you've said that can't be undone
And you fall away from your past
But It's following you
You fall away
It's following you
- Fall Away, The Fray
regina spektor and the fray are my two newest loves. you should check them out.
along with that, the book The End of Poverty, by Jeff Sachs. incredible.
Sojourn things are really picking up, and so is my attitude, which has kind of sucked in recent weeks. so that's very exciting/encouraging. we have a weekly meeting for BU undergrads, as well as a weekly meeting for grad students throughout the city. and we should have our offices (shared with the Reunion guys) soon! [oh yeah, p.s. the Boston Partnership church-plant we are kind of partnering with, chose the name Reunion Christian Church a while back...and they are due to launch in less than 4 weeks.]
um, yeah. that's the very condensed version of new news, and it's the most important, i think.
i've been pretty torn lately, with way too much to mention here, but basically with thoughts on what is to come...and where and why i fit into whatever that is. when i stop and am real with myself, i am confident with whatever the whatever is. but many (wasted) minutes of my day are spent trying to tame my restlessness, or attempting to gather the little pieces of confidence left over from hearty blows to my soul, or wrestling with the daydreaming of new and fresh adventures while focusing on my work here. why can't i settle? where is contentment? why, when knowing and loving vulnerability, is it still so stinkin' hard? and from where do those stupid walls in my heart come?
don't get me wrong, i really love my life here, this far-from-mainstream life God has opened up to me. but the weeks, and days, and literally the hours of some days can be pretty rollercoaster-ish. if the foundation of my life is God, how can that be? i think a lot of it comes down to trust...and for that, i share with you a story:
i was running the other day, testing out my brand new running shoes, which was super exciting. anyway, i was approaching a rather busy intersection, so i thought to slow a bit, but the light was green so even a block away, i was totally going for it. on my right i was shadowed by a large, ugly brick building...on my left, i checked for cars...all clear. and then it happened. as soon as my foot fell in line with the building's cornerstone, BAM! a runner coming from the right barreled into me...or maybe i slammed into her. in either case, it was my first experience of literally running into someone while running. and honestly, after the initial shock and pain, it was pretty hilarious, i'm sure especially to any witnessing motorists.
i realized i put a lot of trust into my feet and my shoes (and as i get older, my knees) when i run. and, up until the other day, i guess i gave a fair amount of trust to my peripheral vision and my fellow runners as well. and the funny thing is, none of those things ever asked to be trusted, really. but Jesus asks me for my trust, to get up and follow Him. and i do; and i will. but i want to do a better job of that, you know? really lay it all out there, and not fear the unseen headphones-blaring-in-their-own-world runner; not fear whatever the whatever is.
slowly and steadily, my trust is deepening. and that's really, really good.
24 August 2006
summer school roundup
my five-week stint as a teacher (tutor, whatever...i made lesson plans everyday so that has to count for something) at summer school is over. Nayisha kicked butt and passed her final; Shatieya ended up moving to tennessee two days before summer school was over; and Corey improved by almost 30% on his math proficiency test. i'm really proud of them.so last week was kind of crazy, balancing three jobs (Sojourn responsibilities are back in full force); this week has been nice, back to "normal" life, whatever that is. but, i really miss my kiddos. i wish i had a picture of them, but here's a pic of our tutoring team, The Bulls. we were an awesome team and had a lot of fun.
lots of new Sojourn news coming at you soon! (including, we are now officially an independent non-profit).
02 August 2006
so i'm a teacher (kind of)
my tutoring job (with the MATCH Summer Academy) has been going for almost three weeks now. it's held at MIT, which is great because a) the MATCH school has a partnership with MIT, and the kids get a little taste of college life, and b) my apartment is conveniently situated equidistant between MIT and Harvard...and i have jobs at both places.
anyway, for the first two weeks, i tutored two students in algebra 2 and one in geometry. my algebra students, Shatieya and Nayisha, are hilarious and, for the most part, really focused. Marcus was my geometry student, but since he was only at summer academy for failing a final (and not a class), the deal is two weeks of tutoring, re-take the final and pass...and you're done. so Marcus took that bad boy last friday...and PASSED! i was pretty stoked.
so since i don't have Marcus anymore, this week i got a new student, Corey. he's an incoming freshman, and he's a great kid, but man...we have a lot of work to do. today we spent two hours on fractions and converting fractions to decimals. two hours. and Corey is a quick-learner, and worked really hard, but i think he has trouble with retention...so, we'll see. it was just killing me though, and honestly, making me really mad - not at him - at the system that has so dreadfully failed him. a ninth-grader, who stuggles at long division? the sad truth is, yes, and he is very much not alone.
this is why the MATCH school exists, and why i love tutoring these kids: because education and knowledge is freedom, and these kids have been imprisioned in a (nameless) school system(s) that has given them nothing of the sort. now they have four short years to turn around a lifetime of educational inadequacy, and let me tell you, they are fighters...and they inspire me every day. i'm so glad to be a small part of it.
anyway, for the first two weeks, i tutored two students in algebra 2 and one in geometry. my algebra students, Shatieya and Nayisha, are hilarious and, for the most part, really focused. Marcus was my geometry student, but since he was only at summer academy for failing a final (and not a class), the deal is two weeks of tutoring, re-take the final and pass...and you're done. so Marcus took that bad boy last friday...and PASSED! i was pretty stoked.
so since i don't have Marcus anymore, this week i got a new student, Corey. he's an incoming freshman, and he's a great kid, but man...we have a lot of work to do. today we spent two hours on fractions and converting fractions to decimals. two hours. and Corey is a quick-learner, and worked really hard, but i think he has trouble with retention...so, we'll see. it was just killing me though, and honestly, making me really mad - not at him - at the system that has so dreadfully failed him. a ninth-grader, who stuggles at long division? the sad truth is, yes, and he is very much not alone.
this is why the MATCH school exists, and why i love tutoring these kids: because education and knowledge is freedom, and these kids have been imprisioned in a (nameless) school system(s) that has given them nothing of the sort. now they have four short years to turn around a lifetime of educational inadequacy, and let me tell you, they are fighters...and they inspire me every day. i'm so glad to be a small part of it.
13 July 2006
yes!
of the 10 most overpriced places in the united states, THREE are in the Boston metro area!! go Cambridge, at number 5!
just one of the many challenges we face doing ministry here. now do you see why i can't afford meat?!?
just one of the many challenges we face doing ministry here. now do you see why i can't afford meat?!?
11 July 2006
bad news
this was not how i wanted to see boston make BBC News.
read the Globe for more.
i wonder, has anything good actually come from the big dig? a 14-BILLION dollar project...that leaks and kills people. awesome.
i guess i'll just make sure to hold my breath and wear protective headgear whenever traveling through the tunnels...
read the Globe for more.
i wonder, has anything good actually come from the big dig? a 14-BILLION dollar project...that leaks and kills people. awesome.
i guess i'll just make sure to hold my breath and wear protective headgear whenever traveling through the tunnels...
08 July 2006
hoosiers are special people.
indiana was very, very good to me.
i was overwhelmingly blessed by time spent with really great people... people who know me, people who gave me needed advice, people who give hugs so strong they literally take your breath away.
and i learned new things about the Home State that i've never known...that northeast indiana is really quite beautiful; that fireworks are now legal; that AAA will come, eventually, when you are stranded on I-69 for 2 hours; and that you really can't ever get enough dairy queen. :)
oh Home State, i do love you. and maybe i will return to live someday. but right now, i need to be here, and i'm equally scared and excited for that.
i've been reading the book of Galatians over and over for the past week or so, really meditating on it, and processing it differently than before. i have a LOT of decisions to make in the next few months - about my job(s), potential grad school, and pretty much everything in my life - but you know, it's ok. my responsibility is to live the creative best i can (Gal 6), and i will. and i'll probably mess up a few times and make some not-so-great choices, but i'm human, and God knows that. even as stupid as i can be sometimes, it's really not within me to mess up the plans God has for me. and that's an incredibly good thing.
so anyway, i'm back here, working at Hems and the MAC for the summer. it's pretty great being the boss. :) AND, i have another job coming up soon...starting July 17th, i'll be tutoring at the Summer Academy for the MATCH School!! i can't wait, although i'm a little intimidated because i have to actually make lesson plans and do real teacher type stuff. but it should be great, and the director even scraped together a stipend for me. outside of jobs and volunteering at Starlight, i'm training for another half-marathon in October, researching grad schools, and doing random Sojourn things to prepare for the fall. so, as wonderful as traveling around europe and the midwest was, it is quite good to be back.
p.s. pictures soon, i promise.
i was overwhelmingly blessed by time spent with really great people... people who know me, people who gave me needed advice, people who give hugs so strong they literally take your breath away.
and i learned new things about the Home State that i've never known...that northeast indiana is really quite beautiful; that fireworks are now legal; that AAA will come, eventually, when you are stranded on I-69 for 2 hours; and that you really can't ever get enough dairy queen. :)
oh Home State, i do love you. and maybe i will return to live someday. but right now, i need to be here, and i'm equally scared and excited for that.
i've been reading the book of Galatians over and over for the past week or so, really meditating on it, and processing it differently than before. i have a LOT of decisions to make in the next few months - about my job(s), potential grad school, and pretty much everything in my life - but you know, it's ok. my responsibility is to live the creative best i can (Gal 6), and i will. and i'll probably mess up a few times and make some not-so-great choices, but i'm human, and God knows that. even as stupid as i can be sometimes, it's really not within me to mess up the plans God has for me. and that's an incredibly good thing.
so anyway, i'm back here, working at Hems and the MAC for the summer. it's pretty great being the boss. :) AND, i have another job coming up soon...starting July 17th, i'll be tutoring at the Summer Academy for the MATCH School!! i can't wait, although i'm a little intimidated because i have to actually make lesson plans and do real teacher type stuff. but it should be great, and the director even scraped together a stipend for me. outside of jobs and volunteering at Starlight, i'm training for another half-marathon in October, researching grad schools, and doing random Sojourn things to prepare for the fall. so, as wonderful as traveling around europe and the midwest was, it is quite good to be back.
p.s. pictures soon, i promise.
12 June 2006
across the pond...
so momma and i recently returned from 10 days in europe! it was amazing! 10 days, 5 countries, and about 500 pictures...
i figured no one wants to see all 500, so i picked a few of my favorites. enjoy the Flickr slideshow! and maybe i'll put a couple on here at some point.
within two weeks, i've done an awful lot of traveling. i like it. as i write this, i am in louisville, KY. [well, technically, georgetown IN.] the short-list of places i've been since may 25th: NYC, zurich, venice, vienna, prague, munich, lucerne...then back to boston via new york...then to providence, D.C., indianapolis...a wedding in middle-of-nowhere-Indiana...and now, louisville.
all that traveling has left me with quite a few stories, maybe you'll get to hear some later. :)
i figured no one wants to see all 500, so i picked a few of my favorites. enjoy the Flickr slideshow! and maybe i'll put a couple on here at some point.
within two weeks, i've done an awful lot of traveling. i like it. as i write this, i am in louisville, KY. [well, technically, georgetown IN.] the short-list of places i've been since may 25th: NYC, zurich, venice, vienna, prague, munich, lucerne...then back to boston via new york...then to providence, D.C., indianapolis...a wedding in middle-of-nowhere-Indiana...and now, louisville.
all that traveling has left me with quite a few stories, maybe you'll get to hear some later. :)
21 May 2006
year number one.
this weekend marks one year of my living in boston. well, technically, i've just hit the 9-month mark, but add the 3 months of summer '04, which very much count, and you get one year.
to commemorate this grand occasion, i thought i would share some reflections and stories. but instead, i think i'll just fly to Zurich, Switzerland in a few days. yep, that sounds like a lot more fun. :)
momma and i are flying out thursday! look for pictures upon my return...
to commemorate this grand occasion, i thought i would share some reflections and stories. but instead, i think i'll just fly to Zurich, Switzerland in a few days. yep, that sounds like a lot more fun. :)
momma and i are flying out thursday! look for pictures upon my return...
15 May 2006
monsoons of may
so, i like rain and all, but eight straight days is a little excessive.
three girls from work and i have started a small group. it's pretty great. at times i am a little overwhelmed by it though...i mean, i am the "minister" of the group, and even though i feel my Bible knowledge is decent, i'm realizing it's really not. the good news is, we are pretty much starting from scratch, so i look like a genius. :) when we sat down a couple weeks ago, they wanted to know everything about the Bible because they all admit to have never really read it. not sure where to start, i threw out some fun facts...like, it's got 66 books, Old and New Testaments, it's the Word of God, etc. they responded with gasps and wide eyes, and i could just see their intrigue and hunger growing. we discussed possible books to start with, and somewhere along the line, Cain and Abel came up. they had never heard the names or the story. so, i read it to them. many questions followed. it was awesome. i've never been so excited to read about Cain and Abel in my entire life.
tonight our discussion started off with questions about the differences between all religions. not just all protestant groups, all religions. holy crap. maybe i should go to seminary. i only took one religions class in college, and slept through it or skipped it half the time.
so anyway, small group is going well. Sojourn things have slowed down with the end of the school year, and (fun) fundraising is fast approaching. yay.
since the snow finally left us in early april, i've been running and biking (well, until Trek's tires were stolen) a lot. which has been great, except for when i rolled my ankle while trail running in NH. (disclaimer: not nate's fault). i've finally been able to run again the past two weeks, but i think my foot hates me. probably because i'm pretty sure i broke some bones in there somewhere, but without health insurance, who knows. i'm trying to be nice to it, but i still run because, well, that's what i do. and, now i'm officially on Team Luna, like one of the eight core runners! we get uniforms and everything, so i'm super stoked about that.
lately my struggle has been with the fine line of being "all things to all people," and actually becoming those people. it's tough. because, i definitely want to be all things to all people (1 Cor 9:19-23), and i think God likes that. but i don't want to get wrapped up in the culture; i want to be busy, but not hurried; i want to be knowledgeable, but without pride; i want to be focused on what needs to be done, but never selfish.
hmm. i have a lot more to say about a lot of things, but i think i need sleep more than pounding out the ramblings in my head. shalom, friends.
three girls from work and i have started a small group. it's pretty great. at times i am a little overwhelmed by it though...i mean, i am the "minister" of the group, and even though i feel my Bible knowledge is decent, i'm realizing it's really not. the good news is, we are pretty much starting from scratch, so i look like a genius. :) when we sat down a couple weeks ago, they wanted to know everything about the Bible because they all admit to have never really read it. not sure where to start, i threw out some fun facts...like, it's got 66 books, Old and New Testaments, it's the Word of God, etc. they responded with gasps and wide eyes, and i could just see their intrigue and hunger growing. we discussed possible books to start with, and somewhere along the line, Cain and Abel came up. they had never heard the names or the story. so, i read it to them. many questions followed. it was awesome. i've never been so excited to read about Cain and Abel in my entire life.
tonight our discussion started off with questions about the differences between all religions. not just all protestant groups, all religions. holy crap. maybe i should go to seminary. i only took one religions class in college, and slept through it or skipped it half the time.
so anyway, small group is going well. Sojourn things have slowed down with the end of the school year, and (fun) fundraising is fast approaching. yay.
since the snow finally left us in early april, i've been running and biking (well, until Trek's tires were stolen) a lot. which has been great, except for when i rolled my ankle while trail running in NH. (disclaimer: not nate's fault). i've finally been able to run again the past two weeks, but i think my foot hates me. probably because i'm pretty sure i broke some bones in there somewhere, but without health insurance, who knows. i'm trying to be nice to it, but i still run because, well, that's what i do. and, now i'm officially on Team Luna, like one of the eight core runners! we get uniforms and everything, so i'm super stoked about that.
lately my struggle has been with the fine line of being "all things to all people," and actually becoming those people. it's tough. because, i definitely want to be all things to all people (1 Cor 9:19-23), and i think God likes that. but i don't want to get wrapped up in the culture; i want to be busy, but not hurried; i want to be knowledgeable, but without pride; i want to be focused on what needs to be done, but never selfish.
hmm. i have a lot more to say about a lot of things, but i think i need sleep more than pounding out the ramblings in my head. shalom, friends.
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