community

i am learning more about what community is and what it should look like. two weeks ago i was able to be a counselor at rainbow christian camp. (where jenny attended as a teen and worked during summers.) it was an amazing camp where we and another pastor led a small group throughout the week where we would meet and debrief over the days events. we became a pretty tight nit group and were able to be quite transparent with each other. it seemed like each one of us were in a period of searching. the other pastor had resigned his job the day camp started. and the teens were either all going into their senior year or had just graduated from high school. that week we had community.

this past week i read the book "the irresistable revolution" by shane claiborne. it was the most inspirational and what i hope to be transforming book i have ever read. (yeah yeah of course other then the bible, but i hope you realized that already but just in case i felt i should add this.) he took chances for the kingdom, for community and for love of his neighbor. i am not sure how exactly this book will change me but if i can learn to love my neighbor like shane does then it will be worth it. this is a guy who has been persecuted for his faith. he has been in jail. he was in a car accident caused by a u.s. missile in iraq. he has slept in the cold, gone without food, boycotted taco bell because of unfair wages to migrant workers. this book showed me more about community.

tomorrow we leave for chicago. jenny and i will celebrate 3 years of marriage. . so for about 24 hours we will celebrate that as we spend the day on lakeshore dr, walk navy pier, maybe go into a museum, enjoy dinner together. but she more then anyone has taught me about community.
then on monday morning we will wake up in our best western hotel (thanks to the kindness of bob keisinger) in naperville, il (a suburb of chicago) eat our free continental breakfast and pick up our friends justin and lindsay for a short 20 hr drive to montana. we will stay in billings with jenny's aunt take in the sites at bighorn for a couple days and then head to yellowstone and the grand tetons. we will be tenting at grant village for three nights right on yellowstone lake. i am really excited about vacationing with such good friends as justin and lindsay. we are both in the same place in life as we are looking for jobs in the indy area. justin and i will both be starting grad school in nov at iwu. after we leave yellowstone we will be going to rocky mountain national park and meet up with more college friends. i am looking forward to the community.

i miss the community we had back in college. able to hang out all the time either playing cards or eating every meal together. we all became pretty close. something i havent really had for the last four years. sure i had some good friends but i think college sets you up in how you view community. i hope for that community again.

christianity: a paradox?

as defined by dictionary.com a paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

it seems a bit weird but i have found that i am living a paradox. christianity with all its truth is surrounded by the absurd or contradictory things. let me explain. in the beatitudes we have the statement that says "blessed are the poor." by the worlds standards being poor is not a blessing at all. in fact some see it as a curse.

in matthew it also discusses the first shall be the last and the last shall be first. which is quite complex as well. if i am last how on earth can i be first?

romans 12 says i am to be a living sacrafice. it is a lot to rap your mind around. very contradictory but like the definition of a paradox expresses a possible truth. but this might be a reason why people are so confused with christianity. it expresses views that sometimes are hard to understand.

i hopefully will have some more time to expound on these ideas in other blogs. these are just a few of the paradoxes. do you have any that you have been chewing on? as for now i will let you go.

unemployment

it has already been more then a month since we first rolled out of pulaski. a month with no responsiblitiies and no schedule. it seems kind of weird. i am used to rolling out of bed early and getting ready to go to work. but since june 11th i have not set an alarm. i am still wondering about this new found freedom i have that is not bound by meetings, appointments, hospital visits and the youth. to tell you the truth i miss it. i miss the structure and feeling like i am doing something important.

as to date we have traveled over 3000 miles and been in the car 65 hrs. alot of driving. everything that we need is packed in a 2001 dodge caravan and everything we thought we could live with throughout the summer is in storage back in pulaski.

we heard back from bethel college. they decided to hire some graduates of the school instead. jenny was pretty uneasy about the position anyway so it is probably for the better. so because of that we are able to go out west. hopefully we will be able to fit in yellowstone, the grand tetons, las vegas and the grand canyon before we end up in colorado to visit with college friends.

i realized i forgot my bible at my parents house and tomorrow we head to jenny's church camp that she grew up at. i think i might go buy one tomorrow so i dont show up to camp without a bible. i would be a great example for all the high schoolers.

so it looks like we will probably be moving to the marion or indianapolis area. not quite sure. grad classes at iwu start on sept 25 so we have a while to work on housing, jobs and all that stuff. we will be arriving back from the west mid to late august so plenty of time. so if you live in those areas and know of some available housing or jobs let us know. see you later.