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- i feel really blessed and encouraged after a great easter yesterday. our easter service was a lot of fun, with a great turnout of people, a full band (or close to it!)...and, this is difficult to describe, but a feeling of "rightness" about our new place and time. i don't know if that is the correct word, but it just feels natural and good when we are together on sunday mornings at matt's house.

- after our celebration, i went over to dave and cathy johnson's and got to eat a delicious easter meal with the johnson family, which is always a joy and priviledge. while hanging with them i got the distinct impression for the second week in a row that chip and jenn and family are in a good place and in good hands here in durango. while i was never going to be able to "take care of them," it does encourage me, as i leave, to see that they are well cared for in ministry and family life. very cool!!

- then, i spent the rest of the afternoon with some of the young couples in our church. we ate (i ate well yesterday!), played music together, and had some great times. there were a couple of moments where i imagined that this community will still be together, eating and playing music, months from now, when i am long gone, and that also was an encouragement to me. real community has been formed here. also very cool!!

- these are things that make me very happy.

pictures:

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- it's been a busy few days...here's a run down of recent events:

- spent a great week with amy...we got our invitations done and bought wedding bands...very cool!

- we had our first sunday morning service...it felt very natural and normal.

- we met with Patrick Crossing people to discuss some more future possibilities and partnerships.

- i drafted my fantasy baseball team (the centerpiece of which is Matt Holliday)...hopefully this will be another winner.

- now, it's back to the grind! 

- here are some pictures

 

the new place:

- Hanging out and Invitations:

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- this has been a great week of hanging out with amy!  we've gotten some stuff done, but we've also been able to catch up on some movie watching.  here's a summary:

1) Once (every one's probably seen this, but it's great...great music, interesting story, well shot)

2) Gone Baby Gone (takes place in the Boston neighborhood where amy and I hope to live...also raises some interesting questions about society)

3) King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (story of two guys going for glory by recording the all time highest score in donkey kong...sounds lame, but it's unbelievable...probably the best of the three...a fascinating study in human nature)

that's it for now...

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political thoughts...

today is a big day in the democratic primaries (obviously), plus i've been reading Jesus for President (which i won't comment on, except to say that whether you read the book or not, pick up a copy and look through the pages...the design is unbelievable...it makes a Rob Bell book look boring in comparison), so in that spirit i offer my thoughts:

i actually don't have too many sophisticated political thoughts at this point. just a sense of angst (which is true of many other aspects of my life these days, so why should politics be any different?).

anyway, i've been a fan of Barak Obama since his speech at the '04 democratic convention. my reaction was, who is this guy and why isn't he running for president? a few months later i received his memoir, Dreams From My Father, for Christmas and i really enjoyed reading it. last year i read his other book, The Audacity of Hope, and i enjoyed that as well. i love his background, what he represents, that he spent time in south Chicago working in neighborhoods familiar to me, and, i admit, when the guy speaks i get chills...he's an incredible communicator.

however, i feel conflicted about his campaign. part of it is stupid and selfish. three years ago he was still under the radar and it was like discovering this cool band that few other people knew about and every now and then i'd run across someone who knew about Obama and there was this knowing, insider look we'd exchange. now everyone has an opinion about Obama, and i feel the same way i feel when that cool little band all of a sudden gets huge and everyone knows them and has their opinion about them (and your parents are going to their concerts...sorry mom and dad, couldn't help it!). so, that's my dumb reason for feeling conflicted. on to the more important reasons...

...here's the tension i feel:

1) i hope Obama wins and is the next president of the United States. i've voted in two presidential elections and both times it felt like i was choosing the lesser of two evils. this is the first time in my voting life that i actually like a presidential candidate for who he is and what he stands for, not because he seems slightly less worse than other guy (i apologize for my male-centric pronouns). but...

2) i also hope Obama loses and does not become the next president of the United States. i am extremely wary of power, especially political power: the ways that it changes people and what it does to a person's soul. i also fear becoming more disillusioned with the political system by watching someone i admire compromise and play the inevitable political games that one has to play.

so here is what i hope actually happens...Obama wins the democratic nomination, but loses the presidential campaign. he then decides to go back to the grassroots level and community organizing, using his new found clought and profile to stand up again for people who desperately need advocates, all the while speaking prophetically into our political system. probably not going to happen (my audacious hope), but that's what i would really like to see...

...comment starter: are you hopeful or wary as far the '08 presidential race is concerned?