25359 Day 61

moving_day

we're all moved in...except for our couch. we tried valiantly but it was not to be. too big for a circa-1910 house. oh well. we have a big old mess to deal with now! another step closer to being settled, finally.

we're tired.

the end.

25259 Day 60

new_home

moving day tomorrow! got all of the major painting done today...crew coming over to move us in the morning. can't wait...

...check out the view from out back deck =)

25159 Day 59

dreaming pt 2...

campus ministry expressions at BU...possibilities, ideas, soon to be realities...

25059 Day 58

dreaming...

what could a broader involvement in the dorchester community look like?

24959 Day 57

eating_animals

just started this book a few days ago and have a long ways to go to finish it, so nothing i will say in this post is in the same neighborhood as "final decision/ultimate takeaway". foer is arguably my favorite fiction writer (see everything is illuminated and extremely loud and incredibly close), but this is the first he's ventured into non-fiction (that i know of). it's more of a memoir. a food memoir. and it has to do with eating meat. i don't know where this book will take me, i do know he doesn't want everyone to become a vegan. he does want people to think about the food they eat, where it comes from, and to demand a change to the factory farming of animals that we enable in this country. i can say that it has made amy and i think about where we buy our food. more can be found here and more to come later.

24859 Day 56

trivia_night

all semester amy has been working hard in a variety of groups. and by variety i mean so many that it would make your head spin. it's pretty ridiculous. one of those groups (a 12 person group, mind you) has been working on a PT marketing plan for weeks. their idea to promote PT was to have a thematic trivia night. what a great idea and what a blast we all had! here i am with my team, which i am pretty sure won but got cheated out of victory by some bizarre scoring. but not the point...

...i am so proud of my wife. this semester has been radically different from any other semester of PT school. most of it involves doing projects and engaging learning styles that don't give amy a whole lot of life. it's also the least structured of any semester by far. factor in the reality of not having a "home" and my transition back into ministry and its a wonder that she's still going. but back to the pride part of it, despite being stretched this semester in about every way possible, amy maintains a good attitude and a high level of grace, two things i wish i could do better myself!

24759 Day 55

paint

i'm really getting tired of me always forgetting my camera for important things. one important thing that happened today is that we painted some rooms in our new apartment. and, some of our old friends/new neighbors were able to walk over and help. how cool is that! but of course no one can see how cool that was and relive it with us. you'll just have to use your imagination. another important thing that happened was breakfast after church this morning with a new financial partner. how cool is that! but of course you can't see us sitting around "the other side cafe" having a wonderful time. you'll just have to use your imagination.

it's been a good day. take my word for it.

24659 Day 54

read_retreat_serve

in an attempt to provide students with "mini" opportunities to engage new ideas and missional practices in a way that is compelling and that sparks deeper thought and imagination for what is possible on campus, we created a one-day learning experience dubbed read.retreat.serve. we would love to do a couple of these each semester, so this was kind of our trial run, and i'd say that it was a huge success.

we spent the morning at the bethany house of prayer in arlington, ma. what a beautiful oasis in the middle of boston. we engaged in some directed reading and then we came together at the end of our time for a great reflective discussion.

then we headed up to salem, ma, to help out a church there that is doing some exciting "out-of-the-box" ministry in a pretty weird town (salem, for those history buffs, was at the heart of the "witch trials" and is still a big hotbed of witch activity). the gathering, as this church is called, does some pretty creative stuff to reach out to people during this time of the year, which, as we near halloween, is a big moment of spiritual seeking in the community. i've lived in or near some weird, funky towns with strange spirituality's and faith expressions but i think salem at halloween might take the cake for me. i had a chance to go to "witch school" and basically ask this master witch any questions. what an amazing conversation we had! some in our crew were able to offer people blessings, while others passed out free hot chocolate and raise awareness about fair trade. all in all it was a very cool experience and i think students left challenged to think about creative ways to communicate the gospel in their own contexts on their campuses.

24559 Day 53

boston_bowl

hi! this is amy again. tonight, steve and i took destany and tyquiana, two girls from the quincy st. neighborhood, out to boston bowl for a night of candlepin bowling. destany and i usually have tutoring on friday afternoons, and decided that we wanted to make this particular tutoring time into a fun outing. so she invited a friend, i invited a friend, and off we went. we had a great time, and discovered that candlepin bowling is a lot more fun when the bumpers are up!

the only frustrating part of the night came when destany and tyquiana wanted to get food. destany and i have started to work on nutrition and learning how to choose healthier foods, since that has been an issue for her...the only problem is, many of the food options available to her on a regular basis aren't good ones. tonight was no different. we spent a while trying to decide the best food choice at the bowling center, and finally compromised on a slice of veggie pizza, which she actually really enjoys. however, we found out that they only offer cheese and pepperoni by the slice, and so that option was out! she was left to choose from (a very large display of) fried chicken, fries, hamburgers, and a couple of subs. in the end, she ate something that wasn't very nutritious...she enjoyed it, but i was bummed that the organizational systems in place set her (and many other kids in this area) up for failure in terms of participating in healthy lifestyles. this is actually what i'm doing my academic practicum on this semester - i'm creating a health and wellness curriculum for inner-city kids - and i've just been blown away by the research i've read. this stuff gets me fired up! ask me about it sometime if you're interested...

24459 Day 52

lincoln_brewster

today involved opening at sbux, a lot of time on the train, a short visit to the office, a flurry of work at home, a lot of listening to music and reading as a result of being on the train, hanging out with shane, and attending the reunion baptism event.

it was at this event that someone pointed out that i look like this guy. i've noticed (for reasons i can't explain) that people are always trying to place me. i've been told, at various points in my life, that i look like val kilmer, casey blake, jeremy camp (this is one is the big winner for number of mentions and direct questioning: are you jeremy camp?), and now lincoln brewster.

do i look like this guy?

24359 Day 51

sex_and_the_soul

shane gave this book to read last week...absolutely fascinating. i have a lot of thoughts about this book, but this guy has a pretty good summary. i'll share more when i finish it.

24259 Day 50

resource_team

i've written about this before, but we continue to be blown away by the generosity of our resource team. as we've begun generating support for our ministry, we created a team that would allow people to give and participate in our ministry in more creative ways than simply donating money on a monthly basis (although that is REALLY important to what we do!!!)

yesterday we got a wonderfully encouraging note, and yet another gift card! we are so blessed to have several people caring for us in a variety of creative expressions. the struggle continues to be to know how to receive these good gifts well and express our gratitude for them over and over again in genuine ways. thanks resource team!!

24159 Day 49

back_to_bird

most of you will know that i worked for bird street community center the past two summers, and during the 08-09 school year. amy and i have committed to maintaining that relationship, particularly with the kids.

i've been trying to get over to my old site on monday afternoons. it's been great to see ramel and isaiah (pictured) and the rest of the old crew, along with some new faces.

being a volunteer is a little weird after being the "boss". but it's amazing how quickly the authoritarian skills come back. most encouraging is that the kids still listen to me! that aside it is good to be present with them, even in a more limited fashion, and hopefully continue to build on some of the progress made over the last year.

24059 Day 48

october_snow

a picture is worth a thousand words. i don't care where you live...it shouldn't be snowing in october.

the end.

23959 Day 47

pete_carroll

as a northern california native it is sacrilegious to root for teams from southern california. so it is a little weird that i have developed such an affinity for USC Football. however, i have a couple of legitimate excuses:

1) my wife is an 'SC alum, and more importantly was a student athlete (a national championship winner to boot), so there is a lot of pride there and it is fun to get excited about things your spouse is excited about.

2) Pete Carroll is the coach of the Trojans and he is infinitely like able. he gets really excited, he has a lot of fun, he doesn't do the "coach scowl" or rip on his players. he used to coach for the 49ers (at the end of their run of greatness), and he is an alum of the best school in california, perhaps even the US.

i love watching the trojans mainly for pete...i hope that i have as much fun doing my job as he does!

(we watched sc defeat nd today with the new england usc alumni group...great game...great day too...quincy st kids, picked out paint for the apartment, slept in, good football game...nice little fall saturday)

23859 Day 46

meetings

sorry for the delay in posting...our connection was not functioning last night. today was a day of meeting and connecting with various people: phil with reunion, tim, a kid who is interested in transferring to BU, and caleb. i think meetings can be frustrating to people in ministry a lot of the time. they maybe don't feel so productive, but i found this time to be pretty enriching and fulfilling.

also, we found out today that we got the apartment that we wanted which is really good news! can't wait to move in!!!

23759 Day 45

campus_ministry

tonight i "interviewed" shane and celie (two undergrad students at Boston University). we talked about the spiritual climate at BU, the book sex and the soul, what the ideal campus ministry at BU would look like, our spiritual journeys, heavy Jesus and light Jesus, and whole bunch of other things. i LOVE these conversations. and this is why i love campus ministry.

23659 Day 44

crowder

close followers of the ID will notice that this is the second time this picture has made an appearance (take a close look at the fellow rapturously worshipping in the back ground). today a lot of stuff happened, and i didn't have my camera for most of it, and i need to go to bed so i don't have a lot of time either, and this post is easy.

been listening to the new crowder album a lot in the last week since i got it. it's great. as with everything the crowder band does, this album is highly intentioned and in no way a random scattering of songs. i can hear some people criticizing this effort as the culmination of their worst fear regarding the bands "descent" in to electronic music. but when you read about what they are doing and the thought process that goes in to their work and how it fits in to our culture, it is nothing less than brilliant.

23559 Day 43

part_time_jobs

sometimes getting up at 4:40 am to go to work at a job that is not the most fulfilling seems pointless in the grand scheme of things (I am a CAMPUS MINISTER after all...oohs and ahhs for the fancy title please). but then here's the weird thing...i get into at least one amazingly deep philosophical/spiritual discussion with ramon every week...i get to try to explain things like campus ministry, fund raising, and intentionally living in dorchester to folks who don't have a lot of, if any, experience with that, which helps me scrub out the christianese from my vocabulary. and i get invited to parties (like the one tonight) where these relationships get to grow outside of work. which is all pretty cool. and so sometimes i am actually grateful for this silly part-time job.

23459 Day 42

regrouping_and_moving_on

here is what i know must be important in our lives right now:

1) continuing to work on our marriage: protecting and cultivating our covenant is what i wrote in my journal. amy and i have had two "normal" months of marriage, if that. we had a roommate for a year, have hosted friends and family in the meantime, and are currently living with generous friends until moving in to our next place. having some space for the two of us, though it feels selfish, is a huge priority.

2) getting established in our careers: this also feels selfish, but this is a big year for us vocationally. i am getting started with sojourn and amy is intensely preparing this next year to enter the work force. getting our ministry established and amy through her final year of school well are priorities.

3) fund raising. establishing a strong base of support so that i can focus on ministry full-time is a priority.

losing this house has been a lot of things. it seems (too) neat and tidy to call it God saving us from a project too big (although that may be part of it). while we many not know what to "call" this chapter in our story, it does feel a lot like an exercise in priorities...in deciding what we will say yes and no to. unfortunately, a house remodel/rehab does not fit in to the top three, and in fact would probably have undermined those priorities. (ps. there are other priorities that go in and around and above the three listed, like growing in love for God and others). saying yes and no to things is so hard for me, i like maybes and perhapses better. but a big part of my character transformation is learning how to do this commitment thing, this yes and no thing, better.

23359 Day 41

red sox eliminated

i'll never know what boston was like in the days of the curse. i'm sure that a day like today would have been much worse. that being said it was a pretty somber day in the city. amy and i watched the game in an irish pub downtown and it was pretty quiet at the end. but it also felt like, "hey, on to the next thing," not the live and die mentality boston fans are known for. that being said, if the phillies don't beat the rockies, this is shaping up to be a grim MLB postseason for me.

23259 Day 40

brothers

i ate an extraordinary amount of breakfast food at this joint today. i dined with riis, a cool kid i met through manny (see his blog to the left...we know each other from camp). riis is a senior at umass and passionate about college students. we had some good discussions about "diversity" in church, girls, and family. good stuff!

23159 Day 39

week_end

what a strange week. bizarre. we saw a bunny tonight in the nelson's yard. seemed symbolic. we lost "our" house. we found an apartment (probably). an old friend is interested in coming on staff with sojourn. we're both emotionally wiped out. i don't know what else to say. what is a bunny doing in the inner city?

23059 Day 38

back_to_fields_corner???

the weirdness of the home buying adventure continues on...we were granted a commitment date extension by the seller, but the time we were granted was not long enough for the bank to get all the information it needed to become satisfied...so is this the owner's backwards of telling us no? who knows...time to move on.

amy and i looked at two apartments and liked both of them. we are pursuing one near our old stomping grounds of fields corner, or the "fc" as i like to call it. it also looks like we have a real good shot at it and there are a lot of reasons to be exited about this development (more on that soon).

22959 Day 37

vision_and_stuff

i read this book, visioneering, much earlier in the year. i thought it would be a throwaway read (i read a book before by andy stanley and i didn't like it, plus i don't usually like leadership books not written by erwin mcmanus). humbly, i must admit that this booked gave me a lot to think about. and it continues to do so.

so, andy talks about at least three "tests" (i don't like the word test because i think christian's generally abuse this idea) or challenges (a superior word) to a leader's vision. i'm paraphrasing, but the three challenges look like this:

a) criticism from opponents

b) circumstances that seemingly thwart the execution of the vision

c) challenges that test (that darn word again) the character of the leader

consider our present situation with this house:

a) some people have questioned (criticized) our ability to raise funds, finish grad school, start a ministry, and buy and rehab an old house, all in the same year (they do have a good point...but these are challenges that can be met)

b) various circumstances have attempted to thwart our progress on this project: finding a place in our price range that could accommodate our vision, communicating between three or more parties, delays, extensions of deadlines, the finagling and haggling over numbers on quote sheets, the ending of leases and finding interim housing, the saving and budgeting of funds, i could go on and on with this category...

c) lying to the bank about income that may or may not magically appear in our bank account in the near future.

as you can see, category C is a little different than the other ones. could i really live for ten years in a house that i acquired based on a lie? my answer to that is no.

andy would say that the challenges in categories a and b could be met in various ways, but if you don't pass category c, well then you don't have a whole lot to offer as a leader. moral authority, he calls it. don't do anything to sacrifice it, no matter the price (and i can give you a dollar amount).

this is a difficult lesson to learn.

22859 Day 36

dream_deferred?

well, this was bound to happen...how do you post a nice, tidy paragraph about a day that was neither nice or tidy? this story is by no means over, but it is looking very much like our house deal is not going to go down. which leads to the all important question...now what? and that is where the story ends today...

...stay tuned.

22759 Day 35

the_post_no_one_will_care_about

i won my fantasy baseball league. there you go. actually, i'm experiencing a weird trend with this game: i won in '05, came in second in '06, won again in '07, second in '08, victory in '09. see a pattern? maybe i should just not play next year...

yeah right

22659 Day 34

tyrone_use_somebody

great cover...enjoy!

today: reunion, office, get stuff done, hang out with friends...also today is the end of the regular season (baseball). let the playoffs begin!

22559 Day 33

saturday

today was full of many events...leadership community. a potluck with friends. usc ripped cal. an epic game of catch phrase. my sister did a triathlon. you know, your typical saturday. of course i forgot (or was unable) to capture any of this on film. instead i ended up with a weird, highly edited picture of kaitlin (our potluck host and amazing friend). what to do? i know, i'll use an old picture of a good sunset. brilliant.

22459 Day 32

tyrone_wells

the fun event of the evening today (believe me, we don't spend every night going to baseball games and concerts) was going to see tyrone wells live. i was going to upload a video of an awesome cover, but that will have to wait until i get a faster internet connection.

anyway, tonight was exemplary of our life right now. we rushed around all afternoon to get ready to go by five (it takes a while to get places from our present location). we get in to the train station only to discover that we had forgotten the tickets (even though they had been carefully laid out on the desk)! we still made it in time, but man was it a crazy 45 minutes trying to make that happen! i think this is one of the hardest parts about not being in your home...i hate complaining about this because the nelsons have been so good to us...but, anyway, when you are not in your home and don't have that normalcy and structure in place it is remarkably easy to forget important things (like not to park the car in certain places on certain days) or the tickets for the concert you are about to go to. soon though, this should be over!

22359 Day 31

the_good_and_the_suck

the good: october baseball! ok, not really october baseball in the playoff sense, but it was a baseball game in october. the sox won, which makes me and amy 4-0 on the season. well done us. plus, we had our first experience from atop the Green Monster, which was way cool.

the suck: our car got towed today and that cost a small fortune in time and money getting it back. lesson learned!