43559 Day 242

final_lc


tonight was our last leadership community gathering of the year (school year).  spent some time dreaming and planning for next year (this fall).  most of all, feel really encouraged by what we have done this year and the ground work that has been laid for the future.  can't wait to get this group together at the end of the summer and see what we can do!

43459 Day 241

cooking


being married to amy has forced me to step up my game a bit on nights that i have to do the cooking.  tonight i made pasta (nothing special there), but for the first time tried a sauce from scratch.  turned out well!

43359 Day 240

wife_brag


found out today that amy has been asked to present her practicum project at the 2010 american physical therapy association (apta) in november.  very cool!  (for those who don't remember the project was creating a health and wellness curriculum for bird street community center where i worked last year).  

43259 Day 239

simple_pleasures


nothing like a few pieces of black licorice after a long day of work. mmmm!!!

43159 Day 238

campus_ministry


this afternoon at umass: had a conversation with an international student from colombia who took one of the copies of a million miles that we passed out.  she is in the us on an exchange program with her school back home to learn english...she wants to be a teacher and help change the educational system in colombia.  she loved the book and feels like it has helped shaped her "mission" to help write a better educational story in colombia.


tonight at BU: we wrapped up our on campus meetings for the year.  great to hear from some of our folks who are moving on what they would like to see in two years should they come back for a visit.  both of these encounters remind me how important our endeavor to be more integrated in to the lives of these campuses really is.  we have a tremendous opportunity in this city to help influence the lives of students and the kingdom of God...what a privilege!

43059 Day 237

the_other_side


sunday bullet points:

• meeting with northeastern students went really well.  i am super encouraged for the potential on that campus this fall!
• barry zito is good.
• tomorrow night is our last meeting with the BU group
• tomorrow i also meet with TWO umass students who want to talk about "a million miles"
• amy's got 3 weeks to graduation, 9 weeks until clinicals are over!
• 10 weeks until maine

42959 Day 236

northeastern


looking forward to our meeting tomorrow with northeastern students to explore the possibility of creating a sojourn group on campus there.  we might go from 0-5 groups in one year!

42859 Day 235

jamie_oliver


amy and i have been keeping our eye on the abc show, jamie oliver's food revolution.  pretty interesting to see how he's tackled "healthifying" america's fattest city.  he's done it primarily through the school systems and various media outlets.  i was kind of skeptical about the ending (which came tonight)...it just seemed poised for a super-happy/extreme-home-makeover/make-everyone-feel-good kind of ending.  however, it didn't end that way at all.  instead we were left hanging a bit as to the outcome in the town and with jamie pleading with his audience to start taking steps in their own lives and communities to encourage better eating habits.  and it was the perfect ending in my opinion.

42759 Day 234

sabbath


this day off/sabbath routine on thursdays is still taking some getting used to.  but we had a great day exploring new parts of the city, using a gift card at trader joe's, eating burritos, and not doing work!

42659 Day 233

habla_usted_espanol


one of my greatest regrets is not going to gonzaga (ask me about it).  the other is never taking/learning spanish (this would have been such a useful skill to have had when substitute teaching in salinas).  amy helped me find discover spanish which i can listen to on my ipod and hopefully will help me get some of the basics down!  gracias amy.

42559 Day 232

story_pt_23590


got an email from a umass student who took one of the books from our table two weeks ago.  she read the whole thing and loved it! hopefully we'll get a chance to talk about it soon.

42459 Day 231

heaven's_garden


super impressed by the work ben and the rest of the quincy street community have done on the community garden.  amy and i had the chance to hang out a bit this afternoon and help plant some corn!

42359 Day 230

sunday


another pic from yesterday's read.retreat.serve.  today we worshipped with reunion (loved hearing lucas and christina sing, and tim did a great job with the teaching from matthew 5), relaxed and caught up with friends and family on the phone, then community dinner down the street.  i think we are pretty blessed relationally right now!

42259 Day 229

RRS


we had a pretty poor turnout today, probably due to the miserable, cold weather, but i still loved every thing about Read.Retreat.Serve.  in particular, our partnership with St. Mary's is something to be really excited about, and it is ALWAYS good to break the routine and be quiet for awhile.

42159 Day 228

read.retreat.serve.


pray for us tonight or tomorrow (saturday) if you read it then.  should be a great day for our students!

42059 Day 227

arboretum


day off today so we went for a walk in the arnold arboretum.  beautiful...beautiful day, beautiful place...all in the middle of the city.

41959 Day 226

mark


community group continues to be a highlight of the week.  our study of mark is fun and is keeping the conversation fresh...i feel rejuvenated by our discussion.  if you want to keep up with us as we read through it you can check out our summaries on the umass blog.

41859 Day 225

the_queue


books that i hope to read and finish in the next two months...


The Seven Storey Mountain
Chain of Change: Struggles for Black Community Development
Welcoming Justice: God's Movement Toward Beloved Community (Resources for Reconciliation)The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
Zeitoun
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

41759 Day 224

baptism


went to reunion's baptism event tonight to share in the celebration of transformation and new life.  always a lot to be said for the ways that this is powerful and meaningful.  but it seemed especially so due to the rainbow of nations represented.  three countries, four different ethnic backgrounds, and four incredible stories.  hopefully it speaks to the growing diversity of reunion's community, as well as to the ways that God is at work changing lives among us.  

41659 Day 223

follow_up


amy and i have taken on a new role around reunion...we get to take all the welcome cards each week, follow up with people, and help them to connect to our community.  this has been a great way for amy and i to integrate more deeply into the life of reunion and to meet some fun new people.  so far its been a ton of fun!

41559 Day 222

reflections_on_lent


lent ended a week ago.  which means i've been drinking coffee again.  i'm super excited to be able to enjoy this delicious treat, but i have to say that it's been difficult getting (re)used to its effects.  to be honest it's been less than pleasant and i've contemplated going to tea full-time.  not sure that's going to happen, but it is amazing what seven weeks away from something can do to you.


more importantly, the experience of lent as a whole was tremendous: reading scripture and praying more regularly was good for amy and i...thinking about resources and where else to use them was also insightful.  i'm really glad we did this even if my hand shakes in some weird ways now =) 

41459 Day 221

leadership_community


second to last leadrship community of the semester...thanks kind of crazy to think about.  spent a lot of time talking about this chart and moving from public beliefs to core beliefs.  good conversation!

41359 Day 220

homemade_tostadas




mmmmm!!!!!

41259 Day 219

the_sf_giants_and_fundraising

i love this story...

i have a good friend from california who has been a part of several groups i've led over the years and who has a tremendous propensity to find himself in the middle of great stories.  seriously, spend an hour with this dude and you will wonder at his incredible tales.

he's a super generous guy (actually one of the best people i've ever had the privilege to know) and is always interested in what i am doing, but when i began fundraising he didn't have the means at the time to join our financial support team (in fact, he was working for the state of california, which had no money and had to pay him in i.o.u.'s...no joke!).  anyway, he's been super supportive in a ton of other ways and keeps close tabs on our progress.

well, apparently a few weeks he was driving around listening to KNBR (the flagship radio station of the san francisco giants) and heard a promo offer for a ball signed by tim lincecum (who is really, really good at pitching).  naturally, he called in and it turns out he won the ball.  except they screwed up somehow and sent him season tickets instead of the ball.  

unfortunately, he’s not able to make all the games (as awesome as that might be) and so he’s been selling the tickets and wants to use this new revenue stream to help support us.  how cool is that!

it just goes to show that there is no end to the creativity of God’s economy.  plus it’s cool to think that somehow the giants are actually supporting college ministry in boston =)


ps. if you know who i'm talking about don't make a big deal about this to him...story used with his permission on the condition of anonymity =)

41159 Day 218

father_fiction


i have another amazing, random, you-have-to-read-it-twice-to-believe-it fundraising story to share, but i am waiting for permission so stay tuned (should be on here tomorrow).


in the mean time this book (Father Fiction: Chapters for a Fatherless Generation) came out today.

41059 Day 217

umass_table


there's that phrase about how "a picture is worth a thousand words."  this picture is worth maybe twenty...makes it look like our umass table was in the middle of some kind of lonely, sterile nowhere on campus.  not true at all.  we had a great day passing out books, talking about SAT tutoring, and getting folks to sign up for more information about sojourn.  super encouraging!

40959 Day 216

opening_day

ok, today is obviously important because it is easter sunday...resurrection day...the culmination of holy week.  this is a great thing, and a day worth celebrating!

it also, in a weird calendar coincidence, happens to be opening day for major league baseball, and the red sox in particular.  

we had a wonderful morning at reunion...lots of new people and new students in particular.  an afternoon to catch up chores...then off to the blarney stone to watch the game.  started off poorly but now we're coming back!


definitely came back!!!

40859 Day 215

spring


glorious spring/summer weather today.  spent some time at the beach (where this picture was taken) and then a cookout at the nelson's.  fun to be back at the nelson's...haven't been there since we moved out.  also, great to hang out with some umass students who work at the paper with caleb.  pretty awesome day...plus baseball starts tomorrow!

40759 Day 214

garden_and_good_friday

pics from todays gardening kick-off at qunicy.  no pics, but a great time tonight remembering good friday at the wilsons.

40659 Day 213

sunset


pic from our walk in ronan park this afternoon.  


also check out amy's blog...she's posting again!