64859

Merry_Christmas

Taking a cue from my sister and sending out our "christmas card" via blog post. So, Merry Christmas from the Boutry's! 

Next post will be the last of 2011: Top_5_Lists will be out next Saturday.

Also, look forward to 2012! New format is coming, plus a goal of posting monday through friday. Get excited =)

61559

27_years

every time you sign in to facebook it asks "what is on your mind?" i wrote a little tribute to my dad a few weeks ago and as I process the last month and this past weekend (my parent's final Sunday at SVCC) one thing (among others) i've been fixating on is 27 years.

i just finished a book on the plane called Quitter. the author argues against our culture of quitting and tells many stories of the numerous jobs he's quit and the lessons he's learned along the way. it was a good book that reflects many patterns in my own story. next summer will mark 10 years since i graduated from pacific (undergrad). since that time i have had 4 different ministry roles, lived in 3 different states, moved six times, and held five different part time jobs. i haven't stayed in any of the places, roles, or jobs for more than 4 years.

my dad was the pastor of SVCC for 27 years. that's 8 to 9 times longer than anything I've done in my entire life. now that I am into my thirties I suddenly crave and value stability. i yearn to be somewhere doing the same thing for 10 years. and that's still just over a third of the time my parent's dedicated to salinas valley. 

when i think about my parents there is a lot i admire: their integrity, character, marriage, passion, faithfulness...i could go on. but their commitment to a place and a community for 27 years is remarkable in this day and age. 

i had a chance once to have breakfast with shane claiborne. the thing i will never forget from that experience was shane sharing with us a conversation he had with the great john m. perkins. shane recalls asking dr. perkins when he first saw progress and change in the community john served in. perkins replied "oh, after about the first ten years." whoa!!! his point: commit and stay in a place if you want to be radical and change the world.

again, i could on and on about things i admire in mom and dad. choosing full-time ministry is radical. taking a two year old to india for a year is radical. moving somewhere new and planting a church is radical. but staying there for 27 years is maybe the most radical thing a person can do in modern america. and to do it all with dignity and character is even more compelling and challenging. 

so, today, i'm thinking about 27 years.

61459

back_in_boston


back home after two great weeks in california with both sides of our families. lots of laughing, crying, fun, relaxing, visiting favorite spots, and eating really great food!

61359

Vacation


time to go to california...to rest and relax after a crazy busy year...to spend some sweet quality time with the fams...to go to a giants game...and, of course, to read some books.


see you in two weeks boston!

61259

in_honor_of_dad

yesterday my dad preached his last sermon at salinas valley community church, the church he helped to found and to flourish for 27 years. as usual i find other's words more adequate to the task on this occasion. when i think of my dad, these are some of the things i think about:

from II Timothy: "preach the word. be prepared in season and out of season: correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. but you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, discharge all the duties of your ministry...

"...i am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith." (4:1-7)

and from eugene peterson: "the norm for pastoral work is stability. twenty-, thirty-, and forty-year-long pastorates should be typical among us (as they once were) and not exceptional. far too many pastors change parishes out of adolescent boredom, not as a consequence of mature wisdom. when this happens, neither pastors nor congregations have access to the conditions that are hospitable to maturity in the faith...

"...it is interesting to listen to the comments that outsiders, particularly those from third world countries, make on the religion they observe in north america. what they notice mostly is the greed, the silliness, the narcissism. they appreciate the size and the prosperity of our churches, they energy and the technology, but they wonder at the conspicuous absence of the cross, the phobic avoidance of suffering, the puzzling indifference to community and relationships of intimacy...

"...what i object to most is the appalling and systematic trivializing of the pastoral office. it is part of a larger trivialization...there are other days, though, when we catch a glimpse of glory--a man here, a woman there determined to live nobly: singing a song, telling a story, working honestly, loving chastely." (from under the unpredictable plant)

determined to live nobly...that pretty much sums it up perfectly. that example is a good, good gift. thank you, dad!

58059

happy_holidays


good times with the fams in california!

45059 Day 259

duck_boats


the odd looking vehicle to the left is a "duck boat," a world war II relic transformed into Boston-city-touring vehicle.  i see these all the time but have never been on one before.  pretty cool way to see the city actually.

44859 Day 256 & 257

hanging_out


the last two days have been about showing the fam around boston while amy worked (who makes their student's work the day before graduation!).  here are a couple of pics:

44759 Day 255

getting_ready


today we spent some time prepping for family to arrive in town.  amy's mom and sister fly in tomorrow to help us celebrate her graduation from BU's doctor of physical therapy program.  graduation is obviously exciting, but any time we have family out here it is really special, being so far from california.  so, hurry up stacey and sandy, can't wait to see you!

30859 Day 116

christmas_part_1

got to spend christmas day with amy's side of the family. here we are enjoying an awesome christmas feast! merry christmas everyone.

21859 Day 26

life_as_a_house

sometime i really freak out and think that what we are doing is way too preposterous. changing jobs and careers while one spouse is still in school...raising and living off of financial support...moving at the beginning and the middle of an important and busy semester...buying a house...all in year two of marriage. i can't wait until five or so years from now when i can look back and decide if what we did was really stupid or a really big step of faith.

in particular, i've been concerned about the house over the last 24 hours. we got some news yesterday from the mortgage company that was not bad, but not exciting either. some numbers have changed a little and not in our favor. in moments like that i waver between seeing it as another challenge to over come or a way to back out before we get too far over our heads. so, feeling discouraged i decided to go to the house today.

i prayed. i wrote a friend a letter. i read psalms 68 which says in verse 6, God sets the lonely in families, which is a verse that seems to keep coming up all the time and has become the "mission statement" for what amy and i hope this house will be. then i rode my bike home.

we got a note today in the mail from amy's mom that just happened to talk about the house and the "daunting" mortgage progress (even in the best of times...i like that line). funny how that happens, eh. most of what she said had to do with maintaining a vision for our home...for the people who will live there with us, the memories we will make, and the stories we will tell. what an encouragement...thanks!

19859 Day 6 (project_365)

gratitude

our ability to get up to new hampshire this weekend is due completely to the generosity of my parents. there was a point, a couple of months ago, where we weren't sure if this plan was going to work...not knowing what our schedules/life would look like made getting out of town an uncertainty. but, as it turns out, we needed this weekend away badly and so the last couple of days have been a HUGE blessing to us. and, just as important, it was great to hang out and connect with family, which is always a challenge when you live 3000 miles away and in a time zone that makes phone calls difficult. so, thank you mom and dad for this great gift!

19559 Day 3 (project_365)

new_home

- for the next two months, or so, while our house is in the process of closing and being transformed into livable space, we will be living with the Nelson family on Norfolk St. some early observations: if we're not going to be in our "own" space, then it's nice to be with a family (especially when they pray for you in their kitchen)...this part of town is different than where we were (perhaps a little "rougher")...we're extremely grateful for gracious hosts!!!

and last, but not least, before we left 48 Granger we had sort of adopted a neighborhood kitten. it's was cute and stuff, but with the nelsons we have access to a dog, Misty, who is hanging out with me as i type this! pretty cool =)

15059

fun with beth!!!

- sam adams =)

- fall is here!

- fenway park

- harvard

- happy birthday nina!