A Change of Scenery

I'm hanging out at my friends B-squared's house and hanging out on their couch. Nice to have a change of scenery and just lie low for the day. As an added bonus, they won't let me do anything strenuous. Nice to have accountability in your laziness.

When I Count My Blessings...

at this time of year, I always count Clariton twice. This is a bad year for allergies and I'm almost thankful when it rains hard or gets cold because I get a break from the itching and sniffling.

Yesterday was especially fun with the pollen, Easter lilies and the perfumy people at church.

Another blessing? I wasn't in Halifax for the Easter Blizzard of '07. That really sucks.

Had a nice relaxing afternoon with friends eating Easter Dinner (and Easter dessert - no more Lent - yay). After dinner I got to see a whole new side of my friend Bert as he put the smack-down (literally) on my friend Jen's huge teddybear Snuggles. It was like a WWF show. Poor Snuggles just laid there and took it.

Got more books and resources for the justice study. It's going to be a spring of reading for me. I have to head out tomorrow and look at buying another bookcase. Or, buy a table cloth to drape over the piles of books and start using them as furniture.

The Friends

Got some interesting shots of the friends at a party last weekend.

These are the folks that keep me sane (note, not all the friends are here - these are just the best shots).

A New Theory

Here's my new theory formulated while walking back from a meeting. It's about fasting.

No food = hungry = cranky = tick off friends and co-workers = alienate friends = no one to hang out with or talk to = more time for God

I'm not entirely sure this is the ideal set up for getting closer to God, but it definitely does the trick.

Finally.... The Weekend

I don't know why this week dragged, but it did. I had Monday off, but the rest of the week felt like running underwater. Nothing bad, just draggy.

Tomorrow I'm off on a road trip with some friends, which should be fun. I know I have a camera somewhere....

Sunday (besides lots of church) a bunch of us are going to see Amazing Grace. I'm excited. I've been waiting for this since last summer. Here's a great article to get you prepared for the movie when you see it (I say WHEN because you must see it).

What are you up to this weekend?

Falling Shoes

Several months ago I read a statement by Louie Giglio that has really stuck with me. He said that as Christians we can't keep living as if "the other shoe" is going to drop. We can't assume in the good times that we have to brace ourselves for the coming bad times.

This has given me a lot to think about in terms of faith. Is bracing ourselves somehow assuming that God will just forget about us and we have to take care of ourselves? If we keep ourselves totally focused on God, will we be able to avoid pessimism?

The other day a friend made a comment to me about how the ministries I'm involved in thriving. I almost shot back that it was only a matter of time until I screwed something up. That was a lack of faith that God would continue to provide. That was hedging my bets and keeping one foot in the world, just in case things didn't work out with God.

Then tonight I got an email that really does make it seem like things were "too good to be true" and like the calm that I saw was all a fake. People were just not talking about their discontent and anger. I'm struggling to not internalize this and take it as personal criticism, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take it. The email's full of some nasty accusations and I don't know what to do about it. Well, I know the first thing I'm supposed to do is pray. I don't know whether to respond (first instinct) or just leave it (and risk looking like I don't care). I don't know whether to call some kind of an emergency meeting or let people think and pray about it until next week.

And it hurts. It hurts when friends who you really care about lash out with accusations. I don't know if it's a lesson in humility or a lesson in leadership. So far it seems like a lesson in "why it's easier to be a pew filler than to put yourself out there in leadership."

I hate living like the other shoe is going to drop, but I also hate being unprepared for moments like this.

Anyone with answers out there?

Happy Birthday to You

Today's my friend Laurel's birthday and I just got back from her very fun birthday lunch. With three desserts, which pretty much makes a good birthday lunch!

Happy birthday!

New Friends and Old

The other night one of my friends mentioned how many new people had come into her life in 2006. It got me thinking about the long list of new people who came into my life in 2006. It was a year of huge change for me and that was reflected in the people I was spending time with.

There are lots of old friends in my life and Christmas was a good time to get in touch with many of them. In particular, once again Keer and I got closer again when crisis hit my life and I really needed a shoulder to lean on.

There's a long list of friends that I knew last year but whom I got to know much better this year. My small group in particular was very intentional about getting closer and forming a closer community. I barely knew the people in my prayer group and now I'm quite close to them.

Then there are the friends who I didn't know at all this time last year who are now part of the circle of my life. It's amazing to me how all the right people came into my life at the right time to fill voids. It's an interesting thing to think over at the beginning of a new year.

What will 2007 bring? How many new people will be coming through my life?

Happy Birthday

Today's a big day for birthdays. It's my friend Christina's birthday and my Dad's birthday. Whoo hoo! Of course, I'm not near either of them, but I'll be partying on their behalf.

Christina is one of the key reasons I went to England and I've really enjoyed getting closer over the past year. It's really amazing the way God sends people into our lives in the ways we least expect. The age difference between us is considerable, but in the "math of God" it doesn't matter. I only think about it when I realize she's an undergrad and I'm.... well.... not! I'm very thankful for her and looking forward to more time together in 2007. Cheers!

Thanksgiving pics

Lots to be Thankful For

US Thanksgiving is always a fun time for me. No need to travel. No need to stress.

Yesterday may have been the best US Thanksgiving yet. A bunch of friends gathered at B squared's house. I was behind in my prep for my part of the dinner, so everyone pitched in. Dinner was yummy and very family feeling. In the afternoon we played Apples to Apples (including the Bible edition), hung out, watched the resident toddler, and talked. Later in the evening we had more food, danced to Bon Jovi, played Dutch Blitz (finally), played Nintendo and then some jenga-like game. What's not to love.

Looking forward to the rest of a long weekend.