The Way I see it #141

"I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, 'Hi.' They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word."

--Augusten Burroughs

I read this quote today at Starbucks and enjoyed it, so I thought I would share it. Hope you enjoy!

Ressurection letters volume II

Last night I went to a free Andrew Peterson concert in Conyers, GA. The name of his album is the title of this post. The songs are all about how Jesus brings new life--resurrection to all those who put their hope in him. The stories in the songs are really powerful. I enjoyed it thoroughly and bought two c.d.'s. It is called volume two because after they had already wrote all these songs about our ressurrection, they realized that all this is possible because Jesus died and rose from the dead. So they are going to go back and write volume 1--all about Jesus' ressurection. I'm looking forward to that one too.
TTYL

The Roller Coaster of Life

Well this last month has been way up and way down. There seems to not be any middle ground. It's either really good and pleasant, or really frustrating and depressing. A month ago I got my shoulder dislocated. Not long after that I got to go home, to Joplin MO and see family--a great time. However, when I was gone, my plans I had set up for youth group just flopped big time. I got that worked out though and the next week I got to go to a huge conference for free, and actually get paid to go to it! However, the night before I was leaving I received very disturbing news that someone wanted to quit helping with the ministry because they felt that I had pushed them out. Once again I was in the valley. Well I got that worked out and hosted a good friend in town for the weekend. That was awesome. Then the next week, I was just complaining to God in my journal because I felt slightly burnt out, and it was really hitting me hard that this thing I signed up for doesn't just end. It's ongoing, all the time. Well that day, God showed me his faithfulness like crazy and everything went better than I could've hoped. The very next day, someone pulled across my lane of traffic and I crashed my car into a minivan. I'm fine physically, but my car might be totaled because it is so old. I don't have money to buy a new car. Then, on top of that, I found out that two people close to me made some very foolish decisions. It really disappointed me. Both of them have potential for leadership.
I'm still awaiting the outcome of this car thing. It's frustrating and confusing, but causing me to trust all the more. Hopefully the next direction is up, since the last few days have been filled with really sucky stuff. It makes me really evaluate my title, because sometimes life doesn't seem like it's so good. I guess it still is. I know I'll get through it, and that sometimes life just happens.

Planes and razorblades

So I flew four times in three days, carried on all my luggage, and it was great. Of the three airports I was in (Atlanta, Chicago, and Springfield Missouri) my bag only got checked in Springfield. I was honestly frustrated because I knew that I didn't have anything in there I wasn't supposed to. I even packed all my liquids and gels in a little ziplock like they want you to.
When I opened my suitcase today I realize why they might have stopped my bag. The pair of shorts I packed had a razor blade knife in it. I big box knife! I snuck on a razorblade on accident! I guess I'm not the brightest knife in the shed. Maybe the airport security isn't either though seeing how they pulled my bag out, searched it and missed the knife.
Last week before I left for the three day trip, I had that box knife in my pocket and just threw my shorts in without really looking. I got a kick out of that today unpacking all my clothes.

My Trip Home

Well, I'm sitting in Springfield Missouri's airport after a rush of two days back in Joplin, my hometown, at a CIY brainstorming session for next summer's MOVE conference. It was great. I got to meet several new people, and make great connections in ministry in several different states. Yesterday (wednesday) we had a planning session all day. We got a lot hammered out. We talked about theme, scripture to go along with it, issues that our students face, all kinds of stuff.
About 5:00 we were finished for awhile and so I headed on over to OCC and went to the cafeteria to see some people. It was a crazy mix of seeing new faces and seeing some people still there that shouldn't be. It brought back good memories. I got to see several friends and hear how this year was going. I guess things can go on without me. I also went up to Williamson 1st and saw my old floor. That was really cool too. The guys are doing great and really stepping up in their leadership.
Seeing my family was really great too. We surprised Megan and Jordan on Tuesday night. I rang the doorbell on Tuesday night about 9:00 and Megan was super surprised and excited. I'm smiling right now as I think about her reaction. I saw her wedding video and the improvements to the house they had made. At one point Megan said, "You guys gotta see what I did in the bathroom." Immediately my mind thought of something I'm sure Megan didn't mean. We had cheesecake and tea, and played a game. A great time. I really love my family alot. They are so cool. I'm extremely blessed to have them.
One more tangent. Last night we ate at Stouts, a very original pizza place in Joplin. There was a table in the corner with a family of four that made Georgia look not so redneck. These Joplinites each ordered their own pizza! Not a personal pan, but an entire pizza. The Dad put his all away and the rest of them finished over half. They were missing teeth but not manners. They were actually very clean and respectable, but the sheer amount of pizza was incredible.
These past three days have been incredible. I love what I'm doing, and the new people I've met, but it has made me miss the Ozark relationships. I hope we can import that Ozark culture where everyone is so focused on Kingdom value things and the sense of community and understood need of it is so great. I was the only single person this entire weekend. Everyone else was talking about their families and children and such. It made me a little lonely. I'm doing okay though. Things will happen in their right time. Now I just want to focus on getting a roomate and having a little extra money to pay mortgage and do a little more flexible things. I never want money to trap me though. It can easily do that the more we have of it. There is a fine line I don't want to cross of having enough extra for when a rainy day comes, and putting your hope of salvation in the dollar bill. Maybe this stock market bailout thing can teach me a lesson about that. Anyway, that is enough for one day. A lot about a lot. So many emotions are going through my head right now. Untill next time...