the journey continues

At home I can really waste time. I just don't even know what to do with myself sometimes.

I have here exhibit A.
This is a picture of me sitting in my favorite reading chair at home. Notice however, that I am not reading, but rather taking pictures of myself with my computer.

Lame.

Right now I am sitting at my favorite cafe in Cincinnati. The Rohs Street Cafe. This is the place where I come to do anything that requires any sort of focus. Here it doesn't matter what is going on around me or what music is playing, I can get things accomplished.

So here is Exhibit B.



While drinking two cups of coffee I managed to have some great reading time, researching various things like flight info for travels to Kenya, and firing of quite a few emails that have been hanging over my head.

I even had a couple great conversations while I was here today.

I love this place.

This past week ended the long hard journey of trying to get rid of all things that are excessive in my life. A couple of years ago I was a single guy working in a good paying job. What did I need to complete the image I was trying to create for myself? A high performance sports car. To make matters worse I decided to lease this thing for four years to cut my payments down. In the first six months of having this vehicle I decided I needed to get rid of so much in my life. Especially material things. In this time I also met my wife and we decided to pursue full time ministry as a job.

After so many failed attempts to rid our lives of the curse and financial drain otherwise known as the GTO, things came to a close last week as the 400 horsepower with dual exhaust purred down the driveway onto a car carrying trailer. I was then able to cancel the insurance and be done with the last bit of debt that we had.

Even after this thing drove out of my life, it seemed too good to be true. I have been dealing with fears that it would come back to us somehow. After receiving a positive message on the phone late last night from the new owner in Cleveland, I know it is gone for good. Thanks be to God.



Here is the best wisdom I can give. Never lease a car.

There are so many people in life that we just lose contact with along the way. It really stinks sometimes. Phone conversations and emails only last so long sometimes.

Today I had a chance to reconnect with one of those long lost friends from college. His name is Mark. He has since moved to Florida to pursue a lot of further education. Mark happened to be coming through Cincy today. One thing led to another and we got to meet up over in Hyde Park. We talked for a couple hours catching up on what we have missed out on in each other's lives, good and bad, and some future direction. It was great. I just loved hearing about all the ups and downs that have shaped Mark's life since I last saw him.

I didn't feel the need to give any advice or anything. Just LISTEN. That can be hard to do sometimes. We always feel compelled to give answers or solve everyone's problem. I have come to grips with the fact that I am not going to solve any one's issues.

I love meeting up for coffee for anything, but meeting up with Mark was especially good.

Yet another great gathering of random people just looking to enjoy one another's company. Maybe even find some good eats.







I challenge everyone to open their home up once in a while and welcome people. Good stuff will happen.

Why you ask. Because love is in the air. This is the season of weddings and nature coming to life. This is my favorite time of year with the exception of allergies.

I was fortunate enough to play a part in my old college roommate's scheme to purpose to his true love.









it's always good when she says yes.

This morning started the same way most other mornings do. I got up and started with a little breakfast and coffee. These days I have to start my day with some sort of food source and some leaded fuel(aka coffee). The physiology of my digestive system worked beautifully and I found myself on the toilet.

As I was sitting there, I noticed the new recycled toilet paper that we had just purchased in an attempt to do our part for the creation that we have been entrusted to take care of. I noticed the side of the package that had conveniently labeled on it the quick stats that justify buying this product.

It said right there on the package that by manufacturing 100% recycled products, Marcal(that's the manufacturer) saves the following Earth's resources every day.

6,000 trees

2 Million Gallons of Water

22,000 Pounds of Air pollution

140,000 Gallons of Oil

30,000 Cubic Feet of Landfill Space


That's pretty freaking awesome. We should all be wiping with recycled paper. It may not be as comfortable as the quadruple ply Charmin that some of us are used to buying. But I can guarantee that you will clog the toilet much less with this thin recycled tp.

For other earth friendly products visit
http://greenhome.huddler.com/

Happy wiping.

What did I get for my birthday this year. Well aside from the infinate wisdom I gain each year, this year I got to spend some time with my wife and best friends. I also got a job that pays some money. I am happy to announce my acceptance of a position as a Barista at Starbucks. Horray.


In a weeks time I will look as cool as this guy.

Let me introduce you to my new friend.

This week has been full of espresso thanks to the genius of our new aeropress. This contraption might not look like much but you have the ability to pull some great shots with it. Add some steamed milk and a little flavor of some sort and you can have yourself a mighty fine latte.

Now that's my idea of a good time.

When we have visitors over we can offer an americano or a latte and let them compare to Starbucks.

Staying at Carrie's Aunt and Uncles his comes fully complete with a stocked refrigerator and pantry. Carrie is fighting with Luke right now to get him to eat one bite of something healthy. It's pretty hilarious. As for myself I'm trying my hardest to get myself to eat something healthy. I have never seen so many frozen pizzas, chips, combos, cakes and many other sugary substances that I love. The only repercussions of me sitting around this house all day and eating these yummy treats is that I feel terrible.

My hat goes off to all the good parents out there. This week my wife and I are watching a six year old and a sixteen year old while there parents are away. It took very little time to realize that this is no simple task. After playing Nintendo Wii and baseball all afternoon and evening, I was one tired pupp. It's kinda weird that the six year old is standing over my shoulder right now watching me type this.

"You would think he would want some privacy or something."- Adam Sandler in Big Daddy.

I'm getting frustrated with the job market here in cincy. In case any of you have any suggestions. I am looking for something part time. Something dealing with people. I would love to do something that involves things I'm interested in. One possibility would be something dealing with Java.

One of my favorite things about getting older is growing hair on my face. Of all the places to get hair, I would much rather be cultivating it on my face than anywhere else. I get great enjoyment from doing different things with it. Maybe I should do something really crazy.






Since I'm not working or trying to impress anyone right now I have the ability to get a little adventurous with my face. Any suggestions?

I truly experienced God in Honduras in many ways. Maybe the most new or profound way was through the children. One little girl in particular.


This is Roxanna.

As all of us guys were hanging out in this area called the Invasion this little girl found me and just wanted held as much as possible. She wouldn't leave even when I felt awkward by not being able to speak to her. But she didn't care she just wanted to be in my presence. I have never experienced someone just wanting to be with me and nothing more. She expected nothing in return, not even words.

Through the rest of the week I was able to meet the rest of her family and communicate and pray with them through the use of a translator. One of the most touching things about Roxanna was the second day we were there she sought me out specifically and ran with arms wide open and a smile on her beautiful face and hugged me. Amazing. It was such a great feeling that I was unworthy of.

In the tenth chapter of Mark's Gospel Jesus says, " Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

This past week in Honduras was awesome. Everything I expected and more. One of the things that was really drawing up a need to go on the adventure was the fact that it was a guys only trip. Not that I wanted to be away from my wife of course. I just felt like I needed to reconnect with my masculinity. I knew this experience would be awesome for that very purpose.

All of us guys need good men to surround us. Without it we have some real struggles of fighting the battle on our own. As we served the poor of Honduras we learned how to work as a team and rely on others gifts and talents to be more effective. I love those men.

Upon arriving back in Ohio my full time job has been trying to figure out what is going on with our house that we still own and some other things. This is a photo of our lovely dwelling in West Chester.

The frontal view.


And from the rear. Sitting nicely on hole #17, a long par 5, in Beckett Ridge. I loved going out and whacking some balls.


The inside would have looked a lot more homier if I had painted or at least put something on the wall.


Hopefully we will be able to close on this baby in the near future and get away from a mortgage hanging over our heads.


This has been a huge thorn in my side since coming back. I'm pretty sure this car is somehow cursed. There have been so many negative experiences surrounding this vehicle since I got it. This past week it somehow filled with a bunch of water and had to have the carpet removed to dry out. Ahhh I hate leases.


This is one of the dumber things I have done in my life. I guess it could be worse.

I hope to be done with these things and move toward a simpler life.

I recieved a special gift card to a homebrewing supply store in Cincinnati for Christmas. On Tuesday I was finally able to use it. This store doesn't look like much but they have all the necessities to brew your own beer, make your own wine, and even cheeses. Amazing. It just doesn't get any better than that. I can't think of many more rewarding thing than making your own adult beverages.

I love Easter. What a great holiday. Christ died to give us a new life. Sweetest Day or President's Day can't compare to that. This year was an especially great year. Carrie and I are back for a good long time now. I loved getting to reconnect with so many friends and family this weekend. Good food is always a plus too.

We have been back in Cincy for a little over a week now. People have been constantly asking, "How does it feel to be back?" My honest response is that I don't know. It still feels quite surreal. Things have been anything but boring upon getting back. We have wrestled with our cars, house, and jobs you know...all that real world stuff.

The greatest thing about being back is reconnecting with all the great people in our lives here. We have a great family who seems to continually love us more and more, even until it hurts. Our friends never fail to amaze us by how much they love us and add so much richness to our lives. It's all really too much sometimes. I feel like I don't know what to say or do sometimes when things are so awesome.

One of the worst and best things that has happened since coming back here was attending a funeral yesterday of a woman who was killed suddenly in a car accident. It was so painful for the family, but God was there continually comforting them and giving them peace in their time of need. Yesterday was a time when everything else stopped and I realized just how important people are to us in life. The pain I saw in people yesterday never could have been felt if they lost a house or a priceless piece of art. Nothing can be more meaningful to us than relationships. I was thankful for that reminder, while continuing to pray for those family members.

The truth is that I have some amazing people in my life. My time away in Vancouver didn't cost me any of these great relationships, it only gained new ones. I'm thankful for that.

As far as all the other stuff like where I will work or what I'll do... that'll all work out.

I can't wait to see how things shape up in the future.

Well...here we are in good ole Cincinnati. In a days time our lives have changed dramatically again.


Our time in Vancouver was incredibly life transforming and we will hopefully never be the same again.

We will never forget the relationships we made along the way.


I pray that we can remember the sights, feelings, and even smells that we experienced on the journey.


Community is great


Making friends with the natives is really great.


Rain for long periods of time stinks.

And the journey continues...

On to the future.

Last week we had to begin the transition process by moving out of the place we have endured so much life in here over the last ten months. It was a bittersweet day. One of the worst parts about the move is that we no longer have internet easily accessable through the wireless waves. Darn.

What's a guy to do?

It just gives me another reason to go to one of the nearby cafes. Oh well... if I must. So I have been frequenting the coffee shops with the best coffee and free wi-fi. In addition to my work needing attention on the interweb, Carrie and I have recently been given a new book to read.

This has managed to spice up our relationship and we are only into the third chapter. This book is indeed about sex between husband and wife. This is not just about positions or how to have the best night of sweaty passion you've ever had, but rather some other cool insights into your husband or wife that will probably spill over into the bedroom. Every relationship and person is different in multiple ways, so each marriage will benefit from a book like this in different ways.
One of the best things about this book is that the cover isn't so explicit or revealing that you can't read it in public.

Give it a shot. No one else will even know what it's about.

As the host of reading rainbow would say... " But don't take my word for it."

As unbelievable as it seems, the end is finally here. It's really weird actually. I don't quite know how to explain feelings that we have. We have spent the last week saying goodbye to relationships that we have been building here and are focusing on moving into the next season of life. I feel ready to move on; yet nervous, excited, and filled with anticipation for what is next. I wish I could honestly say that I have no fears about the future and what life will look like. I'm sure things won't always or never will be easy. I have faith that with each transition and change in life comes a greater sense of richness and fulfillment. As we close this chapter of life here we Entrust our lives, relationships, and work to God to do with as he pleases.

We had a great closing dinner downtown on Friday night. It was a great time to share stories and a time of prayer and blessing to send us off into what is next. The night was rather intense and at some points hard to swallow, but a great ending to our community here that provided necessary closure to a life transforming experience.

You might be wondering why Carrie and I haven't seemed to blog or email in a while and that is because we have had to move out of our place last week to an interesting house with no phone, Internet, and barely any electricity. In the heart of Vancouver we have somehow gone back to the stone age relying on fire for heat and candles for light. We can't wait to get back.

All the James Bond fans out there will be excited to see a new vehicle that has already been shown at auto shows and could be on the market.

Cheezy video yes, but can you imagine driving one of these things.

That makes me laugh every time. Haha

I was laying in bed last night and my head was just thinking about all sorts of randomness. My short term memory started recalling one night last week when an aquantence and I went out for a video store adventure. You never know what you might encounter on commercial drive. As we were walking past the home made wine store I noticed something wasn't quite "normal". I looked again into the dark store front. The lights were turned off but I could see two figures standing in the middle of the store and it looked like they were in some sort of fighting stance. The next thing I knew these beams of light shot out from their hands. One was green and the other was red. Oh my gosh, these grown men are actually practice fighting with light sabres. You have got to be kidding me. I actually said to the other guy... "only in Vancouver do you see something as silly as this".

So we walked on and didn't think much about what we had just witnessed. We were only thinking about our movie selection for the evening. After picking up the latest and greatest copy of Balls of Fury we were on our way back. This is a great comedy about ping pong and kung fu by the way.

I would say about fifteen minutes had lapsed. We came upon the wine store and sure enough, they were still going at it. Light sabers colliding in the dark store front. Two grown, actually middle aged men were practicing their light saber fighting moves. I'm sure the battle raged on for a while after we left. I hope no one got hurt or pulled a muscle.

Amazing. I hope people aren't writing blogs like this about me some day.

This is easily one of the coolest stores ever. Everything in this place is all fair trade. This means that wherever the item is from they were paid a good price for their handy work. They work with over 100 artisan groups in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to bring you fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and tons of other sweet stuff. As one of the world's oldest and largest fair trade organizations, they build long-term relationships with artisans that are based on mutual understanding and respect.

Fair trade enables artisans to earn a fair wage and
provides the opportunity for a better quality of life.

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/
Check out the site to find a store near you and other products, or buy online.

With Valentine's Day soon approaching you could get some great gifts here to give to your significant others or your mommy. What I love about buying things at this place is that money goes directly to the people in other countries. All of the staff that work in the stores are volunteers. It is just a great store with a great mission to impact the world's poor. I would encourage all of us to think about social justice issues when buying gifts for others.

Pictures of African kids is always a good way to market right? It makes me want to buy something anyway.

Any gifts that Carrie and I have bought for any one this year have come from Ten Thousand Villages. We love to buy their coffee, handmade gloves, teas, ornaments, journals, and cookbooks.

This weekend I seem to have come up with another dose of this sickness that keeps going around. I don't know about anyone else but I get pretty cranky when I get sick, especially when I can't breath. My head is so full of snot it is affecting my brain. Despite my cranky attitude my wife chooses to love me by running out and getting me food, drugs, neti pot. All the essentials.

Any way I really cannot stand not being able to use my sense of smell or taste. They are absolutely useless right now. I have been reading this book about discovering your God language and how I really build intimacy with God. I knew right away physical touch was out of there... Or is it? Touch is one of our senses. I knew it, physical touch can be a God language. I have recently discovered that I most often experience God's goodness through my senses. This would affirm the fact that good coffee, wine, cigars, and chili are not just food and beverages, but they are spiritual experiences. Recognizing this about myself has been helpful in understanding why I like the things that I like. I knew right away that my wife is not a sensate because she can actually eat poop. You should see what she makes for breakfast; nasty.



Other Spiritual Temperaments include:

Activist
Ascetic
Caregiver
Contemplative
Enthusiast
Intellectual
Naturalist
Sensate
Traditionalist

Any Idea what you might be?

I want to have TIME to spend with people. Having time and openness for people is something I feel I need to incorporate in my life when I get back to cincy. I don't want to let myself get so busy I have no time for anyone. Some of the most meaningful people in my life simply just had time for me. For this next season in my life I just want to have openness in my schedule to allow to get together and have lunch or my favorite; coffee or beer or wine or a cigar. Anyway busyness can suck the life out of me and I have nothing left to give to anyone.

Most Fridays I am pretty darn tired from a long week. This Friday was no exception. Actually I was sick on top of my usual tiredness. I called Jacob's Well to let them know that I was feeling pretty crappy and asked if they even needed me to come in. Since a couple of others were out they were pretty short staffed and really needed me to just be there. So I went.

Man I'm glad I did. One of our friends Darren who has been struggling with addiction for a long time just showed up this morning at our meeting and was rather high. He has been in and out of recovery for a long time and just dropped out of a program because he hated it. So by an act of God (literaly) we got him into a new recovery discipleship house that could be a great fit for him. So after some prayer Darren wanted to flush all the heroin and other drugs he had on him down the toilet. We helped him dispose of his vices and got him a shower and then me and Berto drove him a good ways out of the city to this great house where he can get some great help. Amazing. A miracle. Yesterday there was no chance of getting Darren in this place and some how it happened. God can reach anyone. Then back to Vancouver for more fun.

While walking down the street this Chinese woman grabs my arm and whispers the words call 911. Apparently she was having a heart attack or something. We called and I prayed with her. She said that she "knew Jesus" with a peaceful smile. After a few minutes we saw her off in an ambulence entrusting God to do some work there in her life.

After that back at Jacob's Well three guys show up in fancy suits. These are not the typical people we get in there to have conversation and coffee with. These were some big shot entrepreneurs who knew of Jacob's Well through some friends. After talking and hearing stories about what we do the Holy Spirit must have come over them as they had tears in their eyes and the CEO says can we see your costs of operation and basically promised a whole bunch of money. These guys are filthy rich and they saw something that was real in that community. They saw genuine love that they may have never seen.

All this to say that things have been tough lately in our community. People have died, we have had experienced a lot with our friends on the street, and not really seen a whole lot of good. Then today makes things so worth while and is proof that God does provide if we remain faithful. This blog does not do today any justice what so ever. So just take my word for how awesome it was.