Well, Aubrey and I have discovered a nesting bird right underneath the windowsill of our kitchensink window. I can wash dishes and watch the bird resting in its nest. It's neat, actually, because we've seen this almost from the very beginning, when there was hardly any nest except a few twigs. But this bird and another worked together to create a little bed in the bush beneath my window. After the nest became sturdy, the mother bird began to sit in the nest for long periods of times. I would look into the nest when she would fly away, but nothing was in the nest, until one day there were three little blue eggs, each about the size of a walnut. And now the mother stays with the eggs, warming them, tending to them.
There is one thing that is unusual (that word is unusual) about her. Her right eye is only a slit, where it seems she either lost her eye, or was born without it. So, we have a one-eyed mother bird nesting under the windowsill of our kitchen sink. Every morning when I walk past, I look into it to see if the little ones have arrived. Nothing yet. But I can't wait to watch them grow, to watch the mother tend to them and feed them. I love miracles that happen under kitchen sink window.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
2nd Anniversary!
Well, Aubrey and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary yesterday. We're going to Anapolis on Thursday night to celebrate. Got a great deal through Priceline for a nice hotel!
On the day of our anniversary, I went to a funeral of Frannie Lahr, mother of Burdette Lahr, a pastor at my church. I had never met her, but being at her funeral made me want to. She sounded like a beautiful woman, who loved God through all her pain and suffering.
Interesting that as God is in my wedding celebration with Aubrey, he is with the Lahr's in their mourning.
On the day of our anniversary, I went to a funeral of Frannie Lahr, mother of Burdette Lahr, a pastor at my church. I had never met her, but being at her funeral made me want to. She sounded like a beautiful woman, who loved God through all her pain and suffering.
Interesting that as God is in my wedding celebration with Aubrey, he is with the Lahr's in their mourning.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 3
Favorite Scenes
1. McDonald's Runs-The boys discovered the McD's was close to my house and wanted to go there the first night. So we ended up having our devo's there every night. That was cool.
2. Rotten Strawberries-Our first ministry site was Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen that gives breakfast and lunch to people in need. We helped in the back, organizing food, preparing food and whatever was needed. While we were there a truck dropped off 12 boxes of strawberries, each box containing 8 quarts of strawberries. Half the Strawberries were rotten, some so rotten and soft that when you went to pick them up they fell through your fingers. It was gross. Anyways, we sifted through them and chopped up the good ones. They should be set on strawberries for years to come.
3. Fartage-The first night the guys were in the house there was some farting festival. It was crazy. I was upstairs in my bedroom, which is connected to the living room where the guys were sleeping by a vent. And I could easily hear them. Loud and rumbling they were. And then the king of it all was when I could smell the worst fart all the way upstairs in my bedroom. The thing smelled like car oil. That's stinky.
There's more, but that's all I have time for right now.
1. McDonald's Runs-The boys discovered the McD's was close to my house and wanted to go there the first night. So we ended up having our devo's there every night. That was cool.
2. Rotten Strawberries-Our first ministry site was Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen that gives breakfast and lunch to people in need. We helped in the back, organizing food, preparing food and whatever was needed. While we were there a truck dropped off 12 boxes of strawberries, each box containing 8 quarts of strawberries. Half the Strawberries were rotten, some so rotten and soft that when you went to pick them up they fell through your fingers. It was gross. Anyways, we sifted through them and chopped up the good ones. They should be set on strawberries for years to come.
3. Fartage-The first night the guys were in the house there was some farting festival. It was crazy. I was upstairs in my bedroom, which is connected to the living room where the guys were sleeping by a vent. And I could easily hear them. Loud and rumbling they were. And then the king of it all was when I could smell the worst fart all the way upstairs in my bedroom. The thing smelled like car oil. That's stinky.
There's more, but that's all I have time for right now.
Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 2
A walk through the Projects
One of the ministry points that we had was in the projects of York. Stillnaz has a bus ministry that goes into the heart of the city and brings a lunch to the kids every Saturday. In order for the kids to get the lunch, they get to sit through a program on the bus. The kids range from 3-12, and most come by themselves, but there were 3 mother figures there as well. The kids were crazy rambunctious and had a hard time listening to Chastity Frederick (the lady who runs the thing with her husband, Jade...Aubrey and I really liked them...she is becoming a doctor so that they can go overseas and serve as missionaries...they have 3 beautiful kids). And after they listened to her and sang silly songs with me, they got off the bus and grabbed their lunches and ran off.
We told some of our students to go to the park and clean it up. So they went over there and were picking up some of the trash that was there, including some of the trash that the kids were leaving there. One of the kids on the bus threw his trash down in front of our students and one of our students asked him to pick up his trash, and then a little tif started which ended with the 10 year old kid calling our student a nigger. That set the missions student off. Thankfully an adult was close by and separated the two. Ironic that we would be there to serve...
But I came in at the end and talked with our student, trying to help him cool down, trying to hear his side of the story, trying to help him understand where the kid was coming from, trying to help him see how Christ would react. He was pretty mad. After he cooled down a bit and the other kid had left, I let him grab lunch and go back to the park. But the story didn't end there.
Our final assignment there was to take flyers to the different doors to advertise for VBS that is coming up. I decided I wanted to take Cody as my partner and leave the other guys with somebody else. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I took him along with me. As we walked I explained to him how the projects work, how most of the people there don't have much money at all, how many of them are hurting. I showed him the backs of the houses, which were pretty torn up with lots of trash all over the place. I wasn't trying to shove anything down his throat, but he seemed to be getting it when he said, "So, that's why the kid wanted to fight with me. He's not in a good situation..." Yeah, man...you're getting it.
And later that day as he was leaving to go home with his mother, he came up to me and said, "Hey Josh, thanks for taking me on that walk." That's all he said. But I knew that the Spirit was helping him understand. I only pray that it will stay and that the Spirit will develop within him the heart to understand other people's stories.
It is amazing how knowing the backgrounds of somebody will change the way you look at them.
One of the ministry points that we had was in the projects of York. Stillnaz has a bus ministry that goes into the heart of the city and brings a lunch to the kids every Saturday. In order for the kids to get the lunch, they get to sit through a program on the bus. The kids range from 3-12, and most come by themselves, but there were 3 mother figures there as well. The kids were crazy rambunctious and had a hard time listening to Chastity Frederick (the lady who runs the thing with her husband, Jade...Aubrey and I really liked them...she is becoming a doctor so that they can go overseas and serve as missionaries...they have 3 beautiful kids). And after they listened to her and sang silly songs with me, they got off the bus and grabbed their lunches and ran off.
We told some of our students to go to the park and clean it up. So they went over there and were picking up some of the trash that was there, including some of the trash that the kids were leaving there. One of the kids on the bus threw his trash down in front of our students and one of our students asked him to pick up his trash, and then a little tif started which ended with the 10 year old kid calling our student a nigger. That set the missions student off. Thankfully an adult was close by and separated the two. Ironic that we would be there to serve...
But I came in at the end and talked with our student, trying to help him cool down, trying to hear his side of the story, trying to help him understand where the kid was coming from, trying to help him see how Christ would react. He was pretty mad. After he cooled down a bit and the other kid had left, I let him grab lunch and go back to the park. But the story didn't end there.
Our final assignment there was to take flyers to the different doors to advertise for VBS that is coming up. I decided I wanted to take Cody as my partner and leave the other guys with somebody else. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I took him along with me. As we walked I explained to him how the projects work, how most of the people there don't have much money at all, how many of them are hurting. I showed him the backs of the houses, which were pretty torn up with lots of trash all over the place. I wasn't trying to shove anything down his throat, but he seemed to be getting it when he said, "So, that's why the kid wanted to fight with me. He's not in a good situation..." Yeah, man...you're getting it.
And later that day as he was leaving to go home with his mother, he came up to me and said, "Hey Josh, thanks for taking me on that walk." That's all he said. But I knew that the Spirit was helping him understand. I only pray that it will stay and that the Spirit will develop within him the heart to understand other people's stories.
It is amazing how knowing the backgrounds of somebody will change the way you look at them.
Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 1
Well, on Saturday we concluded my second Jr. Hi mission trip with the Stillnaz students. It was fast and furious. We started on Wednesday night and ended on Saturday afternoon. The boys stayed at my place and the ladies stayed with another family.
Plenty of stories, plenty of laughs, plenty of learning moments. I would have to say that mission trips are most definitely my favorite things in youth ministry. You get to be with students for longer than 1.5 hours, and you get to see them at their best and at their worst. And they get to see me at my best and worst. It's so real, so raw.
When am I going to get saved?
One of the guys who went had never accepted Christ into his life (officially...) and his mother had asked me if I could pray with him sometime. So when I saw him on Wednesday night the first thing he said to me was, "PJ, when am I going to get saved?" And it was like that the rest of the night. He just kept asking, "Am I going to get saved now?" "Am I going to get saved at McDonald's?" It was great. We finally had a time to sit down at the end of the night. And I explained to him about what it meant to follow Christ, and what life is like without Christ. I had him explain why he wanted Christ in his life. Then I talked to him about the hard side of following Christ, about how when Christ comes in he will go through his life, like he would go through his room. And there might be some things he would want to remove and take away. And by letting Christ come into his life, he was saying that it was okay for God to do that in his life and that he was willing to be changed. I don't know how much discipleship is possible for young people, but I think he understood some of it, and it was exciting to be a part of that experience with him. Then after that, the guys had tons of questions about general stuff. I loved it.
Plenty of stories, plenty of laughs, plenty of learning moments. I would have to say that mission trips are most definitely my favorite things in youth ministry. You get to be with students for longer than 1.5 hours, and you get to see them at their best and at their worst. And they get to see me at my best and worst. It's so real, so raw.
When am I going to get saved?
One of the guys who went had never accepted Christ into his life (officially...) and his mother had asked me if I could pray with him sometime. So when I saw him on Wednesday night the first thing he said to me was, "PJ, when am I going to get saved?" And it was like that the rest of the night. He just kept asking, "Am I going to get saved now?" "Am I going to get saved at McDonald's?" It was great. We finally had a time to sit down at the end of the night. And I explained to him about what it meant to follow Christ, and what life is like without Christ. I had him explain why he wanted Christ in his life. Then I talked to him about the hard side of following Christ, about how when Christ comes in he will go through his life, like he would go through his room. And there might be some things he would want to remove and take away. And by letting Christ come into his life, he was saying that it was okay for God to do that in his life and that he was willing to be changed. I don't know how much discipleship is possible for young people, but I think he understood some of it, and it was exciting to be a part of that experience with him. Then after that, the guys had tons of questions about general stuff. I loved it.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Quote from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto
You have more wealth than before, and you talk more of poverty. You are middle class and you play "poor Church." You talk more of community, and you live more isolated, more divorced, from one another.
"Many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," they say--and there is a whole ocean of slips between what you say and what you do.
It is the ocean of your chatter, and you are drowning in it in every regard.
Now would you care to know why I am not inclined to give you a "tough talking-to?" Because you are the tough ones, not I.
All one has to do is listen to you when you gather together.
it is a terrible thing, how hard, unyielding, and radical you are.
What a pity that this hardness, this radicalism, is always directed against others and never against yourselves.
One would say that your great passion is to convert others!
And I, Francis, tell you, aim at your own conversions. You will see that you will understand things better.
Above all, understand this; it is of no use to think can change the Franciscans, the Capuchins, and Conventuals, and to continue, the Jesuits, the Salesians, the Little Brothers.
It is simply not possible!
What is possible is the conversion of a person--especially if that person happens to be you who are listening to me at this moment.
History has its own laws, and no institution escapes the ravages of time, and are able to place themselves before the nakedness of the Gospel and make it their own.
My children--this is what I shall call you, since you call me Father Francis--do no believe in the reform of your Order. Believe in your personal reform.
My brothers and sisters--for you call me Friar Francis--be holy, and the world will appear to you as holy.
"Many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," they say--and there is a whole ocean of slips between what you say and what you do.
It is the ocean of your chatter, and you are drowning in it in every regard.
Now would you care to know why I am not inclined to give you a "tough talking-to?" Because you are the tough ones, not I.
All one has to do is listen to you when you gather together.
it is a terrible thing, how hard, unyielding, and radical you are.
What a pity that this hardness, this radicalism, is always directed against others and never against yourselves.
One would say that your great passion is to convert others!
And I, Francis, tell you, aim at your own conversions. You will see that you will understand things better.
Above all, understand this; it is of no use to think can change the Franciscans, the Capuchins, and Conventuals, and to continue, the Jesuits, the Salesians, the Little Brothers.
It is simply not possible!
What is possible is the conversion of a person--especially if that person happens to be you who are listening to me at this moment.
History has its own laws, and no institution escapes the ravages of time, and are able to place themselves before the nakedness of the Gospel and make it their own.
My children--this is what I shall call you, since you call me Father Francis--do no believe in the reform of your Order. Believe in your personal reform.
My brothers and sisters--for you call me Friar Francis--be holy, and the world will appear to you as holy.
The Move Part 2: Hello Orpah
Along with being cottagy and cozy, our house is nestled between two other homes, both of which house friendly neighbors. On our left is Carol and her red-headed grandson, Joe. She is so kind. she offered her rain jacket to me the first time she met us, when she saw me moving stuff in the rain. She is also talkative and has already filled us in on her family history. I can tell that Aubrey and I will enjoy getting to know her.
And on our right live Meeko and Mickey. I met Meeko before we had moved anything in. He was standing in his yard and when he saw me getting out of my car, he said, "Are you our new neighbor?" And I told him that I was. And then I asked him what his name was and if he had any brothers or sisters. And he has a sister, Mickey. And then I told them that I was moving in with Aubrey. They asked if she was my girlfriend. I told them, "no".
Meeko and Mickey are in 4th and 5th grade. They are always in their yard playing with their 5 dogs or with each other. And they always greet us when we get home in the day time. It's swell. When Aubrey was getting there to clean the kitchen out, they would greet her, saying, "hello orpah!" I guess they thought I had said her name was orpah! We weren't sure whether or not to leave it as Orpah, but Aubrey kindly told them one day that her name is really Aubrey, and they haven't gotten it wrong since.
But I was cleaning the bathroom the other day, ridding it of some of the hair from the previous resident (making me think about legacy and what we leave behind us...). So I had the window, which faces their backyard, open just in case the fumes from the cleaning stuff were too strong. I was in the middle of cleaning and I heard, "Meeko, ask him if he's taking a bath." Then I heard, "Josh, are you taking a bath?" I told them, "No." Then they talked to me for the rest of the time that I cleaned the bathroom. They asked me more questions like what my favorite color is, whether or not I liked to climb trees when I was little, how old I am, if I ever had any pets. They were full of questions. It was quite pleasant really. I can tell it will be great to have them as neighbors.
And on our right live Meeko and Mickey. I met Meeko before we had moved anything in. He was standing in his yard and when he saw me getting out of my car, he said, "Are you our new neighbor?" And I told him that I was. And then I asked him what his name was and if he had any brothers or sisters. And he has a sister, Mickey. And then I told them that I was moving in with Aubrey. They asked if she was my girlfriend. I told them, "no".
Meeko and Mickey are in 4th and 5th grade. They are always in their yard playing with their 5 dogs or with each other. And they always greet us when we get home in the day time. It's swell. When Aubrey was getting there to clean the kitchen out, they would greet her, saying, "hello orpah!" I guess they thought I had said her name was orpah! We weren't sure whether or not to leave it as Orpah, but Aubrey kindly told them one day that her name is really Aubrey, and they haven't gotten it wrong since.
But I was cleaning the bathroom the other day, ridding it of some of the hair from the previous resident (making me think about legacy and what we leave behind us...). So I had the window, which faces their backyard, open just in case the fumes from the cleaning stuff were too strong. I was in the middle of cleaning and I heard, "Meeko, ask him if he's taking a bath." Then I heard, "Josh, are you taking a bath?" I told them, "No." Then they talked to me for the rest of the time that I cleaned the bathroom. They asked me more questions like what my favorite color is, whether or not I liked to climb trees when I was little, how old I am, if I ever had any pets. They were full of questions. It was quite pleasant really. I can tell it will be great to have them as neighbors.
The Move Part 1: Cottagy and Odorific
So, Aubrey and I are now almost moved into our new place. We still have boxes all over the place, but we have had a couple meals at our table, which makes us feel more at home. The house is very cozy, kind of cottagy, as our friend Isabell describes it. It has two living rooms, a larger kitchen, a small room off the kitchen (former porch maybe?), and a former attic that serves as our bedroom. I described it as cozy, and I mean it. Especially in the sense of the small side of cozy. The upstairs, where our bedroom is, is 5 feet 7 inches. So, I get to stoop...but seriously, I love it. I always wanted to have a room upstairs that had a railing to prevent anybody to fall down the stairwell, and a sloping ceiling and small windows.
Aubrey has been so great in helping us get adjusted to the place. She has spent so much time cleaning out the kitchen, clearing it of the gunk in the cabinets and the smell, oh the smell, of the cabinets. Currently we have cups of vinegar and boxes of baking soda spread out through our kitchen cabinets. We heard that both are excellent at removing unpleasant odors. Considering that the cabinets smelled somewhat like a combination of old person and dog sweat we jumped at the opportunity to have the unpleasant odors removed.
Aubrey has been so great in helping us get adjusted to the place. She has spent so much time cleaning out the kitchen, clearing it of the gunk in the cabinets and the smell, oh the smell, of the cabinets. Currently we have cups of vinegar and boxes of baking soda spread out through our kitchen cabinets. We heard that both are excellent at removing unpleasant odors. Considering that the cabinets smelled somewhat like a combination of old person and dog sweat we jumped at the opportunity to have the unpleasant odors removed.
Monday, June 06, 2005
On Hold
Currently I am on hold with the electric company.
Every 3o seconds this dude comes on and says "Thank you for holding. We will be with your shortly." And "You're call is important to us. Please stay on the line for the next available teller."
In between these nice bouts of verbal explosions smooth jazz is playing. Just when I get into the music the dude comes on and says his thing.
But I was thinking of a way they can improve this whole holding thing. I think they should let you choose the type of music you want to listen to. Like a radio. Or they could put some type of game on there.
Every 3o seconds this dude comes on and says "Thank you for holding. We will be with your shortly." And "You're call is important to us. Please stay on the line for the next available teller."
In between these nice bouts of verbal explosions smooth jazz is playing. Just when I get into the music the dude comes on and says his thing.
But I was thinking of a way they can improve this whole holding thing. I think they should let you choose the type of music you want to listen to. Like a radio. Or they could put some type of game on there.
Holiday
Well, we just got back from our vacation on Saturday night. It was great to be away and be with my parents and sister.
We stayed in a stellar house that was offered to my parents for free. This couple had this million dollar home built just so they could share it with others. It is on the Chesapeake Bay, on a peninsula off of an island. The house is positioned in such a way that when you look out any window you can see water. It was awesome.
Some highlights:
Kayaking around the island with Aubrey
Talking about life with Dad
Getting kicked all over the place in Dutch Blitz by Sus
Listening to mom talk about what it means to be hospitable
Watching dad try to catch a stingray on a ten pound test line
Eating crabs we caught in our crab trap
Fishing off the dock
Memorial Day boating excursion
Sleeping in
Seeing Star Wars 3 (loved the battle Anakin had with himself)
Three Things I learned about myself:
1. I am very selfish.
2. I have a hard time focusing on others. Whenever we were sitting around talking, I tended to try to read or play boggle. When I thought about it, it's the same way when I am with other people. I'm not fully present with them.
3. I've never liked getting my hands dirty. I thought it was a recent thing, but apparently, even when I was a child I had this issue. When I had a particularly messy meal and had stuff on my hands and face I would stop eating (a big deal for me) and put my hands in the air and make a "ehh ehh ehh" sound. So, even now it is hard for me to eat ribs or buffalo wings. Strange.
We stayed in a stellar house that was offered to my parents for free. This couple had this million dollar home built just so they could share it with others. It is on the Chesapeake Bay, on a peninsula off of an island. The house is positioned in such a way that when you look out any window you can see water. It was awesome.
Some highlights:
Kayaking around the island with Aubrey
Talking about life with Dad
Getting kicked all over the place in Dutch Blitz by Sus
Listening to mom talk about what it means to be hospitable
Watching dad try to catch a stingray on a ten pound test line
Eating crabs we caught in our crab trap
Fishing off the dock
Memorial Day boating excursion
Sleeping in
Seeing Star Wars 3 (loved the battle Anakin had with himself)
Three Things I learned about myself:
1. I am very selfish.
2. I have a hard time focusing on others. Whenever we were sitting around talking, I tended to try to read or play boggle. When I thought about it, it's the same way when I am with other people. I'm not fully present with them.
3. I've never liked getting my hands dirty. I thought it was a recent thing, but apparently, even when I was a child I had this issue. When I had a particularly messy meal and had stuff on my hands and face I would stop eating (a big deal for me) and put my hands in the air and make a "ehh ehh ehh" sound. So, even now it is hard for me to eat ribs or buffalo wings. Strange.
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