HAPPY NEW YEAR! I cannot believe that another year has come and gone. Frankly, this year has been definitely one of the strangest years ever. I had some major life events happen during the course of these past 365 days that were good, bad, and somewhere in between those extremes. In the spirit of my friend Kari, I present you my list of happenings this past year in no particular order:
* Going to Mars Hill church in Grand Rapids, MI to hear Rob Bell in person for the "Isn't She Beautiful?" conference for church folks. Very cool experience...I can never hear the theme to Shaft the same way ever!
* Staying a few days and nights at the Eagle Harbor Inn in Door County (the "thumb" of WI). They allow kids, elegant beautiful rooms, homemade breakfasts each morning, and very peaceful. Will go again after Easter this year! Wanna come with?
* My sister-in-law getting married to her Basketballing man. Twas a great wedding had by all, very festive. I even got to show off my new suit that I bought just for that moment. I now wear the jacket just to freak everyone out at church, since I cannot stand "dress up."
* Interviewing to be St. John's next associate pastor. Few weeks later, being told that they had a record turn out to vote me in. Am I loved?
* Putting our house on the market, within a week having four offers. We then found a house we liked that same week in Oregon, put an offer down and let the bartering begin. We bought that house despite the fact that we had flood damage happen a week before we bought it...this family room would remain unoccupied for two months until all the contractors had done their work, so we could actually use that room. It is now my favorite room in the house!
* Obviously, moving from Janesville to Oregon. We finally said goodbye to that rednecky, closed-minded place. I of course, said goodbye to it in my usual way of offering closure to those people and places I have come to wear as a scar (not all contributed to this though!). Care to guess how I said goodbye?
* Acquiring a backstage package that entitled me to see Dream Theater front row center, chair one, left side; backstage pass to meet the band, sign crap I brought, two pictures taken with them, meeting my favorite drummer ever; not to mention a damn fine night of two hours worth of music that was loud and even better live! If you come to my house, you will see my shrine. I have plans to encapsulate my signed 18" drum head in the finest of industrial strength lucite plastic, cherry oak framed, illuminated by the finest of Italian blown lightbulbs! My wedding day, the birth of my son, and meeting/seeing Dream Theater on the beautiful August night! (Sigh!)
* Along that same line, I got to see Rush supporting their Snakes and Arrows tour a month later with a buddy of mine at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Amazing show! Neil was perfect, Geddy was amazing, and Alex was Alex! Three hour plus show that definitely gave me my money's worth. Highlight was hearing YYZ and Subdivisions! Course the moment we found our seats, we began to notice a funky aroma around us that did not smell like your average popcorn or beer. Mary Jane was also in attendance!
* That same night after arriving home from said concert, I woke up three hours later with excruciating pain in my lower abdomen. I was scheduled to drive home to Minot that morning to begin a week's worth of vacation to go fishing with Dad, but instead I ended up at St. Mary's hospital in Madison for a five day stint. The verdict? An inflamed ilium (piping between the small and large intestine). Nothing like having an enema, a colonoscopy, a Cat scan, a nurse that missed my vein but left the IV in anyway, liquid diet of bad broth, and gallons of morphine to let me know just how much I was cared for.
* Bram died. I miss him...
* Performing a wedding at the bedside of a dying man and his fiance. He would die less than twelve hours later, but not without knowing that he married the woman of his dreams in the eyes of God. That was one of the coolest moments I have ever had in ministry!
* Going to Willow Creek twice for conferences. These are so good for me. I come back ready to take on the visioning and processing that will continue to take our church forward. Amazing stuff with great speakers. Gave me the idea for putting our sermons we do for a series into binders with the artwork on the front and back, and then selling those within the church. This has been a very successful ministry that I was inspired to start. Plans may include putting our sermons online with maybe an Itunes thing...dollar and download. We'll see...
* Becoming addicted to the greatest TV show out there right now: CSI Miami
* Doing what I love in a good place with great people.
* Knowing that my wife and son are what made this past year comforting, beautiful, and worth the work, time, enjoyment, challenge, and stress included in all of the above. They made this year a good time between the weird, the bad, the good, and the boring. That's why I love them.
Anyway, I hope you had just as strange or interesting year as I did. I hope it was good, weird, blessed, or somewhere between all that. I hope it made you into a stronger person or more defined, perhaps it made you more aware of who you are. I hope this new year is just as good for me and you. Let's have fun. Alright, let's see those heavy metal devil horns up at this time! \m/ \m/ More later...
* Going to Mars Hill church in Grand Rapids, MI to hear Rob Bell in person for the "Isn't She Beautiful?" conference for church folks. Very cool experience...I can never hear the theme to Shaft the same way ever!
* Staying a few days and nights at the Eagle Harbor Inn in Door County (the "thumb" of WI). They allow kids, elegant beautiful rooms, homemade breakfasts each morning, and very peaceful. Will go again after Easter this year! Wanna come with?
* My sister-in-law getting married to her Basketballing man. Twas a great wedding had by all, very festive. I even got to show off my new suit that I bought just for that moment. I now wear the jacket just to freak everyone out at church, since I cannot stand "dress up."
* Interviewing to be St. John's next associate pastor. Few weeks later, being told that they had a record turn out to vote me in. Am I loved?
* Putting our house on the market, within a week having four offers. We then found a house we liked that same week in Oregon, put an offer down and let the bartering begin. We bought that house despite the fact that we had flood damage happen a week before we bought it...this family room would remain unoccupied for two months until all the contractors had done their work, so we could actually use that room. It is now my favorite room in the house!
* Obviously, moving from Janesville to Oregon. We finally said goodbye to that rednecky, closed-minded place. I of course, said goodbye to it in my usual way of offering closure to those people and places I have come to wear as a scar (not all contributed to this though!). Care to guess how I said goodbye?
* Acquiring a backstage package that entitled me to see Dream Theater front row center, chair one, left side; backstage pass to meet the band, sign crap I brought, two pictures taken with them, meeting my favorite drummer ever; not to mention a damn fine night of two hours worth of music that was loud and even better live! If you come to my house, you will see my shrine. I have plans to encapsulate my signed 18" drum head in the finest of industrial strength lucite plastic, cherry oak framed, illuminated by the finest of Italian blown lightbulbs! My wedding day, the birth of my son, and meeting/seeing Dream Theater on the beautiful August night! (Sigh!)
* Along that same line, I got to see Rush supporting their Snakes and Arrows tour a month later with a buddy of mine at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Amazing show! Neil was perfect, Geddy was amazing, and Alex was Alex! Three hour plus show that definitely gave me my money's worth. Highlight was hearing YYZ and Subdivisions! Course the moment we found our seats, we began to notice a funky aroma around us that did not smell like your average popcorn or beer. Mary Jane was also in attendance!
* That same night after arriving home from said concert, I woke up three hours later with excruciating pain in my lower abdomen. I was scheduled to drive home to Minot that morning to begin a week's worth of vacation to go fishing with Dad, but instead I ended up at St. Mary's hospital in Madison for a five day stint. The verdict? An inflamed ilium (piping between the small and large intestine). Nothing like having an enema, a colonoscopy, a Cat scan, a nurse that missed my vein but left the IV in anyway, liquid diet of bad broth, and gallons of morphine to let me know just how much I was cared for.
* Bram died. I miss him...
* Performing a wedding at the bedside of a dying man and his fiance. He would die less than twelve hours later, but not without knowing that he married the woman of his dreams in the eyes of God. That was one of the coolest moments I have ever had in ministry!
* Going to Willow Creek twice for conferences. These are so good for me. I come back ready to take on the visioning and processing that will continue to take our church forward. Amazing stuff with great speakers. Gave me the idea for putting our sermons we do for a series into binders with the artwork on the front and back, and then selling those within the church. This has been a very successful ministry that I was inspired to start. Plans may include putting our sermons online with maybe an Itunes thing...dollar and download. We'll see...
* Becoming addicted to the greatest TV show out there right now: CSI Miami
* Doing what I love in a good place with great people.
* Knowing that my wife and son are what made this past year comforting, beautiful, and worth the work, time, enjoyment, challenge, and stress included in all of the above. They made this year a good time between the weird, the bad, the good, and the boring. That's why I love them.
Anyway, I hope you had just as strange or interesting year as I did. I hope it was good, weird, blessed, or somewhere between all that. I hope it made you into a stronger person or more defined, perhaps it made you more aware of who you are. I hope this new year is just as good for me and you. Let's have fun. Alright, let's see those heavy metal devil horns up at this time! \m/ \m/ More later...
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