lunch is served

I know you've all been holding your breath since october 1, waiting to find out how the church is going, and so you're probably all dead because there was no oxygen flow in your body so your brain couldn't tell your heart to beat and all that...

But here is the long-awaited update.

Abandon House is just what I was hoping it to be. The first week there were 6 of us, and it's been around that number the past two weeks as well. We served mac and cheese the first week, grilled cheese and tomato soup next and last week was chicken and rice casserole. The food is reason enough to drive out to gloucester at 11:30 on a Sunday morning.

But we also talk about Jesus. The first week was entitled "reckless abandon," and we talked about why the abandon house is called such, and also what it looks like to abandon your life, faith, etc to Jesus. We ended up talking about living in community and how cool that would be. (i know, i know, but who will was the dishes?)
The second week was "we mistake panic for inspiration," and i spoke about how when something is wrong in our spiritual life, our first instinct is to do more "religious" things: read our bible more, tithe more, go to church more, go on a mission trip, almost in an effort to bargain with Jesus, or else we're just assuming that those are always the answers. We drew/collaged our spiritual life maps, including what we think God has in store for us in the future, trying to keep in mind that our first option is not always God's option.
Last week was a time of fellowship. aka jon and i were both super busy all week and didn't have time to prepare. so we all made lunch and ate and relaxed.
This week there is no church. It is fall break, and we all need one. But things are going well.

Things you can pray for would be people's commitment to come, we're having trouble getting the same people there week after week, and almost feel like we're starting over with publicity every monday. Also pray for time. As i said, Jon and i are both really busy with school, bands and really cool jobs which leave little time for preparing worship songs or a sermon anytime before Saturday really, and I have some really cool things i want to talk about that need more preparation time than one day.

Overall, I am really pleased and can't really believe that for three weeks i've managed to get people to my house in the hopes of talking about/with Jesus. So thanks for the prayers that have already been prayed and the ones that will be.

birthdays

"i don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve"
so goes one of literature's great birthday speeches. imagine inviting 144 people over for a birthday party and including that line in your speech.

i just had a birthday, turned 55. one of my friends signed a card, "to the aarp man of the year." now I can sign up for all those "senior discounts" and eat early bird specials in restaurants. i wonder if paul mccartney flashes his senior discount card when he dines out?

people tend to be very nice on birthdays. it's almost like birthdays are a time off from anything nasty or bad relationships or anything harsh...but when bilbo spoke the words i quoted at the beginning of these thoughts he was breaking the cardinal rule of niceness on birthdays and speaking harsh truth, at least truth as he saw it.

a hobbit does not recieve gifts on his or her birthday but gives them. one year i did that with my family. i surprised them with gifts. years later my son was still asking when i would do that again. it is still his favorite my birtday.

i like good surpises. rick mapes gave me a good surpise on my 30th birthday when the normal jesus house concert was turned into a surprise birthday party for me. it was quite an evening. i still have the photos.

if you have a birthday soon, i hope you spend it with people you, at least, half like.