Archive for the ‘Community’ Category
2008 Review in Photos
Wow.
I really have no clue where to begin.
2008 brought so many ups and downs that just the thought of going through and rehashing all of it freaks me out.
Regardless, 2008 was amazing for many reasons, and one in particular.
Thankful fors in 2008 in no particular order:
(clicking each photo will enable you to leave a comment and to enlarge a specific photo)
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- The gas prices were all over the place in 2008. Luckily, towards the end of the year it no longer cost me $100 to fill up.
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- I spent many of my hours sitting around one of these. Sometimes saying hello. Sometimes saying goodbye. Other time, saying nothing at all. God can always be found around in a flame.
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- And sometimes in 2008 I was able to witness something rare…my roommate cleaning. Don’t worry, we heard about it for about a week after he did it.
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- The worship team rocks it each week at Dialogue. Authentic worship…I truly love the experience of Dialogue.
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- New life…
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- Many books piled up in my library. I have to say however, Feel by Matthew Elliott takes the cake for changing my life the most.
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- Way too many of these in 2008. Unnecessary, which means they will be cut back in 2009. But man, a Cafe Mocha sure does hit the spot.
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- Many of these throughout 2008 as a group of us meet each week to share amazing conversation and solve the world’s problems.
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- Cade. Enough said. This kid is a riot.
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- Random notes found in my car left by the girl of my dreams…which just happens to be a reality now.
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- We Coffee You…just telling people we love them by giving them a free cup of St.Arbucks coffee on us. God is molding this community…it’s an AWESOME thing.
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- The verse that I seemed to stand next to during all of 2008.
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- Micah. He is our children’s director’s son. Great kid, and just inspired me in ways he could never understand.
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- Sunglasses. I know…a lame thing to be thankful, right? However, it’s just hard to find a good pair of sunglasses.
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- Many weddings this past summer. Old friends and new friends coming before God and shouting their love for one another. Nothing will take from the beauty of marriage.
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- Did I mention on that road trip that I did not sleep for about 36 straight hours. I’m not 18 anymore is what I found out.
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- Road trips with this woman could never get old. Hoping for many more in the future together.
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- Honestly…isn’t she gorgeous??
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- Michael and I had a great time playing some Guitar Hero…if I could have only got him to take the picture seriously.
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- Owen, growing up with the guy before our eyes.
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- Trips to Indy with old roommates.
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- Did I mention I won a signed guitar of Jon Mclaughlin’s…because I did.
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- Had a chance to meet Jon McLaughlin and talk with him for a bit at Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Indianapolis
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- The happy couple…now residing in South Carolina.
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- New friends seem to be a common theme in 2008. Matt was just one of many.
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- A group of my favorite ladies in my life.
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- Celebrated Jessica’s 16th birthday the right way…The Melting Pot.
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- It was a hot summer. So sure…we spent some time with water guys.
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- We made some time during the summer for some badminton competitions.
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- A trip to Cincinnati to see the Cubs vs. the Reds. The Reds won in the bottom of the 9th, walk off double. Go Reds!
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- This is from Allison and I’s first date. It was just the beginning of something great.
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- Good times with Paul. Sometimes, we might have went to far. =/
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- In 2008 Chris lost his battle with ALS, but won the victory of healing. See you with Jesus man!
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- Last second Switchfoot concert with Allison and Grace. Met up with others while we were there. Great show.
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- This kid…if you read my blog, you know all about him. If you don’t, oh boy.
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- New Years last year. Some dance exercise program came on tv, so we decided to join in.
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- God’s vision played out. Interpression was kicked off in 2008. 2009 will certainly be a big year for the individuals of Interpression.
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- One roommate(not me), placing inappropriate signs on other roommates while they sleep.
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- Trips to the reservoir. Relaxing in the beauty that God created for us to enjoy.
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- Dialogue has been a huge blessing in my life this year. The people of Dialogue make this more than a building.
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- Trunk & Treat w/o Master Owen just wouldn’t have been the same.
There are many more photo’s I could place up there; blog party, etc. However I have limited space and time.
Perhaps if I feel it, I’ll do a 2008 in Review part II.
I will say this, Twitpic made this a whole lot easier.
Anyhow….
I truly never will forget 2008.
Each memory will be tattooed on mind and heart forever.
From the moment of 01/01/08, to the moment of all the tears I cried, to the moment I first laid my lips on Allison’s, to the moments soon awaiting me in the next few days.
2008 will be a defining moment of my life to come.
I could truly never be more blessed.
One Reason…
…(out of many)I look forward to being a father.
Allison and I made a trip to Georgia just over a month ago.
While we were there we were blessed to have the Nahrstadt family open up their home to us.
We could have politely said no, with my aunt living so close.
However, we looked at the opportunity to meet new people and to sleep on beds that we were not kicking anyone out of, and took them up on it.
Jenn was an incredible host who fed us homemade brownies.(for that reason alone i’d go back)
Jenn’s husband Bob shared many of the same nerd qualities that I do, which was refreshing.
Then there was this boy, Jenn’s son Michael, who was hilarious.
At first he was quiet and shy.
I’m sure he was wondering who we were and why the heck we were stayig at his house…I know I would have been.
However, him and I ended playing some Guitar Hero(see the results HERE), and sort of bonded a little bit.
Before we left, I wanted to get a picture of Michael and I together, and so did Jenn.
Well…this is what happened:
It ended up turning into a wrestling brawl…in which he was pretty confident that I could not take him down or make him take this picture.
While Michael put up a good fight…it just wasn’t enough to back up his certainty
Anyhow, during that moment I had flashforward of being a father.
I’m scared to death of being a father to be honest.
I see the things kids are doing, how they’re acting, and just the danger in the world, and it scares the heck out of me.
Honestly though, there is absolutely nothing more that I look forward to in my life, then being able to hold my son/daughter and call them mine.
Interpression Ministries
I introduce to you…
This is what God has had me working on for four years.
I didn’t realize I was working on it that long until two weeks ago when he decided to reveal his plan for me. This is just the beginning. God has some amazing plans for Interpression and for the lives that will be changed.
I am currently working on funding for a website. Until then however, be sure to check out the blog to learn more about Interpression Ministries, including the first of four Q&A’s with me. I will be updating the blog throughout the week with information. So be sure to check back often.
Honestly, I get chills just talking about Interpression.
Homosexuality: How Should We Respond?
This is going to be a long post, but please read it.
I was reading a Relevant Magazine about Injustices of the world.
One of the questions that were asked was, How Should We as Christians Respond to Homosexuality.
To answer these questions, they pulled in seven christian leaders;
I want to just pull Shane’s response for all to read…
…….I had all these ideas about “homosexuality,” “civil union” and “gay” when I was in high school. Then I met a kid who was attracted to other men, and he told me he felt God had made mistake when He made him and that he wanted to kill himself. If that brother can’t find a home in the Church, then I wonder, who have we become? But I would also say it doesn’t mean we talk around the issue.
…….We need to be able to disagree well, and maybe one of our biggest witnesses to the larger society is that we as a Church can disagree well. Even if we don’t agree on every issue, if we can disagree well, then I think that is something beautiful. I just talked to the national gathering of the United Methodists, and they’re thinking of splitting over this issue. To me, that is heart-wrenching. If we are able to have a healthier understanding of sexuality and to celebrate singleness as well as marriage and family, then we can transcend some of this. How can we as a church created a place that’s safe for people to experience intimacy and love, that doesn’t say the only path God could have for you is to have a husband and wife and two-and-a-half kids? It’s so scandalous that there are these heterosexual, married [couples] pointing fingers and saying gay folks are breaking up our families. Evangelicals are surpassing the divorce rate of secular society, and yet we’re accusing gay folks of breaking up the family, while all of them want to get married. I want to create communities where we can have a healthy conversation and not just point fingers and excommunicate people who disagree with us.
When I read this today, Shane affirmed everything that I had been feeling after writing THIS post, and reading the responses.
We’re here…finally.
Okay, so I’ve been quiet.
I apologize.
Allison and I left on Wednesday evening to head to Georgia for the big party.
On our way we stopped in to just northeast of Cincinnati in Ohio to visit her cousin’s Ray and Melissa.
It was a great short stop.
Refreshing.
We decided to leave there around midnight, with hopes to enter the domains of Gainesville, GA around eight in the morning.
It was roughly that time when we did get there.
However, that was long after our detour around the mountains and valley’s of our 30 min in North Carolina.(a little different view than what we see in Indiana)
But…we did finally get here.
The first night we stayed with my aunt/uncle, Chery and Jose, and the boys.
We ate very well. Many LARGE portions of authentic homemade mexican food.
The boys are great.
I miss them while I’m home…sometimes I forgot how much.
Tonight we are staying with our new friends, the Nahrstadt’s.
Jenn invited us last week to stay with her and her family. It was nice, even though we didn’t need a place. However, after thinking about it, they had two extra beds, and while we were staying with my aunt, we were kicking two people out of their beds(they insisted). It made it all work out great.
They are great people.
I mean seriously, who asks if you want brownies and then make them from scratch without a box?!
Honestly, I am not sure I have ever had homemade brownies.
Oh, I did get the chance to play their 14 year old son in Guitar Hero.
Sadly…he won.
The current score:
Be sure to check back at the end of the weekend.
It surely has to change…I hope.
In-Reach
Yesterday Dialogue Church plunged forward with another future multi-year event.
This event is what we call In-Reach.
Most people have heard of out-reaching.
Where you serve your community, and do things for people you don’t know, in a way to help them meet basic needs with the blessings and love of God.
In-Reach is very similar.
In-Reach is actually exactly like out-reaching.
However, instead of doing these things for people you don’t know, we’re doing them for the one’s closest to us.
At Dialogue we believe fully in order to love the people you don’t know, you have to first know how to love the people you are closest to.
Yesterday, a large group of Dialoguers went out on this journey to pour out love to a couple in our church. We opened up our schedules and spent all day doing random tasks for this family of six.
It was a great day.
Some Dialoguers went back for day two. There just wasn’t enough time to finish everything we wanted to in one day.
Now being the great blogger I am of course, you would assume I took before and after photo’s.
Uhh…yeah, I completely failed all of you and forgot.
However, this family was completely appreciative of everything.
It was great to see their faces and the kids faces as the day went along.
Satisfaction.
Not in us.
But in Him.
I am completely blessed to have the opportunity to serve such an amazing God with such amazing people.
Soo…I tweet alot.
I went HERE, and it told me this:
Hmmm.
That brings me to my next question and Vagabondrunn’s first official Poll.
Oh and by the way, follow me(and obviously be “annoyed”) on twitter HERE.
Okay, anyhow…
