pregnancy, rappelling, excitement

This has been an exciting week for us. Hillary and I went public with being pregnant and got all sorts of great responses. In case you haven't heard she is in week 13 and is doing well overall. There nausea, which sadly is not limited to the morning. Thus, there are good days, bad days, and plenty of ones in between. It is a challenge to love each other and respond well through quickly changing circumstances.
Another fun part of this week was taking some teenage guys from church and teaching some outdoor skills, one of which was rappelling. All three of them took the leap and safely descended. I love to share this kind of stuff with others.
Lastly, this was my first Sunday serving communion and leading worship, all of which was pretty cool. At some points it was a little difficult to connect with what I was doing, because I was trying to remember the various things I needed to say, as well as not drop the commuion plate or something like that. It turned out well though, and I am looking forward to being regularly involved in those aspects of public worship.

ordination part 3

So I am finally finishing up my original ideas. Ordination was like getting married - sorta. I was up there taking vows (to be faithful to God, scriptures, his church etc) and kept saying, "I do." And I realized hey, this was like getting married: it is a new stage of a relationship, it makes sense and feels right but is still scary, there is privilege and responsibility, and it is a neat ceremony with huge implications. Being ordained means a lot of things. Primarily is a sing of the church's recognition of God's call on my life. The church is setting me apart to serve God as a pastor and bestowing on me the authority/power of that office. Authority and power can have negative connotations in our culture, but in myself I don't have either of those. I was set apart as someone who represents God and therefore mediates his authority and power. Again, this is a daunting responsibility and an undeserved privilege. I'm sure I'll understand this much more as I head along this path.

ordination continued

Here are pictures of the elders laying hands on me and me giving the benediction. It's kinda funy that someone snaped I photo during the benediction, but that's cool. Anyway, I'll try to give more commentary on the service and everything, but that'll have to wait. It is like I'm blogging in installments this week.

I do

I was ordained yesterday and would love to tell you about it, but my computer is thwarting my purposes as I am unable to upload pictures or write a full paragraph. I've written and somehow deleted a longer post twice in the past 10 minutes and don't think I could bear it a third time, so I'll put up pictures and details sometime later.

working and resting

This past week Hillary and I had a good time as we traveled to Washington DC to visit a childhood friend. We've known each other since kindergarten and were born on the 26th and 27th of November. It was enjoyable being away and DC is a pretty cool town. We went to various Smithsonian museums, checked out the Zoo, and some national monuments, and overall got to see a lot. Two things which I'll highlight are a video, called The Way Things Go, and this piece made up of coat hangers, which were both at the Hershorn Museum. While it was fun being away I had a hard time relaxing as I was thinking about the stuff I needed to do when I got back, but being back, it has all worked out. There is a lot of freedom and peace that I could have experienced by trusting God. Our trip back was a little crazy as it involved 3car rides, 1 bus, 3subways and two trains. I've got a little cold but am getting better. Before we left I preached on Sunday and that went well. It is a great privilege and a joy to do so. If you are interested in listening follow the link to our church's website.

one for now, maybe both ends later

So I was thinking about the expression, of burning the candle at both ends and I'm not there yet but I might be by the end of the week. I'm preaching this Sunday, which isn't normal, so I'm excited, but definitely feeling the time crunch. As I woke up this morning, I was thinking about needing to write a sermon between now and Sunday and before I got overwhelmed, I remembered that God cares. I know that sounds pretty simple, but if God cares about his people and preaching is an important thing in caring for them and strengthening faith he'll take care of me. This doesn't mean that I am going to slack off or something, but that the responsibility of it all doesn't rest on my shoulders. Jesus said to the weary and heavy laden that we should take his yoke upon him and learn from him because he is gentle and lowly in heart and under him we will find rest for our souls. This is a wonderful promise and something that I need to hold onto.

Fixed

Wow! I just received word that my computer is fixed and I shouldn't have lost anything. How excellent!