a mixture of the normal and tragic

This week was an interesting mix for Hillary and I. Hillary was studying a lot in preparation for her national counseling exam this Saturday, which she thinks went well. Sadly, we won't know the results for 6-8 weeks. There are different versions of the exam with different difficulty levels and different grading scales so it is hard to know how she did until we get the actual scores. By the end of the exam (about 4 hours) Hillary was pretty spent and asked me not to make her think any more that day. We celebrated her completion of the exam by having friends over and grilling out. It was the first time we've hung out on deck and it was a lot of fun. Neighbors and friends from church came over and it went really well.
The tragic part of this week occurred when two teenagers in West Hartford middle schools committed suicide. The boys, both 8th graders at different middle schools in this district, took their lives a day apart. A friend at church, who is a language teacher, had one of the boys in his class and was telling me about the diversity of reactions among the students: some girls who didn't even know him were falling apart emotionally, while others exhibited an almost morbid curiosity. He said that overall there was just a heaviness in the school. We were talking, wondering about how God might use this in the lives of students and families in the area.
I was able to see this mixed reaction to these suicides as I helped chaperon a middle school dance this Friday night. Some kids had pictures of the teens around their necks, while others had "R.I.P." or their friends' names written on their clothes. Some kids were visibly upset while others seemed unaffected. My guess is that for many of these students and their families they don't what to make of this tragedy and how to deal with the reality of this sort of loss. In all of this I see the need for Jesus' comforting love and strong hand.
Here is a link to a story run in the local paper concerning the suicides.

crashing down

It has been a while since we've written and last time I spoke of our faith based kitchen. Well, sadly yesterday it came to an end. There was this one shelf that was unsecured and as Hillary was cooking dinner it came crashing down and shattered some of the tiles on our radiator. Needless to say, Hillary was a little startled and for the rest of the day was a little jumpy. This week has been pretty full for us as we both get ready for tests. Hillary's is this Saturday and she is studying hard. At points she is anxious, but overall she is growing in her trust in Christ.

Here are three other things going on with us:

1. I got a cool video game when I traded some others in and it has been hard to exercise self-control and not play too much. Here are some cool pictures of what it looks like:

This may seem kinda silly, but it brings back some great memories of college.

2. I had a good time in Jackson, MS last week as I traveled to a conference there with Al (Sr. Pastor at our church). It was great to spend time with him and just have a shared experience outside of working together. The conference was focused on encouraging pastors in the use of the ordinary means of Grace. Basically, the idea is that God tells us a few simple things by which we receive his grace (through understanding the bible, taking the sacraments, and praying). We were encouraged to continue in our focus of these and to pursue living which accords with God's character of love and holiness. This may sound simple, and in some ways it is, but it was encouraging to be reminded of my task here in CT. There are all sorts of things I could do, but I need to stick to what God says and trust that he will work. It is actually very freeing.

3. It has been sunny and in the 60's here. I am wearing flip flops, cooking on the grill, and in an overally happy condition.

our faith based kitchen

We had a pleasant Easter - church in the morning and then went to Hillary's Aunt Janet's in Albany, NY for lunch. After that her Dad came back with us to CT for a few days. It has been fun having him here. We've done some home repairs, shopping, and various sorts of things. Dad was helping us work in the kitchen. We had a shelf which wasn't really supported well and could easily have toppled if anyone put weight on it and dad remarked that we're definitely running a faith based operation here, saying that's the only thing holding our shelf up. I then showed him 2 of our cabinets which we haven't finished yet. They have doors with handles but no hinges. If you set the doors in the cabinet just correctly they'll stay there and look normal but if you pull on the handle the door comes flying off. This happened to a friend and was quite a surprise! Once dad saw these he made was cracking up laughing about our faith based kitchen.

before and after

This is the kitchen when we first bought the house. Notice the knotty pine paneling and imagine this replicated on cabinates on the other walls. It felt like we were in the appalachian mountains or something. Now, check it out. We've redone all the wood paneling and cabinets, removed lots of shelving, and added some lovely yellow paint. This has been the project without end, but it was finally completed this Thursday - Huzzah! Below is a picture of the cabintes and stove. You'll notice the faux wood front to our dishwasher. Sadly, this stands out even more now that everything else is white. We might repaint it also, but we're not sure how it would work.
On a totally different train of thought, we went to the Opera this Tuesday night and it was a lot of fun. The singing and acting worked very well together and there was a lot comedy to the production. The venue was cool and we were in the third row on stage right. It was a good time and I didn't fall asleep.

people and the opera

Last week was a pretty good week of work. My weeks kinda fluctuate between being people oriented and task oriented. Last week was a good mix of both as I was able to connect with different folks over coffee or a meal, as well as move forward on some tasks. I've been getting together with a group of different women who are all experienced in working with children and it has been very helpful. They are full of great ideas and it is encouraging to work together versus working on my own. I also had some good meetings with a few different teenagers. I am getting to know them better and have had some cool opportunities to speak into their lives.

This Tuesday night Hillary and I are going to the opera. There was a special deal where we able to get good seats for pretty cheap. I've never been to an opera before and I'm curious to see what it is like. When were were talking to my parents, my mom was rather surprised that I was going to an opera. Her main points of reference are all those dance recitals of my sister in which I could barely sit still. It was quite a chore getting me there and she is curious how I ended up going to an opera. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going to try and be well rested so that if it is somewhat dull I don't fall asleep - hahahah. You'll find the basic info at http://www.ctopera.org/

working through and waking up

Yesterday was a full day. I preached for the first time at Christ Community, here in West Hartford. Then I taught a class on Spiritual Gifts - the first part of a four part serries with the teens, adults, and older elementary kids. After church the teenage girls came over for lunch, which we normally do on the fourth Sunday. Everything came off really well and I am thankful for all of you out there who were praying for me this weekend.
Going into the sermon I wasn't that nervous, which was strange. As I preached I felt like I wasn't connecting and was concerned about going over my time limit. I got a little mixed up in my head at a point or two and felt somehwhat dissapointed coming out of the pulpit. But despite my kinda negative feelings or critique of it, God used the sermon in people's lives. People were very encouraging and I was thankful that God worked through me even though I had trouble connecting to it. It was an interesting experience and I am still thinking through it. If you are interested in listening to my sermon, click on this link and you'll arrive at the church website. It is at the top of the list.
The spiritual gifts class, also went well - except for some technological difficulties. My computer generally works well, except for when I'm trying to use it at some sort of public event. Despite my power point presentation freaking out for most of the class, it went really well. It was fun to have this wide range of ages there and to see people interacting and talking about how God has gifted them for his service.
The other thing on my mind happened as I was lying in bed this morning, slowly waking up. I was thinking how easy it is to try to earn God's favor. Regardless of how often I remind myself and others that God loves his people because of Christ, and not because of what we do - it is so easy to live otherwise. I want to know the freedom of simply being cherished because of what Christ has done.

fish, hats, and intimidation

Last Thursday Hillary and I had a fun time hanging out on Valentine's day doing various things. We went and got fish and chips at this fish market about 15 mins south of us and it was a lot of fun. According to their Web site they have a 5,000 gallon lobster holding tank. We saw the tank. It is full of big crates all of which have lobsters hanging out. You go up to the edge of a the tank, point at a lobster and the worker reaches in and pulls it out. The lobsters curl up, twitch their legs and give you menacing looks - it seems like they don't like to leave the water. The guy on the left is the guy who founded the company in 1930. I think he looks a little fishy - hahaha (bad puns run in my family).
After having lunch we hung out, went shopping, and at REI there was a big winter sale. I'm a fan of winter hats (I don't like cold ears) and most of their winter hats were 50% off! It was a very exciting time and I came away with 3 hats! This one on the right is my first step away from the traditional beanie/skull cap. It has a fun look and feel to it. Hillary says it reminds her of the UK.
The third big thing going on with me is that this coming Sunday I am preaching at church. It is a great opportunity, but I'm definately feeling intimidated. The passage I'm preaching on is from 1 Peter 5:5-11. I'm talking about life beneath the hand of God. I have a lot of different thoughts, but the challenge is to put them together into a cohesive whole. It is easy to get a little nervous and put off working on the sermon, but that only makes things worse. So, I'm off to work on the sermon now and I'll let you know how it works out. (just for fun - when I was getting the picture of this hat from REI.com, I saw a review for the hat which said, "Tip: don't wear with a tee-shirt, it looks funny." I'll have to keep that in mind.)