Chapter XXIII: Dear Michigan

I know...a day late...I'm sure this is hard to handle given my amazing track record of punctual updates. (This was a day late when I wrote it, but apparently it didn't publish right away).

The funny thing about this post is that instead of an update for Illinois from Michigan, it's for my Michigander family from Illinois....Props to those of you who understood that.

SO...for those of you Michiganders...

Christmas vacation for me meant visiting my family and friends from my hometown of Rockford, Illinois. While I hate the city itself, the people I spent my week with are pretty awesome. I got to swing dance, ice fish, rock out, shop, play video games, and eat.

Lots of eating.

And the best part is the cooler full of leftovers I was sent back with.

My favorite part was the visiting with old family and friends...Some of whom I hadn't seen for 2 or 3 years. It's amazing how much more drastic change seems to be when you see it all at once instead of a year long process. Most of my friends and family seem to change so much every time I see them, and I wonder if I change just as much throughout the year.

Not a whole lot of meat or potatoes to this update (I ate most of those over the weekend), so I'll leave the Michiganders in my life with this thought...

Illinois as more snow than you. And a better NFL team....Ouch.

Writing from home to home,
-B

Chapter XXII:Closing Time

The parting of the Red Sea. Healing of Sick. Military victories. Creation. The Resurrection. The LORD has done some miraculous things. His latest?

Getting me through my first semester as a youth pastor.

My new church family accepted me as both a friend and leader. They have made west Michigan feel like home. And they've fed me quite a lot of food. Basically, most of the LORD's support throughout the semester came from their hands, calls, cards, cookies, and kitchens.

As this past week progressed, I wished "Merry Christmas" to many of my students and friends as we all scattered for Winter Break. As we gathered for one last class/meeting/meal/game for the semester, one could feel a heightened sense of energy from everybody. This was most noticeable in the High School students though....especially at last night's Ugly Sweater Party.

This week also saw the Twelve Strings of Christmas. This benefit concert hosted by myself, John, and Amy (she made cookies...lots of cookies) was attended by roughly 30 people and raised over 60 dollars for ACCESS Food Pantry. The music was decent and the show was really fun. John and I had a blast putting it together and look forward to a repeat next year. But our show was definitely upstaged by another group this weekend;

The Olivet Children's Christmas program.

During our service yesterday, the little kids (with some help) told the Christmas story. In addition to being absurdly cute and hilarious, the program served as an awesome reminder to our congregation that we are a family. It was awesome to see different age groups come together to lay our worship at the feet of the King.

Looking ahead, I'll be heading back to Northern Illinois for the holidays. It'll be great to see my family. Especially my little brother and dog since I haven't seen them in 6 months. I am excited for a few days away from work and the opportunity to recharge my batteries. I ask for your prayers for travel as many people are heading home for the holidays.

It's been a great five months in Michigan, and I look forward to more. This semester was a blast and we all learned a lot about our faith as well as each other. But this semester is over. And while it's closing time for this half of the school year, the next half looks even brighter!

Grateful for the past,
-B

PS This week's picture isn't mine. Credit goes to the talented Katie Groeneveld for the photography

Chapter XXI: Iowa

My apologies for a late blog update. In addition to a lack of motivation, I struggled to find a way to describe the past week. It was an average week, not great but not bad, and that's why it was an Iowa Week.

For those of you who have driven from the mid-west out to Colorado or someplace awesome, you know there's one thing you have to do first. Drive through Iowa. The corn-filled state of Iowa isn't horrible, but it's not great. It's just something you have to get through.

And that's how my week was.

It was a decent week who's sole purpose was to be a stepping stone for the week after it. There wasn't much special about this past week. It just had to happen so that we could get to the next one.

The weekend was fun in the sense that it was literally filled with nothing but climbing, Halo Reach, and burgers.

Lots of burgers.

You see, we (Andy and myself) love burgers. We wanted to find the best recipe. So 5 lbs of beef, 16 burgers, and 8 different recipes later, we were full of both meat and knowledge. Over the course of the weekend, we tried out unique burger ideas such as nacho, pizza, and chili. After an intense tasting and rating process, we found a winner. The Teriyaki Burger.

If you want the recipe, I'd be glad to share.

I'd also like to share something I've been struggling with for the past week or two. As mentioned above, I'm feeling a lack of motivation. I'm growing weary of the same schedule. Basically, I'm facing the early warning signs of burn-out. Part of the problem comes from self reliance. I am working to seek my strength from God and not myself. I am working to let God work through me instead of me working for God. I am working on letting God drive through Iowa.

Bored with corn,
-B

Chapter XX: Has It Really Been 20 Weeks?

The last time I wrote you, there was no snow on the ground. Unfortunately, there still isn't much on the ground. Michigan has thus far been a disappointment in the snow department. So much for the intense "lake effect snow"....

I'm really starting to get into the Christmas spirit. The combination of snow, advent liturgies, and Christmas music has really put me into a holiday mood. As a result...I have invested a fair amount of time and money into decorating my house...FALSE. I show my Christmas cheer through music. Our church went caroling on Friday, and believe it or not, it was my first caroling experience...I've also been doing a lot of arranging of Christmas songs. In preparation for our benefit concert in a few weeks, I have been putting together a lot of music.

For some reason, it already feels like December is nearly over. Christmas is quickly approaching, and as usual, I haven't even started my shopping. Looks like another year of heading out a day or two before Christmas to find presents for my family. Why does it always seem that something as joyful as gift giving turns into a stressful habit? Perhaps a year without Christmas presents might do us all good.

In other news, we brought on the final member of our new band, Misfit Plaid and will begin practicing in January. I also took second place in the intermediate division at a climbing competition this weekend. And I also think I'm getting the hang of lindy-hop (type of swing dance).

Even better news: Our church officially has an interim pastor who will begin working part time this week. I'm very thankful for the work that he's going to put in here, but I'm even more thankful for somebody to be here to back me up on some of my decisions.

That's really about all there was to last week...To be honest, I don't really have a whole lot of motivation right now to do much, so I'll just ask for your continued prayers for our church and call it a day...

Time flies,
-B