The Sacred Meal

I recently finished the book, "The Sacred Meal", as a part of the book sneeze blogger program. I chose this book because the practice of Communion is one that I take very seriously and am always up for a fresh perspective. For all of my life I have been a part of a denomination that doesn't know exactly what to do with Communion. Each church basically chooses how frequently and in what manner they engage this ancient practice of the church. I really did not have a problem with this until I began to take my faith more seriously and even entering into vocational ministry. Through education and personal experience I began to have a greater appreciation for the deep meaning that Communion provides on our faith journey. So from that perspective I was eager to read what the author had to say on the matter.

I found "The Sacred Meal" to be an easy read that is truly geared for the everyday Christian. The author speaks from an Episcopal background and has served the Eucharist in her church for many years. I found myself underlining many sentences for further reflection as the author reaffirmed what the practice of Communion celebrates and how it affects our communal life together. I was personally affected by the perspectives of the practice that the author described as waiting, receiving and afterward. I won't spoil what the author writes, but I will say that the idea of waiting was a fresh perspective for me. I am used to taking the bread instead of receiving the bread. Unfortunately this is mainly due to issues of convenience or making the practice as less Catholic as it can be. I believe there is something that we can learn from waiting to receive.

Lastly, I appreciated how the author connected the Eucharist to our mission in the world. Too often we have tried to separate our worship from our mission which has led to many Christians living a sort of bi-polar kind of life. But in seeing how the aspects of our worship inform our mission, we can begin to see how we live a fully abundant life. May we fully be able to live this out in every area of our life and begin to see the kingdom of God here on this earth in new ways and in new places.

God's sense of humor

I don't know about you, but I am not a big fan of the phrase "God's sense of humor." It is usually used by Christians who find themselves doing something that they never set out to do. For example, don't ever say that you will not go to Africa, because God in his sense of humor will send you there. Or never say that you hate working with kids because God in his sense of humor will have you volunteering at the first opportunity. Or this one if for my wife, never say that you will not marry a pastor because God in his sense of humor will have you fall in love with one. There are many more examples that I could use, but I'll spare you.

Here is my beef. I do not think God is just waiting for us to make such statements so we can be proven wrong. I think what happens is usually this. We make such statements because deep down we have a life affirming connection to those situations, but are afraid to admit it. And what happens is that as we are being discipled and molded by God, those life affirming connections begin to become more apparent to us. Here is another example. I never in a million years would have imagined becoming a youth pastor. I am an introvert who is largely impatient when it comes to childish behavior from people that know better. But yet five years ago I found myself interviewing for a youth pastor position. Now little did I know that decision would lead to a situation that would profoundly shape my life and view of ministry due to the connections that I would make with colleagues. But because I was moved outside of my comfort zone, I learned more about myself and my calling that I ever would have if that step had not been taken.

Is that God's sense of humor, or is it just irony?

A Day to Remember

As someone who was born after desegregation, I do not have a personal frame of reference in which to appreciate who Martin Luther King, Jr was and what he helped to accomplish. But I have grown up in the south and experienced racism first hand in the words and actions of people I have come across. My mom tells me a story of a question I asked shortly after we moved to Tennessee when I was in the second grade. Evidently I came home one day and asked my parents 'why are we supposed to hate black people?' From that point on I know that I dealt with the issue on a frequent basis. My prayer is that we will continue to strive towards the dream that Dr. King had and I will try my best to instill that in my daughter as she grows up in this incredibly diverse world we live.

Who are We?

I, like many other UT Vol Football fans, have been on a roller coaster the past year and a half. It started when it became evident that our beloved coach, Phil Fulmer, was losing his touch in putting together a competitive team in the SEC. What ensued was an ugly firing of a great human being who didn't deserve the way in which he was let go. Out of that situation came the hiring of an unknown to our part of the country, Lane Kiffin. Kiffin brought energy and a great track record as a recruiter and up and coming name in the coaching ranks, not to mention his famous father as our D coordinator. He brought a swagger that we hadn't seen ever at UT in the football program and for the most part we liked it. Our team came close to beating both Alabama and Florida and showed improvement over the course of the season, bowl game excluded. Things seemed to be looking up for the Vols. But Pete Carrol decided to jump ship to the NFL and the carousel began. I remember thinking, 'man, if this happened a few years from now I bet Kiffin would go there.' Little did we know that he'd go now.

Now I don't want to dead horse that is Kiffin in these parts, but I do want to say that he left at the worst possible time for our program. It would be near impossible for us to poach a head coach from another program because of the timing. Who would want to be branded as that kind of guy? But for four days we all held our collective breath as candidate after candidate turned down the opportunity to be head coach at UT.

As you can imagine, talk radio was a buzz at the news of each candidate turning down the job and who we may or may now have been going after. But I was amused at the number of people who called in and exclaimed, "We are the University of Tennessee, coaches should be salivating at coming here." I am a huge UT fan, but even I had to laugh at that one. I will be blindly loyal to UT football until I breathe no more, but my glasses aren't orange colored enough to not be a realist. Yes we have a good program and a lot to offer, but we have our fair share of warts and a few open sores that were caused by the timing of the whole situation. It has been 12 years since we won the National Championship, which is two-thirds of the lifespan of the kids we are recruiting. So let's be realistic about our situation.

So I hope that we will continue to be the great program that we have been throughout our history. Maybe we won't have the arrogance of the USC's, Alabama's, Florida's, etc and that is fine with me. I am not willing to sell my soul for a quick score but instead want to see our program restored to what it once was. So coach Dooley, you have your work cut out for you. I know nothing about you, but am cautiously optimistic about that job you can. That has no reflection on you, it's a result of the actions of your predecessor. Just please don't write checks with your mouth that you can't cash just yet. I hate being accountable for the stupid things that coaches say. So start playing Rocky Top in your office, because you are going to hear it a bunch and Go Big Orange.

Welcome readers!

Hello readers both from my old blog and those who may have stumbled on this new blog. Whatever the case may be, know that you are welcome in jroddy's world. I will do my best to offer stories, as they happen, and opinions, as they come to me, to you. My hope is that keeping up with this blog will give me something to look forward to doing each week. So check back frequently and be entertained or educated by all that is going on in jroddy's world.

The Justice Project

I recently finished "The Justice Project" and would have to say that I found it a very easy but challenging read. I appreciate the wide range of authors of each essay and how they each brought a perspective that is radically different from mine in middle class suburbia. I appreciate that each author is living out justice in their particular situation. It lends some credibility to their situation that wouldn't be there if a single author tried to write on the broad scope of justice in the world.

I was challenged mostly by the wide range of injustice that is happening all around me. Reading these essays has caused me to begin to rethink the way that I live and what more I can do to not perpetuate the injustice that I unconsciously promote through my actions based on what and where I buy goods and who I may or may not vote for among other things.

I would hope that the message of the Justice Project would be heard by fellow Christians who are trying to figure out what the kingdom of God is all about. May be begin to 'do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.'

The Search for God and Guinness

I just finished my latest read as a part of the blogger review program with Thomas Nelson.  The book was titled "The Search for God and Guinness."  I picked this book for a few reasons and really enjoyed this book.  The first reason that I chose this book is to figure out if beer and God could coexist in the same sentence and not be opposing each other.  This stems from my holiness roots and the way it causes me to look down on certain practices.  God is working on me in this area and I'm happy to report that I am more open than in previous years.  The second reason I chose this book is that one of my best friends is a huge fan of Guinness.  There is not too much in this world that brings him more happiness than being able to down a pint of Guinness.  He does so in moderation and not as frequently as he would like, but I became intrigued by this drink that always seemed off-limits to me.  The last reason that I chose this title is due to a quick version of the Arthur Guinness story that I read in the book "Exiles" by Michael Frost.  I was really impressed by the kingdom mindset that Frost talked about in reference to Guinness that it peaked my interest in learning more.

Now on to the review.  I found this book to be a fairly easy read, especially considering that it is a history book.  There were a few times that I got lost in the family tree, but I think that points more to the great heritage of Arthur Guinness.  I am thoroughly impressed with the legacy that one man left and how it was carried on by his many heirs.  I believe this is a testimony of the importance of serving God faithfully in all that you do.  I am also impressed by the compassion that Guinness and his heirs showed to their fellow-man.  This is something that we need to hear in this day and time.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining and interesting read at a remarkable family over the last 300 years.  I echo one of Guinness' current commercials for totally different reasons when I proclaim, "To Arthur!!"

A Lover's Quarrell with the Evangelical Church

Below is a quick review that I did of a book that I recently finished.

I chose to read this book solely based on the title. I also feel like I am in a lover’s quarrel with the evangelical church and I wanted to find out how someone else was getting along in the scuffle. I must admit that I enjoyed reading this book and did so in only a matter of days, which is fast for me. I found it very fascinating to read about the rise of a few mega churches and also much of Christian media.

This book confirmed for me much of what I struggle with in the evangelical church, namely that we have replaced our mission of discipleship and life transformation with “body count evangelism” (the author’s term) and that the only measure of success is numerical growth. I do feel that the author did a good job of stating some of the more glaring holes that many in the evangelical circle seem to ignore. I only hope that people can grasp the bigger picture that Smith is trying to paint.

I do however wish that Smith would have tried to encompass more of the broad scope of evangelism. I think there is more going on in some of the lesser denominations that are not of the Reformed/Calvinistic persuasion than Smith gave attention. I also wish he would have studied more of what’s going on in the Emerging/Emergent conversation than just to dismiss them as nihilists.

I will conclude by affirming that I do agree with Smith’s assertion that we have an understanding of history and how the medium of our message should line up with our theology. I would encourage others to read this book as I feel that it is a good conversation starter, especially for those who find themselves disenfranchised from the modern evangelical circle.

Let me add a few extra points as well.  I almost feel like Smith had a vendetta to promote Calvinism/Reformed theology and that of course rubs me wrong being a Wesleyan.  I don't know the authors theological background, but for someone who is a journalist I wish there had been more of a generous spirit here.  On a positive note, I really did appreciate that he was critical of the megachurch movement in a sense than that of someone who is jealous or has been slighted by it.  I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed pastors hoping to rise to be the next Bill Hybels or Rick Warren.  I would hope that more pastors would take a look at Smith's treatment of their rise and begin to ask a few more questions about trying to imitate these men and their ministry.

Feel free to ask any further questions as I'd love to discuss the book more.

Loss of Community

I have undergone some big changes in my life over the past couple of months that have me in a place that I'm unfamiliar with.  My wife and I moved closer to home after she graduated from med school in part to be closer to family for us and our daughter and also so that she can start making connections for where she will ultimately practice medicine in the future.  The biggest change for me is in regards to my vocation.  For the past four years I have been a co-youth pastor to an amazing youth group and now I am a stay at home dad.  Now I want to make absolutely clear that I love staying at home with my daughter.  I love seeing how she changes almost from day to day.  I love making her laugh and my heart melts almost every time she flashes a big grin when she recognizes me.  I hold the "job" that I'm doing now as an even higher calling than working for the church.  I had a former pastor always use the phrase "family is your first parish" and I believe that with all of my heart.

But in light of the many changes that I have personally undergone, I find myself struggling a bit in different areas of my life.  Let me explain a bit about myself.  I am totally a creature of habit.  I like having patterns and routines and predictability in my life.  I am OK with a little bit of unpredictability but not too much.  Working in the church and having a set office time each day gave me the opportunity to set up patterns and routines, and I did.  These patterns and routines helped me to stay in the word and pray on a regular basis.  They helped me to accomplish the various ministry tasks that I was responsible for each week.  But now that I am not in the office each day and my life is largely defined by an unpredictable baby, I am having to adjust on the fly.  Karis is starting to get into a daily pattern of sleeping, eating and playing which is allowing me to look at how I pattern my own day.  Thankfully I am finally starting to prioritize a few things in my life that have fallen by the wayside in the midst of my new responsibilities.  Please pray that I can stay faithful to them.

The biggest change though has come in the loss of community.  I know and understand the importance of community and have even spoke on the topic a time or two, but you never fully grasp the impact of community until you are no longer immersed in said community.  Over the past 4 years I have been serving next to some of the finest ministers that I have encountered.  People who brought so many different gifts to the table and who shaped and challenged my conception of what a church staff could become.  Around two years ago a major change occurred when our leader left to pastor another community.  Those of us on staff seemed to rise to the occasion during the void in leadership and forge ahead to the vision that we believed God had given our community.  Then a new leader came in with a different vision and slowly I saw many of those that I was close to gone.  I don't want to debate here the reasoning behind the leaving or termination of my friends, we can do that later.  I only want to highlight the fact that my community was drastically changed in a matter of months.  Thankfully the person that I was closest to and worked with was still around.  Our brotherhood continued to grown stronger as we shared our hurts, fears, joys and dreams with each other.  This is what I miss the most.  I currently find myself in a place where I am flying solo most of the time.  My wife works a ton, which we knew would be the case, and my daughter is not speaking just yet.  I am not involved in a church just yet and haven't even decided where we will attend.

But community cannot be forced and it develops in an organic way.  So as I find myself mourning the loss of something very great and meaningful in my life, I look forward to what God has in store for us here in this time and in this place.  I just pray that we will walk with eyes open to what God places in front of us.  To all of those that I have been in community with, I miss you greatly and the time that we shared together and I treasure each and every minute.

the life of Jared (7/12)

So I think the layout of these posts need to change a bit since I'm not in the office with free time.  I'll try to experiment with it a bit and hopefully land on something.

The weeks that have been:

Busy.  I have a new found respect for single parents.  I never thought ill of them or looked down upon them before, but now my respect level for them goes way up.  It has been quite an adjustment juggling Karis' varying schedule with the things that I hope to accomplish in a day.  The first thing to suffer has been my blog and any reading time that I had.  I am slowly working that back into my rotation.  Karis is changing almost by the day whether it be new noises or new dexterity.  She has recently discovered the mid part of her range and is constantly exercising it along with the high and low range from before.  Another big change is that she is now grabbing for things, especially toys.  She is just about ready to teeth so most everything she gets her hands on goes straight to her mouth.  I get a kick just out of watching her grow up everyday.

Holly has officially started and has hit the ground running.  She is in one of the hardest rotations that she will have in this program right off of the bat.  This is both good and bad though.  Good that she gets it out of the way, but bad that her first month is very hectic.  We have heard that her next month is a bit more relaxed, so we look forward to that.  The thing that I've had to adjust to is her being on call.  Before this wouldn't have mattered too much to me, but now that means that I'm alone with Karis for at least 30 hours.  I'm not worried about that nor do I not look forward to it, I really do, it's just that it can be a bit overwhelming at times.  Luckily I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

One new thing that we have recently acquired is an elliptical machine.  It came as a graduation gift for Holly from a few of her family members.  We are both very excited about this as I hate to run outside and Holly (and I) prefer the elliptical over a treadmil.  One funny/frustrating thing is that everytime I go to work out on it, Karis wakes up from her nap.  It's a very quiet machine, but it never fails.  I get about 5-10 min into my workout and she wakes up.  I guess that's just a part of life with a baby.

What I'm reading now:

I'm working through two books that I have started.  One is called "Recovering the Scandal of the Cross" and the other is called "The Evolution of God."  The former is a book on the atonement which seeks to look at other metaphors beyond the penal substitution theory as a means for understand what exactly happened on the cross.  The latter is a look at how the concept of God has evolved over time and I believe that he will culminate in the three Abrahamic faiths in hopes that they can find some sort of common ground.  I'll be doing a review on this when I finish as it is a part of another blogging program.

Misc stuff

Does anyone out there know of something that I could do to make a little bit of money from home?  I will kindly take suggestions.

The Hole in our Gospel

I recently finished the book "The Hole in our Gospel" by World Vision President Richard Stearns.  I selected this book as a part of the Thomas Nelson bloggers program purely because of the title.  I was curious to see what hole someone else saw in the gospel that many of the churches in North America promote.  Now I must say that I do believe that Jesus loves us and died to save us from our sins, but I think that's only the beginning.  I believe that the love of Christ compels us to share that love with everyone that we come in contact with.  That is truly good news and that is what Stearns wants his reader to understand.  I won't ruin the book for you but I do want you to understand that Stearns was considered a very successful person in both the Christian and secular business world.  He had climbed to the top of the corporate ladder and was still living his life for God.  But God began to move Stearns in a different direction and in that process Stearns learned about the hole in our gospel.  I appreciated the openness of his personal story of transformation as I believe that there are many in the pews of North America who share in his story.  Just as Shane Claiborne and others are calling the new generation to opening their eyes to see the poor and hurting around them, I believe that Stearns is a voice for an older generation that is less likely to take Claiborne and friends too seriously.  May we have the ears to hear and the courage to act upon this message that should in no doubt convict and motivate us to do our part no matter how big or small.  I would highly recommend this book to all.  Enjoy!

the life of Jared

The month that has been:

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in about a month.  With all of our unpacking, saying goodbye, moving and subsequent unpacking I haven't had too much free time.  Here's what I can remember us doing.  Holly's graduation week was quite the whirlwind.  It started off on Sunday with a going away reception at church in between services where I talked to a bunch of random people that I don't know that I even met in my four years on staff.  I really don't like those things because of that, but I guess you have to do them.  We finished packing the rest of that week and then had a staff going away lunch on Thursday.  Funny thing, as I looked around the cafe I could only truly say that I was close to a few people that are left on staff.  After an awkward "share your favorite Jared story" time with people that didn't hardly know me, we went home to change and then head to a formal dinner/dance for Holly's school.  We had a great time at this event.  I got to meet some of Holly's med school friends that I hear her talking about from time and time.  It was good to also put faces to names as well.

Friday we had a graduation party for Holly at the home of some of our dear friends that we used to serve on staff with.  We had a great evening hanging out with some of our closet friends in PA.  The evening came to a close with the group praying over Holly and I.  It is interesting to note that this evening felt like my staff going away reception as five of those present were ones that I had served at FVCN with.  Man, we had some good times together.  I left that event to pick up one of my best friends from the airport.  He was flying in to help us with the move by driving my car back to TN on Sunday.  Many, many thanks go out to "gangsta."  On Saturday Holly's family flew in to PA to be present for the graduation ceremonies and help us finish packing.  Sunday was the big graduation day!  I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of my wife.  She has put in so much time, energy and effort to get to this point.  (And I've only been around first hand for the past 5 years.)  I can honestly admit that I teared up as the med school class processed into the theatre.  After an interesting and fairly lengthy ceremony, my wife is now an official doctor!  Here an interesting tidbit, Holly's dad was able to hood her since he was a doctor as well.

That evening was perhaps one of the hardest nights that I have experienced in my ministry life.  Saying goodbye to a great youth group.  During the evening a few students stood up to share a few stories about me, some funny and some serious.  We were surprised with a Wii as a going away present and some cash to put toward some things for Karis and our move.  One other huge surprise came from our youth band.  I had worked with these guys when they were sophomores and now they were graduating seniors who had really come into their own as a band.  Anyways, last year when Doug was on sabbatical the guys wrote me a song on the last Sunday night that I was "on my own" as youth pastor.  As a going away gift the guys made a music video of said song and played it for us.  I'll have to say, they did an amazing job.  I'll try to post it on here sometime soon.  The evening concluded with me having many heartfelt goodbyes with both students, parents and leaders.  I am truly going to miss the FVCN youth group.

On Monday I took Holly and her family to the airport, said my official goodbye at the church, picked up the moving truck, packed said truck with the help of a few awesome friends, cleaned up the apartment, painted it back to white, and then drove 90 min down the road.  Sounds busy?  Well it was.  I arrived at my in-laws on Tuesday and spent the night there.  We left on Wednesday to drive the final 90 min to Chattanooga and then proceeded to unload the truck and start the unpacking process.  Once again I had some awesome help with that.

Our time here has consisted of all the normal moving requirements, Drivers License, new tags, utilities and the like.  We have yet to spend a full weekend here due to birthday parties, golf scrambles and graduation parties.  Holly starts her orientation tomorrow and her residency officially begins on July 1st.  We are in the process of settling down and finding what our normal routine will be here in Chattanooga.  Thanks for your patience in my blog posts, hopefully I will be able to carve out some regular time to blog in the future.

Last thing, I need to find some type of employment while staying at home with Karis.  Any ideas?

the life of Jared (5/24)

The week that was:

Packing boxes and wasting time.  That's my life right now.  We did have a going away reception at church on Sunday morning that was nice.  I talked to quite a few people that I don't think I've said too many words to in my 4 years at the church.  Needless to say that some of the conversations were a bit awkward.  I spoke for the last time at Solomon's Porch on Sunday night.

The week that is:

Busy.  We have to finish packing, which is currently kind of hard because we ran out of boxes.  I'll get more tomorrow from my buddy Sam at Chick-fil-a but as of now I'm at a stand still.  But here's how the end of the week is shaping out.  Thursday is our going away luncheon with the staff at church.  Thursday night we are going to a Dinner Dance for Holly's graduation.  Friday is Holly's graduation party at some of our dear friend's house.  Friday night by buddy Ryan is flying into town as he is driving my car back to my in-laws on Sunday, which saves us like $400 in shipping costs.  Saturday Holly's family is flying into town for her graduation on Sunday.  Sunday is Holly's graduation and our going away party with the youth on Sunday night.  Monday I take Holly and her family to the airport as they are all leaving me.  Monday afternoon I pick up the truck and have a few guys coming over to help me load it up.  I then leave Tuesday morning to drive to my in-laws place where we have our washer/dryer a few other things in storage.  Wednesday I'll leave from there and pull into our new place and unload the truck.

What I'm reading:

I'm reading a book called "the Hole in our Gospel" right now in between packing.

What I'm listening to:

Nothing in particular.

What I'm looking forward to:

Being finished with all of this.  I probably won't post next week due to the crazy schedule that I just talked about.

Talk to you in a few.

the life of Jared (5/18)

The week that was:

Packing, packing and more packing mixed in with a little bit of lazy unmotivated time.  My office at the church is about 95% finished and we are making progress at home.

We also attended 2 cookouts last weekend.  The first was with our former pastor and another family that used to be on our staff.  It was a great time eating and hanging out together and catching up.  I think we all lament that fact that we are spread out now, but we (or at least I) treasure the time that we spent together on staff.

The other cookout was with our small group.  3 of the 4 couples in the small group are moving away this summer and so this was our last time to be together.  One of the couples moving away is trying to use up the meat in their freezer so we had pork and beef ribs that night.  Now let me tell you about these ribs.  They were not the wimpy ribs that you might get at your local chain restaurant.  No, these were ribs on steroids and they were amazing.  Thanks Gregg and Lisa.

The week that is:

Packing, packing and more packing.  I hope that we are pretty much finished with packing by the end of this week.  Our following week is going to be nuts, but I'll let you know about that in my next update post.  I am taking my 9th grade small group to shady maple on Saturday morning.  That will definitely be good.

What I'm listening to:

Nothing specific right now, mostly genius playlists.

What I'm reading:

I'm slowly working through the book, "The Hole in our Gospel."  I hope to have a review of it after we get settled in Chatty.  I definitely recommend this book, especially for those who are older and might be turned off by a Shane Claiborne or someone like that.

What I'm looking forward to:

Settling down.  I'm sad to leave this place, but I hate seeing boxes everywhere.  Also there is a new DMB album releasing on the day that I leave PA.  Hopefully I'll be able to download it and listen to it as I make the trek to TN.

the life of jared (5/11)

The weeks that were:

2 weeks ago I was at our middle school retreat.  I'll have to honest, most of the time I dread those weekends, but I really enjoyed this trip.  The theme that Doug and I had come up with had great potential to be very meaningful for our students and we had some really cool activities planned at a different retreat center.

Our theme was centered around the fact that we are clay in the hands of the potter.  We talked about how we were made by God and that God declares that we are good.  In this session Doug took the kids outside and forced us to notice our surroundings and all that God had created.  This is especially meaningful to many of our students because we were in the middle of the woods which is radically different than where most of them live.  In our next session, we talked about how God readies us to be put on the wheel and then begins the process of shaping and molding us.  We found an actually potter's wheel and Doug did a quick demonstration on how a potter had to center the clay in order to lay the ground work for the piece that they have in mind to make.  We talked about how God wants us to be centered on the wheel and ready for how God wants to shape us.  The next session was geared around how God can take the mess that we sometimes make in our life and is able to still make it into something beautiful.  For this session we asked an art teacher from our local high school to come a do a real demonstration.  Thankfully she goes to our church and was happy to come out and help us.  She was awesome and it was amazing to see the students captured by her movements and how the clay was being shaped in her hands.  Our last session briefly talked about how God shapes and molds us for a purpose to be used for the kingdom.  Just how a plate, cup, bowl or vase has a certain purpose, so we have a purpose as we are being transformed by God.

All in all the retreat was awesome and our students were so well behaved.  This was my last retreat with this group and it kind of made me sad.  I have been so blessed to serve a great group of students.  I will miss them and our awesome youth leaders greatly.

On Monday we boarded a plane to TN for the sole purpose of finding a place to live in Chattanooga.  Karis slept the whole time at the airport and on the plane.  Holly and woke up early on Tuesday morning in order to get to an appointment at 10:30 with a real estate agent.  We saw several townhomes and actually wound up leasing the first one we saw.  Here are a few pictures.



[caption id="attachment_258" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Kitchen"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_259" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Backyard"][/caption]

The rest of week we just spent hanging out in the 'boro with Holly's family and we flew home on Friday.

Lastly, this was Holly's first Mother's Day and we had a great time.  We went on a family picnic to Valley Forge National Park, at Holly's request, and overall just had a lazy day.

The week that is:

Packing.  I'm hoping to have most of my office packed up by the end of the week but the house is not packing itself like we want it to.  We also have 2 cookouts with friends and our small group this weekend.  Looking forward to that.

What I'm listening to:

Nothing in particular.  I have listened to the latest Lincoln Brewster album quite a bit lately.  It's a good one!

What I'm looking forward to:

All of the packing to be done and the move to be over.  I'm not ready to say goodbye, but I dread this waiting process.

What I'm reading:

Nothing really.  Pretty much all of my books are in boxes.

the life of Jared (4/27)

The week that was:

Where to begin?  My mom and dad flew in for the weekend on Wednesday and they got to see Karis for the first time in person, which was cool.  My sister and brother in law flew in on Friday for the weekend as well, and they also got to see Karis for the first time.

Saturday was my 30th b-day and my lovely wife planned a surprise party for me with a few friends.  It was a great time hanging out with good friends.  The highlight was probably when Stephen Porter walked into the room.  He came all the way from South Africa, though not totally for me.  He is in town for a couple of trips to DC to hopefully secure visas for his family so they can return to Angola and the missionary assignment they have there.

Sunday was a really busy day.  It was our 30 hour famine Sunday at church which meant that Doug and I team preached in "big" church.  We were both satisfied with the message that we challenged our church to be a part of the solution.  I don't know if everyone "heard" what we said, but hopefully a few did.  We called the church to a time of prayer at the end of the service in order to begin to dream about being a part of the solution and in both services the altars were full.

Also on Sunday Holly and I dedicated Karis.  That was the main reason that my family came into town, and it was good to have them there.  Doug dedicated her and prayed over her.  It was cool to have him do that since I had dedicated and prayed over both of his kids.  Man, I'm going to miss that guy when I move.

After lunch at a local Italian place we returned home to snap a few more pictures and then I took my family to the airport.  I returned home for about an hour to only go back to church for Solomon's Porch, where I spoke again.  In addition the kids had brought in a bunch of cupcakes to celebrate my birthday and one of our leaders painted a caricature of me that I'll take a picture of when I get it back.  She wants all of our students to sign it.

The week that is:

I am currently gearing up for Middle School retreat this weekend.  We are focusing on the Potter's house passage in Jeremiah.  I'm really excited about this weekend and the impact that it'll have on our students.  I just hope that they are open to hear what God has laid on Doug and my heart.

What I'm reading:

I'm finding it really hard to read right now.  I don't know why, but I keep looking at the same 3 books and not making any progress with them.  Because of that I'm putting off the Romans study until life gets a bit more steady.  I promise that I will pick it up!

What I'm listening to:

Right now, Hillsong United.  I like them, but can only handle em in doses.  This will be my dose for the week.  I really wish they would write more communal songs instead of everyone of them focusing on the individual.  I listened to a little bit of Crowder this morning as well.  I really like the Remedy album and the live one is great as well.

What I'm (Not) looking forward to:

Packing.  I don't like packing at all.  I need to start purging some clothes that I don't wear anymore and other junk that I've accumulated over the past few years.  I'm going to try my best to get that done here in the next 2 weeks.

Housing.  Do you know how hard it is to find a house when you are hundreds of miles away?  We are blessed with my sister being in the town that we are moving to and my in laws a couple of hours away and willing to go on road trips, but this is really stressing me out.  It seems like when we find something fairly good online, it's either in a bad area, not as good as the pics they posted, or too far away for Holly to commute.  We are going down there next week and hope to come back to PA knowing exactly where we will be moving.  Please pray that we can work out these details.

Update on Karis:

I can't believe how much she is changing.  She is really starting to interact with us well.  We have a few trigger words that always seem to bring a smile when she is in a good mood.  I love my little girl no matter how much she screams in the middle of the night.

the life of Jared

The week that was:

Highlighted by our 30 hour famine event Friday over Saturday.  It was amazing!  It's funny how we can put all of this time, effort and energy into putting something together and then God does something totally different.  Truthfully I was kind of bummed on Friday night as many of our kids came to check in and hadn't raised any money at all.  In fact, as a group we had about 20 more people than last year and raised only half of the money.  But over the course of the weekend many of our students became convicted of their lack of effort and have now decided to do anything they can think of raise money.  It's great to hear feedback from our students about how God has been wrestling with them over simple things as our lifestyle and the things we eat.  I'll try to put some of my many thoughts into a post sometime soon.

The week that is:

My parents, sister and brother in law are coming to town this weekend!  This is a big weekend as my 30th birthday is on Saturday, Karis is being dedicated on Sunday and I'm team preaching on Sunday with Doug in "big" church.  Needless to say my time is going to be pulled in many different directions.

What I'm reading:

Same few books.  Nothing new here.

What I'm listening to:

I'm on a serious DMB kick lately.  I've probably plowed through a few of his live albums both in my car and in the office.

What I'm looking forward to:

Well this past weekend I announced an upcoming move that Holly and I are making to our high school students and our youth leaders.  For the most part everyone was very supportive.  There were a few students who were totally caught off guard and are still processing through the news.  This coming weekend the announcement will be made to the whole church, so on top of preaching and Karis being dedicated it should be a roller coaster day.  All of that to say that we are now looking for housing in Chattanooga and it's turning out to be a difficult proposition.  Please pray that we can find a place that we are comfortable with and that will be good for Karis to grow up in for the next 3 years.  Also we are now starting to purge some of our junk and pack what we are going to take and I always hate this part of life.

Karis update:

She's over 8lbs now, which is awesome!  She's also had a few long nights lately which is making things difficult for mom and dad.  Hopefully this is just a phase and will pass soon, but we'll see.

the life of Jared

The week that was

Holy week was filled with both some good down time and also a few events.  This has been a challenging lenten season and I'll blog about it sometime this week.  The first part of the week was pretty uneventful with the latter part of the week being fairly busy.  I have switched my day off from Friday to Monday to accommodate Holly's schedule with her last rotation.  This has been a bit of an adjustment, but one I'm taking fairly well.  On Thursday we had an open communion time where Doug (my co-youth pastor) and I manned a station.  I love having the chance to connect with families in this way.  We were able to serve communion to and pray with many of the families that either work with us or that we directly serve.  On Friday our youth ministry held a tenebrae service at the same time one was going on in the main sanctuary.  It was a very good service as we reflected on the death of Christ.  The thing that I liked the most is that our students actually left the room in silence.  I don't know if that has ever happened before!  We had good services on Sunday as well.  It was weird to be in the back and not involved, but it is also a welcome change.

The week that is:

Our student ministry is participating in the 30 hour famine this weekend in conjunction with another church.  So this week is going to be spent mostly in preparations for that and Sunday.  Our past two famines have been a huge success and I'm praying for the same again.  I'm also in the process of securing housing for our family when Holly starts residency.  This process is starting to stress me out a bit so please keep this in your prayers if you remember.

What I'm reading:

Ok, so I have a bit of ADD when it comes to reading lately.  I'm still reading the book on the atonement, "Recovering the Scandal of the Cross".  I have also started two others though.  The first one is called "The Sacredness of Questioning Everything."  The second one is called "The Hole in our Gospel."  The last one is by the president of World Vision and he is writing about his own journey but also about how we in the western church aren't really living out the whole gospel.  I picked this book up through a program that Thomas Nelson offers to bloggers.  It's free, all I have to do is write a review on here and a place like Amazon.

What I'm listening to:

Nothing consistently.  I've been taking advantage of the genius feature on iTunes lately.  Man, I love that feature.

What I'm keeping an eye on:

I have a big and tough announcement to make this weekend.  It's one of those bittersweet things that pop up in life.  I just pray that God will be glorified in all that we say and do.

the life of Jared (4/6)

The week that was:

Dominated by a quick trip to Charlotte for one of my college friends wedding.  This trip/wedding was big for a couple of different reason.  First, it was the first time that I have been away from Karis overnight.  And it was two nights at that!  It was really hard to leave but my friend only gets married once.  Second, my friend who got married is the last of my close group of friends to do such.  So we are all married now and many of us have begun to have kids as well.  Third, I really love seeing all of my college friends and catching up with them.  I so miss the community that I had with those guys and even some of the ignorance that comes with youth.

The week that is:

Well it's Holy Week that that means I have something going on Thursday and Friday night.  Thursday we are having drop in communion at our church that the pastors are staffing and Friday we are doing a Tenebrae service with our youth.  I really enjoy having the freedom to put together and execute a Tenebrae service.  I only hope that the youth that do come will appreciate what we are remembering on that evening.

What I'm reading:

I'm all over the place with what I'm reading right now.  I started reading a book on the atonement called "Recovering the Scandal of the Cross" and I'm enjoying it.  I'm still kind of reading through "Crazy Love" but can only take the reformed theology in doses.  I have decided to do a pretty extensive study of the book of Romans after Easter which I'm looking forward to.  I'll try to blog on the things that I will learn.

What I'm listening to:

On my plane ride I listened to some DMB and John Mayer.  I like listening to live albums on trips as it helps the time to pass quicker.

What I'm looking forward to:

UNC is playing in the national championship tonight.  They completely destroyed MSU last time they played them, but I don't think this game will have the same outcome.  The only thing that kind of scares me is that this is basically a home game for MSU.  But I think our talent and execution will eventually give us the advantage.

On another note, I correctly picked 3 of the 4 final four teams which includes the match-up tonight.  Aren't I smart?

the life of Jared 3/23

The week that was:

Sleep, sleep and more sleep.  Holly's mom was here from Sunday thru Thursday so that meant that Holly and I got more sleep than usual.  Thanks Brenda!  It's funny what more sleep does to you after you've learned how to live without it.  I found that my body didn't fully catch up to "normal" until Wednesday, but then it was back to business as usual on Thursday.  Additionally we had our annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at church last Friday night.  Our theme was "The Greatest Church on Earth" and we ultimately put on a circus.  That's right, I said a circus.  I had a couple of parts to play in the whole shebang.  I was the "6 ft. man eating chicken" (the important part of my costume was a box of Chick-fil-a chicken strips) and I was also a construction clown.  We had a fun night entertaining our volunteers and showing them thanks for the many sacrifices that they make.

The week that is:

Nothing much going on here.  Holly's cousin is coming at the end of the week for a quick visit and we have a Middle School event on Friday night as well.

What I'm looking forward to:

Vaguely, the future.  As our families future is coming into more focus, Holly and I are looking forward to what the future holds.  It's amazing that Holly is about to graduate med school and that she will be starting residency this summer.  We are one step closer to functioning as a "normal" family that doesn't have to worry about schooling and not being settled.  That is unless I go back to school in the near future like I want to do.  But more on that in the future.

What I'm reading:

Since my class is finished I'm now free to read what I want.  I'm thinking about plowing through Missional Church.  Any other suggestions.

What I'm listening to:

I've been listening to some DMB lately as well as U2 and The Fray's new albums.