Thoughts

1. I'm getting into the new position at church of Executive Pastor of Ministry. Things are going pretty well. We have formed our Strategic Leadership Team of a group of 9 pastors who will meet weekly to cast vision, create strategy, and delegate tasks to accomplish our general vision of making disciples through Connect, Grow, Reach. I have been meeting with people who I will now be working with and people have been supportive and excited for our future.

2. Ella is doing well with the eating. It's still pretty funny as she doesn't totally understand swallowing food from a spoon. We did bananas today for her first fruit.

3. My dad bought a Lexus SUV. It's a 2005, but he is still a punk.

4. My Fantasy Football team will lose if Chicago can't score one more touchdown in the 4th quarter. It's the semi-finals and I don't want to lose to Pizzuto.
UPDATE: I lost to Pizzuto. Sad.

5. I have some of Bea's Christmas shopping and all of the kids shopping done, but I haven't done anybody else. I need to get on that.

6. We did a bunch of filming on Friday and today for our College Group Christmas Party video. The party's theme is after the tv show, The Office. So the video is called The Student Ministries Office. I am playing myself, but as the Michael character. I think it will be pretty funny. It's frightening, really frightening, how much Michael I have in me.

7. I need a day away for prayer - soon. I'm feeling my tank emptying quicker than usual and really feel the need for connection to God. I love when you are in a new area of challenge that causes you to remember how much you need God.

Kenya Thoughts 1

I know that I need to attempt putting some thoughts on the blog regarding my trip to Kenya. It's really difficult to synthesize everything that this trip meant for me. It was an amazing experience and so awesome to serve the beautiful people of Kenya. They were a people that embrace life and love in a way that is so different than America it is mind-blowing.

There is a concept of welcoming someone to your home or school or nation that they have mastered. Karibu is swahili for "welcome." There were countless times when someone said to us that we were "highly welcome" in their place. We knew that we could come back to visit them and be embraced as brothers and sisters. They would feed us even if they had nothing. I felt like I could go and live with them if I wanted to and it wouldn't be a question. How horrible am I (are we) at this concept in the West? I hate our concept of privacy but I am completely ruled by it as well. I am addicted to privacy. This has really been hitting me lately in lots of ways. We care more about privacy than we do about righteous living or unity.

This is a side issue almost compared to other things I experienced on the trip, but it came to my mind first when reflecting on the trip.

Awkward thoughts on Virginia Tech

I don't know why and I feel really guilty about this, but I just have never felt genuinely sad about the killings in Blacksburg, Virginia. I'm not connecting emotionally with it. I obviously find it sad and horrific, but something in me doesn't really change or really care in a way that causes me to live differently. I have probably thought more about the shooter than the victims. I feel like he is as much a victim as a villain. The signs were all over the place about this guy. He refused to let anyone in. It seems like several people tried to connect in some way with him, but he just shut everyone out. I hope and pray that we can reach our fringe/weird kids in our youth group and neighborhood.

I actually feel more emotional after writing this, but it still is more of a news story than something real. I feel like I have to mention it in my sermon this Sunday, but I'm nervous that it might sound forced or contrived.

So I do pray for the families and friends affected by this, but I am unsure of what's wrong with my emotional connection. Does anyone feel similar thoughts in any way?