Shickley, Nebraska

Our Home! We made it... It is good. We've been unpacking boxes and putting stuff away for about 2 hours now. We are planning to go to a local church's Ice Cream Social this evening.

The trip went well. Today was better than yesterday. The girls did better. We didn't make any wrong turns. It didn't rain as hard for as long. We're home!

Progress

We made it to Princeton, IL. Sleeping for the night and finishing out the trip tomorrow morning. We have about 7hr 40min left according to Google Maps.

The trip has gone fairly good. The girls were at each other early on in the trip. We missed a turn and ended up taking about an hour detour. We met my Dad for supper at Arby's close to Columbia City. He was trucking from Chicago and we were driving toward Chicago.

Two out of three girls are sleeping.

Good night!

Last day in Ohio

It is here. Our last day in Ohio. Suzanne is out to breakfast with Krista and Julie. The girls are at the Hershbergers where they stayed overnight. I am here. But you probably guessed that:) We are wrapping some things up and getting some packing done. We'll see how much we can get in the van. Then start rolling this afternoon. We expect to go about halfway and then sleep for the night.

It has been good to be here. God's peace be with each of you. Pray for us. We will pray for you.

picture fun! July 09

A picture show for your viewing pleasure. Some of the captions are longer than the picture stays up for you to read it. Either watch it multiple times or pause the show and advance it manually.

Enjoy!

Hiatus

Hiatus - a period of time when one is on a break. Wow! It has been a long time since I have refreshed this blog:) It has been a refreshing break, and I am not promising that I am back to regular publication either. I just felt compelled to update what we have been up to.

The last post said that we were moving. We have. Sort of. Somebody asked me the other day where we are living. After a pause, I said Ohio. They picked up my pause and asked, "Last month?" I said Kansas. They said, "Next month?" I said Nebraska.

There you have it. We are in transition. Being on Hiatus isn't as simple as it seems to those who aren't. You should try it for a month sometime. Somethings we are without - a home, a space of our own, a place to retreat, a regular schedule, our own things, a job, fulfilling and meaningful work, etc. You may or may not get the picture. I guess you have to experience it to understand it.

We have really enjoyed this "once in a lifetime" opportunity to be free, living with family and spending time with family and friends. It has been a good time to step back from schedules and disconnect from our stuff and let go of routines. We will probably never experience a month like this again, so we cherish the moments and days.

At the same time, we have the next piece of life planned and prepared for us. We are ready to embrace it and immerse ourselves in the work, play, growing, and knowing. But yet we can't. We have to wait. Waiting is hard sometimes. I want to begin what I have been called and prepared to do. But I can't. I'm forced (or I have chosen) to wait.

Well there it is. Rambling. Lightly filtered. Hiatus.

Book: Jesus for President

Quick summary. I finished this book while at the Columbus MCUSA Convention. It was a book of challenge. One that makes you think about your relationship to government, power structures, institutions, and how you use these things to bring about good for yourself and others. The first half or so of the book is brilliantly structured around a history of the Bible, or as we say at Hesston College in Bib Lit - Heilsgeschichte. It is a German word meaning "salvation history."

I would recommend this book as an excellent read for a couple reasons.

-Great way to get a big picture of what God is doing in the Bible written from an "Anabaptist" perspective.

-Shane Claiborne and the intentional communities that he lives in are doing the work of justice, helping the poor, challenging the status quo when it elevates the elite at the expense of the "lesser".

-Challenges our notion of nationalism, patriotism, and even religious ideals that become idols, which have the potential to distract us from simply "following Jesus."

Get it and read it.