So it’s a huge answer to prayer. After being unemployed for nearly 6 months, I have accepted a position in the Evangelical Covenant Church denominational offices as the Webmaster/ Director of Media Services. And the office is in the North Park community in Chicago, which is at the same time both exciting and sad. Exciting because it launches us on this great new adventure where we’re able to raise Madi and Luke in a diverse environment and a thriving metropolis like Chicago. Exciting because the job seems challenging, and it will be in a ministry environment where my work enables others to be encouraged, inspired, and built up. Sad because living in Chicago means that we won’t be living in Columbus, which is where we’ve grown to love our church community, we have a supportive cast (and let’s get real, it IS a full cast) of friends, family, and neighbors who have colored and flavored our lives for the past 3 years. I’m sure we’ll continue to stay connected also through the wonderful technology of FaceBook and Twitter.

I start on May 18th and that seems quick, but the transition may be long (hopefully not TOO long). We’ll all have some transitioning to do, even those who aren’t going to Chicago, but adjusting to the assumed void we will leave. We’re planning on selling the house (or trying to sell it), and initially renting there, but we pray that God keeps miraculously making the pieces fall into place, and that He helps tie up our loose ends in Columbus.

Right now Madi has a card playing the “Rocky” theme and singing “Chicago, chicago” to it. I wish I would have recorded it and be showing the video rather than simply writing about it. It was a classic moment. So, I thank God that I got a job using my skills and I didn’t have to go ahead and become the 5th Jumparound (the music alone would have been challenging to endure).

So I’m probably at the tail end of the trend on this, but I really like this concept:

The idea is that you set a personal policy that governs how much time you devote to any one e-mail. If you want to go into more detail, talk it over by phone or in person, but that for as much e-mail as many people get, sometimes it’s most efficient to just keep it to 3 sentences. In 3 sentences you make sure the person can also follow what you’re saying and that they won’t miss something because it’s only 3 sentences.

Find out more at three.sentenc.es

I had this as a page, but it works better as a post, because I’m going to want the links again soon.

I know my folks and siblings are out of state and even my family living in-town are probably wondering what would make an excellent gift. So I’ve put together a few suggestions, with differing value, which I’ve thought would make great birthday presents for me. For those of you wondering, I’m REALLY not this forward (really!) — it’s merely suggestions — and my birthday is at the beginning of April, so in a way it’s mostly a reminder that I have a birthday coming up.

Wow. Just looking at this trailer reminds me of the fantasy and wonder wrapped up in this book and the fantastic memories of reading this book in my room (escaping my own world, probably also in trouble). I remember at some point that this was my most favorite book and I could read it dozens of times and not get sick of it. I’m sure until I was able to read it for myself, my parents probably got sick of it. And let’s face it, as much as we like it, we all grow out of it — I don’t see it on anyone’s Facebook pages as their favorite book.

Well, it looks like Spike Jones has used reality to bring about the fantastic and turned this thing into a full length movie (and thank God it’s not animated, but using humans and such). These memorable books that are turned into 80-90 minute versions of themselves are rarely the inspirational equal to their book versions. Rather they play on someone’s good idea, have a few cute moments and draw off a comic actor who is larger than life at the time, with minimal results. (ie. Grinch, Cat in the Hat, you know what I’m talking about, etc)

What is great in 10 minutes is usually lousy drawn out over 90 minutes. I can’t say that completely across the board, but I’d stand to say that if it took me 90 minutes to clean off my lawnmower after mowing, it wouldn’t happen but maybe once a summer. If making coffee took 90 minutes, perhaps it would be worth the $4.50 I often spend on it. Regardless, we KNOW that “WTWTA” (did you see what I did there? I got dibs on shirt designs for the WTWTA phenom) was a great book and has the potential to be a waste of 90 minutes and 60+ mil.

These are my few takeaways simply from the trailer:
- whoever made the costumes and made the boys outfit look like the book deserves an Oscar even if the movie goes straight to video;
- the monsters look awkward in their own skin, although to the point of humor, somewhat like oompa loompas;
- If they actually use music by The Arcade Fire for more than just the trailer, I will see it in the theater and I will probably cry at some point;
- I’m looking forward to the interaction of the boy and the family and how the boy’s escapism is dealt with in regards to his home life;
- I love that they’ve already shown the monsters crying;
- and the part with the boy being carried by the monster through the woods reminds me a bit of me carrying my son through the woods wanting to show him something… although I may regret saying that when the movie comes out.

Overall it looks delightful. I’m going to push my parents to see it because if it weren’t for them and my siblings I would not have escaped into the book over and over throughout my childhood (and would not keep “escaping” into books even as an adult). “Where the Wild Things Are” opens October 16th, so make your Sweetest Day plans now to attend the movie (isn’t SD the 17th?)

movie homepage
movie trailer on Apple

Watch the video before you read below because my paragraph will make more sense.

They showed this video at church last weekend and it ripped me up. I couldn’t imagine all this happening, and it would force me to be really real in my feelings and expression to God. I couldn’t imagine losing my son, I couldn’t imagine being apart of being ripped off by Enron and not wanting to hurt someone, and then to experience the heart surgeries to top it off! I am not THAT forgiving of a person where even this many year’s later could just casually mention it in an interview without some feeling showing on my face. I’m not. It’s a human expression and I guess over time the wounds heal and forgiveness happens, but these folks have been through it.

That is what really makes a story and begs the question of why bad things happen to good people and why a loving God would allow this. It’s the eternal question, but the things I know, the things I remember, what sustains my belief is that Satan has power over this world right now. As odd as this is to say this, God allows us to go through extreme tragedy sometimes to show us extreme joy… we wouldn’t know one without the other. Bad things have always happened and assuming God is going to erase tragedy seems like an invented idea of how things should be. Anyway, the video speaks volumes on how God can restore people because they seem like they’ve dealt with it all well and the past is the past. It meant so much to me when I first saw it and I wanted to pass it on.