So, about this whole marriage thing ... it's really great, but there's something that gets me about it - maybe its that long engagement thing. I'm not too down with that.
Actually, that's not really how it happened. Alyse and I were praying about our wedding, and we got this sense that the date wasn't going to be when we thought it was. We talked to some people about the wisdom of moving it up and got mixed responses. So we kept praying. One night, we got our answer - God told us "January." So we're moving the date up to January 3, 2009.
This is very exciting and scary at the same time, because there is a lot to do between now and then. We're planning a wedding while school, work, and (any semblance of a) social life fight for our limited time. Neither of us have ever planned a wedding, etc. But it is exciting because I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Alyse, to keep learning how to love her in new and deeper ways.
We need your prayer in this; prayer for wisdom, prayer for provision, prayer for sanity. We're stepping out in faith -- one of the most important parts of this engagement is that it is God's timing and not ours (I was ready to wait until after college) -- so we want one of the most important parts of our marriage to be God's timing and our faith in His active role in our relationship. That's a hard balance to maintain because everything in the world screams against it - and God is so paradoxial and difficult to understand that what He wants often doesn't makes sense.
We want to be where God is, where God leads us. He guides our steps and makes our paths straight. We want to walk towards Jesus (like Peter on the water), not caring what is around us or underneath us or behind us, as long as He's there. And we're still trying to figure out how to do that in the daily grind. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers ...
Thanks.
30 October 2008
04 September 2008
The Big News
I got engaged. Yep. I am *extremely* excited.
Pictures of the ring will follow. Along with the story.
Pictures of the ring will follow. Along with the story.
18 August 2008
There and Back Again
Well, I just recently got back from my trip home to Iowa. Which was pleasant, refreshing, and completely enjoyable -- spending time with my family and Alyse, and certain special friends as well. Now, in New York, I miss the open spaces, blue sky, fields, driving, and I especially miss the stars. They were so beautiful one night -- thousands of celestial pinpricks strewn across the sky.
While in Iowa I had a lot of good conversations with my parents -- I really felt a new-found respect and admiration for them, one that no doubt is spawned from our maturing relationship. I also made a concerted effort to show love to my family (something I wasn't very good at before), and I felt like I learned and benefited from their company in all new ways. I hadn't been home for nearly eight months, so there was a lot of time for maturing in the interim.
After coming back to New York, I got thrown into the new school year. I am a Chamberlain for the House of Lewis this year, which means that I fulfill R.A.-like responsibilities, as well as attempt to build community, enforce rules, and serve others in student housing. After I got in at 3 AM Saturday morning, I had to move my stuff between apartments that day -- so I spent four hours (with some God-given helpers) moving tubs and boxes and lamps three blocks up Sixth Ave. Later that day, I had Chamberlain training, and I finally crashed on my bed around 1 AM.
Sunday (yesterday), however, was awesome. I puttered around the apartment in the morning, waiting for my roommate Kyle to get into the city. After he showed up, we took off to Brooklyn Tab(ernacle), and heard an awesome sermon on how Jesus transforms the "natural" to the "supernatural" in all areas of our life. Kyle then shared this great insight with me about mountaintop experiences.
One of the promises of Christ is that "the best is yet to come," not just in heaven, but on earth and in our lives as well. His perfection of our selves is a process. Basically, then, the "mountaintop experience" is a temporary taste of what is to come -- jumping ahead in the process, if you will. It gives you something to strive toward, even if you don't experience it daily at first. Kyle also related the parable of the man who saw the priceless pearl in a field, then sold everything he had to possess that pearl. Seeing the pearl is the equivalent to the mountaintop experience.
I was blown away by this perspective. It showed it to me in a whole new light -- I have been telling as many people as I can about it. Just the idea that those experiences are something that Christ has in store for us ... something that we are discovering through Christ ... it gives me chills.
Then our Chamberlain meeting later that day really brought us closer together as a team, which was encouraging. We also listened to a Tim Keller sermon about the discipline of friendship -- how we are called to be friend-like with everyone in the Christian community. There are different levels of friendship, obviously, but we must be willing to be both deep (intimate) and regular (consistent) with our friendships, even when we don't feel like it.
So Sunday was challenging and very encouraging -- God gave me some direction for how he wants me to show love this year. Please pray as I continue to listen for His voice and guidance. Also pray for my next few days -- I'll be at the Summit, which is the annual leadership orientation conference. It will be challenging as we work out what our House will look like this year, and as we learn how to become effective (yet humble) servant-leaders. I feel like there will be a lot to learn (in a good way), so pray that I stay focused.
Thank you for your support ... and with any luck, I'll be posting more this year. If I ask for your prayer, the least I can do is keep you informed. May God give you His peace and quiet today, in the midst of the pre-school business.
While in Iowa I had a lot of good conversations with my parents -- I really felt a new-found respect and admiration for them, one that no doubt is spawned from our maturing relationship. I also made a concerted effort to show love to my family (something I wasn't very good at before), and I felt like I learned and benefited from their company in all new ways. I hadn't been home for nearly eight months, so there was a lot of time for maturing in the interim.
After coming back to New York, I got thrown into the new school year. I am a Chamberlain for the House of Lewis this year, which means that I fulfill R.A.-like responsibilities, as well as attempt to build community, enforce rules, and serve others in student housing. After I got in at 3 AM Saturday morning, I had to move my stuff between apartments that day -- so I spent four hours (with some God-given helpers) moving tubs and boxes and lamps three blocks up Sixth Ave. Later that day, I had Chamberlain training, and I finally crashed on my bed around 1 AM.
Sunday (yesterday), however, was awesome. I puttered around the apartment in the morning, waiting for my roommate Kyle to get into the city. After he showed up, we took off to Brooklyn Tab(ernacle), and heard an awesome sermon on how Jesus transforms the "natural" to the "supernatural" in all areas of our life. Kyle then shared this great insight with me about mountaintop experiences.
One of the promises of Christ is that "the best is yet to come," not just in heaven, but on earth and in our lives as well. His perfection of our selves is a process. Basically, then, the "mountaintop experience" is a temporary taste of what is to come -- jumping ahead in the process, if you will. It gives you something to strive toward, even if you don't experience it daily at first. Kyle also related the parable of the man who saw the priceless pearl in a field, then sold everything he had to possess that pearl. Seeing the pearl is the equivalent to the mountaintop experience.
I was blown away by this perspective. It showed it to me in a whole new light -- I have been telling as many people as I can about it. Just the idea that those experiences are something that Christ has in store for us ... something that we are discovering through Christ ... it gives me chills.
Then our Chamberlain meeting later that day really brought us closer together as a team, which was encouraging. We also listened to a Tim Keller sermon about the discipline of friendship -- how we are called to be friend-like with everyone in the Christian community. There are different levels of friendship, obviously, but we must be willing to be both deep (intimate) and regular (consistent) with our friendships, even when we don't feel like it.
So Sunday was challenging and very encouraging -- God gave me some direction for how he wants me to show love this year. Please pray as I continue to listen for His voice and guidance. Also pray for my next few days -- I'll be at the Summit, which is the annual leadership orientation conference. It will be challenging as we work out what our House will look like this year, and as we learn how to become effective (yet humble) servant-leaders. I feel like there will be a lot to learn (in a good way), so pray that I stay focused.
Thank you for your support ... and with any luck, I'll be posting more this year. If I ask for your prayer, the least I can do is keep you informed. May God give you His peace and quiet today, in the midst of the pre-school business.
31 July 2008
This Summer: In Summary
Well, it has been quite the busy summer. As you may know, I have been working over the summer with my school, providing IT support. I will be working into the fall with them as well. Anyways, summer has been filled with stuff, and lots of things have changed. Maybe the biggest changes are with Alyse.
Alyse, my girlfriend, has been attending Pratt Institute (an exclusive art school in Brooklyn) this last semester. She also stayed at Pratt over the summer, working with the America Reads/Counts program and taking some classes. However, fed up with her living conditions and the exorbitant cost of attendance, she started looking at other schools in the city. The school she had her eye on, the School of Visual Arts (SVA), had four spots open for the fall and hundreds of applicants. Alyse applied and got in (amazingly), placing her at a school that is less than a fifteen minute walk from my apartment. However, it seemed things were not destined to end well. SVA has housing space for only a third of its students, and all the residences were full by the time Alyse was accepted. She started looking for apartments, eventually widening her search to New Jersey, but to no real avail. The good opportunities kept falling through.
One day, fed up with the whole situation, she decided to ask my Asst. Director of Residence Life (Jacinda) if there was any way she could get housing at King's. Surprisingly, Jacinda said that was a real possibility. After a few weeks of deliberation and working out the details, King's is putting Alyse up in one of their apartments with three senior girls. The apartment is one of the best in the building, Alyse's total cost for school is about half of what she would've paid at Pratt, and I am a sparse two and a half minutes away from her building. God is working in some really cool ways!
Alyse and I have learned a lot about each other this summer, and we have spent a lot of time together. I have seen her every day this summer (Wow! I didn't realize it was every day), as she usually comes over to my apartment to eat, avoiding her mouse- and cockroach-infested kitchen. We have been attending church together at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and we've managed to take some time to get away, once to the Elizabethtown (NJ) IKEA, once to Pittsburgh to see my family at Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen's house, and one weekend to wander around the city with Linda Wilde.
That was actually this last weekend - we saw a lot, but there is still much more to see. I have some pictures on Picasa online of the weekend, so feel free to take a look. We spent most of our time in the Financial District, but we also took Linda to the Brooklyn Tab and St. John's cathedral. The cathedral was amazing - it includes the longest open length of any cathedral worldwide (601 ft), and it even included a special message with my name on it (link coming).
As to what has been happening with me: I started meeting with our Dean of Students, Eric Bennett, a few weeks ago. If I have ever met a man who is right with God, it is Eric - he respects students, yet speaks with authority; he's willing to listen to what you hear from God, and he is so in tune with God that he doesn't hesitate to do everything in his power to help you; he is humble, strong, and yet human, as he freely admits his struggles. I respect him immensely. Anyways, God has been using Eric to prod me in completely new directions, putting me in positions where my strength is insufficient, where I need to depend on God completely or fall flat on my face. This is exciting and scary at the same time. I will be sure to keep you updated as the year progresses.
One of the other things I will be doing this year is House leadership - you may be familiar with the House system at King's, where every student is assigned a certain House (like a fraternal organization) that provides inter-student fellowship and support. There are four male houses (Lewis, Reagan, Churchill, and Bonhoeffer) and five female houses (Thatcher, Barton, [Susan B] Anthony, [Queen] Elizabeth [I], and [Sojourner] Truth), with 20 - 50 members. They are pitted against each other throughout the year in various intellectual, artistic, and physical competitions. Each house has a President, Chamberlain (an R.A. of sorts), Helmsman (to help freshmen students integrate into the school and House), and a Scholar (charged with the intellectual development of the House). I am the House of C.S. Lewis' Chamberlain, so it will be interesting to see how that works out. Additionally, one of my roommates is the Lewis Helmsman and another is Churchill's Scholar.
This year will be challenging in entirely welcome ways. My relationship with Alyse will be challenging as we will both be too busy to spend much time together alone (if that makes sense), and much of our relationship before was exactly that. Time together alone. My schoolwork will be challenging - three philosophic classes will make sure of that. My leadership role will be challenging - learning how to combine justice (from my R.A. role) and love (from my new calling). My relationship with God will be be challenging as I strive to give myself up every day so He becomes blatantly evident in my life. My friendships will be challenging as I feel called to be much more "social" than I was last year - for what good is love if it is not shared? My future will be challenging - if only because I don't know what will happen. I do know that it is good hands, however. I pray that God will continue to be my strength and direction, and hope that you will pray similarly for me.
I am looking forward to coming home in five short days - but I still need to pack some stuff up. I will be leaving with all my stuff packed, ready to move into my new room the day after I get back from Iowa. It will be a fun time all around. Alyse and I are traveling Tuesday morning, and we are both looking forward to seeing our families and eating food in generous portions.
God bless you for taking the time to read this rather long post ... your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated.
Alyse, my girlfriend, has been attending Pratt Institute (an exclusive art school in Brooklyn) this last semester. She also stayed at Pratt over the summer, working with the America Reads/Counts program and taking some classes. However, fed up with her living conditions and the exorbitant cost of attendance, she started looking at other schools in the city. The school she had her eye on, the School of Visual Arts (SVA), had four spots open for the fall and hundreds of applicants. Alyse applied and got in (amazingly), placing her at a school that is less than a fifteen minute walk from my apartment. However, it seemed things were not destined to end well. SVA has housing space for only a third of its students, and all the residences were full by the time Alyse was accepted. She started looking for apartments, eventually widening her search to New Jersey, but to no real avail. The good opportunities kept falling through.
One day, fed up with the whole situation, she decided to ask my Asst. Director of Residence Life (Jacinda) if there was any way she could get housing at King's. Surprisingly, Jacinda said that was a real possibility. After a few weeks of deliberation and working out the details, King's is putting Alyse up in one of their apartments with three senior girls. The apartment is one of the best in the building, Alyse's total cost for school is about half of what she would've paid at Pratt, and I am a sparse two and a half minutes away from her building. God is working in some really cool ways!
Alyse and I have learned a lot about each other this summer, and we have spent a lot of time together. I have seen her every day this summer (Wow! I didn't realize it was every day), as she usually comes over to my apartment to eat, avoiding her mouse- and cockroach-infested kitchen. We have been attending church together at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and we've managed to take some time to get away, once to the Elizabethtown (NJ) IKEA, once to Pittsburgh to see my family at Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen's house, and one weekend to wander around the city with Linda Wilde.
That was actually this last weekend - we saw a lot, but there is still much more to see. I have some pictures on Picasa online of the weekend, so feel free to take a look. We spent most of our time in the Financial District, but we also took Linda to the Brooklyn Tab and St. John's cathedral. The cathedral was amazing - it includes the longest open length of any cathedral worldwide (601 ft), and it even included a special message with my name on it (link coming).
As to what has been happening with me: I started meeting with our Dean of Students, Eric Bennett, a few weeks ago. If I have ever met a man who is right with God, it is Eric - he respects students, yet speaks with authority; he's willing to listen to what you hear from God, and he is so in tune with God that he doesn't hesitate to do everything in his power to help you; he is humble, strong, and yet human, as he freely admits his struggles. I respect him immensely. Anyways, God has been using Eric to prod me in completely new directions, putting me in positions where my strength is insufficient, where I need to depend on God completely or fall flat on my face. This is exciting and scary at the same time. I will be sure to keep you updated as the year progresses.
One of the other things I will be doing this year is House leadership - you may be familiar with the House system at King's, where every student is assigned a certain House (like a fraternal organization) that provides inter-student fellowship and support. There are four male houses (Lewis, Reagan, Churchill, and Bonhoeffer) and five female houses (Thatcher, Barton, [Susan B] Anthony, [Queen] Elizabeth [I], and [Sojourner] Truth), with 20 - 50 members. They are pitted against each other throughout the year in various intellectual, artistic, and physical competitions. Each house has a President, Chamberlain (an R.A. of sorts), Helmsman (to help freshmen students integrate into the school and House), and a Scholar (charged with the intellectual development of the House). I am the House of C.S. Lewis' Chamberlain, so it will be interesting to see how that works out. Additionally, one of my roommates is the Lewis Helmsman and another is Churchill's Scholar.
This year will be challenging in entirely welcome ways. My relationship with Alyse will be challenging as we will both be too busy to spend much time together alone (if that makes sense), and much of our relationship before was exactly that. Time together alone. My schoolwork will be challenging - three philosophic classes will make sure of that. My leadership role will be challenging - learning how to combine justice (from my R.A. role) and love (from my new calling). My relationship with God will be be challenging as I strive to give myself up every day so He becomes blatantly evident in my life. My friendships will be challenging as I feel called to be much more "social" than I was last year - for what good is love if it is not shared? My future will be challenging - if only because I don't know what will happen. I do know that it is good hands, however. I pray that God will continue to be my strength and direction, and hope that you will pray similarly for me.
I am looking forward to coming home in five short days - but I still need to pack some stuff up. I will be leaving with all my stuff packed, ready to move into my new room the day after I get back from Iowa. It will be a fun time all around. Alyse and I are traveling Tuesday morning, and we are both looking forward to seeing our families and eating food in generous portions.
God bless you for taking the time to read this rather long post ... your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated.
03 March 2008
Ah.......
It has been a long time. Again. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have 30 or 45 minutes to myself.
New York is beautiful today. Spring is in the air ... the thermomenter hovers around 55, and a cool breeze is blowing down the street. I look forward to Spring Break (in less than two weeks!) for the relaxation that can occur, in sharp contrast to the business of day-to-day life.
My classes this semester have been less mentally challenging, but often more difficult. There is a lot of busy-work and memorization, and the pleasant distraction of Alyse only 45 minutes away has left me with much less "free" time than I enjoyed last semester. To be fair, however, this semester is helping me understand how to be more efficient with my time, both scholastically and recreationally, and I had far too much "free" time last semester anyways. It is a welcome trade-off.
One of my Iowan friends is in the area this week, and I've been taking her and her three friends around to some of the various NYC functions. On Tuesday we will attend a show that I saw a few weeks ago, a remake of a Mark Twain comedy. Sometime this week, we will also be going to the top of the Empire State Building to see the sunset, around 6 PM. Perhaps you'll see some photographs here after that ...
Decisions about the future are starting to build up as well. I really want to stay in the city over the summer and work for the college. Also, roommate decisions for next semester will have to be resolved in the next few weeks, as well as elections for next year's House leadership. My good friend Matthias has showed me an internship opportunity for sometime in the future, so we will look into that together. I feel my time in New York slipping away, so I try every day to make the most of every hour.
And in that pursuit, I should leave you now, and return to my homework. Perhaps I'll get to bed early tonight. We will see. May God bless you and keep you as He's keeping me.
New York is beautiful today. Spring is in the air ... the thermomenter hovers around 55, and a cool breeze is blowing down the street. I look forward to Spring Break (in less than two weeks!) for the relaxation that can occur, in sharp contrast to the business of day-to-day life.
My classes this semester have been less mentally challenging, but often more difficult. There is a lot of busy-work and memorization, and the pleasant distraction of Alyse only 45 minutes away has left me with much less "free" time than I enjoyed last semester. To be fair, however, this semester is helping me understand how to be more efficient with my time, both scholastically and recreationally, and I had far too much "free" time last semester anyways. It is a welcome trade-off.
One of my Iowan friends is in the area this week, and I've been taking her and her three friends around to some of the various NYC functions. On Tuesday we will attend a show that I saw a few weeks ago, a remake of a Mark Twain comedy. Sometime this week, we will also be going to the top of the Empire State Building to see the sunset, around 6 PM. Perhaps you'll see some photographs here after that ...
Decisions about the future are starting to build up as well. I really want to stay in the city over the summer and work for the college. Also, roommate decisions for next semester will have to be resolved in the next few weeks, as well as elections for next year's House leadership. My good friend Matthias has showed me an internship opportunity for sometime in the future, so we will look into that together. I feel my time in New York slipping away, so I try every day to make the most of every hour.
And in that pursuit, I should leave you now, and return to my homework. Perhaps I'll get to bed early tonight. We will see. May God bless you and keep you as He's keeping me.
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