A Brief Update

 

Things here are going well.  I have only 5 days of German class left.  That’s exciting.  I’m praying that I pass my test so that I can put German behind me — at least in any pressurized form.

 

Today I applied for a work study position supervising front desk workers at the athletic facility.  It’s about 90 seconds walk from our apartment and will include scheduling and checking in on WS folks.  Pretty familiar .

 

Terese and I moved into our apartment this past weekend.  We still have a few boxes, but we’re actually very settled in.  We’re tired of moving and tired of living out of boxes and suitcases.

 

Than is doing alright.  He was SUPER excited to open the box with all of his books and toys in it.  (We only kept a few out through the transition.)  The last few days have been full of him pulling a book down and bringing it to Terese or me.

 

Terese is also doing well.  She is gone right now to pick up Tuya (an OBU student spending the summer in Chicago).  Tuya will stay with us for a night or two.

Planting Trees … A Farewell Note

Some look around and see that we’ve built some really cool buildings over the last several years.  But we know that it’s the life that happens inside them that is most significant.  I’ll always look back over the last three years and remember what we’ve built together.  I don’t see buildings; I see trees.  Many years from now, long after we have gone, these trees will spread their branches out and bless the dawn…

As a freshman, I found myself a lonely RA in my mandated private room.  I needed a pet.  So, I brought an ivy.  It has stayed with me as I’ve lived the ResLife.  It reminds me that living the ReLife is facilitating life and growth.  It reminds me that living the ResLife is about planting orchards.  So, lean into something lasting…planting trees.

#livingthereslife

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

It is possible to read In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by insightful Christian Formation guru, Henri Nouwen, in an hour, but to fully appreciate Nouwen’s perspective, it will take weeks to digest.  Nouwen’s perspective will challenge other ideals of leadership, both inside and outside the Christian faith.  His own story informs his thoughts on leadership: a brilliant scholar, whose professional resume included professorships at Yale, Notre Dame, and Harvard, Nouwen left all prestige to live with and minister to the least prestigious of people: the mentally handicapped.  This journey required him to confront three temptations faced by any Christian leader, the temptation to be relevant, popular, and spectacular.  Nouwen employs the life and teaching of Christ to confront these temptations with the economy of the Kingdom.  In the Name of Jesus will be one hour well invested for any leader—and an investment that will return compound interest on any leader’s regular-reading list.

(This is a review that I wrote for Ouachita’s Servant Leadership Program.  I’ve previously discussed this book here.)

Friday

Let’s remember today the wounds, stripes, pain, and cross of Christ.  Let’s immerse ourselves into the depth of our despair: YHWH hanging, suffering, and dieing.  Let’s explore these depths today so that in three days we may better understand the hope of all creation: new creation.

Grant, O Lord, that in your wounds we may find our safety, in your stripes our cure, in your pain our peace, in your cross our victory, in your resurrection our triumph, and a crown of righteousness in the glories of your eternal kingdom.  (Jeremy Taylor, The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers)

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