wow

these pictures are "borrowed" from micah and kristen mccarty's blog. clearly someone does not agree with the advertising statement of this church.



a part of me thinks it's funny. a part of me wants to cry.

check out micah and kristen's blog for the whole scoop on his "roadside theology" photography project.

greetings from montego bay

i'm sitting on the balcony watching lightning slice through the sky and ducking at rolls of thunder exploding through the clouds while rain pours down like the wrath of God. it's beautiful. k is off doing some kind of spa thing or another and i have just finished another great book called the preservationist by david maine -- it's a novel based on the story of noah from the bible. if you are in to that kind of thing, you'd love it. if not, you might anyway.

well, k is back and the rain is letting up so off we go to more beach, etc.

later mon
j

today, i became a man

no, not like that...

Today I bought my first serious power tool. I am the proud owner of a Skil 2.3 HP, 7-1/4" Circular Saw with 12 amps and a 45 degree bevel capacity. I have no idea what that means, but it's mine and it ripped through the countertop and doors I worked on today.
I can hear what some of you are thinking (well OK not really, don't freak out). Yes, I am the same guy who ended up in the emergency room from opening Caleb's Christmas presents with a pocketknife, but that was a long itme ago. I've grown, matured. Besides, I needed this thing. I have projects to finish. I was tired of being circular saw dependant. Now I'm free to cut at will. All I need is an outlet and a board (and an extension cord if the first two are reasonably far apart). Hear me bevel!

Special thanks go out to
MJ Bartlett (High School drama teacher) for sticking a saw in my hands and saying "figure it out" when I explained I had no idea how to work it.
Bobby Wood (Habitat for Humanity project manager in Leadville, CO) for letting me spend the week on the saw and inspiring my desire.
James Lankford who had no idea the mayhem he would unleash by giving me a Lowe's gift card.
I know, it's sad.
j

happy birthday

to my partner in crime and fellow dreamer. for once, words fail. i love you.

three years ago tonight

jacob's well 1.0 was born in the gym at chbc. i have been thinking about all of the work that went in to that night. thomas and michael risking life and limb to cover the windows and then going out to poison the well for us. john working furiously to get it all wired up. jana and amanda and co. raiding the church for just the right tables, lamps, etc. a sense of anticipation, curiousity, hope, and fear as people came through the doors and we began. i remember that night being good.
we have come a long way. or in some cases, have gone a long way. what exists today as jacob's well is vastly different in some ways than what was on the mind of those of us who had a hand in those first days. in some ways the only difference is the faces that are a part of it. three years ago we wanted to discover what a church could look like if it took seriously things like the Bible and community and being organic. we're still chasing that. i think we're closer. i think we also were trying hard to become something rather than simply being. does that make any sense?

these days we seem to be more about being and letting God move us to the becoming.

sunday night a very different group of faces will stop and think about people they have never met and places they have never seen. we will thank God for the road he has brought us down and for the journey ahead. but mostly we will do what we have done - we'll talk, laugh, pray, think, discuss, sing, create, be together. that's what jacob's well has become. it feels good. right. home.

thank you God for john and sharon and b and lisa and jana and haley and thomas and michael and jaci and amanda and rebecca and kandie and ashley and krisha and kristen and all of the others from the first days. thanks for a dream that is still being dreamed. thanks for daniel 4:11-12. thanks for all of the friends we have and for those we have not yet met.

what more can i say.

thanks.

j

some good reads

just some stuff i've read in the last couple of weeks that has been good. the links will take you to amazon.com marketplace to get them for yourself. for more information and to buy new copies of the book, just click on the picture of the book in the window that opens from the link below. i'd love to hear what anyone else thinks if you have read them or end up reading them.


Life of Pi by Yann Martel
this is a great little book. i have talked about it some already. check it out.
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
if you like beautiful descriptions and great characters, this is one you need to read. it also has a ton to say about community and God and human nature and more. i can;t tell you how many great quotes, thoughts, and stories are in this book. it is a pretty slow read, but completely worth it.
Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn
conservative friends be warned - you won't like this book. lasn is the founder of adbusters, an organization dedicated to the taking back of our culture from media hype and corporate greed. no it is not christian. in some ways it is very not christian. but i digress. the book is a great look at things like consumerism, the zombification of american media junkies, and thoughts on how to "jam" the culture. it is thought provoking if you are in to having yoru thoughts provoked.
Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner
for something completely different. winner converted from christianity from judaism and the book is full of different elements of jewish life that could (should) be incorporated into christianity. things like sabbath and hospitality and honoring aging and more. this book sparked a whole set of thoughts for me that i'll share later.
i just got some new books in and plenty more coming thanks to all who gave amazon for birthday. i'll let you know how those come out.

read something
j

my apologies

to anyone who got spammed with about five of the same post from last night / this morning. blogger had a server burp and it shwoed me that nothing was being posted while it was saving them all up to spit them out all at once. the problem is fixed and life can return to normal.

shrug
j

wuv...twu wuv...

a quick case study to demonstrate the power of love over hate. ready?

i am a rabid cub fan. another way to say it -- i LOVE the cubs. said cubs are 16.5 games out of first in their division, they aren't going to come back and win it. i have finally resigned myself to this. however, they are currently in first place in the wild card (well they are getting ready to give it up in the 12th, but for now work with me). the team that is 16.5 games ahead of the cubs is the cardinals. there is no kind way to say this (sorry jonathan) i HATE the cardinals. i have friends who are cards fans, they are good people they have just made a really bad choice somewhere along the way (just like all the people who bought vanilla ice cassettes - you know who you are).

to sum up so far. LOVE the cubs, 16.5 out, wild card, HATE the cardinals.

with me?

here's the problem. over the final four weeks of the season, the cards play 9 games against potential wild card challengers including 6 against the astros. that means that every game the cardinals win is GOOD for the cubs.

what does it all mean? it means for the next 20 days i become enough of a cards fan to want to see them do well. as much as i hate their success, it is good for the team i love.
it's true. love conquers all.

i can't believe i have a david meece song in my head. (anyone with me? anyone?)
j
ps -- after october 1 full hatred will be restored.

some scatter shooting this morning

just some random things i've run into

the heavenly convention - this is a great cartoon done by the people at sojourners magazine. it's a shot at the "religious right" folks who would make us believe that anyone who thinks to vote for anyone who isn't named bush is sentencing themselves to hell.

this land - if even think about politics, you need to see this. it's an animated "conversation" between bush and kerry set to woodie guthrie's "this land is your land". both sides get equally hammered and it is hilarious. it is a long load if you are on dial-up and there is some language, but you'll live through it.

more to come today i'm sure.
j