so that chad no longer has to eagerly await spilled beans about our trip to santa fe.
first -- santa fe new mexico is a sweet place to find yourself hanging out. there is a beauty to the town and the land around it that feels pretty unique. the food is some of the best anywhere (and from a guy who would know!) even glorieta, baptist though it is, is a beautiful and wonderful place. you just have to overlook the giant Bible statue and the
statue of the guy pouring coffee to a disembodied hand -- creepy). josh and I spent some time hiking up to a place called (sadly enough) "pulpit point" and it was a great view back over the valley, only spoiled by the grounds of the conference center itself. oh well, if it wasn't there, we would never have climbed up to be able to look out and see it. all that to say -- if you can, go to santa fe. (and i can recommend a restaurant or three)
second -- i found myself wednesday night sitting in a bar downtown watching the sox beat the yankees (smile) enjoying some decent hot chocolate after having an amazing meal and continuing what had already been a two hour conversation with josh and corey about some things in our lives and our community. i took a moment just to stop and thank God about how good life really is when it is lived. we were living in that moment and lots of others on the trip. even dealing with a broken down car (and a broken down corey) was just more of a part of great times with those guys. next year the whole church (extended family included) has to take the week off so we can all go and enjoy. mark your calendars guys.
third -- so yeah, the gathering. we gathered and we talked about some meaningful things. it was a good contrast to last year which felt more focused on the church and walking things out and dealing with issues in more of a corporate (as in coming together, not
mcdonalds) kind of way. this time around, it flet like much more of the conversation was how to live out the Way of Jesus personally and in community and family life. especially significant for me were a couple of different conversations that centered around the idea of developing a "rule of life" for self and family and community. a set of common practices that become a part of who you are. i'm sure i'll get in to more about that down the road as i / we start walking it out.
i also got to read mclaren's new book
a generous orthodoxy . it was pretty thought-provoking and for the most part i found myself agreeing with what brian was saying. much more on that another time. if you click the link you can read the amazon reviews and will see that it is like most of his stuff, some embrace it, some villify it. what fun times.
thursday morning before we hit the road home, we gathered with everyone to have a time of prayer and worship. we talked, sang, listened to scripture, listened to a cool poem / blessing, celebrated communion, and then left blessing each other. i was hugged by 20 strangers who didn't feel so strange. it felt good.
the whole trip felt good. there will be lots more comments i'm sure in the days ahead as i think through and move forward with some of the things that came up persoanlly and in conversation.
for some pics of the goings on (including the cafe oasis!) check out
doug pagitt's blog. i'll have some pics up somewhere later this week as well.
good to be home, but it was good to be there too.
j
for three season prior to my arrival in waco baylor did not beat texas a&m.
over the last two weeks i have become a fan. the win tonight gives hope to 
happy birthday nathan! the big 3! scooby doo, stickhorses, legos, and cake. what's better than that?
you had a shot at being the most loved cub player of all time but your whining and moaning over the last two years has proved you to be just another spoiled athlete. i'll take andre dawson or ryne sandberg or ernie banks or ron santo instead. heck, i'd even take hector villenueva (a horrible catcher who played one year at around 350 pounds). at least he appreciated what he had.
