Sununu?

...Wonder if Sununu's fired now...

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Back To Milwaukee

I realize that Katie and I have been in our apartment for about 2 months now, but I figured I'd just state it. What's funny is that after all the moving debacles of my Vicar year (four times! beat that!), Katie and I see the prospect of living for an entire year in one place as long term.

This is Katie and I's first move back to a city where we've been before, and we're well adjusted by now. For those who'd like to visit or are curious, we're in a quadplex (I don't know any other term...) near 92nd and Capitol, and two fellow seminarians are above and beside my unit. We think it's the biggest unit we've lived in (besides, of course, the Vicar mansion we inhabited for a few months in Madison), and just the perfect size to fit our things and still be roomy.

Going Mac

First of all, I apologize for the long break. Things have been crazy lately with finishing up my Vicar year, packing up our things to move, finding an apartment for next year, looking for employment, etc.

One neat thing has happened, though. My HP laptop is basically as good as dead with a broken CD drive, chipped monitor panel, on-and-off working power chord, various cracks, broken fan, and the occasional blue screen of death. Well, that's not the good part. The good part is that on Monday I got my new laptop, and after much research and questioning I decided to get a Macbook Pro. It's just slick, durable metal, and power efficient. Now I have to be honest, one of the biggest things that annoys me about Apple and Macs is people who own them...Obviously I'm one of them, now. Just please, punch me in the face or shove me randomly in the street if I become a prideful jerk who tells everyone how awesome Apple is and looks down on inferior Windows drones or Unix nerds (or whatever). It's a choice between good and good, and I barely landed on the Mac side. We'll see how it goes.

Summer Vicar Vacation

So it's been a blast seeing friends and family for the Fourth of July, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence and winning that crazy victory over the British. Take that, King George!

Anyways, as you see can see, weather was nice, and our two dogs, Tobi and Pica, had fun as well. This pic is great because Tobi is the least aggressive dog there is, yet he likes to play fight with Pica.

And of course, congratulations Jeff and Nicole Robeano on your new life together. The dress rehearsal was smooth and fun, the dinner was phenomenal, wedding was classy, the reception was high-class and fun, and the after-party was easy-going and good for saying good-byes. Remember Jeff, una cheve, una michelada!

It's always exciting and interesting to visit Columbus. There's always something new happening in the area and it's always refreshing to catch up with friends.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

I hope you all have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend as we kick off summer (though summer hasn't been anywhere around Wisconsin...) and remember the sacrifices those who have served in our armed forces have made to give us the great nation and freedoms we enjoy.


As you can see, despite the fog, drizzle, and cold, I took it upon myself to nevertheless enjoy an ol' fashion BBQ and bust out my pipe for the first time this year.


I can't help but think of Nehemiah 8:10 (which talks about the restoration festival those in Jerusalem had when the city wall was finished, signifying at least the beginning of the end of exile [Deuteronomy 30]) among the myriad of other verses that talk about the joy God wants us to have in celebrating special days with food, drink, and family.


And [Nehemiah] told [the Israelites], "Go! Eat fat-filled foods and have some sweet drinks! And send some portions to those who don't have anything prepared for them! You see, our Lord has set this day apart. So don't worry, because Yahweh's joy is your refuge." (Nehemiah 8:10 DB)

I copy the following from Wikipedia as to this day's origin:


"Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service. First enacted by formerly enslaved African-Americans to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.

Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend."

New Blog Site

It's still in its early Beta phase, but the plan is around June 12th to unleash my new blog site found here:
http://bibleimmersion.blogspot.com/

In it I will be reading through the Bible on a 3 year cycle that follows the church year and giving my comments, questions, and insights as they deal with the text and what's going on in the world and my personal life. Enjoy!

Moving Day

It's good to be home, wherever that is at the moment...

On February 1st a mötley crew and I manned the cold and made my move happen. There photo is here on the right (with one of them taking the photo). A few days before the weather reports weren't too good, so I was going to play it by ear.

Before 3pm we got nearly all of my boxes and random pieces moved, then around 4 the well oiled machine came and got my furniture loaded and unloaded, unscratched, and during maybe the worst blizzard here this winter. Big thanks goes to the Cates for letting me use their conversion van and for driving their shipping trunk to make this move happen. And I'm glad they got back safe as well.

So by now Katie and I have found a place for our things and are settled in pretty nice. To catch some of you up, we'll be living here in Verona, WI for 6 months. That's longer than the last 3 places we've been (Lodi California, Arcadia Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin). I'll be serving Resurrection Church here until the end of July, and then its off to Milwaukee again for one last year of seminary (and from there, who knows...).

All this makes me thinking I'm living in a much lazier and more orderly version of Abraham's journeys according to the words of Hebrews 11:8-10, "8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."