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Saturday, July 30, 2005

I'm in Waco!!!

But I'll be returning to Austin tomorrow.

We made it though. Much love to Jen Wags, Chris, Todd, and Bethany. They loaded and unloaded and kept me sane throughout the day.

Tomorrow morning, church at Dayspring with the Eades, and then off to Austin to finish some last minute things. Church at Mosaic in the evening and then sleep until kingdom comes. Man am I tired.

More soon to come . . .

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

life is crazy right now. crazy. i helped sabrina clean house to get ready to put it on the market on thursday and cut my finger on a cactus. then i went to top drawer where i volunteer and shot off part of another finger with the pricing gun. so two bandaids and two boo boo's later, i look like a nerd. rough day on the hands.

rough weekend for the soul too. i am packing my life's collections into brown cardboard boxes to re-dump in the Eades garage. sigh. how can i be moving back to waco and returning to my job at the buzz? i'm rooming with a 9 year old.

actually, it'll be great. i'm just so emotional right now . . . packing, moving, trying to find a job, (the right job), receiving love and words of wishes from my friends. how can i feel so old and feel so young at the same time? when will life begin?

except that i've got it all wrong, and its already begun. mine just doesn't look like everyone else's. well, it looks more like the lives of my friends here in austin . . . but it certainly doesn't look like anyone's that i went to college with. they have careers, houses, salaries, stability, husbands and children even. strange how we could be the same age and have the same education and yet be in such different places.

but blah blah blah. everyone down here is thinking "i've heard this before. it's the same old same old. write something new or funny." and everyone up there (missouri and beyond) is thinking, "get a job you freak."

oh well. the melting pot of my life. god only knows what'll get thrown in next.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

So what's up with my job? Everyone wants to know. Here it is . . . I sent a DVD to UBC a church near Miami Florida www.ubcmiami.org. In addition, I have a phone interview tomorrow with Bridgeway Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan www.bridgewaycommunity.org. There's also a potential church plant in Nashville.

What about the homeless issue you ask? Well, next weekend I will be moving back in with the Eades in Waco. That's right, I will be sharing a room with Olivia who is 9. And yes, I'll be back at the Buzz. *sigh* But, Wes wants to hire me part time (6-8 hours a week) at Friedens UCC in Reisel as a worship coordinator and leader, and also to run a parents night out for the Reisel community once a month. So that'll be good and will be another thing to add to the old resume.

So that's the scoop. I'd really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Although I will probably come back for Church sunday nights and still til Tuesday for my small group, I don't know how long that will last. I'm finally really happy in Austin (the first time since I moved here a year ago), so it will be sad to leave. But Waco's not bad and I do love the Eades. Plus I'll have Julie, Paul and Jessy, Renee and Billy . . . it's all good in the hood. We'll see what happens.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Okay, so I'm long overdue. I'm well aware. Sorry grandma et al. Where to begin, where to begin . . .
Last night my pastor preached on living in the reality of abundance as opposed to the myth of scarcity. He used the text of Mark 8 where time and time again the disciples forgot the abundance Jesus created with food, and the pharisees asked for a real sign. He said that often we cling to a myth of scarcity, always fearing the worst and arguing over the little we have. Rather we should note the provisions of God and live with an awareness of the abundance God creates. Creation ex nihlio, you know.

So I thought I would take a minute to tell you a story. On Friday evening I had friends over to see Lynnette who was in town for Shanna Beth's wedding. Two of my married friends let themselves into my house and began stacking the fridge with beer and warming up saki, etc. I was in my bedroom tidying up a bit and singing Alanis Morisette at the top of my lungs.

A bit later when I went to the fridge to grab aforementioned beer, I noticed a jar of jam with my name written on it. It's label revealed that it was from Whole Foods, a store that my roommate (who has already moved out) usually shopped at. "Oh, Erin must not have wanted this and left it for me," I said, kind of surprised. "No . . ." married friend said (she and he shall remain anonymous), "check the pantry." And as I opened the pantry I discovered that it had was stacked full of food: soups, mac and cheese, cus cus, rice, cereal . . . and then I turned around and saw fruit galore on the counter: peaches, apples, bananas, pears, cantalope. "What the . . . ?" as I realized what my two friends had done. "We know you're trying to make that last AISD paycheck stretch as long as you can, and we wanted to make sure you are eating, so we went grocery shopping for you."

Talk about abundance in scarcity. My heart throbs still at the shock. That was the coolest thing I've experienced in a long time.

Talking with Lynette about it later, I remarked that I felt guilty. "Don't," she said. "When I was living with Jolynna, she gave me a break in rent that last semester I was in school and that really saved me. She had a job and I didn't. I'll never forget that. So last semester Sam and I, now that we both have good jobs, sent Jana Lee a check with a significant portion of money to help her get through some hard times while in school. And when you get in a place 'of abundance' [my words, not hers], you can turn around and help someone else out."

How truly beautiful. Community is so redemptive. Holly Eades hired me this past week to deep clean her house. Wes Eades hired me to preach and sing at the church he's interim pastor at. WPBC hired me to preach last month. Friends at church are on task for finding me a place to live come July 31st. And now I have a pantry full of food. Thank you God for your abundance in friends. The scarier life becomes, the more you provide. Thank you.
Alanis rocked. Of course. Was there any doubt? It was amazing. And the acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill is fabulous. Thanks Sam! I love you guys!