Ketchup Time

Jess: I always loved "catch-up" day in junior high, and I had one teacher who always called it "ketchup day," so there ya go. Wes made some grand promises the last time we posted and then we forgot to write for two weeks.

So Wes was gone to Tennessee November 18-21 for his conference on youth ministry. While he was away, I did a lot of random stuff (worked, went to the doctor, preached, watched way too many movies, set up the house for Thanksgiving, etc.). But I think the most important thing I did was really take a step back and try to simplify our life. I've always known that Americans have too much crap. Just drive down any highway in the nation and you'll pass several storage units that prove this fact. We have so much junk that we can't even keep it contained in our huge houses. Well, Wes and I did pretty well when we were living in the apartment, but now that we have a house, I was worried that our pile of junk had already expanded too much.

It turned out that I was correct, so I went through each room of the house, getting rid of stuff we didn't need. I donated two suitcases full of things that we just didn't bother to get rid of before, as well as stuff that we keep thinking we'll need but never use. I filled up our trash can (something we've never done before) and our huge paper recycling bin. We still have some stuff we probably don't need, but we're a whole lot better off!

This last week, of course, was Thanksgiving. We had Wes' brother Tomas and sister Katherine over, as well as our friends Tim and Brittany, from TLU. Another college friend, Kevin, stayed with us on Tuesday night, so our house was nice and full. We had some great times together and I think everyone really enjoyed Thanksgiving. I've never cooked a Thanksgiving meal before, so I was pretty nervous going into it, but everything turned out great and we stuffed ourselves, as is the custom. It was great to have so many people filling up our house, but I'm glad for the rest now between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's just enough time to get everything back in order before people start showing up again.

We were really blessed to have everyone come to visit, and I'm so happy that we were able to open our house to them. Wes and I have a lot to be thankful for, and I hope that we remember that going forward.

Wes: I'd like to start by apologizing for Jess' bad grammar in her last sentence. It should be "Wes and I have a lot for which to be thankful." I am sorry for anyone who was as deeply offended as I was by this heinous misuse of the English language.

Now that that is out of the way, I want to share what I learned at the National Youth Workers' Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. I went there expecting a roller-coaster ride of worship, learning, equipping, and encouraging, and I expected to leave there much more excited about the ministry that I am doing. And, in a way, that is exactly what happened. I was able to reconnect with some beloved ministry friends from Texas, had a great time worshiping with David Crowder, Jeremy Camp, Starfield, and Jars of Clay, and learned a lot about the ministry that the church is called to do in the world today. But in another way, I had an altogether unexpected experience. Instead of leaving the convention each night feeling refreshed and invigorated, I left each night feeling convicted and confused. God was speaking some hard truths to me, truths that I did not think I was ready to confront, and I spent more time in prayer and contemplation than I did anything else.

I left that conference feeling like God had spoken directly to me--not just about the youth ministry that I was doing for the conference but the ministry of Crosswicks and Ellisdale UMC as well. God spoke to me about authenticity, and the difference between doing shallow ministry and engaging in deep, transformative ministry. I am excited about the work that God will be doing through others and myself in the next year, and I am anxious to see how God uses me to change the world.

After arriving back in New-to-the-Jersey, it was all hands on deck for Thanksgiving. Luckily, I have a wonderful wife who LOVES TO CLEAN, so there was not much more prep to do by the time I got home. We had a wonderful time with friends and family, though. The only downside to it is now I feel more homesick than ever and am really feeling the fact that we live so far away from any of my family. I am very much so ready to be done with school and back in Texas.

Now, we're gearing up for Advent, one of my favorite times of the year. But that is the stuff of another post for another day.

Thanks for dropping by! You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes