Jess: So, as some of you may know, I love books. I went to the library last week and got something like 15 books on various subjects. I would recommend any of these books (and pretty much any book, period) but the ones that I was super interested this time around were the ones on environmentalism/living green. After our weeks of reading about stewardship, I wanted to delve into the other side of stewardship: what does it mean to be good stewards of the earth (God's original call to stewardship)?
The first book I read was The Armchair Environmentalist, which is a book made up of easily read sections about various little ways in which we can change our lives to better impact the world. A lot of it was stuff I've already heard and implemented in my life: turning down the heat/AC, driving less and using fuel more efficiently when you do, being careful about which cleaning products you use, minimizing electricity use, etc. I feel pretty comfortable with most of these basic steps to improving the environment and my life, so this book was a pick-me-up with a few new suggestions I want to implement.
The next book I read was Green You, which was not at all what I had expected. I was hoping for more tips on how to make my daily actions better for the environment. Instead, I got a book that made me scared to do anything lest I poison myself or the environment. There were so many scary statistics about what's in our air, our health care products, our food, our water, etc. that I just wanted to give up. Then I started to realize that there's no reason to be overwhelmed. It's clear that we as a nation are doing a lot of things that are bad for our bodies, our homes, and our environment. But getting worried about everything at once didn't help me. Plus, I was a little skeptical about this woman's sources, since she kept saying that widely publicized tests were not to be trusted, without any proof of her own.
So what did I learn from all of this? How am I going to let this impact my life? Well, I'm not going to stop eating meat. I AM going to try to start eating a more "plant-based diet." Meat is not something that's necessary for our bodies to survive; we can get all the nutrients we need from seeds, nuts, vegetables, etc. But I like meat, and I'm definitely not going to give up the occasional steak. If every American just began to cut down the amount of meat they eat in a week, our food industry would become more sustainable. I don't feel obligated to single-handedly revolutionize the food industry. But I will do my part. And it's good for my body to eat more fruits and veggies, more whole grains, and less meat.
I'm not going to stop taking Wes' suits to the dry cleaners, either; there aren't many other options. But I will hang his suits outside and let them air out so the chemicals don't make their way into our home. I won't get anything dry cleaned that doesn't need it, and I won't go more often than necessary.
I will, however, try to walk more often. I walked to church and back on Sunday so that Wes didn't have to drive the extra mile or so to the house and back, and so I didn't have to turn the car on just to drive it the mile home, then turn it on again to drive back to the church to pick him up. Little changes like this are going to make an impact on the environment AND on my waistline. I'm going to continue to do what I can to help the planet, but I'm not going to try to save the thing myself.
Wes: There's no force on God's green earth that will keep me from enjoying my steaks. And my hamburgers. And my ribs. And brisket. And beef stew (which I made the other day. It. Was. Awesome.). That being said, I do agree that if something does not start happening soon, God's green earth will continue becoming less and less green. And that is reason enough to take a serious look at how we utilize the resources available to us.
I know that I am horrible at this. And it's not as if I mean to be, I'm just an idiot who can't remember to do certain things, like turn off lights and lower the heat whenever I leave the house. I accidentally leave things plugged in, or I'll forget to make sure the door closes all the way behind me. I'm actually worried that one of these days, I'm going to walk in the house and find that Jessica has posted little signs everywhere that say things like "Our A/C works hard enough as it is. Don't make it cool the outside too!" or "If you don't want to have a fight, light a candle and turn off that light!" I'll feel like I'm back in preschool, where everything either rhymes or has a picture on it of a cute little animal frowning up at me. That'd be worse than a horror movie!
But I'm trying my best to do my best with reducing, re-using, and recycling, and I think we're making a difference. We're doing our part at the house, and we're also looking at how the churches can be better about using their resources as well. We didn't turn on the lights at Ellisdale last Sunday, but instead we opened the doors and windows and let God illumine our place of worship. We've cut the size of the bulletin down from a full page front and back with inserts to a half-page front and back and the very occasional insert. Good things are happening at both places, and I'm excited.
Well, I guess that's all from us for today. Check in next week to hear about my fun trip to Nashville, TN for the National Youth Workers' Convention, and then the week after to hear some of our thoughts on Advent.
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Jess and Wes
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly...
Jess: So I read a briefing in Time before church this Sunday that really upset me, and I still don't quite know what to do about it. It was about how homosexuality is against the law in Uganda, and that a newspaper has been printing the names and addresses of homosexuals in the area. It went on to say, "Homosexuality is outlawed in Uganda. Some US Evangelical groups are backing a bill, currently under review in parliament, that would make homosexuality punishable by death." I'm still so shocked by this that I can't figure out how to respond. I know it's going into the sermon I'm preaching for Wes on the 21st, but I just don't know what else to do.
I don't care what your personal opinions are on the "hot" issues (homosexuality, abortion, stem cell research, going 'green,' etc.), but we Christians HAVE to figure out a way to express our opinions while still loving God and loving our neighbor. I'm reading the book unChristian by David Kinnaman right now, and learning a lot about how those outside of Christianity perceive us. We are seen as judgmental, hypocritical, and worse. Yet we claim to be Christ followers. How can we be followers of a man who healed the sick, lifted up the lowly, and stood by the downtrodden yet persecute those who are different from us?
Whatever your personal opinion on one thing or another, Jesus told us that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. Loving God means following his commandments: worship only the one true God, keep the Sabbath holy, honor your parents, don't covet, don't steal, and DON'T MURDER. Again, no matter your opinion on whether some people deserve to be punished/to go to hell/whatever, one of God's number one commandments is to not kill. There is no provision for killing those who are doing what you think is wrong. And Jesus would say that backing the bill to allow murder makes you just as guilty as the people who carry it out.
Now, I don't say all of this to accuse anyone or to make us feel bad about ourselves as Christians. God knows we're bad and that we've been bad since the beginning of time. Just check out Genesis. But our first task should be to figure out how to love God. Our second is to love all of God's created people, whether they're "good" or "bad." There is only one judge, and that judge definitely isn't just a human.
Wes: So anyone who has known me for very long has probably heard me tell the story of Telemachus in a sermon. I won't ruin the story for any who haven't, but what it gets down to is that there is a right way and a wrong way to change the world. God calls us to change the world, but God calls us to do so in a very special way: through love. There are many, many things wrong with the world, and we are called to do everything we can to right all of the wrongs that we see. But the way in which most Christians choose to go about this work is very, very wrong.
Once again, we are called to love. We are even told that our love is the standard by which the world will know that we are Christ’s disciples. Love is absolutely crucial for the faithful follower of Jesus. Our purpose in life, therefore, is to show everyone we meet the love of Jesus Christ so that they might know that we are Christians and so that they might some day come to know Christ as we do. We do this by living our lives in a way that reminds the entire world who we are and Who’s we are.
The truth, though, as scary as it may be to admit, is that the church has not always been good about this. Time and again throughout history we fall into sins of pride as individuals and people, raising ourselves up while at the same time beating others down. Whether we speak of the crusades, the inquisition, the treatment of slaves, or any other myriad of topics, it is easy to see that the command to love is sometimes lost on the people who should be upholding it.
And, sadly, this is something with which we as the church still struggle today. We have groups here in America that preach a gospel of hate across the nation, so caught up in their personal piety and so high up on their personal soap boxes that they either cannot see or refuse to see how their actions are widening the schism that forms between the church and the world. We have actual churches that will picket soldiers’ funerals to speak out against the war, disrupting an event already hard for many to bear to push their ideals at people who are hurting and struggling with the loss of a loved one. We have actual churches with websites such as godhatesfags.com that are so entrenched in getting their point across they do not see how they are hurting, alienating, and humiliating people that already struggle with their identity in a world that has constantly marginalized them. We have actual churches that will crowd around the sidewalks of abortion clinics, yelling until they are red in the face at young women entering and exiting the building, many of whom are drowning in shame already and do not need anyone else telling them that they are evil and that they are murderers. We have actual churches that would rather burn another religion’s holy book than work hand in hand with them to strive for peace in a war-torn world.
We as a church must come to understand that above all else we must act out of love. We cannot try to impact and change the world by hate or by violence or by any other means but love, because to do so would be to abandon the very thing for which Christ stood. This has nothing to do with my political views or your political views. This is about how we choose to represent our God and our faith. Nothing more.
So this was a rather... hard hitting blog, but we hope you find it interesting at least!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Jess and Wes
I don't care what your personal opinions are on the "hot" issues (homosexuality, abortion, stem cell research, going 'green,' etc.), but we Christians HAVE to figure out a way to express our opinions while still loving God and loving our neighbor. I'm reading the book unChristian by David Kinnaman right now, and learning a lot about how those outside of Christianity perceive us. We are seen as judgmental, hypocritical, and worse. Yet we claim to be Christ followers. How can we be followers of a man who healed the sick, lifted up the lowly, and stood by the downtrodden yet persecute those who are different from us?
Whatever your personal opinion on one thing or another, Jesus told us that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. Loving God means following his commandments: worship only the one true God, keep the Sabbath holy, honor your parents, don't covet, don't steal, and DON'T MURDER. Again, no matter your opinion on whether some people deserve to be punished/to go to hell/whatever, one of God's number one commandments is to not kill. There is no provision for killing those who are doing what you think is wrong. And Jesus would say that backing the bill to allow murder makes you just as guilty as the people who carry it out.
Now, I don't say all of this to accuse anyone or to make us feel bad about ourselves as Christians. God knows we're bad and that we've been bad since the beginning of time. Just check out Genesis. But our first task should be to figure out how to love God. Our second is to love all of God's created people, whether they're "good" or "bad." There is only one judge, and that judge definitely isn't just a human.
Wes: So anyone who has known me for very long has probably heard me tell the story of Telemachus in a sermon. I won't ruin the story for any who haven't, but what it gets down to is that there is a right way and a wrong way to change the world. God calls us to change the world, but God calls us to do so in a very special way: through love. There are many, many things wrong with the world, and we are called to do everything we can to right all of the wrongs that we see. But the way in which most Christians choose to go about this work is very, very wrong.
Once again, we are called to love. We are even told that our love is the standard by which the world will know that we are Christ’s disciples. Love is absolutely crucial for the faithful follower of Jesus. Our purpose in life, therefore, is to show everyone we meet the love of Jesus Christ so that they might know that we are Christians and so that they might some day come to know Christ as we do. We do this by living our lives in a way that reminds the entire world who we are and Who’s we are.
The truth, though, as scary as it may be to admit, is that the church has not always been good about this. Time and again throughout history we fall into sins of pride as individuals and people, raising ourselves up while at the same time beating others down. Whether we speak of the crusades, the inquisition, the treatment of slaves, or any other myriad of topics, it is easy to see that the command to love is sometimes lost on the people who should be upholding it.
And, sadly, this is something with which we as the church still struggle today. We have groups here in America that preach a gospel of hate across the nation, so caught up in their personal piety and so high up on their personal soap boxes that they either cannot see or refuse to see how their actions are widening the schism that forms between the church and the world. We have actual churches that will picket soldiers’ funerals to speak out against the war, disrupting an event already hard for many to bear to push their ideals at people who are hurting and struggling with the loss of a loved one. We have actual churches with websites such as godhatesfags.com that are so entrenched in getting their point across they do not see how they are hurting, alienating, and humiliating people that already struggle with their identity in a world that has constantly marginalized them. We have actual churches that will crowd around the sidewalks of abortion clinics, yelling until they are red in the face at young women entering and exiting the building, many of whom are drowning in shame already and do not need anyone else telling them that they are evil and that they are murderers. We have actual churches that would rather burn another religion’s holy book than work hand in hand with them to strive for peace in a war-torn world.
We as a church must come to understand that above all else we must act out of love. We cannot try to impact and change the world by hate or by violence or by any other means but love, because to do so would be to abandon the very thing for which Christ stood. This has nothing to do with my political views or your political views. This is about how we choose to represent our God and our faith. Nothing more.
So this was a rather... hard hitting blog, but we hope you find it interesting at least!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Jess and Wes
Friday, November 5, 2010
Money, Money, Money Must be Funny in a Rich Man's World...
Jess: So, after our wonderful 10 months and 4 days of blissful marriage, we have really only had one thing that we don't like/basically annoys the crap out of us. Those of you who are really perceptive probably discovered from the title that it's money. What a pain in the butt money is, especially when you don't have a whole lot of it.
Over the past few weeks, Wes and I have been reading a couple of books about stewardship and Wes has given two sermons on the topic. It's really had both of us thinking about stewardship in general, especially with regard to our situation. I will admit that we have not been perfect stewards of our money. When we first got married and moved up here, I was the only one working and we had a very limited income. We had no choice but to be good stewards of our resources or face not being able to pay our bills. Now that Wes is working, life has been a lot easier. Not only do we have more income, but we don't have to pay for utilities or our house.
Our problem is that, now that we have a bit more money, we are tempted to use it for ourselves and trick ourselves into believing we still don't have enough. Ironically enough, one of the books we read is Enough by Adam Hamilton, which is a wonderful book I would recommend for everyone. It explains that Americans desire to have more and more, but there is a point where the possessions we have no longer satisfy us. Instead, we want to keep buying and consuming and never enjoy the stuff we have. The result of this is that we have bills we can't pay, debt we can't get out of, things we never use, and we wonder why we're not happy.
So we have committed to being better stewards of what God has given us. We are going to hold off on buying a second car until next summer, because our schedules mesh well enough until then. We have not gotten cable at our house because there is no reason to pay $50 a month for cable when we can pay $8 a month for Netflix, watch basic cable, and use Hulu if we want anything else. We only eat out once a week, and we got a BJs membership, saving us probably $50 a month on food. I think we're doing a good job, but there are clearly other things we need to do. It's going to take a lot of work to stop our desire to "keep up with the Jones'" and be content to "use up" all of our stuff. For example, I'd love to have a new pair of tennis shoes, but mine are good for at least a little longer, so I'm going to wear them out!
I read a news story a little while ago about a couple that super-simplified their life. They got rid of all but 100 of their possessions, downgraded their house, sold their car, got rid of their TV, etc. Although I don't think we all should/need to be this extreme, I think they've set a great example for the rest of us. We are stewards of God's earth and everything with which he has blessed us. We're trying to be more environmentally, fiscally, and generally responsible. So here's to continuing that awesomeness!
Wes: As Jess mentioned, I just had the immense pleasure of giving a two-sermon series on stewardship. I tried breaking it up into two topics: (1) hilarious generosity and (2) stewardship as a spiritual discipline. Now, I have struggled for a long time in how to best articulate the subject of giving in the church, because I have heard some really bad stewardship sermons in the past. I did not want my homilies to come across as a "give me money" plea. Instead, I wanted to make sure that my message came across as a call to continued discipleship. So I broke my sermons up accordingly.
The first one, hilarious generosity, was based off of 1 Corinthians 9:7, which says that we should give joyfully. Stealing from the pastor of my home church, Charles Anderson, I talked about how the Greek word that is used for the word "joyful" in this is the word hilarion, which is the same root from which we get our word "hilarious." So maybe, the better translation of this verse would instead be "give hilariously," not "give joyfully." Now, for me, this is much easier to understand. I struggle with the phrase "give joyfully," because sometimes it is hard to be joyful about parting with our things. But to give hilariously, to give when it doesn't make any worldly sense to do so, to be outrageous in our generosity, this is something to which I can grasp on. We are called to be in this world but not of this world, and we are called to trust in the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of the world. Now, I did not mention the term "tithing" or "stewardship" at all in this sermon. Instead, I tried to focus as much as possible on the generosity of the faithful disciple to those who are in need. I challenged my friends present to pray about their acts of generosity and how they could give even more hilariously.
The second sermon's premise was taken almost completely from Adam Hamilton's book, Enough, that Jess mentioned above. I talked about how we are called by God to be faithful stewards of the world's resources, and a large part of this is to give back to God from the resources God has given us. We are called to do this lovingly, and as an act of worship. This is, of course, the first ways in which God's people worshiped God: by building an altar and placing on it the first fruits of their bounty. We should take just as much care and pride in our offerings to God as a Abraham and Jacob did in building their altars and placing their sacrifices upon it. Then I had them do something crazy. I had them take part in the weekly offering in the same way that our sisters and brothers in Rwanda do their weekly offering: by walking up to the altar railing and dropping their offerings in it while grasping one arm with the other (a sign of respect in Rwandan culture). By doing this, they were shaking hands with God, and showing God the highest amounts of respect. And I was pleasantly surprised by the response. Everyone happily stood up and took part in this outward sign of worship to God.
So now Jess and I are joining our churches in looking at our own giving to the church and our own stewardship practices. And let me tell you, this is not always easy. I have an Xbox game reserved that comes out in two weeks that I have been waiting for with great expectation. I want a new pair of boots because the soles on mine are wearing down. I want a flat screen TV that doesn't weigh 250 pounds like the one we have. There is a book that just came out--the twelfth and penultimate book in a series I've been reading since I was in 6th grade--that I have reserved at the library instead of buying to be a step closer to completing my library... There are so many things that I wish that I could be spending our money on, but they are not things that we need or can't live without. We are upping our giving so that (after a few months of gradually increasing the amount) our monthly tithe will exceed the 10% that should be our minimum. We are also looking at starting or contributing to a scholarship fund for seminary students to help support people like ourselves going into ordained ministry. And we cannot do these things if we are spending all of our money of the... niceties of life.
So that has been our trip down stewardship lane. What has been your experience with churches and the topic of tithing and stewardship? Have you heard a good sermon on it, or have they all been kind of oppressive? I have very strong views on the role of the disciple when it comes to giving, but I feel like this has not been very well translated into the sermons that we give on Sunday mornings. I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on it and how you see your walk with Christ in respect to your money and resources.
Well, that's it for us! You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Jess and Wes
Over the past few weeks, Wes and I have been reading a couple of books about stewardship and Wes has given two sermons on the topic. It's really had both of us thinking about stewardship in general, especially with regard to our situation. I will admit that we have not been perfect stewards of our money. When we first got married and moved up here, I was the only one working and we had a very limited income. We had no choice but to be good stewards of our resources or face not being able to pay our bills. Now that Wes is working, life has been a lot easier. Not only do we have more income, but we don't have to pay for utilities or our house.
Our problem is that, now that we have a bit more money, we are tempted to use it for ourselves and trick ourselves into believing we still don't have enough. Ironically enough, one of the books we read is Enough by Adam Hamilton, which is a wonderful book I would recommend for everyone. It explains that Americans desire to have more and more, but there is a point where the possessions we have no longer satisfy us. Instead, we want to keep buying and consuming and never enjoy the stuff we have. The result of this is that we have bills we can't pay, debt we can't get out of, things we never use, and we wonder why we're not happy.
So we have committed to being better stewards of what God has given us. We are going to hold off on buying a second car until next summer, because our schedules mesh well enough until then. We have not gotten cable at our house because there is no reason to pay $50 a month for cable when we can pay $8 a month for Netflix, watch basic cable, and use Hulu if we want anything else. We only eat out once a week, and we got a BJs membership, saving us probably $50 a month on food. I think we're doing a good job, but there are clearly other things we need to do. It's going to take a lot of work to stop our desire to "keep up with the Jones'" and be content to "use up" all of our stuff. For example, I'd love to have a new pair of tennis shoes, but mine are good for at least a little longer, so I'm going to wear them out!
I read a news story a little while ago about a couple that super-simplified their life. They got rid of all but 100 of their possessions, downgraded their house, sold their car, got rid of their TV, etc. Although I don't think we all should/need to be this extreme, I think they've set a great example for the rest of us. We are stewards of God's earth and everything with which he has blessed us. We're trying to be more environmentally, fiscally, and generally responsible. So here's to continuing that awesomeness!
Wes: As Jess mentioned, I just had the immense pleasure of giving a two-sermon series on stewardship. I tried breaking it up into two topics: (1) hilarious generosity and (2) stewardship as a spiritual discipline. Now, I have struggled for a long time in how to best articulate the subject of giving in the church, because I have heard some really bad stewardship sermons in the past. I did not want my homilies to come across as a "give me money" plea. Instead, I wanted to make sure that my message came across as a call to continued discipleship. So I broke my sermons up accordingly.
The first one, hilarious generosity, was based off of 1 Corinthians 9:7, which says that we should give joyfully. Stealing from the pastor of my home church, Charles Anderson, I talked about how the Greek word that is used for the word "joyful" in this is the word hilarion, which is the same root from which we get our word "hilarious." So maybe, the better translation of this verse would instead be "give hilariously," not "give joyfully." Now, for me, this is much easier to understand. I struggle with the phrase "give joyfully," because sometimes it is hard to be joyful about parting with our things. But to give hilariously, to give when it doesn't make any worldly sense to do so, to be outrageous in our generosity, this is something to which I can grasp on. We are called to be in this world but not of this world, and we are called to trust in the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of the world. Now, I did not mention the term "tithing" or "stewardship" at all in this sermon. Instead, I tried to focus as much as possible on the generosity of the faithful disciple to those who are in need. I challenged my friends present to pray about their acts of generosity and how they could give even more hilariously.
The second sermon's premise was taken almost completely from Adam Hamilton's book, Enough, that Jess mentioned above. I talked about how we are called by God to be faithful stewards of the world's resources, and a large part of this is to give back to God from the resources God has given us. We are called to do this lovingly, and as an act of worship. This is, of course, the first ways in which God's people worshiped God: by building an altar and placing on it the first fruits of their bounty. We should take just as much care and pride in our offerings to God as a Abraham and Jacob did in building their altars and placing their sacrifices upon it. Then I had them do something crazy. I had them take part in the weekly offering in the same way that our sisters and brothers in Rwanda do their weekly offering: by walking up to the altar railing and dropping their offerings in it while grasping one arm with the other (a sign of respect in Rwandan culture). By doing this, they were shaking hands with God, and showing God the highest amounts of respect. And I was pleasantly surprised by the response. Everyone happily stood up and took part in this outward sign of worship to God.
So now Jess and I are joining our churches in looking at our own giving to the church and our own stewardship practices. And let me tell you, this is not always easy. I have an Xbox game reserved that comes out in two weeks that I have been waiting for with great expectation. I want a new pair of boots because the soles on mine are wearing down. I want a flat screen TV that doesn't weigh 250 pounds like the one we have. There is a book that just came out--the twelfth and penultimate book in a series I've been reading since I was in 6th grade--that I have reserved at the library instead of buying to be a step closer to completing my library... There are so many things that I wish that I could be spending our money on, but they are not things that we need or can't live without. We are upping our giving so that (after a few months of gradually increasing the amount) our monthly tithe will exceed the 10% that should be our minimum. We are also looking at starting or contributing to a scholarship fund for seminary students to help support people like ourselves going into ordained ministry. And we cannot do these things if we are spending all of our money of the... niceties of life.
So that has been our trip down stewardship lane. What has been your experience with churches and the topic of tithing and stewardship? Have you heard a good sermon on it, or have they all been kind of oppressive? I have very strong views on the role of the disciple when it comes to giving, but I feel like this has not been very well translated into the sermons that we give on Sunday mornings. I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on it and how you see your walk with Christ in respect to your money and resources.
Well, that's it for us! You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Jess and Wes
Monday, October 25, 2010
Marriage
Jess: So I just read a really depressing article about how a company called Wedlock has created "divorce insurance" offers to give you money for expenses if you and your spouse decide to get divorced. Although I have many friends whose parents have divorced and am the product of a broken marriage myself, I think that this is so completely ridiculous. Why and how has our society moved so far from the sanctity of marriage? We're so concerned about who can marry whom, when they can get married, how they can get married, etc, that we have completely lost our view of what marriage is meant to be.
I know Wes and I have been married for less than a year, but we entered into marriage as a lifetime commitment, not as just another relationship. Marriage is not the same as dating someone--marriage is saying that you are willing to be with the same person for the rest of your life, even when times get tough. If you are not willing to share your life with someone, to overcome the temptation that other people will provide, to commit (if you want) to having and raising children with that person, growing old with them, etc., then marriage is not for you. There are many people today that do not marry for whatever reason, and I think this is a perfectly good solution...some people simply do not want to get married. Times have changed, and this is an option not previously available.
That said, I believe that divorce is a possible solution to some marriage problems. I think that there are definitely some situations when people should not be married: abusive households being just one example. There are also some people who simply were never meant to be married in the first place, made a mistake, etc. But divorce should not be the solution to every problem in every marriage. This is how we have such a high divorce rate in the United States, where people believe that divorce is as simple as breaking up. It is also why people get divorced, remarried, divorced, and remarried yet again, which is a major factor in the divorce rate. People who enter marriage with the right mindset to begin with may in fact get divorced, but they are not the ones who cause this statistic to skyrocket.
Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox. I was just so extremely disappointed by this new development that I had to put my thoughts out there. I hope no one is upset by this- I just wanted to share my views.
Wes: My best friend and brother, Tomas, was the best man at our wedding. In his speech at our wedding, Tomas said that he knew that Jess and I would last for "several years." We've joked about this ever since January, that he, at our wedding reception, decided that we would only be married for "several years." But the truth is, Tomas has told us multiple times that he knows that we'll be one of the ones that last.
Thinking about it, a lot of my friends are getting/have gotten married of late. I cannot think of any of them who are not the type of couple that will last. Chris and Melendy. Amanda and Jeremy. Jon and Lauren. Justin and Sarah. Andrew and Brandy. I know that we are a small group of couples in the midst of a large world full of them, but I am proud to say that I firmly believe that God has blessed me in letting me be a part of a fellowship of believers that are all "ones that will last." We're like a bunch of little puzzles with only two pieces each. It's easy to see we fit with one another, and there's no use trying to match us with any other piece (the pieces signify people for those of you who could not follow the metaphor. Sorry. I've been watching big bang theory and have gotten used to people explaining jokes and comparisons to Sheldon).
I am a firm believer that God made us to be creatures of company. We were created to be around others. I am blessed to have Jess, someone with whom I can share every aspect of my life. I do not hold that everyone is made to enjoy the same type of relationship that I have with Jess, but I do hold that all of us are made to be in fellowship and be in community.
On a very different note, Jess and I bought a pack of the Ghirardelli peppermint and dark chocolate squares the other day, and they are delicious.
That is all for now. Thus ends the reading. You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Wes and Jess
I know Wes and I have been married for less than a year, but we entered into marriage as a lifetime commitment, not as just another relationship. Marriage is not the same as dating someone--marriage is saying that you are willing to be with the same person for the rest of your life, even when times get tough. If you are not willing to share your life with someone, to overcome the temptation that other people will provide, to commit (if you want) to having and raising children with that person, growing old with them, etc., then marriage is not for you. There are many people today that do not marry for whatever reason, and I think this is a perfectly good solution...some people simply do not want to get married. Times have changed, and this is an option not previously available.
That said, I believe that divorce is a possible solution to some marriage problems. I think that there are definitely some situations when people should not be married: abusive households being just one example. There are also some people who simply were never meant to be married in the first place, made a mistake, etc. But divorce should not be the solution to every problem in every marriage. This is how we have such a high divorce rate in the United States, where people believe that divorce is as simple as breaking up. It is also why people get divorced, remarried, divorced, and remarried yet again, which is a major factor in the divorce rate. People who enter marriage with the right mindset to begin with may in fact get divorced, but they are not the ones who cause this statistic to skyrocket.
Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox. I was just so extremely disappointed by this new development that I had to put my thoughts out there. I hope no one is upset by this- I just wanted to share my views.
Wes: My best friend and brother, Tomas, was the best man at our wedding. In his speech at our wedding, Tomas said that he knew that Jess and I would last for "several years." We've joked about this ever since January, that he, at our wedding reception, decided that we would only be married for "several years." But the truth is, Tomas has told us multiple times that he knows that we'll be one of the ones that last.
Thinking about it, a lot of my friends are getting/have gotten married of late. I cannot think of any of them who are not the type of couple that will last. Chris and Melendy. Amanda and Jeremy. Jon and Lauren. Justin and Sarah. Andrew and Brandy. I know that we are a small group of couples in the midst of a large world full of them, but I am proud to say that I firmly believe that God has blessed me in letting me be a part of a fellowship of believers that are all "ones that will last." We're like a bunch of little puzzles with only two pieces each. It's easy to see we fit with one another, and there's no use trying to match us with any other piece (the pieces signify people for those of you who could not follow the metaphor. Sorry. I've been watching big bang theory and have gotten used to people explaining jokes and comparisons to Sheldon).
I am a firm believer that God made us to be creatures of company. We were created to be around others. I am blessed to have Jess, someone with whom I can share every aspect of my life. I do not hold that everyone is made to enjoy the same type of relationship that I have with Jess, but I do hold that all of us are made to be in fellowship and be in community.
On a very different note, Jess and I bought a pack of the Ghirardelli peppermint and dark chocolate squares the other day, and they are delicious.
That is all for now. Thus ends the reading. You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Wes and Jess
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mommy!
Jess: This weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Rejoice (my home church) Women’s Retreat in New York. It was great to be able to see some of the women I’ve known for so long, and I really appreciated the chance to spend time with them as an adult. It was an amazingly uplifting experience, and I hope to get the chance to go again in the future. Not only did I have a great time hearing about some powerful, influential women in the Bible, but I was spiritually renewed, as well. Plus, all the women who have known me since I was a kid gave me wonderful support as I pursue my call to ministry. I was really impressed at their ability to treat me like an adult. I know it’s tough to do that when you’ve known someone since they were a kid. It was definitely something I needed, since I am at a pretty interesting point of my journey.
Although the spiritual side of the retreat was absolutely fantastic, it was also a great time to see my mommy. We haven’t really had a lot of time to just hang out since I started college, so I really enjoyed having a couple of days to just talk with her about our lives. It reminded me that actually seeing people is so important and makes such a difference. Sometimes I just need a hug from my mom, and it was nice to get a few extra this weekend to last me through till Christmas. Despite the lack of sleep throughout the weekend, the laughter and stories were fantastic!
Well, that was the big highlight of my life this last week. Now I have to rewrite my sermon for Sunday (Wes decided he’s working too hard :-P) because I realized that I wasn’t going to preach the message God wants me to. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to say, but I know I wasn’t going in the right direction. And I think Wes survived the weekend pretty well without me; he even managed to clean the house! It was great to come home and not have to worry about that. Everyone who has ever been on a retreat knows that the return to “real life” is a pretty difficult one. Between the eight hour drive and not having to cook, clean or do laundry when I got home, I think I had a pretty nice transition between retreat and life, and I’m ready to share my excitement with others!
Wes:
So, my friends, I've been really impacted by all of the suicides that have been happening throughout the nation. It is horrible that we as a church are not standing up and showing love to those who feel so alone that they feel the only way to escape the oppression is to kill themselves. I preached on this on Sunday, sharing with my congregations the story of one of the victims, Tyler Clementi, who was a student at Rutgers, not 45 minutes away from us. I was very impressed by both church's response to this. Everyone that came up to me afterward was very moved by it and wanted to know how we can better minister to the people around us who need to know that the church is a place of love and safety. I told them in my sermon something that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in one of his sermons: if we passively allow evils to happen, we are cooperating with that evil and we might as well be a participant in it (this is paraphrased). The churches said they didn't want to passively sit back and let it happen, so in the future, we will be having conversations about what we as a church can be doing. I am very impressed with them and their willingness to love, not judge, those who need it the most.
I didn't get to go to any special retreat this last weekend. Instead, I had to chill at the house by myself. I got loads of stuff done, though, and I battled against aliens on Halo:Reach. I also had time to think about one of my papers this semester. Two of my classes' grades are solely based on one paper (per each of course). For my class on Reinhold Niebuhr and MLK, I am seriously considering writing my paper on their work (mainly MLK's) that corresponds with the Theology of the Cross. I am excited about this, and I need to get to work on it because I don't want to end the semester with two enormous papers and no time to do either. I have no idea what I'm doing for the other one, though...
I also started a Twitter account. Yeah, I know, lame. But I did it for a class. One of my professors assigned it as a way to work on writing more concisely. My name is pstrwes, and I've been using it to share different things that I have learned in my classes or while working on sermons, and I am hoping that it will lead to some neat bits of wisdom for myself and those that might stumble across the page.
Well, that's all that I can think of to write. So... that's all for now!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
News, News, and More News. Also Some Random Ramblings by Wes.
Jess: So we've been terribly bad at updating our blog, and this is clearly an important time in our lives. I'll let Wes tell you the best news of all, and I'll do a little updating on how things are going in general.
We've finally gotten what I would call "settled" into the parsonage, most of the dirty things are now clean, most of the unpainted things are now painted, etc. We know where to shop, where to go to get local produce, how to avoid traffic jams, etc. I have to say that I'm so excited to have our own house (and it's wonderful to not have the actual responsibilities of owning a house). I have thoroughly enjoyed making the house home, and I think Wes has, as well. It's great to have some pride in the place we live, instead of just moving our furniture and other junk into it and knowing it's a temporary thing, as we have for the last 4 years of college and the time I took off/we were living at the seminary. It's truly home and we feel truly blessed to have it.
Speaking of home, we had the churches' potluck at our house this last weekend. Twenty-seven people crowded into our living room, and we had some of the greatest food. Everyone from the churches mixed well together and we had some pretty amazing conversations. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to do that, and hilarious to see people try to get in and out of the seating! We ended up passing all the desserts around because we weren't sure we would get everyone back in the seats after all of that eating!
In other news, I've been taking an online class through Luther Seminary on the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). It's been a wonderful experience and not as scary as I originally thought it would be to go back to school after almost a year and a half off. I've learned a lot and it's great to be able to talk about my academic life with Wes again. It also means I'm going to be able to accelerate my time when I actually attend seminary full-time, so we'll hopefully be back in Texas working a year earlier than we originally anticipated. Not that I don't love NJ, but I sure love Texas...
Speaking of NJ, it's been raining cats and dogs for almost a week now, with no end in sight. We finally slipped below the 60 degree mark and had to turn the heat on. I'm so excited to see a fall and winter here, and I hope NJ doesn't disappoint. We only have so many northern falls/winters to go through before we head out of here!
Wes:
So there is good news, and there is bad news. As always, the bad news first, so we leave remembering the good (thank you, standardized testing, for teaching me how to write a cookie-cutter essay). The bad news: I've lost my rain coat, and that makes me sad.
The good news: I met with my candidacy committee--formerly known as the San Antonio District's District Committee on Ministry--a couple weeks ago and was unanimously voted to continue on in the candidacy process to become an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Golf clap, please. AAAAAnnnnnddddd, they also voted to recommend me for local pastorship, which means that in the next few months, I will be able to administer the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism at Ellisdale and Crosswicks UMC (those are the churches that I am pastoring if you didn't know). That deserves a standing ovation. Not for me, not for the committee, but for God, and all of the wonderful things that God is doing in and through Jessica's and my ministry. We are truly blessed to be a part of it.
In other news, I have started my second semester at Princeton Seminary. I thought it was weird being a new student in the Spring term... It is even weirder being the only second-semester first-year student at the seminary! I feel the need to explain to everyone that I am not just a junior, but a second semester junior, which is why I know where all of my classrooms are and don't have that look of foreboding on my face as do the other wide-eyed first years. Not that I'm much better--I still don't know the names of all of the buildings, or where everything is. Pretty much, I know where my classrooms are, where the computer lab is, and where I eat.
My classes are going well so far. I am taking a speech class, which is kind of redundant after extensive theatre work and working in churches for so long, but it is a one hour required course, and so far it's been nice to have a class that I don't have to prepare for at all. My class on the Apostle Paul and Karl Barth is very interesting. We are going through the book of Romans, looking in-depth into Barth's commentary on the epistle, but also bringing in a lot of other commentaries and popular interpetations of the text. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of it goes over my head, but I love the book of Romans, so I'm not complaining. I am also taking a class on Rienhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr., which is by far my favorite class. It is very practically driven and looks at the theological aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Cool stuff. Finally, I am taking a history class that is all about early and Mideival Christian artifacts, very interesting, but most of the readings are absolutely BORING. And it's a three hour block class, so today I had to bite the side of my mouth to stay awake through the whole thing.
So, when you move past church stuff and school work, I don't have much going on in my life. I have re-acquainted myself with that glorious concoction known as coffee, and we have picked up our relationship right where we left off last semester. This leads to me being very awake in the morning, and slightly droopy around mid-day, but hey, it wakes me up, and it tastes oh-so good.
Well, my friends, that is all for now. Jess and I have promised each other and God (that's called a covenant) that we will write on here more often, so come back often and read up on the exciting roller-coaster ride that is our life. For now, though:
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
We've finally gotten what I would call "settled" into the parsonage, most of the dirty things are now clean, most of the unpainted things are now painted, etc. We know where to shop, where to go to get local produce, how to avoid traffic jams, etc. I have to say that I'm so excited to have our own house (and it's wonderful to not have the actual responsibilities of owning a house). I have thoroughly enjoyed making the house home, and I think Wes has, as well. It's great to have some pride in the place we live, instead of just moving our furniture and other junk into it and knowing it's a temporary thing, as we have for the last 4 years of college and the time I took off/we were living at the seminary. It's truly home and we feel truly blessed to have it.
Speaking of home, we had the churches' potluck at our house this last weekend. Twenty-seven people crowded into our living room, and we had some of the greatest food. Everyone from the churches mixed well together and we had some pretty amazing conversations. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to do that, and hilarious to see people try to get in and out of the seating! We ended up passing all the desserts around because we weren't sure we would get everyone back in the seats after all of that eating!
In other news, I've been taking an online class through Luther Seminary on the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). It's been a wonderful experience and not as scary as I originally thought it would be to go back to school after almost a year and a half off. I've learned a lot and it's great to be able to talk about my academic life with Wes again. It also means I'm going to be able to accelerate my time when I actually attend seminary full-time, so we'll hopefully be back in Texas working a year earlier than we originally anticipated. Not that I don't love NJ, but I sure love Texas...
Speaking of NJ, it's been raining cats and dogs for almost a week now, with no end in sight. We finally slipped below the 60 degree mark and had to turn the heat on. I'm so excited to see a fall and winter here, and I hope NJ doesn't disappoint. We only have so many northern falls/winters to go through before we head out of here!
Wes:
So there is good news, and there is bad news. As always, the bad news first, so we leave remembering the good (thank you, standardized testing, for teaching me how to write a cookie-cutter essay). The bad news: I've lost my rain coat, and that makes me sad.
The good news: I met with my candidacy committee--formerly known as the San Antonio District's District Committee on Ministry--a couple weeks ago and was unanimously voted to continue on in the candidacy process to become an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Golf clap, please. AAAAAnnnnnddddd, they also voted to recommend me for local pastorship, which means that in the next few months, I will be able to administer the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism at Ellisdale and Crosswicks UMC (those are the churches that I am pastoring if you didn't know). That deserves a standing ovation. Not for me, not for the committee, but for God, and all of the wonderful things that God is doing in and through Jessica's and my ministry. We are truly blessed to be a part of it.
In other news, I have started my second semester at Princeton Seminary. I thought it was weird being a new student in the Spring term... It is even weirder being the only second-semester first-year student at the seminary! I feel the need to explain to everyone that I am not just a junior, but a second semester junior, which is why I know where all of my classrooms are and don't have that look of foreboding on my face as do the other wide-eyed first years. Not that I'm much better--I still don't know the names of all of the buildings, or where everything is. Pretty much, I know where my classrooms are, where the computer lab is, and where I eat.
My classes are going well so far. I am taking a speech class, which is kind of redundant after extensive theatre work and working in churches for so long, but it is a one hour required course, and so far it's been nice to have a class that I don't have to prepare for at all. My class on the Apostle Paul and Karl Barth is very interesting. We are going through the book of Romans, looking in-depth into Barth's commentary on the epistle, but also bringing in a lot of other commentaries and popular interpetations of the text. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of it goes over my head, but I love the book of Romans, so I'm not complaining. I am also taking a class on Rienhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr., which is by far my favorite class. It is very practically driven and looks at the theological aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Cool stuff. Finally, I am taking a history class that is all about early and Mideival Christian artifacts, very interesting, but most of the readings are absolutely BORING. And it's a three hour block class, so today I had to bite the side of my mouth to stay awake through the whole thing.
So, when you move past church stuff and school work, I don't have much going on in my life. I have re-acquainted myself with that glorious concoction known as coffee, and we have picked up our relationship right where we left off last semester. This leads to me being very awake in the morning, and slightly droopy around mid-day, but hey, it wakes me up, and it tastes oh-so good.
Well, my friends, that is all for now. Jess and I have promised each other and God (that's called a covenant) that we will write on here more often, so come back often and read up on the exciting roller-coaster ride that is our life. For now, though:
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Birthdays!
Jess: Although we technically celebrated Wes' birthday as a married couple, I'm not really counting that because we were on a cruise. He got to choose all of our activities for the day, but there was a limit to what he could choose, and we were still on our honeymoon cruise! So I was extremely excited for the chance to spend some exciting time together.
I chose to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania. For those of you who are not geeks like Wes and me, this is the location where The Office, one of our favorite shows, takes place. I wanted to go to see the sites that are actually in the show, but it turns out that Scranton is smack dab in the middle of some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen.
We landed a beautiful Radison hotel room in a converted train station with sleep number beds (yes, they gave us two beds for some reason) and a nice view of the city. We spent the couple days we were there exploring the "sets" of the Office, the steam engine museum, and Bushkill Falls. We also ate a ton of delicious food and read more than I think we have in months! We had a no computer no cell phone rule so the silence was golden. It was wonderful together time, and a great way to relax before the school year begins.
As far as school goes, I'm starting a class on the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) starting on Tuesday and I'm excited to be back in school. It's definitely going to keep my theology brain working while I wait around for Wes to finish school. I've been reading these books already, and I'm excited to learn some more about the Old Testament. And my relaxing vacay has prepared me for it!
Wes: I gotta tell you. Everyone here thought that we were crazy for going to SCRANTON for a weekend getaway (that of course happened over the week since I only work on Sundays... That's a pastor's joke for those of who didn't catch on!). But you know, it was a good deal of fun! Apparently, we weren't the only two people to ever go to Scranton on an Office hunt. The mall was full of Office paraphernalia, and there was even an Office store full of souvenirs for the avid fan... And by store, I mean a small kiosk that we literally walked throughout the entire mall TWICE to find. And then we realized that the NBC store at 30 Rock in NYC had all of that stuff and more for less money. Kinda sad...
My favorite part of Scranton was Poor Richard's Pub--as seen on The Office--where Jess and I bought a koozy with the Michael Scott quote "Ain't no party like a Scranton party cuz a Scranton party don't stop!" Also, the bartender there was really cool and laid back-- the kind of bartender I'd be if I was one, I hope.
I think that my least favorite part was the hotel people... The receptionist was kinda rude, and the bartender/waitress was horrible. No tip was left for her, that's for sure.
The Poconos were amazing! I truly love the mountains, and the waterfalls at Bushkill Falls were beautiful. I will say, though, that if I never have to climb another set of stairs up the side of a mountain, it will be too soon. Jess and I were both drenched in sweat when we were done, and we didn't have any dry clothes to change into afterward, so the ride home was just a little uncomfortable.
I feel relaxed and refreshed, though, and this week has continued to be pretty relaxing as well. Life is good, and God is good. He has blessed us immensely, and we are very lucky.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for listening!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
I chose to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania. For those of you who are not geeks like Wes and me, this is the location where The Office, one of our favorite shows, takes place. I wanted to go to see the sites that are actually in the show, but it turns out that Scranton is smack dab in the middle of some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen.
We landed a beautiful Radison hotel room in a converted train station with sleep number beds (yes, they gave us two beds for some reason) and a nice view of the city. We spent the couple days we were there exploring the "sets" of the Office, the steam engine museum, and Bushkill Falls. We also ate a ton of delicious food and read more than I think we have in months! We had a no computer no cell phone rule so the silence was golden. It was wonderful together time, and a great way to relax before the school year begins.
As far as school goes, I'm starting a class on the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) starting on Tuesday and I'm excited to be back in school. It's definitely going to keep my theology brain working while I wait around for Wes to finish school. I've been reading these books already, and I'm excited to learn some more about the Old Testament. And my relaxing vacay has prepared me for it!
Wes: I gotta tell you. Everyone here thought that we were crazy for going to SCRANTON for a weekend getaway (that of course happened over the week since I only work on Sundays... That's a pastor's joke for those of who didn't catch on!). But you know, it was a good deal of fun! Apparently, we weren't the only two people to ever go to Scranton on an Office hunt. The mall was full of Office paraphernalia, and there was even an Office store full of souvenirs for the avid fan... And by store, I mean a small kiosk that we literally walked throughout the entire mall TWICE to find. And then we realized that the NBC store at 30 Rock in NYC had all of that stuff and more for less money. Kinda sad...
My favorite part of Scranton was Poor Richard's Pub--as seen on The Office--where Jess and I bought a koozy with the Michael Scott quote "Ain't no party like a Scranton party cuz a Scranton party don't stop!" Also, the bartender there was really cool and laid back-- the kind of bartender I'd be if I was one, I hope.
I think that my least favorite part was the hotel people... The receptionist was kinda rude, and the bartender/waitress was horrible. No tip was left for her, that's for sure.
The Poconos were amazing! I truly love the mountains, and the waterfalls at Bushkill Falls were beautiful. I will say, though, that if I never have to climb another set of stairs up the side of a mountain, it will be too soon. Jess and I were both drenched in sweat when we were done, and we didn't have any dry clothes to change into afterward, so the ride home was just a little uncomfortable.
I feel relaxed and refreshed, though, and this week has continued to be pretty relaxing as well. Life is good, and God is good. He has blessed us immensely, and we are very lucky.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for listening!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
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