where have i been??well, the holidays were great-as usual. i tried to soak up as much love and good cheer (and great music) to hopefully last a good ten months or so (though i've already found myself missing it). the first few weeks of december were spent working, spending time with my wife and writng two fairly large papers. one on the amazing story of jarius' daughter found in the synoptic gospels and the other a general research paper on the life and ministry of st. francis of assisi. i had a killer christmas day by receiving a 40lb strong's concordance, a new interpreter's study bible, a book and cd with every new yorker cartoon, and my very first digital camera. then jess and i hit the road, air, water, and train in our trek to europe. london, berlin, amsterdam, darmstat, berlin (again)and london(again). absolutely amazing. i must return. the week after we got back, my dear grandmother passed. it wasn't really expected, but at the same time, she was almost 89 and had had a wonderful life. my dear jessica played a beutiful prelude and a very touching "it is well with my soul." of the 7 grandsons and grandsons-in-law i am the smallest and the youngest, but it didn't stop me from being the lead pallbearer. it was yet another one of life's wake up calls that makes you (read: me) realize that there are more important things in life than seeking our (read: my) own desires. it still hurts. nevertheless, we (read: I) must press on. 48 hrs after the funeral, jess and i were on a plane headed to estes park, colorado for the vineyard worship leader's conference. i couldnt wait for she and i to get away (yet again) for some time alone surrounded by beauty. we rented an awesome jeep liberty (n.will would be proud) and headed into the mountains. honestly, i went prepared to sit in the room and read, mosey into the starbucks/library/and movie theatre in town, make snow angels and begin my quest to be a winter photographer. however, after attending the first worship session and small group meeting i was set on making the week a time of refreshment for my soul. words definitely can't describe what exactly took place. i have a different way to approach worship and prayer within the community that i am now able to transpose into my daily life....now it's just work and school. ( i am looking for a new job though...more on that later)...new testament II is really incredible. im being challenged and encouraged in my pursuit for theological understanding. now i must digress. nick hornby (author of high fidelity, about a boy, and many more great novels, short stories, films, plays and essays) has a fantastic column in believer magazine. i cant recall the exact title, but each (bi)month it starts with a list. "books i've read-books i've bought". it is then followed by an essay describing the books' contents and his opinions regarding them. i shall attempt to (somewhat) follow that model to catch you up on dec. and jan. reading lists. (just to outdo hornby i'll include where the book was purchased) books i read: black dogs (ian mcewan) hpb (nw houston) - brought along on the trip b/c it is set in various european cities we would be visiting. the most poignant being berlin. the epicenter of the book is the scenes that occur before, during and after the fall of the berlin wall. this section is roughly a mere 30 pps. so it is very fast and exciting. the diary of anne frank (anne frank) unknown - after touring the house she, her family, and several other families used for hiding from the nazis, i realized i was an idiot for having never read this book. it is gutrenchingly real at times and her honesty is underscored by her fabulous writing skills. it makes you (read: me) realize the unfortunate way we (read: I) take so many situations and comforts in life for granted. emerging churches (eddie gibbs, ryan k. bolger) amazon.com - read for my contemporary evangelism course to begin at the end of this month. an in depth look at the newest movement in the christian church. the text is based on organic research and narrative based "facts." a characteristic of the book that puts it on the forefront of the many others focused on this same topic is the presentation of perspective from not only american churches, but those in the u.k. and other parts of europe the celtic way of evangelism: how christianity can reach the west...again (george g. hunter) amazon.com - another conemp. evang. source. i attempted to read this when it came out (6 yrs. ago), but it was over my occidental head. not that i'm any farther along, but it seems highly interesting and fairly graspable now. basically it looks at st. patrick and his realtionship to the thousands of "barbarians" he (and god) converted. instead of hounding them and force feeding the gospel to them (the way the romans did), he lived with them (for many years) and embraced their culture and spoke to them in ways of art and community etc. if we (read: I) embrace this way of sharing spirituality to those "outside the camp" it may be a little more effective than the Roman (ahem: falwellian, robertsonian, et al.) way of doing things. books i bought: way too many!! : (a sampling) a kind of bible: vincent van gogh as evangelist (anton wessels) van gogh museum: amsterdam apparently, vvg desired to preach. instead he struggled with depression and mental anguish thus creating pricelss works of art and setting the stage for painters to follow. a scholarly presentation with b&w photos brooklyn follies (paul auster) the u.k.'s version of b&n - one of "america's" (he is heavily influence by his french culture but writes amazing stories of life in the usa - particularly ny) finest writers' 2005 novel. to be read by the pool/at the beach this spring/summer (fall/winter??----hey, global warming is more of a threat than you think) the age of illusion: england in the twenties and thirties 1919-1940 (ronald blythe) used bookstore in london purchased in a fit of bargainship and senitmentality. what better book to remember my visit to london than this (are you thinking the same thing i'm thinking??.......there's hundreds.) the flounder (gunter grass) (he wrote the tin drum...watch it/read it...it's gruellingly great!!) used bookstore in london perhaps my purchase seeking a german equivalent of the above work. also sentimental. also not the best representation of the overall literary feel of that part of the world, but it will have to do for now. books my wife read: on beauty (zadie smith) see brooklyn follies i have never read any of smith's novels, but have read her essays and heard her speak. for someone her age (early 30's) to be writing this way is pretty much unheard of. jess will tell you she didn't like it, but i'll let her tell you why ( i smell a book review!!). due to her negative remarks concerning the book, im not sure when i'll get around to reading it. however, i look forward to the great conversations that will come out of it. the thesis (can a novel have a thesis, i have often argued this in my head and with literary nerds) is based loosely upon eliane scarry's essay/lecture/book of the same title. scarry (what a cool last name) does a good job of describing life's intense relationship to art (created by humanity or otherwise) without pigeonholing a certain genre or attitude inwich it can be experienced. (possibly the most generic sentence i've every written). valentine's day begins in less than 6 hours...are you ready??....i am don't waste your time or time will waste you ~muse .............oops!! | 
