Mr Anderson...

Follow the white rabbit! I was hoping I would come out as Napolean Dynamite!

You scored as Neo,
Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix.

Neo the "One". Neo, the "One" 88% William Wallace 79% Captain Jack Sparrow 75% Batman, the Dark Knight 75% James Bond, Agent 007 71% El Zorro 71% Lara Croft 63% Maximus 63% The Terminator 54% The Amazing Spider-Man 54% Indiana Jones 54% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Where sadness and joy meet...

For the last 4 months I have had the opportunity to invest my life into the High school ministy of Elmbrook Church. Insight, has been a huge blessing to me. As I have served, I have been encouraged and affirmed in so many ways. I could go on about the amazing staff I have worked with, the incredible adults who are investing in the lives of these students as volunteers, and the absolutely amazing students that are part of this ministry. All three of these groups of people have been such an massive blessing in my life. These four months, have been one of my favorite seasons of ministry in my whole life.

And now it is done and I am really sad and heartbroken to move on so quickly.

Over a month ago, the senior leadership approached me with a very interesting proposal. They were about to name Ryan to be the High school pastor, and that was going to be especially challenging for the church since it would leave the Jr high position open and force Ryan into doing some hard core double duty. As I talked about this with the Leadership of the church, it seemed really obvious that I could help out. After much thought and prayer, and long conversations, I agreed to have my intership reassigned to the Jr. High Ministry for the rest of the year. The opportunity to invest in this ministry and these students has captivated me.

And now, I am just starting, and I am incredibly excited. I seriously cannot wait to hang out with Jr High students and leaders.
But right now, I sit at an intersection of joy and sadness. I am so thrilled and humbled for the incredible trust that Elmbrook has placed in me to teach and shepherd in the Jr High ministry... I am so thankful for the opportunity for my life to be changed by being a part of the sr high ministry... I am stunned by the loss and stunned by the new blessing...

Getting the rug back under our feet...

Ok, so I am not the world's fastest remodeler. It is true. For the last three years I have been going through the process of gutting and remodeling our house. It's also true that after three years, I am still not finished and, thankfully, not divorced. I say this to reinforce that I am far from a fast worker, and that I have a very patient and encouraging wife... Even though I may not be the fastest, I have made some significant improvements.... with lots of help we now have: All new plumbing, two new bathrooms, a new entertainment room downstairs, a new office downstairs, two remodeled guest rooms upstairs, a new reversed set of stairs, and newly expanded Kitchen complete with a dishwasher and a new pantry closet, and a freshly carpeted hallway. As you can tell from the latest pictures I am not finished yet, but getting really close. Hopefully I will be able to finish the remaining big projects over my winter break, and maybe even have a house party early in 2006! Emily will have only endured living in a construction area for 2.5 years at that point. Thanks to all who have "volunteered" to help me with various aspects of the project, and to my neighbors, who have dealt with banging and sawing at 2am on weeknights!
In unrelated news, Francis is very cute. She loves to lie up against the heat vents on the new carpet. After she has been there for a while I swear she is like a limp noodle if you pick her up.