MINISTRY UPDATE DECEMBER.2008

To view my ministry update letter for supporters of the ministry, click the first picture below, read it, then hit 'back' on your browser and click the second picture below and read it. If you'd like to save the images to your computer and read it that way, just right-click the image once you're viewing it large and choose 'Save Image.' Enjoy!

Dry Tears

I was at the 58conference November 7-8 that Chestnut Ridge Church put on, and I met some really cool guys from the organization Dry Tears, which they founded. The really awesome thing is, one's a senior in high school (Conner) and the other's a sophomore in college (Kyle)! I'm just so impressed that people so young are giving themselves to the work of justice (which was the theme of the conference, inspired by Isaiah 58).

Dry Tears is about providing one of the basic human needs that so many needlessly die from being without: water. Of earth's 6 and a half billion people, over 1 billion don't have access to clean drinking water. That's just rediculous. Most of the people who die from water-borne illnesses are children. Conner and Kyle heard about this stunning situation and were moved to action, but I think one of the details (the one for which they named their organization) is what caused them to really become passionate about the work that needs to be done. The terribly sad fact is, some children in this world are so dehydrated that their bodies can't produce the moisture needed to form tears. They cry but nothing comes out. Think about the last time you had a good cry. There's something healing in the saline moisture on your face, yes? There's some evidence that you've come through something; you wipe your eyes, and you begin to be restored. But these children sit in the dust and wail, dry as a bone, being killed from the inside out. Unbelievable.

Check out their website (I've added it to the JUSTICE section to the right) and get involved.

Drawer Geeks Jr.

So I've officially missed a WHOLE month of blogging (October 2008), not even keeping up with my meager 3-a-month average. It stinks too, 'cause I feel like I have a lot to write about. I hope to make more regular writing a part of some changes to my routine that will bring some more balance to my life. I help with a lot of events in the ministry, and while I find great joy in doing those things, engaging in the creative is something molded into us by the finger of the Creator God, and I think if we don't take time for it we'll be less peaceful and more stressed.

In keeping with that sentiment, then, I've recently become part of a little community of artists (all of them more worthy to bear that title than I) mostly from Huntington University, a Christian liberal arts school my sister Colleen attends in Indiana. She asked me and my brother Christopher, who lives in Knoxville, TN to be part of it as well, and there may be others in it who aren't at Huntington. They call it Drawer Geeks Jr., apparently as an unofficial shoot-off from 'the real' Drawer Geeks. We have a theme every couple weeks, and that's basically all the structure there is to it. Yesterday I turned in my first effort for the theme WITCH. Here it is (I created it in a free program called Seashore):I'm really a fan of artistic collaboration. I've done it with half a dozen people in songwriting, and even being a small part of a community like Drawer Geeks Jr. really helps sharpen your own skill and to see all the infinite directions a creative mind can stylistically take. Plus it's just fun to do something like this for the heck of it, not for any grade or specific evaluation! I've added a link to the blog where my sister posts everyone's creations; check it out, there's some amazing stuff there.

MINISTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER.2008

Here's my newest ministry update letter for those who support the ministry through finances or prayer (but anybody can read it!).

Click on each picture to read it or download it.

ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE

This is an awesome tour coming up with Derek Webb and others. We tried to get them to come to Morgantown, but it didn't work out unfortunately.

I just love the title: ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE. It's really neat because at so.zo (the coffeeshop/cereal bar I help with), those are the very three words we use in a little business card holder that says: 'SO.ZO SUPPORTS...' and then those three words are listed, and underneath that is the appropriate business card of the person who oversees each of those areas of so.zo's mission (I'm under the MUSIC one).

Kind of the byline for the tour is using is: 'HOPEFUL*INSPIRED*INVOLVED' and again, this is really clever marketing because it speaks to and corresponds with the roots of the three ideas of art, music, and justice. (And of course it's more than just clever marketing because these artists are really committed to what they're purporting to be.)

A slogan for the tour is: 'ADD TO THE BEAUTY, SEEK JUSTICE & GIVE GOD PRAISE.' I think each of us could adopt this as a life vision in some way. Think about how you're living or not living out each of these mantras.

The tour is partnering with two wonderful organizations: International Justice Mission and Food for the Hungry. Check out the websites, see if you can swing coming to a tour date, and think about getting involved.

...hmm...

We're still alive... New post coming soon.

Sarah's haircut

My baby done cut her hair!

Well, I seem to pretty much only blog when friends/family cut their hair lately. If not as drastic a change as Billy's recent 'follicle-length-reduction,' this is still pretty significant.

My wife, Sarah, who is known for her long, thick, beautiful dark hair, has been thinking for a long time about getting rid of some of the weight. (She and I have had a longstanding feud about who's hair is thicker, hers or mine, but really hers definitely is. I get the award for 'most volume' though!) As usual with haircuts, a little more came off than she wanted, but the cool thing about hair is that it grows. And it really does look pretty cute!

Here's the new Sarah:

Here's her 'prize' to scale (she's donating it to Locks of Love); this thing is so substantial and since it was a part of our lives for such a long time, it's almost like a dead creature:

And here's a look at the cross section. It's hard to really appreciate without seeing it person, but this is some thick hair!

So, it's sort of the end of an era. But not really. She's growing it back out.

LT 2008 newsletter

Click on each picture to read that page of the newsletter.