Really Random...

But worth the post... anytime a good friend is in a picture like this it's worth taking a look at... I love you Josh!!!



Hope you all had a good weekend...

-J

NC State vs. Maryland...

Saturday I had the priviledge of enjoying the game in one of the luxury boxes in Vaughn Towers at Carter Finely... Definately a cool experience to say the least... ok, I'm a little ashamed of how giddy I was... I mean, I love football... even more NC State football... The only problem is, I have this deal, where alot of people in one area around me makes me odly uncomfortable... I have some strange fear of mobs (more of tight spaces really)... it's like this - "hey, there are alot of people around me and I have no idea if they are all about to start getting really close to me... then it could be incredibly hard to breathe..." - so that really simplifies it and makes me sound strange, but at this point in my life I am ok with that... All that to say, sometimes it is hard to enjoy an entire football game live...

This was totally different. It was honestly like sitting in my living room with my wife and a few close friends... the only difference is when I look out my window from my recliner there is a live football game going on... CRAZY!!!

It made it all the better that the wolfpack pulled it out... such a good time...


Nice set-up...


Hard work...



Enjoying the game...



Pretty good seats...


A full fridge...


Good view...


lots of fun...

Love and Peace...

-J

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving... I hope you're able to spend it with the ones that you love. We truly have som much to be thankful for.

Last year at this time my wife and I had just left out good friends in Texas house and we were in LA celebrating Thanksgiving with the Ashdowns (actually they weren't the Ashdowns when we were there - hah)... Great friends on both of those stops of whom I actually miss very much...

Today Diana and I are laying low... We wanted to use this time to relax and really reflect on all we have to be thankful for... So, we're hanging out... eating some sushi and chinese takeout on a day where most of the country is eating turkey... I feel a new tradition coming on - hah...

This evening we'll prolly stop by my mom's house and say hello... That should be good times... I do miss not being able to Diana's parents on certain days but Christmas time is here now and we're gonna spend some time with them then...

Wishing you all a great day of being thankful and most likely enjoying some great food, time with family, and time with friends... Seriously if you are reading this and it's prolly b/c we on some level know each other. So, in light of that, I am thankful for our friendship... I have no doubt that in some way you have impacted my life for the better...

Praising God from whom all blessings flow...

-J

Amazed...

So it is Sunday evening about 10:30pm and I am thinking of how amazing it is to see God move. Within Hungry we have been in this series in Genesis for the last 8 weeks with the idea that maybe by looking at how our story with God began, we could get a feel for where He was leading us now. Words can't express what a journey the last 8 weeks have been for me (and from the way it seems a lot of others also).

While there is no way (really no point) I could sum up the time we've spent engaing this book in the Bible I will tell you my view of God and relationship with Him has changed. And I think what is so impactful to me is that I know I am not the only one. We (Hungry) have this desire to seek God and live out His dream for the church. Our desire is to do that together, in community, with one another.

Tonight we spent time reflecting, as a community, where we have been and how it has impacted us. Everyone there laid out their thumb print on a piece of paper and held it throughout the night while Jeff summed up where we had been. We talked about how this was God's story and how we fit into it. We talked about how there is something amazingly beautiful about this story that we call the gospel and how that part of the story impacts everyone of us. But, just as each of us has a different thumb print, it probably impacts us each in a different way.

So as a response to all of this we spent time in worship and writing on those pieces of paper (around the thumb print) how this gospel has reached us over the last eight weeks. What we had at the end of the night was a beautiful collection of how God is moving in the midst of our community. This was so amazing in realizing that the gospel reaches each of us right where we are. Jeff shared a few of them as we all left celebrating where God is leading us. Jeff said he was gonna post some of them on his blog here. I encourage you to check them out.

Well to wrap up these thoughts, I just want to say thanks to all who are apart of this community. What a joy it is living life and serving with each of you. The story of this community wouldn't be the same without each person who engages life here. For that I am thankful. I also am thankful to our God who beckons us to live in His story... a story of hope, a story of wonder, and a story of love...

I pray we would all be found by this story of God...

humbly,

-J

U2 tonight...

Last night Diana and I came to Augusta to stay with our friends Jeremy and Terra (definately on the greatest people in the world list). We had a great tour of Augusta from Terra and found a good pizza spot for lunch - real good micro brews...

Tonight the Burry's and us are heading to Atlanta for, say what... U2!!!! SOOOOO Stoked... Honestly I can't wait... we're leaving in about 20 minutes...

I'm sure most of us have something in our lives that you feel like is a gift just for you... I don't mean for no one else, but I mean something about that gift speaks to your soul - right to the core of who you are... There's a few of those gifts in my life... my wife, family, certain friends, God's church, and music... And this band has a large role in the latter... and in a wierd way, a mix of all...

Thanks to the giver of all gifts...

Tonight should be a night to remember... for a long time...

-J

I know I live in the ghetto, but…

This is really funny… I came home wed. night to find a lady who lives below me with her rear windshield knocked out. It was obvious it happened there (glass everywhere) so I assumed she didn’t know about it. It was 10:30pm so I was afraid of waking her 7 yr. old son but also knew she wouldn’t want to find out at 6:30am when she usually leaves in the morning. (not to the funny part yet – sorry)

So Diana and I were helping her clean it up and I got her window covered with duct tape and trash bags. While we were cleaning she mentioned earlier she saw a guy rolling a TV behind our building (said it was too heavy to carry). Right about then another guy pulled up to place and mentioned his friend was on his way home b/c he received a phone call saying his front door was open.

So… I suggested he go a make sure his TV was still there and to no surprise… it was gone (along with speakers, x-box, and audio receiver). So when the guy got home we asked the lady whose car got broken into what the guy looked like. Sounded a lot like a guy who we knew lived in the building next door.

Next we called the police but since it took them over 50 minutes to get there (different post altogether), my neighbor decided to go and look in the back window of the guy who is now… our suspect. Two minutes later he walks up yelling… “the @#*%$ has my stuff sitting on his back porch…”

And the winner for the 2005 Trailwood Heights least smartest crime… the guy who lives in the building next to me…

So seriously… this guy robbed his neighbor who lived 100yrds away and left the stuff sitting outside on his back porch… Unbelievable… it’s official… I live in crazy town. I know there are some problems with me making light of a troubled guy in a troubled place to live… but sometimes life makes you laugh…

The cops showed up and went through whatever normal procedures are... not sure of the final outcome, yet...

The night turned out well as ten of us from our apartment building ended up hanging out til 2:00 in the morning. It was nice to hang out with neighbors that I spend nowhere close to enough time with. So that was the up side to the evening…

Until next time… Don’t steal a car and hide it in your driveway two doors down…

Love and Peace,

-J

A beautiful story...

I try to spend time on a regular basis (not as much as I would like) reading this book called the Bible. Rarely do I leave a time spent with it and not be blown away by how it speaks to me. And honestly, it's not in a sense of "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do that". In fact when I hear it taught that way it sometimes loses that "sense of awe".

What I am talking about is how this book... this story of how God has interacted with man since the beginning of time (not sure I really understand what that means) still speaks straight to my heart. There is such a beauty in seeing it as... "this is how all this stuff got started and I am still apart of it all today". Within Hungry, our community here in Raleigh, we are going through a series on Genesis. I was talking to my buddy Jeff and telling him, to me the most amazing thing has been just realizing that this is how we got where we are. This is how God moves, this is how people have responded, and it still effects us today.

It's inspiring to know I am in some way tied into the promise God made to Abraham. Just that alone lures me to want to know God more. I want Him to lead me the way I have seen Him lead others. I don't have this desire or guilt riddin conscious to "be good". I just want to see God move in my life and more importantly in this world like I have heard of Him doing since the beginning.

To me, it seems God started this plan of redemption and rescuing of all things so long ago and He is still chasing that dream today... And we are still apart of that story...

To me it's so beautiful... and compelling...

Maybe just something to think about... prolly more on this later...

Love you all...

-J

Friday to Monday... Good Times...

Friday Night...
Dinner with the Moraski's... Feelin' the love... Great time... Very chill... Seriously... My man Karl can cook...

Then over to Erin Kish's for a bit... lots of laughs... tons of fun...

Saturday...
Band practice... love these people...
Later... NC State over Florida State... Oh YEAH!!!

Saturday night...
Chili Cook-Off... INCREDIBLE!!! Good food... Good times... Fun people... what a night... Thanks for all who made it out...

Sunday night...
Worship gathering with Hungry was incredible... I am so blessed to be apart of a community that is alive , moving, and seeking to be apart of God's Kingdom. It is becoming a group with such a mixture of people with all different backgrounds, places of spirituality, and views of life. I couldn't be more thankful to have a place to be apart of.

Then out to dinner with my beautiful wife and some of my favorite people in the world... Love you guys (and girls)...

Monday Night...
Dinner at my mom's with the family... Diana and I, Brandon and Julie, John, my mom and Rick... I love my family so much... What a blessing in my life...

So... It's been a crazy weekend. Kinda feels like we went from one thing to another but we loved every second of it. Come to think of it, this past week has been one of the busiest in a while. Prolly time to slow back down again. We did get to spend some time with a lot of great people. For that I am thankful.

Hope your week is starting off well...

Love and Peace...

-J