Tuesday, January 23, 2007

and on a side note... Diana and I have a new house...

find the pics here...

beautiful house... downtown... not exactly the safest neighborhood downtown.. ok, could be considered the "worst" in some regards... but only if you count things like "drug dealing" and "crime" as "bad"... Diana and I, on the other hand, are considering it a blessing to live life with people that are not exactly like us... that we would have the opportunity of not just seeing life as clean all the time... we are hoping it would change us... and that in some way we could offer change...

We hope in some ways this can speak to the idea of the gospel being counter-cultural... that we don't "need" to live lives isolating ourselves from those who are different... we are also convinced, for us, it is easier to pretend the world is better than it is by avoiding "broken places"... as a church we talk about the importance keeping ourselves around need and around the broken in an attempt to keep us sensitive to the world around us... we are certain, that without a doubt, this will keep need in front of our eyes like never before...

If I were honest, I selfishly... for the Kingdom's sake (if that makes sense) pray this would allow for others to want to do the same... I believe (in the core of who I am) it is possible for love to win in environments where people only know drugs, or hate, or crime, or prostitution... I believe the gospel calls us to live life free of fear and full of love for everyone on this earth and in every neighborhood...

my mom is nervous... mostly because she is the most loving mother a child could have... and she flat out loves me... she says she doesn't know if one family can make a difference... I told her that is ok b/c there are 2 families making the trip into the house...

yes there is a reason why I am saying we... yes it is more than just Diana and I... yes there is an explanation why these pics are on Jeff's blog too...

more to come...

-J

4 comments:

Danielle Paxton said...

i figure if you're not living in such a way as to make your momma a little nervous, then you're probably missing out on the adventure of following jesus (sorry mom)

Mike Morrell said...

Did I meet you at the Emergent Cohort last night? If so...hello (again)! And congrats on the home...you should come check out the Meredith Village apartment complex sometime.

Mike

Anonymous said...

sounds awesome man. Sory I didn't get to see you with the rest of the gang a few weeks ago. wilmington is nice. BTW a guy from our church, Dave Holt, knows you! sweet. send me an email sometime....

chad king

Patrick said...

sounds great. watch out for those ramsey boys though. i hear they have vicious double leg takedown.