If I had to pick one musician who has affected me the most there’s no doubt who it would be - Rich Mullins. Rich passed away 10 years ago today but his is the music I still fall back on. He wrote songs with substance, about real life and real struggles. And then in the next breath he was singing about how great and glorious our God is. And there was no disparity in those two things. Because for Rich, Jesus wasn’t an escape from this world’s troubles, but our anchor amidst them. He would tell us to “reach out to Jesus, hold on tight”.

I still remember hearing about his death. I was at work, sitting at my desk and I must have gotten an e-mail or something. Next thing I know there are tears welling up in my eyes. I had never, and haven’t since, felt such loss at the death of someone I’d never met. Part of me was actually mad that he wasn’t wearing his seat belt that day. Kinda selfish I suppose.

I still can’t adequately describe what made his music so special. Oh sure, I could come up with some good words but in the end they would just fall short. So, I’m just going to offer up a song.

1. Heroes (the tv show) rocks my socks off. If only it weren’t quite so blood and guts gross. Brian has been waiting all summer for the first season to come out on DVD so that he can get me hooked on this show. It’s a good thing he’s watching them with me. He tells me when I can uncover my eyes.

2. Two-year-old boys are high maintenance. Period. If yours isn’t, give him a month or two. They’re fun, but don’t take your eyes off them. And never leave salt shakers unattended and within reach of little fingers. Or jars of sprinkles.

3. There is nothing sweeter than a child singing Bible memory verses. Especially when they can’t quite pronounce all the words correctly.

4. There are simply too many pieces of paper in my house. I was reminded yesterday, though, that organization is not an indication of a person’s intelligence. As a matter of fact, the opposite could be true. Seriously.

5. I think I want this book. (HT: The Christian Mind)

6. Solomon prayed a great prayer in 1 Kings 8 when he dedicated the temple. I especially like this part where he prays that the temple and God’s presence in it will draw foreigners to call out to God. I read it remembering that God now makes me (and you!) his temple. What an amazing thought - that He is making Himself known and even drawing others to Himself through His dwelling in us. Gives one paws pause.

7. I must have one of the most patient husbands in the world. I’m awfully glad that my simple-mindedness doesn’t make him run away screaming. Most days he doesn’t even mind that I treat him as my own personal computer geek guru.

8. When more than one person tells you long involved stories that include hardships and culminate in God’s grace in the midst of it, does it ever make you wonder what exactly God is preparing you for through those folks’ testimonies? I’m not afraid of what’s coming, but I’m just saying…

9. High School Musical 2 is so much fun. A6 just had a birthday and she received the cd. I can’t seem to get the songs out of my head. Even S2 loves them. Maybe I should be doing something to counter-act the overdose of girl drama he’s receiving on a daily basis. Then again, maybe all of this will just make him a good husband one day.

10. Posts like this are hard to know when to end. I could keep going, but I’ll be surprised if any of this really interests many of you. I was just kind of feeling bad for not posting in eons and this was the easiest way to organize my thoughts. Obviously, I might need professional help.

Has it really been almost 3 weeks since we’ve posted? There’s just been lots of stuff going on that make it hard to sit down and write something out. Just a sample - Jenn’s been preparing for the start of Community Bible Study, one of the girls had to have some minor surgery, and then we had a weekend trip to Chicago in the midst of everything else. And those are just the “big” things. But I think things are slowing down a little bit so maybe we’ll have some spare time to devote to blogging.

We(Jenn and I) still have regular talks about whether to stay out our church or not. It’s a tough decision and quite frankly, a lot of it centers around the kids. But the situation there doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon so at some point we’re just going to have to buckle down and decide something. It’s so much easier just to put it off though…

Been reading quite a few new blogs from people either in the same place or further down the road than we are. Subversive Influence, Under The Grace, Thoughts from a Ragamuffin, and A Deconstructed Christian all provide some useful insights into what being part of the church is all about. You might not agree with everything they say but that’s not really the point, is it?

Speaking of blogs, ye olde blogroll is in need of some updating. Expect that within the next few weeks.

BTW, the picture above(click on it for a larger version) is of the bean in Chicago. It’s a great little town and we actually get to go back in about a month. So if you have any suggestions of things to do for a family with small children then suggest away. We’d love any ideas you might have.

Thanks!