from Blue Ash (III)

Sunday evening before work I went by the Winton Ridge to see John & Brandy and enjoy some of John's top-notch burgers. He smashes up saltines and meshes them with the burger, then adds bacon bits and a variety of spices and gives the burgers his undivided attention on the grill. His meats are always a treat, and I'm reminded of how much I have to learn when it comes to cooking good meats. 

Jason's mom came by the house the other day.
"Are you in school?" she asked.
I told her I graduated about five years ago.
"Oh really? Is social work what you went into?"
I told her, No, biblical studies.
As I said it, Jason and Ben wrapped their arms around me at the same time.
"We love you! We love you! We love you!" they sang.
I looked at Mary, smiled, said, "I'm not mad about where I'm at."

Ams and I watched the second-to-last episode of The Walking Dead yesterday afternoon. The season finale is shaping up to be phenomenal. Mandy was introduced to The Walking Dead Friday night, and watching Episode 1 of Season 2, I'm amazed at how different all the characters have become. They're more raw, emaciated even, filthy, and consumed by the world in which they find themselves. The show may have started off being about zombies, but it's become about the characters, and the way the post-apocalyptic world weeds out the weak and glorifies the strong, at the expense of one's own humanity. Speaking of zombies, here's a picture taken from the bathroom in New Richmond:

That's the last thing you want to see when you have zombies on the brain.
I went into the bathroom to pee, but I ended up doing much more than that.
I'm not a zombie fanatic, despite my love for zombie shows.
Although, writing no less than five novels about zombies seems to say otherwise.
But I promise you: I'm far less into zombies than you think.
(That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the good zombie dream every once in a while)
"It's not a nightmare... It's an adventure!"

Mandy and I went to church at State Avenue this past Sunday. Acoustic worship, a beautiful sermon about the banquet party of Christ, a congregation of broken people praising God in the midst of their brokenness and chasing after healing in Christ--or, rather, being chased into healing by Christ himself. It was refreshing, really, to be in a place of such honest brokenness and recovery, and to be reminded that we are all broken and all in need of recovery; every one us, regardless of socioeconomic status or the way we look in the eyes of the world, are in need of the healing that comes from Christ. We all have our addictions, our wounds, our sin; some peoples' brokenness is evident at first glance, but lots of people are adept at hiding it, or better yet repackaging it in such a way that it's so congruent with what culture accepts, tolerates, and praises that such brokenness can even be seen as a virtue. A community of the so-called "dregs" of society praising God for His salvation and hope, praising Him for sobriety and rescue, praying for their lost and wandering friends and family, coming together united by the Spirit, being authentic and transparent about their desperate need for Christ... this is Corinth, Ephesus, Rome. And such were some of you. United in new life in Christ, empowered by the Spirit and redeemed by the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb, probing the depths of God's love and kindness, learning to live in rhythm with the kingdom. Churches can become so obsessed with being "hip" and "relevant" in the name of missions that their obsession turns from God to a sort of "spiritual" marketing. We can become so enamored by being part of the "cool church down the street" that we begin to forget about our brokenness, our desperate need for Christ, our wretchedness; we can become so wrapped up in the new brand of Christianity that seeks to be "authentic" that we lose authenticity as we lose sight of the nature of our true selves. Needless to say, I enjoyed being part of that community last Sunday.