Thanks!

A friend of mine from law school, who I don't see very much any more, reminded me that her partner is a plumber. We need a plumber. I was hesitant to call her about asking him to help us out. It feels so selfish when you don't see someone very much and then only call when you need something. But I did call. He did the work that he could, and so far it seems to have been a quality job, and he charged a rate that was more than fair. How lovely to be treated well. He'll certainly get our business again.

Questions to Ask During Lent

I found this in my files, it's from my time at CBC. I thought some of you might like to work through the questions.

Questions to Ask During Lent

1. What progress am I making in sharing gladly what I have with others, particularly with the stranger and the poor?

2. What attitudes do I convey to those who irritate me? How can awareness of my own need of God's grace enable me to be more gracious to them?

3. How has my sense of interconnectedness in corporate worship grown of late, and how can I move ahead in appreciating the contributions and needs of other members in the congregation to which I belong?

4. Am I as charitable and thoughtful to family members as to others? Or do I "take it out" on my family when life at school or work gets hectic?

5. Can I redistribute my long-range personal budget in order to have more money to give away?

6. When I hear someone being unjustly maligned, do I speak up to correct the record, or am I a silent accomplice?

7. How can I more effectively and consistently support legislation and social programs that help the disadvantaged rather than hurt them?

8. In devotional acts of prayer and reading, am I increasing my attention span and discovering new ways of listening rather than of talking, giving thanks rather than of complaining?

9. As I uncover and attempt to deal with one level of prejudice in my life, what other levels do I find lurking underneath, and how can I confront them?

10. In addition to intercessory prayer, what habits can I develop that allow me to be more responsive to the sick, the distressed, and the bereaved, particularly when their needs emerge suddenly and allow for such unanticipated opportunities to minister to others?

11. Am I, by consistent attendance at worship, a witness to others of the worthiness of the God I follow? Or am I, by my sporadic attendance, suggesting that God by worth serving some times, but not others?

Lent!

Yesterday was the big Lent kick off. Not to be confused with the big lint kick off. That usually happens on Thursday laundry days (sorry for wasting 15 seconds of your time on the last 2 sentences).
As a community, we are going to fast from consumerism. Everyone is going to make a different commitment level - but we are going to gather together twice a week with Jesus and each other to eat a tasty nutritious meal and pray.
I started some bad habits when I didn't have a stove and plan on totally breaking off those habits in this season. My fast from my consumer habits is going to including not buying packaged foods (including chips, chocolate, and pop), cutting back on alcohol, not buying clothes, shoes, books, or music, not eating out (or very rarely), not buying coffee, and going to no or less rock shows. Why? To become more aware of where my resources go. For health - to get back into good habits, and a spring cleaning of my body. To gather to fast and pray (for Heidi's condo to sell, for the bed bugs, the health of the house, for Candeo, for more unity and vision as a community). For an adventure with Jesus. I'm hoping to become more like Jesus by shopping more like Jesus. Would Jesus have dropped $80 on a steal of a deal M&N purse? Probably not. But it looks really really good. WWJB?

Before and After

Here are some before and after shots taken by J.

Living Room Chandelier:
Thanks to J (mostly) and S (a little)

BEFORE


AFTER


Dining Room Chandelier:
Thanks to J (mostly), S, and A (a little)

BEFORE


AFTER


Main Floor Toilet:
Thanks to D

BEFORE


AFTER


Main Floor Bathroom Tiles:
Thanks to J

BEFORE


AFTER

Time to Eat!

I got a stove. Now almost all of the suites have fully functioning kitchens (the upper level suite is having range issues). I got it hooked up on Monday. I am really looking forward to having a long weekend to do lots of cooking!
I am finally feeling settled in the house. It took me a really long time to adjust. Now I am less afraid of bed bugs and more inclined to hang out. After a couple of hours at home after work I migrate upstairs and hang out with whoever will let me. I was a little concerned about my alcohol consumption for awhile. We had a lot of wine leftover from our very fun housewarming. The good thing/bad thing about living steps away from good friends with lots of wine in the house is that you can just waddle down some stairs and then be home. But it's under control now.
What else?
It's time to start thinking about a garden! We're talking about a mural on the garage! The roof isn't leaking! PTL! (that stands for praise the lord) OMG LOL TTYL

Feels like home.

I enjoy calling On Earth home. It really does feel like home now. My things are around me and most of them have their place. We have addressed the most immediate concerns and have had no major new problems in a couple of weeks - praise God. Our first party was fun.
Favorite things so far - spontaneous dance parties, having someone around to share a bottle of wine with, someone who can take your laundry out of the drier if you have to leave before it is done. All simple things that give me a lot of joy.
I am away this weekend and missing home. It feels good to miss it - we aren't so crazy after all.

Yes and No

I like our house. Yes, we have bed bugs. Yes, the furnace broke down twice. Yes, we have had to replace one fridge and two ranges. Yes, the roof needs to be replaced, and there was leaking into Justina's room. And yes, her foot fell through the ceiling. Yes, we have a nice yard. Yes, birds like to hang out in a tree in the back. Yes, there are lots of people to dance with. Yes, there are lots of people to drink wine with and pray with. Yes, there is room for a dog. Yes, we are having our first party tomorrow night. And no, you probably won't get bed bugs.

HOUSE WARMING

Come warm our house on January 24th.

Open house style from 2-6.

Dance party fun at 8.

What Would Mike Holmes Do?

AHHH!!! Mike Holmes might go nuts with our house... maybe... maybe not.

We're learning... bed-bugs, a broken furnace, a broken fridge, a broken stove, a lock that doesn't open, paint peeling from the walls because of the condensation from the steam cleaning... ha. That sounds exhausting. Oh well.

7 of us live together, 7 of us stick together, 7 of us combined have 1,000,000 connections to help us get through all of these crazy times, 7 of us have bank accounts that can help all of us, 7 of us pray together because we are on the edge of frustration, 7 of us are still laughing... occasionally.

We got a sweet gift certificate for a great restaurant and we're going out for a fancy supper on Friday. Yay!

At Last

Finally it is ours. Months of planning, negotiating, waiting, and decision making and at last we got our house. We are partially moved in and of course hit a few snags along the way. One of our fridges doesn't work, a ceiling is peeling off, and then of course the gas leak. Only 2 days in and we are sure lots of surprises to come but we did it. I am proud of us all and I am so happy to finally be living in community. Don't worry a housewarming party is already in the works.

In case of breakdown...

On Earth is a community of friends, but it is also an incorporated company. It was an easy legal structure to get done what we wanted to get done.

I just finished preparing our unanimous shareholder agreement. A large part of it speaks to what will happen if things go wrong. If someone dies, if someone becomes incompetent, and if some the shareholders want other shareholder out. It's hard to imagine being in a place where we have to go to arbitration because we can't come to a consensus or a place where we have to force someone to leave.

I really don't think we're really going to need the USA (famous last words?), but it's wise to have it place.

Some people say that a prenuptial agreement takes away the romance. Does a USA put doubt on the quality of friendships?

We Got The House

We move in less than a month!

Here we go again...

Thy Kingdom Come

Enough of this house stress.

B-Rock's blog reminded me about our name and got me contemplating:

Your Kingdom come,
Your Will be done,
on earth,
as it is,
in Heaven

Eugene Peterson translates it as:

Set the world right;
Do what's best -
as above, so below.

I'm drawn mostly to the idea of God's kingdom here on earth; about setting the world right. (And those of you that know me, know that I'm not interested in it in the sense of a theocracy, of imposing so-called biblical morals on all citizens.) I'm interested in how we live our lives in a kingdom way.

I googled "thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven" and found this blog post (and having read only this one post, make no claims as to the quality of the rest of the blog) that got me thinking some more.

I have more thoughts on this, but I want to hear what some of you guys think about our name sake.

Assess This, Mister

I have come into this housing business with a guarded heart. I have wished for it for so long, and knew that it might not turn out as I wish. Yesterday was closing day. Yesterday we found out that the bank assessed the building for a lot less than we were going to pay for it. Yesterday, we managed to negotiate a later closing date to get a second assessment. Yesterday...

I am already learning more about what its like to live in intentional community. I am going to live with beautiful people with beautiful lives who are way different than me. Way different is an exaggeration. Indie rock. Crushes on boys. Christian. Social justice. Etc. Those things are quite similar. The differences are how we relate to indie rock, boys, Jesus, social justice, etc. I need to/choose to guard my heart pretty much all of the time in all situations. I was excited about the house, but I didn't want to talk about it too much, and when I did I liked to frame it with "we don't have it yet, hold your congratulations until closing". My lovely friend Becky, as demonstrated in her last post, loves talking and getting people excited. Thank you, dear Jesus, for making us all different. Thank you for the diversity in our sameness. Thank you for teaching us through each other. Thank you for helping us like different boys.