Here is 25 random things about me I posted on FB:
1. When I was 12, I used to ride my 3 speed bicycle from Carpentersville Il. to Lake Zurich Il. so I could babysit my sister Diann's two very young sons in the summer time. This was quite a bike ride one way (20 miles).
2. Sheila taught me how to watch for birds. When we were first married, we used to take evening walks and loved to watch nighthawks dive. Then she taught me to see red wing blackbirds among others.
3. Like Jennifer Ould, I think everyone in the world should go to Easter Vigil--especially the one the Church of Resurrection does. As a matter of fact, I introduced Easter Vigil to Jen. Its by far and away the closest thing I've ever seen a church come to blend reverence and uninhibited celebration and joy in response to Easter.
4. One of my most treasured memories is baptizing Jonathan when he was 10.
5. Sheila and I met for the first time on Feb. 21 1981 and we were baptized together on Feb. 21 1982 (and married in between). Feb. 21 is a much bigger day for us than Feb. 14.
6. Okay, I haven't seen this on anyone's list, so I will be the code breaker here and say after 27 years of marriage, sex is one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. It is still wildly unpredictable, sweet, passionate and fun!! Hollywood has no clue when they portray passionate sex between new people as the only way to have wild, passionate, sweet fun.
7. Sheila broke her toe after a month into our marriage. We were just horsing around in bed being goofy and she kicked my chin. It was funny to hear her tell others how she broke her toe.
8. I took Jonathan to a Rolling Stones concert (he loved their music) on his 21st birthday. I shocked him. I would gladly do it all over again.
9. I've have attended a reformed baptist church, a charismatic anglican church, and now an emerging CMA church. I love the authenticity in our current community. I think authenticity is so missional. I know some see authenticity as a fad. I see it as reflecting the heart of the Trinity and ministry.
10. I've never had any kind of surgery, praise God.
11. I listened to the pop hit songs of U2 and Rich Mullins for many years. I couldn't afford any of their records in the 90's because I made so little money (see previous list). Jennifer Ould though, introduced me to the deep cuts of both Mullins and U2 by giving me their cds for my birthday & Christmas six years ago. For that, I am forever grateful to her and God.
12. I love Jesus. I love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I love Nicene Creed.
13. More and more for me at 50, life is about love--first loving those closest to you with a fierce, self-giving, life-giving, freeing love and then spreading that outward to others. The greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13).
14. I worked 19 jobs between the time I was 16 and the time I was 20.
15. No kidding, my first desire to write a book a few years ago was to write a book about the joy of enjoying the gift of pleasure and sex as best friends in marriage--even after many years. See number 6. I still might do that someday.
16. When I am not working these days, I love what I am doing--ministry--loving people, praying for people, mentoring people. etc. I wish I could do that full time. I love pastoral ministry and discipling people (don't read a cookie cutter definition into that term--that is a wide ranging term for me).
17. I love the freedom and deep blessing of healthy, cross-gender transmarital friendship intimacy. Some don't understand it and are uncomfortable with it, but there is incredible richness and sweetness when a healthy close, cross-gender friendship coexists freely with a healthy, close marital intimacy.
18. I love Sheila's simple trust and faith in Jesus and her wild and generous and risky spirit to go with the flow and enjoy life with a passion. Sheila is so intelligent but she embodies the beautiful simplicity of following Jesus.
19. I love my best friend (beyond Sheila) Jennifer's simple trust and faith in Jesus, and her wild and generous and risky spirit to go with the flow and enjoy life with a passion. Jen is so intelligent but she embodies the beautiful simplicity of following Jesus.
20. I love Matt Tebbe and I so appreciate the deep, intentional, mutual intimacy we have entered into.
21. It seems like it has taken me a long time to get where I am now--enjoying healthy intimacy in marriage, close friendships and passionately loving others and trying to see them as Jesus sees them and love them as Jesus loves them. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
22. Because of my passionate energy, as one friend put it to me this week, I can "easily be misread." Me?
23. I love fb.
24. I also love my good friend, Jennifer Roach. God has given us a wonderful friendship even though she lives 2,000 miles away. But if you know me, you all know that.
25. At this point in time, the wait for my book is killing me. But the Lord has done such a wonderful job of distracting me the past two months. I still believe it is going to be published.
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