Convenience

     There are benefits to living in the city. Things are close. We have every store you could want. There are two large airports within 30 miles. Diversity of peoples is fantastic. International people live in the neighborhood, even in our building, and others attend our church.

     Candace, Jedidiah and I went to the mall tonight to redeem some gift-cards. I don’t usually think this, but tonight I thought, “I do not like the mall.” I used to really love the mall. But I don’t like the mall right now. And not just because it’s busy and people are crazy. No, I think it has to do with taking another look at capitalism, and obligatory gift giving, and fair trade, and teenagers with a sense of entitlement, and on and on.

     We are addicted to comfort. Convenience is why some people move to the city. The rural people we used to live among would dream big about one day having an Olive Garden. They would love the variety of restaurants I can walk to on a lunch break. I love that too. And also, I don’t love that. Simplicity in this time and place is counter-cultural.

 

     In other (perhaps more interesting) news: We were very privileged to travel to Tampa to see Josh’s folks and grand folks and brother and sister and other McCallister-like folk. We had a traditional thanksgiving, starting with the parade, and separating kids and adults for the meal (4 out of 5 “kids” are married, the other is manager of a bank in San Diego) – we were forced to use plastic-ware and paper plates while the over 50 crowd used the china… 

Following the meal we had the traditional Thanksgiving gift-exchange (not going to see these people at Christmas). Merrpy Thanksmas!

Contemplative Drumming

     Moving to Chicago has been good for me (Josh) on several levels. Lately I have been included in a small cluster of visual artists that live here in Rebaville. We are together opening a gallery space on Main Street here in Evanston. For the opening show, we are making 100 paintings and attempting to sell them for $100 each. Consequently, I am painting a lot right now. (www.evanstonatelier.com) And I haven’t done much painting in the last few years.

     Another thing is the drums. I used to play the drum kit, and then I didn’t. But this morning I played in the worship band in our meeting. It felt pretty good to be in on that kind of fun again (though I was a little rusty). As I was learning the songs in the hour before worship started, playing together with people that I don’t really know and have never played with before, I was tempted to worry. And I worried. And I felt stress about not keeping up with them or playing badly or dropping a stick (these are the things that stress a drummer, because they are pretty noticeable). But I kept trying to pray at the same time, and remind myself that the music I help to make is for God not those people who gather together. (Recently I heard a man say that our music, our attempts to “give” to God are but refrigerator art to God).

     So there I am trying to keep cool, and not get the nervous shakes (because that too is noticeable from behind the drums) and I remembered something from Thomas Merton that says something to the effect of, “just sitting still and paying full attention to God is really difficult” (again, not a direct quote). So if sitting still in the quiet and being attentive to God is tough for a Trappist Monk, then what am I even thinking trying to be attentive to God whilst beating cymbals and such?

     I can’t say that I had great success in contemplative drumming, but I do feel like it was a good exercise. 

How About Some Pictures!

Our blogs have looked very wordy for awhile. Here are a few pictures to brighten things up! There is one picture from the Amtrak train ride (Jedidiah & I shared a cinnamon roll in the snack car), a few pictures with my sisters, and the last one is Jedidiah and I with a pizza we made together. 

An exciting week…

About a week ago, Jedidiah and I took the Amtrak to visit my sister Mallary and her husband Chip in Michigan. My sister Savanah also drove to Michigan from Kentucky for the weekend. It was great to be with family. Jedidiah had a blast with Aunt Mal, Aunt Savanah, and Uncle Chip. He was very talkative and full of energy all weekend. As sisters, it was a great time to feel at home together and to catch up on each other’s lives. I feel blessed to have such genuine, loving, Christian sisters. Hopefully, many more sister reunions will be possible with the three of us living a little closer together.

 

Another exciting piece of news from this week is that I got a job! Yay!! I had two interviews this week with the same organization. My final interview was on Friday morning. I was very nervous the morning of the interview, because I knew that this might be the time to tell the employer that I am pregnant. I had been withholding this piece of information until the “right” moment came along. At the end of the interview, they told me that they would like to offer me the job and that they wanted at least a 6 month commitment. With a bit of a tremble, I told them that I had one issue I needed to tell them about. I explained that I was expecting another baby in early April. Immediately, they responded with great excitement and said “That’s not an issue at all! That’s great!” Wow! I couldn’t believe it, but I was really encouraged and relieved by their energetic response. SO, I will be working about 10-12 hours per week to start. I will be doing a variety of different one on one sessions with adults with disabilities who live independently (mostly, daily living skills). I start on December 6! I really am thrilled about this job. Josh will be able to watch Jedidiah some, due to his fairly flexible schedule. I am still investigating the right childcare option for the remaining hours of my work. Oh, and I think that the hours I work at this job will also contribute to my Illinois licensure. I really believe that God has worked out this job so perfectly for me. I have been waiting a long time for a good job situation to work out, and this one seems like a great fit. Also, I really like the other employees, and the office location is just a few blocks from our house – on the same street where Josh works. I feel deeply thankful and truly excited!

 

One more exciting event this week was that we got to go to Indiana to see Jim Kelly, Josh’s mentor from Clovis, graduate from a seminary program. It was special for us to be there, and we got to see a few Clovis friends!

One day at a time

Still taking life one day at a time (or maybe one minute at a time)

 

Evanston is a good place ripe with opportunities and new experiences. I look for the blessings and the exciting pieces of our life here. But, life still feels like we are in the thick of transition. I still feel like I have to do what is in front of me and not think ahead too much. Everything still takes longer than it should, and I still make lots of mistakes. Life is just really different here from life in Clovis. The three flights of stairs and two doorways that separate me from the rest of the world still seem difficult to traverse some days. (Not to mention getting my two-year-old out of the apartment.) I am tired, too. Probably the pregnancy has a lot to do with it. I think the stress and change may be bigger factors, though. There is no one big thing that I can say is stressful; it’s just a slew of little everyday things. I will try to give examples…One thing is shopping. Grocery shopping here requires going to four or five different stores each week to get all of the items that we need. The stores are, of course better than Clovis stores. And, shopping at different ones helps our grocery bill to be half as much as it was in Clovis. There are stores with just produce, stores with just health food, stores with toiletries, and stores with cheaper boxed or bulk items. This is all good, but it’s very time consuming. I just don’t have it all down yet. I forget which store is where. I forget where certain items are at different stores, because none of it is familiar, yet. And, because of all of the running around, I end up without everything I needed in the end – which, means more trips to the store! Once I get home, there are always heavy things to carry up all the stairs – not to mention a tired Jedidiah. I usually end up collapsing once I get home. That’s one example. Another example is laundry (which is in the basement of our building and requires special tokens that must be ordered ahead of time). Another example is parking (parallel parking in inconsistent distances from our house and street cleaning days that mean you can’t park certain places – we’ve gotten two tickets already). More substantially, maybe, are the ambiguous pressures of preparing for a new baby, raising a toddler, finding a job, making friends, and being the new person everywhere we go. I am able most days to see all that God is working together for good, but some days I am just tired and overwhelmed. This is transition, I suppose. My brain and body and spirit are trying to make sense of everything here. I am praying for God to sustain us and to keep me focused on His call. Some days I still cry and feel disappointed. I think that’s okay. I guess I just feel so far away from “home” – whatever that is. Please pray that God will make this place home for now – I am certain that He is able and willing.

 

From Josh:

     I have put in two days at the Amish furniture store now, and it’s a lot of learning right now. Thankfully I have a job that should provide for most of our needs now. Candace has had two of three interviews for a part-time job that she’ll probably be offered soon. Financially, things seem to be settling into place.

     I realize that I am still very fragmented, not centered, not peaceful. I am trying to make family and employers happy, and I am trying to integrate into a new community. So far there are a lot of demands on my time.

     Recently the community has started trying to support the artists. I am lumped into that category. So we have all-at-once rented a storefront on Main Street in Evanston, formed a business of sorts to try and sell paintings, planned a two month blitz scheduling lots of social events to get publicity for the art and artists, and we’re painting and preparing the space right now. I am not the initiator, only a meager participant. Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of foot traffic and I will get some attention and commissions. It’s all about exposure and networking. I hate selling myself / marketing, but brace yourselves for the future!

   It really is great to be in proximity to working artists who are intent on being self-supporting, and it really is great to be included in a community that will do the business end of things so that we can do the work we are good at and maybe get paid for it.

In the name of Jesus,

Josh

The country we happen to live in

“The country we happen to live in.”

     We are happy to be a part of a church like this one. When I say church, I am talking about the people that live and worship together, that meet in living rooms and dining rooms, coffee shops and parks… we are raising our child(ren) among the church. Anyhow, our church which is in the Chicago area held a prayer meeting tonight. We weren’t praying for any certain turn out in the election (though a few miles from here there are about a million people piling into a park). We gathered to pray for focus and to remember that our King is Jesus and he is our hope and our security, NOT any elected figurehead.

     I would have told you that eight years ago, but I think I would not have had the words for it that I have today. Four years ago I was plain angry by the time I voted. I felt like I was the odd one for how I interpreted my citizenship in the US and my allegiance to GOD ALONE. Tonight we praised the King with true worship in a candlelight room, and remembered that any security we can vote on is false-security. I am grateful that there was a room full of people of all ages declaring together that the significance of tonight’s election will not shake our Kingdom.

     We did cast absentee ballots in New Mexico’s election by the way. But we don’t want to dwell on that.

     This fellowship is teaching me about taking scripture seriously, and about living in the Kingdom of God.

 

     “I really felt like tonight’s service was like practice for heaven…when we will be in his Kingdom in a more visible way, and I just sensed that. And how I need to be thinking about my God instead of worrying about the kingdoms of this world.” ~ Candace

 

     There was a hand-written invitation to this service sent out this week, and an email that said something about the valid and diverse expressions of faith in politics. The email was talking about “the country we happen to live in,” and I like that. Not painting it as the country every other country wishes it was, or the best dang place to live… it isn’t a perfect place, but it’s the country we happen to live in. Jesus is Lord. (People have been killed for saying that, but it’s true tonight. And tomorrow.)

Halloween

Halloween was a very big event in Evanston. Many of the houses were decorated to the hilt. Some even had blaring music and smoke machines. There were lots of kids wandering around our neighborhood. The people handing out candy even sat outside with their bowls of candy, and many of them were dressed up, too. Jedidiah did not like the scary houses at all, but he really enjoyed the trick-or-treating for candy. We dressed him like Bob the Builder, and I dressed like a cross between a farmer and a clown. Unfortunately, Josh had to work late. Here are a few pictures: 

The bag Jedidiah decorated to collect his candy: 

More pics to come - I'm having a little trouble downloading them.