Oh, Jedidiah's air drums

Ramble ramble

     My (Josh’s) good friend Ryan came by to see what is happening in our lives. He spent an extended weekend helping me with some work and touring the neighborhood. I don’t have very many friends who’ve stayed with me over the years, and Ryan has for about ten years. I am thankful for his fortitude. It is important to me for people who know us get a good feeling for this place – this place we have chosen for our spiritual formation.

     Place and time… Place is somewhat permanent while time implies change. Changing or transforming while the world looks on. Friends and family are noticing things happening in us over time. They are watching the tide crash against us again and again, seeing how our shorelines shift and which ones stay in place. This community is grounded by location, by faith, and history. There are a lot of faces changing and the ministries are always changing. The old timers are getting older and babies are being born. The collective has a reputation that is beyond any one or two people. This collective is still progressive. “Living things grow, and growing things change,” says my friend Jim.

     We do not know all the effects that time will have on us. We are submitting to its mystery believing that God will be faithful to complete work in each of us. That baby is growing in Candace at the hand of one wiser than us. We are thankful.

     It’s Lent now. Repentance, an increase in spiritual disciplines, less chaff, more wheat. 

Community Lately

     It has been about five months since we relocated here to the fellowship, and many things have happened. Some of the changes are drastic and very noticeable (things pertaining to circumstances), and some things are probably happening deep within us that we’ll recognize later. Here are a few more “postcards from the highway” – snippets of the last little while in community.

     Lunch today: We were invited to eat with a few other families at a congregational member’s home. These are folks who work for a living (she’s a caterer!) They offered a great gift in hospitality; they allowed us to meet other people in a comfortable environment and they were interested in getting to know us.

     Jeff and Inna: Two weeks ago there was a new couple that moved into the area. They weren’t planning on joining the fellowship or the church, just moving here. We were able to assist in a few ways, and they noticed that there was something unique about the willingness of our people to help out. We are continuing to relate to them durring a difficult transition.

     JPUSA: Josh lived at Jesus People USA (intentional Christian community in Chicago) during the summer of 2001 and made a few friends there. Since moving here (Evanston – suburb directly north of Chicago) we have been getting together with the Benders (JPUSA family/ friends) on a regular basis. We are thankful to God for friends that we can feel natural around easily. Additionally, the opportunity has come to open a conversation between Jesus People and Reba Place. These are the two largest intentional Christian communities in Illinois, and not far from each other. It would seem that daily life has kept both communities too busy to really link up. Josh was appointed the task of setting these conversations into motion, and we have had one nice gathering thus far.

     Quilting Circle: Candace attends a weekly quilting class with several other ladies relating to the fellowship. Jedidiah loves to play at the host home (they have created a “mouse house” in some space under the stairs just for small children). Candace is making great progress on her first quilt for baby girl and building some relationships with ladies from all walks of life.

     Church: Have we mentioned how great the Sunday morning services are? This month was a month focused on racial justice through the Church. It is no small thing to hear whites admit that they have benefited from centuries of inequalities. It is powerful to hear the stories of members who lived as minorities oppressed in socially acceptable ways; to hear white members confess their inaction while witnessing bigotry. Yet another testimony to the health of this body – they don’t ignore tumors. 

Jedidiah Pictures

A few recent pictures of our little guy...

A Tribute to Our Jedidiah Wake…

Jedidiah will be officially two and a half next week. He is an amazing joy in our lives, and we want to dedicate this entry to him. In fact, the title of our website “WakeUpdate” comes from his middle name. We liked the name Wake because it means alert and awake to life. This describes our Jedidiah very well – he is already living up to his name! He notices everything around him and remembers so much. It is really incredible to us. He still has clear memories of events that happened 6 to 8 months ago. He remembers the first and last names of many people we know. He can tell you what street he lives on and who gave him just about every gift he has received in the last year. We do not try to teach him these things, he simply remembers and brings them up to us. It surprises me every time! He just seems very aware for his age. The other day some one at church asked him when his baby sister was coming, and he said, “in April.” Another time recently, I was surprised by his self-awareness. He started talking about his bicycle, on which he still cannot seem to figure out pedaling. He said, “Mom, do you know the medals on my bicycle?” “The pedals?” I asked. “Yes, the pedals. I don’t know how to use the pedals yet, but I am gonna grow bigger and then I will learn.” I really didn’t think he had any concept of growing up, but he’s brought that up again several times lately. (To be fair, he did tell me a few sentences later that he is also growing smaller – so, maybe he doesn’t quite get it, yet.) He also recognizes streets, buildings, and houses without any reminder about where we are. As we drive down the street, he can identify the places that we pass and what we did the last time we went to them. Maybe I (Candace) am just amazed because I have always been an absent-minded and oblivious person. I still have trouble finding places until I’ve driven to them myself, and I lose items regularly. Jedidiah is also a big help in finding the things I am looking for – purse, keys, etc. It’s not that he’s taken them and hidden them, he just remembers where I put them! He knows lots of nursery rhymes and can finish them up if you get them started for him. He can identify most instruments when he sees some one playing them (from banjo to violin to trumpet). He is also very aware of speakers and usually locates all of the speakers in a room fairly quickly. Lately, he is very aware of the coming arrival of his baby sister. He talks to her frequently and tells me about things he will do with her (ex. Kiss her if she is crying). Needless to say, we think our little guy is just great! He definitely has his difficult moments, but we want to make a point to celebrate how special he is. His first name means “beloved of the Lord” and we think that the meaning of both his first and middle names are evident in who he is: after just a little time with him, I think that you would see that he is a boy who is deeply loved and very aware of the world around him! We love you so much, Jedidiah Wake!!

 

Here are a few recent Jedidiah interactions that made me smile:

 

Jedidiah was just doing his favorite thing – playing the air drums to music. He looked at me and said, “Baby sister can hear me?” I said, “Yes, she can hear you!” I walked over and he touched my baby belly and said (to baby sister), “I love you.” And then he filled in her part, “I love you, too.” Then he looked at me and asked, “Is she playing the tuba?” (He always assigns different instruments to all of us to play, so he was including baby sister!) So sweet and so imaginative!

 

 

Jedidiah: “I’m hiccing up.” (he had the hiccups)

 Candace: “We need to get you a new night light.” (his monkey one was a little broken)

Jedidiah: “Maybe a moose night light….Or a coatimundi or somethin’” (A coatimundi is an animal that we learned about several months ago in the Animal Baby magazines that Jedidiah gets from Grandma)

 

 

Jedidiah: “Mom, you remember the Israelites?” (he heard of them on a Veggie Tales episode)

Candace: “Yes – I know about the Israelites”

Jedidiah: “I want to see the Israelites.”

 

 

After a long description of what “bossy” means…

Jedidiah: “ No, it’s not. It’s turtles.” (long pause) “Do you want to talk about something, mom? Talk about something different. What about bears?”

-followed by me telling the 3 bears story

-then, I did a brief recap of what it means to be bossy

Jedidiah: “Bossy is a lady?”

I wasn’t getting through…

 

 

 Jedidiah: “Mommy drives a little fast.”

Josh: “What about daddy?”

Jedidiah: “Daddy drives very fast and it makes me a little scared!”

 

 

Jedidiah (in imagination land): “My head turned BLUE.”

Candace: “Oh yeah…blue?”

Jedidiah: “It was crazy! It was miserable.” (he said miserable very carefully – we never taught him this word – he just came up with it!)