Settling In

I will get some pics on the way soon, but Jan, Harry(our little dog) and I have officially made the move to Santa Cruz. We have really been wrestling with where to put down roots and begin to be better at integrating all aspects of life towards God's present Kingdom. Through much prayer, social research and vision for our specific role in participating in God's mission, we have wound up here in S.C.

We have been searching for a LITTLE place for about 2 months now and it has been miserable. Lots of hope, followed by lots of disappointment. This last week we stumbled onto a little one bedroom house with a sweet patio in Seabright. It is right between Capitola and Downtown Santa Cruz.

I just went for a bike ride with Harry in the warm sun and could hear the sea lions as we are only about 6 blocks from the beach. We are feeling VERY blessed and hopeful at what is in store for us here.

We wrap up our time at Harbor Chapel this next month, which is a very emotional transition as we have 4 years of memories and relationships there, and set our eyes on being the church right here in our new community. What that is going to look like is still to be seen, but we are looking forward to experiencing everything along the way.

Hooked Up

So lately I have been waking up in the mornings and looking at the ceiling which is only about 19 inches above my face. It is only 19 inches above my face because for the last year Jan and I have been living in a SMALL master bedroom of a home with 3 other people. Because the room is so small, I had to build a "loft" that is about 7 feet off the ground, so we could fit a couch underneath and have somewhere to sit. Anyway, it is easy to feel like we are lacking, poor or even get into the mentality of "things will be ok when we get this/that."

Back to waking up at looking at the ceiling. Lately as I lay in bed and prepare for my day I have been filled with gratitude. How many people wake up in a warm bed with a ceiling over their head? How many fewer people get out of their bed(or climb down a ladder in our case) and take a warm shower? How many people walk to their kitchen and CHOOSE what to have for breakfast? We are hooked up and I am very grateful. As my friend Mark Scandrette discussed recently, we are surrounded by a culture that embraces a mentality of scarcity or "we don't have enough." We are worried that we don't have this and we need to get that, rather than being grateful for what we already have been given.

Interesting that after God hooked up the Israelites with Manna that He told them to put some in a jar and keep it to look at so they wouldn't forget how well God had provided for them. I need to more often remember the Manna and not get so caught up with attaining the golden calf.