Whoa, 2 full weeks since I posted about the beginning of our 1st anniversary trip to Ohio for a wedding.  Time flies…

On July 4, like good American patriots, we left Ohio for the promised land of Pelee Island on the Canadian side of Lake Erie.  I get excited for weeks beforehand when I know that I am gonna be able to get up to Pelee.  I love it there.  No hustle, no bustle, no cell phone reception or email.  Just the beach, the water, books, and people I love.

This time around, our friends Matt and Sharon and their son Deacon were among the number of loved ones that we got to share some time with.

The weather was hot, but gave us plenty of reason to lay on the beach and play in the water.  We did some boating, some tubing, made smores, shared stories, watched movies, and soaked in the enjoyment of fun and relaxation throughout the week.

On top of all this, Amy and I continued to celebrate our anniversary.  Here’s our attempt to capture the specialness of the occasion.  Between the hitting, crying, bugs, and neighborly interruptions, I’d say we pretty much nailed it

We also managed to successfully tote the top of our wedding cake (which had already made its way from Davenport to Elgin), to our hotel in Ohio, in the car to Sandusky, and then on the boat to the island.  It was a well traveled cake, but tasted amazing. Every layer of our wedding cake was different and the top was no exception – tie-dye!

So here’s to an unbelievable and unforgettable 1st year of marriage that was capped off by helping one couple celebrate the very beginning of theirs and spending time with another couple on the doorstep of a decade.  Cheers!

Some additional pictures from the trip here.

This weekend will mark year one of marital bliss for Amy and I and it’s be an incredible year in more ways that I can possible say.

To celebrate, we’ll be heading to Ohio so that I can officiate a wedding ceremony for 2 of my former students who will be living in the Chicagoland area and then we’ll head up to one of my favorite spots in the world, Pelee Island, with our friends the Matt and Sharon for some fun and relaxation.

For anyone who remembers and enjoyed the recap from 2008, Amy and I are working on a recap of 2009 and hope to have it finished by the time we come back.

So, you married veterans out there, as Amy and I reflect on our first year as husband and wife and do our best to ask some helpful questions of ourselves as we charge on into the future, what words of wisdom do you have to offer?

It’s not often I post about stuff like this — even less often that I am inclined to even think much of it, but I got a killer deal on a couple of sweaters that I really like yesterday.

And truth be told, the real credit goes to Amy and her twin attributes of 1) an ability to spot a deal and 2) simply being in the right place at the right time.

So, we’re walking into the store and knowing my wife’s insatiable desire to check EVERYTHING out, I cover her eyes with my hands and lead her, undistracted, through the store so that we can accomplish our one and only task, return an item.

What I didn’t count on was that with her eyes covered, her superhuman powers were redirected to her ears and she made out an announcement over the PA about a free giveaway going on upstairs.  This announcement was barely audible to the human ear and nearly unintelligable on top of that.  How she noticed and discerned the message is beyond me.

She left me to the return and as she sauntered away, shouted back over her shoulder, “Hey, you should check out those sweaters over there.”  I swear we walked by them when she had her eyes covered.  I hadn’t even seen the sweaters.  I finished quick and she was still upstairs, so I walked over to look at the sweaters.  $55 bucks!  “Yeah right,” I thought.  But then I looked closer.  They were marked down to $10 – more than 80% off.

Now listen, I’m not one of those who’s fooled into believing that I could get a sweater that is really worth $55 for $10.  But $10 still seemed like a pretty good deal for how well the sweater fit and looked.  So I got 2!  But the story’s not over, oh no!

We get to the register to check out and they have an offer for a Sears card where you can get $15 off your purchase.  So, between the 80% off sale, the small credit from the return, and the Sears card offer, I walked out of the store with 2 “$55″ sweaters for under 2 bucks.  Oh, and besides the sweaters, Amy came home with a couple kitchen tools that she got for free just for walking upstairs.  I think I’m gonna like shopping with Amy!

The life I live is one narrated by Love.

The other day I was looking for something and when I couldn’t find it where it should have been, I was forced to consult “the box.”

You know “the box” right?  It’s where you have stashed your odds and ends for years upon years.  You have no real idea what all is in there, but you also know equally well that there is no chance you would ever throw that box away!

As I worked through the contents of the box, I was moved to tears.  I found collections of letters, notes, cards, and pictures that I had all but forgotten.

A soccer ball that all my players signed for me when I coached.

A scrap of paper with simple words of encouragement that a good friend tucked in my bag right before I boarded a plane to embark on one of the hardest journeys of my life.

Letters from students with words of love and affirmation from my days as a student pastor.

Today is my 31st birthday – the first that I celebrate with the woman who vowed to love me for the rest of my life.  And if the last 8 months are any kind of gauge, the rest of my life is looking pretty great!

As I stop to think about how I have been loved for the last 30 years, how I am loved now, and how I may yet be loved in the future by people (and, Lord willing, children) that I don’t even know yet, I am overwhelmed with inexpressible joy and gratitude.

May I have the courage to love others as I have been loved – to help narrate the lives of others with the sort of Love that has characterized mine.

Amy and I are both networkers through and through.  Each of us has enjoyed cultivating networks and communities of friends in the various places we have lived across the US and abroad.  These are people who have helped, encouraged, shaped, and loved us.  Because we want to do what we can to stay in touch with these people (you?), we’ve decided to compile a 1-page letter about every other month that highlights what’s been going on, what’s coming up, matters in which we hope you will rejoice with us, and others in which we hope you will support us in prayer.

We got our first one out in the last few days.  If you didn’t receive it, there are 2 possible reasons.

1) We had no idea you might be interested in receiving it.

2) We tried to send it to you, but must have had the wrong email address.

In either case, if you didn’t receive our letter and would like to, leave a comment or drop us an email via the contact page and we will add you to the list of folks that we email these letters to.

Thanks for continuing to allow us to share our lives with our – nothing means more.  We’re also hopeful that this might be a pathway to more of you sharing what is going on in your lives as well.

Click the image below to download our first letter.

This afternoon Amy and I are joining about a dozen others from our church community as attenders at a Missional Learning Commons in Ft. Wayne, IN.

At the invitation of Dave Fitch (who has blogged about this gathering here), I attended my first one of these in December of 2007 before Amy was in Chicago.  Last year Amy attended without me as I was in Kenya.  So, especially since we have committed as a couple to helping cultivate a new missional community in the next year, I am really excited for us to get to participate in one of these together.

Here’s what I love about this event.

A) It’s free.  And that’s not because it sucks.  It’s because the “business” of Christian resourcing needs to die.

B) It’s local.  The people who attend these every year have a real chance to stay meaningfully connected.

C) It’s not about personalities.  Those who speak, are more like conversation starters.  There is much more time given to dialogue than monologue.

D) There’s no hype.  No book sales, no t-shirts, no vendors.

It’s just a band of brothers and sisters who are trying get on the same page about the implications of a missional ecclesiolgy as Christendom continues to crumble here in the midwest.  It’s a living example of what I meant when I blogged about “The Power and Promise of Regional Gatherings for the Equipping of Missional Churches.”

Looking forward to a great weekend of connecting, discussing, dreaming, and praying.

I have had something like a 15 year love affair with Boston, which is strange for someone who has never actually been there, but that’s about to change.  Amy and I are currently planning a long weekend in Boston and various excursions from there around New England.

So, who’s got the 411 on Boston and the surrounding area?  What and where do we need to make sure to check out?  What’s our best bet for scenic, yet affordable accommodations?  Looking for any advice anyone wants to throw our way, thanks.

Amy and I had a great time this past Saturday participating in the inaugural (for the US anyway) Ride for Refugees.  We were joined by about 200 other riders in Geneva, IL who, together with the rest of the riders in the US, helped to raise over $100,000.  Here’s us on our way.

We wanted to say a HUGE thanks to those of you who sponsored us, to Stephanie and the Olson’s who let us borrow their bikes, and to the Tebbe’s for their bike rack and helmet!

We raised $700 of our goal of $1000!  Not bad for just beginning to get sponsors 5 days before the race.

If you were still interested in contributing to the assistance of refugees by sponsoring our team, you can do so here until the end of the month.  Maybe we’ll meet that goal yet!!

It was a cool morning and the expected rain managed to hold off until close to the end of the race for those who were doing 60 miles.

I got caught up helping with traffic and parking duty and missed the 30-mile wave of riders, but rode with Amy for the 15-mile wave.  When we got back, we switched bikes, and I went and did the 15-mile circuit again.

My cousin Gwen and her husband Rob joined our team at the last minute.  They showed up later in the morning and each did the 15-mile ride as well.

Here’s a few pictures from the ride.

This Saturday Amy and I are participating in a Ride for Refugees.  I did my first concentrated work with refugees when I was living in midtown Memphis and much of Amy’s current work has to do with refugees around the world.  Helping people to become aware of the great needs of refugees here in the states and around the world as well as providing what assistance we can are things we both care about deeply.  We’re hoping that you’ll help us by making a pledge to our ride, no matter the amount.  I am planning to ride 30 miles, further than I have ever biked before and Amy will probably do 15 as she wants to get back sooner to help with other things that need done during the event.

You can see the details of the Ride for Refugees here.

You can visit out pledge page here.

The Facebook Fan page is here.

If you’re a Twitterer, you can follow here.

Thanks for checking it out and for your help.  I’ll try to throw up some pictures and thoughts on the event next week.

Last weekend (July 31 – Aug 1) was what you might call… slammin!

We spent all day Friday and Saturday getting moved out of our studio apartment and into our 2 bedroom apartment just 75 yards up the same street.  Big thanks to Caleb, Susan, Dustin, Whitney, Josh, Annie, Haley, and mom and dad Garrington for all the help over the two days.  There was a big festival here in Elgin on Saturday that provided free live music on the streets for our movers and the Verve Pipe (yeah Freshmen!) was playing just down the way.  To cap things off, we were able to see fireworks outside our living room windows to end our exhausting move.  Here’s a quick tour of our new place.  We’re anxious for company, so bring it on!

Due to a slight oversight on my part, I was scheduled to preach on Sunday morning which just happened to be the same day that Amy and I had registered for The Muddy Buddy Race.  So, after a restless night of sleep in our new place, Amy and I were up at 5:30AM and off to the race.

We actually started at 7:41 and were in the car at 9:18.  Caked in mud and grime, Amy and I sped off for the service at Life on the Vine, rolling into the parking lot at 10 for the service at 10:15.  Thankfully one of the pastors lives directly across from the church building so we were able to shower there quickly and made it just in time.  Here are some pictures from the race.

So, word to the wise, watch your schedules closely!

From 2 days to just over 2 weeks, the last 18 days have been some of the best of my life.

Our wedding was amazing – everything we had hoped it would be and more.  I don’t think I mentioned this before, but in stark contrast to horror stories I have heard from others, Amy and I had a blast putting our wedding together.  Much of that was thanks to the fact that we both get a kick out of infusing stuff with as much meaning as possible so we really enjoyed thinking imaginatively together about the elements of what we called a weekend celebration of marriage (hope to share more about this in a future post).  Aside from that, we are just fortunate enough to have a lot of friends and family that were excited to pitch in and help.

Our wedding photographer/videographer, Tim Miller, who you should definitely check out if you are in need of some mad skills, is sending Amy and I 2,300 pictures to sort through.  Until we have the professional stuff all put together, here’s a slide show of random pictures from some of our friends and family.

Right before the wedding weekend kicked off, Amy and I invested in a Sony CyberShot that shoots video in HD.  Here’s some of those videos.  (Hint: If you have the time – just under 30 mins. total, they will automatically play in order.)

Amy and I both want to say a huge thanks to everyone who contributed to and attended the most significant weekend of our life together – much love.

I am less than 48 hours away from being a married man.  We just finished the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  They couldn’t have been better.  In just a matter of hours people were descending on Davenport from all over the country, anxious to help get last minute things done, reconnecting with friends and family, and working on getting know new ones.  As we walked through the rehearsal I kept thinking, “I love how this is coming together.”  I would look around and see people that Amy and I have known from different seasons of life meeting and talking for the first time and I loved that see how Amy and I’s hope and dream of our wedding being about something bigger than just us was unfolding.

Then, it was off to the rehearsal dinner.  It was stunning.  A semicircle room with an all glass outside wall with a picture-perfect view of the Mississippi River and Downtown Davenport.  The food was excellent, people were busy in conversations and greetings.  Amy and I got to distribute a bunch of gifts that we had tried to put some thought into for the people who are helping with the ceremony and such.  There was a time for some of our friends and family to toast us and I soaked it all in as though I were having an out of body experience.  Amy and I made small speeches and introduced a slideshow of our pictures from growing up and then together that a good friend who couldn’t be with us had put together.  As we finished, a major fireworks display began over the Mississippi for everyone to enjoy.  Stories were told and connections made throughout the evening.  We wound down and person after person commented on how beautiful and special the evening had been.  Amy and I commented to each other on just how lucky we are to share in so much love from all angles and all we could do was smile in in grace-washed humility.  I simply can’t wait for the fun to continue tomorrow.

This is my last week as a single guy.  Come Sunday, I’m a married man and I couldn’t possibly be more excited about it.

Handicapped by a devastating view of what freedom is really all about, marriage is often portrayed as the end of freedom – think Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc.  Here’s 3 reasons why, in opposition to that sort of notion, I am so excited to get married that all have to do with a new freedom I am about to embrace.

1) I don’t have any regrets from my season of singleness so I am free to embrace the adventure of marriage. I embraced, celebrated, and enjoyed my singleness.  Happily, I had good friends and mentors who taught me that singleness is a gift and should be treated as such as long as God grants it.  Shame on our culture (especially any Christian culture) for making people feel inferior for being single for as long they are able to embrace it as a gift.  Spend your single years pining away for a companion and you are all but destined to struggle with being married.

2) I don’t have to play the dating game anymore anymore so I am free to pursue God in the context of a covenanted relationship. I can’t count the number of couples that have spoken of marriage as a context which brought them face to face with their own selfishness and shortcomings like never before.  With all the guessing, ambiguity and semi-commitment of dating, this just doesn’t happen.  Again, fortunate enough to have come across people and books that dispelled lies about the purpose and aim of marriage, I am anxious to embrace marriage as a crucible toward Christlikeness.

3) Amy is not “The One” or “Mrs. Right” (since these only exist in fairy tale land), so I am free to never ask ridiculous questions like, “Did I marry the right person?” Don’t you love how freeing that is?!  The ability and opportunity trade in a cheap and shallow freedom along the lines of, “Well if this isn’t working I can always just bite the bullet and admit that I made the wrong decision,” for the true freedom of moving forward in the context of vows made and kept, is priceless to me.

And though it doesn’t pertain exactly to freedom, it’s nonetheless true that a big part of my excitement has much to do with the incredible woman who said, “Yes.”  To partner in life and ministry with Amy from here on out is the single most exciting thing that has ever happened to me.

Oops!!  Update:  As my brother pointed out, Amy is actually Wonderwoman, not Superwoman.  Props to his lady Michelle catching that one.

OK, not quite yet really, but it’s coming quick.  For the last month and a half I have been staying in Amy’s apartment in Elgin while she stays with friends.

(mailman decided to add my name to the box since we only have 1 address)

So here I am in this apartment, surrounded by girl clothes, girl decorations, and all other manner of girl things and I think to myself, “Wow, girl stuff is not like boy stuff.”  And I am confronted with the startling (though welcome) reality that “mine” is becoming “ours,” “I” am becoming “us”, and “me” is becoming “we.”  You’d think that for who has lived independently as long as I have, this would cause me to break out into a cold sweat as I crawl around in the darkness of stress-induced blindness searching for a paperbag to calm my hyperventilating panic attack, but I am happy to report that this hasn’t been the case.  Why?  Mainly because Amy is just about the most amazing woman ever!

Seriously, Amy amazes me.  I have totally hijacked her apartment, separating her from all the comforts of a place you call your own while she stays in a simple bedroom with friends 20 minutes away.  She keeps most of her clothes and stuff that she needs on a daily basis largely in the trunk of her car since our lives are so sporadic and she never quite knows what she will need.  When we spend a day together, no matter how late we’re together, she’s the one that has to get in a car and make the drive home.  She works full-time while I look for work and do what I can to help plan for the wedding.  She does it all with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step.  She radiates grace and compassion and her presence is a constant reminder of God’s great love for the world and little ol’ me.  If you need any more evidence, here you go.

Case closed.  Amy is Wonderwoman… only cuter.

Planning a wedding.

Looking for work.

Looking for an apartment.

Integrating lives.

Getting rooted in a new community.

TAing a class.

Preparing to teach another.

Traveling to California.

Life has been busy – super great, but busy.  I am deeply regretting that I haven’t done a better job of captuiring, in words and pictures, more of Amy and I’s time of engagement.  So much is going on, so many plans being made, and so many stories are being created that I have simply gotten so caught up in trying to deeply experience and cherish it all that I haven’t taken the time to capture and reflect on it.  I hope to remedy this soon.  Stay tuned.