• Archive of "Amy" Category

    JR’s Career Path

    August 2, 2010 // 7 Comments »

    **I owe everyone an update on our support raising effort for the Lausanne Congress in South Africa that’s coming up in October and I promise to do that soon, but I wanted to throw out some exciting news regarding my career path first.

    Tomorrow, I will begin in a new role as Associate Director of Advancement for Northern Seminary.  In this PT position, I will be cultivating relationships with alumni and other supporters of the school and its mission.  On top of this, I have been hired as a communications consultant to do Internet Presence Management for the school and its programs.  Among other things, I’ll be creating and maintaining social networks for the school and its programs.

    For those of you who have been tracking with us personally, I want to try and articulate how Amy and I see this evolution of things.

    When Amy and I got engaged (Feb. ’09), we knew that it was going to mean one of us leaving a job that we loved.  I was a pastor to young adults in Memphis and she was a mobilizer for International Teams here in Elgin.  Through much prayer and support, I resigned my position and moved up here to Chicago (May. ’09).

    Though I’ve applied to no less than 36 jobs in the last year (3/month!), the bulk of my time has been given to largely unsolicited opportunities that have come my way and, I believe, have paved the way to this new position and consulting work.

    Over the last year I was asked to teach a class for Fuller Theological Seminary, TA a class for Talbot School of Theology, build web sites and create communication pieces for International Teams, do quality control work for christianaudio.com, lead an alumni project for Northern Seminary, write articles for Jovia Web Studio, and assist on Information Architecture projects with Uzify.

    The structure of our first year of marriage has been non-traditional I suppose.  Amy has worked full-time while I looked for work and gave my time and attention to these contractual jobs that just kept coming my way.  It’s very true that she’s been incredibly supportive and my biggest cheerleader.  She was often upset on my behalf when I was passed over for a position.  But I don’t want to paint a picture that the last year has been a struggle.  Quite the contrary, we’ve quite enjoyed the structure of our life for the last year and the flexibility it’s brought.

    For us, my saying yes to these new opportunities isn’t so much the end of a year long search for a job as much as it is another step in our ongoing attempt to be open and faithful to God’s work in our lives.  I am receiving these job opportunities not as relief after a year of drought, but as a new kind of gift in an ongoing succession of the same.

    Having this sort of posture toward God and God’s work has been incredibly formative for us and it instills in us an even greater sense of excitement and anticipation for the future.  To all those who have been praying for us, your labors have brought us not to a finish line, but simply to yet another stage in a life-long race of openness, faithfulness, and discernment.  We thank you for that.

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    Posted in Amy, Northern Seminary, chicago, decisions, marriage, prayer

    1st Anniversary Trip to Pelee Island

    July 27, 2010 // No Comments »

    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.

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    Posted in Amy, love, marriage, travles, video

    1 Year Anniversary

    June 30, 2010 // 2 Comments »

    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?

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    Posted in Amy, friends, love, marriage, travles, wedding

    Sweater Deal

    March 12, 2010 // 4 Comments »

    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!

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    Posted in Amy, random

    A Life Narrated by Love

    March 9, 2010 // 3 Comments »

    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.

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    Posted in Amy, birthday, love

    Rozko Update | Feb., 2010

    February 16, 2010 // 1 Comment »

    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.

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    Posted in Amy, community, family, friends, networking, newsletter

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