lifeasmission

New England & Boston Trip

November 9, 2009 // 13492 Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/11/new-england-boston-trip/New+England+%26+Boston+Trip2009-11-10+03%3A18%3A35JR+Rozko

Last week Amy and I went on a trip through New England.  I was in Richmond, VA attending a training event with Ecclesia and Amy was in Chicago.  On Friday morning, we both flew into Boston and met up there.  Here was my cool view as we were landing.

Here’s me getting anxious about seeing Amy again (this was the first time we’d been apart since getting married 4 months ago).

We rented a car and drove up the coast to Portland, ME.  Here are some pictures from along the way.

We had a good time exploring Portland.  We ate at this awesome place called Silly’s, somewhere you should absolutely visit – and don’t bother eating for a day and a half before you go, you’ll want the room for the “Gravy Danger.”

The next day we drove west through the White Mountain National Forest that spans New Hampshire and Vermont.

A day of driving took us through the really hip downtown of Brattleboro, VT

where we caught a glimpse of the ever-growing reality of Post-Christian America,

and had an incredibly delicious maple latte at Mocha Joe’s.

Then, it was off to Providence, RI where we had a great Thai dinner, saw “A Serious Man,”at The Avon

and walked around the campus of Brown University.

The next morning we drove into Boston.

We stayed at a cool little place in the Back Bay part of Boston, “The Chandler Inn.”  Over the 2 days we walked The Freedom Trail – some of those pictures here…

But some of my favorite parts were visiting the actual location of Cheers

Getting placed in an impromptu Diet Coke commercial

worshipping with the incredibly diverse congregation of the historic Park Street Church amidst their 200 year celebration

and indulging in my favorite dessert, Boston Cream Pie, at “The Omni Parker House” where they invented it!

Not to worry, Amy made sure to add her name to the Declaration of Independence!

Our trip finished up with 2 days in NYC where we got to see our friend Jorge

who took us to an incredible place for NY pizza.

We got to spend time with my bother Alex and his girlfriend Michelle.

We went for a walk through Central Park and Alex showed off his mad bouldering skills.

We visited Serendipity of John Cusack movie fame and enjoyed a famous frozen hot chocolate.

Especially meaningful for Amy who has done theater her whole life, we got to attend our first Broadway show, Mary Poppins.

When we left the show, we walked through time square where a billion people were watching the Yankees game on a huge screen – very cool.

And to cap off the evening, we hit up Ray’s Pizza (from Elf!) for some more excellent NY pizza.

It was an unforgettable trip and I’m already anxious to make it back.  Feel free to check out our full collection of pictures and videos.

Posted in travles

Boston Bound: Lookin for Tips

October 14, 2009 // 12744 Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/10/boston-bound-lookin-for-tips/Boston+Bound%3A+Lookin+for+Tips2009-10-15+04%3A16%3A13JR+Rozko

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.

Posted in Amy, social networking, travles

Cultural Gravity (Part 1)

July 24, 2009 // 11484 Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/07/cultural-gravity-part-1/Cultural+Gravity+%28Part+1%292009-07-24+17%3A51%3A21JR+Rozko

Try to jump and hang in the air for 10 seconds.  How’d you do?  You either failed, cheated, or are reading this from the moon.  You are a captive of gravity.  It pulls at you, refusing to let you wander off.

Culture is a lot like that.  The various elements of the culture we inhabit pull us toward some sort of center.  Culture, in all of its various forms: language, architecture, customs, expectations, rhythms, etc., creates a sort of reality for those who live in it.  This is what I am calling cultural gravity.

Cultural gravity cuts two ways – it simultaneously frees and binds.  As regular gravity gives us the ability to walk around and explore our immediate surroundings, it also binds us there, making any desire we have to explore our not so immediate surroundings extraordinarily difficult.  Analogously, cultural gravity is what enables us to authentically enter a particular time and space – to know it personally and deeply.  But it can also trap our imaginations and stymie us intellectually and creatively.  The longer we live with in a particular brand of cultural gravity (geography, tradition, denomination, etc.) the harder it will be to enter new ones with any degree of receptivity or discernment.

Anyone who has ever lived cross-culturally has experienced this tension.  It is why new cultures can be hard to adjust to and why we may have a hard time (or outright fear!) returning to the culture we came from.

As one who has had some varied over-seas experience and has moved from the suburban mid-west, to urban So. Cal, to some blend of suburban/urban culture in the midsouth, and now lives outside of Chicago, these are some thoughts I have been having.

In Part 2 I plan to offer some reflections on what I think cultural gravity has to do with missional churches.

Posted in chicago, church, culture, memphis, midwest, missional, suburban, travles, urban

Southwest is Better

March 31, 2009 // 1064No Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/southwest-is-better/Southwest+is+Better2009-03-31+22%3A48%3A39JR+Rozko

This is why I love to fly Southwest.

(ht: Steve)

Posted in funny, random, travles, video

An Engagement Trip

March 17, 2009 // 10255 Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/an-engagement-trip/An+Engagement+Trip2009-03-17+23%3A45%3A51JR+Rozko

Thanks to the generosity of Amy’s team leader and co-workers, she was given the opportunity to work remotely for the last two weeks.  Throw in three weekends, and you’ve got almost 3 full weeks together!

And thanks to some too-good-to-be-true family and friends, that time was jam packed full of fun and memories.

If you missed it, be sure to check out our engagement story, cause that’s where the fun began.

Engaged on Friday night in Chicago, we drove back to Memphis on Saturday, on the phone virtually the entire time and dreaming about our wedding and honeymoon inbeetween (details on both, TBA).

A neighbor gifted Amy and I with two tickets to see “Light in the Piazza” at the Midtown Playhouse.  It was a fun and romantic show and we had a great time.

There was a blizzard in Memphis Saturday and Sunday, so attendance was way down at our morning services, but two of my co-pastor friends took it upon themselves to announce Amy and I’s engagement from up front to much applause and congratulations.  We spent the rest of the day with our friends taking turns holding baby Asher.

On Monday Amy and I were off to Washington DC.  We were there for a church planting conference and had the chance to stay a couple nights with Amy’s aunt and uncle as well as see a few friends we each have there.

Amy was there as a representative of iTeams - making connections with those who are looking for ways to help people get involved in international missions, and I was checking into Ecclesia as a possible resource and partner for Living Hope as we think about church planting.  The conference was fantastic and we were really happy to connect with our friend and Fuller professor, Eddie Gibbs.  Got to see some of the city on Friday afternoon and then we were off to Ohio.

My mom picked us up at the airport and after visiting for a few hours – it was lights out as we were both dog-tired.  Saturday morning we traveled down to Canton to see some of my closest friends.  We spent the day with them, talking all kinds of wedding details and just catching up.  Monday the 9th was to be my 30th birthday so my friends arranged a dinner and a party at my friend Jay’s sweet new downtown office.  Tons of people came to meet Amy, say congratulations, and Happy Birthday.  As usual, I got sick on Sarah’s puppy chow, but well worth it.

Sunday was another full day of cruising around, meeting, and catching up with people – Meysembourgs, Snavely, Solida’s, Neftzer, Gouglers, and many others.

Monday was a full day with my mom and other family.  Amy got the grand tour of Stow, where I grew up and got to meet both my Aunt Fannie and Grandma Ernsberger.

Had an incredible dinner at Macaroni Grill with my buddy Kenny and then ice cream, cake (actually Boston Cream Pie – a personal fav!), and a few gifts back at home.  Amy had written to all my closest family and friends asking for pictures and short blurbs and she compiled them all together into one of the most meaningful presents I have ever received.

We left early Tuesday morning to head back to Memphis where we were set to have a slightly more regular schedule.  Amy was working and so was I and thanks to the generosity of our good friend Lee, we had an extra car to use to help each of us get around to appointments and meeting spots.  Still, the days and evenings were packed.

Tuesday we picked up the car from Lee, gobbled down dinner, and Skyped about all sorts of wedding related stuff with Amy’s parents.  Wednesday we cooked dinner and hosted my house group – that never ends early (which I love!).  Thursday the Donahoe’s, who host Amy when she comes to town, invited us and our friends Matthew and Lisa over for a celebration dinner and then we caught Slumdog Millionaire with Greg and Chandler.

We did lots of wedding planning on Friday and then my friend Ryan from LA flew into town to spend a few days with us.  We took him to Rendezvous to get some good Memphis BBQ and then watched The Dark Knight (it just never gets old).

The night was rounded off with a midnight run to Gibson’s donuts for the after 11 – 6 donuts for 1.25 deal.  Saturday morning we met our friends the Kerrigan’s at Memphis’ best breakfast spot, Brother Juniper’s and then drove around some of the cooler neighborhoods in urban Memphis and even visited an estate sale.

Ryan and I went for a quick run and then the three of us went to see “Race to Witch Mountain.”  No, not because any of us particularly care for “The Rock,” but because Amy was in it.  She did some extra work while she was in LA and in the movie you get to see her twice during the credits.  Have a look!

Sunday morning was filled with plenty of congratulations since it was the first time that many people got to see Amy and I since we had gotten engaged.  Ryan, Amy and I had a great lunch with our friends Zach and Liz and then we spent a few hours (she went nuts!) with Liz as she took some engagement pictures (not currently available).  We actually ended up being late for a surprise engagement party that my house group was throwing for us in the form of an ultimate frisbee game.

We had a great time playing frisbee and then I had the privilege of baptizing a new friend who is on his way of to Fuller.

We spent the evening over at the Kerrigan’s eating up all the leftovers from the folks who have been providing them food while they adjust to having a newborn in their lives and playing everyone’s favorite game, “… And a bottle of wine.”

While I was at staff meeting Monday morning, Amy and Ryan worked from a coffee shop in the Cooper-Young district and got to check out another great BBQ spot – Central.  We went downtown for a few hours to check out some of the sights and walk down Beale St. before Ryan had to had to the airport to head for home.  Amy and I had yet another great dinner with our friends Sam and Allison and then made a short little video for our wedding website (unveiling soon!).

I just put Amy on the Megabus back to Chicago a little bit ago and I miss her already.  While we are bound and determined not to let it take over our relationship, the next several months will be filled with planning and preparation for our big days and those to follow.  We cover all your support and prayers as we try and figure out the future together and plan for a celebration of marriage that will be both enjoyable and meaningful to all those who can celebrate with us.

Posted in Amy, church, family, friends, marriage, memphis, travles

5 Days, 4 States, and All Kinds of Goodness

February 18, 2009 // 9793 Comments »http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/02/5-days-4-states-and-all-kinds-of-goodness/5+Days%2C+4+States%2C+and+All+Kinds+of+Goodness2009-02-18+21%3A43%3A16JR+Rozko

Time to come clean. I can hide no longer. The Amy G. I have mentioned and interviewed, well… we’re actually a couple. I know, never saw it coming did ya?! That being said…

This was a whirlwind of a Valentine’s Day weekend for us. Though Amy has traveled all over the world & lived in both Los Angeles and Chicago, she had never been to NYC. My brother and his girlfriend live there, so for Christmas, I got Amy 2 tickets to the city. But, as has been the case with all our other times being together, we sought to pack as much in as we possible could.

Our journey began in Indianapolis where I got to meet some of her close college friends as well as a bunch of people she used to work with at Global Partners. Then, we traveled to NYC where we were able to spend time not only with my brother and his girlfriend, but 2 of my good friends who were in from OH and DC.

We took the Staten Island Ferry to view the Statue of Liberty.

Saw ground zero.

The flat iron building.

And went to the top of the Empire State building – an unforgettable experience!

We also got to see Grand Central Station and Time Square.

For Valentines Day dinner, my brother managed to get reservations at a swanky Tapas bar that (though sadly small in size) offered some amazing tasting cuisine.

Quite serendipitously, we got to spend time with a good friend of mine and a good friend of Amy’s, both of whom happen to be part of the same church community that we were visiting on Sunday morning – and got to have lunch at the Seinfeld restaurant!

On Sunday, we traveled down to Princeton together. We got to see and stay with 2 of Amy’s good college friends, Dave and Holly and their 2 little girls. Dave is working on a PhD at Princeton and they were good enough to take us by “Schuller Field,” recently named for a good friend of mine who passed away a few years ago after finishing the first year of his MDiv there. Here’s a few pictures of small plaques fixed to two benches at the field.

The next day we got to take a nice stroll through Central Park, followed by visits to the coolest looking Mac store around and FAO Schwarz (remember the piano scene from Big?) where Amy got to choose any stuffed animal she wanted for her Valentine’s Day present.

Monday afternoon we traveled back to Chicago where we got to spend the evening with our friends Noel and Ashley in Lawndale.  Tuesday morning it was back to Memphis for me.  Told you we packed alot in!  Some more pictures here if you’re interested.

Posted in Amy, family, friends, travles