Man, Spring is so amazing! If you live in the south you are like us and are so ready for this completely irregular winter to be over. I was having such a hard time going from 65 degrees to 20 degrees every 4 days.
Life is good for us as usual. We have so little to complain about and such much to be grateful for. I finished finals last weekend and have been trying to catch my breath this week and transition to all the work that has been put on hold. I still have a few things to wrap up with school, mostly busy work stuff. However, I am enjoying the opportunity to switch my brain full speed to church planting stuff. There is so many thoughts, ideas, to-do's that need my attention, and I am excited to jump in. I am also excited to get to hang out with friends again. We have such an awesome community here in Asheville and I feel like my social life has been on hold for about 8 weeks. I have really been missing hanging out with folks and am pumped to start sharing spring in the mountains with good friends.
Kassie is tiered. She has been helping our friends Luke and Misty with their bi-annual children's clothing consignment sale. Basically they do in 3 weeks what most people do in a year and it is exhausting. She also has had some photo work lately which has been nice. Needless to say we have not seen a lot of each other lately and are looking forward to some reconnecting time in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for all the prayers through finals. Pray that I finish strong with some of this busy work and that I can get a lot of things taken care of for the church plant before getting back into more classes.
Hope you have a great Spring weekend!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
a breather
The above images were photographed by Pete. The first is of blown glass strategically placed on the frozen river behind our home. The glass was a gift given to Pete from his boss. The second image is a detail from a rusty, abandoned vehicle in a field nearby.
These images represent a brief break from the office. Pete has been diligently diving into writing, studying and memorizing for his classes. In order to "catch his breath", he has directed his efforts to photography for study breaks. Please, please, please pray for him as he faces finals at the end of next week. We would appreciate prayers specifically for mental and physical stamina. We appreciate your partnership with us as we approach our first academic milestone together.
We certainly cannot express it enough... we are thankful for you guys so much. Thank you for your encouragement, prayers and support of every kind.
For now, we are buckling down and faithfully chipping away at the mountain of work ahead!
Kassie
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentines Day
Just a quick check in. Not a lot to tell new.
It is amazing how often in a day that my mind just explodes with some sort of learning from my classes and I am like "I got to blog about that." Then of course there is the realization that I need to still write several papers and I have finals just around the corner. So my brain "push-ups" turn to that work instead of talking to you all.
Finals are in 4 weeks, that sounds like a lot of time, and during my undergrad I probably would not have even opened a book yet. However, I will need every minute of that time to prepare for these finals. So if you have second, please pray for my focus, memory power, and some extra hours of energy. I would appreciate it.
Single or with someone, I hope you have all had an amazing Valentines day, or Saturday for that matter...
Peace
It is amazing how often in a day that my mind just explodes with some sort of learning from my classes and I am like "I got to blog about that." Then of course there is the realization that I need to still write several papers and I have finals just around the corner. So my brain "push-ups" turn to that work instead of talking to you all.
Finals are in 4 weeks, that sounds like a lot of time, and during my undergrad I probably would not have even opened a book yet. However, I will need every minute of that time to prepare for these finals. So if you have second, please pray for my focus, memory power, and some extra hours of energy. I would appreciate it.
Single or with someone, I hope you have all had an amazing Valentines day, or Saturday for that matter...
Peace
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Restoration
This stream of conscious blogging may get addicting, be warned!
I was listing to a New Testament lecture last week and the professor used a quote that has stuck with me so deeply over the last few days. I feel like it was one of those breakthrough thoughts in clarity where your paradigm shifts one dial on the nob closer to truth. The quote had to do with the miraculous healing ministry of Jesus:
"Jesus' healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly 'natural' thing in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded." Jurgen Moltman, The Way of Jesus Christ. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 99.
Wow, I had always understood redemption in God's terms as returning things to the way that they were always meant to be at the point of creation, in the Garden of Eden. For some reason, however, I had never allowed the scope of Christ's redeeming ministry to permeate outside of the scope of individual spirituality. Now I have cognitively understood that God at one point in time will return all things to the way they were meant to be. However, I have always seen that as a moment in time and not a process. Redemption in my mind has always been a point, not a journey.
I do believe that we can take many learnings from the healing ministry of Christ: it was a sign of his power and deity, it was to reward faith, it was to create teachable moments for his followers, and it was a natural compassionate response to hurting and dieing people. Yet, when we read Colossians 1:16 "For in him all things were created:" we recognize that so much of the healing ministry of Jesus was simply the Creator returning things to the way that he intended them to be. In my mind this moves Jesus from just being a "great physician" who is making things work again, but he is the source of life who is restoring things to their intended order. A subtle, but I believe profound difference.
This shift in my mind moves Christ's acts of healings out of the category of "improving the recipients standard of living." It redefines his acts of healing as the author of life exerting his will and power of the dismal affects of sin on his creation. I imagine Christ saying in his heart as he healed the blind man "I never intended you to not see," to the lame man "I did not create you to limp," to the bleeding woman, "I did not author you to hemorrhage."
In his healing ministry Jesus gives us a glimpse of what "in the beginning" looked like and he points us to finality of "New Heaven and New Earth." As I make this learning my own I recognize a whole new meaning and motivation in our modern day "social justice" ministries. The work of social justice finds its true heart when it is not defaced by the attitude of obligation, responsibility, or duty. Instead, the work of mercy is given the breath of truth when I recognize I am joining with the original intentions of the Creator. Now my heart can cry out while I feed the homeless "you were not meant to go hungry," as I play with the orphan "you were not created to grow up without parents," sitting with the widow "you were not intended to feel so alone," mourning with the dieing "you were not designed to feel so much pain."
(As an aside, I think we can also apply this understanding of redemption to environmental preservation and restoration. When God said "subdue" - Genesis 1:28 - he did not mean waste, deface, pollute, abuse. When we live out redemption in every area of our lives, then acts of environmental stewardship are no longer selfish acts of worshiping and idolizing the earth, but righteous acts of ordering things to the way the were meant to be and will one day be again.)
Though we may not be able to exert the miraculous healing powers of Jesus at will. We have the privilege of taking the heart of the Creator to a broken and dieing world with the plea, "this is not the way it was intended, this is not the way it will always be." Jesus' healing ministry cries out to us "redemption is happening, and will be fulfilled in all things."
I was listing to a New Testament lecture last week and the professor used a quote that has stuck with me so deeply over the last few days. I feel like it was one of those breakthrough thoughts in clarity where your paradigm shifts one dial on the nob closer to truth. The quote had to do with the miraculous healing ministry of Jesus:
"Jesus' healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly 'natural' thing in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded." Jurgen Moltman, The Way of Jesus Christ. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 99.
Wow, I had always understood redemption in God's terms as returning things to the way that they were always meant to be at the point of creation, in the Garden of Eden. For some reason, however, I had never allowed the scope of Christ's redeeming ministry to permeate outside of the scope of individual spirituality. Now I have cognitively understood that God at one point in time will return all things to the way they were meant to be. However, I have always seen that as a moment in time and not a process. Redemption in my mind has always been a point, not a journey.
I do believe that we can take many learnings from the healing ministry of Christ: it was a sign of his power and deity, it was to reward faith, it was to create teachable moments for his followers, and it was a natural compassionate response to hurting and dieing people. Yet, when we read Colossians 1:16 "For in him all things were created:" we recognize that so much of the healing ministry of Jesus was simply the Creator returning things to the way that he intended them to be. In my mind this moves Jesus from just being a "great physician" who is making things work again, but he is the source of life who is restoring things to their intended order. A subtle, but I believe profound difference.
This shift in my mind moves Christ's acts of healings out of the category of "improving the recipients standard of living." It redefines his acts of healing as the author of life exerting his will and power of the dismal affects of sin on his creation. I imagine Christ saying in his heart as he healed the blind man "I never intended you to not see," to the lame man "I did not create you to limp," to the bleeding woman, "I did not author you to hemorrhage."
In his healing ministry Jesus gives us a glimpse of what "in the beginning" looked like and he points us to finality of "New Heaven and New Earth." As I make this learning my own I recognize a whole new meaning and motivation in our modern day "social justice" ministries. The work of social justice finds its true heart when it is not defaced by the attitude of obligation, responsibility, or duty. Instead, the work of mercy is given the breath of truth when I recognize I am joining with the original intentions of the Creator. Now my heart can cry out while I feed the homeless "you were not meant to go hungry," as I play with the orphan "you were not created to grow up without parents," sitting with the widow "you were not intended to feel so alone," mourning with the dieing "you were not designed to feel so much pain."
(As an aside, I think we can also apply this understanding of redemption to environmental preservation and restoration. When God said "subdue" - Genesis 1:28 - he did not mean waste, deface, pollute, abuse. When we live out redemption in every area of our lives, then acts of environmental stewardship are no longer selfish acts of worshiping and idolizing the earth, but righteous acts of ordering things to the way the were meant to be and will one day be again.)
Though we may not be able to exert the miraculous healing powers of Jesus at will. We have the privilege of taking the heart of the Creator to a broken and dieing world with the plea, "this is not the way it was intended, this is not the way it will always be." Jesus' healing ministry cries out to us "redemption is happening, and will be fulfilled in all things."
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CPAC
Well I received a bit of encouragement lately about this blog that people are reading and I need to just do more short updates. Now this is a huge exercise of discipline of the will for me. As many of you may know that I am a bit of a perfectionist and highly analytical, so just jotting notes that go out to the masses without a good 20 or 30 proof reads along with a final proof from my wife is almost an emotional impossibility. But here goes, installment 1 of stream of conscious, barely edited blogging!
I really just want to let all of you know how grateful we are for your prayers for us during the last week. Our experience at Church Planters Assessment was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of our lives. I could write pages about the experience. However, the most important thing for you to know is that your prayers were felt and answered. God worked amazing things in our lives over those four days. We received amazing affirmation of our call to plant a church, defined direction of what that church is supposed to "look like," and supernatural encouragement from the people that we encountered and interacted with through the process. So thank you for your prayers. We got home on Thursday afternoon and are about recovered sleep and energy wise. We are looking forward to being able to unpack and communicate this experience more clearly over the next weeks and months, and look forward to sharing some of those learnings here.
Grace and Peace,
Pete
I really just want to let all of you know how grateful we are for your prayers for us during the last week. Our experience at Church Planters Assessment was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of our lives. I could write pages about the experience. However, the most important thing for you to know is that your prayers were felt and answered. God worked amazing things in our lives over those four days. We received amazing affirmation of our call to plant a church, defined direction of what that church is supposed to "look like," and supernatural encouragement from the people that we encountered and interacted with through the process. So thank you for your prayers. We got home on Thursday afternoon and are about recovered sleep and energy wise. We are looking forward to being able to unpack and communicate this experience more clearly over the next weeks and months, and look forward to sharing some of those learnings here.
Grace and Peace,
Pete
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Just in Time
Well my unofficial New Year's resolution was to be more consistent at blogging. So, I have a whole week to spare in making the month of January entry!
Our past few months have been very full. November and December we had several weddings mixed in with the holidays, one that we were witnessing and one that we were photographing. We were able to make a dash to Indiana to spend time with Kassie's family for Christmas. It is always great to get to her grandparents' farm. New Years saw us moving into a new house.
In the mix of the holidays we found a new home to share with my parents. We had been looking around for months for a place that would accommodate the four of us. Dad has been working just outside of Asheville, staying with us during the week, and traveling to Atlanta on the weekends to be with mom. With the current economic situation their house has been on the market in Atlanta for about 15 months and being apart was beginning to wear heavily on mom and dad. When we were starting to feel like we were not going to be able to find the right space, price and location for all of us, God provided an amazing spot just outside of Asheville. It is a great location for dad to get to work and Kassie and I to still get to town in a reasonable amount of time. The house has an amazing layout with mom and dad, and Kassie and I each having our own living area. Its on a river, has a great yard for the dogs, and a great office for me to study and work out of.
In the meantime of traveling, moving, and keeping up with school, we began our Church Planting Internship at our home church. Our internship has kicked off with us preparing to go to a church planters' assessment that will happen this upcoming week (Jan 26th-29th). The process has already been a bit stretching with both of us having to complete 4 different personality/leadership/spiritual gift type tests and a 60 question application. We would really appreciate your prayers as we go through this experience.
Please keep in touch, and let us know how your lives are going.
Pete
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Winter
Winter Garden
by Shae Cooke
The powdery snow falls silently upon the forest floor,
Blanketing the brushwood in it’s downy softness.
The wind blows lightly causing a slight shiver
amongst the threadbare branches of the stately Alder trees.
Dancing shadows leap across the pallid mantle of snow
As the bright light of the wintry moon
shimmers upon the tips of the glistening tree boughs.
The snow muffles the distant bay of a solitary wolf,
Silently echoing the sentiment of his loneliness.
The trees sway in unison as though
Dancing to the cadence of their cries.
The Winter Garden.
Splendid in its austere exquisiteness.
The snow drifts awash in a palette of
Shades of white, heighten its
Unadorned beauty.
______________________________
It is Winter. And it is beautiful.
This year, I am so thankful for a change in mindset towards this season. Normally, I would scoff at its seemingly monochromatic and dull canvas. As a person who is greatly affected by my environment, Winter's bland offerings do not help lift my spirit and emotions. I have often blamed the season for my overcast moods and fatigue. But a new light has been shed on this holy season. Someone mentioned how Winter is restful and quiet, and that it is integral for life to manifest itself in the following seasons.
Okay, so I have heard this all before, but for some reason it hit me this time. It changed me.
Just a few nights ago, I was awoken. I had no idea why I felt so rested, so ready to wake up during the middle of the night. In fact, I laid there wide awake until morning's light. A thought was brought to me that I believe was from the Holy Spirit. This experience was an analogy for where I am spiritually and emotionally.
You see, for a number of reasons, God has been resting and healing me for some time now. Through the quiet I have gained perspective and have been maturing... my roots have been growing deeper in faith. Now, it seems, He is awakening me. The Lord has opened my eyes from my restorative slumber, and I am awake! There is always a time for me between waking up and getting out of bed when I am still, yet am surveying my rest from the night before and measuring the tasks at hand for the day. This is where I am. I am realizing and am grateful for the rest. I am weighing, with hope and passion, for the day ahead. I am finding myself being propelled by Winter. The stillness, the quiet, the rest will always be integral for life to manifest itself in the following seasons of my life.
I am aware that Winter's canvas returns every year. But next time, it will be welcomed.
-Kassie
by Shae Cooke
The powdery snow falls silently upon the forest floor,
Blanketing the brushwood in it’s downy softness.
The wind blows lightly causing a slight shiver
amongst the threadbare branches of the stately Alder trees.
Dancing shadows leap across the pallid mantle of snow
As the bright light of the wintry moon
shimmers upon the tips of the glistening tree boughs.
The snow muffles the distant bay of a solitary wolf,
Silently echoing the sentiment of his loneliness.
The trees sway in unison as though
Dancing to the cadence of their cries.
The Winter Garden.
Splendid in its austere exquisiteness.
The snow drifts awash in a palette of
Shades of white, heighten its
Unadorned beauty.
______________________________
It is Winter. And it is beautiful.
This year, I am so thankful for a change in mindset towards this season. Normally, I would scoff at its seemingly monochromatic and dull canvas. As a person who is greatly affected by my environment, Winter's bland offerings do not help lift my spirit and emotions. I have often blamed the season for my overcast moods and fatigue. But a new light has been shed on this holy season. Someone mentioned how Winter is restful and quiet, and that it is integral for life to manifest itself in the following seasons.
Okay, so I have heard this all before, but for some reason it hit me this time. It changed me.
Just a few nights ago, I was awoken. I had no idea why I felt so rested, so ready to wake up during the middle of the night. In fact, I laid there wide awake until morning's light. A thought was brought to me that I believe was from the Holy Spirit. This experience was an analogy for where I am spiritually and emotionally.
You see, for a number of reasons, God has been resting and healing me for some time now. Through the quiet I have gained perspective and have been maturing... my roots have been growing deeper in faith. Now, it seems, He is awakening me. The Lord has opened my eyes from my restorative slumber, and I am awake! There is always a time for me between waking up and getting out of bed when I am still, yet am surveying my rest from the night before and measuring the tasks at hand for the day. This is where I am. I am realizing and am grateful for the rest. I am weighing, with hope and passion, for the day ahead. I am finding myself being propelled by Winter. The stillness, the quiet, the rest will always be integral for life to manifest itself in the following seasons of my life.
I am aware that Winter's canvas returns every year. But next time, it will be welcomed.
-Kassie
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