Year in review

Well for those of you who actually check this blog out occasionally it has been a year since I have last posted anything, and for that I am really sorry. Things have been kind of different than I am use to and I think in general my life has just been kind of blah. Not to mention it is really hard to blog while I am at work and the Internet at our apartment is a crap shoot.

The past year has probably been one of the most remarkable and yet blah years I have ever had. There were times I could not believe so much was going on and yet at the same time I have seen very little happen in my own personal life that I have come the realization that I have been just coasting through life.

So here is the review of the past year:

Shortly after getting this job at the library Christi and me found a church that we could call home here in Louisville. And over the course of the past year we have became partners at Sojourn, joined a community group, seen the church attendance go up by over 400 people, helped organize the counting of the offerings, and this Sunday Christi will begin playing with the worship group on Sunday mornings.

Also, shortly after getting this job we made friends with a set of neighbors, and for about four months everything was great. But after those four months the friendship disintegrated, no need to go into details, suffice it to say that it was a learning experience for Christi and myself and a wake up call to how people respond differently to same situation. During that rough time it was amazing to see how are community group really stepped up and helped us through it.

This summer Christi and I actually got to take a vacation (our first one ever as a married couple that was longer than a weekend) with the purpose of just relaxing. We did practally nothing. Did some shopping. Spent a day at a coffee shop. Saw some movies. Ate at some pretty good chain restaraunts. In short, just took it easy without having to worry going to work the next day.

And now classes have been going for almost two months for Christi and I have been plugging away at my job. However, I feel that Christi and me are now coming out of a transitional period. I have had this feeling that something is coming are way and that we will need to step up and do it. So who knows what will be.

I do not know if I will keep this post up to date, or if I will start a new one or if it will be a year again before I post. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Accountant Librarian

You know things have a funny way of working out without us even realizing it. Last week I was minding my own business, more or less, when I get a phone call from Ms. Powell who works at the Seminary’s library asking if I would be interested in coming in for an interview Friday morning. I was stunned; it had been at most 24 hours since I had submitted my name for the position that library was offering. None of the jobs that I had applied for since we have moved to Louisville had called me back that quickly.

So I set up an interview Friday morning at 10 a.m., we get done around 11:30 and around 1:30 of the same day I accepted the position in their Acquisitions and Cataloging department and I started the following Monday. To say the least I am shocked at how fast things have moved. I have worked several days and I am already connecting with the people that work here. Between the people, the environment, the benefits, and the fact that I do not have to drive to work completely makes up for the low pay.

Every job offer that I have taken (and pretty much everyone I have been given) has come within a day or two of the interview, and usually the same day as the interview. Also every job that I have worked at has shaped me and how I view work. I am insanely excited about working with books again after four years since I last worked at Reader's Choice.

So thank you to everyone who has been praying for me to find a job. Once the dust settles from the transition of me coming in and the people that I am replacing leave, I think this will be a great job. Heck, I already think it is a great job. So thank you again, I think God has placed me where he wanted me to be.

And to all my friends and family that I do not see very often, I miss y’all and I am thinking about y’all constantly. (I'm in Kentucky...)

Long over due Update

Howdy all!

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged; actually I have not blogged since before we moved to our new digs. For the most part we are settling in. Most of our boxes are unpacked. Still have a few here and a handful at Christi's folk's house. It is definitely different being here in Louisville so close to downtown, we are only a handful of miles away from the skyscrapers. But with all the hills and trees in the area it is pretty much impossible to see them. The campus is gorgeous, sort of like a mini Miami. And while the people may dress even more preppy here, it is because of the dress code. And it is a total switch to be in a place where almost no girls wear shorts or mini skirts and t-shirts of some sort with normal collars. That is very pleasant switch to what I am seeing.

The apartment that we are now living in is a huge step up from what we are use to living in, but it seems to have a very cliquish atmosphere. It is not completely cliquish, but it is rare to somebody who does not have kids hanging out with a couple that does have kids. The singles always seem to be always going out. And the older couples, empty nesters, seem to hang out with each other when they are not hitting the books. That leaves pretty much just us kid-less married couples to hang out with other kid-less married couples, and most of them have taken up residence in the older Springdale apartments at the other end of campus or they live off campus. If we did not have such a cool set neighbors, newlyweds, I think I would feel completely cut-off. But we are still settling in and I think we meet more people as the year goes on.

And for those of you who are praying for me to find a job. Please keep doing so. I have some leads, but most of the jobs I was going for on campus have dried up. I still have two positions that I am trying for, and God willing I will get one of them. But there will be no info on those jobs till sometime next week. Also, if you could tack onto your prayers about me possibly starting up classes here at seminary, I am thinking about possibly going for a degree as well. A job at seminary would allow me to work around classes and save on gas money.

To all who read this, I miss you terribly. You are in my prayers and thoughts.

Time Flies

Wow, it has been forever since I have updated my blog, and I had no idea. Lots has happened since my last blog. Christi and I celebrated our birthdays (I am now 25), been to a Reds game (and of course they came so close to winning it), started a program to read the Bible in 90 days (realizing that God has a temper way worse than I ever imagined), went to Lexington for a weekend (desperately needed the break), ect. And to top it all off we are having to get ready for our big move down to Louisville so Christi can attend Seminary. Crazy times.

There are things that I am going to miss about us moving. The weekly gatherings that I go to (church and bible study); the group close friends/family that we have made; the fact that I live in the country in a college town (great in the summer); and so much more. However there are things that I will definelty not miss. The long commutes, working with people who swear out the wazoo, and the sheer stupidity of drunk college students, especially when they are driving.

And the worse about all this is that I feel that I am crackin. I know that there are all of these things that have to get done. Yet my mind and my body are screaming for a long break. A break that we neither have the time nor the money for. The trip to Lexington was desperately needed. It showed Christi and me how much we had been drifting apart, and how exhausted we are. We did not realize, but her working the theater and me working overtime was really hurthing our marriage, and wearing us down. I know that once we get some time to rest, be together and reflect on what has transpired that it will make us stronger (both in Christ and in our marriage), but I am having a hard time seeing when we will get that time. Hopefully we will get a little bit of time after we move, before I start work (hoping that I get a job shortly after we move) and before Christi starts school.

My fellow brothers and sisters, please keep us in your prayers. And I as I said before, we are really going to miss you.

Your brother, Eric.

A Curve Ball, or a few hundred

Life can be pretty interesting at times, especially when you look back at and see where you have come from and the choices that have brought you to where you are now. That is how life feels right now, not only my own, but others as well. I am not where I expected to be; a friend has to switch companies to keep the same job he has now, and it is not a job he ever expected to have; another friend, well to put it short is having parental problems; and so on and so on.

So life has been throwing us all curve balls; some slow, some fast; some we see coming and try to adjust our swing, some we do not even see till they are in the catcher's mit.

Maybe that is why I have become so addicted to the TV show Firefly and its movie Serenity. A ship, a captain, a crew, and some passengers that seem to have lost everything they once cherished and now have to live their lives the best they can while trying to pick up the pieces. They all have had curve balls thrown their way and their lives are all messed up, but they go on. As long as they are free, they go on. And here are the lyrics to the theme song.

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

And here is a link to a site that actually plays the song in case you want to hear.

So for all of you who have had curve balls thrown at you lately, let's just keep swinging.

The End of Something Old, The Beginning of Something New

In the fall of 2000 I started college at Miami, and in a way it finishes this weekend. I know that I have been out of college for two years with my degree and been working to pay the bills, to eat, to have shelter and all the other wonderful reasons why we work. Yet this Sunday my wife, Christi, will graduate and receive her undergraduate degree. And while I may have graduated two years ago, by being married and living with a person that is still in undergrad has kind of kept me in college aw well. This caused me to be caught between two different worlds, the college-life and the adult-working-full-time life, which can be a real strain at times. And I know Christi, at times, has also felt the tugging in two different directions.

This weekend the slate will be wiped clean. We will both be adults with college degrees in our hands. Whether or not Christi is accepted to Grad School; whether or not we stay in the Greater Cincinatti area; whether or not we both work full time, we will, most likely, not be living in Oxford after July 31st.

And this both scares and saddens me to be leaving Oxford. This little town with its oversized University right next door has been my home for nearly 6 years. It is where I met my wife; it is where I stood up and made my commitment to Christ; it is where I learned truly what family is; and it is the place where I have made true friends. And I will be leaving these friends, my family, to go somewhere new. Somewhere where the only people I will truly know are my wife and Christ. I do not like the idea of leaving a place that accepts me, that loves me unconditionaly, a place that I feel that I belong too. Until I came to college, I did not really know what it meant to be a part of a group, too truly belong. Some people leave Oxford/Miami glad to be out of a small town, to be out of their holding patterns till they can be adults. I do not view my time in Oxford in the same light. I know I could settle down here and be happy. There are so many ways to minister, to help people. Yet, I feel that this is not the right place. That we are being tugged to go somewhere else.

I can feel it in my bones, deep inside. Lessons to be learned, learnin to found, experience to gain, and growth to occur. But not in Oxford. I think God is telling me that Christi and I have learned a lot during our time in Oxford, but He wants to show us something, to teach us more. I believe that we have put our faith in His hands, and he has used it to make us grow, and now has a new mission for us if we are ready to except.

So to all my friends in Oxford and at MU, to those that are there now and to those that have left, you will be and are sorely missed, but you all have shown me a life that I did not know existed, so THANK YOU.

"It's Been One Month..."

All right, how many of you know the BNL (Bare Naked Ladies) song "One Week", yes I use to be a huge BNL fan. Well, it seems that I only get to blog about once a month. When I started this blog I really planned on doing it more often. There are a host of reasons and excuses as to why I do not keep up this blog as much as I would like to, but in the end I think it is because I do not have the kind of dedication or practicing to do it on a regular basis. Also, I feel that I lead a pretty boring life so I do not always feel like I have something to blog about.

So yeah its been one month since I have blogged, tomorrow is Easter, but Chrsiti and I are going to my parents house to celebrate it with them today. It is kind of weird to be going up there to celebrate Easter with them, because I think that it means something different to them than it does to me (and Christi).

By the way I really hate the name Easter for this holiday, a day that celebrates the day our LORD rose from the dead. It comes from a pagan Goddess of fertility, and all the "traditions" that we do in America to celebrate this day also come from pagan traditions. The hiding of Easter eggs is the big one that comes to mind. This day should be a celebration and a reminder of how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that he overcame death so we could have a place by him for all eternity. The part that really drives me nutso is the fact that there are so many people that know what this day means and yet they will teach their kids more about the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs than they do about how Jesus died for our sins.

I am going to stop that train of thought because it will just turn into a 5 hour rant. So have a wonderful weekend and it the spirit of what this holiday really is, have a happy Easter.