From Kristin, on prayer

At New Way Church, we've been wondering about different ways to say the Lord's Prayer. Different translations, phrasing, postures. All different externals which help an individual communicate with God. The other day Genai posted a very awesome thing on her livejournal, about the Lord's Prayer. She talked about how it means something very special to her, but that the words she grew up with have some burdensome connotations. So she rewrote it to more truly reflect what she thinks and feels in saying the Lord's Prayer.

What a cool idea!

So I decided to try it. What does that prayer really mean to me? What is my heart trying to say? What intentions and images and emotions do I attach to each phrase? I think that during different phases of our lives, some bits jump out more than others, or take on special meaning. Certain needs resonate more with us, or less. I think it is good and beautiful and refreshing to consider, what do I need from the Lord right now in my life? And then find it in the Prayer you've said for years, and really let it flow through those words. I loved the process of rewriting it, and I am so happy with the result. It feels like, YES, that's what I've been trying to say! And I want to share it. Because it's awesome. And you should try it, too, and then (if you like) share what you come up with. What words feel like the truest expression of your thoughts to your God?

Caregiver to us all,
whose presence is sure,
and whose name is holy:
Let this earth be as you intended;
let your will, and not mine, govern my life --
let me look to you as the angels do.
Fill me today with goodness and love.
Forgive me the mistakes I have made,
and let me truly forgive the hurts others have given me.
Keep my eyes on the path you have laid before me,
and protect me from harm as I walk.
For you are the ruler of all,
you are in complete control,
and I owe you all love and praise.
Thank you and amen.

From Kristin

Hello, friends! Today has been SO successful, despite an unpleasant start. Get ready for a thrilling tale.

This morning was New Way Church's first service ever. We met in a hotel conference room a few miles north of us. Excited and nervous, we were running a bit late (waiting for cornbread to finish baking) when LO, we noticed that my car had a serious problem. The right rear tire appeared to be almost flush with the inside of the wheel well; in other words, the frame seemed to have partially collapsed onto the wheel. Now, I got this car a week and a half ago, and right away knew that I was in for a rough ride. At about 45 mph, the thing starts to shake like a helicopter; at 55 mph, you start to fear for your life. So when I saw the wheel I had these horrible visions of damaged suspension, bent frame, broken axle...I didn't know what to think and I thought if we drove it it might break entirely and ruin the car. Foolishly, we drove it around the block and it felt normal (that is, the didn't vibrate and rattle any more that usual), so we went ahead and drove to church anyway with the car full of body weight and music equipment. A couple of times we'd hit a bump and hear this horrible crunch of metal on metal (knowing that the muffler was already damaged and riding low, I crossed my fingers and kept driving. It was stupid.)

But then! Then we got to church, safe and sound, and had an awesome first service. There were about 40 people there, tons of kids, and one or two total newcomers. Mac and Ethan both did an excellent job. So that felt great, and then Edwin Uber and his roommate Jon (who came down from Dallas this weekend) looked at my car and guess that it had a suspension problem. They figured it was safe to drive at under 40 mph. Also, before we left I chatted with the receptionist at the hotel, and she is interested in coming to our church, and is also new to Austin. We're going to get together soon for lunch. So I feel awesome about that.

We got home safe and relatively happy, though I still didn't know how I was going to get the car fixed. Then Ethan and Dylan came in to announce that a man had come and wanted to buy Ethan's minivan, and he was a mechanic, and a great guy. So I waited for this mechanic to come back from the ATM, and made friends with one of my neighbors in the interim. (Keep in mind, these two women bring my list of new friends up to two.) We're going to throw some kind of housewarming/meet your neighbors party together, and I said I'd put her in touch with Blair at Head Start because she and her fiance are looking at maybe moving to Philly next year and both work with innercity/at risk kids.

So then the mechanic comes back and test drives my car. He's a really friendly, honest guy. And LO, like a true auto genius, he observes that the car features THREE different tire sizes. The one that looked cramped is like that because it's way too big for the car. And so this explains the vibrating, wobbling, shaking, all of it. It's possible that new tires are going to completely fix my car. So I'm taking it in to this shop tomorrw, and I'm looking at less than $150! Isn't that WICKED??

This was such a successful Sunday.

From Kristin

I can't believe Ethan just outted me. The Twilight thing was NOT meant to be public.

From Ethan

Hey,
     So, I've still been loving my job.  The other day I got to order over a thousand dollars worth of audio equipment- that was super fun, and some of it should arrive here tomorrow!  I picked some good songs for church including a great special song by Andrew Bird.  Today I created my own sheet music for the song "I could sing of your love forever"- it took a while, but I got much better at it by the time I finished.
     A couple days ago we all watched "Twilight" together.  It was hilarious- oh the teenage angst- good stuff.  Then last night we watched the sequel "New Moon" which was also super great (Edward is way cooler, and hotter than Jacob).
     In the last couple days we also made it downtown to see this really awesome event.  One of the biggest bat colonies in the world lives under a bridge in downtown Austin.  And in August every night at dusk, they all fly out together.  I believe there are somewhere between 1 and 1.5 million bats.  It was so awesome.  It looked like columns of smoke going out for miles.  You should search "Austin Bats" on youtube- there's a couple great videos (we were on the bridge).
     Tonight I cooked steak for my very first time- crazy huh.  It was delicious.  My good old dad taught me to marinate it in balsamic, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard and fresh sage.  It's the best.
     That's about all for now.  It's just still really exciting to be here and to be trying new things and going new places constantly.  I'm loving it, and I'm really happy right now.

From Ethan

Hey folks,
     I just realized it's been a while since I posted.  Let's see, it's Friday night and things are going alright.  Today I've been a bit frustrated about cars.  I'm trying to sell my minivan, and I just hate all the legal crap more than anything else in my life.  It's so stupid, I wish I could just meet someone, they hand me money, and they take my car.  I put an add in craigslist this morning, and have gotten a couple calls, but none have panned out yet.  I should've taken one offer just to be done with it, but he was low balling me.  I also got an email about it, but I think it was a scam.  Anyway I'm pissed about it, but everything else is great.

I officially started work this week.  Had a meeting with Mac and Kristin about what our jobs will look like for the next while, and we talked about the future of the New Way Church.  Starting work also means that I'm going to get paid soon- that's exciting.  We also had a meeting on Wednesday with the core group of volunteers and talked about what we want different aspects of church to look like, and how we're actually going to put together the first service.  I think both those meetings will happen weekly, but besides that I'm working from home.  Working from home is the best!  I can crank music, there's a pull up bar in my office, I can go to work naked- haha.  I actually haven't had that much to do yet since we're just starting.  The coolest thing though is that most of it so far does not feel like work.  In fact I've volunteered to do some of these things many times before.  I can get work done late at night if I want and it doesn't feel like I'm at work, cause I would have done it anyway if it wasn't my job.  It rocks. 

Earlier this week I got to see one of my favorite bands live which was really exciting.  We were listening to them in our living room when Dylan said, "Hey, Quiet Company is playing a free, live show tonight and tomorrow night downtown." I'm so lucky.  It was really fun to see them in person.  That night we also got to learn the Metro system a little.  It's kind of confusing, and we were almost stranded for an hour at midnight, but some friendly people told us where the correct bus stop was and we made it. 

We've also been fun growing some plants.  We bought some sage, rosemary and thyme that had already been started, and then we started some oregano and basil from seeds.  We also bought a tomato plant.  They're all doing great so far- it's so fun watching the little guys grow.  We also grew some alf-alfa sprouts in our kitchen, which just finished growing yesterday.  In fact I've gotta go eat some for dinner right now.  I hope all of you are doing great, cause I love you.
Love,
       Ethan

From Kristin

Today I feel a bit weary. The infrastructure of my life here still has some notable holes -- no bike, no car, no water glasses, no real bed, nowhere to keep my clothes...Trying to live with them unfilled takes a lot of energy, but trying to fill them takes a lot of energy (and money) too. I've been shopping for a car, and it's difficult staying motivated. Everyone has an agenda, and everyone is willing to lie. I do think though that once I have a car, things will feel easier. I will be able to get the rest of the stuff I need and really start to settle in.

I started babysitting this week, Thursdays and Fridays for 10 or 12 hours. It's great. There is one four month old boy, named Wren. There's something very zen-like about his routine: eat, sleep, play, repeat. I really enjoy taking care of him, and it's also great to have some pursuit outside of our little apartments. Theoretically we start work for Mac tomorrow, too, which I'm excited about. We still don't really know anything in terms of when, where, or what, but I know it will be great.

I'm starting to miss home a bit. I need to remember to be kind to myself; that this is a very stressful and challenging thing. Of course there are moments of frustration and anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. It is awesome and exciting, too, but it is a process with ups and downs like anything else. I can't demand too much of myself. I need to remember to be still, to reflect, to think about the Lord, and to relax.

I love you all so much.

From Ethan

Hey everyone. Let's see, it's Thursday night now and I'm still loving Austin.  I've had a couple more great days here now.  I set up my desk in my room and I think it's going to work great for my recording set up.  I had a really relaxing day today.  Ate breakfast, watched some hulu shows, practiced guitar for a couple hours.  Then Dylan and I biked down to this store that has everything- we were going for gardening supplies.  We scoped the place out and decided to buy some potting soil, starting soil, and sort of a window box that we tied to our porch railing.  Then we planted basil and oregano.  We also got some alph-alpha sprouts that we started in our kitchen.  I had no idea how to do sprouts, but a handy youtube video taught us, and it's super easy and fascinating how little it takes.  A bit after that I biked by Shipe playground for the first time so far.  For those of you who don't know, Shipe playground is a nice little park with a couple tennis courts, a basketball court, a playground, pool, and a nice little field for walking or yoga etc.  When I went today there were a couple people shooting hoops.  I asked if I could shoot around with them, but they were just about to leave- bummer!  I'll try again soon.  After that I tried this Pad Thai dinner I got.  It was just rice noodles and "pad thai" sauce, but I added an egg, lime juice and this peanut sauce I got.  It was so delicious!  I'm excited to add some home grown sprouts to it next time.
Alright, it's time for bed.
                                    -Ethan