Reflections on Tony's Goodbye

Today we had to say some of hardest goodbyes before our impending move to Ohio. We went down into the city and hung out with our friend Tony. We visited the Chicago History Museum and then had dinner at Leona's, which is an awesome Italian restaurant near Loyola. When we parted ways tonight, we were all choking back tears. But, it was also like saying goodbye to the city of Chicago. We love Chicago. But, we love Tony even more. We're going to miss him a lot.

Just in case you're wondering, the picture is of the Reeses Pieces Sunday we ordered at the restaurant. We were definitely the victims of false advertising. The menu stated that it was "two scoops vanilla, one scoop chocolate," but there is no way that was just three scoops. The three of us didn't come close to finishing it.

Reflections on Questioning Evangelism

Recently, I finished up the best book I've ever read on evangelism. It was Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman. The title is a little deceiving. Being a career Crusade staff-member, he'd be the last person to question the validity of evangelism. Rather, he's referring to a method of evangelism that uses primarily questions instead of rote memorized material or monological sermonettes. By asking questions, you put the burden of persuasion on the person you're talking to instead of on yourself.

Most important, asking questions forces Christians to do something they're usually not good at doing, especially when it comes to evangelism - listening. Authentic dialogue and questions display humility, confidence in your own beliefs, and genuine care for the person. He does so much in this book to address the "used car salesman" feeling that I have had so often when sharing my faith. Dialogue is the answer to that feeling. Definitely pick this one up if you get the chance.

Reflections on Temp Temp Place

The residential musical chairs continued this weekend for Kathi and I. We moved all of our stuff out of our temporary house in Libertyville, and moved into our temporary temporary place, the new home of our friends Frank and Betsy. Essentially, we're living in a room with a bed for the next two weeks, but the fun part is that we get to hang out with two close friends. As much as we love our new arrangement, Kathi and I are getting really sick of this nomadic lifestyle. The place we are in right now is Frank and Betsy's first house, and we find ourselves a tad envious of their situation. There is great appeal right now in settling down in one location and staying their for the next decade. But, the Son of Man has no place to lay his head, right?

Reflections on Football Heartbreak

Heartbreak in Ohio, there is no joy in Columbus today. If you've been living under a rock, you may not of heard of OSU's humilitation at the hands of Florida last night. What an ugly display! They looked like a Division III team with no offense and zero ability to adapt to a tight Florida defense. It was downright painful to watch because this was not the team everyone expected to see last night. Even the most ardent Florida supporters believed it was going to be a close game. What happened? That'll be the question in American sports nation for some time.

As I watched the shellacking, I wondered which would be more painful: to be complelely humilitated in a blowout like last night or to come within seconds of a national championship and have it taken away by a last minute comeback. At least with the comeback loss, you can still hold your head up high knowing you played a good game.

Reflections on Circle of Life

As of yesterday, I have come full circle in my time here in Illinois. I started working part-time at the undergraduate admissions office at Trinity, which is the same office I began working at in August 2001. It is actually a huge blessing. They needed someone to fill in as they transitioned with staff, and we need some extra income to help with our up-coming move. Everyone is happy. Despite this, the irony of ending my tenure in this office doesn't escape me. Very funny, God.

The past few days we've been working early mornings. It's been a while since I've had to get up this early on a regular basis. I know what you're thinking...poor, Kevin. Well...it's hard, so LAY OFF! But, it's only for a few weeks. Then it's back to Ohio where we'll hopefully kick our support raising up a notch.

Reflections on Our Christmas Trip

We're are finally back from our Christmas break extravaganza in Ohio. In retrospect, it was a very unusually trip for both Kathi and I. We're not really sure how to explain it. Mostly it was because we never really felt like it was Christmas. We didn't really take the time to prepare spiritually for the Christmas season, so we both felt distant from God in the midst of all the celebration concerning Him. We are hoping that this reminds us to take time to meditate on Christ's birth and the incarnation next year.

But, we did get some pretty sweet gifts! Kathi got me Sufjan Steven's Michigan album, and for those of you who don't know Sufjan, you must check him out immediately. I'm pretty sure he's the most creative songwriter in our generation. Freaking amazing, I say. All consumerism aside, it was wonderful to spend time with family and get away. It was especially great for Kathi to be at home and rejuvenate a little bit.