U2- 360 Tour October 2, 2009

I fell in love with U2 back in high school, but even then didn’t realize the phenomenon that the were/are.  I simply thought “Joshua Tree” was an amazing album.  I promptly went off to Christian College and lived in a bubble for the next 4 years, so I missed out on “Zooropa” and “Pop” for the most part, but came back in when they released their “Best of 1980-1990″ album.   I was hooked again!  We don’t see a lot of concerts, but Brent and I had decided by their last tour, “Vertigo,” that we would try our best to get to a concert.  There’s some things you just want to say you’ve done in life, and I had already missed out on seeing Michael Jordan play live.

After seeing “Vertigo,” we knew that we would try to see all of their tours from here on out.  Much to Trey’s dismay, we didn’t take him to that concert.  Or this one.  Guess we’re going to owe him big the next time around.  But 14 sounds like a better age for a concert than 6 or 10… of course, don’t tell him about the kid his age that Bono pulled up on stage, ran around the ring with, and then ended up giving his shades to at our concert.

So here are a few of the pictures from an amazing night.  Not even the drunk, racist idiots in the row in front of us could take away from the fun of the show… well, not entirely.  I would have definitely enjoyed it more without them!

The stage has been described as everything from a crab, to a spaceship… all I can say is that it definitely takes you where U2 intends to take you… to a time and place where people love one another and stand up for each other when justice isn’t being done.  Plus, there’s just something really cool about the way the guys interact with each other.

Bono is all rock star.  He knows it.  He totally uses it, too, in the sense that he knows his voice is heard.  So he talks.  A lot.  About what is going on in the venue’s backyard, and around the world.  He doesn’t let you just sit there and listen to their music.  He makes you hear their message too.

Then there’s The Edge.  One of my favorite things is to watch musicians who are truly enjoying playing their instruments.  He is one of those guys.  There’s just something about watching him play the guitar.  He has such joy.  Larry is funny to me because I always think of him as the stoic one.  One of my friends saw them last night for the first time and said she thought he looked like he was in pain the whole time.  I just laughed.  I hope he wasn’t in pain and I was laughing, I just think he’s that kind of drummer.  He’s not all dramatic and all over the place.  He does his job.  And does it well.

And then there’s Adam.  Adam mesmerizes me like nothing else.  Partly it’s because he can totally rock the bass… and he’s not young.  Mostly it’s because this dude isn’t drinking the Kool-Aid.  You know, the other three are definitely expressing their spiritual thoughts and ideas through their music, and he’s not.  What really grips me, though, is that I don’t think it’s because he’s a sellout, going for the U2 fame and money.  I think it’s because of what it says about him as a person… and maybe more importantly, what it says about the other three and the way they treat him.  There isn’t judgement there.  There is brotherhood.  There is love.  There is the living out of what they sing about night after night.

And maybe that’s one of the reasons I want to see them every chance I get.  Because besides really great music from some mediocre musicians (Bono’s words, not mine), you see the embodiement of the lyrics of their music every time they join together.  And that’s somewhere I’m willing to be transported.

More than Friends April 27, 2009

We got away!!  Brent and I spent the weekend in Birmingham, Alabama… without the kids!  Brent officiated the wedding for some sweet friends, Stephen and Ashley.  The joke of the weekend (well, one of them) was how many years of “he/she is just a friend” that they went through before they realized that maybe they were more than that.

The whole weekend had that theme though.  As we were reunited with some amazing friends from our past years in Williamsburg, we realized that they are all much more than friends in our life, they are our family.  The years and the miles don’t change how deeply we care for each of them.

The best part of the weekend (for us anyway… I’m guessing the bride and groom might have other ideas…) was spending time with all of these friends that we love so much.  Stephen’s family has been such a big part of our lives over the years.  They have been extended family to us as we started our little family (at the time!) away from our own families .  We had our first two kids in Williamsburg and Kim, Theresa and Lindsay would babysit them while Katie and Stephen would go to youth group with us.  They included us in meals, pool time and life.  When we had our fourth child, we all talked about how we had 1 boy, 3 girls like the Spencers and casually said how we hoped they grew up like them.

Then there were Brent’s small group boys who were the groomsmen and a few of my small group girls who came to celebrate with Stephen and Ashley.  They were all so much fun as teenagers, getting into (mostly) good trouble and challenging us on life and God.  We couldn’t wait to see who they turned out to be too as they grew.

Well, now they are all grown up and this weekend reaffirmed that hope.  The times I cried the most this weekend were the times when Brent and I realized just how much we love each of the people we were reunited with and just how much we really do hope our children are blessed with the family and friend relationships that they all have.  We are blessed to know these people, even more now as they have grown up into amazing adults.

Moronic Headline of the Day January 5, 2009

“Israel Says it Won’t Stop Assault on Gaza Until ‘Peace and Tranquility’ are Achieved”

Why do we continue to think we’re going to establish peace through force?

Jesus For President June 8, 2008

Now that Hillary is out of the running… just kidding.

This summer, July 23rd to be exact, we will be bringing Shane Claiborne and the Jesus For President book tour to Richmond. To get ready for this, many different people from different backgrounds have been blogging about sections from this book on Brent’s blog. It has been really interesting so far- and not just because I’m one of the bloggers!

The whole purpose of this is to start conversation, so head on over there and lend your voice!! Here’s where it all starts.

What I need to “Say”… June 6, 2008

John Mayer’s song “Say” keeps speaking to me…

Take out of your wasted honor

Every little past frustration

Take all of your so called problems

Better put them in quotations

Say what you need to say

Say what you need to say

Say what you need to say

Say what you need say

Walkin’ like a one man army

Fightin’ with the shadows in your head

Livin’ up the same old moment

Knowin’ that you’d be better off instead

If you could only

Say what you need to say

Have no fear for givin’ in

Have no fear for givin’ over

You better know that in the end

It’s better to say too much

Than to never say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shakin’

And your faith is broken

Even as the eyes are closin’

Do it with a heart wide open

A wide heart

Say what you need to say

that was strange… June 2, 2008

I think I speak for everyone that was at our church yesterday when I say, “That was strange!” Or maybe more accurately, “What just happened?!”

Our church, as we have come to know it over the past three years, just dissolved. It really is just the next step in our journey (yikes, Brent hates that word, but it fits), but for all intents and purposes, we’re done as “the Well.”

To sum things up, a group of us started a church three years ago and could now write a detailed book called How Not to Start a Church! Don’t get me wrong… I don’t think for a second that we didn’t do it the way we were supposed to at the time. It’s just that it wasn’t what the “church world” would deem as successful. However, since we are told not to do things for the praise of man, but of God, here’s a few ways we were so successful:

• we created a place of healing for ourselves and others
• we learned how we have a place in God’s story… and that this story didn’t end in Acts, but is still going
• we learned to be in communion with one another in a very real sense- “breaking bread” in many ways
• we learned to take up each other’s crosses as we fed, clothed, housed those of us in need
• we learned to accept and love one another in our brokenness and pain
• we celebrated new life together- both in marriage and birth

This isn’t the end… although it really felt like it yesterday. Maybe the analogy of being pruned is a bit too strong, but in a way that’s what is happening. We have been searching for a way to continue to be on this mission that God has placed us on, and we think we’ve found it. It doesn’t take away the sting, but it feels good to know that it’s for the greater good as we move on to join another church plant in the area.

Avery’s Quote of the Day 3-in-1 May 27, 2008

Avery’s quote today pretty much sums up the facets of her 3 year old personality: sassy (also known as, “where the heck did she come up with that one?”), sweet, and always a little wicked.

This was our conversation after lunch today. I swear that this is it in its entirety. Out of the blue, she announced to me,

“I can’t wait until I have big boobs!!”

Me (after I regained some composure): “Why?”

Avery (the sweet part): “Cause then I’ll be a momma!”

I’m thinking, ‘awww… she wants to be a mom!’ and then I hear:

“And then I get to spank!!”

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! May 21, 2008

This could be “finally” as in, “Finally another girl has won ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”  Or, “Finally this season of ‘American Idol’ is almost over.”  But this “FINALLY” is because “FINALLY MY FAVORITE BLOGGER IS POSTING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!” (FYI- this link isn’t to his latest post, but to the beginning of his “It’s Not a Date” story… the funniest and most addicting thing ever!  His blog is actually “Awkward Things I Say to Girls”)

As a way of apologizing to all of my other blogging friends for calling his my favorite, realize that your blogs are posted on my site and Justin’s is not.  I know… that’s a lame apology, but if he’s not your favorite too, you haven’t read his blog yet.

I realize that this is a little late in the game (but while I’m pimping other people’s blogs), if you want to read a funny recap of last night’s American Idol, or the season for that matter, jump over to Brent’s friend’s blog.  FYI- “Teen Beat” is David A. and “Talk Box” is David C.

Happy reading!

_____ looks like a lady May 14, 2008

Of course you can fill in that blank! But if you think you’re a fan and expert of 80’s music, here’s a quiz for you. I thought I knew what I was doing, but only scored a 78.5. I thought I’d redeem myself on the 90’s quiz, but after reading through it, didn’t even attempt it! Good luck and tell me your score!

The Kitchen May 12, 2008

My favorite room in a house is the kitchen. I remember the first time I fell in love with a kitchen was back in high school. It seems strange to me that I would have even noticed the kitchen at this stage of life, but the parents of one of my girlfriends had the best kitchen I had ever seen. Her entire house, after all, was pretty amazing as it was complete with elevator and multiple ways for me to get lost even though I spent a lot of time there. This kitchen, though, was just really big and beautiful with a large eating area in it where the family gathered. The other kitchen I loved in high school was that of another girlfriend because in it her dad would make his special “Papa G’s spaghetti sauce” that even if I had any desire to cook at that point, he never would’ve given up the recipe. It was a sacred family thing for them and I loved what it represented (not to mention I loved the sauce!).

I was reminded last night how much I love the kitchen. Brent and I had the priviledge of celebrating the engagement of a dear friend of ours, Stephen Spencer! His family has been such an important and special part of our lives. As we walked into the kitchen of their home in Williamsburg last night (for the first time in YEARS!!) we were welcomed home. I felt such warmth and joy in just the simple act of standing in their kitchen. The years of love and care that they bestowed on us in that very room came rushing back to me and I was once again known and loved.

Have you noticed that no matter how nice the rest of the house is, people always gravitate to the kitchen? You can tempt them out of it by turning on lights in other rooms, putting on nice music, even distributing the food to other areas, but they’ll always hang out it the kitchen. There needs are met, both physically and emotionally. The playing field somehow becomes level. Anxiety and insecurity melts away with the joining in and sharing of life. There is something about this that I just love.

This is why in my dream house, the kitchen takes up the entire first floor.