the past week

has been a slice of why i like student 'ministry.'

thursday mac rode his bike to our house, helped me with some gardening, talked about his life, his job, his home, his romantic interest, etc and finally fell asleep in the living room floor while i answered one of his questions :)

saturday linda and andy joined us for a cookout celebrating caleb's return from bosnia. the cookout was so that all of caleb's supporters could hear reports of his year there. i was thrilled that 'mama linda' got to come. would never have met her if not for student ministry, and she is one of the most godly people i have ever encountered. it's been a privilege to partner with her and adopt uganda on several projects over the past few years as well as travel with her, caleb and a group of folks to uganda in 2009.

sunday we tried to volunteer at church under the bridge in lexington. they had a large group from another group already there so they didn't need us (the other group was already, literally, tripping over each other). backup: go get some yogurt with josh, jacob and samantha. it was a good backup. they are very enjoyable people to eat yogurt with! afterwards we returned to our house for some cards and lots of laughter.

monday we cooked burgers and dogs at scroggin's park in the 100+ degree heat. the best part was talking with travis about college, the upcoming football season, his friends, etc.

tuesday jon joined me for coffee on our back patio. it is such a beautiful place to sit and catch up on life, ministry, etc. finished my day at frisch's with scott, scott and mark - my lifeteam. two of the guys are also deeply involved in our student ministry (i'm working on the other). loved hanging out with them, talking about recent mission trips, upcoming vacations, possibilities of buying a house (not me!), and being inspired by one of my friend's faith as he trudges nobly through a divorce he did not ask for.

it's weeks like this, again, that remind me why i love student ministry. the parts where we're doing life with people.

and while all this is going on...for much of it one or more members of my family are there. other times, they aren't, but because my schedule is flexible, we are able to etch out junks of time for each other that i am incredibly grateful for and blessed by.

of course, the highlight, for me, when it comes to family time in the past week was last thursday night going to see the final harry potter movie. loved it!!!

here's a picture of me as voldemort alongside denise as bellatrix!