Two months… two whole months.  Time has been moving pretty quickly.

(Devolving into direct catch up on events)

The church plant has been a little intense at times.  That’s not to say there haven’t been good parts, but we’ve run into a bit of an issue with our denomination regarding our desire to start a church which would be open and affirming towards homosexuals.  Our plant’s funding, Leah’s salary and her ordination hang on the resolution of the issue.  There is plenty at stake.  It’s also complicated the process of getting the word out due to being in a sort of limbo until approval is complete.  We’ve been moving ahead with Sunday night dinners and bible study at our house, which has been fun, if not well attended.  We didn’t expect an easy go of it, but there have been several demoralizing turns and it feels pretty socially isolating at times.  However, any church planter will tell you this.  Ultimately it’s not about us.

I’m hoping to put out our new church website in the next couple of days.  I started out trying to use Drupal as a content management system, but ended up bending  Wordpress to my will, which has worked to some effect.  It’s fun to spend a little time hacking php and css, although every time I try to get back into it, I’m amazed by how much it’s advancing and becoming more complicated.  I used to try and make things pretty… now I just try to make them work.

We’ve been having spring like weather here in Seattle, which has led to the ability to spend a fair amount of time on the bike.  Riding for fun is nicer than riding for training when life is tiring enough as is.  The lack of rain has also enabled us to make good progress on the outside of the house.  We’ve put up a new fence and begun reworking the yard(s).  Part of this is to enable the adoption of a dog, which could happen soon.  Leah hearts doggies.

The M5 has seen some attention too.  The rear suspension has been replaced, and the front suspension and steering is disassembled pending re-installation with all new parts.  After that, it’s just getting a new windshield in, fitting the new bumpers, fixing the electrical issues, and getting it back into the body shop for a few touch ups…  c’mon, it’s practically done… heh. heh. er.  Then I can fix all the crap that’s broken on our two other cars!

Work is plugging along for me.  Same ol’, same ‘ol.  Having fun with the camera.  Looking forward to remodeling part of the basement.  A few fun irons are in the fire.  Still searching for the illusive eighth and ninth days of the week.

Leah has been writing daily over at her blogspot blog.  Take a look over there for more updates on the church.

More soon.

I took off the full week between Christmas and New Year’s for the first time in past three years which turned out to be very pleasant.  Of course I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped, and there was enough insanity in the extended family that our marriage and family therapist actually wrote me a prescription for “a stiff drink.”

I shit you not.

Anyway, not working turns out to be nicer that working.  Even if I didn’t end up riding my bike as much as I’d hoped (family, weather, desire to avoid the trainer, and copious “meh”) I still got some good stuff done around the house and on Gus.  The new dash was installed, and the rear suspension mostly disassembled while I wait for a few lingering parts.  Unfortunately removing the self-leveling suspension components created a hydraulic fluid nightmare on the garage floor I’ve yet to broach.  With the car work at an impasse, the weather iffy, and family drama, it was good to spend time with Leah in amounts we’re normally unable to find.  That was very nice.  It also left time for introspection and a review of the past year.

In talking with others it seems that 2009, by near-unanimous vote, blew.  I couldn’t agree more.  I rode less, raced poorly, gained twenty pounds, and incessantly bitched about my inability to keep things in balance.  The economic poop left jobs uncertain, only compounded by Leah leaving Quest and churchplanting.  Neither side of our family fared well.  There was far too much death and despair.

On the other hand, there was awesomeness.  Four of our favorite couples were married.  Aaron and Anna visited the northwest.  The house didn’t catch fire.  The cars (mostly) worked.  We still have jobs.  The church plant is being planted.  I’m playing around with cameras.

Life as always had a mixture of good and bad, but I’m hoping for 2010 that mixture will favor good.

Blessings in the new year.

(from Wedding Crashers)

It’s amazing how the time flies, but considering that it’s been an unusually busy month it shouldn’t be surprising.  I doubt I’m breaking new ground for anyone here, but Leah has finished up at Quest and started making baby steps towards her next venture: Sinners and Saints Church.  Even though she’s technically “resting” right now, she’s stayed plenty busy working and dreaming on what is to come.

I haven’t been sitting on my ass either, but the sordid details aren’t nearly as exciting.  Cars break and get fixed.  House projects are undertaken.  Yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, for the first time in many, many years we’re in between churches since the new church won’t start services for a few months.  It’s especially an inconvenience during Advent, when there are so many fun church things in which to take part.  While we won’t have a church “home” for a while, we do want to keep going to church, or rather churches.  There are plenty of churches in the area we are planting in that we want to scope out, and many other churches pastored by friends which we can’t visit during normal sundays.

There is, however, a beauty to being a visitor.  No one expects anything from you, and furthermore, no one knows who you are.  You’re anonymous, and just like being a freshman in college all over again, you can take on a new identity without anyone being the wiser.

With that in mind, Leah and I have been brainstorming new identities for when we visit new churches.  Ex-satanists making their first visit to church?  Ultra-fundamentalists (dressing for the part, and Leah walking behind me) come to tell people of the error in their ways?  Christian swingers?  New-age devotees promoting one-faith agendas?  Really the possibilities are endless.

While it’s cool to mix it up ever decade or so, and it’s fun to see some of our friends in action, I think we’ll both be happy to be us again, and with a church to call home.