Hey there… we wanted everyone to know that we bought a house here in Comox!  We're feeling really blessed, and incredibly excited about it.  We've prayed a lot about what life on the Island is to look like for us.  One thing that has been consistent is that we are to "unpack our bags" and really make this home.  Janna and I both share the value of putting down deep roots, and the longer we're here… and the slower life gets, the greater that desire grows.  We prayed for a house that had the potential to be our home for the long term, and God has so supplied our needs.  The house has plenty of room, and even the beginnings of a studio in the gorgeous backyard!  As well, it's right in Comox (which we love) and only a 5minute walk from the Ocean. 

Truth be told, it's overwhelmingly perfect… and we are so thankful for yet another example of God's extravagant provision in our life together.  It's so easy to loose sight of God's hand in our lives… not because it's hard to see, but because we often don't take the time to look.  I'm embarrassed sometimes by my inability to trust Him, as I know Him to be completely faithful.  This physical example of His provision reminds me yet again that He is able to provide for the more important emotional, social, and spiritual desires of my heart. 

We take possession at the beginning of July, and can't wait to have many of you visit our new home. 

Tony Campolo is an inspiring kind of man.  He has been a pastor and international speaker from the US for many years.  During my journey I've encountered Him in a couple of different ways.  First was via a video that he recorded for students who were building houses in Mexico.  As well, I heard him speak at a conference once.  And finally, I met and heard his son speak to a group of youth workers one time.  All three encounters, in conjunction with the stories that everyone hears, and the books he's written lead me to believe that he is an authentic individual.  Most of all, I see that he has a connected with Christ's heart for poor in our world.

Last night he was on the Hour , a CBC news show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos .  This show is a version of the news and current events from my generations perspective.  George grew up in an evangelical home, but he has become quite put off by the Church/Christianity for the most part.  That said, his past does impact his perspective on things, and he can't help factor God and Christianity into issues, life, and the news he covers.  I love the show (all it's flaws considered) because it is both a voice for and to my generation in this country.  I guess that's why I was so impressed with how Tony carried himself on it last night.  God was in the building, and Tony was His voice last night on the Hour…. check out the interview here:

I've been  thinking a lot about community lately.  It's not just the conceptual idea of it, but also the reality of the community that I live in.  I live life connected to many different forms of community.  The word itself is used in a variety of ways.  The dictionary defines the word as such:

• a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
• a locality inhabited by such a group.
• a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars.
• a group of associated nations sharing common interests or a common heritage: the community of Western Europe.
• a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.
• an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.
• joint possession, enjoyment, liability, etc.: community of property.
• similar character; agreement; identity: community of interests.

Given the fact that the English word 'community' has such a broad definition, I should clarify that the specific community I'm speaking of is my 'church community'.  One of the reasons Janna and I have come to the Island is to share life with friends here, and to continue learning what it looks like to 'be the church'.  I know that church is not an institution or a building… it is a community of people.  People with shared values and goals.  People who are connected to a shared truth, and in turn to a common journey through life.  I love it, and I more importantly I need it.  God has so clearly shown me that we are all created with a deep need for relationship, and that life, dreams, passion, purpose… all find inside of community.

All that said, I wanted to throw out some of the questions that I'm wrestling with right now.  It would be amazing to have your thoughts, insights, questions, and life experiences thrown into the mix.  To do that just comment here (just scroll down to the bottom of the post, and submit your comment there.)

• Why is community so important?

• What are the key values that God is calling use as a community to share? 

• Why am I so important to community?

• How does/should a church community connect with other church communities, both locally and around the world?

• What does community need to look like from day to day?  How do we best live it out?

• How do we create a hospitable community? (an inclusive community, where others can easily enter.)

• How does my 'church community' best relate to my other communities (i.e. Family, Neighbours/City, Work, etc.)?

Yesterday I made myself laugh (I do that a lot… at lest I think I'm funny… HA… see I just did it again.)  Anyways, as I was saying I made myself laugh.  I was in a coffee shop writing in my journal, and this is what I wrote:  "Rest is beginning to reveal a restlessness in me."  I laughed because I'd never realized that the word 'restless' quite simply means to be without rest.  Too often the reality of my life hits me with such childlike simplicity that I find myself embarrassed, having been completely oblivious to what should have been elementary.

I Am Restless.

This reality hits me yet again in the irony of my life.  For many years now I've longed for space and time to fully live.  Room in my day to day to see and hear the world around me, to interact with friends and family, to soak in simplicity and solitude.  I've wanted so desperately to find that place of balance where there is time to write and create.  I feel like God has provided that place and time for this here in Comox, and this excites me.  At the same time, I realize that I really have little idea how to embrace the gift that has been given.  Instead I want to receive a gold star for ever getting here, and move on to the next thing.

I Am Restless.

Truth is, there is no 'next thing'.  This is it!  I am where God wants me, and now I pray for the ability to really live a life of rest.  Paul W encouraged me to really 'move to Comox'.  To unpack our boxes.  To meet my neighbours.  I heard God's heart in his words then, and I'm beginning to see and hear it even more as time goes on.  Rest is to be at the core of who we are, and I have faith to say that soon…

I Will No Longer Be Restless.