House Update and Lenten Challenge

How do you like that odd juxtaposition of mundane/temporal and significant/spiritual? That's how my pregnant brain works these days - everything's all mashed together (if I can remember it at all).

Kami asked for pictures, so here are a few:


Before - looks pretty nice, right? Unfortunately, between damage from the leaky roof, stress cracks in the ceiling, and the fact that everything needs rewired, it all had to go.



After - this is the same view as above, except now our stairs are hidden under debris and our house is "see through." Upstairs and to your left is what will be an office space with our master bedroom behind it. Upstairs on the right is a bathroom, which will be retooled, but will still be a bathroom, and more bedroom/master closet space behind. Downstairs and to your left is what will eventually be two kids' bedrooms. On the right will be a laundry/storage room with a bathroom space behind.



Another picture of downstairs, just for fun. It's amazing how the relatively "minor" project of changing out sheetrock suddenly seems very major, even without considering moving the framed walls around. :-) Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am to have a handy husband? He's a wonderful, wonderful, talented man and I appreciate his hard work very much. (Keep going, Honey! :-)


Nice, huh? It definitely has a ways to go. Unfortunately, we were misinformed about how long we'd have to wait for permits, so we can't start rebuilding walls for a while, after all. We've slowed the pace a bit and we've still got some demolition we can do while we wait, so we're just doing what we can and hoping our permits can slog their way out of the beaurocracy and into our possession sooner rather than later. :-)


In a different vein entirely, I have a challenge for those of you who consider yourselves Christ-followers. Scot McKnight (an emergent church theologian who I really like, but don't always agree with :-) has issued a challenge for the upcoming 40 days of Lent (starting Wednesday, Feb. 6). Instead of giving something up (not something we evangelicals usually do, anyway), let's live out the Gospel for the next 40 days by reciting the Jesus Creed each morning, whenever we're thinking of it throughout the day, and again at night. During the evening recitation, reflect on where you've sinned in relation to the Jesus Creed and confess those sins. I believe what Scot calls the "Jesus Creed" is absolutely foundational to Christian life. It is the first bit of scripture my kids ever memorized, and we talk about it often around here (quite easy to find opportunity in the context of "is it loving your neighbor when you hit/kick/push your brother?" :-) Here is the creed, and I've also attached Scot McKnight's thoughts after it... Definitely a challenge worth considering and a passage worth integrating ever more fully into our daily lives.

"Here it is:

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

What we are discovering — in tune with the wisdom of ancient Israel’s recitation of Shema and the early church’s recitation of the Jesus Creed and the Lord’s Prayer — is that this sacred rhythm works love of God and love of others into the bones and sinews of each day. Who will take this challenge?"