Goodbye 2005

Christmas in Illinois was great. We were sharing time between about 6 million families it seems so it was different than normal but it was a lot of fun. It was nice to get into some cold weather for a while. Was able to see my family, Kelli's family (billions of them), Jon, Brad, and Josh Carr. Also got some GREAT presents including the Seinfeld Seasons 5 and 6 gift set that included a framed puffy shirt! I was actually overwhelmed by the present we got overall. I really like this marriage thing! You get much more!

In random news, I won my fantasy football league. Woohoo!

Right now as you all know I'm still working through vocation and feel like I'm starting to figure some stuff out so I'm very encouraged. I am learning a lot about who I am and how I fit in God's Kingdom. I'm thrilled I can finally see some progress! I am taking the advice of several people and reading Parker Palmer's "Let Your Life Speak." I have also been reading Andy Stanley's "Visioneering" for the first time and it is helpful as well. He said that having a vision for your life brings direction, motivation, and passion and I have realized, "man, i don't have any of those things!" No wonder. I am not really working towards anything, I have no real vision as of yet but I'm waiting. I almost hate stories like Rob Bell's who talks about his vision of how God told him to "teach God's word and he will take care of everything else." Or any of the other guys who have gotten a clear vision from God because I don't think that's the norm and it depresses people like me who have not experienced anything.

I am also reading Organic Church by Neil Cole whom I took a workshop under in NYC and found fascinating. I love his idea of church and it really correlates with what Brian Simpkins talks about here in quite a few ways. Check it out: www.simplyb.blogspot.com

Other than that Kelli and I booked our flight to Seattle in March where we're going to spend 10 days exploring the Northwest cities including Portland and Vancouver. I'm pretty excited because this is kind of a scouting trip to see if we could see ourselves fitting in there and investing in one of those cities. No idea what we'll think, I've only been to Seattle once but I loved it when I was there. We want to be somewhere we feel like we fit in by next fall. Anyone out there live in Seattle, Portland or Vancouver who wants to tell me about it??? I'd love to hear about the culture there.

I really don't have a whole lot to say about 2005. It was an awesome year. I got married! I moved. There was a TON of life change but it's been a good adventure. It truly was one of the best years of my life and for that I am thankful. I know that I will remember 2005 as a year where a mid-20's crisis gave way to a new way of life. Normally at the end of the year I am very reflective, nostalgic and sometimes depressed. But this year was different. I was at Adam and Heather Randall's place with friends and it was really more of a celebration and I didn't think twice about last year other than thankfulness. I hope 2006 will be just as good!