Rarely

"The prisoner, the sick person, the Christian in exile sees in the companionship of a fellow Christian the physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God. Visitor and visited in loneliness recognize in each other the Christ who is present in the body; they receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord, in reverence, humility, and joy." - Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Admittedly, I rarely see, much less experience, fellowship as something this profound. Is it possible to taste of these depths of Christian exchange without the trials of imprisonment, illness or persecution? Perhaps our Lord reserves this rare sweetness only for such hardship.

What's the Use?

Now that the glories of cross country travel are over, it is admittedly difficult to maintain blogging motivation. Classes are nearly done for the semester and we are very excited to fly back to Washington to see our family.

To those of you who faithfully check in to this blog only to find nothing new, I apologize. In fact, I won't blame you if this is the last time you ever drop by. My feelings will not be hurt, for I can completely identify with growing bitter over other people's lack of communication.

After all the sweat and frustration

Finished 1
Originally uploaded by sovereignmercy.

What you have here is the result of some genetic generosity from my contractor father to me. With the visit of Karen's parents last weekend the necessity of more seating became clear to us, that is, before they came. The remedy? I set out to construct the bench you see here. Click on the picture to see a blow-by-blow of the process. Don't hear me tooting my own horn--this was a trial and error project. Karen can tell you of the countless times I bemoaned the thought of one more screw having to be sunk into the wood.

Oh and sorry for the pathetically infrequent updates. School has been demanding and....yeah, yeah, you've heard it all before. Thanks for checking in.

Sought After

With the suffering of His children
And the tears from their gaze
He will make righteousness and song
Spring up before
The nations will rejoice
Though they initially silence
These He has sent
Inevitable gladness will come
From the streets once desolate
From the fields once barren
From the wombs once evacuated
From the hearts once stone
“You will be called Sought After,
The City No Longer Deserted”

Chuggin' Right Along

Well, school and such continues to just rumble along like a trusty car down an unknown road. Sorry for the sporadic updates. Honestly, not much is going on.

One thought sticks out in my mind right now. Today the seminary hosted some preaching lectures. Excellent stuff. The keynote speaker said, "When going to the pulpit, you're taking what you've written--the ink on the page--and turning it into blood. Incarnational delivery is what we're about as ministers...."

Who Stands Fast?

"Only the man who final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when his is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God--the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God. Where are these responsible people?"
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics

Luke & Karen's Excellent Grocery Adventure

IMG_0264
Originally uploaded by sovereignmercy.

In light of my conundrum a few weeks ago in not being able to post any good pictures, I decided to document our adventure in grocery shopping. I know what you're thinking.....lame, bro. Well, hopefully you'll get some good laughs on us regardless.