Let It Stop, Let It Stop, Let It Stop

Greetings all from the world's laziest blogger!

First, let me say something for those of you who may have been worried: Berthoud Pass (location of a recent avalanche) is nowhere near Berthoud, Colorado. Our house isn't buried in snow, we haven't been forced to resort to cannibalism, and, no, we are not investing in sled dogs.

That said...

We have had an unholy amount of snow. It started out the weekend before Christmas with a good 'ol two-and-a-half-foot dumping. It has been followed by two 8-10 inch snows the next two weekends and they are predicting another storm this weekend (they are spotty on the amounts...anything from 6 inches to another 3 feet). These snows have piled on top of one another, melted, re-frozen, melted, and refrozen again. The result, on the streets, is a skating rink. The result, in the alley that our garage opens up to, is an experience I can best describe as "Driving Through A Foot and A Half Of Mashed Potatoes." In a Honda Accord. Or a Toyota Tercel. Yeah.

Needless to say, we are getting a bit tired of it here (can I get an amen from my back!?), but the good news is that there haven't been an injuries or the like as a result....yet (can I get an amen from my back!?).

One more story related to the snow. Julie and I decided to fly out on Christmas Day down to CA to see her folks. We got to the airport, made in through security in time, and were bumped from our overbooked flight. Flights out were still full of people who were trying to get out after the storm...so....we spent 9 hours in Denver International Airport on Christmas Day. Christmas Dinnner was a spinach salad and a BBQ chicken pizza. Ho Ho Freaking Ho. I could launch into a soliloquy about how unethical it is to overbook flights on Christmas Day, but...we better keep the seminary blog a solid "PG." Once we got there, things were great. Christmas Day itself? Not so much.

All in all, things are well here. I remember Bill once telling me that there will come a time when you run out of ideas for preaching. I'm getting there quicker than I thought I would. The result has been (in my opinion) an over-reliance on personal stories. I have been trying to read more to "refill the tank"...but I am having a hard time placing that on the priority chain over everything else. There are days I feel tired...but the good news is that Sundays (and most days) are still extremely energizing and help me to get perspective on what God is doing here.

Aside from the tired/spent feeling that I have been told comes with the first year...oh yeah, and the unholy, unrelenting, back-devouring, soul-sucking snow...things are going well. Julie and I are quickly discovering that our greatest challenge here may be finding true friends. We love the people here...and they have welcomed us with open arms...but I can't really go anywhere in this town without being "THE PASTOR." And while people in the church are more than friendly with me...there is still a distance (that I might argue needs to be there to some degree) and a hesitation on my part and theirs not to get too personal. I have had good interaction with the very-busy Methodist pastor, but her attempts to do ecumenical activities have been coldly received by the other congregations in town. And so...really...there are times (esp. when I'm tired) when I really miss having "compadres" to really talk to. But this, of course, is the "downside" of a small church in a small community. We keep praying for those friendships to develop...but we still enjoy and revel in small town life, the support and love of a small church, and the miracle of God doing big things even in small places. Still, (of course) prayers are always appreciated.

A few random comments in closing:

The last five movies I have seen (in chronological order):
1) Casino Royale
2) The Good Shepherd
3) Casino Royale
4) Casino Royale
5) Casino Royale
That should answer the "Did you like the new Bond movie?" e-mails I've been getting. I simply can't get enough of it...when it comes out on DVD, Julie's going to have to dangle cookies in front of my face to get me off the couch.

I have yet to use any of you in sermon illustrations...although I was tempted to use the "Zod Hand" in a Christian Ed class where we were discussing providence.

Thanks for the e-mails and calls...I'm sorry that I am often sluggish in returning them. I have heard a rumor that John Armstrong is now in South Dakota. Can we get that substantiated? Julie and I are headed to the Black Hills this summer...I want to know if I should pack my clubs.

As always...the door is open for any who wish to visit. Know that you all are missed.