Ironing out the details

We have these monday evening meetings here. They're about hashing out the physical stuff of living together, moving people in, arranging ways to support ministry, live simply, love our neighbors, etc... they are awesome... there is prayer for neighbors.

Right now, there's a movement of neighbors to oust the Heards. They are Tina, Monty, Maurice, Shannon and her Jays (two kids named jay. love it...) The neighbors say they're trouble. okay... yes, there is bad stuff. Their porch is oft occupied by druggy guys and there's bad traffic there... true dat.

but you should have seen the neighbors before!

and Tina works 40 hours as a BAGGER at Kroger! Minimumumumumuminininimumeeeeoooowwwaaaaaaage! That is one hard working mom...


We want to be more present to this family--their kids, especially. Monty threw a brick through a window the other day and he and two of our other kids, Andrew (mugged aaron with 4 others), and Damien, robbed NY Flava... a hip-hop store...

It's our hope to go "staff" on this neighborhood, raising enough support to put Chris Deering, and Smitty on Neighborhood Youth Ministry Detail. They'd develop stuff that would do the fathering and brothering that the Church is meant to be, to the poor.

happy

i'm happy this morning... life is pleasant where we are... yesterday i had rowdy kids cussin' me in my backyard... i called the cops and they scattered, but my street credit plummetted.. i was stymied at how to handle disrespect in my yard... it was awful.

then i got the best idea:

WATER BALLOONS

i'm gonna turn those times of disrespect and danger into all out FUN... First I'll hit them with a Wb, then, I'll bring out some more so we can have an all out... turning tough love into PLAY...


...welcome to the life... i'm going to go get some of those old-school helium balloons and fill them with water adn I'll have my personal revenge on those guys! no more police for me! we're going gangsta style! drive by water balloonings!


FUN... having fun with kids who are defying authority... i think that's an interpretation of what Jesus does with me. He takes me under the wings of father hen, and tells me jokes in the face of my fears and failures... tells me jokes...

The coolest idea in free music!!!!!!!!! (click here)

hey, check out this great way to find music you'll like! try it! it's so coool... this kind of technology is really neat because it gets us around the world in a minute, you know?

a special greeting

I'd like to send special love and thanks to Peter, Gudrun, and Nick. Your visit to us was a Gift from God. Thank you all for coming, all the way from Germany! How you love your son, Tim, our Student-Son. We were inspired by your free spirits, open minds, and bravery. Thank you for all the meals you bought us, the gracious conversation, the open spirit you had among us.

your visit made a hard time much, much easier. We are so glad you are our friends, and we pray the blessings of God for you...

Tupische Morgen

Got up 702
Clothes
sandals
ipod
phone
computer bag
teeth
Tim to bus stop 712
Back for aaron
aaron to school
to sidewinder
blogging...

it's a fairly typical morning, except I didn't get aaron up early enough and he slept till 702... usually he's out the door at the same time as Tim and i'm typing by 720... today, not till 740...

i'm so grateful for a working computer! It is such an appreciated luxury to be able to write down what is going on--to have it read and prayed for by you who come here to see what's up in the mind and life of Lew... I have to say that my experience with apple computers has convinced me that they are going to eat up the market.

Steve Jobs will have his revenge on Microsoft and Bill. Apple's gonna be the next big thing...
that is, if the electricity stays on.
...and these days, i tend to wonder...

Do any of you listen to Bob Dylan? "It's a Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"

These days are incredibly pleasant. we're in the thick of a lot of things that make me blown away by the beauty of my kids and wife... i am sensitized to every thing in our life that is good or pleasant.

the other day i came home from an intense, confrontational, humbling, beautiful engagement, where the preaching of the Gospel was so clear... i felt the flames licking my heels... and in the driveway are JUDY and SETH... my heart just LEAPED.
lept?

someone else got shot last night... they blocked off 75south just north of us... the shootings are off the hook... people are getting killed every day, here... and Jesus is here... Jesus is there, too. right with us. he's here with us to mess up this evil, violent status quo...

Russ Girgenti is the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I was privileged to a call from my Friend from Down Under (Orlando, FL), Russ Girgenti. Great to hear his voice...

Russ is an interesting guy. He's a bail-bondsman who works for Mike Snapp Bail Bonds. If you are ever in trouble in Orlando, give him a call. He's a real professional, with awesome stories of pepper-spraying dudes and dudes like, trying to throw you off the balcony, and stuff like that...

JP, from our community, went on a run with him once. NO kidding. JP was visiting down there and he went on a run to pick up someone with Russ. At least I think so. Russ, when you read this, you gotta leave a comment telling how that all went.

Russ is also a house church pastor who yearns for the move of the Lord. From my perspective, he has just about the most passionate heart possible without some kind of upgrade... His passion RAM is maxxed out... he's waiting for a processor upgrade, when the Great Technician returns... hahahahahahaha...

Russ and Mike down there kind of watch over us up here, offering the church's identity to us as we minister... They are the "Body of Christ" guys... That's the name of their dealio, there... The dealio of the Lord, that is...

May your kingdom come
may your dealio be diddly-done!

i laugh at my own jokes... it's sick.

Listening to my own Voice

I just listened to the 50 minutes of recorded "sharing" that I did at CCS. That is, Aaron Klinefelter's class at Cincinnati Christian Schools... A beautiful mess of 17 and 18 year olds who obviously have been sharpened to think critically enough to handle some hard-hitting truths...


here are some notes i jotted while listening...

__________________________________________
At CCS
Psalm 63
O God You Are My God
All who are thirsty
Sing for Joy
Kindness

I cannot stomach the thought of you becoming a nice person. You know what? It's nice people who are letting this world become a living hell for so many. It's nice people who allow this world to remain a living hell for so many...

nice people don't do what Jesus did...
the idea of Jesus as nice guy...
he's not nice
he's not suburban
he's not white

you'll think i'm racist
crazy
syrophoenecian woman...

why do You let all this bad stuff happen? He'll ask it back...

you're men and women.
a small portion of the world calls you boys and girls...
reproduce
break hearts
kill with cars
carry a gun in battle

cars...
to shop...
to have fun
come to school
job
to shop...
...fun
...fun
how many times a day do you say "fun"
are you being groomed to shop
processed to be a nice person
combed out and smoothed...

the odds are diminishing that you'll be able to enjoy this level of affluence, to which you are being groomed...
...economically--do you know about what's going on?

not to shame you.
no shame in sleeping...
only when you sleep too late... too long
shame
trouble
loss
don't mind me, I'm just waking you up...

are you being groomed
combed out
smoothed
so you'll be nice...

dont be ashamed of yourself
flaccid christian education
like a noodle--limp and wimpy
so
darned
nice

your life depends on your Bible Study!
Other people's lives depend on your Bible Study...

ignorance is fleeting
being ashamed of it is sooooo easy.
but YOU
you're gonna grow.
you're gonna mature in your faith
you're not gonna be a consumer, are you?
not just gonna have fun!

love
sacrifice
give
joy
pain
promise

these are ours in Christ...