The Monday brief: “Where the heck have I been?” edition
July 6th, 2009 | 
Highlight of the week: A friend and I recently secured the lease to an apartment (which is really the 1,800 sq. ft. first floor of a house), and this past weekend I an entire afternoon inside a furniture store picking out some things for the place, including (but not limited to): a mattress, a faux-leather recliner, and a couch. Unfortunately I have to wait until August 1 to actually use any of them, but exciting nonetheless.
Book(s) I’m reading: Since the last Monday brief, I’ve read the following books: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, and Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar.
I’m currently trudging my way through David Foster Wallace’s monumental and maddening-yet-seductive Infinite Jest with a bunch of other souls via Infinite Summer. Clueless? Read Dave Eggers’ foreward to IJ’s 10th anniversary edition.
Music I’m digging: Wilco’s Wilco (The Album).
Something(s) that blew my mind: This optical illusion made me feel like I’m malfunctioning.
Ministry update: We (myself, the intern, and adult leaders) are working on the final preparations for the National Youth Gathering that happens in two weeks. Meanwhile, this Wednesday and Thursday a group of high school and young adult guys from church is going to Chicago for both a Cubs and a White Sox game. The first of an annual tradition? Let’s hope so.
Seminary/ordination update: Nihil.
Looking forward to: The aforementioned baseball trip. Go Cubs!
Photo of the week:
Squirrel watching, uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: The First Annual St. Mark Sale Barn & Silent Auction was an amazing success. In addition to raising 20% more than our goal, the event was unbelievably fun — at one point I was laughing so hard I was in tears. Oh, and it’s wonderful to have the Cubs playing regular season baseball.
Book(s) I’m reading: I finished The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson which was interesting but not incredible, and I’m now reading The Chemistry of Joy: A Three-Step Program for Overcoming Depression Through Western Science and Eastern Wisdom by Henry Emmons. I wrestled with depression in college, and never took the time to actually understand the disease. I’m only 60 or 70 pages in, and it’s already eye-opening. I also picked up Bill Bryson’s A Walk In the Woods for my bedtime reading.
Music I’m digging: Three Flights from Alto Nido (link opens in iTunes) by Greg Laswell. If you like indie rock, you’ll like this album.
Something(s) that blew my mind: This video of a guy beatboxing while playing a kalimba.
Ministry update: As I said earlier, the auction was a total success. And since we just served our annual Easter breakfast, all of our fundraising for the summer trip to New Orleans is finished. Phwew!
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: I am extremely excited for the silent retreat at the end of this week. I’ll post more on it later.
Photo of the week:
Opening day (34/365), uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Is it pathetic to say that the highlight of my week may have been receiving two boxes of Caramel deLite Girl Scout cookies? Yeah, they’re that good. Also, late last week I shaved my facial hair into a Fu Manchu (Dad, if you’re reading this, try not to fall out of your seat when you realize that’s not a portrait of you).
Book(s) I’m reading: Still working on The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson. It’s totally fascinating thus far.
Music I’m digging: No new music this week, but I did re-enjoy The Damnwells’ One Last Century which you can still get for free.
Something(s) that blew my mind: John Stewart’s interview of Jim Cramer was really, really good. As Andrew Sullivan said, “you almost had to look away.”
Ministry update: I’m focusing this week on doing tons of prep work for the First Annual St. Mark Sale Barn & Silent Auction. T-minus 19 days!
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: Brandon Barker and his wife may be joining our budding tradition of Wednesday night bowling — if so, it will undoubtedly be hilarious. I’m super pumped about the NCAA tournament, which starts on Thursday, and I’m making a trip to Omaha on Friday night to see the masterful William Fitzsimmons. Again. Add the gorgeous weather forecast for this week on top of all that, and it could shape up to be an incredible week.
Photo of the week:
We can talk about the street lights, uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Last weekend Kelly and I drove to St. Paul to see Green River Ordinance play a show, which was totally bizarre because a) the bouncer let us in for free (it was a $10 show) and b) there were less than 25 people there. Even so, they put on a great show. If only I had received my new camera by then.
Book(s) I’m reading: I finished You Shall Know our Velocity! by Dave Eggers and at this point I think I am okay saying that it’s my least favorite work by Eggers. You see, I usually love anything he writes, but I feel like there was something missing from this novel. Anyway, I’ve moved on to The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson.
Music I’m digging: For the past couple of weeks, I have almost exclusively been listening to Out of My Hands by Green River Ordinance, which is a phenomenal pop/rock album, and A Sucker’s Dream by The Alternate Routes.
Something(s) that blew my mind: I just want to be a fly on the wall in this room and soak up every ounce of songwriting goodness.
Ministry update: We’re super busy getting ready for the First Annual St. Mark Sale Barn and Silent Auction, which is less than a month away. Lots of things need to come together for it to be a success; and while I’m really nervous about it, I have faith that it will turn out to be a fantastic fundraising event.
Myself and most of the staff at St. Mark are going to the Congregations Together In Mission mini-conference this Saturday. I’m indifferent about it.
Also, Brandon and I are busy putting together the next several videos for Lenten small groups. Here’s Chapter 3:
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: I’m looking forward to a normal week. I don’t have any extra meetings or anything, so I’m hopeful that I can be really productive.
Photo of the week:
Nook (5/365), uploaded by jakebouma on flickr.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Even though I’m less than excited to be 25, I had a great birthday weekend. It was so great, in fact, that I fell out of a booth. Thank you to all my friends and family who made it awesome.
Book(s) I’m reading: Well, now I’m in the middle of five books. The two that I added in addition to last week’s are You Shall Know Our Velocity! which I picked up because it was the only Dave Eggers book I didn’t own and hadn’t read (I’m halfway through it), and Theological Reflection: The Creation of Spiritual Power in the Information Age by Edward O. de Bary.
Music I’m digging: Still digging The Fray.
Something(s) that blew my mind: It didn’t necessarily blow my mind, but this picture has been stuck in my head for a couple of days now… I’m not sure why, but I really love it.
Ministry update: Our junior high and high school ministries will be doing the H2O Project during Lent. Although I’m not looking forward to two weeks sans coffee, I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out. I think it could be really sweet.
And, for your viewing pleasure, here are the first couple of videos that Brandon and I made for St. Mark’s Lenten small groups.
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report.
Looking forward to: The Cubs’ first spring training game is on Wednesday (go Cubs!), and I’m going to see Green River Ordinance in Minneapolis on Friday night.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I have had a blast at the Extravaganza the last several days. My presentation went really well, but the highlight has surely been meeting new people (like Bethany from Augsburg Fortress, Assistant to the Bishop Eric Carlson, and Emily) and getting to know people in our Des Moines network even better.
Book(s) I’m reading: On the flights to New Orleans, I finished Marko’s Youth Ministry 3.0 and got about a third of the way through Living Gently in a Violent World by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier.
Music I’m digging: Something We Can’t Let Go (link opens in iTunes) by Wideawake and the Sans Radio EP by The Daylights.
Something(s) that blew my mind: During Christian Scharen’s workshop on pop culture, he played the music video for The Saints Are Coming by Green Day and U2 and encourage us to use the time as a music video divina. After watching, myself and the people around me were literally speechless.
Oh, and last Wednesday’s episode of LOST was insane.
Ministry update: Brandon Mick has officially begun his ministry at St. Mark. Although we have completely different job descriptions, we have hit the ground running on a couple of really exciting projects. A new audio/visual era has begun. Nerds unite!
Seminary/ordination update: After being denied acceptance into Luther Seminary this past fall, I was pitched on the very program for which I applied upwards of five times at the Extravaganza this week. Oh, the irony.
Looking forward to: Retrieving my guitar from the guitar shop (again), LOST, and beginning Saturday evening worship at St. Mark.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Ireland totally lived up to my expectations. Fun fact: It didn’t rain at all while we were there. No joke. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to editing/uploading the last video from the trip. Bear with me.
Book(s) I’m reading: I read St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography on the plane rides and intermittently throughout the week. Right now I’m reading What Would Jesus Deconstruct? because it’s been sitting on my shelf for a while, but mostly in preparation for my workshop at the Extravaganza in a few weeks.
Music I’m digging: I’ve been trying to get into the album Dynamo (link opens in iTunes) by Faded Paper Figures (think Postal Service), but I’m not sure I like it.
Something(s) that blew my mind: This video from Peter Rollins. It fits it really well with things I’ve been reading/researching/thinking about as of late:
Ministry update: We’re back to a bit of normalcy after the holidays, which is nice. Lots of stuff coming up, though. I’m chipping away at a rather ambitious idea which I hope to flesh out on this blog in time.
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing new to report, but there may be some very exciting things happening in the next several weeks. Stay tuned.
Looking forward to: Getting back into the swing of things at work.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Last Tuesday afternoon, I joined an impromptu meetup with Brandon, Brandon, and Ryan at Caribou Coffee. It was a wonderful break from the beginning of what was a stressful week.
Book(s) I’m reading: In halfway through two books right now: In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English, and Booking Passage: We Irish and Americans by Thomas Lynch (the latter which I got at the suggestion of Mike Stavlund). The back cover of Booking Passage calls it “part memoir, part cultural study,” but there’s something about Lynch’s writing that transcends the categories of memoir and/or cultural study. It’s about life, and it’s written beautifully (Lynch is a poet, after all). Take this, for example:
Today, the easier communications become, the easier it becomes not to communicate. The more rapidly we travel to the ends of the earth, the more readily we avoid our nearest neighbors. The more communing we do, the more elusive a sense of community seems. We are each encouraged to make individual choices, to seek personal saviors, singular experiences, our own particular truth. We make enemies of strangers and strangers of friends and wonder why we feel alone in the world. (xxxix)
So good.
Music I’m digging: I haven’t been listening to any new music, really. The majority of my music-listening time has been spent finding recordings and arrangements of Christmas songs to do with the praise team at St. Mark.
Something(s) that blew my mind: “Recently, researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center in Rhode Island suggested that anal sex is on the rise among teens and young adults, particularly those who have unprotected vaginal sex.” Is anal sex covered in public schooling curriculum? Youth ministry curriculum? Looks like it should be. Read the article: Study Reports Anal Sex on Rise Among Teens: Lack of Sex Education, Virginity Pledges, Ignorance Contribute to Risky Behavior.
Ministry update: We had the high school Christmas party last night and it was tons of fun — good food, good games, and good white elephant gifts. I took the opportunity at the part to hand out these pencils that say “Jesus loves you snow much.” ‘Tis the season! The junior high Christmas party is this Wednesday night.
Seminary/ordination update: Nothing to report, but in Booking Passage, Lynch describes ordination as becoming “lieutenant in the standing army that wages war on sin and evil and the flesh.”1 Perfect.
Looking forward to: Reading and planning the Ireland trip itinerary.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
- Lynch, Thomas. Booking Passage. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. 89. ↩
The Monday brief: Ireland edition
Highlight of the week: As the title implies, I’m taking a vacation to Ireland! My friend Kelly and I are flying out of Chicago on December 31, celebrating New Years over the Atlantic, landing in Dublin on the 1st, and then spending the next week traveling around southern Ireland. Naturally, I am SUPER excited about it. I’ve always had a fascination with Ireland and it’s been at the top of my “must see” list since I can remember. And now it’s reality (we leave in 22 days, but who’s counting?). Right know I’m trying to connect with any Irish bloggers, and/or Twitterers, and/or Christians… if you know any, please leave a comment or e-mail me. Also, please comment or contact me if you’ve been there and know of places that we absolutely can’t miss.
Book(s) I’m reading: Once we had the flights booked, I ordered three books: Rick Steve’s Ireland 2009 travel guide, In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English, and St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography by Phillip Freeman, my college Greek professor. I’m about 50 pages into In Search of Ancient Ireland, and hope to have that book and St. Patrick of Ireland read in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully reading them will make the trip both more interesting and more educational.
Music I’m digging: At the suggestion of Scott Lenger, I downloaded The Start of It EP by Meese (link opens in iTunes) and it’s fantastic. If you like The Fray, you’ll like Meese. The fact that the EP only has 4 songs just makes me want whatever they put out next even more. I also downloaded Mermaids by Slow Runner. I heard the song “Make You Love Me” a while back, and have wanted to download Mermaids since… I finally got around to it. Everyone who reads this blog should emulate Scott and suggest good music to me. Kthx.
Something(s) that blew my mind: Today I installed the Pano app (link opens in iTunes) on my iPhone, which, as the website says, “lets you take beautiful, seamless panoramic photos straight from your phone, no other software necessary.” It is sweet. On my first try, I took a sweet panoramic picture at Qdoba. I’ll definitely be using Pano in Ireland.
Ministry update: We’re busy preparing for a bunch of things: a Service of Remembrance on Thursday (for anybody who has lost loved ones), the Eikon Christmas Party, a spontaneous Parent’s Night Out on the 19th (it wasn’t on the calendar until last week), and Christmas Eve. Lots on my plate before Christmas! Oh, and here’s the promo video I mentioned last week:
Seminary/ordination update: I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with my Senior Pastor about the best way to move forward. Stay tuned (but don’t hold your breath).
Looking forward to: I would say Ireland, but that’s not coming up this week, so I’ll say I’m looking forward to ringing a bell for the Salvation Army this coming Saturday night. I just hope it isn’t freezing.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon making a video with a couple of my high school students. We shot scenes in Valley West Mall, Barnes & Noble, Border’s, and back at church. I have it done — for the most part — but it’s not uploaded anywhere yet. It was a pretty fun time working on it, and I had a good time discovering all of the free music bundled with iMovie. Oh, and this was pretty funny, too.
Book(s) I’m reading: I put Downtown Owl on hold last week and read Malcom Gladwell’s new book, Outliers: The Story of Success. I love all of Gladwell’s stuff, and I found this book to be particularly engrossing — it was essentially Freakonomics-style thinking applied to our notions of how one becomes successful. Highly recommended,
Music I’m digging: I’ve been enjoying Copia (link opens in iTunes) by Eluvium this past week, based on John’s suggestion. Aside from a couple of beautiful solo piano tracks, Copia is rich ambient goodness.
Something(s) that blew my mind: Outliers.
Ministry update: Nothing new, really.
Seminary/ordination update: I’m currently maintaining a holding pattern regarding seminary and ordination.
Looking forward to: Planning and researching a potential vacation…
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I played a show for the first time in about six months last Friday night, and it was a blast. Lots of good friends were there at Mars Cafe, and it was a great atmosphere. I debuted a new song called “On Hold” and even played a cover of Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”, complete with a stock drum machine loop. Thanks to everyone who came out!
Book(s) I’m reading: Still reading Downtown Owl.
Music I’m digging: I downloaded The Silver City (link opens in iTunes) by Jeremy Messersmith and listened to it a few times, but I don’t like it as much as I’d hoped.
Something(s) that blew my mind: I went to an Otolaryngologist (a.k.a. ENT, a.k.a. Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor) today figure out what’s really been wrong with my throat (I went to a walk-in clinic last week and the 30 seconds the doctor spent with me didn’t exactly lead to a precise diagnosis). Anyway, I had a long metal tube with a camera in it put down my throat, and I got to see the video that was taken, which was mind-blowingly weird. I agree with the nurse who, before inserting the camera in my throat, said, “It’s not exactly the prettiest part of the human body.” The diagnosis: I have an ulcer on my right lingual tonsil. Here’s the picture to prove it.
Ministry update: Not a whole lot new to report this week. I’m planning on making a video this weekend with some high school students to promote next spring’s auction. The premise? The search for a calendar of kittens wearing fedoras.
Seminary/ordination update: I was not accepted to Luther Seminary. I’m currently having conversations with some people close to me, discussing different options.
Looking forward to: A relaxing, post-Thanksgiving weekend.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I ran into Brandon Barker at Caribou Coffee on Friday afternoon and we ended up having a great conversation. One thing led to another and we ended up going on a date to see Quantum of Solace on Saturday evening. It was (almost) just like old times.
Book(s) I’m reading: Still reading Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman. I managed to squeeze in 10 or so pages at the doctor’s office today.
Music I’m digging: Surprisingly, I haven’t listened to a whole lot of music this past week. Any suggestions?
Something(s) that blew my mind: Feel like flying around virtually in a meticulously reconstructed ancient Rome? Go ahead.
Ministry update: This past Sunday I debuted a new song written exclusively for St. Mark for our current sermon series. We’ll be singing it as a congregation for the next several weeks and (hopefully) well into the future. The plan is to compose original worship songs in line with whatever sermon series is coming up. As soon as I get a decent recording, I’ll release the song on this blog for general consumption — not because I’m egotistical enough to believe many people will want to use it in their community, but because I’m naïve enough to think somebody might.
Seminary/ordination update: TBA.
Looking forward to: Seeing a bunch of good friends this weekend and playing a show at Mars Cafe on Friday night. You should come.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: I had a lot of fun this weekend with my students at Church Youth Fest. We even busted out an old skit from my mime days to do at the talent show.
Book(s) I’m reading: I finished The White Tiger on Friday night. Turns out it’s #32 on Amazon’s Best Books of 2008 list, which is a merited accolade in my opinion. The novel is a dark comedy told from the perspective of a servant in modern-day India which manages to both tell a great story and give a glimpse into Indian society. Anyway, I’m about 30 pages into Chuck Klosterman’s first novel, Downtown Owl (#80 on Amazon’s list).
Music I’m digging: Jon Foreman’s Limbs and Branches (link opens in iTunes). The song “Instead of A Show” literally stopped me in the middle of what I was doing at work one day last week. Amos 5:18-25 never sounded so good.
Something(s) that blew my mind: Obama.
Ministry update: The beginning of BLITZ was good and Church Youth Fest was a blast. The few pictures that were taken last weekend are here. Arista starts this week. For our devotionals, I’ll be using a combination of Phyllis Tickle’s The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime and Luther’s Day by Day We Magnify You.
Seminary/ordination update: Luther Seminary’s admissions committee meets tomorrow.
Looking forward to: Finding out whether or not I’ve been accepted to Luther Seminary.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief
Highlight of the week: Seeing Copeland play in Minneapolis on Friday night was awesome. Because the show was on Halloween, lots of people at the show were wearing costumes (including the band), and Brandon and I had a fun time playing the game “Costume or not?” Copeland’s encore was “California” (my favorite), which I like to think was influenced by my constant shouting of “California!” inbetween songs. Thanks, guys. Next up: Coldplay.
Book(s) I’m reading: I’m halfway through The White Tiger.
Music I’m digging: Snow Patrol’s A Hundred Million Suns (link opens in iTunes).
Something(s) that blew my mind: I think it’s safe to say that today’s weather blew my mind. Tomorrow looks pretty promising, too.
Ministry update: A few things: 1) My costume for last Wednesday’s “Trick or Trunk” event was a Whoopie Cushion. 2) Affirmation of Baptism (a.k.a Confirmation) stuff happened this past weekend. Eight freshmen were confirmed, and it was special for me because they are the first group that I had as junior highers, if only for a year. I was surprised how moved I was during the laying on of hands and prayer during the actual service. I love my job. 3) St. Mark now has a podcast in the iTunes store. Click here to check it out.
Seminary/ordination update: I had my interview with Luther Seminary last week an I think it went well. Now I wait until mid-November, which is when I’ll find out if I’ve been accepted.
Looking forward to: This weekend. Friday night is BLITZ, a multi-church, all-night event for which Starfield is playing. Following that, I’ll be in Decorah on Saturday and Sunday for Church Youth Fest with some high school students. Oh, and I’m excited to watch the election coverage tomorrow night.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
The Monday brief: Secret Siblings edition
Highlight of the week: The Reclaiming Paul conference rocked my world.
Book(s) I’m reading: I’m inbetween books now… not sure what to read next. I’ll probably read Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life, but I’ve heard good things about The White Tiger (one Amazon-ian titled their review “A Voice Like Dave Eggers”. Uh.. Yes, please.), and I haven’t read any fiction for a while.
Music I’m digging: Mike Crawford and his Secret Siblings present Songs from Jacob’s Well, Volumes I & II: Even the Darkness Will Not Be Dark To You.
Something(s) that blew my mind: Mike Crawford and his Secret Siblings present Songs from Jacob’s Well, Volumes I & II: Even the Darkness Will Not Be Dark To You.
Ministry update: We’re starting a morning devotional/breakfast gathering at Panera for the high school students. I’m am the diametric opposite of a morning person, so it’s pretty much the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. It’s called Arista, from the Greek word for “to eat breakfast”. Here’s a sneek peek at the promotional poster. It doesn’t start for a few weeks, so until then I’ll make sure to enjoy sleeping in on Thursday mornings.
Seminary/ordination update: Same as last week. Next up: a 45 — 60 minute phone interview with someone in admissions; date and time to be determined.
Looking forward to: I’m going to see Copeland in Minneapolis this Friday evening with Brandon Mick. As I mentioned last week, Copeland is one of the few bands I love that I’ve yet to see live.
That’s it for the Monday brief. Feel free to leave a comment, and if you’re feeling extra frisky, check out the Monday brief archives.
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