It's been a nice couple weeks.

It all started on my birthday, ironically, when I thought I saw a ghost in the back of the church. Instead, it was my college roommate, Doug, with whom I have shared some of life's most amazing moments, and his lovely wife, Molly. They were visiting from Honduras, where they care for children suffering from HIV/AIDS. You can read about their work or donate to them by clicking here. They couldn't stay long, but it meant a lot to me that they went out of their way to swing by BCN and see if I was there.

While Doug and Molly were there, they invited me to a gathering in Columbus the following Saturday. While there I reconnected with some people who have played an integral role in my spiritual development, saw some old friends from college I haven't seen for years, and met some wonderful new people.

Then I got to have lunch with Brandon last week, one of those friends with whom I have reconnected in this journey. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be with him. He, Doug & Molly, and others (many whose blogs are linked to the right) have had a profoud impact on the (hopefully) deepening of my spiritual walk and commitment to Jesus.

All this sandwiched around a trip to my parents' in Kentucky so Braden have fun in the water, a couple small birthday celebrations, revisiting an old hobby (baseball cards; I've decided to start building my first set, the 1968 Topps set), an opportunity to speak in our EPIC service here at BCN, an amazing all-church prayer meeting, deepening friendships with the people in this new community, and the joy my wife and my son bring me day in and day out.

Kari and I are preparing to tackle our first NT Wright book together, The Challenge of Jesus. We're both excited about it. We're also still dealing with the balance between ministering to the young adults here at BCN and truly developing the Small Groups ministry, which (if accomplished with my true vision) will require quite a culture change. Frankly, there's not much balance at all right now.

I've been dealing with a few questions lately, mostly surrounding nationalism, patriotism, and the Kingdom. There's a great conversation on this topic taking place here and here.

Oh...Kari and I are about to start composting.

Cool.