Saturday, 13 June 2009

• personal update

  I haven't done a personal update post for awhile, so here goes.

  ·    Kinda worn out from another week at work.  I love my job, but it gets wearing sometimes after the workforce reduction in January.  More work in our department with increased support, less people to handle it, but everyone pretty much has the same expectations that everything gets done when they need it by.  Just sayin’.

  ·    Kids are done with school, and both did great, probably all A’s and maybe one B.  Very proud of them.

  ·    We’re leaving on our Washington, D.C. trip next Friday.  I haven’t been there since ’83, when the Vietnam Memorial was just being completed, so it will be interesting to go back.  We’re going to stay in Arlington and try using the Metro to get around, so that will be interesting.  I hear parking is a bear in D.C.

  ·    Busy summer ahead otherwise.  The kids are each in three different sports camps, a week of church camp for my daughter and my son’s mission trip to Toronto (with me along as a leader).

  ·    My dad moves this week from Cleveland out this way to a Chicago suburb about 45 minutes from us.  It will be much easier to visit him now and to have him join us for more family events.  He and my mom moved to Cleveland in 1986, so it’s been a long time visiting Cleveland for me.

  ·    The Accountability Brothers group on Facebook (for Christian guys who struggle with homosexuality) continues to occupy a lot of my prayers and passion for personal ministry.  I’ve been communicating with more of the guys recently, and we’re trying to build the group to be more meaningful and supportive for some of the guys who struggle with temptations like porn and habitual masturbation. 

  ·    I’ve been getting to know a young heroin addict who started coming to our Celebrate Recovery group the last few weeks.  He OD’d a month ago, so I’m hoping he sticks around. 

  ·    My friend Matt is dealing with a lot out in Arizona where he moved to in October.  He got a woman pregnant in January and was planning to marry her, but now I’m not sure what is going to happen since apparently she’s gone back to drinking (he met her in a recovery program).  It’s tough to know how to pray for him, but he’s counseling with a pastor at the church he is attending, so I’m just lifting him up to the Lord.

  ·    Haven’t heard from my friend Rudy in almost two years, but I saw another of his best friends at a graduation event last night.  Apparently Rudy ditched him, too, about the same time he ditched me.  So we’ve connected on Facebook and are just going to keep Rudy in our prayers until he contacts us again sometime.  Not sure why he's ditched both of us.

  ·    My sister organized a housewarming gift to my dad from the three kids in the form of a 32” Sony flatscreen TV.  It is a nice gesture which we combined with Father’s Day and his birthday since he’s moving around the same time as both of those days. But it was strange to go in together on a gift since my brother won’t even communicate with us.  Our last involvement with him was my Dad’s 80^th last June when he ignored us completely and the kids.  I decided to go along with the gift idea when my sister proposed it, but the announcement that was sent didn’t mention my wife, nor did my dad’s thank you note back.   It led me to recognize a pattern that seems to be ingrained in the family, where the in-laws somehow aren’t seen as true family.  My own in-laws always thank both of us for any gift that we give them, whether it’s just from us or combined with my wife’s siblings.  My dad has also taken to sending group emails addressed to just the three kids, so I decided to address that with him this week along with the thank you note for the gift.  This may sound trivial, but knowing how my brother treated my wife when my mom was in the hospital five years ago, when he argued that she shouldn't have been allowed to visit my mom in the hospital since she was only an in-law, lets you get a small picture of a narcissist at work.  I keep praying for him, and I should probably pray more expectantly, but I’m not holding my breath for any big change in him. 

   

  Other than that, llife is good.

  Peace in Christ,

  Jeff

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