The Solution is Relational

You can sometimes forget that being a member of a church is good thing, this is never more evident than when you attend a church meeting. Members are gathered, papers are being rustled and there are always a couple dudes standing in the back pacing. Sitting through a meeting that occupies 4 hours of your night can be testing but it can also be rewarding because its plainly obvious people are there to help the church grow and be better and are concerned about its well being. I try to never roll my eyes at comments or wonder why some people are so plainly retarded when it comes to numbers, i never disregard someones comments as useless but i do see people act like this towards others and it makes me wonder, has no one got the patience to let someone talk and voice there opinion even if it seems ridiculous to you. As time wears on your patience grows thin and simple things like moving one slide further in your power point would answer ten peoples questions but the guy using it keeps pointing the remote at the wall wondering why the slab of drywall is not responding can get frustrating, but the questions are not and many valid points were made. I was sitting beside a friend and when it came time to vote we voted differently (another mistake in my opinion because everyone can see who votes no or yes, intimidating to some) there was no wrong way to vote, even though he did, and i was interested as to why we voted differently, this in no way affected our friendship and we had a simple conversation about it. I read my sisters blog and felt what she wrote could be applied to our church body. take a read at her handiwork:

A friend came over tonight to offer some guidance to a housemate about her future plans, which ended up sparking a conversation about our current jobs and conflicts we are facing. As we delved into the struggles of 'serving' for a year, of recognizing broken systems and the need for Christian support and vision, my friend stated ever so simply and clearly that "in the end, whether it is large-scale problems or small, the solution is relational."

This morning was like a real-life metaphor (is that self-contradictory?). Our garbage day is Wednesday, always has been, always will be for the entirety of our lives in Buffalo. And yet we consistently scramble to put the big blue bin out to the curb in time for the garbagemen to do their job. This morning I woke up earlier than usual and peeked out the front window with the whimsical idea that I would be gently awoken by the scene of fresh snow and thus inspired to get ready for my workday. Instead I saw the blue bins shoved into the mounds of snow on everyones curb but ours. I grabbed a coat and shoved my pyjama pants into a pair of boots and in a mad dash I skidded out the door. To my relief and then panic, the garbage truck was at our neighbours, and without hesitation I yanked our big old bin (almost overflowing at this point) out of its icy cave and onto the walkway. I was halfway down to the curb when it toppled on its side; I tried to motivate myself by yelling 'C'MON!' to the world and with an unexpected surge of adrenaline I pulled it through the snowdrift it was now planted in, like some old horse that refused to move. Unfortunately this really only pushed the bin further into the drift. Crouched there in my pyjamas making weird puffy noises, my hero comes along. "Hey girly, whatcha doing?" Our local garbageman literally jumped over the bank of snow (overtaking what used to be the sidewalk) and took it from my hands, rescuing me from any further embarrassment and stressed muscles. Beneath his scruffy grey beard he smiled and told me not to worry, this was his job, and I hopped back inside with great relief.

Needless to say I didn't need my coffee that morning.

It strikes me how simple service can be. How beautiful that garbageman suddenly became. A simple struggle (maybe simple to some) of bringing the garbage to the curb was resolved by the inclusion of another person. The solution is relational... and isn't this where grace flourishes? We often think we can solve our problems or reach our dreams if we strengthen ourselves as individuals. But the most beautiful solutions are when we share our stories.

Elizabeth Sophia Hummelman

the best stories should always be written down, and what better story than the birth of a child. Our story starts on friday morning, Angelika was a week overdue and was going to be induced. There was an excitement in the air as we exchanged longing eye glances and little smiles. It was like the morning of a road trip, the hustle bustle to get ready to leave and the knowledge that once we got in that car we would eventually reach an exciting destination, this one being the birth of our baby girl. We were given a room and spent the morning reading and lazing about.

Around 1 pm Contractions started for Angelika, mine didnt start till much later and most of it was centralized and embedded in my left hand. At 2:30 we were in the case room at which point my wife asked kindly for gas, 3 seconds later when it was not there she started demanding something stronger, no morphine was used and she settled into a nice rhythm sucking back gas and crushing my hand simultanously.

The doctor came in and decided to break her water which occured at 6:12 pm. A very controlled Angelika pushed the baby out at 6:18 pm and Elizabeth was born. She was a beautiful baby and a very good baby who slept most the night for us, The nurse came in to grab some paperwork and me and baby slept right through it. We had a great morning and were visited by friends, all female, which made realize that i may have bin the only male to go visit some of our other friends babies in the hospital.

A full 24 hours later we were released from hospital and headed home with our growing family, only to be back at the hospital 2 hours later as Angelika had a prolapsed uterus (google it if you really want to know). After seeing the doctor to make sure it was that and not something worse we finally got home at 11:30. Elizabeth was quiet the entire time we were there she just ate a bunch and slept and looked around and kept quiet, she earned our praise that night for being so cooperative.

We are finally Home !

6 pounds 14 ounces Born at 6:18 pm on January 28.

A facebook status is much easier than a blog entry. mainly because that first line could be my status, this is like doing a homework assignment with a minimum amount of words, you start talking about nothing just to create them.

Baby time is getting pretty close here, the due date is 2 days away and we are wondering if we will be spending are weekend with another tiny baby girl or waiting for her to show up. Our other children are doing well, madison is going through the night without peeing herself and lukie has started his potty training, more pee has landed on the floor then his potty so far but its a start. Madison will get signed up for kindergarten in february and will start in september, this still seems a little weird because i didnt think this time of kids going to school would come so quick. My dad told me to hold on cause he says things will only go faster from here.

Im starting to see why my parents spent 15 years in the same house, and it had to do with us, Madison and Lukas (more madison) are creating friendships and this sense of community is what will keep us here for so long, she knows what streets her friends live on, she loves going to there house and is the first person to pack a bag for a sleepover. For Me and Angelika it is nice having friends all around us, I know that things change and people move but as a kid growing up the same people lived in my alleyway with the same friends, part of me hopes this never changes and everyone stays put and we can all grow together. Hopefully my next blog entry involves a baby.

Growing up and Growing Old

Growing up and Growing old. Pretty simple i suppose I continue to grow up with my children but oddly i also seem to get older with them and as i get older i like to look back at what brought me here, in this case i only look back 4 years, we recently celebrated madison and lukas birthdays, im pretty sure my life changed that moment, i did not recognize it then because i was to busy crying and taking pictures of everything in our room to my wifes delight but my world shrunk into my hands in the form a naked baby girl. I was 23 and really had no clue what i was doing, i treated this baby like a highschool assignment and winged it, except my mom couldnt write poems for writing class this time. 4 years have passed and i cant remember a better four years, i had a son in those 4 years, i celebrated 5 years with Angelika. I could write down pages of memories over these years but i suppose reminiscing is not something you do while writing. i think the point i was getting to was that i love being a father, and all the awesome first memories of being that kind of got in the way. In 2 weeks december starts, in 6 weeks it is christmas and in 9 weeks another baby joins our household so we will continue to Grow up and grow old.