First thoughts on Community...

Hmmm, sometimes it feels like there's so much going on and I don't know where to begin. This is my friend Jenn and her soon to be husband Mark. I am at her house right now and love is in the air. She is getting married this week-end. So we've decorated the chapel, and tomorow will continue to make preparations for that big day, more decorating, do the nails, last minute details on the slide show, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and all that other stuff. It feels like everyone is in love and there's a sweet feeling in the air...

On another note, last night was one of the first nights I really thought about what it means to live in community. You see it's easy for me to think about community and Appleby Drive because I love it and this is my dream and I think community and living with others and joining together is something God has called me to right now. But truely did you notice in the last sentance how much "I' came up. And that's exactly it. Sometimes I get really sidetracked, and I think about myself an awefull lot. But that's not what community is. And that, my friends, is what I need to remember. Living in community doesn't mean everything will be easier for us. It doesn't mean that things are simpler, or that you have more people to accomplish your dreams. Living in community means that you think about others before yourself. You listen to others dreams and you join alongside them and press on to make them happen. Living in community means you listen. You wrestle with what is being said and you let it challenge you and mold you and change you. That is living in community.

So yes, I do only live with one other person right now (well one and half really, right Jane), and you may think that's not enough people to really have a community, but I think it is. And you know what, I think it'll grow and even it doesn't the things I learn by intentionally living with a few committed people will challange how I look at life. Of this I can be sure.