Running the Rapids...
Ok...I'm not REALLY talking about being in a kayak or rubber yellow dinghy. But I am in Cedar Rapids "for good." (I'll leave it to your imagination to interpret that.)
Jen has the house packed and loaded and, in theory, in storage in nearby Iowa City. After having a co-worker allude to a favorite movie of mine within the first week of work, I enjoyed the serendipity of watching it on HBO July 4th. Field of Dreams may stake too bold a claim for the spiritual vibrancy of the game of baseball, but if you allow your eyes to go ever so slightly out of focus, you can almost see the kingdom of heaven in action in the movie.
"Is it heaven?" two of the characters ask Ray Kinsella (Costner). No, it's Iowa.
Of course, that became a bumper sticker PR campaign for the state and Wikipedia claims that the plowing under the corn field (which was heavily irrigated due to a drought at the time) mystified the real-life locals as well as the in-movie locals.
I'm staying downtown for the first time in my life. My apartment looks out to the southwest over the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids celebrates a week long Freedom Festival that culminates in a breathtaking display of fireworks on July 4th. While I could JUST see it from my apartment, it was amazing to look down on the barge floating on the river from whence the cannons lobbed their violent--but not lethal--shells.
The most amazing part of "running the rapids" is that a little church named Northbrook Baptist is worming its way into my heart. Their newly called and installed pastor invited me over to his house to hang out with some of the other unattached folks. We played a very interesting game called the cornhole game also known as "The Cincinnati Corn Bag Game" (I'll leave it to MTV fans to consider why the previous name might seem inappropriate nowadays.)
The game worked its magic by providing the "guys" a way to interact. One of the "guys" was Amy Jo...she showed evidence of being a softball pitcher and could zing the corn-hull bags like anyone. We kept trading out teams and just had a great time learning from and challenging each other.
Work is going well...Rockwell uses some very well considered approaches to getting the job done. My teammates and administrative manager are all very friendly and fun to work with. The work is challenging.
The speed of change is still dizzying...and that's probably why I thought of "running the rapids." Jen and the kiddoes get here next week!! We close on our house in mid-August. It's a very exciting time for us. It's a very BLESSED time, filled with God's visible and present favor.
Jen has the house packed and loaded and, in theory, in storage in nearby Iowa City. After having a co-worker allude to a favorite movie of mine within the first week of work, I enjoyed the serendipity of watching it on HBO July 4th. Field of Dreams may stake too bold a claim for the spiritual vibrancy of the game of baseball, but if you allow your eyes to go ever so slightly out of focus, you can almost see the kingdom of heaven in action in the movie.
"Is it heaven?" two of the characters ask Ray Kinsella (Costner). No, it's Iowa.
Of course, that became a bumper sticker PR campaign for the state and Wikipedia claims that the plowing under the corn field (which was heavily irrigated due to a drought at the time) mystified the real-life locals as well as the in-movie locals.
I'm staying downtown for the first time in my life. My apartment looks out to the southwest over the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids celebrates a week long Freedom Festival that culminates in a breathtaking display of fireworks on July 4th. While I could JUST see it from my apartment, it was amazing to look down on the barge floating on the river from whence the cannons lobbed their violent--but not lethal--shells.
The most amazing part of "running the rapids" is that a little church named Northbrook Baptist is worming its way into my heart. Their newly called and installed pastor invited me over to his house to hang out with some of the other unattached folks. We played a very interesting game called the cornhole game also known as "The Cincinnati Corn Bag Game" (I'll leave it to MTV fans to consider why the previous name might seem inappropriate nowadays.)
The game worked its magic by providing the "guys" a way to interact. One of the "guys" was Amy Jo...she showed evidence of being a softball pitcher and could zing the corn-hull bags like anyone. We kept trading out teams and just had a great time learning from and challenging each other.
Work is going well...Rockwell uses some very well considered approaches to getting the job done. My teammates and administrative manager are all very friendly and fun to work with. The work is challenging.
The speed of change is still dizzying...and that's probably why I thought of "running the rapids." Jen and the kiddoes get here next week!! We close on our house in mid-August. It's a very exciting time for us. It's a very BLESSED time, filled with God's visible and present favor.
posted by greg.w.h@2:21 PM link-to-post
3 comments
3 Comments:
Wow! Greg! It is so amazing! I am so glad for you guys. You really have went through the "pause" eh? And this is the light on the other side! Woohoo! I pray God's blessing on you guys.
Thanks for sharing what you did on my post. I needed those words about David ... Jonathan.. .Sarah and Abraham. I needed to hear them right now.
Out of my angst... disappointment comes His strength.
Wendy
Iowa...
Nice.
Thanks Wendy & CS. I still am dealing with the aftershocks of the time of the "pause", so I still struggle, but it is unarguably better now...and filled with favor and blessing in ways that are hard to imagine or describe.
For example, Cedar Rapids has a feel as a city that is very similar to Austin, Texas...a place both Jennifer and I enjoyed a lot while we lived there (6 out of the last 9 years.) It feels strangely familiar because of that.
There is more going on in an unexpected area of my life that I can't easily talk about here, so anyone reading this just pray for me.
Greg
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