that I've got lots of life left in me!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Celebrating my Birthday
that I've got lots of life left in me!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
“[I’ll start with] the windows, then the floor,” said Annie, when asked what she wanted to do upon arriving at Mr. Warbuck’s house.
“You don’t have to do any cleaning while you’re here,” Gracie told her.
“I don’t?” Annie asked, surprised. “How am I gonna earn my keep?”
Like Annie, it seems there is something in each of us that says, “If I just work hard enough, I’ll earn my keep. I’ll earn love, I’ll earn grace, I’ll earn acceptance. We try desparately to please God.
But astonishingly, God calls us to put down our brooms and our window rags. He calls us to put down our BlackBerries and our cell phones. To take off our work shoes and put away our uniform. Throughout scripture, He calls us to rest. Beautifully, implicit in that call is a call to trust. When we rest, we cannot also be doing. We cannot also be saving ourselves. Rest forces us to rely on someone else to provide sustenance.
The God Who could demand a lifetime of labor from us for the kindness He shows, commands us to rest. There is nothing we can do to earn His love, nothing we can do to receive additional forgiveness or grace. And remarkably, that’s exactly how God planned it. He calls us to rest in Him as an act of surrender. To be close to Him and to trust. To lay down our dusting rags, and our BlackBerries, and whatever else we might use to earn our keep. And to rest.
“You don’t have to do any cleaning while you’re here,” Gracie told her.
“I don’t?” Annie asked, surprised. “How am I gonna earn my keep?”
Like Annie, it seems there is something in each of us that says, “If I just work hard enough, I’ll earn my keep. I’ll earn love, I’ll earn grace, I’ll earn acceptance. We try desparately to please God.
But astonishingly, God calls us to put down our brooms and our window rags. He calls us to put down our BlackBerries and our cell phones. To take off our work shoes and put away our uniform. Throughout scripture, He calls us to rest. Beautifully, implicit in that call is a call to trust. When we rest, we cannot also be doing. We cannot also be saving ourselves. Rest forces us to rely on someone else to provide sustenance.
The God Who could demand a lifetime of labor from us for the kindness He shows, commands us to rest. There is nothing we can do to earn His love, nothing we can do to receive additional forgiveness or grace. And remarkably, that’s exactly how God planned it. He calls us to rest in Him as an act of surrender. To be close to Him and to trust. To lay down our dusting rags, and our BlackBerries, and whatever else we might use to earn our keep. And to rest.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
I am my beloved's and she is mine
This blog post is long overdue. Long. On October 9, 2010, I posted this to my Facebook account: "Today seems almost too sacred to post to FB. But I want to share my great joy. Because today, I marry the love of my life, the beautiful Liz Forsythe!"
An unexpected adventure. That's the best I can describe this love. I wasn't looking for it. Wasn't expecting it. Hell--didn't think I was ready for it. And then I met her. Liz's curly hair caught my eye the first time I saw her. The second time we met, at a business dinner, my curiosity was piqued when she mentioned a love of hiking and backpacking. I asked her to dinner on a Friday evening not long afterward.
When she told me she couldn't make Friday, because she had another date scheduled, but would take Saturday instead, I was hooked. After six or seven dates, and about three months, I knew. And that's how it works, I think. You just know. Its a deep in the pit of your stomach, "I know." I wrote in my journal, "I’ve always heard that when you know, you know. And I know."
And so I asked her Mom and Dad for permission to marry their daughter. They said an enthusiastic yes.
On a warm June day, with the help of my friends Nathan Dickerson and Justin and Lauren Coppedge, I put a huge sign on the roof of my downtown St. Louis loft building that said, "Liz, marry me? -JFB"
Liz and I flew over the building in a helicopter later that day, while Nate did jumping jacks on the roof wearing a t-shirt he'd made that said "Say Yes!" Liz peered through the helicopter window, saw Nate, saw the sign, and said "Yes!" I slipped a diamond ring on her finger.
About four months later, in an autumn celebration on my parents farm, we were married. All of our 6 siblings (save Chandra, who didn't make it in from Colorado) were groomsmen and bridesmaids. And added to them were another 7 dear, dear friends, who stood in a semicircle around us, symbolizing their protection of us, their presence in our lives.
Our Dads led the wedding party and assembled guests in singing hymns together, and two of our aunts read fro
m the Scripture. Our pastor led the service, and after the exchange of vows and rings, we shared communion and washed one another's feet--our first act as a married couple. It was a way of saying publicly that we commit to care for eachother in messy, inconvenient ways.
Afterward, my feet were wet and my socks were long and hard to put back on, so I stood for the remainder of the ceremony with bare feet in the grass.
The wedding was full of Liz's creativity. As a friend said, her heart was visible everywhere. There were hundreds of cloth streamers hanging from the front porch, a hand-made chuppah, and wedding programs she sewed by hand.
We were joined by about 200 dear friends and family members from all across the country. And together through breaking bread, sharing toasts, and dancing in the freshly cut grass, we celebrated love, joy, and life kissed by God. It was a miracle day. Our wedding day. 
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Winter at Barvel!
We are all settled in nicely here at Barvel. There is 2.5 feet of snow on the ground. We arrived last night, so we all snowshoed in the quarter mile lane in the dark. Granny carried her backpack for about half the time, and Liz carried it for her the other half. I carried a backpack and pulled a tobaggon loaded with food.
Cousin Sarah, who is delightful and beautiful, joined us today. (She is pictured here.) She was quite sick yesterday.
Today we were joined by Uncle Nat and Sunny--together, we snowshoed on the ice out to the beaver dam and then to blueberry island. I fell in the ice by the island, much to Liz's amusement.
Later, Uncle Nat let me use his cross country skis while I went up to the kybo. Everyone watched as I expertly navigated the trees and the hillside...and fell completely flat on my face a number of times---arms straight out in front of me, buried to the armpits in snow.
This evening, we shoed down past the mill creek, and then back up the lane.
And right now, Sarah is making delicious chicken marsala...which is filling the cabin with a rich and delicious aroma. Granny is sitting knitting in the corner on the window seat, Liz is setting the table, and I am blogging.
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Friday, March 4, 2011
One of my favorite places
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Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Liz and I stop in Indianapolis
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Quick Trip to DC
I was shipped to DC for a quick 23 hour business trip, during which I saw lots of friends and did some work, too! Thought I'd list the itinerary below, just for fun.
*5:15 pm-- wheels down in DC
*5:30 to 7:15--teleconference with boss and 4 or 5 teammates
*7:30 to 9:30--happy hour with 5 friends
*9:30 to 10:30--dinner with two clients
*10:30 to 11:45--call boss and another co-worker. Catch up on email
*11:45 pm to 12:15 am--talk to Liz
-------
*6:30 am-- wake
*7:15-- depart for Pentagon
*7:30 to 12:00-- meeting in Pentagon
*12:00 to 1:00-- lunch with my dear old friend Emilie Duncan
*1:00 to 2:30-- call mom, call boss, catch up on email
*2:30-- find out flight to Pittsburgh has been delayed an hour, meaning I will miss connecting flight to St Louis. Call airline and reschedule for a flight through Charlotte
*2:35 to 2:45-- head to airport straightaway
*2:45-3:20-- get ticket, buy salad at Cosi, and go through new, enormously invasive enhanced TSA security protocol
*3:20-3:25-- telephone call with boss's boss
*3:25-- board airplane for departure.
Wheels up!
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*5:15 pm-- wheels down in DC
*5:30 to 7:15--teleconference with boss and 4 or 5 teammates
*7:30 to 9:30--happy hour with 5 friends
*9:30 to 10:30--dinner with two clients
*10:30 to 11:45--call boss and another co-worker. Catch up on email
*11:45 pm to 12:15 am--talk to Liz
-------
*6:30 am-- wake
*7:15-- depart for Pentagon
*7:30 to 12:00-- meeting in Pentagon
*12:00 to 1:00-- lunch with my dear old friend Emilie Duncan
*1:00 to 2:30-- call mom, call boss, catch up on email
*2:30-- find out flight to Pittsburgh has been delayed an hour, meaning I will miss connecting flight to St Louis. Call airline and reschedule for a flight through Charlotte
*2:35 to 2:45-- head to airport straightaway
*2:45-3:20-- get ticket, buy salad at Cosi, and go through new, enormously invasive enhanced TSA security protocol
*3:20-3:25-- telephone call with boss's boss
*3:25-- board airplane for departure.
Wheels up!
Sent via BlackBerry
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Second Honeymoon
Squeezing every moment dry and loving it.
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We're on our second honeymoon
Pictured here are Half Dome and El Capitan.
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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