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Sometimes....Beauty Finds Us

Beauty.  Sometimes it's obvious, isn't it?

   
   

Other times...it's not.

This photo was taken a few months ago while on a visit to Uganda.  It's the home of a man named Moses.  He's the father of a young boy sponsored through Compassion.

Even looking back now, as I type this, it's hard to put into words what we saw and experienced that day as we walked through this urban neighborhood of Kampala.  Poverty, disease, suffering, unclean water....you name it.  I've spent time in other poverty stricken areas around the world, but on this day in particular, I realized that I had forgotten just how bad it really is. 

Which is why I think my mind struggled to make sense of what happened next.

As we were standing in the middle of this "mess" saying our goodbyes, my focus was immediately interrupted by the sound of a little girl giggling, laughing, and trying really hard to get our attention.  And as I turned around to see who the culprit was, I was completely taken back by the presence of this beautiful little girl.

 

It's hard to explain what I felt at that moment, but it was as though my mind immediately went TILT.  Not just because she looked like she had just walked out of a suburban mall somewhere in middle America. No, it was everything!  Her smile.  Her laughter.  Her silliness.  Her life!

It was almost like looking at a puzzle piece that had been placed on the wrong puzzle.  This piece didn't fit!

It was beauty...in the midst of utter brokenness. 

For the rest of the trip, I referred to this little girl as "Julia" in my conversations with people.  I called her that because she reminded me so much of my five year old daughter by the same name.  The way she made me smile and laugh was just like my little "Juju" makes me smile and laugh at home. 

I was reminded of something in regards to beauty that day. Something that I think is important as we become people who not only recognize obvious beauty, but who also learn to seek out beauty in this broken world.

Sometimes we find beauty.  And other times.....beauty finds us.  But either way, our eyes have to be open. 

Open our eyes Lord.  May we be more aware of Your beauty - even in the midst of brokenness.  Amen.

Amsterdam 5.09

Finally posted a few photos from my extremely brief visit to Amsterdam this past May. 

Click here to see them in FB.

Jet Lagged in Kampala

Saturday, May 23
2:35am Uganda Time
(6:36pm, Friday, Chicago Time)

After 18+ hours spread out on three different flights, we have finally made it Uganda’s capital city of Kampala!  Loved having the windows down on the ride to our hotel and just taking in the smells, the sounds, the people, the energy.  Haven't had a chance to see much yet, but excited for what's ahead tomorrow and over the next few days.

Here are a few enlightened observations my flight over:

• Simply Red - really like these guys. Enjoyed a couple hours of their music during the flight.  Courtesy of KLM.  Too bad to hear that they are breaking up this year. 
• Fantasy Island - Again, thanks KLM.  Never realized how horrible the acting was on this show, but also didn't realize how much I've missed it.  Thinking a new 2010 version??
• The Libyan Desert - don't know much about it, but based on the looks of it from 30,000 feet up in the air, this does NOT look like a place I'd ever want to be stranded in.
• Mike Jones - Doesn't think I'm nearly as funny after being on a plane with me for that many hours.
• Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam - Loved the vibe.  Hoping to sneak away to see the city for an hour or two on my way back home.

Signing off friends.  Busy day tomorrow.  G'nite.

Goin' to Uganda!

Chicago to Atlanta.
Atlanta to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam to Uganda.

The journey begins tomorrow!

Here's the 411 on the trip...

Received an exciting invitation a few months ago from our friends at Compassion International to go to Uganda and experience their work there first hand.  Since The Orchard already has a partnership started in Uganda, we felt like this would be a great opportunity to explore how we might be able to expand our global reach.

(Btw - if you're not familiar with Compassion, you need to be.  They are making a huge impact in places all over the world.  In fact, they're currently helping over a MILLION children in over 25 countries.  Amazing, isn't it?)

So....keep your eye out on the blog over the next several days.  I'm planning to post photos, maybe a video or two, and of course I'll probably Twitter now and then as well.  Also excited to have "the real" Mike Jones accompanying me on this trip! 

Uganda is eight hours ahead of Chicago time, so we should be arriving in Kampala (the capital city) sometime around noon (CST) on Friday, May 22.

LINKAGE:
Learn more about Uganda here.
See a map of Uganda here.
Learn more about Compassion International here.
Follow my Twitter updates here.
Follow Mike Jones Twitter updates here.

Over and out.

Orlando...Austin...Atlanta.....and next, Uganda.

Ok, I'm diving back in to the blog.  It's been way too long.  My lame excuse: I've been running 200MPH since a few weeks before Easter with writing, travel, etc... and blogging just hasn't been that high on my priority list.  Sorry faithful folks.

So anyway...  Rather than try to knock out a bunch of amazing blog posts, I thought I'd throw out a few random thoughts of what's been happening over these past few weeks.  Here we go:

• Easter.  This year's Easter weekend The Orchard was a record-breaking weekend!  Our teams did an amazing job and I think my head is still spinning after a HUGELY successful Helicopter Easter Egg Drop.  All I can say is WOW.  If you missed the video review, click here.
  
  
• Orlando.  Had a great time at Exponential in Orlando.  Exponential is sort of a like a big family reunion (but without the weird uncle and the funky potato salad).  This is actually the largest church planting conference in North America and one that I would definitely encourage all church planters to attend in 2010.  Had fun teaching a session with Gary Lamb (did he really say "wanker"??) and then participating in some great conversations in the Exponential Lounge with guys like Erwin McManus, Francis Chan, Dave Ferguson, Craig Groeschel, Matt Chandler, and others. 
  
  
• Austin. After a couple of days home I found myself in the amazing city of Austin, TX to be a part of Q.  Q is one of my favorite gatherings of the year.  It's small and all about influencing and changing culture.  Think TED format.  Loved connecting with a bunch of friends - both new and old.  People like Kem Meyer, Mike Foster, Jeff Shinabarger, Tim Stevens, Alan Hirsch, Kyle Zimmerman, John Burke, Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, Gabe Lyons, Mel McGowan, Charles Lee, and a bunch of other amazing people. Next year, Q will be here - in Chicago!
  
  
• Austin II.  All I can say is - what a cool city.  And with a slogan that's all about keeping it "weird" what do you expect??  Check out a few photos I posted in Facebook.
  
  
• Jackie Huba.  Writer, Author, Speaker, Blogger, Marketing Guru-ess, co-founder of the Society for Word of Mouth.  Forbes calls her work "the word of mouth gospel."  Anyway....  Had a chance to grab lunch with Jackie while in Austin.  That was worth the trip alone.  If you don't follow her twitter you need to. 
  
  
• Atlanta.  Orange.  It's THE premier and the BEST family ministry conference in the flippin' universe.  Loved being a part of this and having the opportunity to share The Orchard's story and some thoughts/ideas on the topic of navigating change with a room full of Lead Pastors and Senior Leaders.  Just wish I could have stuck around for more than a few hours, but was glad to be able to hang with a few of our staff who were attending and introduce them to some killer Korean BBQ. 
  
  
• Uganda.  In a couple of weeks.  More on this later, but looking forward to getting my heart messed up by this trip. 
  
  
• Study.  It's what I should be doing right now.  So I'm done.  Hopefully back in the groove of blogging.  We'll see.  Thanks for the encouragement folks.

Los Angeles

It was a busy trip out to CA last weekend, but luckily we had a few hours to run around LA, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos. These were all shot on my Canon Rebel XSi using either the standard EF-S 18-55mm or the EF-S 55-250mm lenses.  It's my first "real" camera...  Picked it up a couple of months ago and honestly have no idea what I'm doing, but having fun!  Here are a few of my favorites.

Click for larger images.

Minneapolis Food Porn

I could post a bunch of photos of all of our Minnesota friends who we've had the chance to hang out with the past couple of days, but these photos are much, much better.  Ok, maybe not, but still....  It's been a while since I've posted some good 'ol fashioned food photos.

(Click for larger images)

Brunch at Hell's Kitchen, Minneapolis

Huevos Rancheros

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Caramel Pecan Roll

Dinner at Chino Latino, Minneapolis

Nachos Del Sol (Crispy plantain chips...black beans...chorizo, queso fresco & pico de gallo)

Chino Latino Shrip Feast (with five spice pepper salt)

Empanada De Janeiro (Ground beef, olives, & hearts of palm)

Shrimp in coconut red curry sauce with pineapple

Some amazing fish that I can't recall.... 

Kobe beef

Where I Was in 2008

I was thinking about some of the places I found myself this past year and made a list:

New York City
Miami
Des Moines
Peoria, IL
Oklahoma City
Washington D.C.
St. Louis
Las Vegas
Delaware
Atlanta
Granger, IN
Orlando
Springfield, IL

No foreign travel this year.  Unless Oklahoma City counts?  HA.  

How about you?  Where did 2008 take you?

This, that, and the other....

Anthony Bourdain is hangin' in South Asia right now.  Kinda jealous.  Especially after what I just saw outside on my driveway.  Several inches.

Apple Insider's review of the new Apple iPod In-Ear Headphones.  I hate the standard headphones that they give with the iPhone and iPod.  C'mon, whose ears are shaped for those things???

Ben Arment has some good conversation happening on "mission statements" VS. "mantras." 

Found this new site.  If you're into design it's worth checking out.

Just downloaded a Christmas album called Advent Songs.  It's a nice, eclectic mix from the folks at Sojourn Music.  And it's free if you tell five people!

Have you seen this great new site?  It's called I Am Second.  Thanks to Jason Boucher for the link.

My foot is asleep right now.  Hate that...

Watch & hear Sol Sender talk about how they designed President Elect Obama's campaign logo.  Fellow Chicago folks btw.

I have no idea why I thought of this, but did you know they have Shakey's Pizza in Tokyo?  I remember walking through the Takeshita-dori district (I think...) and seeing one.  For some reason that blew my mind.  Apparently, they're all over there.  Anywho.

Lastly, I've linked to this guy before, but holy smokes.....his amazing food photos make me miss Thailand like crazy!

To bed I go.  G'nite.

Sunday Morning......A.D.D. post

I'm sitting in my office getting ready to go out and speak at our 10:45am service, so I thought I'd throw out a bunch of stuff that's spinnin' in my head.  It's been a while....  Plus, I noticed that I received the hatchet on Ben's blogroll.  So I figured I better blog again SOON.  :)

• Very, very convicting talk this weekend...  Teaching on the subject of "expectations" in our relationships - week #3 in our series, "Inked." 
  
  
• Had a great time at the Related Leaders event in Peoria, Illinois this past week.  Talked a lot about change and expounded on three important questions for pastors: 1) Who has God best positioned us to reach?  2) What is it going to take to reach them? and 3) Am I willing to pay the price? 
  
  
• REALLY enjoyed touring the Dream Center Peoria while I was there with Aaron Escamilla and a few guys from The Orchard team.  Riverside's work in Peoria blows my mind!  Definitely inspired the daylights out of me!
  
  
• Our Christmas Eve Candlelight service planning is well underway!  This is one of our largest attended events of the year.  Last year we had four services.  This year we are planning five spread out over two days.  It's a ton of work, but we see it as quite a privilege and an AWESOME opportunity to reach TONS of people who don't normally attend church. 
  
  
• Barack Obama is our next President.  Wow...  What a historic election!  And let me just say...  Christians who are freaking out about this election are getting on my nerves - BAD.  Grow up and trust God!  I don't remember seeing fear, anxiety, and worry listed as "fruits of the Spirit."  Let's pray for President-Elect Obama and ask God to guide and direct him as our new leader.  I think God can bless that a heck of a lot more than He can bless all the badmouthing and disrespectful attitudes. 

Ok, with all that said....it's time to go teach!  Have a great Sunday!