Since I got here I've been listening to Bill Clinton's autobiography audio book, finished my 500 Nations documentary on Native America (very good), and reading What's So Amazing About Grace?, by Philip Yancey, which may become my favorite book.  I recommend it to the utmost.  Besides all that, I've been playing old school RPG's for old Nintendo systems, on my laptop, and sending out a storm of messages to old friends.  It's been a pretty dislocating time...

 

After I got home from my blissful time in Indiana with the old roommates, I got to spend an evening with, perhaps my closest friend, Eric.  We talked for at least three hours straight about various things over a large bottle of some kind of Spanish red wine.  After that we watched a CG movie with perhaps the best computer graphics display I've ever seen.  I brought up how the desire to create a quality, imaginative, revolutionary, story-driven video game, had really resurged in me lately, and we discussed possibilities.  A couple days later I found myself in a similar conversation with my brother.  It's such an exciting prospect...

 

Christmas at the house was awesome... so far I've never missed it.  Although, I was disappointed that my brother didn't find the money to come home from California.  I have missed him a lot over the last few years... it would be wonderful to live in the same city again, one day...  Everyone liked the presents I got them.  I concede that it is quite enjoyable actually participating in the giving side of the exchange!  It's nice to have the money to do so with ease.  It's a wonderful anxiety waiting to see just how much surprise the gift will bring.

 

I spent Christmas Eve enjoying our tradition of the last few years:  playing party games with the Hays (a family that has been our friends almost as long as I've been alive), while eating finger foods and drinking throughout the day and night.  We played Cranium, some kind of Cranium-brand debate game, and Scattergories.  I couldn't drink until after midnight, however, since I drove to church.  It turned out it had been 2 years since I had visited my home church... unbelievable.  I hadn't been there in so long because I had become so involved working at two additional churches.  When I came home the Hays had left and my parents were just getting ready to go to sleep for the night.  My sister and I laid down on either side of our L-shaped couch, falling asleep to A Christmas Story.  As I did so I marveled at how close my sister, Stasia, and I have become recently, despite all the many counter-factors in our relational history, and our current differences.  I can only worship God in light of that.

 

I put packing and loading for the move off to the absolute last minute, in typical style.  I did it during the latter half of Christmas Day, while dad put in Braveheart, which he has humorously done every Christmas Day for the last few years, much to the confusion of my mother.

 

Ha!  It turns out I've written quite a bit.  I suppose I'll stop there.  I hope you're well, and that you are ever experiencing God with resonance.  His love for us is to be found everywhere.

His Peace,
Jake