Been a long time...

Where to start...
I created this blog on a whim, hoping that I would write on it religiously. Hoping that by spewing my thoughts out into words and sentences and paragraphs I would somehow enlighten myself and have a good time too...That was about a year and a half ago...Honestly, I was a little shocked to find out that this site still exists! Well as you can see, this blog has had no more activity since that fateful first day when I typed out a half hearted post about getting serious. You might be asking this question: "Josh, since you haven't posted on this blog and your goals were to have a good time and to gain some kind of enlightenment, have you done either of those things in this year and a half??" Well, if you have known me in the past year, you would know that indeed, I have had a very good time in spite of not posting on this blog for such a spell. And if you know me, you would also know that for me, enlightenment is like a balanced federal budget: it don't happen very often and it don't last very long. So here I am, at 3 in the morning, unable to sleep (too much caffeine at the Superbowl party), but willing to give this another go.

Today was Sunday, and like any average Sunday for me, I was at my church most of the day. As a preacher's kid, I was always at church. Please excuse my usage of the term church to refer to a building. I'm a believer that the church is the body of Christ, not a building, but I am falling back into an old habit for the purpose of telling my story...Seriously though, I was ALWAYS at church. Of course, for nine years, we lived right next door to our church, so in a way church was a second home. And like any good second home, there was a family--our church family. What a great family it was. Even though it's been years since I've seen some of the folks from our church, but I still know their names and I would recognize them in the supermarket if I saw them.

What made us family was the way we took care of one another. Whether watching each other's kids, helping in the yard, bringing a meal during a sickness, praying for each other, or just being together, we were a family. What I've come to realize as a young man is that the way I understand what a family looks like has changed and grown. As a child, my family was providing for me, a vulnerable person. I was unable to provide for myself--or even grab something off the top shelf. I needed adults to see that my needs were met. Now, as an adult myself, I am begining to understand that the role of family is a little different in our different stages of life. And even though families provide for each other, our needs are not merely for physical "things." Our needs are broad and complex. They are both easy to identify and difficult to put a finger on. Sometimes we just "need" to be with people. Sometimes we "need" a family's silent support while we desire to be alone.

All of these ideas and concepts are fairly easy to describe and understand. They are identifiable, sometimes quantifiable, sometimes tangible. But what is ironic is that the greatest part about family for me is also the hardest to describe. It can't really be explained, it must be experienced. It is that great, overwhelming sense of home. It is the feeling of love, the swelling pride and joy within. The handshakes and hugs. The "I love you's." The sense of belonging and acceptance. For me, the sense of family is one of the greatest manifestations of God's love here on earth. The embrace of the family is wide--at least it should be--and in it's best form, it comes with no strings attached.

I say all of this because finding family is a blessing from God. Throughout my life, I've found family over and over again. In my churches, in college, and now, here in Wichita. Although my family here looks different than any other time, it is still very similar. There are old and young, black and white, short and tall. There are the dull ones, the hilarious ones, the thinkers and the doers. When thrown together, our families crisscross the globe. They overlap. They shrink. They grow. They are always changing.

Today, while I was sitting in church listening to music, being served communion, hearing the stories of Jesus, I was home. I was with my family. My family was huge. I didn't even know all of them...But they were my family nonetheless. There was love. There was community. There were no strings attached. And they were a blessing from God.