El Fin

Wednesday was the finish.  I turned in my notebook for PRIME, and called it quits for the semester.  I am really quite confident in how the semester turned out.  I think I'll probably be getting a high grade on the experience as a whole.

With the end of PRIME comes the joy of vacation.  I've been able to spend the last couple of days with Jess and her family.  It's been quite fun.  We put up their 9 ft. Christmas tree (with much frustration).  We also had the chance to go downtown in Chicago yesterday.  It was quite a great experience.  We had dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe.  It was a really nice restaurant above the Ann Taylor store on the corner of Michigan and Ontario.  We then proceeded north on Michigan Ave towards Macy's.  We made a few stops along the way in Crate & Barrel, The Apple Store (much joy had here), The Disney Store, Hershey's, Borders, and The American Girl Store (don't ask).  She and I finished up the evening with tall gingerbread and eggnog lattes (respectfully).  It was a much needed date after 6 months.

I'm also looking forward to going home for a few weeks.  Here's a chronological order of things I'm looking forward to doing over the break:

• Spending a week mostly alone during the day
• Reading "The Gospel According to Starbucks" by Leonard Sweet
• Maybe reading a couple other books
• Going to Missouri for Christmas
• Christmas dinner in Missouri (17 people, lots of food, so much fun!)
• Spending time with my family
• Possibly seeing my friends Ben, Andrew, and Tiffany
• Welcoming 2008 with outstretched arms
• Finally moving back to school

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean "Today"

Bertie Bott has released a new flavor of the famous Every Flavor Beans. The newest addition to the lineup is a flavor called "today." Some of you might be wondering what today tastes like. It's different for each person each day.

For me, today tastes bittersweet. After spending 6 months with a great group of students, two amazing admin assistants, and two wonderful youth pastors, I am leaving to return home. I have grown to love the students at New Covenant. They all have potential for greatness. I have been super privileged to get to work with them. From Mexico to the Fall Retreat, this group has been like family to me.

Though I leave a great family of believers, I do get to spend some time with my past and future families. I get to fly to Miami tomorrow to drive back with my supercool soon-to-be wife (my future family) and we get to spend some time with my family in Indiana. It's going to be a rollercoaster week with driving 16 hours to southern Illinois, Waveland, and Huntington. It's going to be worth every second, though. I wouldn't trade it for the world!