reality sets in

wow... i knew this was going to be hard.... but i had no idea just how difficult living in intentional community was going to be. as you can see... i haven't written for a little over 2 weeks. pretty much since we've moved in. part of that is because we don't have internet hooked up yet (should be about 2 more days)... but another reason is because i've been so incredibly overwhelmed since i moved into the house, i haven't had time or energy to devote here... now, before you write this off as one big "venting" post... hear me out. even though it's been physically, emotionally and mentally draining thus far... everything that's happening now is so necessary for us to experience growth and community. and even though there is so much struggle & discomfort right now... i'm catching little glimpses of hope... and beauty... and God.

hamline house

this house has been called a bunch of different names so far... the ministry house... the missional community house... intentional community house... seeds... sperma... don't ask... and so we decided that we needed to land on a name.

the hamline house.

our house is on the corner of hamline & thomas avenue... and it has a nice ring to it without sounding too corny or too over the top. if you're interested in following the comings and goings of the ministry & people of this house you can continue to read my blog (cause i'm sure i'll never stop writing about it.), or you can check out the official hamline house blog. we're gonna try to have everyone in the house take time to write a little something on the blog so that people can have an avenue to stay connected.

so this past weekend we all signed the year lease and started moving all of our belonging into the house! it was a crazy hectic process, but tons of people were around to help out! we've already started sharing our stuff with one another... if anyone was missing a bed or a dresser or anything like that, we were able to get it for them! we also had plenty of visitors over the weekend helping unpack & organize... there's a very warm feeling all over this house. people walk in and feel welcome, comfortable and at home... which is EXACTLY what we want! we started meeting some people around the neighborhood and we've already established the beginning of some friendships with people from the local shops right on our block! across the street there is a coffee shop, a gas station and right below us is a pizza joint! they welcomed us to the community with discounted prices for pizza & gatorade! ha... so much fun!

last night was the first night we all stayed over night in the house and it was wonderful! as i was busily unpacking my boxes and getting my room situated, the rest of the roomies were plopped down on the kitchen floor till 2 or so in the morning having awesome conversations! God is at work here. tonight we have our first dinner together as a family followed by a house meeting to discuss how everyone's feeling, what we feel God doing, and maybe go over some plans...

more to come soon with pics!!!!

:)

tonight

we sign the lease tonight...

here we go.