Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile...

Jeremiah 29:4-7: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

House sitting for Sheldon tonight, and its a beautiful night, so after dropping Tyler off I went walking around the block a few times. The house I am looking at purchasing is around the corner from where I am staying right now, and so I wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood, I figure 10:30 at night is when you can really get to know an area. Its so weird to think that I may have a house soon, and may be a part of a neighborhood--not as a result of my parents living there, but because I chose to live and be a part of this place.

Its a big decision, and so due in large part to the council of Dad, I (finally) began to pray in earnest about the decision. Not only for our decision to move there, but about what He is doing in the neighborhood, and how we can be a part of it. I am so excited about moving there and being a part of the work He is doing, and seeing how He uses 5 guys who move into this place to bless it. I am constantly wondering how we can be the gospel here, in how we act, how we live, how we interact with the people we live by, to not come in and look to take, and seek what we can get, but to really look to how we can give and what we can do for those we live around. For example, once we get settled, I want to have a cookout and invite the neighborhood (Tyler Gay will cook!) so we can meet people and let them know we are interested in knowing and being known--one of man's deepest needs, and the thing he runs from most I think.

There is a largeish field in the back (not on "our" property, but vacant) that is overgrown with a basketball goal in the corner. Not taken care of, but with a little effort can be quite usable. Once we get a mower, I want to mow it so we can play ball there, not only us, but hopefully kids in the neighborhood. Take an afternoon and clean up all the glass in the alley way and around the field so we can really use it without risk of injury; buy some balls and make them available.

Praying over the area was so awesome, as it helped cement some of my thoughts, and really acknowledged God's integral role in anything good that will come out of us being there. I don't know what He will do, but if He blesses us with being able to buy that house and move in, I am anxious to be a part of it. I also realize that it won't often be easy, and will constantly be a place to fight the flesh and explore what sacrificial love looks like--love for those I don't even really know. But that's a part of the Great Adventure that is following Christ. He won't let us be complacent and ignore the needs around us, and His grace is evidenced with us being a part of the solution to the hurting that we come across.