First, it’s just wonderful hanging with these friends. Each of them are wonderful in themselves, and together they’re funny and powerful.
Second, we practiced healing prayer. It wasn’t planned, but while we were doing hot-seat prayer the subject of physical healing came up for more than half of us. My favorite part was having the impression that someone’s left hip was hurting. I was tentative, saying “I hope it’s not so, but do you have hip pain?” How surprised I was when it was true and even on the same side I’d been tentative to share!
Amie talked the boys out of the Christmas train this year ($180 is too much for something we only kinda enjoy) and instead offered to stay at a hotel with a pool. So this year we’ll stay down in Custer for a night, swim, eat awesome food, and the drive into the hills to cut down our Christmas tree!
Thanksgiving was a low-key event at Tom & Deb’s house. Amie made carrot souflé and her grandma’s rolls and I brought hot toddy mix. The boys were especially happy to see their cousin Ty.
Royal had a third tooth growing above one of his baby teeth, just like his mama. He was put under anethesia and they removed it. Oh, I was so worried for him, but he’s handled it remarkably well. They also capped three cavities.
Amie’s work is going well. It’s been a wonderful experience working with Optimum Joy again - they embody the professionalism and high standards that’re so common in Chicago and almost totally absent in Rapid City.
Amie’s been learning more about schema therapy with an international group of therapists for a few months now. To our happy surprise, she just learned that one of them lives in Lead (but originally from Turkey), not an hour away from us! The chances are astronomically low and we’re so curious where this might lead.
My work is going great. I’ve received regular accolades and gratitude for my current project and hints of a promotion next year. I’m grateful to be working with Saket, Carrie and Joe. I’d love to get more time with Jace too; we worked briefly on a different project, but it’s not likely I’ll get back on it with all the current work and I don’t see another way to work together right now.
I’ve been enjoying the new Factorio Space Age expansion. A lot, perhaps too much. It’s one of the best games I’ve played. I’d only explored two planets before starting over because I’d gotten mentally overextended. With sandbox mode back I’ve been working on some larger Nauvis blueprints in peace so I can offload some of the mental work of managing a sprawling base and focus on the unique challenges of each planet (and space).
Graham and Royal discovered Minecraft two weeks ago, and they’ve been absolutely hooked. I thought Royal would lose interest by now, but that hasn’t happened. I’m not surprised that Graham is completely absorbed - he and I are both geared towards architecture and building (he’ll love Factorio). I’ve been surprised how much I’ve enjoyed playing with them; I knew it could be fun, but it’s been the best time I’ve had in Minecraft since I first tried it years ago. My Raspberry Pi kicked the bucket a few weeks ago, but if/when I replace it I’m strongly considering setting up a Minecraft server for us.
After a hiatus, Amie and I are reading again at night. We’re in the second Harry Potter novel now. Reading with the boys has become a little more sporadic, but they’ve still read a stack. The most enduring series has been Laura Ingall’s “Little House” books.
Our twice-monthly leader’s gathering has been life-giving. I’m so grateful to hang out with this small group of committed leaders on a regular basis, especially when I observe how they’ve benefiting from our time together also.
A friend recently joked that we were in the process of planting a Vineyard church in Rapid City. What they’d meant was that we’re regularly training leaders to listen for God’s voice and the basics of prophetic and healing gifts, but it was though-provoking. Would we deliberately try to plant a church?
Not in the traditional manner. We want so badly to be part of a disciple-making movement that it makes no sense to pursue models which can’t replicate without huge financial and leadership investment.
Last night was our Leader’s Kickoff gathering. It was fantastic. But wow, were there obstacles.
Andrew arrived punctually at 5:00, but he was stressed because he’d left his board game group by themselves at Westgate. He’s the only connection to the church and holds the keys, so leaving for two hours near the end of a board game session was tough.
Kandra arrived a half-hour late with Eden and Qingsley, which ultimately was a blessing since it meant that the Bascom’s weren’t the only ones.
Skyler, Amanda, Elovie, Sonny, Ingrid and Opal arrived an hour late, for good reason. They’d just gotten up from a nap which went longer than planned, and Skyler was in such pain from a recent foot injury that he’d hardly slept and didn’t want to come. I called Skyler at 5:45 to hear how he was doing and offer to take him to Urgent Care. They decided to come late (for which I’m so thankful), in no small part because the kids were so disappointed about staying home.
Still, the most important things weren’t an obstacle. The group was unusually open and supportive and landed on a day that everyone could meet in less than five minutes. The kids, all eight of them, had a great time and did well playing downstairs while the adults talked. And we had time to pray for Skyler’s foot at the end.
There’s a big update about our Italy trip coming! It’s taking longer to go through all the pictures and add them for the post. You know, in between working, playing and resting.
I’ve had a downward swing in writing lately, but in the overarching spread of this website, one month of abscence in nearly four years ain’t bad. I return at the eve of our 10th wedding anniversary celebration trip to Italy, so my next post will likely be dedicated to that much-anticipated vacation.
One of my purposes for compiling my writing here is the effect that years of writing in the same place has on my sense of accomplishment. Even if I’m sporadic, even if I take long breaks or produce work that I’m less than proud of, the accretion of work over time measures up. It’s easy to find again, to reference, and to share. Being a website, it also sometimes scratches my itch for tinkering with code and design. I do sometimes feel that the whole thing has become a big pile of mud and pressure myself to try and organize the behemoth (1290 files and counting), but when I let go of this unnecessary pressure I remember the enjoyment I’ve had writing on topics without needing to be perfectly professional and the pride I feel at seeing the years of writing I’ve invested. So, even if it looks like my website has gone dormant, it’s only temporary.
Back in August our neighbors pulled out a gas-powered scooter their adult son had enjoyed as a kid. The brakes didn’t work anymore, but that didn’t deter Graham. I was very proud of him for getting up the courage to ask if he could have a ride. He ended up going three times! Even Royal took a spin.
The biggest event on our June calendar was our trip to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate Viktoria’s 18th birthday.
The flight from Rapid to Puerto Vallarta was the first in the boy’s memory. They’ve been thrilled about the idea for weeks and were fabulous travelers, even when we had to rush to make our connection flight at DIA.
We had a longer wait to get into our room than anyone expected, so the boys and I went to the beach. Graham and Royal wasted no time jumping into the ocean.
Graham and Royal rolling in the Pacific ocean's surf.
The day before we left, Royal crashed his bike while riding nothing but skivvies. He managed to get scrapes all over his body, blood everywhere. Somehow it didn’t keep him from swimming in any pool, though it may have influenced how much he spent in the salty ocean.
The days blur together once you arrive. We spent many, many hours in pools all across the resort, and most days at least an hour at the beach. No single place became a favorite swimming hole. We enjoyed so much good food.
The boys were as happy in the little deck pool as any of the larger pools down below.Graham sweetly held my hand every time we were in the gondola to comfort my fear of heights.Siesta time back at the suite.We tried to eat at the suite sometimes to save costs. Empanadas and pastries were favorites.I taught a couple waiters what 'neat' meant.While Graham mostly wanted to fight the crashing waves at the beach, Royal's favorite activity was searching for shells.Mark, Alex and Amie enjoyed a ten-hole golf course in the center of the resort one evening.
One birthday celebration was a trip to the nearby carnival park. Viktoria and the boys talked me into riding the flower drop AND the ferris wheel. The flower drop takes you up into the sky, then drops you several times. I screamed most of the time, to everyone’s amusement.
Another birthday dinner celebration was a six-course meal called Le Petît Chef. The meal was prepared in front of us by four tiny chefs who appeared on our table via an overhead projector. The food was unbelievable.
Viktoria’s final birthday dinner celebration was at an Asian restaurant. The chef prepared the food in front of us like you might experience at a Mongolian Grill. And we got to keep the headbands.
The only sad spots on the trip were that Aunt Steph was sick soon after arrival, then Viktoria, and Amie on the day of our return. Also, Jaynne accidentally lost her phone. It turned out pretty well for me though since I got a private tour of every floor of the corporate offices working with security to track it down. Even though we never found it, I’m super impressed by Geu, Fernando and Viktor’s thorough search and it was a really fun, very unique adventure.
Some of our more joyful Sabbath celebrations recently have been shared with friends. Before our trip to Puerto Vallarta, Skyler brought over his younger kiddos for an afternoon on the water slide. Last Saturday, Natalie brought Gabe and Luke for an afternoon of building things with wood, nails and screws. We ate crab legs and had a campfire too. This is how we envision Sabbath - the enjoyment of all the good our partnership with the Father has produced, shared in a community of restful gratitude. More of this please!
We’ve been steadily shaping the backyard since April. We’re not landscapers by any means and are making it up as we go along, but it’s feeling more habitable with each step we take. Next up is carving walls into the hill where we’ve planted our serviceberry tree and placing brick stones.
The boys could care less about the aesthetics, but they’re loving all the dirt for digging and finding earthworms.
So, Graham’s been wanting to ride his bike to school for a couple months, but we weren’t ready to let him cross the busy road to his school on his own. I had proposed to Graham that we run some trial rides to give him practice before we graduate to a trip to school.
First, Graham rode two blocks away and back. He took a walkie-talkie so he could check in at every crossing. The batteries died along the way so, when he returned, we went to Walgreens for some AAAs.
I thought he’d be proud and satisfied with his progress, but he was itching to amp up the challenge at a busier intersection. I couldn’t bring myself to let him cross without eyes on him, but I set him up with a busier road and watched from a few yards away. He waited for cars to stop at the crosswalk on both sides, then crossed like a champ.
As soon as he finished, he asked to cross a four-lane intersection. I sighed, agreed, and set him up with another trial. This time he had a walking signal, and he followed it perfectly.
But still he wasn’t satisfied. So we drove to his school, walked through the whole process he’d go through to get his bike, radio in that he was leaving, cross the busy road, and ride through the dirt paths back to our house. Then I drove home, radioed that I was in position, and waited.
When he’d made it back, he was beaming. He even talked me into dropping him off with Royal to ride back through the dirt trails (not crossing the busy street). He wanted to share the experience with a friend, and Royal was happy to oblige.
I’m so proud of Graham. Not only did he show great attention to road crossings and radio communication, he also demonstrated leadership taking Royal out on his own.
The past month I’ve been wrestling with how to proceed after the OCL Postulancy. We’re coming to the end of the content and will have a few weeks of reflection before it’s over for the summer.
I had some clarity yesterday about my conflicted feelings. I realized that I do feel at home with my fellow OCL postulants and value every one of the twelve OCL commitments in their Rule of Life. I am grateful to orient my life in a continual cycle around the common commitments alongside others in the Order and would be very happy to continue that practice. However, when I think about the form of community that I want to foster among leaders in Rapid City, I have more specific commitments than OCL expects. In my current rendition of a Fall commitment, I would ask that each invitee commit to:
Two hours per week of shared life (group meetings count)
Attendance at a leader’s bi-weekly DBS group and regular obedience as we meditate on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
A once-per-month shared meal where we support one another, offer praises and needs, and share our memorization progress
Attendance at a once-per-quarter three-hour prayer and worship afternoon/evening
For those familiar with TOAG, I have found that OCL is a well-formed framework for one’s Curriculum for Christlikeness, but elements of TOAG, such as half-time meals, teamwork in obedience/memorization, and Epaphra-nights (extended prayer) are non-negotiable.
Graham’s birthday occurred in two steps. First, the day-of celebration. Then the hiking party on Saturday.
Grandma took Graham to Old MacDonald’s Farm in Rapid City. He got to feed the animals and especially liked holding the chicks. There were goats who walked along a catwalk high in the air - he enjoyed using the pulley system to send them food, though he was more interested in the pully than the animals.
Royal had his moment in the spotlight when he went to the last day of his ninja class. We’re so proud of him for finishing - he was one of the littlest in the class and didn’t want to go pretty much every time. Way to persevere buddy!
To our surprise, when we arrived back from ninja class there were fire trucks outside our house! Turns out that the neighbor’s house caught fire in the hour we were gone. The fire chief brought Graham and Royal little wooden trucks - Graham was flaberghasted that the fire department knew it was his birthday.
The night before Graham’s hiking birthday I hiked up part of the Flume trail and buried some treasure I’d marked with a treasure map. I thought we’d go up the trail together and look for it, but Graham and his posse ran straight up the hill before anyone could stop them. They were so excited!
We tried a little scavenger hunt, but they were too good at it. On the way back, Graham and posse discovered the treasure. The shouts (screams?) reverberated from the hills. They flew down the trail as fast as they’d climbed it, and we parents finally caught up to them at the bottom.
Since Royal’s birthday we’ve gotten much more interested in dressing up.
Graham’s teachers call he and his two best buddies, Heather and Kyle, the three musketeers. Kyle is the ninja turtle to Graham’s left, and Heather is the teal dragon next to her sister Rosemary the yellow pikachu.
I have been so tired this week. I don’t usually drink multiple cups of coffee on a Tuesday. My best guess is that my body is unduly stressed by allergies and is still adapting to the year’s allergy medicine schedule. This is also one of my non-stop weeks, where more than half of my lunch “breaks” are used for calls and meetings. Yesterday, not long after my workday ended, I fell asleep until dinnertime.
This is an exhausting week for Amie too. She’s up to nine out of twelve scheduled clients, plus another eight meetings. Eight! We hope there won’t be many weeks like this where she spends well in excess of a typical 20 hours per week on work.
Thanks to Simon Willison for the suggestion to watch Hrishi Olickel’s explanation of his use of LLMs to achieve rapid prototypes at a fraction of the cost. Hrishi has a bunch of tips from extensive use with LLMs and a process that’s easy to understand and try at home. Thanks!
With today’s #OCL cohort gathering, I’m just about halfway through #postulancy. I’ve found it impossible to focus exclusively on a single commitment in a bi-week period, which complicates sharing with the others, but I spoke up more this week on the topic of simplicity in food and clothing.
A question often on my mind as I navigate this process is whether these commitments coincide with long-lasting invitations in my life. Are these topics I will prioritize in community for years to come?
When one attempts to notice God’s voice, it’s rare to hear audible words. Rather, we notice impressions that may rhyme (in the ancient near east way) with what God is communicating. Sometimes it’s not words at all, but images, sensations, even smells.
I haven’t written as much on my website of late. Logs are somewhat less frequent, but I have very few other writings. Much of my writing energy has been funneled into bullet journaling.
I’ve built a website for one of my favorite food trucks in the Black Hills, Savour Pinoy & Sushi. It’s a joy to give back to a local, cross-cultural small business owner that serves delicious food. Who knows, maybe this could be the start of a partnership with the local food truck scene?
We reserved our 10th anniversary adventure trip yesterday night. We’ll be staying at a family-owned lemon farm near the Amalfi coast. It will be our first time visiting Italy; a mixture of good food, hiking, and site-seeing. With a little planning it will also be my MBA celebration and a celebration of perseverance towards Amie’s licensure. (We have a celebration backlog 😄)
In the space of a few hours I’ve done work across at least three technical domains that are usually each their own jobs.
First, I’ve used the Python Django Framework to model a menu and location admin service. Second, I’ve designed a responsive, themed website for one of my favorite food trucks. Third, I’ve established an Ansible deployment service to send my latest creation to the Internet.
On the one hand, I’m proud of myself for gaining all the proficiencies required to do the jobs of three people. On the other, I’m disappointed that I derailed my schedule for a fan site.
Today is Amie and Amanda’s first women’s DBS since the holiday break. They’ll be meeting weekly this round. The details of what they’ll study are still to be decided, either a theme or a continuation of Mark. So excited for them!
I learned that another person at my work is interested in moving to another team. This means that, when I start the next project for another team, I may have a place to remain on that team instead of returning to the Portal team. I’m not sure if this is a good thing yet, but since Mike is also taking over that team it’ll mean my reporting structure remains the same. So it can’t go that bad. Can’t wait for a new project!
The Order of the Common Life #ocl postulancy began this week and the week prior I began to meet with Westminster staff to discuss chapters of the book “God In My Everything.” We’re getting started by noticing our existing habits and where the Father may be inviting a change.
Skyler demonstrated his #BulletJournal approach to tracking his #RuleOfLife and, inspired, I started a #bujo yesterday. I’m excited to have a system to integrate what I’m learning and doing.
I’m struggling with feelings of incompetence and humiliation. Nearly two months of wrestling on this tedious and demotivating work project and I couldn’t figure out even the basics of what was affecting my capacity to be productive. Twenty minutes explaining myself to one of my colleagues and a difficult conversation with my manager and now my struggle is much more clear. I feel like an incompetent fool and humiliated that, after years of counseling and training I’m still this blind to myself and have grown so little in my awareness of the times I need to seek out help from others. Mercy. 😞
Meditating today on some of the injustices which MLK Jr sought to overthrow, I’ve felt ashamed that my whole life hasn’t been swallowed up in the fight as I feel it ought to be for the cause of #justice. In prayer to the Lord I’ve been comforted by the certainty that the Lord’s justice will neither sleep nor be silent. He shall surely judge the nations and their rulers, and not only if I pray and fight hard enough. He will satisfy our hunger for #righteousness.
Two days I’ve had lunchtime commitments: #SpiritualDirection and lunch with a friend. In both cases I’ve noticed that the exercise and #meditation that would be slotted into this time gets dropped when it’s replaced. Even if I have some room, I don’t fill it in with these #habits. I’m learning that, even after I’ve established a rhythm it’s so tied to a time and place that deviation upsets it. That’s okay, there’s tomorrow. Interesting to notice.
I’ve begun to slowly add a few rhythms in January as a precursor for the start of the postulancy. Exercise and journaling to be exact.
I realized while talking to Ben Tennant, my spiritual director, that I don’t always have a clear reason why I want to integrate more practices into my daily habits. I mean, I know the right answers but sometimes I can neither remember them nor feel that they are my true motive. I wonder if that sometimes derails me…
My office had become a dumping ground for all the odds-and-ends that float around our home. Yesterday I cleared it out. I’m hoping that decluttering my environment will reduce my stress.
In one corner I have my work desk with the printer on a side table. Beside it is a rectangular space for exercise with 5lb dumbbells and a yoga mat. In the opposite corner I’ve placed another desk for hobbies and paper filing with a bookshelf next to it. I’d like to hang some art on the walls too; I started with a family picture.
Royal has been attending a ninja class for a few months. His awards ceremony was on the 14h of December. The instructor said that he hasn’t spoken a word to her all this time, but he always has a smile on his face. Look at our shy guy!
We rode the 1880 Christmas train again this year. The boy’s stamina has grown in a year so they did not become nearly so squirrely as the ride progressed.
This year the boys answered Santa’s question, “And what would you like for Christmas?” with the same answer - lightsabers and dragons.
Christmas was another wonderful, exciting and exhausting day. Well, more like week.
On Christmas morning we opened Christmas stockings with my grandparents.
We left my grandparents to rest and prepare for the afternoon shrimp boil and drove over to Grandpa’s house for brunch and gifts.
Then it was back to the house to prepare for the shrimp boil (or as Royal calls them, “shimp”. Amie’s mom was sick and couldn’t be there to help in the morning, or attend the party 😢, so there was a lot to accomplish in a short time.
This year Dan and Judy were able to make it, and we invited our friend Andrew from Westgate. Turns out he grew up with Amie’s cousin Elizabeth!
Amie discovered a YouTube channel with party games and replicated one for us to play. Prizes line the sides, hidden in boxes, and you roll an ornament down the center and choose the nearest box to where the ornament stops.
Amie made a hot cocoa sensory bin for the kids. Graham and Royal went around delivering hot cocoa to all the guests.
With so much happening on Christmas day, we opened more of our presents on the day after. And again a few days later after Amie’s mom recovered.
Finally, Graham and Royal went to Target to spend their Christmas money on a robotic dinosaur and snake.
We’ve managed the twelve days of Christmas in our household again this year. Amie found a candelabra that’ll fit the whole set. We light another candle for each day and sing a Christmas hymn. She made candied crandberries and pitzels.
I’m grateful that Amie and I spent a little time last night talking about goals for 2024. We have a few categories that guide our thoughts. Here are some potentials for the list:
Love Jesus by spending more time noticing His activity with the Order of the Common Life.
Love one another by celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary, maybe with an adventurous trip.
Inviting the kingdom of God into our city by meeting for strategic conversations with leaders.
Bless our children by fighting all-or-nothing thinking and making our family a safe place to share and confess.
Advance Amie’s career by forming her office into a delightful place to see clients.
