Tag Archives: Giselle

I Got a Job!

Yes, I got a job! Here’s an email I sent to my friends and family (and now to the blogosphere).

Hello Everyone,

As of Saturday, I accepted a full-time position at Philadelphia Biblical University as their Resident Director. I will be working as part of the Student Life Department and will be interacting with and assisting the Resident Assistants at the off-campus housing. This is wonderful news on a number of levels:

1) My 9-month full-time occupation drought has ended.

2) Amanda and I were concerned about finding a place to live even after I found a job. However, PBU will be giving us an apartment on campus to assist in my duties as Resident Director.

3) Since we decided to help plant a church in Bristol, I hoped to find a job near Bristol and a place to live in Bristol. Langhorne is not very far from Bristol so it’s almost as good as it gets!

4) I was hoping to find a job where I would be able to work with people regularly, and this job is as people-oriented as it gets.

I will be finishing up my two part-time jobs this week, and next week we’ll be on a much-needed vacation in North Carolina. Both jobs were sad to see me go but understood. I will no longer be getting free coffee and discounts since I won’t be working at Starbucks, and I won’t be bored to tears because I will no longer be working at Bisco.

I’m completely grateful to all of you for your prayers and support. Thanks so, so much.

With love,
Evan, Amanda, and Giselle

What’s Cookin’? 05.21.09

Recent Highlights:

  1. Giselle is now walking! One day, she decided it was about time she started and became a pro overnight. With this being said, she’s much more fun than she was. We can go outside, and she’ll explore. It’s really cute.
  2. I went to two Phillies games last week. One was with Amanda and Giselle for Mother’s Day. The Phillies lost, but it was still nice to go. The other was with my friend Thomas, who is a Dodgers fan, so naturally we went to a Dodgers game, and naturally the Phillies lost. We had fun though.
  3. Giselle can say “baseball,” which is awesome itself, but the fact that she can recognize it while at a field or on TV is even cooler.
  4. Amanda and I went to my seminary retreat. It was a much-needed break from everything. We actually had some time to talk and be with each other, which doesn’t happen much (I’m discovering) when you have small child. Meredith Wheeler was the speaker, and he spoke about the pain that ministers experience from the people they are ministering to. What? The church isn’t perfect? That’s right world. We aren’t. But there’s hope—and that’s Jesus Christ.

 

Job update: I had/have two “second interviews” for ministry jobs so we’ll see.

 

Seminary update: Began a new class called Organizational Assessment and Change. I’m not a huge fan of leadership classes, but this seems to be the most applicable in many ministry situations. Also, I will begin my independent study called “The Theology of Karl Barth” soon. I’m excited about this one since it will be with a few of us and John Franke (our professor), and we will be meeting at a pub or someplace instead of in a class room.

 

Disappointed by:

  1. I don’t know if one would consider this a disappointment, but I have to read seven books by June 9. I read one already, but it will be a lot of work.
  2. The Cavs. How could you lose game 1 to the Magic??? Lebron, let me speak to you for a moment – Hog…the…ball. Score 70 points if you have to. Just don’t give it up.

 

Books I’m reading:

  1. N.T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. I read about the first chapter, and I loved it. However, I have way too much to read for seminary so I’m putting this on hold.
  2. Seminary reading

 

Looking forward to:

  1. The school year is ending on June 9 for Amanda so she’ll be around more.
  2. Getting a full-time job. It’s gonna happen soon. I feel it.

Happy Birthday, Giselle!

 Today is Giselle Rene’s first birthday. Amanda and I are really excited. We are especially excited that we survived the first year. It has been challenging to say the least, but we love her so much and can’t wait to continue life with her. I would like to say we learned a lot, but I can’t tell you for sure because this parent-thing takes time to figure out (if ever). 

Giselle, Mommy and Daddy love you so much! You are a blessing to us. Happy Birthday, beautiful girl!

What’s Cookin’? 04.20.09

I haven’t done one of these in awhile because, frankly, I’ve grown tired of them. But I figured I’ll do them ever-so-often to keep everyone updated.

 

Recent Highlights:

  1. This weekend I was privileged to speak at a high school retreat for two youth groups out of West Chester, PA – Westminster Presbyterian Church and West Chester UMC. Greg (WPC) and Cory (WCUMC) are wonderful youth pastors, and some of the best I’ve ever seen in action. They know their kids well, and it was refreshing for me to see that.

I spoke on what it means to be in community with one another. The kids responded well.

I think the best thing about the weekend was a time of sharing when two students self-proclaimed “not religious” said that because of the weekend and friendships there that they were going to try out Christianity some more. That’s cool. I’m not one to count kids raising their hands to accept Jesus, which is great, but I love seeing when relationships and Christianity in-action turns people to Jesus. Somehow, I think Jesus is proud of those times.

  1. Giselle is nailing down a few words. It’s still baby talk, but she has words that are synonymous with mom, dad, gi-gi (Amanda’s mom), pop-pop, baseball (yes!), bottle, and more. It’s great.

Also, she should be taking off for the races any time soon. She’s taken a few steps, but not enough for us to say, “She walked.”

  1. We had Giselle dedicated on April 5, a “dry baptism” if you will. It was wonderful. Friends and family were there, and the congregation at The Well was very loving.

 

Job update: I began working at Starbucks (in Feasterville) about two weeks ago, and I’ve been really enjoying it. I’ve contacted a few more churches about youth positions, and some have expressed interest so we’ll see what happens.

 

Seminary update: Beginning a new class tomorrow (Tuesday) called “Jesus and His Message.” It should be good, even though there are no N.T. Wright books on the reading list, which leads me to…

 

Disappointed by:

  1. no N.T. Wright books on the reading list for my seminary class on Jesus – I know! Ridiculous, right (or should I say “Wright”?)? Oh, well.
  2. Harry Kalas’ passing. I liked what one person said: “If God had a voice, it would sound like Harry Kalas.” I think that sounds about right.

 

Been pleased by: The Well. It’s the church Amanda and I’ve been going to. We’ve been feeling really accepted by them, and I feel it would pain me if we leave. The thing is, they treat us with the utmost respect and love. They’ve been kind and gentle with Giselle. They reach out to the community. They are ecumenical. They are missional. They take communion every Sunday. The only thing better would be if N.T. Wright or Rob Bell attended. Otherwise, it’s been awesome!

 

Looking forward to:

  1. Giselle’s 1st birthday is tomorrow! It’s kinda bittersweet. We’re excited, but what happened to my newborn child?
  2. Summer

        3.  Going to a Phillies’ game

What’s Cookin’? 03.24.09

Highlights of the Week:

  1. A definite highlight was Tim and my trip to Toronto for The Evolving Church: Amidst the Powers conference. Walter Wink, Stanley Hauerwas, and Marva Dawn were the plenary speakers. Hauerwas (pictured), specifically, has had great influence on my understanding of the interaction between the church and the powers. Through this weekend, I’ve become more convinced of the necessity for Christian nonviolence. Though it does not always seem to make sense, I believe it is vital (plus, just war theory doesn’t always make sense either). Be sure to check out Tim’s blog for more.
  2. Amanda, Giselle, and I walked to and from work last week. It was wonderful to be outside and to spend some meaningful time together. We actually had a chance to talk, which is not always easy. Giselle pretty much yells at cars and people as they go by, sort of like a puppy does.

 

Books I’m Reading:

Still doing my book face-off between (a) The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones and (b) Why We’re Not Emergent: by Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.. But I’ve put these on hold for now. I was getting tired of the topic, and book “c” seems more relevant for the season of Lent.

 

(c) I finished The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year by Kimberlee Conway Ireton. As stated before, it has been extremely helpful in understanding the importance of working our lives around the church calendar. I recommend it to anyone who takes the story of the Church even somewhat seriously.

 

Disappointed by: The NFL’s constant and continual over-protection of the (seemingly) only position that matters—that is, quarterback. Poor defensive players. :(   

             

Job update: I have four irons in the fire right now, and I’m just waiting to hear from any of them. I suppose if all four offer me jobs that would be a good “problem” to have. Starbucks is interested in hiring me, but I’m waiting to hear from them what the next step is. But I should be started there soon.

 

Seminary update: We started a new class called “Prophecy and Contemporary Ministry,” which is a course on the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The professor is Dave Lamb, and the book we are reading is called Exploring the Old Testament: Guide to the Prophets by J. Gordon McConville. The prophets are incredibly interesting. If you are like me, you’ve always been taught these from a “dispensational” standpoint (Daniel is talking about the rapture, Isaiah is talking about the millennial kingdom). It’s finally nice to break away from some of that.

 

Looking forward to:

  1. Giselle is to be dedicated on April 5th, and her first birthday is coming up on April 21st. 

What’s Cookin’? 03.09.09

Highlights of the Week:

  1. Job search seems to be looking up. Three interviews this week.
  2. This past weekend felt really long, which is a good thing. And I have a four-day weekend since I don’t have work Monday or Tuesday.
  3. The weather is warmer so Amanda and I have been taking walks with Giselle. It’s nice to get outside, instead of watching TV or something like that.

 

Books I’m Reading:

Still doing my book face-off between:

(a) The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones and (b) Why We’re Not Emergent: by Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck.

 

(c) The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year by Kimberlee Conway Ireton. It has been extremely helpful in understanding the importance of working our lives around the church calendar. First, working around the church calendar is countercultural. Whereas our culture’s calendar is shaped around “spending” (Christmas is the most obvious example), the church’s calendar is shaped around the story of Christ and his Church. Second, in line with the season of Lent, the reason we fast from things is to “create space” for God to move in. Where we would fill ourselves with food, we fast and ask God to fill the emptiness.

Disappointed by: (a) Panera Bread. I ate lunch there after church on Sunday, and, later that night, my lunch returned. I was pretty sick, and I think it was their fault. Fortunately, I’m a Christian, and I will forgive them and may even eat there again. (b) Leatherheads featuring George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, and David de Vries. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie. So, Amanda and I rented it from Netflix — The movie was incredibly slow. The plot was poorly developed (if you could say it developed at all), and the characters were completely without nuance — I don’t recommend it at all but don’t take my word for it. Feel free to check it out yourself.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to): Bought a new cassette-insert that actually works. The most notable thing I listened to was Relevant Magazine’s podcast from last week in February, which had me cracking up while I was driving in my car – especially about the impending Chimpocalypse

 

Job update: three interviews this week! A variety of positions – Starbucks (Monday), another youth pastor position (Tuesday), and non-profit position (Friday).

Seminary update: We didn’t have class last week, but we will be resuming tomorrow (Tuesday).

Looking forward to:

  1. Continuing Lent
  2. My other three job interviews this week
  3. Getting a job that fits my needs, as well as my family’s needs
  4. Giselle is to be dedicated on April 5th, and her first birthday is coming up on April 21st. We are just trying to figure out the celebration details right now.
  5. Going to Toronto with Tim in March, speaking at a youth retreat in April, and going on a seminary retreat in May.
  6. March Madness, which is the only time of the year I watch college basketball – let’s go UNC!

What’s Cookin’? 03.04.09

Highlights of the Week:

  1. Received two excellent grades for the two digests I had to write for class
  2. Had a snow day on Monday. Giselle crawled in it, took a face-plant, and came up laughing. She was really cute.
  3. Spending quality time with Amanda and Giselle has been great! I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.
  4. The Well had a beautiful Lenten service on Thursday. Amanda, Giselle (only kid there), and I went. It was a time of personal repentance, communal repentance, and taking part in communion together. Giselle slept through most of it since it was past her bedtime (she’s not as spiritual as us…haha).
  5. We had dinner over the weekend with our friends Caite and Eric Rivera. They are expecting a child in August. Amanda’s known Caite forever, and Eric’s a pretty swell fella, too.
  6. My mom was diagnosed with cancer in August. It was a recurrence of breast cancer. She had a PetCT scan on Friday, and, on Tuesday, it came back with awesome results! Some of the cancer spots aren’t there any more, and what is left has decreased in 1/2. So, this is great news! She’ll continue treatments until all of it is gone. Please continue to pray for her.

Books I’m Reading:

I’m having a book face-off right now between:

(a) The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones and (b) Why We’re Not Emergent: by Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. I like Tony’s book (though Tony and I don’t always agree). I think he explains the emergent movement well, as I understand it to be, and he clears up a lot of misunderstanding that comes from the “outside.” DeYoung and Kluck make some valid points, and I do believe they did their research. Most times, when I read things that are against the emergent movement, I find them poorly researched and (if not always) mean-spirited and cynical. The authors did their research, and they are pretty kind…for about 25 pages. But I will keep reading along. I’d like to know what others think about the movement.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to): I haven’t been listening to much music since my cassette-insert for my iPod broke. I bought a new (but cheap) one, and it sucked. My car’s cassette player kept rejecting it. So, I bought a more expensive one. I tried it for about 5 minutes, and it seems to be working fine.

Job update:

Here’s where a part that’s not so interesting becomes very interesting. On Thursday, I received an offer from the temp agency for a position at Wells Fargo. The location was in Chester. I had my reservations, and, since I felt slightly pressured to make a decision immediately (probably because they said, “We need an answer by the end of today”), I took it and was scheduled to start (that) Monday. On Friday, I told Calvary I had accepted the job, and Friday was my last day. They were cool with it.

Well, over the weekend, I attended my parents’ church because my dad was sharing how he has handled financial decisions in the past. He may have encouraged budgeting, but I can’t remember. But, whatever it was, Amanda wanted to re-do our budget that would include my new job.

So, that evening, we sat down to do it. We wanted to move out of Amanda’s parents’ home (where we live now) so we needed to see what we could afford. We did the math and came out $33 in the red (…not good). Here’s what we determined:

  • Wells Fargo: x amount of dollars (multiplied by) 40 hours per week (minus) daycare for Giselle (minus) transportation costs (minus) more taxes = $40 profit (!!!) from what I was making at Calvary.

I also found out that I would have to take the train for about 4 hours a day plus working for 9 hours would add up to be 13 hours every day. So, the $40 profit combined with the stress on my family is simply not worth it. Thus, I called and emailed the temp agency, apologized multiple times, they responded not so nicely (somewhat understandably), and we parted ways. Also, emailed Wells Fargo, and they were much nicer and understood thoroughly.

Needless to say, I called Calvary, and I resumed working there on Tuesday (because of the snow day on Monday). I guess what made the decision to go back to Calvary the easiest was when my dad talked about enjoying the “precious moments” in life on Sunday. My grandpop died in 2004, and my dad said, “I always think: How much would I give just to spend one hour with him now?” So, yes, the Wells Fargo position is full-time, and, yes, I have a better chance at keeping the position after the temp position runs out, and, yes, I would be making (a little bit) more money. But what about the toll it would take on my family knowing that I would be gone 13 hours a day and not reaping many benefits from it? So, that was a huge part of my decision not to take the position.

I have another job interview for a non-profit company coming up next Friday so keep me in prayer. I’ve been also communicating with two churches now about youth pastor positions. So, something will work out soon.

Seminary update: No class this week.

How I’m doing with Lent: I’m not doing so hot with the one-visit-for-up-to-one-hour-on-the-internet limitation. I’ve failed multiple times since I’ve been using email to corresponding with potential job opportunities. But I’ve kept up with the fast. That’s good. Amanda and I are enjoying working through Lent together. I have yet to crack Matthew so failing big-time there. I’ll get on it. Trust me.

Looking forward to:

  1. Continuing Lent
  2. My other job interview on March 13
  3. Getting a job that fits my needs, as well as my family’s needs
  4. Giselle is to be dedicated on April 5th
  5. Her first birthday is coming up on April 21st
  6. Going to Toronto with Tim in March, speaking at a youth retreat in April, and going on a seminary retreat in May. Should be some good times.

What’s Cookin’? 02.23.09

“Peter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you’re not feelin’ real well, does anyone ever say to you, ‘Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays’?
Lawrence: No. No, man. [Crap], no, man. I believe you’d get your [butt] kicked sayin’ something like that, man.”

–Office Space (1999)

It’s Monday! I have a paper to write so I’ll be quick.

Highlights of the Week:
1.    Giselle has been walking behind a “walking-assist thing” (yes, that’s the technical term). She’ll be “off to the races” soon, I’m sure.
2.    Amanda and I spent much of yesterday watching The Office season 2. It was just nice to relax for awhile together.

Books I’m Reading:
I finished Christopher Wright’s Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read in the sense that I didn’t want to blow my brains out because I felt like the guy was redundant (which is how I felt with Goldsworthy last week). Wright does well to establish the connection between Jesus and the Old Testament. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the OT, not just the prophecies/predictions.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to):
1.    Podcasts – Mars Hills Podcast
2.    Lykke Li’s Youth Novels (Special Edition), Sufjan Stevens’ Illionise, Dan in Real Life soundtrack, Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight:Franz Ferdinand, and The Devil Wears Prada’s (not the movie!) Plagues.

Job update: nothing much here.

Seminary update: Still in class with Peter Enns. He’s a really down-to-earth professor, but he’s also really intellectual. I also enjoyed how open he is to ideas that aren’t Reformed (which Enns leans towards).

iPhone app I’m happy about: I’ve been trying to watch what I eat so the “Lose It” application has been really helpful. You put in your height and weight, setup a weight-goal for yourself, how much you want to lose each week, and it tells you how many calories you may have each day. Then, you type in a food, when you ate it, and it will display how many calories it is, etc. As with all apps I buy, it was free.

Looking forward to:
1.    The church season of Lent. Amanda and I are trying to figure out what we’ll do for Lent, but, right now, we are planning on attending a special service on Thursday at The Well and doing some type of fast.
2.    Giselle to start walking
3.    Amanda and I to spend some time alone together; however we deem this to be possible, I don’t care. I would just like some time with her this week.
4.    Actually blogging some more.
5.    Spring and baseball!

What’s Cookin’? 02.19.09

This week I waited until Thursday

Highlights of the Week:

1.    Taking Giselle to the aquarium was definitely a highlight. She loved it! She loves my father-in-law’s fish tank so we figured we take her to a fish tank on a larger scale…the NJ State Aquarium in Camden. I’ve never seen her so excited. Amanda and I love thinking back to it and laughing about how she was cracking up and waving her hands in the air in front of some of the exhibits. I took her to the “Touch a Shark” area. She reached down to put her hands in the water, but, when the shark came up, she quickly pulled back and made a fearful murmur. She instead proceeded to put her hand (that had just been in the shark water) in her mouth. Amanda wasn’t happy.
2.    New class with Peter Enns. I’m really enjoying it.
3.    I had another job interview this week. It was at a temp agency. I fear that wherever they put me I will be known as “the temp” like Ryan in The Office, but, if I get promoted to an executive position, I won’t get cocky.

Books I’m Reading:
I finished Goldsworthy’s Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, which I thought was OK, but it seemed somewhat “old school” and a little naïve in some areas. I’m now reading Christopher Wright’s Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament. I like it so far.

Put It on Repeat (what I’ve been listening to):
1.    Coldplay’s success at the Grammy’s has spurred me to listen to Viva la Vida again.
2.    Recently purchased, Lykke Li’s Youth Novels
3.    Podcasts: Mars Hill Bible Church – I’m a few weeks behind. APM’s Speaking of Faith “Obama’s Theologian” about Reinhold Neibuhr’s influene on Obama.

Job update: like I said, I had an interview with a temp agency. I had to go into the city for the interview, which is pretty legit. They are talking about sending me to Chester, which isn’t very legit, but I need a job so…whatever. I would only be a few months. Also, I talked to the pastor of the youth pastor job I’ve been interviewing for. It seems like they are getting closer to doing second interviews, etc.

Seminary update: Just began a class with Peter Enns, and I’m loving it.

Had a good laugh at:
In seminary class:
•    Peter Enns: What was wrong with the Sadducees?
•    Jay: They were sad-you-see…
•    Class: [laughter]
•    Jay: That was the answer you were looking for, wasn’t it?
•    Peter Enns: No, I was looking for an adult answer.
•    Class: [even more laughter]

Looking forward to:
1.    Going to Toronto for The Evolving Church Conference in March with Tim. Stanley Hauerwas is going to be there, which is awesome! Derek Webb’s doing music there, too.
2.    Getting some type of full time position somewhere.

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