Living Outside the Box
“Think outside The Box!” they say—but crawl back “inside The Box” after brainstorming (we belong there).
How about living outside The Box instead? It’s…interesting. We’re living in a motel now while they fix our “box” — our home — after the fire. (Click to enlarge the pictures!)
A breakfast buffet every morning...
Motels are a blast, especially with younger kids…
Tatooed "tuff-guy" Connor watches WWE wrestling endlessly!
But have you ever tried to live in a motel? It isn’t all it’s cranked-up to be.
Endless hotel parties in my living room...
At Central Teaching Sean gave a short testimony about “joy in the midst of adversity.”
Connor laughs at Sean's jokes while the house burns.
Listen to Sean’s Testimony: [display_podcast]
He went back into the burning house to get the one thing he always planned to get in a fire (“you need to plan these things, you know,” he said) and guess what it was? His study Bible! (And, secondarily, the dumb cat, which he couldn’t find.)
Our own private Pool House
But Sean said he was able to rejoice through it all. (“There’s been so many nice people!” he said.) And when he saw the motel we were going to live in and the pool and surround-sound Theater Room, “If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve set fire to the house long ago!” (“Don’t talk like that around the insurance adjuster,” I reminded him.)
The Theater Room attracts 'em like flies...
But Sean doesn’t have to deal with a bustling, growing ministry, so he doesn’t appreciate the difficulties of Church Without Walls like I do:
"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen..."
On the other hand, I’m a temperamental complainer—even more so than Sean (half my age!)—so maybe he’s right and I’m the one with problems?
Always dignified, beautiful, and poised
I’m not really roughing it, like when Jesus: “the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Did he sleep standing up?)
Nice public lobby where I can "get away from it all" while they tear the room apart
Actually, we’re doing pretty good: there’s a regular traffic pattern of NeoXenos drifters streaming through the place…
Rappin' down, clown...it's 3 am...
We have prayer meetings in the lobby (it gets the businessmen’s attention), leaders’ meetings in the whirlpool, discipleship in my “Jesus Saves Van”, Cell Groups in the big Home Theater Room (with surround-sound), and of course High Schoolers tearing-up the swimming pool. It’s a revolution on-the-road!
Outbursts of violence are common...
Actually, I highly recommend it for any Christian cult! (Isn’t it great that “cult” article isn’t coming out now?)
First night--no sleep for 36 hours--and isn't it cool to have a room full of well-wishers drop in? (Yes, it is.)
And it sure beats living by a railroad track in late November like I did at age 22. (Let’s leave that alone.)
Why couldn't my house burn down while I was in Florida so I could stay there instead?
The hat’s a nice touch – you’ve got a sort of Neo-French revolutionary look – I guess.
hikka hikka i love that hotel
That hat is fat! The hotel…yeah, it’s nice. Shouldn’t complain.
Dar needs a hat with a fancy scarf wrapped around her neck – I’d make a great photo opt. I’ll take her shopping.