a couple of days ago in my frustration i wrote a post entitled the downfalls of a one car family, and although it’s true that only having one car does set you up for potential disaster, there are so many more benefits that outweigh the negatives… so, in an attempt to redeem myself… here they are in no particular order:

• you save money… lots of money! no longer do we have two car payments, no longer do we have to fill up two cars with gas, no longer do we have to do two oil changes, no longer do we have two insurance payments… the list could go on and on as we have successfully reduced our automotive expenditures in half. not only that, but by downsizing to a hybrid, our gasoline costs have drastically decreased. instead of filling up two cars one to one and a half times a week, we are now filling up one car about one time every week and a half… and this is with tracy commuting about 45 minutes away. with gas prices expected to exceed $4/gallon this summer, we won’t feel the pinch nearly as bad as most will.
• its good for the environment! now that global warming is proving to be a sham [ht: bob hyatt] this may not seem as important as it used to, however it’s still a good idea to be good stewards of the resources that God has given… so, we’re being green and cutting down on pollution… drastically. in fact, our carbon footprint has been significantly reduced (we’re currently at 11.192 tonnes—down from 23.088—20.4 tonnes is the national average)!
• it forces better coordination of your schedule this is an important one for my sake. instead of constantly forgetting to tell tracy what’s going on, or constantly accepting invitations blindly, etc, etc, etc… i now have to make sure we don’t have any transportation issues which creates a better sense of communication in the home… always a good thing! along these same lines it has forced me to get up earlier in the morning… this has actually been a really nice change in my routine—sleeping in is 7:00. (i never thought i’d say that in my entire life!)

There are others… but I won’t bore you with the details. So, to sum it up… being a one car family in the suburbs of Chicago isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but I rather enjoy it and wouldn’t give it up… even though it is a hassle from time to time.

tracy and i embarked on a new journey almost a year ago—the life of a one car family.  for the most part it has been relatively pain free, a few hitches here and there as we try and coordinate schedules to get everywhere that we need to get to but for the most part those hitches have been weather related.  (it’s hard to ride my bike—bicycle—the 5 miles into the office when there’s snow everywhere.)  we’ve figured out a fairly beautiful system that will run perfectly when the snow is gone and spring arrives—it has been really interesting riding a bike in 12 degree weather with wind chills in the negative.

yesterday, however we hit a major snag… tracy was in an accident.  she got hit in the side by a driver unaware she was there… (probably talking on a cell phone).  the lady admitted she didn’t see tracy and didn’t stop until after she hit her—no brakes.  tracy, thankfully is okay, but our poor, poor little prius is not so hot at the moment.  it’s running a but funkily and as a result we have become a no car family in one brief instant.

dealing with insurance companies is never any fun, but it’s especially no fun when you can’t reach an adjuster from a different insurance company so that you can get a rental car on their dime.  (and honestly, i’m not looking forward to a rental car that will last longer than a week—going from 50 mpg to 20 mpg is not going to be so kind on the budget.)  so, with no backup we sit… waiting…

the one bright spot for this whole thing is that this time—tracy got hit before in a gas station parking lot while pumping gas by a drunk driver—this time the lady that hit her has insurance!  last time this was not the case. 

my friend and colleague tim sutherland sent me this remarkable quote by elie wiesel that really struck a chord for me deep within my soul…

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
~Ellie Wiesel (Nobel Prize for Peace, 1986)

it seriously begins to make me wonder and question the things that up until this point i have been completely indifferent about.

yes, this is me… one year ago me vs. one month ago me.

tracy and i were looking through some pictures in iphoto and we came across this first picture taken of me just a little over a year ago when i was at my heaviest ever (240 lbs.) and we then saw this picture taken of me during christmas after loosing a ton of weight. in fact, i’m 10 lbs heavier in this picture than i am right now. for the first time since my sophomore year of college i am below 200 lbs! (i actually weigh less now than when i met tracy!) i’ve got a little ways to go yet to get where i’d like… and actually be considered healthy, but with all the running and better eating it should keep on keepin’ on.

just wanted to give a little picture share—if you haven’t seen me in a while, you might be a little shocked… i know i am after seeing this!

what can i say about 2007 other than it was one of the hardest and painful years of my life; yet at the same turn it has also proven to be one of the most rewarding, hope-filled, exciting and encouraging! how does a year turn so quickly as if on a dime? how do the course of your life so quickly flip into such a direction? i believe that it can only be because of the guiding love and grace of God that things have changed so quickly and so drastically.

at the beginning of ‘06 i was in a strange state of affairs searching for what was next as our hopes and dreams for being a part of an intense criticism from the church for stepping down, hurtful emails and gut wrenching slaps across the face by people that didn’t understand nor even knew me.

little did i know that the end of my dark night was in sight. tracy and i found our way into CPAC and eventually into a leadership residency with the NewThing Network at Community Christian Church in the western suburbs of Chicago where have been encouraged and challenged more than anywhere else in my ministry “career”. it was here that the vision and dream of planting a church in San Francisco was forged and solidified, encouraged, confirmed, and cheered on! it was here that the deep, gaping wounds of the past have healed, the bitterness and anger was cleansed and a new outlook on what the church is, can be and should be was birthed. it was here that i experienced what a truly healthy church looks like.

i am excited about the future for the first time in years. i know that God is still preparing me, still pruning me, still changing and molding me but for now at least it’s not through pain. my dark night is officially over and 2008 looks bright and hopeful. i will never forget what 2006 and 2007 were like but in retrospect i wouldn’t change a thing. i am thankful for those experiences because they have made me who i am now. but they are the past and they have blown away like smoke. i will always remember the lessons that i learned under fire and the character and integrity that i maintained throughout i all. 2007 is over and for the first time in years i know what is next. i know where God is sending me and i know what God is calling me to. (not that i don’t think it’s going to be difficult—but at least it’s a positive challenge for a change!)

so, here’s to a good 2008 that is brimming with possibilities, hope and another exciting transition (hopefully the last in a long, long time) as we move onward to San Francisco in the summer… let’s prepare for another turning of the page!

just a quick announcement to let you know that i’ve rolled our (tracy and I) newthing.aaronmonts.com site into this blog and you can easily access it through the tab » newthing, at the top. in that tab it talks about what it is that we’re doing in naperville and preparing to do in san francisco. at the bottom of the page you can read our monthly e-updates to stay current on the haps in the monts household. i just recently uploaded our december 2007 update if you’d like to take a gander…

also on the page are the current things that we need prayer for and instructions on how you can support us financially, if you so choose.

so, check it all out and let me know what you think!

so i’m working on building up my wishlist for the christmas season, and i’m looking to add a ton of books… so, i’m coming to, the faithful reader, and asking what have some of your favorite books have been this year.

help me pimp my list!

let’s just see how terrific this whole phenomenon called twitter really is. as you can see, i’ve added a twitter badge on the right hand side so that you can see what i’m doing, where i’m going and the like… let’s just see how long this lasts and if it really is “all the rage”.

you can follow on the right hand side, or here is my twitter page… i’m a bit skeptical. let’s see if this thing can win me over.

On Saturday, Tracy and I made our way into the city to go see the musical Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz for her birthday celebration. It was a really fun day and evening. I was completely astounded at the level of production on all levels from the intricate stage designs to the music to the story line and was highly entertained the entire time. I think the flying monkey’s may have been the most difficult to pull off, and they were amazing! The acrobatics that they displayed, the sounds they produced and the monkey-like movements all made for a very believable monkey!

If you haven’t seen this production and you’re really into musicals, I’d highly recommend it… if you’re not into musicals, I still think you’d really like this one. It’s great!

After Wicked, we walked around the city for a while and ended up finding a nice place to eat a fantastic fondue dinner. (We almost had to be rolled out of the restaurant!) We couldn’t even make it to the chocolate fondue for dessert, but our wonderful waiter brought us out a small platter of it just for us to taste… it was heavenly! Maybe the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten!

It was great to get into the city and walk around and spend some quality time together. It’s something that we both wished we would have done more when we lived in the northern suburbs a few years ago. But, even if it wasn’t as possible then as it is now we’re glad to take hold of the opportunity now! (Better late than never right?!)

last night i attended my 10 year high school reunion (wow, i can’t believe it’s already been 10 years) and i had a great time!  i was really unsure if i even wanted to go, constantly going back and forth, back and forth—should i stay or should i go… but in the end i went and i’m glad i did.  i was able to reconnect with several people that i knew, but unfortunately none of my friends were there… but that didn’t stop me from having a good time. 

it was nice to see how my small class of 200 turned out even if only about 40 of my classmates actually showed up.  one of the sad moments of the evening was realizing that 4 of my classmates have passed away in the past 10 years… that was pretty shocking.  but all in all it was a good evening and i’m really glad i went.  (i’m also pretty sure a lot of people were shocked that i ended up as a pastor… that was fun to announce to the crowd!)

six years ago today i am back in the exact same place—sitting in the offices of community christian church (CCC) in naperville, illinois… yet, it’s taken me a while and a crazy journey to find myself right back here once again. today marks the 6-year anniversary of 9/11, and maybe that’s what’s provoked me to think a little bit about my journey over the course of the past 6 years that all started with sitting in the cafe watching the twin towers crumble before my very eyes on television.

in some respects it seems as if i’ve come ful-circle—going out after being ordained by CCC and being tested, tried, beaten-down and ultimately experiencing the gut-wrenching side of ministry. yet, now i find myself back here once again at this very same place preparing once again to be sent out into the vast open spaces of ministry… it’s strange, but this place of preparation has stirred up within me a wealth of fear, fear that somehow i will end up repeating the last 6 years of pain over again. but, i don’t want to be controlled by this fear, and i don’t want to take the seemingly safe choice of staying here within the safety and security that CCC has been for me throughout my ministry career. (i’m not sure if the church or its leaders really know just how much they have helped guide me and even protect me since i walked out of the doors 6 years ago to take my first full-time ministry position—CCC has truly been to me and will continue to be my home church!)

it’s funny, but i don’t really despise my journey thus far. i don’t regret decisions that i’ve made, the cross-country moves or even some of the positions that i’ve taken because i know i’ve learned a great deal from it all. the wisdom from this journey has been immense and although in many instances i wish i could’ve done some things differently, i know that they have served to bring me back to where i am today preparing for this next phase of life: planting a church in the 5th largest metro area in the united states.

it’s amazing how cyclical life can seem… it’s amazing how God brings us back with a fresh perspective and new tools to send us out all over again to give it another go… it’s amazing that it’s only been 6 years…

three months have come and gone in a flash. it was just a little over 3 months ago that tracy and i were scrambling to sell our house, packing and selling a lot of our things, and getting everything squared away to move to naperville… just 3 short months! i can’t believe it’s already been three months that i’ve been a part of the CCC team and yet at the same time it feels like i’ve been here forever. this has been a good journey so far, a restorative journey, a healing journey, and an encouraging journey that has spoken volumes to my heart and has begun to piece back together my soul and my passion… and it’s only just beginning! needless to say, i’m really looking forward to the remaining 9 months!

yesterday i had my 90 day review and i have to say i was extremely intimidated and fearful—the only other review that i’ve had in ministry was last december (’06) in which i was reamed, berated and hung out to dry (mainly because i was “binding the Holy Spirit”—whatever that means)… needless to say it wasn’t a good experience. however, yesterday was quite the opposite… yesterday, i received accolades that i never thought possible and my 90-day review went better than I could have ever expected. words of affirmation and compliments flew like crazy and honestly, it was (and still is) hard to take. maybe it’s because i’ve never really heard those sorts of things from a church, elders or peers before and when i have had those things said i haven’t really been able to truly hear them because of the baggage that has always surrounded me.

being in an environment where i am celebrated, encouraged, loved-on and bragged about has truly served to break down the wall of defense that i have built to protect my heart. this shield has served to deflect back-handed compliments and harsh-criticism and throughout time has even made it so that i can’t even hear encouragement in a positive, untainted way. being in a healthy environment has slowly begun the process of tearing down this wall and maybe more importantly putting to rest the constant fear of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

healing is happening…