we live in a green house…

…thanks to CiY KnowSweat!! it’s a beautiful colonial green with black trim, and when daniel gets back from honduras, you all will have a picture to feast upon! (he has the camera with him, or else i’d figure out how to upload and post and all that jazz…)

summertime goodness ahead

Hurray!! The city is keeping our pools!! We still need to raise a ton of money to actually pay for them all, but at least we got the okay! The kids will be able to cool off, and cool down, we won’t have to worry about keeping them preoccupied as much, etc. etc. It makes life in general easier and happier here in the inner-city. We will still need help pulling off some street parties, and even just a couple folks to show up at the park with us and a handful of frisbees, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, etc.
Also, we’ll be around a bit more this summer than we were originally expecting… Little Baby Smyth threw a wrench in at least my plans (becky) to go to Honduras this June to lead a trip of college kids to help out a mission there. We’re waiting to hear back if daniel is needed still to lead as well, or if he will stay home with me. We do have a Read Family vacation planned for July that can still happen–doesn’t require flying, excludes the possibility of malaria, etc.

looks like it’s shaping up to be a good summer!

We’ve Moved!!!

Ahhhh, at long last, we stepped inside a house we now own, and make our home, hopefully for the rest of our lives (or at least the next few chapters!)! With a handful of wonderful friends and giant box truck, Team Harkins and Team Smyth loaded everything we own and unloaded into houses next door to each other on a happenin’ street in the center of East Price Hill! Through the rain we happily trudged, passing boxes off at the door to hopefully lessen the mess on the freshly-polyurenthaned floors. Now, the fun of unpacking and finding homes for things… There’s still a lot to be done– a first-floor bathroom to install, insulation to put in the third floor ceiling (and a new ceiling to be hung), a baby’s room to paint , etc. etc. So, the work has only just begun in some ways, but at least from here on out it’s the two of us, working side-by-side, allowing God to complete His good work in us as we complete the work He’s entrusted to us.

We’re excited to house a couple of college girls (one at present, but possibly two?) as soon as we have the third floor in order for them. We hope to install a third-floor bath so they don’t have to traipse all the way downstairs and share a bathroom with us, but my family grew up with one bathroom for six people, so i think we can handle one and a half bathrooms for three or four people.

Anything else? Not yet… Oh, i guess we do need to mention here that We’re Expecting!! Our first baby Smyth should arrive October 12th, Lord willing! Things are going swimmingly, becky is  sicker than a dog, but if she eats every two or three hours, Baby seems to enjoy that, and that keeps everything in order (for the most part). She’s always eaten like a bird, her friends say, so this is a new experience, having to eat like a teenage boy–ALL THE TIME!!

Other than that, not much to report. Perhaps more later. Life can now settle into a new “normal”, for the time being anyway. We’ll see what else is in store!

inner-city drive-by hi!

check out becky’s blog here for the whole story:

http://cupalatte.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/281/

Behind the bar

This is what we and our other barista pastors are looking at when you see a sign about a new drink or home baked good.

Where Do You Stay?

We hear this phrase a lot, “Where do you stay?”. I stay in Price Hill, I stay in Avondale, I stay in Wyoming, is the response. There isn’t a second thought to the words used or what this actually communicates, but to those that have never heard this, it’s striking.

I would never have thought of saying that I stay in Price Hill. I would say that I live in Price Hill, or that my home is in Price Hill. Not that I stay here. But to the individuals around us, this is common. Their homes are not permanent. They are just staying here. They might not be there in 6 months or a year. So for now, that is where they staying. They might get kicked out for not paying rent, their job might change, family might move or pass away, and they ebb and flow with this.

We have been staying at a house in East Price Hill since April of this year. Come the end of this month, we won’t stay there anymore. We’ll be in a new place in Price Hill. We still don’t know where yet, but most likely we will be staying there also, it won’t be permanent. After that we hope to live somewhere, to sink roots into a place, to deeply know our immediate neighbors and to have another source to pour into people. We will stay there, and it will be our home. But not forever. We have been given the gift of a new home. A new place to stay. And someday we will stay there for all eternity. Until that day we work whole heartedly to give others a place to stay, a place to rest. Even if our homes and apartments are temporary, we have a place to rest our hearts in God.

God is doing great things all around us and we will continue to stay with Him.

birthdays and peter pan

tonight, we had one of the girls from the youth group over to celebrate her 17th birthday. her family wasn’t going to do anything since it’s so close to thanksgiving, so her day was going to be just like any other. we didn’t do anything super special–she and her sister joined us as we decorated the coffeeshop for Christmas, then we treated them to dinner and had them over to the parsonage for ice cream and “peter pan”, which they had never seen. but hopefully, it was meaningful and fun, and she knows she’s deeply loved by a God who made chic-fil-a spicy nuggets and homemade brownie sundaes, and came to live with us for a while here on earth.
that’s what we’re all about here in price hill– spreading His love one person at a time, one day at a time.

Musicals!!

just a heads up, there are a couple musicals we’re helping out with, and thought you all would really love to hear about them!
the first one is “Glory! Come Experience HIStory”, the Christmas on Campus concept concert (for lack of a better term for it) the first weekend of December at CCU. we’re helping my dad by doing the choreography, being assistant stage manager, handling the media, and being all-around dreamers/do-ers, filling in the gaps where needed. it will be super sweet–the final narration gave me goosebumps! tickets are $10, which includes an incredible worship experience, a light dessert, and a fun way to bring in the season! check it out, order tickets, etc. here: http://www.ccuniversity.edu/music/glory/

ALSO, i (becky) am helping to create a new idea for some of the youth we work with, called :Change of Heart: (or, as i affectionately refer to it, “price hill, the musical”!)
it will be premiering Feb. 11th & 12th, 2011, at the McPherson church behind kroger (where daniel and i got married!). BLOC Ministries is partnering with a lady named Miss Mimi and her step troupe (like “stomp”), and it will rock your world. mark your calendars! (and if you’d like to help out in any form, please let me know!)

thanks, friends! just wanted to fill you in on some of the sweet, creative aspects of life at the moment. hope you’re having a marvelous day! love you all!!

Come and Change us

I love the people who are a part of our community, the different things they bring to the table, the experiences, stories and their hearts.

Jenn played this on Sunday and it’s been on my heart since then.

Dwell by Casey Corum.

What would Price Hill look like if this was our constant prayer?

enter: intentional community living

community life rocks my socks off.

it’s so hard, so fun, so stressful, so peaceful,… every day there’s more to learn, discovering more places for growth, challenging conversations and little acts of love (sometimes great big sacrifices of time or “what you want to do”),… it’s all so beautiful and fragile, and steady and delicious (our community really likes to cook!),… “God, You are so good to us! thank You for putting us together, to learn discover more of Your heart as we embark on this adventure together. lead on, Lord. we love You!”