Andrew & Esther - Through Our Eyes Archive
Archived Thoughts
Beijing buzz (June 5, 2008)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
A Life of Profound Significance (October 26, 2005)
The Earth at Your Fingertips (October 18, 2005)
A Surprise Appointment (October 15, 2005)
Wars and Rumors of Wars (October 3, 2005)
Laughing in the Rain (September 20, 2005)
Random Tid-Bits and Happenings (September 15, 2005)
Life and Death and Terrorists (August 30, 2005)
Girls and Boys and God (August 25, 2005)
Feasting and Worship (August 17, 2005)
Blogger's Block (August 6, 2005)
The Harvest in China (August 2, 2005)
Counting the Cost (July 24, 2005)
Absolutely Outstanding Bit of Writing (July 18, 2005)
Burning Alive (July 14, 2005)
Jesus and the Glory Golf Balls (July 10, 2005)
Those Things We Hold On To (July 7, 2005)
Grape Juice, Poured Out for the Forgiveness of Sin (June 30, 2005)
He Will Ruin Your Life (June 28, 2005)
A Bit of Perspective (June 25, 2005)
The Wedding Planner (June 22, 2005)
A Lesson in Patience Amidst Absurdity (June 16, 2005)
Fans of Hitler (June 15, 2005)
Crash and Stories (June 12, 2005)
Pastors and Leaders - Different Views (June 10, 2005)
Senior Pastors (June 5, 2005)
Ask and You Shall Receive (June 2, 2005)
What If (May 27, 2005)
The "Bible Study" (May 24, 2005)
The Future of Pixar (May 19, 2005)
The Mess We Christians Have Made (May 14, 2005)
Narnia Coming to the Big Screen (May 10, 2005)
Europe - Through the Lens of My Camera (May 7, 2005)
Same Sex Families (May 6, 2005)
Photos of Mercy (May 3, 2005)
Across an Ocean... (April 21, 2005)
The Picture, The Pope, and The Past Few Days (April 12, 2005)
In the Car with My (air) Guitar (April 6, 2005)
The Pope (April 4, 2005)
Resurrection Day (March 27, 2005)
Killing People (March 23, 2005)
Weekend of Surprises (March 22, 2005)
The Fray - Listen to this (March 12, 2005)
Akiane....This is Amazing (March 11, 2005)
Jesus Christ (March 8, 2005)
Worthy Thoughts on The Passion (March 7, 2005)
Dream Days at Church (March 3, 2005)
Peace Amidst Ambiguity (March 1, 2005)
A Verse I Hadn't Noticed Before (February 25, 2005)
McLaren and Hotel Rwanda...another perspective (February 19, 2005)
Brother Andrew is on to something (February 16, 2005)
My Valentine (February 14, 2005)
Homecoming...strange (February 13, 2005)
Hotel Rwanda (February 10, 2005)
The Update (February 6, 2005)
Malibu...Thailand...Palm Desert (January 1, 2005)
Get Ready Thailand...I'm Coming! (September 25, 2004)
God Speaks? Really? (May 29, 2004)
Life Beyond Graduation (May 1, 2004)
God's Faithfulness in Morocco (October 8, 2002)
Our Thoughts
July 6, 2006
Not My Life
I got riled up a few days ago about something that really bothers me. Allow me to vent for a moment…

We live like “it’s my life”…as if our lives are our own. Bull.

This is a lie. For starters, as followers of Christ we’re reminded “you are not your own. You were bought at a price…” (1 Co 16:18-19). As a Christian I lay down my life and step into the life God has for me. I become God’s servant – literally a “slave”. My life is His.

But it goes deeper. To say that life is just about “God and me” also misses the truth.

Here it is: Christians are “in Christ” and a part of the Body of Christ – the Church. In a very real sense, our lives belong to one another as fellow parts of the Body – as fellow Christians.

My life is not my own. Your life is not your own. Our lives are NOT OUR OWN.

Yet we Christians so often live separate lives that interact maybe once a week, at best – and that’s with your close friends. A weekend social event or a brief phone call – and we call that “fellowship”. Ridiculous.

For us to really step into life together as a Christian community, I think we’ve got to interact frequently. I mean all the time. When we’re at our best and our very worst. At the height of excitement or the low of depression – we should be interacting and walking life out together. No secrets here. No hidden struggles. No gated communities or towering backyard fences. I’m talking about a transparent life – open for all in your community of believers to see.

I’m all for communal living. Walking out daily life together…in the truest sense. Sign me up.

I’m guessing there won’t be many other takers. Sad.

Okay – so if you know me you’re probably rolling your eyes and wondering when I will point out the obvious. “Hey Andrew – you’ve lived alone for 2 years in a place where you don’t know anyone. Of course you’re hungry for more community. But once you actually had people to interact with weekly, you’d see that is enough.”

Maybe. But I’ve tasted the goodness I’m talking about here. I’ve lived in one house with 50 other people for 9 months – and it was truly the best experience of community I’ve ever known. Granted, it wasn’t true “communal” living – but it came close. It was an intensely authentic expression of community. We experienced life together daily – the highs and the lows. It was oh so good.

The 50 of us were in Heidelberg, Germany in a study abroad program through Pepperdine University. It was a life-changing year. One that wet my appetite for living intentionally in community – and I haven’t been able to satisfy my appetite it since.

So I’ll keep pursuing it.

In the meantime, I’ve setup a new section on this website dedicated to the people I lived with for those 9 months in Heidelberg. The experiences we shared are remembered in video clips and pictures. I’m also listing the latest blog postings from those I spent the year with. Hopefully, in some way this will help keep us connected. It certainly won’t come close to the level of community we walked out together in Heidelberg, but it’s something. (Go to the Heidelberg Section)

If some of what I’ve vented about here connects with you, drop me a line – the Brumme Commune is still accepting applications.