A great weekend

This past weekend I went with four friends up to Big Bear. We enjoyed a ton of snow and a day of snowboarding. I have to say that although my snow boarding skills are greatly improving, I am still not sure that I enjoy the activity. It seems like an awful lot of energy and soreness for something that seems a bit silly. Anyway, maybe next trip I will catch the enjoyment factor. Along with snowboarding, we also enjoyed some great time in the snow in the front yard, sledding at the end of the street, playing wii, finishing a great puzzle (one of my favorite activities), and playing numerous other games. Thank
s to my friends for the pics (I didn't bring my camera...)

Chains Required...

Sledding!

Pic on the top of the mountain, before we boarded down

Icicles at the cabin

Great view from the side of the road

Christmas Movies

In the spirit of being in the mood for Christmas, I have been catching up on the multitude of Christmas movies available on the various cable channels.  I have seen Snow and Snow II.  Right now I am watching, "A year without a Santa Claus."  I have seen The Santa Claus 3, and other countless random Christmas movies.  I am on the fourth Christmas movie of the weekend (3 today).  After this one, I do think it will be time to go to bed!  I have enjoyed however the fun themes, the silly story lines and the overall belief that at this time of the year we can remember the things that are important.  

A crazy weekend

So, I thought that I was pretty much on top of the whole Christmas thing, but somehow this weekend Christmas got a bit out of control.  Friday night my fam and I went to d-land.  It was a long night, they went home a bit after ten, but bre and I stayed until after midnight with some friends who were there as well.  It was fun to catch up, but it was a looong night.  

Saturday, my mom and I did some final Christmas shopping.  For my one last gift, I went to about 4 different stores (including Irvine Spectrum).  Then having the gift, it was off to lunch (amazing - the Counter) then we went home to clean house and get out the Christmas decorations, this included quite the hunt for out missing stocking collection and Christmas tree lights (which were not found until much after we had given up.  

Today, I taught (I do love being at my new church, even when we do have the occasional crazy morning) then I had to go to walmart for some essentials.  After that, it was home to wrap a multitude of presents and finish painting one more item.  (I have done a lot of painting this year) 

Now, it is all finally done, presents wrapped, objects painted, and I am even packed for the most part for my long venture into the OC beginning Tuesday night.  I am definitely looking forward to bed!

Leadership is Messy

I was going to write more, but today, that is all I can come up with that makes sense.  Leadership is messy, and hard at times...   

Out of the Blue

Today I had some crazy news that came from left field.  No warning, just all of a sudden what seems to be a severed relationship.  I feel as though I should say something upbeat or cheerful about this situation, at least something insightful.  Yet, right now and today, it just pretty much sucks.  I think that is all I want to say.  When you loose a friend, colleague, or any other important relationship in your life, it just sucked.  Especially when the situation happened completely outside of your control/input/etc.  So, tonight, it just sucks - and that is pretty much all I want to say.  Maybe tomorrow there will be some insight...

A Christmas Party

Last night was our annual work Christmas party.  It was a great night (even though I was feeling a bit under the weather).  Our two boss' worked all afternoon to create an amazing 5 course, french dinner (plus dessert was six).  Praise the Lord it wasn't too adventurous and did not include snails...  It is always amazing food.  Our staff is not a big one, there were 11 of us there last night (including spouses for those who have them), but we have a great time together.  In between each course our two bosses read a special Psalm they had picked out for each of us.  After they read the Psalm, they prayed for that person.  It was a great time of edification and love.  Then we had our annual gift exchange.  I came home with a great tin and gingerbread cookie making kit.  Overall it was an amazing night of togetherness, edification, and thanking Jesus for His sacrifice.  

This makes me sad...

I had heard about Ray Botz coming out. Being one of the worst people I know when it comes to remembering music artist's names, I had no idea who this was. I just read an article though, inspired by this event, which truly resonated with me. In my own struggles of trying to figure out what it really looks like to love and support those who are struggling, this article hit home. It goes back to that one question that continues to intrigue me when it comes to churches, asked by a man who may never go back to full time church ministry. "What sins do you fire for?" This is a great question for all church leaders and those who work for them to grapple with. I believe it shows a great picture of their hiarchy of sin, as well as their stand on true repentance as well as their compassion towards their fellow believers. Enjoy the following article and pray with me that we will learn how to be a church (both on the local and global levels) that will provide a place for those who are struggling to be real. Ray Bolt's Hunger for Community.

Balboa Park

This evening I went with my friends to Balboa Park and enjoyed their "December Nights." Festival.  It was really amazing.  There were literally tens of thousands of people there.  They had food booths from all over the world.  We enjoyed some great food and checked out a ton of the museums.  They are all free on these two nights.  We went to the sports hall of fame, the automobile, the aviation/flight, the modern art, and historical art, as well as the photographic arts museum.  It was a great quick overview of all that Balboa Park has to offer.  After all of that we were pretty well beat.  My feet are aching, but it was an awesome experience...

Painting...

Tonight I spent some quality time with a good friend and my paint brushes.  It was a great night of being together and creativity.  As we were discussing life in general, we both enjoyed some great time of creativity.  I was working on some Christmas presents, which were a bigger undertaking than I first realized...  But I am enjoying the process.  Anyway it was a great evening.  Painting makes me feel like the rest of the world is tolerable.  It is so fun to start with something blank and create something fun and new.  Tomorrow night I am looking forward to another great evening of TV and painting...

Christmas Countdown

So, it is December 1st.  I can't believe it.  We have a month left of this year.  I normally do not look forward to this time of year, but this year I am making a concerted effort to make it a positive time of the year.  Thus far, I am succeeding.  I am enjoying the Christmas decorations in my room.  I am also enjoying some Christmas music.  I am working on establishing some new things to look forward to at this time of year.  I will keep you posted on the progress of operation, enjoy Christmas...