Murk's Midst

Summer 2009, enjoy the show!

2009-12-10T11:21:00.001-08:00

So, I'll wait till kingdom come...

2009-10-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I will admit it, I occasionally listen to the Jonas Brothers, I have them on my iPod due to the fact that I have children in my car occasionally.

Anyway, they have a song that I relate too. It was written by Nick Jonas who was diagnosed with diabetes in his early teens. It is the story of his wait to be fine. Throughout the song, he talks about how he is waiting for things to be better, to be released from the hospital, for a cure. This is the final refrain:
"So I'll wait till kingdom come
All the highs and lows are gone
A little bit longer
And I'll be fine"

I love that this song acknowledges that life is hard. You don't have to have diabetes to be able to relate to the fact that all of us have good seasons and hard seasons in our lives. Although this song acknowledges treatment, and a search for a cure, I think it is profound that the true answer at the end is to wait for our Lord to come back, to make all things right. I think that I often find myself looking for a cure, for a treatment for this sinful world we live in. I do believe that God wants to give us his peace, comfort and joy, but I also don't want to ignore the fact that this world is broken and fallen. I want to continue to wait for kingdom come and not take my eyes of eternity and all that it means.

Camping

2009-10-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

We went camping!

Here are the pictures....

Camp is set-up! Notice the view, right over the ocean!

Here is the fountain we (my mom and I) sat at while we waited for AAA to come retrieve the keys I locked in the car.

Kenny Skateboarding

View from Swami's at sunset...

My dad took the dog for a bike ride, she seemed to like it.

Me at the surf museum in Oceanside.

The Donut Man

2009-09-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ok,

So, one of my friends loves listening to Adventures in Odyssey. As a kid, we listened to Odyssey every once in a while, but what we listened to over and over again, was the donut man. The donut man sang fun songs, crazy songs, and quiet, worshipful songs. He taught us Bible stories in new ways. He taught us Bible stories that are more obscure. Basically he made the Bible really interesting.

Anyway, I have been on the hunt for his old albums. Of course we had them on cassete tape, and all I have been able to find on his website in the last few years (when I check every year or so) was new CD's, some of which had the more "kosher" songs from the good old days on them. But the songs, like the one about worms nibbling on someone's toes b/c he would not worship God, were not accessable. I just looked tonight b/c I was talking about him and I saw it! He has released all the original albums on CD. I am now vowing to buy one a month and collect all of them again.

Some things I don't like...

2009-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

1. People who feel like they are too good to wait in line.

2. Hot dogs

3. Mustard

4. Mayonaise

5. Being hungry

Things I love

2009-08-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

1) Going on walks at sundown

2) Sunsets at the beach

3) Beach Camping

4) Surfing

5) Swimming

6) Downtown LA (Philippe's, China town, Alvera Street, Union Station, Little Tokyo)

7) Pumpkin Pie

8) Hamburgers

9) Hanging out with kids

10) Sleeping in

How do you measure a year???

2009-07-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yesturday someone reminded me that we had known each other for one year today. This got me to thinking how I have grown in this year.

It has been an interesting year, one full of many blessings. It has also been a year of struggle and growth. I think that what I set out to do at this time last year has not been accomplished. I am trying to decide whether or not I have failed (what my mind jumps to immediately) or if the process is just much more in-depth and longer by nature than what I could have immagined. Of course, there are areas where I see progress, healthier relationships, better life style, etc. Either way, today I am feeling more discouraged than encouraged. Or rather a feeling of purposecd accaptance, that the plan and schedule God has me on is His, not mine, it is under His control, not mine, and in the meantime, I am pushing myself to do the things that aren't natural for me where I am, in order to try to pursue Him more. I think that I am trying to make the shift from, "I'll do this so that I will be able to have or be this" into "I WILL do this because it is right, it is what God asks of me, and it is an act of obedience no matter what the outcome." However, tha latter is scarrier and takes a lot more faith in the goodness of God.

Life is just not fare...

2009-07-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why not me? A little over two years ago, God moved me to the desert. Since being in the desert, God has been growing me, healing me, and challenging me in many ways. I love my job, my current living situation and my church. Yet sometimes I see how NOT FARE it is! Not really so much that I am living in the desert, that makes sense to me. Just other people's abilities to do things the way I wanted to do them but was never allowed too. Just needed to vent a bit...

Hamsters!

2009-07-15T20:14:00.001-07:00

There is something about hamsters that I love. I don't know why.

So, about a month ago my last hamster died. His name, for those of you who don't remember, was Cody Maverick. After the penguin in "Surf's Up".

I tried to live for a while without a hamster, even added a hamster gadget to my home page through google. Yet, I still wanted another hamster. So I bought a cage on-line (much better selection) Then I had to wait about a week for the cage to come. Stupid on-line pet store, don't they know that there are hamster wana-be hamster owners out there that are waiting to adopt their pets.

FINALLY the cage came, yet I was on my way to stay with my parents, so no hamster for a few more days.

Sunday was the big day, somehow I talked my mom, dad, and brother to go hamster shopping with me... We checked out petco, saw some we liked, but there were no helpful people, rather there was a very grumpy employee cleaning the rat cage, which I guess if I had to pull those ugly creatures up out of their cages by their tales, I would be grumpy too! Then while I was trying to decide whether or not to brave talking to grumpy girl, a man came to buy a feeder mouse, that was it, it was time to check the other pet shop.

We all piled back in the car and headed across the street to Pets Smart. There they had NO teddy-bear hamsters, so I decided that was a no go.

After looking at all the birds and waiting for my brother to run across to walmart (under the guis of going to the bathroom) to buy water balloons, we piled back in the car to go back across the street.

Then with trepidation I walked up to the grumpy girl (with my father by my side because I was scared and asked to see the hamsters (grumpy girl was conveniently cleaning out their cage at the moment so they were already in their temporary holding place.

There were three female teddy bear hamsters (if you don't know much about hamsters, let me just tell you that there are reasons, to buy a female - just look up the difference if you want to know more)

There was one solid brown one, she was very cute, but I had already decided on a name for my hamster - Bumble Bee from Transformers. So, although the solid one was cute I decided to let her go back to her house. Then it was between the two tan and white hamsters. There was one who seemed to snap at people and one that didn't. I went with the one that didn't. As my father was holding her, she peed on his shirt. That however didn't deter us (or him) and we bought bumble bee, along with a little house to hide in and a hamster ball (I had one from cody maverick, but Cody was a dwarf hamster, or to be politically correct a little person hamster) Anyway his wheel was about four inches in diametor and Bumble bee is already nearly six inches long, so you do the math.

Finally, we all went home to my parents. I gathered my stuff or what I thought was all of my stuff since I realized once I was back in Temecula did not include the following items: my pillow, my computer, my phone charger and my toothbrush (my kind roomate had a new one from the dentist and let me have it). While I was gathering my dad found a bucket, cleaned it out a bit, put some paper towels in the bottom, and transfered Bumble bee to her temporary transport container.

Then we drove the near hour home to Winchester. I got Bumble Bee's cage all ready and then let her sleep off the trip.

Since then (that was Sunday) she has spent a couple of hours in a smaller container on a stool next to my bed in the later evenings. This is fun for both of us as she gets treats and fun toys and I have a great source of entertainment. (Her cage can't be in my room b/c she wakes me up in the middle of the night with all her nibbling, scratching and playing).

Here are some pics!

A great b-day party

2009-07-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday my brother and I attended a cool birthday party for our friend Malachi (he just turned three.

It was a BLAST. There was a petting farm, great games and crafts, a place for the kids to mine for gold, and homemade cookies and cream ice-cream. Enjoy the pics

Kenny Hanging out with a VERY fluffy bunny!

Kenny's wrist, which got stuck in some kiddy handcufs, had to have lots of help to get it off...

Duck!

Kenny holding a really fluffy chicken, if you look closely you can see the beak, but you can't find their eyes.

Fourth of July

2009-07-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

I love the fourth of July. I always have. I am not really sure why, my family doesn't even have a real tradition on the fourth. Growing up we always did different things. In the last few years, we have however always gone down to the park with the rest of Yorba Linda, for the fireworks show. After a day of swimming, bar-b-que and hanging out with old friends, I always love being at the park. It is always fun to see people you know and for the last couple of years, we sit with our friends and their kids. This year my sis and I picked up the kids and saved an area of grass and hung out for a while with them, before it started. I love hanging out with kids, throwing a football (my arm is going to be sore tomorrow), carrying a little girl on my back as we went back to the food booths to get something, and talking to them about life. I miss having kids in my everyday life. I miss the kids who I have watched grow up. I miss knowing the kids and being involved in their daily life. Tonight though, I had a blast, I felt myself soaking in the time with these kids. Just having fun with them. So, hurray for the fourth of July, I can't wait till next year!

Hurting People

2009-06-18T22:16:00.001-07:00

The church is Christ's bride. The church is supposed to be the manifestation of the grace of God in this life. I love the church, although flawed and often extremely messy, I love it. Today was a hard day. I was once again reminded of all the hurt in the world. I was reminded that hurting children grow to become hurting teens who grow to become hurting adults. I once again began thinking about the importance of loving those inside and outside of the church. I was glad for the time that I did take for real conversations in the life of a child. I was saddened that sometimes pain is so deep and so overwhelming that I feel as though we can not overcome it. I longed for God to come back, as His glorious, warrior/kingly self and destroy the evil in the world. For this is the only answer to some people's pain - the return of Christ and His amazing power in their lives. In some ways that is the only answer to all of our pain. The next life, for we were not created to live in this fallen world. Until then, my prayer tonight is that God's Church, the manifestation of His grace would be just that tonight and continue to point people towards God's amazing power for life-transformation.

A busy weekend...

2009-06-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

This was a buy weekend. I spent the weekend in YL with the fam. Friday night and Saturday noonish, I had work engagements (thus the reason for staying out in the OC). Both went well and we had fun.

Then, on Sunday, Kenny and I went to the preschool "new reveal" volunteer training at YLFC. It was so awesome. This is something that I remember talking about wanting to do in 2004. It took us (or rather them, since I am not really there anymore) four years to make it a reality, but it was well worth it. They had thought through the "what ifs" and "what do we do whens." It was really exciting to see and to get to be a part in some small way. It was also great to be with the EC team there and help them out and throw a great training. Table decor, the new large group stage decor, and great food made the atmosphere great. Gwin rocked as the preschool leader and I don't think I have anything I could critique (and that's saying a lot since I am a pretty much critical person (although I like to consider it being a realist and just always wanting to improve).

So, that was my weekend, now on to a quieter next few days at home...

It's been a while...

2009-05-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry all! It's been a while, life has been a bit overwhelming. Nothing major, just the regular busyness. And I haven't really had anything to say. Well, I guess I could write about church this sunday - I didn't like it. I normally really like it, but this weekend our pastor was gone, so we had another pastor speak. I know that it probably wasn't his intention - but what came across is "if you feel bad, or rather not positive, you are in sin b/c you are not worshipping God." On one hand and to some extent I agree with him. It is hard to worship God when you are having a bad attitude, but I also don't think that worshipping God is the end of all of our problems. I think that God is more ok with our messiness than we give Him credit for. I personally think that people who never had bad days (or weeks) are slightly insane - or incredibly out of touch with their emotions. Maybe God blesses some people with "happier" spirits than others, I don't know. What do you think?

A great day

2009-04-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day - but it was a lot of fun.

Here is the run down with some pictures and captions interjected.

To start off, I slept in! Then had a breakfast of strawberry shortcake. Next it was off with Meri for a day of adventure.

First we headed out to Diamand Valley Lake. It was awesome. We scouted out the wildflower trail, which we did not take since it was overcast and most of the wild flowers were asleep.

View from the trail - amazing.

Then we headed back to the car to go check out the rest of the facilities at Diamond Valley Lake.

Here is an ugly beetle we saw on the way to the car.

We checked out the Aquatic center - a pool, water slide and water play area.

We also checked out the visitor center and got some info on the museum out there - which I must go visit soon....

After that, we went to lunch, Homegoods, and Walmart. After that it was time to go home! We were tired... We put together some cookie dough and took naps....

Annabelle, pretending like she was being a good puppy - b/c in reality she was quite the pest most of the day. But that is mainly b/c the two other puppies have invaded her space and she isn't a good sharer.

The result of the cookie dough - we will decorate tomorrow.

The most exciting part of the day was our attempt to make peeps! Yes, we got a recipe on-line (gelatin, water and sugar) and created some fun. They turned out quite a bit smaller than the real things and somewhat deformed, but we got a few cute ones. AND it was a lot of fun!

The peeps

Some of our favorites.

Three peeps running away from the mutant peep!

A fun weekend

2009-04-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

This has been a bit of a busy weekend. Friday night we celebrated my mom's b-day. We went to the Spaghetti factory in Fullerton. Fun area and a great time. The birthday was a bit belated since my sis was in the hospital on mom's actual day.

Friday night I spent the night in the OC and then got up and went to Avalon bagels with my sis on our way to a tball game. While there, we ran into an old friend, which was really fun.

Then the t-ball game. Always a fun thing. This was Rebecca's game, Rebecca is a six year old who we have known since before birth. My sis used to nanny for her and I used to work for her mom.

After t-ball bre and I decided to head down to Costa Mesa to hunt for a Hurley sale. We found it thanks to her eagle eyes and found some great deals. I got a pair of nice pants, a shirt and a sweatshirt for 60 bucks.

After that we raced back home grabbed some lunch and I went to go babysit two of my favorite kids. After some Wii and backyard play we loaded up and drove the block or so to my parents. I told Levi that we were picking "something up" He didn't know who or what, but he was definitely curious. I told him to keep watching the door. Finally my bro came out. Kenny is one of Levi's favorite teachers (probably second only to yours truly). So, both boys were pretty excited (as was I since it meant another set of hands while at McD's.) We had a great time at McD's - it was a lot of fun to be together with three of the greatest boys in the world. After they played on the playground we got some ice cream - it is a great tool to get them out of the play-place.

After that we dropped the biggest boy off and went back to the house for some mellow cartoons and snuggling time.

Then I drove back home. Today was church and then hanging out with the newest roomates - the two puppies we are watching. Annabelle belongs to my roomates and Darci and Pasita belong to their parents.

Darci - but she is so darn black that it is hard to make her out...

Annabelle and Pasita

My good friend...

Enjoying Ice Cream

Trying to get the icecream off his face - didn't work so well :)

My buddy again, he is an amazing kid and I love watching him grow up!

Frustration

2009-03-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today was church - I love being at my new church. It has a great feeling about it. I love that our pastors are around and always hanging out with people. I love that there are some amazing parents who really love their kids. I do get sad/frustrated/worn-out at times. You see, our children's department is experiencing some growth - at least growth in the amount of children they have - not so much growth in the amount of helpers they have. I have a model of ministry I believe in - it is some sort of a compilation between the values that were instilled in me at friends and the model children's worker of EGM. All I know though is that the majority of those values are violated in so many ways during one of the Sunday Mornings that I have at my new church - it kills me! I want to be able to lead experiential activities, I want the children to go home knowing the main idea of the lesson, not just the story. (Although I am not even sure that was accomplished today) I want the children to go home having responded to that real life truth, after a great real life discussion. None of which were accomplished today. I want to be safety conscious - to always have two adults in the room and not send children to the bathroom with just one other teacher. I want to be relational and have the ability to be with the children rather than put out fires. I want to have fun with the kids and really connect with the parents. All of these things I want to be able to do. Yet, with only one of me and 16 kids, those things just can't happen. In the meant time I will continue to pray that more people will step up to fulfill these important roles in the lives of these amazing kids!

Why am I here?

2009-03-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those brief moments that jolts you out of your normally accepted life and puts you immediately into questioning what you are doing and why you are doing it? I had prayed earlier this week because there is a huge part of me that misses living in Orange county, being with my family, being with my friends, etc. so I had prayed that God would continue to move in me, showing me what I am doing and why I am here.

Then tonight, I got a call... The call made me really question why I am where I am. I definitely feel as though God has called me to the place I am at. That somehow this is for His glory and for my healing and sanctification. He has given me many things out here that I had been longing for, for years. So, as much as I want to disappear back out to the OC - I know that God is not done with me in this desert.

I decided I would write out some of the things that I know God has called me to here.

1. I love the mission/vision/values of EGM. I am not sure that I could be more aligned if I had written them myself.

2. I love what I am doing. There are many times when it is hard (just like every job) but God has called me to the world, not locally, and I can't deny that.

3. I love the people I work with. They have become family.

4. I love my church. I really want to get involved and even more plugged in there.

5. I know that God isn't calling me out yet. He has a plan for my life out here that is clearly evident and I know that it is not time to turn-tail and run. (As much as I would love to do that)

So, I don't know what is in store in a year and a half, for that will be when I am done with the big project I am working on. There is a part of me I think that will always look for a way back to Orange County-to hope that around that time I get a similar phone call, but for now I am here. Even then, I pray that God will direct me to be where he wants me to be and that He will grant me the grace to accept whatever place that is.

Exhaustion

2009-03-27T17:55:00.001-07:00

So, Sabrina is finally home. Which is a great thing, but the bad thing is that they still don't know what is going on. So, we are just hoping that whatever it was doesn't come back.

On the other side of life, the past few weeks have completely worn out myself and my family. We (especially my mom, dad, and I) are pretty wiped out. I can't remember when it was when I felt so exhausted last time. So, pray that we will all get some rest and recover.

Day Four part 2

2009-03-26T17:32:00.001-07:00

Just talked to my mom, (I left around noon today). She says that Sabrina is eating well and is doing a lot better, her pain is down. The dr. came by and said that they are going to observe her overnight and wait to see what to do next.

I am hoping that she will be fine, but I am also worried that they have not figured out what caused all of this in the first place. Pray for wisdom for the Dr's and healing for Sabrina - I will update tomorrow once I get word.

Day four

2009-03-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

This morning Sabrina had her colonoscopy. The doctor looked hard and took a couple samples just to be sure, but he said everything looked fine. According to the doctors yesterday, the next step is to do exploratory laprascopy. So far we haven't talked to her specialist today to figure out if that is still the case and if yes, when the surgery will be.

Right now she is in pain and sleeping, they had to use a lot of drugs to sedate her, apparently she has a high tolerance to the meds.

Sister Update

2009-03-25T14:55:00.001-07:00

For any of you following along who would like a more detailed accounting, here it is.

I came to the hospital this afternoon (after a 24 hour hiatus) and relieved my mom. Since I have been here the GI doctor came asked a bunch of questions and ordered a colonoscopy tomorrow morning (pray for the prep for that as my sis is not looking forward to that!) Ruling out the colon as the problem. As they are worried about the endometriosis having spread to the colon or a possibility of crohn's disease.

Then we saw her endometriosis specialist. He went in search of her ultrasound results from this morning and then disappeared, so still no word from him. If the colon comes back clean, then it will be up to this guy to figure out what to do next.

Pray for peace for my family as we try to discover what the problem is. Pray for God's intervention in the mean time. Pray that the pain will subside and that she will be able to keep food down.

Pray for my sis

2009-03-23T21:57:00.001-07:00

So, last week, my grandma was admitted to the hospital. After a few days of antibiotics and a couple of blood transfusions, she was released wednesday. She has been to a couple of follow up Dr's appointments and they think she may have a bleeding ulcer. Anyway, that is what transpired last week.
Last night my mom found my sister passed out in the hallway - she did not wake up right away, my mom had to shake her and yell her name to get her to wake up. Then she took her to the ER and while they were waiting she passed out again. They took her straight back and after they gave her a pain shot she "woke up" this time she panicked b/c she did not remember going to the ER room - she did not know how she got there, even though she was technically "awake" while my mom drove her and had even talked to the Docs while she was there. Anyway, they gave her the pain meds and released her. (Dumb doctors)
Today, she tried to get into her specialist, but couldn't so she went into see our general doc in the late afternoon. He checked her out and decided to admit her to the hospital, I think to control the pain tonight, moniter her, and most importantly run a whole gamment of tests tomorrow. Pray for her, pray for our family as my mom is still worn out from the grandma thing (her mom) and now my sis is in the hospital. Pray that they will soon figure out what is wrong.

The Revelation

2009-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today I was driving home from the OC. I got to thinking about all of the pain and sorrow in our world. I was listening to my music and being amazed at the great hills covered in wild mustard, which make them look neon yellow. I was just thinking for some reason about how great it would be for Christ to come at that moment. I began longing for the Revelation Christ. The tattooed, sword yielding, horse riding Christ who would come and rid the world of this darkness called sin. The darkness of death, the darkness of pain and sorrow. I longed for the Christ to come. For God to be with us yet again, but not as a donkey riding humble servant, but as the ruler of the world. The conquerer of this darkness. The verse came to mind, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." I fear that Christ. I am in awe of him, with the trumpets and the bowls and the scrolls. I want to be ready for that Jesus.

Anger Management

2009-03-15T18:25:00.001-07:00

I watched "Anger Management" today. I had never seen it before. I enjoyed it. The whole chaos of it was hilarious and then the ending was great. However, if someone ever did that to me, I think that I would not propose to them, I would not talk to them anymore. Just so you all know!

A very loud Hamster!

2009-03-14T20:22:00.001-07:00

I have a hamster. I love him very much. He hangs out in his cage and is always very busy. We had many hamsters as children and I have never known one as busy as Cody. Right now, he is playing with his food. He is crunching and moving it around and it seriously sounds like someone is walking through crunchy leaves. He is also a very loud drinker. In general Cody terrorizes poor annabelle - the pomeranian that lives here. Annabelle is a scaredy cat and any unknown sounds freak her out. She also hates balls in general (unless they are very small) and when Cody is in his hamster ball, poor Annabelle runs for cover.

Critical Observation

2009-03-14T20:05:00.001-07:00

Today was a long day - I met part of the children's team from Life Church at 7:00am. Then went to an all day conference. It was great. Really it was, I was able to reconnect with some great people. I was encouraged to be a better minister to kids. I also realized that I am getting near the saturation rate of topics covered at these kinds of seminars. YES! It is always good to be reminded to remind parents that they are the primary spiritual influencers in their child's life. That we need to be really connecting with kids, that preschoolers are great people and need a special kind of connection. Yet, I am much too aware of presentation styles, teaching styles, the way people learn, to stop evaluating the entire time I am sitting through a session. Usually there is only a few things that I can say "I learned". Part of that is that I love to learn, so I have learned a lot about my field. Definitely not everything, but this was a conference directed mainly towards Sunday School pastors so it was at more of a basic level. I did hear some great presenters/teachers today and was encouraged to grow in that area of my life. Anyway, now I am home after church. Was gone a total of 13 hours and since I am still fighting a cold I am done now. On top of all of that during the sermon tonight the pastor mentioned that Nathan who confronted David about his sin, had anointed him as a young boy. Wait what? Did Nathan and Samuel somehow merge into the same person? So, I did mention that to him at the end of service, he seemed appreciative, but really, why must I be so aware of these things?

First Wives Club

2009-03-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight I watched First Wives Club for the first time. I know. I have issues with movies in that I don't watch many. My friends Joe and Julie are working on remedying this problem. I really enjoyed first wives club. It was probably one of the better ones I have sat through in the last few months. I have trouble with movies. I love TV and books, movies though, I really have trouble loving. I am working on this...

Brainstorming

2009-03-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight I hung out with some great friends and worked on brainstorming for the next quarter of lessons that we are writing. Tonight we hit the 4-6 year old lessons and among a few great ideas, we had a few crazy ones (don't worry none of these made the mark, but caused some laughter).

My top four favorites

- Lock all the children in chains

- Draw a picture of the guard with his sword at his throat

- Take all the children up to the top of the building and throw them over and see who lives (See Acts 20.)

- Have a child grab a red cloth and play bull fighting with all of the other children. This, by the way had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson, but was probably the most random idea that any of us ever had.

Now - don't you want us hanging out with your kids???

A busy Day

2009-03-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a great Saturday, slept in, hung out for a while, did some errands and then worked on a decorating project. I had some left over Ikea frames and a large wall that needed some extra love. So, I bought some scrap booking paper and went to work. I created five similar scenes, beach, palm tree and surfboards. Then painted the frames and hung them on the wall...

Frame 1

Frame 2 - that is really a dark blue behind the palm tree not black...

The wall as it turned out.

This is Annabelle, eating a giant plastic chewtoy fish that we bought her today. It is kind of funny b/c it is way too big for her but they didn't have the smaller size. So she has to move it with her paws by pushing it across the floor.

She loves it though - it keeps her entertained for quite a while!

The normalcy of addiction

2009-03-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

We work (my colleagues and I) at a small little office in a strip with a few other offices. One of those places is a recovery center for alcohol addiction. It seemed when I first began that the people I most noticed were the more eccentric people that came through. I mean, when you hear the various, yelling, screaming, laughing, and crying in the bathroom on the other side of your office wall, you end up noticing the more interesting and outlandish... Lately however either the demographic has changed, or God is opening my eyes. The "normal" people at the center have seemed to increase. These are the forty-fifty year old moms, the younger career type men, the young guy who seems quite athletic. There is the business woman, the older man, and everyone in between. Lately if I didn't know better I would just think that some of these people are outside on their smoking breaks rather than trying to figure out how to overcome their addictions. These people, including those who seem a bit more eccentric, have become more real to me over the last few weeks. The idea that everyone has their struggles, that so many of us are good at hiding things. This idea has begun to permeate who I am and how I look at the world. Yes, they may not be quite as addictive or as "big" as drinking, but they are real in any case. However, it demonstrates the importance of doing real life with others in the family of God.

New House Pics

2009-03-03T20:28:00.001-08:00

So those of you who asked (1) here are some pics of my new house!

The kitchen - the best part??? There is a sink in it - oh the things we take for granted - after a year of washing my dishes in the bathroom it is great to have a kitchen with an oven, a real stove and a sink!

Here is the living room. The front door is just off to the right and the couch is facing a wall with a HUGE TV and a fireplace.

My room pic 1 - I made the quilt on my bed, it is not very wide (not much wider than you see) but it matches my surfer theme (I also made the throw pillow you see there)

Curtains and TV

The other side of my room. My favorite part - my books! There is a closet to the right along that wall and then the door is on the wall opposite the TV. I love my new room!

A busy weekend

2009-03-01T21:52:00.001-08:00

This has been a pretty crazy weekend. Yesterday I moved - just across town, so it wasn't a big deal, but still took time. My brother came down to help and my friends Meri and Matt helped as well, as of yesterday evening I was settled in. I am probably more settled into my room than they are into theirs. Then today kenny and I had a great day together. We went to church but then realized that the sermon was on marriage. Normally I would be ok with that, resigning myself to learning something from such sermons a long time ago - but we had not had breakfast and I was hungry, so we ditched. We got up and went to breakfast and then came back to teach. Once again we had lots of little ones - 20 to be exact. Yet with him it did not seem so bad. We were even able to break the kids into two groups to do Bible verse and some discussion time. Then after church we headed to lunch and then to a couple stores for some quick shopping. Once back to my new home we decided to go out skateboarding. He has wanted to teach me how to ride his long board for quite some time and I wanted to learn, so we found a slight hill and tried it. I didn't do bad according to him. Ask my foot, hip and wrist and you might get a different story. Then we came back to the house and played some Wii. Rabbid TV is a pretty amazing game. Now tomorrow is Monday and I can't believe the weekend is over.

Walking in Stephen's shoes

2009-02-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

Stephen is 13 years old. He lives in Northern Uganda. He has a mother, a father, a younger sister, and younger brother. One August night, he was in bed with his younger brother. That is when the rebel soldiers kidnapped him. His parents were no match against the men with weapons. After weeks and months of threats and atrocities he had no longer had hope of rescue. He had been broken, he had given up hope. He was terrified of his captors, yet he was even more terrified of the enemy. One day, he was sent on a mission to attack a small tribe. The government's army captured him. He was really scared now - what was going to happen? He had heard that those who were captured would be tortured and poisoned. He was loaded onto a truck, he was taken to a complex. When they arrived, he heard singing! He was amazed, other children who he had been a rebel soldier were there. He knew these children, he thought they had been killed by the enemy. Yet, here they were - they were welcoming him. They were singing about joy, about how they were happy. He was being welcomed to a place of joy! This was a World Vision rehabilitation center for child soldier victims. After a few weeks, Stephen left this place after beginning to recover from the atrocities he had seen and been forced to commit. He went home. His family celebrated. He was also one of the few lucky ones who had not contracted AIDS while a child soldier. Yet, there were many who were not so lucky.

World Vision hosted an amazing AIDS experience walk through. It was a large tent, with three paths. Each path led you through the life of a different young person/child. The stories caused one to desire to do something with the information, pray, support, tell others. The visual, tactile, and auditory senses worked together to draw you into the story. I became Stephen. I will never forget his story.

Internet again!

2009-02-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

It has been just over a week since I have had an internet connection at home - see technically I was borrowing internet from the guy who lived in the apartment above me (with his knowledge and consent). However, he moved out a week ago and I didn't move out until today. So now I am in my new house (with my great friends Meri and Matt - there married). I am all moved in and plugged in once again to the internet... So hopefully over the next couple of days I will catch up on the blogging.

CPC

2009-02-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Children's Pastor's Conference. CPC is an annual event, held in two locations each year. I was blessed to be able to go there today, someone had an extra pass and so I ended up spending the day in San Diego. I greatly enjoyed it. I love to learn, so I love conferences. I went to three great breakouts and two great general sessions. At some point through the day I realized that although this was the first CPC I have actually attended, it is not the first CPC that I have been at... I also realized that my journeys through various CPC's struck me as type of milestones in my life.

My first CPC experience was my Sophmore year of college. The children's team was attending. I don't think that I really got out of the car, but I did pick up some of the staff and we hung out in old town for a while. It was a great time. That was the year after I had decided to go into children's ministry. It was an important year for me in a lot of ways.

My next experience at CPC was not really at CPC - it was at the Willow Creek children's conference. I am including this one because it was the spring of 2004. Our church had just been through chaos. Our staff went to willow and it was an amazing time of encouragement and being together. A feeling of "we can move forward" was the result.

My next experience was in 2006. I went with my boss at the time to post a job opening. All we did was walk into the exhibition hall and post the job opening. It was at a time when I was beginning to question a lot of things. Like, what am I doing? Why am I not doing something else? Am I supposed to be doing this? It was the beginning of over a year long process of God moving me.

Spring of 2008. This year, I went to CPC with my boss and his wife (Joe and Julie) we had a booth for the ministry and I heard Joe over and over again give his spiel about what we do. I remember thinking "What we do is really cool." Once again, I did not leave the exhibition hall (this time I didn't even walk through it) but I did have a great time handing out scary looking David and Goliaths to hundreds of children's workers. Around that time the idea of being at this new job was becoming permanent. I was beginning to be ok with that and living in the Temecula valley. That was a great time of God beginning to really work in my life in an amazing way.

That brings us to today's visit. This past year has been one of the best and hardest of my life. Today I thoroughly enjoyed being at CPC and remembering all that God has done to get me to this place in my life. Right now there is hope, excitement for the future, and a great expectancy to see what God is going to do in my life and through the ministry. As I spent the day as a real attender of CPC I was overwhelmed by what God has taught me this last year as He has shown me over and over again that He has a plan for my life.

That is my journey over the years at CPC...

A Random Update

2009-02-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, lately I have been working on taking more pictures of the everyday randomness of my life. It should not be so difficult with an iPhone and all, but it is. So here are a few from the last week or so...

This is my new room. I will be moving in with two great friends (they are renting a house). I am pretty excited about it, but not so excited about the greyish blue hue of the room. So I am in the midst of repainting. I will move in on the 28th.

Last week I went home to spend the evening with the fam. While there we decided to have strawberry shortcake. This strawberry looked an awful lot like a chicken, so we had to take its picture before we ate it...

A couple Sunday's ago, my friend Meri and I took a rag quilt class together. This is the picture I took of my layout to help me remember where all the pieces went (once we quilted them) The colors are actually a bit more muted then they look in this picture.

Ok, so that is all for now. More later...

21 years ago...

2009-01-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

Today was the big day, my little brother turned 21. 21 years ago my family was going through chaos. My brother was born with a life threatening condition and was immediately transfered to another hospital. My grandfather was in another hospital living his final days. (He died the next day) I remember that time vividly, I think I was way more aware of all that was happening than anyone expected a six year old too. More on that some other time...

I also remember sitting around the dining room table one evening. Kenny was a toddler and we were dreaming about how old we would all be when we we reached different ages. We figured out how old Sabrina and Kenny would be when I was 18, when she was 18, etc. I remember we thought about how old we would be when Kenny turned 21. It seemed so far away, so hard to imagine. (I would be and am 27 by the way) These years have been amazing and I am so proud of the man my little brother has become.

Here are some pics of the evening (I forgot until the last minute and Kenny and his best friend had already left for Matt's hockey game - Matt and Kenny have been best friends since they were two)

The Counter in Irvine - The best burgers on earth! (Great people too)

The first beer. It wasn't too bad.

(It was also my, my father's and my sister's first taste of beer - something I had avoided until now, but apparently it was quality beer, so I decided to give it a try.)

Kenny also got a big lego set (he isn't all grown up yet) he is collecting the town collection, it is pretty cool actually.

My mom - complaining that I am taking her picture...

My grandma. You can't tell but her lips are slightly blue from the cake frosting - a fact that greatly disturbed her.

The cake that my mom smuggled into the place on her lunch break and the restaurant kept in their refrigerator until the appropriate time (they also applied and lit the candles that we had brought. They did a great job.

(and I have no idea why this is underlined - I am having all sorts of formatting issues tonight)

All in all it was a great night. Now, it is late and I need to go to bed!

The team

2009-01-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

When I worked at my church, my team was defined in a number of ways. They were all, however pretty obvious. There was the children's ministry team. A great group of people who I loved doing life and ministry with. Then there was the two teams that I led. The Kids Club team and the BLAST team. The great thing about these teams was that they were obvious. We did tangible things together (wrangle a group of preschoolers, put on a VBS, take 120 children to Disneyland). These things brought us together. We had things to bond over (taking "bets" on which kid is going to spill his juice at snack time, children spitting pickles at D-land - yes that happened and it was nasty, and how can we find room for all these kids at VBS). This is one of the things I have missed in my new job. I do have a great team and I love each of them. Yet, it is harder for me to feel a part of this team because we have our own tasks and what we do is for the most part hard to see how it is effecting people's lives b/c those people are usually far, far away. I have just realized that I need a new concept of team and so I am trying to be more aware of when I do feel a part of a team in my role at EGM. So, I am writing about it, in order to help make it more tangible. So here they are... Today I spent a while chatting with one of our staff members who lives in Romania, but was currently in Hungary. We talked about ministry, our struggles, differences and similarities. We found out more about each other and encouraged one another. It was a great moment of Team. It was a simple chat online, but it was great. The second moment of team I had today, was this evening. I spent about an hour or so with three great friends. We went through nine lessons and brainstormed them. This is such a blessing to me as it means that I don't have to sit at my desk and start from scratch. It is also fun to be together. That is all for today and maybe for a while.

The Wonders of In-N-Out

2009-01-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight I came home around 4:30, then around 5 I realized that I needed to eat dinner. (Although seemingly obvious, today has been somewhat of a rough day, so it wasn't obvious right away) I opened the cabinet and freezer and realized that I did not want to eat the TV dinner I had and I didn't have much more than that. It is towards the end of the week... So I decided to go drive through In-N-Out. There of course was a long line, it went all of the way out of the drive through area. No worries I thought, I don't have anything else to do. So, I waited, the guy took my order, he was quite cheerful. Then as I crept closer to the payment window I was noticing the amazing purpose with which the employees were moving about with. The guy taking money seemed to be seldom at the window, yet everytime a new car pulled up, he was magically there. He greeted me nicely and took my money and gave me my receipt. Here is when it became amazing. I watched through the window as the workers went to and fro, moving french fries, flipping burgers, assembling them. It was a work of art. It was actually making me happier, just sitting there watching them. The best part? They seemed happy, they were joking with each other and laughing. They were working hard and having a good time doing it. I eventually made it up to the window. The guy confirmed my order and handed me my drink. Then he realized he was still waiting for my fries. He communicated the need to the french fry guy, who was working on it. Then while I was waiting, another guy came up to check again if I had everything I needed (catchup, etc) so that once the fries were ready I would be able to leave. It was amazing. I wondered as I left why I did not feel frustrated having waited nearly 15 minutes for my food, when I wait a sometimes a whole lot less than that at other fast food places. I realized that the quality of service as well as the high level of energy that the people were putting into making my dinner made me respect and value them so much more than those many employees at other places who seem to work in begrudgingly. I was grateful for my dinner. They had served me well. They were still technically working at a burger joint, but they were awesome and have continued to set themselves apart from those other establishments.

How do we in our lives set ourselves apart?

Wii Rabbids

2009-01-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

I love my Wii. It makes me happy. I miss having roomates to play with me (we used to waste quite a bit of time bonding with the Wii), but recently I made a new purchase. I don't buy a lot of games, so when I do it is quite momentous. I bought the third installment of the Raymon's Rabbids line of games. I now own all three. The first had an actual story line (somewhat) but the menus were a bit confusing. The second was great. One of the best party games ever. I do believe however that the third is the best yet. Rabbids TV is a television world that involves a variety of crazy games. This game involves the Wii fit board, which adds a whole new dimension to controls. So far I have sledded down a hill and driven a car using the fit pad as the petals in a car. Awesome. The new dancing game also makes one look a bit ridiculous but is quite entertaining. Anyway, I am enjoying my new purchase! Now, I just need a few friends to come play with me.

The first week back...

2009-01-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

So, after two great weeks in OC, coming back to the Temecula Valley was a bit rougher than expected. However there have been some great things that have happened...

Sunday I had 20 kids in my Sunday School class, which was awesome. I somewhat miss all chaos that used to be my everyday life. That is a great group of kids as well.

Monday night I got to hang out with an amazing friend and watch some good TV (although the friend was better)

Tuesday I spent the evening at home enjoying some quiet.

Wednesday I hung out some more, had a great dinner that I helped make.

Today has been quite the day, the highlight was definitely the two scenes I saw on my way to a meeting today. On one street corner, there looked to be an older possibly homeless guy he seemed to be having some sort of a conversation with a sign twirler. Yet, I could not tell if one was harassing the other (although it didn't seem confrontational) and they seemed to be talking and walking around in circles around each other. Very intriguing. What were they talking about I wondered. I was still contemplating them when I saw the second bit of intrigue on my ride.

This was a group of ladies on bicycles (not motorcycles, just to clarify) they all seemed to be wearing animal prints. (Although they did pass quickly so I didn't get a good look). In my minds eye, they seemed almost cave women like. I was quite confused. I tried to get another look, but it was a busy road and I had to not crash. All of that in a matter of a couple of minutes. Why am I telling you about these two things??? I don't know. Maybe b/c I just need to write something tonight.

Anyway, all in all, this has been a good week and I am glad to be living in the Temecula Valley.

The tradition lives on...

2009-01-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

For New Years day, my family always goes into downtown LA and eats! We enjoy food from China town, Philippe's, and Olvera Street. We had a great time. The tradition started when we were kids. My parents wanted to give us the opportunity to ride a train, so we rode the train to Union Station, got off and walked around. We now usually drive, but we do park and then walk around (we don't move our car). It was a great day, I think everyone is now in a food coma, although we didn't eat as much as we normally do. Now, on to game night!

A great weekend

2008-12-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-12-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-12-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-01T21:31:00.001-08:00

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...

Christmas decor

2008-11-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight I heard a great sermon about how we need to celebrate Christmas because of Jesus' birth. That it is his birthday so let's celebrate. I do not usually enjoy the Christmas season all that much but the sermon inspired me. So, I dragged out my meager decorations, bought a 4 foot tree (the little place I call home isn't big enough for much more) and enjoyed an hour or so of decorating. Here is the outcome...

A lazy weekend...

2008-11-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

I feel as though this weekend has gone on forever - in a good way. I spent time with a good friend, saw a good movie, read a good book, heard a great sermon (with my post grad school ADD that is quite a feat), and enjoyed the company of many of the people I love. I love it when the weekends seem to be relaxed and long. Now, on to the craft projects I bought today and trying to watch and delete the increasingly long list of options on my DVR.

Habakkuk

2008-11-17T21:56:00.001-08:00

My church has been going through the book of Habakkuk. It is in interesting book and I have been enjoying the messages. This morning I decided to read the little book myself. Our pastor talks about Habakkuk and the dips that we go through. Those ups and downs in our spiritual lives. The crisis of faith that often accompanies that valley we walk through. He asked us to make a mark where we are on the graph. Are we still on the initial upswing of a newbeliever? Are we headed into the valley? At the very bottom? It was an interesting question to me. Then we talked about how to climb out of the valley. Habakkuk remembered who God was. That it is importanta to remember who God is and what he has done in the past when we are in the valleys. To remember the yesturdays so that we can live and trust Him for the tomorrows. I thought that was important, I began to think of the things that I can remember God for and that I need to do a better job of this. Then my prayer is to live out these final verses...

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to go on the heights.

Update from Romania

2008-11-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

My Boss just got back from Romania, I put together an update about the curriculum project we have been working on. Since I had to e-mail it as a picture, I thought I would post it here as well. Enjoy!

(click on it to enlarge it)

Hoping to hope

2008-11-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

In February it will be a year of trying to "live" in the Temecula valley. It has been a struggle to give up the everyday things of life in Orange county. My church, friends, cake night, watching Grey's Anatomy with my roomates, watching How I Met Your Mother with my brother, babysitting and hanging out with kids whenever I would want to (and sometimes more than I wanted too). There was the possibility of running into a kid that I loved. Levi at costco, ella and sophie at the movie theatre. I think that is what I miss the most. Anyway. Tonight I was able to be a part of a meeting at my new church. I have now brought up the amount of people who know me by name there to at least 6. I also have two facebook friends from the church. I figure it's a start. Beyond that I feel like I have a place there, which is very exciting for me. They are full of ideas, passion, and excitement. They are ready to run. I am excited to be a part or what is happening in their children's department. In other words, I am beginning to hope that as I get more involved, the Temecula valley will begin to feel even more like home.

A crazy day at Dland

2008-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I went to Disneyland to enjoy the day with some of my family, a couple friends, and two of my favorite kids in the world. It was a special day for disneyland. They were filming their Christmas parade, which is why we were going and bringing the kids. Their special guests were the Jonas brothers, some guy named Jose something, and then at the end of the parade, Corbin Bleu from HSM sang a song.

We had amazing spots for the Jonas brothers which was cool because one of the kids got to tough each of them. Major bragging rights when you are in first grade. The kids thought they wer in heaven. Here are some pics, just so you too can enjoy...

The oldest, Kevin

Next comes Joe, for those of you who don't know, he seems to be the most popular.

Nick is the youngest, also popular among the younger females.

My sis and our friend, Rebecca you can see how close we were to the stage...

Why Church?

2008-11-05T19:44:00.001-08:00

Why do you go to church? When you wake up on a Sunday morning and make that decision to get ready, get in your car, and go to church, what motivates you to do that?

This is the question I have been pondering. I think that one of the saddest things about the modern church is that we have reduced it to showing up on Sunday morning, singing some worship songs, shaking a few strangers hands, and then listening to a sermon. Then many believers leave for the week, feeling as though somehow they have accomplished their biggest "Christian duty" for the week.

I do believe that the Sunday morning experience is an important if not strategic part of a believer's spiritual life, but it is not by any means the end all of "church." There is just something in my gut that twists a bit when I hear about believers go to a church service because they feel as though they need to. I just had a friend who is in between churchs. A hard place to be (I know). They went to a church last week that they knew they did not want to attend. Mainly because they had been there before, they knew how to get in and out and it accomplished the task of "going to church." I just thought it was kind of silly, admirable, but silly.

I began wondering how Paul would have thought about the church. I think he would have defined it as a group of people who gathered for worship, teaching and prayer BUT that also lived within community. I think that it is that last part that we so easily give up on in today's church. We don't push into our churches, we expect them to cater to our needs. We don't reach out and serve readily, then we wonder why we feel disconnected and our not growing spiritually.

I recently "jumped in" at my new church - Life Church. I may live to regret that. No church is perfect. I decided though that I had a decision to make. I could either jump in now, or wait around for what? You can't learn most things about a church from its sidelines. So I jumped.

Anyway, all that to say, think about it this weekend - why are you waking up to go to church? Is it a part of your holistic spiritual diet, or is it your only meal the whole week through? How can we influence those around us to view church in the holistic, communal way?

Night at last...

2008-11-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

I am not a fan of the cold of winter (not that soCal gets all that chilly), or of dark long nights... However, I do enjoy the daylight savings time change at first. I enjoy getting out of work and it being dark. On my way home from work I figured out though, that the world around me did not know how to drive in this newly discovered darkness. I don't know why this seems to happen but my normal 15 minute commute from work to home took nearly 25. Why? It seemed that all the breaklights and headlights and streetlights made everyone disoriented. Go figure. Hopefully everyone will have adjusted before the ride back to the OC tomorrow night.

I've been tagged...

2008-11-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently in the blogging world there is a random tagging going on, and I have been hit. I am supposed to state 7 random things about myself. So, here we go...

1. I love staring at books on bookshelves. Whenever I am in offices or rooms where people have their books on bookshelves, I have trouble paying attention to them rather than what books they have and how they have decided to organize them, it has become a problem in certain situations. (Surprisingly my books are not that well organized although there is some order)

2. I think that I am the most movie illiterate person I know. As a child, teenager and even throughout college I didn't see a whole lot of movies, now I am trying to catch up with at least some of the so called "classics," but frankly I don't care that much. I suppose my movie expertise will have to end in the disney, pixar, and chic flic categories...

3. I love to look at watches in the store but I hate wearing them. I always want to buy one but since I never wear them it seems a bit pointless...

4. I have a hamster, his name is Cody Maverick (named after Jake Steele's hamster who was named after the penguin in Surf's up - I know I tried being more creative but I loved the movie, and Cody is a cool name for a hamster and I think Jake is a cool kid). I bought said hamster b/c in my little itty bitty house I needed a little friend and hamsters are small and I have always loved them.

5. I love to Tole Paint. However, unless I am making a gift, this talent is pretty much useless right now since my deco style is not quite the quaint, cutsy style of the tole painter it is kind of silly.

6. I think that colored cardstock should replace construction paper in all kid's craft projects unless one needs an extremely large piece of paper. Card stock is awesome, boldly colored, does not fade as easily, and does not remind me of 1970's era crafts. PLUS you can run it through the copy machine - novel idea!

7. I want to go visit Japan someday.

Ok, that is all.

A Cool Cake

2008-10-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Check out this cake. Jen found this blog which is dedicated to cakes, some good some bad, but this one is cool. http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ Enjoy, but be sure to check out the lego cake!

Upblogged...

2008-10-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have been helping one of my coworkers with a work assignment, she has been working on getting a website/blog up and running. Over the last few days she decided to move the site over to blogger. Anyway, I have been helping her with various editing and layout elements. I do believe however now that the blog she has created is better than mine... and she now probably does more on blogger than I do. So I have officially been upblogged in the sense that her blog is much more unique, purposeful and overall specifically programmed and designed for the user. Oh well, I suppose I helped, but part of me is a bit jealous of the coolness and the experience she has had over the last few days. Today she even figured out how to post (quite easily) his newsletters which were in Publisher. Her solution, save them as jpgs and then post them. Quite amazing. If you would like to check it out, go for it here. In the meantime I am trying to figure out what elements I would like to add to make mine shine a bit more...

A Day with the Fishes

2008-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Sea World. It was a good day. We enjoyed a behind the scenes tour and for ten bucks it was a great time. They took us to an area where they were training the dolphins and they had a baby seal. Then we were off to lunch and more shows. Sea World is celebrating Halloween, so we also enjoyed decorating Halloween cookies. Overall it was a great day. Enjoy some of the pictures from the day.

Moray Eels - one of my favorite things... I have this theory that when God was working on faces he practised on this poor animal and realized that would be a bad way to go for the human face. They are amazingly ugly to the point of almost being captivating.

Little baby pup sharks, we touched them. I felt bad though because they seemed to be sleeping...

The Beautiful turtle!

Dolphin Training! The trainers went around to the various pools working with all the different animals, it was pretty interesting. A lot of repition! AND FISH!!!

A Baby pup sea lion, about 5 months old. Was dropped off at Sea World at about a week old. Some fishermen brought it in, but the Sea World people think that its mom was probably only out searching for food and that the pup would have been ok. Now, this animal will have a life time home at Sea World because it was too young when it came in and has been imprinted by humans. She will probably be a future star in the Sea Lion and Otter show... She was beautiful even though she was drinking blended up raw fish and water - GROSS!

Too tired to obey

2008-10-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yesturday I got to hang out with a great family. One of those families that I like to hang out with because in the event that I would ever have one of my own, I would like to be like. We had been to a soccer game for the older brother, and then to the pizza party. By the end of the pizza party, little brother who was two and half was tired. I was trying to wrangle him out of the chaos of arcade games and children, when he wanted back down, I put him down for two steps, and realizing this wasn't working, was about to pick him up when his mom said something very powerful.
"Just pick him up, he is too tired to obey."
There was no condemnation in her voice, no exasperation. No frustration or disapointment. I have seen many parents either give up on their children at this point and become frustrated, or not be understanding of why they can't obey and still expect them to be able to. Instead, I followed her instructions and swooped him back up and carried him the rest of the way to the car, he soon realized the battle was lost and his head was bobbing around near my shoulder, it seemed even the weight of his head was too much for him at that point. What he needed was a rest, a time away from the bright sun and chasing the ball at the soccer field. A time away from the frenzied chaos of the pizza place. He needed the quiet of his room to sleep. It wasn't a matter of being a bad kid or a good kid. (he is a great kid) He just needed rest and in the meantime he needed to be kept from the temptation to not obey.
"Just pick him up, he is too tired to obey."
I think that there is truth in that statement for each of our lives. I have been thinking about this for a while, and her statement made me think about it more today. I think that so many times I look around at the Christian world and see plenty of people who have spent way too much time out in the sun, out in the spotlight of the high profile pastor's life. They spend time running around in the chaos of the Christian life of church drama and never ending felt needs, never stopping to look for the peaceful, quietness of nap time. Then, we as a Christian community wonder why they stumble, wonder why they fall. We are disapointed, frustrated, we condemn and point fingers. No one say's, "who could have picked them up?" "Were we expecting too much?" "How can we provide rest now?" No wonder why so many of our fellow ministers struggle with depression, anxiety, private and public sin. I wonder how many times God has tried to whisper that very thing into the hearts of men and women. "Let me carry you, you are too tired to obey." I know that there is a place for personal responsibility and repentance on the part of every sinner. Yet, I would like to challenge our thinking a bit. I pray that as a Church on the universal and local level we can get better at caring for our leaders. I want to be a part of this change. I am not sure exactly what it looks like, I don't think it is an exact formula, but I want to be a part.

Lectures to My Students

2008-10-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a long time since I did any heavy reading (or really any reading much at all). In an attempt to regain some initiative in my life I want to take up once again some seriouos reading. One book that has been on my shelf for a LONG time is, Lectures to My Students on the art of Preaching by Charles Spurgeon. It was recommended by a fellow traveler in life's journey recently which spurred me to pull it off my bookshelf. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

In a quiet house in the YL

2008-10-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night my parents had quite the visitor. Here is the story as told to me by my mom...

At approximately 12:00 my mom went to bed. About an hour later, my brother, who was still up and doing homework or facebook - who knows - on the computer, heard a knock on the door.

Considering he has a myriad of friends, that are also of the same age demographic, I suppose that he thought this was a bit strange, but not completely out of the ordinary as their house is set up so that you can see into it and easily tell that their are lights on and someone is still up. HOWEVER, for some reason (will have to get this detail later) he opens the door before finding out who it is. It is a obesely overwieght young lady (approximately 19 or 20) wearing way to short shorts, who is wreaking of alchohal and obviously completely intoxicated. She asks for natalie. However, there are no natalies at our house. My brother tells her this, that she has the wrong house, but she proceeds to come inside. Ya, seriously! So, he gently guides her back outside, shuts and locks the door.

Then he hears the back gate opening! He goes outside and tells her she needs to leave, that this is not Natalies house. He locks all the doors and calls the police. By this time the parents and sister are awake due to the fact that the dogs are all barking VERY loudly. She spends the next five minutes knocking at the windows hard enough that my parents are afraid they are going to break. All the while saying that she needs Natalie. However this is all nearly incoherant.

Finally she gives up, walks up the street and sits down on the corner. Shortly after the police arrive. My dad, brother, and sister go and talk to them. They arrest her and the story ends. Apparently she isn't from the area and must have been attracted to the house with the lights on.

Quite the story. The moral? Don't get overly intoxicated in unfamiliar territory!

Old information made new

2008-10-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

A good friend and professor from college asked me to help her by subbing one of her classes. I will be teaching one evening of a five evening adult degree completion course. So, I am taking on one fifth of the course. Of course, she has all of the powerpoint/schedule/visual aids already prepared. Really all I have to do is show up and follow the outline provided by her. I am looking forward to it. It is basically intro to hermanuetics. (Which by the way is bad when you then take it is a grad student and the new prof wants you to do it a different way then the old prof and you can't take yourself off of autopilot)
What was interesting to me is that as I was reading the text book to brush up on the subject matter, it all came flooding back. I took this course as a sophmore, which would have meant that it was in the fall of 2000. It is now 2008. Eight years is a long time. I did TA for this class and graded many a paper, but it isn't like I studied the notes a whole lot as I was doing that. At one point I actually remembered what was and was not on the test, how sick is that. One of those points I thought I would share with you... In a Bible study method that is ideal, there are four major componants, maximum accuracy, maximum application, joy of personal discovery, and can be done within a reasonable amount of time. After seeing those once again, I can almost repeat them from memory again. Our brains amaze me sometimes...

A good day...

2008-10-10T22:26:00.001-07:00

Today was a good day. I felt good (no headache), got a lot done at work, had a good time at work, survived the grocery store (a scary place sometimes), made dinner with a friend, watched a fun movie, and now I am home nearly ready for bed. Anyway, today got me thinking about what makes a day a good day. There really wasn't anything extra special about today, but it felt different. What makes a day a good day for you?

Trip to the Observatory

2008-10-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my brother came to visit me. It was a lot of fun. We spent the morning in Old Town Temecula, and enjoyed some crepes.
Then we decided to drive to the Palomar Observatory. It was a long drive and it was cold, but we had fun. The telescope is very large and impressive and overall it is just a beautiful place to be. Enjoy the pictures!

Pic from their website - cool looking huh?

Pic we took - it was foggy that day, but it made the whole landscape look like a scene from Star Wars!

A large Manzanita tree that Kenny thought was cool, it was cool, and very red, although you can't really tell, sorry!

A new church

2008-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today I went with my friend Merideth to try a new church. The whole idea of church shopping just sickens my heart. I hate it. But considering what is going on at the church I had finally decided to call home, it seems as though it is time to go. Anyway, back to today. The church was good, we walked in, didn't announce ourselves as visitors (It is hard to walk into a new church and announce that you don't yet belong when that is all I want to do.) found the worship center, realized that like most churches everyone comes late, and enjoyed a longer service. The message was on being the church. They are challenging their congregation to be the church, to serve, to not be served, but to go out and serve. As a matter of putting this into practice, there will be no sunday morning services next week, the whole church is supposed to meet at a community home for troubled teens to do service projects. I thought it was pretty cool. Overall it was a positive experience. I am excited about going back next week on Saturday night, learning more about the church. Although I am not in the mindset of church shopping, I do want to find a church that is passionate and full of vision for their children's ministry department.

Where to begin...

2008-10-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

The last few days, I have spent some quality time with two different college friends. One was a great friend, who is about to leave for the mission field. The other was a professor who has been a great support and encouragement throughout not only my college years but every year since. Through the discussions, in which you seem to recap what is going on your life now, what was good then, what is good now, what is hard, etc. It has been a good time. I time to be reminded of what God is doing, not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me, in the world at large. I am thankful for great people that are partners in life and ministry throughout many years.

The friends are back

2008-09-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

I had a great night last night catching up with old friends. You see wednesday and thursday evenings I house sat, which means that all of the shows from late monday night on (since I was at Bible study on tuesday) I watched last night. It was a great night. Boston Legal, Greys, Ugly Betty and The Offfice. Not only do I enjoy their stories, but I enjoy the memories of watching them with old friends. Countless cake nights, times spent with various roomates, trying to will parents to pick up children faster to get home to catch the beginning of something or other. The great conversations in the office the day after various shows, the way various catch phrases become legon wait for it dary. Yes, you see TV isn't just about those we watch, it is also about who we watch it with.

What is the first series you remember really loving? For me it was Doogie Houser - I watched it with my mom - in the first few years of the show we really loved it. Alright, let me know!

When elders go awry

2008-09-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

The role of the elder is a scary one to me, even scarier in some ways then the lead/teaching/head/main/whatever you want to call him pastor. You see, in many churches, the elders, when all together, have all the power. If they so choose, they can oust the pastor, they can lead the church this way or that, they are the essence of power. The lead pastor is one guy, he may be well loved by the church, if he were to leave the church would be upset, but there is a different shift of power when the elders are in unison, especially when the elders are in unison and are against someone. I have never encountered something like this before, it is very interesting to me. When one thinks of a biblical elder they think of someone of humility, who practises biblical confrontation, who shows love and grace. As a group I think of people who want to see the best for the church, as almost a living security blanket. I have known well some of the elders at my previous church and have known them to be great men, men with amazing families (I judge probably too much by your family), men who have given their time, energy, and sweat to the church over many years. Do they all have their own selfish desires - probably yes, do I think that for the most part they try to keep those in check - yes.

So, what do you do when an elder board goes haywire? I would say that the majority of people in the pews do not know what to expect from their elders. They don't understand their church government enough to even ask the right questions. How do you submit to leadership while it seems almost corrupt? At what point do you say enough is enough and you leave the chaos behind? These are the questions I am pondering.

Communities and Churches

2008-09-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

So, this week I have been thinking a lot about the church in general and communities. My new church is currently going through a rough time. At the same time my old church (which formerly went through a rough time) is gearing up to see God do some big things. In the mean time, I am on the search for community in the Temecula Valley. My new pastor has an amazing hope in the Church in general and in our specific church. Frankly it is quite amazing to me. I can't really see what he has to be hopeful about.
I know that the church is one of the few institutions the God has commanded and instituted. He created it, it is through the church that he desires to work, he desires to restore people, he desires to show his love, grace, and mercy. It is through the church that his truth is proclaimed. Yet, so many times, the church shows the opposite of all of the above. It quarrels, it turns it back on those who are hurting, condemns the oppressed, it kicks the wounded. I also know that those who inadvertantly do this are also trying to do what is right. I always see this as the saddest thing of all, when "godly" people cause so much pain.
I wonder how to remain hopeful at times... Then I remember those who have been there for me through the years, my fellow coworkers, my fellow church attenders, those in the community group I attend. The families whose children I love. Then I think, this is what church is supposed to be about and I hold onto that.

The Wonders of the Temecula Valley

2008-09-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

There are not many amazing things about Temecula. It is usually about 10-15 degrees hotter than anywhere else. It boasts no amazing tourist attractions etc. However, in the last few weeks I have noticed that there are groups of sunflowers (at least I think that is what they are) growing up all over the place. This has been quite amazing. They have been at the edge of fields, on the side of roads, even along the center divider of the freeway. They grow up nearly six feet in places and are quite beatiful. I have been meaning to stop and take a picture somewhere. Well yesturday the power went out and myself and a two of my coworkers went for a stroll around the block to see how much of the power went out (the whole block was out) and as we were walking I saw some more. So, here they are. Enjoy one of the few amazing Temecula sights.

Swing Vote

2008-09-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

So, yesturday I went to go see Swing Vote with a couple of friends. We went because it was the only movie at the right time. We all thought it was going to be beyond dumb and possibly very offensive.
About 15 minutes into it, I thought, "I am actually enjoying this." The movie was more about a dad learning to be a father, and two polititions wondering how far is too far. It was interspersed with some amazingly hilarious campaign adds and promises. Overall it was a pretty great movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend renting it.

My Side of the Mountain

2008-09-13T22:52:00.001-07:00

As a kid, I loved adventure books. The real life or fictional story about youth who went on adventures. I especially loved ones from history or ones set in the wilderness. Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain were ones that stood out to me. Both were stories of boys who ended up in the wilderness and had to survive. I also just read one about two boys who ended up in the artic circle and their survival. Anyway. Today I watched a movie based on My Side of the Mountain. It is such a strange tale. A boy runs away from his home, to a mountain, and lives there from late spring through Christmas. To find nature, to study algea, and to understand himself.
I think I like the idea of wilderness tales because so many times I feel like life is so chaotic, you don't know what is going to happen. I enjoy reading about people who relied on themselves and the world around them to survive. Yet to thrive, I am finding, we must rely on more than ourselves.

The best day

2008-08-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

Today, was a great day. Here is the recap:

Slept in
Had breakfast with my roomie
Went surfing with my sis and bro
Had a great lunch
Took a nap!
Had dinner and watched a movie with good friends

What more could you ask for in a day?

Mom update

2008-08-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well, my mom came home from the hospital on Tuesday, one week and one day after being admitted. She is still a bit out of it, but today she went to Carls for lunch, which is a good sign, b/c yesturday she barely moved. So, that is good. Apparently she is winning the battle of the west nile. Apparently she now has a fear of all sorts of flying insects, mosquitos, flys, etc. Hopefully that will disapate as time goes on...

West Nile?

2008-08-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

So, this week has been a bit hectic. My mom was admitted to St. Jude on Monday morning. On Tuesday evening they did a spinal tap. Wednesday the contagious disease guy decided that she has West Nile. They are still waiting on actual confirmation on that, but according to the progression of her symptoms that is the diagnosis. So, if yout hink of her, pray for her. Oh, and by the way, West Nile when it goes into Spinal meningitus, is not so much fun!

Dragon Boats

2008-08-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend was busy, with kenny coming home from India - Hurray!

However, the highlight of the weekend was the 2nd annual Dragon Boat Races at Lake Gregory. A whole crew of YLFC peeps head up to a cabin this weekend every year. What determines the weekend is the annual triathalon over at Lake Arrowhead. After that event the gange (there are normally upwards of over 20 of us.) Head over to Lake Gregory. Last year they told us they were closing most of the Lake for most of the day for some Dragon boat races, this was quite disappointing. However, soon, we decided that we would make Lemonade from these Lemons and join in this crazy event. You signed up for five bucks. They had five teams. With the many peeps that we had, we formed an entire team. Well after 3 races and much fun we won!

This year we were all looking forward to it, we had a title to uphold, we were ready. Well, if you call knowing about the races and agreeing that we would participate ready, we were!

Well, although I did not personally participate this year, due to having to leave early to get the brother from the airport, I did cheer on the team. Well, I stayed for the first heat, our team was awesome. The key to dragon boat races is to all row together. I think the advantage of friendship is helpful. Well, we won the first heat and thus got to go straight to the final round. They won by a quite a few seconds! (I wasn't there) Anyway, Dragon Boat racing is steaped in tradition. Read more here. Anyway, we made it in their local paper, not the best article, here is the pic of us from the paper. We were team Chubby Bunny!

Being a dork

2008-08-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

So, I had a random moment the other day, yes it is true. You see my family seldom can agree on a TV show to watch. One show that all five of us can tolerate is "California's Gold" which airs on Public Television. For those of you who haven't seen it, it is hosted by Huell Howser, a middle aged guy who goes around to various (and mainly very random) places throughout california, interviewing random people. Well on Thursday Marla one of my coworker's wives took me out to lunch for my birthday (it was a day early). We decided to head to oldtown Temecula. As we were parking we both noticed that there was a guy and a small camera crew walking down the street, talking to various people. All of sudden, it hit me, that was Huell Howser. Then the next thought hit me, "I have to get my picture with him." Which for me, is quite the thought, because I am not the stalker fan. I am not the one to always want an autograph or follow celebrarites. I realize that they are just normal people. I think one of my biggest reasonings was that my parents would never believe me otherwise. So, after walking by once just to make sure it was him, once he was on the move again, I asked him, he consented and quickly (he was in a hurry) I handed my iPhone to one of his crew and grabbed a picture.

So, it is official, I am dork, but somewhat proud of it!

Needing to write

2008-07-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, so today was one of those days when things are just a bit off. You don't really know why, or maybe you do and just don't really want to admit it. Anyway, I just want to put some words out there. So these are them.

iPhone Adventure

2008-07-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who have been in the loop, the last week or so has been quite an adventure. It all started a week ago friday - the long awaited June 11th. The day iPhone 3g came out. That day, I was intructed (by ATT) to go to Best Buy, return the phone I had been using (I opened a contract about 25 days before) and then I would be eligable for a new phone again. They have this great 30 day phone satisfaction thing... Anyway, somehow when I went to do that the system glitched. BIG TIME! So even though I waited in line for like 4 hours on friday night and had to actually go back Saturday, the system said that I was indeed NOT eligable. So, I lived without phone from Friday night through Tuesday. Tuesday I spent quite a bit of time on the phone trying to figure what was going on. No one could tell me. After more time on the phone, a visit to the ATT store and some very nice people on the phone on Thursday-Friday on Saturday my iPhone was delivered to the Anaheim Hills ATT corporate store. (By the way, if you go there, find Michael, he is the best) It makes me happy every time I think about it. Whenever I see it in my room I get happy. It has everything I need, including a light saber-thanks Ryan. What else could one need?

New Number - yet again

2008-07-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

So alas, I have a new number. Yes it is true. I have a new phone number, yet again. In order to fix the unexplainable issue with my ATT account, the best plan was to cancel the existing line and start a fresh, unsoiled one. So, now I have one. I don't even have it memorized yet. But I have a phone, I have an iPhone ordered and all should be right in the world... Oh and I have made a few friends in the world of ATT!

Junk

2008-07-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

I hate junk. Not just the junk that you have that collects in your house over the years that you don't really know what to do with. That stuff that you don't really know how to get rid of, or don't think about getting rid of then you realize one day, what is all of this stuff doing here anyway?
But beyond real physical junk, because I try to keep less and less of it. I am thinking more about the junk in our lives that keeps us down. That keeps us from living the life of abundance that God has for us. I am not talking about a happy-go lucky life. One with no sorrow or trial. But one with less of that junk that makes it hard to love and trust others, the junk that makes it hard to want to invest in what you are doing. The junk that makes you wonder what in the world God is doing. That is the kind of junk that makes all of life exhausting.

New Blog

2008-07-14T18:56:00.001-07:00

So, alas, it is time to resurect the blog. It has been a while. I don't even know the last time I have updated my old blog.

Now it is time to begin again. I am definitely in a new phase of life, new town, new church, new job. So, here we go...