Don't Ya Know

A "Me Commercial"

2009-02-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post this time. I submitted an application (by video) for "The Best Job in the World" and wanted to share it with you. It's also on my Facebook page, but some of you aren't part of the cult yet, so here it is...

December 2008

2009-02-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Here is my promised 'catch-up' post for our December happenings. Next up is January...which I hope to get posted with less 'lag' time between posts.

December was pretty much a whirlwind of activity, as it usually is. This year seems extra frenetic and weird in some ways, more relaxed in others. The frenetic aspects stemmed from feeling not quite in the same time warp as the rest of the world. Our time on Kauai really messed with my sense of time, which is not my strong point anyway. It took me all of December and part of January to catch up with the pace of my every day world.

December is dominated by preparations for Christmas, of course, so I won't bore you with details. The hardest and coolest part of this Christmas season was our resolve to do a cash only Christmas. We've been implementing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover principles to get our debts paid off. We're making nice progress, though with a few setbacks here and there (Murphy is alive and well) and didn't want to get caught up in the feeding frenzy of Christmas and ruin our progress. Because of our trip, we were down to a minimum of cash reserves so it was a 'slimmed down' version of gift buying this year. It sure feels good not to have those big credit card bills come up in January, though!

I have to confess I got 'big screen fever' early in the month and just knew life would not be complete or satisfying until I'd upgraded to a giant TV. We've had our 'door buster sale' 27" TV for over a decade and I was feeling left behind. Everyone was getting a big screen except me. Boo hoo. Thank goodness for my drive home...I listen to Dave Ramsey's show every evening and he addressed this very thing one night when I was really struggling. I was able to see how I'd gotten sucked into the discontent of not having things when it is relationships that life is really all about! Ah...that is a much better place to camp.

Blessings to you and I'll catch you up on more recent happenings soon...

Time Flies...

2009-01-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Wow! I get such a reality check about how fast time passes when I check in on my blog and see that I haven't posted in such a long time. Sorry folks.

Isn't it amazing? I actually think about blogging several times a week...I just don't seem to get to it. (I often like to blame this on the fact that Di and I share a single computer...but the truth is that I am often just too lazy to get it done. I still want my own computer though.) Well, let me start playing some "catch-up" on what's been happening in our lives since we got back from our dream vacation.

When we got back it was time to get straight into preparations for the holidays. We busily set about making final arrangements for where we were going to have our Thanksgiving meal and who would be attending. This may sound unusual, but my family is in a state of transition (hmmm, that seems to be a theme with a lot of people).

Traditionally, we've had T-day at my parents' house. My brother Jim comes up from California (sometimes with his wife, Carol, sometimes not...it's complicated) and if my oldest brother Earl is nearby (again...it's complicated), he and his wife join in the fun, along with Di and I. My 'youngest' brother (8 years older than me) Ken has a really large family so he hosts his tribe at his home on T-day and comes over during the weekend as weather allows. Last year, however, my mom was not feeling particularly well and announced that she was no longer able to handle hosting the ravening horde (we're not quite that bad...but close) so we had the big meal at Earl's new house. He and his wife had just moved back from Arkansas and are living in a town nearby.

This year, we had to make decisions. Earl and Nancy have a new grandchild in Reno, so we knew where they were going to be. Jim has been recovering from back surgery and had missed several weeks of work so we didn't think he could handle the travel up from Cali...and our household has grown by two, so we knew that we couldn't really imposed on Mom & Dad. In the end, we decided to host it at our house. We were joined by Mama Jan & Jerry (my in-laws), Rochelle & Eden, and Mom & Dad. It was a great meal followed by some killer pies Rochelle made (kudos and thanks Rochelle) and a beautiful turkey & fixin's prepped by my lovely bride and her mama (kudos and thanks to Di and Mama Jan).

This year, I reflected again on how grateful I am for my life. I'm a young-feeling 50, active and pretty fit and have the physical ability to do pretty much anything I decide to try. I feel so blessed and grateful. I am especially grateful in light of the health challenges some of my friends are having. My prayers are with you Tom, Steve and Barry! I'm asking God to restore you to complete health every day.

I have so much to be thankful for. Our country, though flawed and undergoing strain, is still the best place in all the world to live. I have great friends and family, a wonderful church home, a good job and a warm, snug home to live in. God is challenging me to live a more purposeful life, to focus more attentively on learning and living and doing, rather than just watching life go by and wishing it were different.

Among the many blessings in my life, I am most grateful for my wife of nearly 22 years. What a blessing to wake up and go to sleep each day with my best friend and favorite person in all the world. She is the treasure of my heart. My life is richer and fuller for having her in it. I love you Di! You bring out the best in me and give me courage to try new things because you believe in me without reservation. You are the best!

Next post...I'll catch you up on December happenings...

Day 14 - Homeward Bound

2008-11-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Di and I now know for sure why late flights are called "red-eyes". We left Kauai on schedule last night at 11:33 PM and are now waiting for our connecting flight to Pasco. I don't like to use this space for negative stuff, but I have to say that Alaska Air's coach class seats are the most uncomfortable airline seats I've ever experienced. They must have been designed by an evil conspirator with the practictioners of Chiropractic. Ugh! Five hours of total discomfort.

Okay, enough negative stuff. Our vacation time in beautiful Kauai is over and we both feel rested and recharged for the new challenges ahead of us as we seek to fulfill the purposes for which we were created. I, for one, am content to let God lead me where ever He chooses. I am ready for a new chapter of life in my fifth decade

Thank you for dropping by to check on our vacation activities. Even greater thanks to those who took time to write a comment. It definitely encouraged me to know you were checking in.

See you soon (most of you, anyway).

Aloha!

Day 13 - Our Lucky Day

2008-11-13T00:14:00.000-08:00

I have to make this a bit more brief and without pictures tonight because our Internet access evidently expired, so I'm typing this post on my iPhone. Last night, we decided to try the north shore beaches one more time, which meant getting early to get there early enough to get a parking spot at Ke'e Beach (that means before 9:00 AM).

Our reward was a beautiful morning drive followed by great teaching snorkeling in very clear, warm water. We stayed in until we got chilled. When we came out, we decided to walk south down the beach to find some sun, as it was still very shady and cool where we "set up camp". Much to our surprise and delight, we came upon a monk seal on the beach sunning itself. The guidebooks tell you that it is rare to see one of these critters in a stay on Kauai, and this was the third we'd seen in our time here. We felt so fortunate and blessed!

By the time we meandered back to our spot, the surf was kicking up. The predicted increase in surf was beginning and when Di asked, the lifeguard said they would shutting the beach to swimming and snorkeling as soon as the signs were delivered. We packed our gear and headed south, but not before an awesome Americano and muffin at Java Kai.

We drove south, stopping briefly at Lyndgate State Park to check on conditions there. Lyndgate has a man-made "reef" made of huge lava rocks that form two swimming areas. One is very shallow, meant keikeis (children). The other one is about 5 feet deep. Nice, but not what we were looking for, so headed on down to Poipu Beach.

We spent the rest of the afternoon there enjoying very clear snorkeling conditions and mild surf. We finally got to see the Hawaiian state fish! You'll have to look up the name - there's no way I'm going to try to spell it. We also got see yet another monk seal! This one swam into the area people were snorkeling in, looked around for bit, then hauled itself onto a smal islet!

Well, that's it for today's excitement. My next post will be from an airport.

Aloha!

Day 12 - Jungle Love

2008-11-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's a corny title. (Can anyone name the band who played that song? Without using Google?)

Anyway, today unscheduled as are the rest of our days we here (we did that on purpose), so we spent a bit of time figuring out what we wanted to do. Since we'd only been north once so far, we decided to check out a a couple of North Shore beaches. On the drive up, we stopped at the Kilauea Lighthouse...or rather, stopped at the entry gate to the lighthouse. Since today was a national holiday it was closed.

While there, we decided to do a little walking/hiking on the Kalalau Trail. The trail is pretty famous - and long - and strenuous (I read tonight that the Sierra Club rates it a "9" on a scale of "10" in difficulty). The full trail starts at Ke'e Beach and is 11 miles long, through tropical coastline. Our plan was to go to Hanakapi`ai where there is a 300 ft. waterfall, 2 miles in (the plaque describes that portion as a 3-4 hour round trip). We hiked about a mile into the trail when we realized that there was no way we could get to the falls and back before it got dark so we headed back down. We were able to get to a scenic lookout that gives you a great view of the first peaks of the Na Pali coast. We took a breather and a couple of pictures there, then headed back. Even so, we got back to the Jeep a little after 3:00.

We're going to check the surf report tomorrow. If it looks good, we're going back to Ke'e Beach to snorkel tomorrow. It was so beautiful and the reef looked absolutely perfect for snorkeling. God willing and the weather holding...that's what we're doing tomorrow. Until then, I leave you with some pictures of what we saw today.

Kilauea Lighthouse Lumaha'i Beach

Lumaha'i (This beach was made famous by the movie South Pacific where Mitzi Gaynor "washed that man right out of her hair"!)

Waikanaloa (Blue Room Wet Cave), near Ha'ena Beach Park

The Na Pali Coast as seen from Kalalau Trail

Looking east from the same spot we took the pictures above.

More of the trail...

Aloha!

Day 11 - Flying High

2008-11-10T23:09:00.000-08:00

As you might have guessed from the title, today was the big day, the day Dianna has been dreaming of since we scheduled our trip to Kauai. Today was powered hang glider flight over Kauai day. Yep, we took an introductory flight lesson on powered hang gliders today. I must say for the record, that I am not the fan of small craft flight that my wife is. I'm okay with it, but it isn't my hot button...not my cup of tea...not my bag. But I have to admit that the flight today was one of the coolest things I have ever done.

I know, I know..."I got some 'splainin' to do". Let me first direct your attention to the website for the company with whom we booked our flight. It's an outfit called Birds in Paradise and it's run by a world-class hang glider pilot who used to compete professionally on an international circuit covering North, Central and South America. His photography and video credentials are equally impressive. He's credited with over 600 magazine covers, mainly for Ultra Flight magazine, which is targeted to all ultra-light fliers, including hang gliders, paragliding, fixed wing ultralights, etc. He's been running this business in Kauai since 1988. In short...he knows his stuff. (That's mostly for Dianna's mom's benefit...check the website, Jan - you'll feel better. )

The craft, which they call "trikes" are pretty much that. Sort of a 3-wheeled motorcycle that runs on premium grade automobile fuel with a propeller on the back of the craft. The lift is provided by a large, specially-designed hang glider wing. The trike provides power for takeoffs, some control of ascent and descent and landings, but once the craft is airborne, it actually can fly for miles without motor assistance. I've heard that non-powered hang gliders have traveled over 250 miles.

We had scheduled a 90-minute flight so we could see a maximum amount of the island by air. The route we flew tooks us from the southwest 'corner' of the island (Port Allen Airport) along the interior mountain ridges to Wai 'ale 'ale crater (which was unusually clear today...God has just been so merciful to provide unseasonably clear weather for our activities so far) up to Hanalei then along the Na Pali coastline to then over the Waimea Canyon (called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific), then back to the Port Allen Airport. Un-freakin-believeable! Di's pilot/instructor told her that we'd gone over mile high at one point, but what's so astounding and cool about the flight is that it is not a static, go-straight-there-come-straight-back type of flight. Rather, the two pilots clearly love this sport, so they make it fun. They show you what the craft is capable of doing and even have you steer and control the flight for short periods of time.

We flew through clouds. We flew low over valleys. We slowed the engine to an idle and just flew as silent as birds on the updrafts coming off the cliffs. We dipped with several hundred feet of the ocean, then back up to thousands of feet is a few seconds. And we saw parts of Kauai that can be seen in no other way, because we went to places that not even the helicopters go...and we did so at a slower, more interactive and fun-filled pace. It was amazing. They don't allow you to bring your own camera (liability) but they take 60-70 shots on their wing-mounted cameras and, if you opt for it (we did) they also take high definition video from nose-mounted camera on the owner's trike (I was riding with him). We don't have those images yet, but you can be sure I'll post a few here on the blog when we get them. We should be able to get the still shots CD tomorrow. They are going to mail the video home to us.

I have been trying to formulate descriptors for this post to somehow relate this incredible experience to you...and I keep coming up short. There simply are no words to fully convey the details of even a small portion of the sensations of something like this. The air smells different up there. There are times, when an updraft pushes you up that you feel completely weightless - like gravity doesn't apply to you for a short period. There moments of "Oh, crud...what did I get myself into!" when you are in the first few minutes of flight as your instructor demonstrates how easily your trike can bank, climb, and descend. There were several times in the flight where I was stuck mute by the sheer beauty and enormity of this part of God's creation that I was privileged to see. There were waterfalls, of course, and such majestic ridges of richly green mountains that it almost made you hold your breath. I could drone on and on, but it would all fall short.

Inspired by what we saw from the air, we braved the twists and turns of HI State Highway 552 the 11 miles to the top rim of Waimea Canyon. There are several parking areas for lookout points to see different profiles of the canyon. It was truly stunning. We took some pictures with Di's 'big camera' but don't have them downsized to fit on a blog yet.

After coming down off the mountain, we were exhausted and a little hungry for a treat, so we stopped at the original Lappert's Gourmet Ice Cream Store and Factory in Hanapepe. They still make their super premium ice cream on premises fresh every day. (Ummmm good....). That held us over until we made a late dinner and we're getting ready to turn in for the night.

Aloha!

Day 10 - Mild Side

2008-11-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

We started the day with 'church on the beach.' Walking on the beach nearest our condo, we asked God to give us each a verse that we could talk about. We brought along a bible, walked along for a while, and later shared the verse we got. To our delight, we both were impressed with verses from Colossians 3. Dianna got Col. 3:8, I just heard Col. 3. The interesting thing is that Col. 3:8 has been the "theme" verse for my fast. We got a nice chance to chat about what God was doing through this time of R&R and what may come next. That was FUN! We definitely missed worshiping with brothers and sisters from the Bridge, though.

We did another mild, but not completely mellow, day exploring some different and new-to-us beaches. The first two were kind of off the beaten track and weren't really swimming beaches. We decided to check out two of the south shore's hangouts for the locals. These are beaches that are beautiful for very different reasons, but share a common theme...the surf is far too dangerous and violent for swimmers, but it's great for surfers and windsurfers.

Oh, did I mention that we saw, and took pictures of, a beached monk seal too? Oh yeah.

We found this beauty on Gillin's Beach. It's located east of Poipu.

We drove east on the same dirt road that took us to Gillin's Beach to find the eastern most beach on the south shore, Ha'ula, famous for the lithified sand formations. These formations are created by the wind and salt spray from the waves that crash below. As far as we've been able to tell, this is the only place on the island where these formations exist.

And...yeah...there's a person up there on the point of that cliff, a local - fishing.

So, how do you top looking at these bizarre and wonderful creations of nature? We were pretty hungry by then so we headed for Poipu Shopping Center and got a world famous Puka Dog. It's essentially a grilled Polish Sausage in a very unique bun. Instead of a sliced bun like you normally see, the bun is formed with a hole (puka, in Hawaiian) down the length to accomodate the sausage. They also have some very cool, tropical condiments. We chose the Mango Relish. Check out the link it's cool.

Later, we headed off to Poipu beach to snorkel and lie around for a bit, but with all the clouds (yes, our first full day of clouds), it was a bit cool so we only stayed an hour or two.

Well, that's really all I have for now. Aloha!

Day 9 - The REALLY Wild Side

2008-11-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

For those of you following the posts, I apologize for not posting yesterday's events in the evening as I have been doing. We had gotten up very early for our major activity and, in the evening, had gone out to our "dress up dinner" which, on Kauai, means long pants and an aloha shirt for me, a very fetching dress for Dianna (thanks for the loan Rochelle). Afterward, I was just too darn tired to think. So here are the events of Saturday...I'll do a separate post for Sunday.

You may remember that in last Tuesday's post about our surfing lesson, I mentioned a surprise activity for Saturday. Well, here's what it was...we took a catamaran ride up the Na Pali coastline. Wow! Absolutely stunning scenery. Dianna took the "real camera" so we got some absolutely beautiful shots. There are too many for a blog post (102), so I am considering whether to post them on my Picasa online album or on Flicker. I'll post my decision later so you can see all of our shots online at your leisure.

We started our day at 5:15 a.m., (or O'Dark-15) to make it down to Port Allen for our check-in at 7:30. We sailed on Catamaran Kahanu (Breath of Life, in Hawaiian...pretty cool, eh?) shortly after 8:00 for our 5-hour tour of the Na Pali coastline. This is one of the smallest catamarans making this trip and our captain is a native Hawaiian, whose family can trace it's roots to a small valley that opens to the Na Pali coast from 1632. They have an oral history that goes back to the 1500's. He not only knows this coastline and these waters like the back of his hand, but he also loves his homeland. He was a bit gruff at first, eventually warming to the 12 passengers aboard his vessel. Because of his incredible knowledge, his status as a native Hawaiian, and the size of his vessel, we were able to go places the bigger tour companies aren't allowed to go. Some of the sea caves we backed into, for instance are usually reserved only for the smaller 'Zodiac' type rafts. The other big plus was the ability go into protected reef area for our stop to snorkel. I was so wishing I had an underwater camera for that.

Mere words cannot express how majestic and wild this stretch of rugged coastline looks in real life. The pictures can only begin to tell the story...but here goes.

As we rounded the point of land that marks the end of Polihale State Park (and the last of that 17-mile stretch of beach), we begin to see why this is such an attraction. These cliffs are at least 1,000 feet tall, and have been the backdrop for many, many movies. (Jurassic Park, King Kong, 6 Days, 7 Nights, to name a few.

Not too long after we saw the cliffs for first time up close, we got a wonderful surprise. We saw a pod of porpoise swimming lazily through the water. They were in what the captain described as an "alpha state", their equivalent of sleep swimming. In this state, they can rest but they are also have to breathe, so they maintain a slow, rhythmic motion. The captain stopped the boat and asked Dianna, who'd moved up front to take pictures, to sit on the front end of the catamaran. Porpoises are attracted to bright colors, and she was wearing this bright pink hat - they responded immediately by swimming right under her feet.

Okay, I could go on and on about the porpoises but on to some more shots of the cliffs.
If you closely in some of these shots you'll see ribbons of white...those are waterfalls coming from the runoff of Wai 'ale 'ale, the wettest spot on earth. It receivesover 440 inches of rain per year.

One of the caves created by the constant pounding of the ocean against the lava rock that forms this island. You can see that surf exploding from the back of the cave.

We were there on a extremely calm day, especially for this time of year. Even so, the surf is violent here. Getting in the water to swim here will get you killed.

Every mile has some breathtaking vista - we found the unique colors found at the base of this particular cliff really beautiful and interesting.

Please note, too, how clear the water is here. At this point we're probably in 35-40 ft. of water. It's like this all around the island where the bottom is either rock or reef. The sand bottom areas get significantly stirred up so the waves become brown.

Another of the sea caves...we're in pretty deep at this point, so I brightened up the picture a bit as we didn't have a flash with us. The same cave without the brightness enhanced...

Well, there you go! That's a few of them and, as I said, they still did not do justice to the place. You simply have to come here and see for yourself.

As for our "dress-up" dinner. We headed down to Poipu to The Beach House. Rated as Kauai's best restaurant several years' running and now we know why. Omigosh! Awesome food. We had wonderful food and one of the best deserts either of us have ever eaten. (Banana's Foster since you asked.)

Aloha!

Day 8 - Shopping, strolling....

2008-11-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Today was an ultra-laid back day for us. I slept in pretty late (8:30 - latest so far). I realized I had not completed a mandatory online training for work so, reluctantly, I logged on to do that - between having to update the software I use to connect (because I forgot to when we upgraded our operating system) and doing the actual training, I was on the computer for a couple of hours this morning.

After cleaning up a bit, we headed to the Kauai Medical Clinic so I could get my ear examined. I've had a severe case of swimmer's ear ever since Monday's dive. The good news is, there is no infection that threatens my ear's health. The bad news is that water is trapped in my inner ear and nothing but time will actually clear it, about 10-14 days. The blockage is wreaking havoc on my hearing - I am probably down to about 50% of my normal hearing. It is driving me a little crazy, but oh, well, it's a small price to pay for the experience of diving Kauai's reef's.

And that brings me to the best news of all...we finally got our pictures from the dive company's camera. A lot of them didn't really turn out, but a few did and, after some Dianna's expertise in retouching...they are ready for public viewing. Mind you, these were taken with very little flash to bring out the actual colors (red, yellow and orange disappear at these depths). Here are the best of those were salvageable.

Yep, that's Dianna, blowing bubbles at about 45'.
If you can see, them note the color of her fingernails. They are actually a "tropical pink" but because of the lost reds, etc., they look purple.

A spiny black urchin.

I'm not sure what kind of coral it is, but it's pretty, especially against the lighter surface waters.

This is a group of Moorish Idols. I think it's a family grouping. The larger one there is without doubt, the largest Idol I saw in two dives...and we saw upwards of 50 or so of that species. I had a heck of a time getting this shot. The 'Mama' Idol would not be still for the photographer. But I at least I got a shot.

Topside - between dives.

Okay, it's a corny shot, but hey, it proves I was actually on a dive, right?

And finally, the stars of the show - the green sea turtle of Hawaii (known as honu, to the Hawaiians).

They like to hide in the rocks. Aloha!

Day 7 - The Wild West of Kauai

2008-11-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

No big activities planned today, and when we woke up...we were glad. We're still pretty bruised and sore from our surfing lesson so we decided to take it easy. We did some food shopping (it's still weird seeing surfboards in Costco) and such before starting our exploration day.

Since we had to to go to Old Koloa Town to pick our dive pictures CD anyway, we decided to do a drive to follow the highway as far west as it goes - which is the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility. There are gates to keep the public out.

Here are the highlights (and some cool pictures) from our little (all day) jaunt.

First - the stop in Old Koloa Town, which has become very familiar to us. It's hard to describe this little place, but it kind of feels like time is really torn between standing still to preserve and honor its history, but also knows it needs to find a future. It's a strange little town, but very cute. Our dive shop operator of choice is there...and they still weren't able to get the CD burned. ARGH! Ah, well...at least we got a cute picture or two.

I usually object to Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving...but who can resist this?

Well...onward then, to the west. Next, we drove through Kalaheo a very small village with a great pizza place..back to that later. Our next stop was in 'Ele 'ele, to find the port we are going to Saturday for our catamaran tour of the Na Pali coast line (Port Allen). We had lunch near the harbor and then checked out Glass Beach.

Described by some as "arguably the ugliest beach on Kauai" it is also somewhat fascinating. This beach is located behind the power generating station at 'Ele 'ele (they burn oil to generate electricity here...fascinating) down a dirt road. Glass Beach is so named because thousands of tiny pieces of glass are deposited on the dark sand from an old dump that was located nearby. The result...see for yourself.

Next off, we went to Salt Pond Park. There is a beach there (of course) and it's pretty (of course) but it...feels weird. Both Dianna and I felt a strange spiritual vibe there - a disturbance in the force, if you will - so we didn't stick around long.

We wound our way around the southwest corner of the island until we got to a turnoff onto a dirt road (and again, I use that term very loosely) for a little over 4 miles. It was rough road and made us glad we'd rented a Jeep. About a mile in, Di started having doubts - but manly man that I am, I coaxed her into hanging in there with me (mainly by refusing to stop the Jeep). We finally came to our landmark, a huge Monkeypod tree, turned left for few hundred yards, hairpin turn to the right and OH CRUD...we were in deep, soft sand and not sure which way to go so the worst possible thing that could happen, did...I stopped. We could not go forward and we could not go backward without spinning the tires. I didn't want to sink the tires too far in that fluff so I didn't push the accelerator. I calmly put it into 4WD (silently praying that I wasn't really THAT stuck) and put the Jeep in to D1, and eased ever so gently forward, then back and then presto...we moved through the "mini-dune of death" to a safe parking place.

This part of the beach is called Polihale State park. It's as far as you can go toward the Na Pali coast without a boat. It's also the far end of over 15 miles of uninterrupted sand beach. Unfortunately, you can't swim in the ocean here most of the time - it's too wild. They lost 4 tourists in a 36-hour period just a week and-a-half ago on this stretch because they were careless. The currents and surf are tricky, with rogue waves pulling people into the surf when they are foolish enough to stay on the wet sand. It is a favorite place for hardcore surfers, however, and we saw several braving the huge waves (15-20 ft., I'm guessing). Because it's so hard to get to, it is very unspoiled and absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.

The lighting was a bit tricky and we didn't have "the big camera" with us so I apologize...the images really don't do it justice.

We headed back down to Kalaheo and had what is considered by many to be the finest pizza on the island. It is certainly one of, if not the best I've ever eaten. I've eaten pizza in Chicago, L.A. (pretending to be a Chicago pizzeria) and just about everywhere else west of the Mississpi. It was great pizza. Now, I know a couple of my east coast friends are going to contend that it can't compare with New York's pizza and I have to concede that I've never had pizza there so I'm not going to argue. It's the best I've ever eaten...I'm just sayin'.

Another mellow day planned for tomorrrow. A little more exploring, and possibly a trip to the medical clinic. I still can't seem to get the water out of my right ear from our dives, so we're going to have it checked out to make sure it doesn't get infected or anything awful.

Aloha!

Day 6 - Deep calls unto deep

2008-11-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

Another diving day, which means another O-dark-30 wake up so this blog is going to be shorter. Great dives today, starting at Harbor Ledges where we were greeted by white mouth moray eel on our descent. Our Divemaster today was Cole who originally hails from Michigan. Gee, I wonder why anyone would want to move away from snowy, cold Michigan to Kauai. I'll have to ponder that one awhile. One of the major highlights of the dive was seeing an octopus. Cole, coaxed him out of his hiding spot just long enough to get a good look at him. In the weird light of being at depth, he looked deep purple, but that means he could be bright red, for all I know. I tried to take his picture, but don't know if it turned out.

Yes, we rented a camera, and yes we took several pictures...but I can't post them yet because the dive shop computer's CD burner is broken, so they couldn't transfer the images from the card to a CD for us. I am thinking about taking our laptop in tomorrow to hook it up directly to the camera, if they'll let me. They did try burning a CD, but the disc is blank.

The second dive took place at Tortugas and it was even more thrilling than the others. Several sea turtles were resting there or swimming around. One swam within arm's length from Dianna, another swam directly under the legs of another diver (Tim, from CA). Very cool stuff indeed. Hoping some of those images turned out!

After diving, and still very sore from yesterday's surfing adventure, we decided to make like beached monk seals on Poipu Beach for the afternoon after grabbing lunch in Old Koloa Town. That was so restful and peaceful. Nothing else scheduled and when we left it was only because we were hungry enough to call it a day and head back to the condo for a shower and dinner. Dianna is falling asleep on the couch as I write this and I think I'm not far behind her...Aloha for now!

Mahalo (thank you) for reading my posts!

Day 5 - Another first

2008-11-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

So today marked another first for us. After sitting through the obligatory timeshare pitch (no, we didn't buy, but the program offered by Wyndham is actually pretty interesting) we went for our first surfing lesson. Part of the reason we decided to try it was that we got a steep discount for sitting through the sales presentation (one of two carrots...more on the other one Saturday).

Hawaiian Surfing Adventures did a quick presentation during our orientation breakfast last Friday and since they promised "safe, shallow, sandy beach" surfing, we decided to try it out. We got about a two-hour lesson from a 23-year young surfer dude, nicknamed Moose. Probably a play on his real name 'cuz physically he wasn't a moose kind of guy. His real name, unfortunately, was very difficult and I have no idea how to spell it, so we're sticking with Moose.

I have to tell you, I had no idea how physically demanding surfing would be. I am TIRED tonight, and we were only in the water for two hours. Paddle out, nose into the wave, and then when you're past the breakers, watch the 'line' and pick your wave (Moose did the picking) from about 30-40 yards out. Then you turn your board's nose to the shore and begin to paddle gently, then hard. When you feel the wave pushing you, paddle very hard, when the tail dips just a little, stand up and ride it in. Simple. Yeah.

To my credit, I did stand all the way up and ride a wave all the way in (once) and rode a second one almost all the way in. Two hours, 1 1/2 successful attempts. Many spills. And now I understand why board shorts are only sold with strings to tie the waist on. That's all I am going to say about that. Di did well too, getting up at least once, though she rode in on her knees (cheater). ;-)

My one successful ride in - not very graceful, but I made it!
Thank goodness Di was on shore to capture it.

Both of us have bruises on our ribs from laying on the board and very sore shoulders from all the paddling. I have the additional bonus of blisters on the top of most of my toes from the rubberized coating on the board and a bruise on my ribcage from getting my board sideways when a breaker came in hard right after I got up from a spill. The ocean doesn't always play nice, I notice.

Hanging loose with Dude Moose.

All in all, a very fun day. We're thinking seriously of renting boards again next week. We can get a board for a full day for only $15 if we rent from the same outfit. Hey...you only live once!

Tomorrow is another early morning for us as we are going on our 2nd (and last, at least for this trip) scuba trip with Fathom Five.

Aloha!

Day 4 - "Get Down" gets new meaning

2008-11-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

First off, I apologize for the lack of pictures today. In my excitement and, I admit it, nervousness, about going out on our first real dive since certifying, I forgot to ask the dive shop about renting an underwater camera. So...no pictures today. We are diving again on Wednesday, so I am planning to call tomorrow to arrange to rent a camera, if one is available.

What an incredible day! We had to wake up early this morning (5:30'sh...or, "0'Dark-30"). Not something I would normally choose on a vacation day that also happens to be my birthday, given my penchant for sleeping in, but this was different - and worth it. Today, we got to participate in our first boat dive. If you've been keeping up with us, you know that one of the primary purposes for our trip was to scuba dive. We even got certified just so we would be allowed to do so this time. You may also know that when we went to Maui, 4 years ago, we'd scheduled an introductory dive (walking in from shore) only to have it canceled due to high surf. On a boat dive, your chances of getting canceled are much slimmer.

We signed up for a two-tank dive and boy, what a great decision that was. We loved the experience so much that we both felt that if we'd have done one tank and gone in we would have missed out on way too much fun. For my non-diving friends (that's most of you, I think), I should clarify. You only wear one tank at a time. So you dive until you're low on air (out is bad), which is about 1000 - 700 psi (we started with 3000 psi). When you come back on board the boat, you rest a while (called a surface interval) to let some of the nitrogen that gets built up in your blood release out of your blood (called off-gassing - and it has nothing to do with flatulence). After a decent surface interval (time is determined by a lot of factors, depth you dived to, length of time at depth, etc.) you strap on a fresh tank and go down again, but in a different spot.

It is surreal to be in a clear, blue expanse of water and to get to interact with creatures you've only seen on documentaries or Finding Nemo. We saw so many varieties of fish, including gray moray eel, yellow snapper, orangeband surgeonfish, yellow tang, butterfly fish, Moorish Idol, a couple of different types of hawk fish, a HUGE scorpion fish (biggest our dive master had ever seen in these waters), spiny lobster, and of course our personal favorite, the green sea turtles. That's a very small sample of a dizzying array of species we saw in our two dives today. I can hardly wait to 'get down' again with the citizens of the sea.

After coming home and cleaning up we took it pretty easy, and went to a nice place for dinner, Scotty's BBQ. I have never eaten such delicious BBQ. I've BBQ in Texas, Kansas and several points in between and Scotty's wins the prize. For dessert, a pastry concoction that I've seen or tasted nowhere else...Puffansada. Think of a cross between a really light, fluffy shortcake and sponge cake that is cut in half with a filling (I chose "Very Berry"), then encrust the whole thing in panko and deep-fried...drizzled with berry sauce/syrup with puffs of whipped cream on the side. UNBELIEVEABLY GOOD! All served with a with an open wall to the soft breeze and the ocean. I don't know if it can get any better than this...but I'm willing to continue the research! :)

To top it all off, Finding Nemo is playing right now on the Disney Channel - God surely loves me. I'll post again tomorrow.

Day 3 - The Wild Side

2008-11-02T22:54:00.000-08:00

Today, we sampled the "mild wild" side of Kauai. Neither of us are hard-core hikers so we pored over our guidebook for trails to walk that were at least off the beaten track some, but didn't require mad hiking skills or hiking boots. We only brought sport sandals to wear so hard-core, almost trails weren't on our list of "must-do's." We managed to find a couple of cool waterfalls - one with fun swimming hole at the bottom of it.

Before I get into the adventures, though, I'd promised a better picture of Joe, the condo property's "mascot" and I was able to get it today. He came up to our lanai today...left a nice little souvenir too, but the maintenance folks cleaned that up right away. :)

We started our adventures looking for Ho'opi'i Falls. They aren't huge or spectacular, but they are very pretty and require a short hike to find.
You walk down an old dirt road (and I use that term loosely) then cut down to the stream bed, crossing the stream or walking down the stream itself in order to state on publicly owned land.

The reward is a pretty little waterfall that you have all to yourself.

After thouroughly investigating the travel-worthiness of the stream crossings, we walked up a trail on the opposite side of the stream on the way back for as long as we could and found a "picture-perfect" tree root to sit on for our wilderness portraits. :)

After that little hike, we decided to check out another waterfall, 'Opaeka'a Falls. This one is inaccessible up close because it is surrounded by private land, but there is a scenic lookout (which, in Kauai, is almost silly - the entire ISLAND is a scenic lookout, for crying out loud) that allows a great spot for a photo. Dianna used her "real" camera for that one so I don't have a photo yet for the blog. I'll try to update this post later, when she's had a chance to import those shots. Pretty, but not very wild...so we decided to go further up the road. Which we did until the road ended.

Well, technically, that's not true. We stopped where the pavement stopped because the Jeep we rented was making very loud clanking sounds whenever we hit bumps or potholes and I was nervous about driving across a stream (the road has a concrete causeway to allow you to do so) and up a very primitive dirt road (only somewhat better than the one pictured above).

From there we headed back to airport to exchange our clanky red Jeep for an non-clanky blue Jeep. The red was easier to spot in a parking lot, but I really like have a non-clanky ride so the blue will do nicely, thank you.

The big adventure for the day came after lunch at Kalapaki's Beach Hut (nice view, eh). This is a little sitting spot above the actual counter and kitchen. Note the lack of chickens...I think because it's on the 2nd floor and they aren't good at flying. We did have doves though. They are much more quiet eating companions.

Ah, yes, on to the big adventure...Kipu Falls. This little jewel is hidden away about .5 mile off the road through the remains of a sugar plantation. You do a mild jungle hike on a some fairly slick mud through very thick vegetation to find a beautiful little stream.

That trail leads to a smallish waterfall (about 20 ft. high). This picture doesn't do it justice by the way...this is the smallest part of the falls. The wider portion is off to the right, but Di got a picture of me swimming below.

The real fun about this place though is that below the falls is a very nice swimming hole...and all you have to do to get into the swimming hole is either jump the 20 ft. from the falls, climb down a ladder someone has thoughtfully anchored to the rock with steel bars (Dianna's preferred route), or do what I did - use the rope swing to launch yourself as far and as high as possible before splashing down below.

What a rush! I liked it so much I had to do it 3 times. Then I got tired and a little cold, so I found a warm sunny rock to bask on for a while, before heading down the road again to find a treat.

We ended up back in Old Koloa Town (because it was closest) and got some shaved ice. Tasty and light and WAY better than a sno-cone. Since it was getting close to sunset, we decided to go to Spouting horn to watch the show. We managed to get a bonus show because while we were waiting for the sunset, we also got to witness a double-rainbow.

And with this, I say...goodnight and God bless...from the Creator to you and I...

Day 2 in Paradise

2008-11-01T23:34:00.001-07:00

Today, after a leisurely breakfast, we headed to Old Koloa Town (k0e-loe-ah) to scout out the dive shop, Fathoms Five, we're scheduled to dive with next Monday and Wednesday. We discovered a cool, historic bit of Kauai - Old Koloa Town. This is a small village of shops mostly housed in buildings that were erected in the 1800's to support the sugar plantation. Each building has a plaque that describes the history associated with it. Very interesting and fun.

Next we headed to Poipu (poy-poo) Beach for a day of sunning, swimming, snorkeling and sunning some more. Ahhhhh... Beautiful stretch of golden sand protected from big surf by natural lava rock walls. THIS is why we came to Hawaii, and especially to Kauai. This is Saturday and the beach wasn't crowded at all. SWEET! The real unexpected bonus was that a Monk Seal was, sunning itself on the beach when we got there. Monk seals are one of only few species of seal living in warm waters. It is a rare (estimated population of 1200), endangered species. We'd left our phones and cameras locked up in the Jeep so we missed the opportunity to get a picture. (The only disappointment of the day...not a bad day.)

When hunger finally forced us to leave, we'd gone through all of our snacks and most of our water...and it was 2:30 in the afternoon. We did a quick bit of research in 'the blue book' to find a simple, good lunch place and were intrigued by the sound of Keoke's Paradise. Lunch was really good - we split a half-pound cheeseburger and a basket of fries and each had a cold, frosty beverage (okay, a beer...Di opted for the Kona Lavaman Lager, I had the Kona Lavaman Red Ale). The first pictures below are the 'inside' of the restaurant. I put that in quotes because although there is a roof and some posts to support the trusses, there are no real walls - only awnings to protect from the breezes.
We were sitting at a table next to this railing...with a stream. Don't see that much in Tri-Cities...

Or a waterfall, which feeds the stream (this was about 10 ft. behind our table.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture of the bar area...I promise this not the effect of the ONE beer I had. Just shaky hands.

And what would a dining experience in Kauai be without a chicken or two roaming about? :)

In case you're wondering (we certainly were, so we asked), no, nobody kills and eats the chickens. Evidently these chickens, freed by the hurricanes were brought by the Phillipine immigrants. The roosters are bred for fighting so they are lean, and the meat is reportedly very tough. One t-shirt we saw to day had instructions for cooking and eating a Kauai wild chicken.

Kill, pluck, and clean chicken.
Place in large pot of water.
Place over heat and put in a hot lava rock.
When the rock is tender, the chicken is ready to eat.

After our lunch, we drove a couple of miles to "Spouting Horn." Spouting Horn is so named because a lava tube under the rock shelf opens and, about every 20-30 seconds a spout of seawater spews up like a geyser. I got a couple of shots of part of a "spew" but couldn't seem to time the shutter click to get the whole thing.

We ended the day with a sunset walk on the beach near our condo and a soak in the hot tub. Life is good.

First Impressions

2008-10-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

We got to Lihue (Li-hoo-ee) Airport, on the island of Kauai last night at about 7:30 HI time (10:30 PDT). Wow. A balmy 76 degrees with a light breeze and misty rain greeted us as we got our rental car (a Jeep Wrangler). We were pretty much beat after a long day of travel so almost immediately after checking in we went to bed.

This morning I took a couple of pictures with the camera in my phone. The first three are from our lanai (patio).

The man-made lagoon that divides the property in half.

Joe, a sort of mascot of the property, and quite possibly the ugliest goose on the planet.

Yes, there are chickens here. In fact, they are everywhere, running wild.

We had read about the unpredictable weather, and had even read about the chickens, but nothing really prepares you for the sheer number of wild barnyard chickens feeding and scratching everywhere. And I mean everywhere - alongside the highways, outside the condo, near Wailua Falls...everywhere. They are mostly pretty cute and funny, with one exception. Andrew Doughty, the author of The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, Kauai Revealed, puts it best.

OK, so you don't normall think of roosters as hazards. And normally they're not. These guys are wild in many parts of the island and can be charming. But our roosters have proliferated since Hurricane 'Iniki feed so many back in 1992, and they are particularly stupid here. They don't seem to knopw when they're supposed to crow, so they do it all day long just to cover themselves. (Probably for liability purposes.) If any of these two-legged alarms clocks are near where you're staying, you may find yourself waking up real early.

Honestly, I still can't get over the sight of a rooster and his harem of hens pecking and scratching right next to the highway. It's just weird.

Speaking of the wildlife, I got an even bigger surprise tonight as I was bringing our supper in from the grill (I'd grilled chicken...just because of the irony). As I stepped into our condo, I heard a noise behind me and was startled to see a wild pig behind me. It had evidently been feeding in the bush near our door. It was too dark to get a picture, but if it shows up again, I'll be sure to include it in a future post.

Today was a day to get oriented to our new, temporary home, get some groceries, and a few other necessities (bug repellent for our hikes and bamboo mats for the beach). I LOVE this place! Here are a few reasons I fell back in love with Hawaii today.

Black swan in the lagoon that is a few feet from our room.

The love of my life on the beach about 50 yards from our room. The surf are currents here are too dangerous for swimming. This is a walking beach only.

Wailua Falls - about 8 miles from our condo. There has been several days of rain in the last week, so there is a LOT of water today. It's a 170 ft. drop from the lip to the pond below.

And yes, even here, are wild chickens. This is a hen and a chick. There are actually two chicks here.

Not a bad setting for a BBQ, eh! Nice, plump, Asian Barbeque-seasoned chicken breasts and a Trader Vick's pre-mixed Mai Tai (thank you Costco).

Tommorrow, we do some more driving around the island to get acquainted with our surroundings and visit Poipu beach, said to be one of the best on the island for snorkeling and swimming.

En route!

2008-10-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

This my first attempt at updating my blog using my iPhone and so far...it's been interesting. I was able to get a wifi connection here at SeaTac using the new attwifi service that is free for iPhone and at&t wireless card owners - a nice perk for the extra $ spent on the data plan. Di and I are en route to Kauai for two weeks of R&R.

We're getting ready board soon, so I'm keeping this short. We'll keep you posted during the week.

Wow

2008-10-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Wow - time flies when you're not paying attention. Sheesh. I had no idea it had been so long since my last post. My apologies to my friends who actually take time out of their schedule to check out my site.

I have to say I am pretty excited about things right now. I am a week away from our first major vacation in four years and we're remodeling (yes, another remodeling project) our basement. An electrician came and spent a couple of full Saturdays and a Sunday to help us wire up several new lights, switches and outlets. Blessings of hiring a pro! He also cleaned up our breaker panel, by tracking down wires that went...nowhere and deleting them. For the first time in the 20 years we have lived in this house, everything electrical works correctly. All the 3-way switches, all the outlets, and he even figured out a way to make everything in the basement a true, grounded system. Something that wasn't done when the house was originally wired in 1948. SWEET!

In case you're wondering...we passed our NAUI Scuba Diver certification so we will be spending my 50th birthday on, and under, the water...off the island of Kauai. I am so pumped! I can hardly stand the wait. We've scheduled a boat dive for two different days on our trip. I am hoping to rent an underwater camera to take some pictures. If I do, I'll post some here...I promise.

Anyway...we've got a lot going on right now and I am very pleased that God has seen fit to bless us with good health to enjoy the ride. Love to all of you and thanks for your patience!

Aloha!

Isn't change...fun?

2008-07-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Lately, my friends and I have been literally inundated with changes. It's rocking our world. With change comes opportunity. We can embrace the changes or we can resist them. In either case, change happens. Our response is a reflection of the state of our soul and spirit.

By that, I mean to say that we often don't have much, if any, influence on the changes that happen in our lives. And that is precisely why many people hate it so vigorously. Change is a disruption - and it forces us to realize that we really aren't in full control. It actually throws in our faces that the control we thought we had over our circumstances is an illusion.

In another job, I was certified to facilitate a three-day workshop on implementing change. That doesn't make me an expert, nor does it make me any less susceptible to hating change, but it did help me gain a perspective for what is actually happening in people as they react or respond to change. I'm over simplifying here, but essentially, you are either initiating change or change is initiated for you by an external force. In either case, whether the change is perceived as good or as bad, there is a similar reaction - resistance. Resistance comes from the fact that any change is disruption, thus there is a loss of the comfortable and familiar. Whenever we lose something, even something we don't particularly like, we need to move through a grieving process to come to a place of accepting the change.

I truly believe that the speed with which we move through the grieving process is directly tied to our trust in God. If we believe that God is good and that He has nothing but our best interests at heart at all times, we can view even very scary changes with a greater measure of peace. We can do that because we know without a doubt that He is in control so we don't have to be. What freedom that brings! If we have no doubt about the goodness of God and His fierce, determined and uncompromising love for us, then we can learn to rest and find peace in any situation because He is in control and His judgment and His timing is perfect!

Now, I wish I could tell you with just as much certainty that this is how I respond to all changes in my life, but that of course would be a lie. I am, though, one of those who pretty quickly adapts to, and embraces change. In general, I like change. Like everyone though, I've had my share of "Why me? Why now? Why this?" moments, but as a rule, I've been learning to see that for what it is. A struggle to maintain an illusion of control over some aspect of my life over which I have no control. The one thing over which I truly have some control is how I choose to respond.

The more aware I am of what is really happening, the quicker I am able to come back to rest in His Spirit and just let God work out the details. I am in control of my response. Will I choose to trust in me or trust in Him? Will I allow Him to be LORD and KING or will I act like some rebellious knave who has to be taught to submit to authority?

I can't make the decision any easier for you, but I can tell you this...TRUST is the better way. Trust that God has made the right decision. Trust in Him to teach you and guide you in your grieving process about the strongholds you need to release. Trust in the destiny that He has for you and most of all...TRUST in His ability to bring you to the fullness of that destiny and call on your life.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a while...again. And once again, it's taken a holiday to get my attention back on my blog. My wife and I took my mom and Dad to lunch today to stay ahead of the madding crowd tomorrow. This is of strategic importance because they are elderly (Dad is 90, soon to turn 91 and Mom is 86) and my mom is none to mobile and is legally blind, so crowded restaurants become dangerous places for her to negotiate.

Anyway, we took them to Red Lobster and it's funny. I could have ordered for them. They don't even look at the menu any more. We all know exactly what they are going to order. Me, I like to try new things so I always look at the menu. As it happens, I was the only one in the foursome today who didn't walk into that restaurant knowing exactly what I wanted to eat. I just knew I wanted seafood. By the way, Salmon New Orleans is really worth a try next time you go in. If you like spicy seafood. Way good! But enough on that.

I want to take a moment and pay tribute to the man I call Dad. My dad is a special man for a whole lot of different reasons, so I won't go into the whole list here, but I feel it's only right to honor him today. You see, Dad isn't perfect. Never was. We had some rough times growing up. He worked rotating shifts so I really only saw him about one week a month during regular hours. During 'graveyard' shift (working 12:00-8:00, not in a cemetery) he slept during daylight hours so I was mostly encouraged to go play with friends from the end of school until supper time. He had a short fuse, a violent temper, and could be verbally abusive when irritated. But he was, and is, an intensely loyal and devoted husband and father. He acted out his love and commitment for us every day even though the words, "I love you," were rarely heard spoken to us. As hard as he could be on us, he was always 100% honest. When he gave his word to do something, it got done. Honesty and integrity...love in action.

My dad never really understood me. He grew up during the depression on a small farm with a big family. The livestock and crops they raised were their food supply. I, on the other hand, grew up in town. I tended toward very diverse interests like music (band and choir), drama, sports and the like. Dad grew up working and feels somewhat 'useless' if he's not doing something constructive. To this day he putters around in his huge yard, carefully nurturing his almost perfect grass. I like to play. But as little as he understood about what made me tick, he and mom came to every game and match, every concert and play they could possibly attend. Even after college, when I was doing community theatre, they would come into Richland and watch the show. Loyalty...love in action.

I grew up watching my dad give generously to others and never asking anything in return. He was the first guy to volunteer when things broke or needed tending to at the church. He gave generously to all of us kids in times of need and to his grandchildren. He's been particularly generous and supportive of my son, for which I am eternally grateful. Dad is a great example of what giving is all about. He freely gives with a cheerful heart, always looking out for the needs of others, even at great cost to himself and his own desires. Generosity....love in action.

Mom and Dad met as youngsters, growing up in the same small town in Oklahoma (Ft. Gibson). Mom was 18, Dad was 22 when they were married in a civil ceremony. February 2 of this year, they celebrated having been married 68 years. Many, many lean times followed. They moved from the only place they'd known, a serene forested part of southeast Oklahoma, to a desert (semi-arid to be technically accurate) area in the southeast of the "Evergreen" state. (In our part of Washington the state's slogan could be taken to mean, "Does it ever get green here?"). One of my dad's relatives scoffed at the idea of anyone from the family moving out of Oklahoma and actually staying moved. He made the statement at a family gathering that they would never be able to cut it. He'd bet they'd be back in less than a year.

Well, our family's fate was sealed in that moment. Dad made up his mind he would never come back to Oklahoma to live. He made a commitment to a new life no matter how hard it was going to be. Through all the dust storms (called "Termination Winds" because so many people would quit and leave the area after a storm blew through), the tough times and urging of relatives to give it up and come back, they stuck it out here.

That kind of stubbornness can be hard on a marriage. Mom and Dad had their share of arguments to be sure, but there was never a question of one of them leaving. They made vows and they stuck to them. They made a commitment to each other and made the best of the circumstances. Commitment...love in action.

There is so much more, but I must close. Suffice to say, that no matter how many, or what kind of, disagreements I've had with my dad through the years I can say with complete integrity that I love Dad with all my heart. I admire and respect him as much for his weaknesses as his strengths. He's not blind to his weaknesses, nor to his strengths. You'll never hear him boast, though you'll often hear him poke fun of his own foibles. He is a man of integrity, honesty, loyalty, generosity, and commitment. He loves God and serves selflessly. My dad isn't famous or rich or anyone important to the big, wide, world, but he's a great man to me, and in the eyes of his family.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-10T22:52:00.001-07:00

My wife and I have begun a tradition in the last few years. Since neither of our moms like crowds, we started taking them on a Mother's Day Eve lunch date. I know. There isn't really a day called Mother's Day Eve but it describes what we do well enough. Each of us take our mom to lunch on Saturday so we can spend quality time alone with her. It's a highlight for me.

It is so nice to be able to take my mom to a restaurant that she would never get to go to with my Dad. You see, in my immediate family, there are three 'meat and potatoes' eaters and three 'adventurous' eaters. My brother Jim, Mom and myself are the adventurers. Today's adventure was P.F. Chang's. Mom almost never gets a taste of Chinese food so I thought it would be a real treat for her. It was great. She really liked it and the hostess was kind enough to seat us at a table very near the door so my aged mother wouldn't have to walk far. Everyone treated her with respect and kindness so I was very pleased.

It made me think about all the complaints about the younger generation. Some complaints are well-founded, I suppose, but the young people we saw today were respectful and kind and they made my date with my Mom something special. So a big, blog shout-out to the Saturday afternoon staff at P.F. Chang's! Thank you for helping me build a special memory with my Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Life's Moments

2008-05-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Life is chock full of moments that stand out for one reason or another. I was just checking up on my friend who has now been moved to a rehabilitation hospital to further his recovery. For the first time, there was a picture on his journal page of him working the parallel bars. Not the kind for gymnastics, the kind that you use when you can't walk on your own and are in physical therapy.

What a mix of emotions ran through my head in that moment. Joy that my friend is "walking" at all. Praise at the way the Lord is working in and through his family & friends during this time of great trial. Sober at the how weak and frail my vibrant, strong friend looked as he concentrated on the next step. Reflective on the many blessings I enjoy, not the least of which is a healthy, strong body.

I believe we are given these moments when time sort stands still so we can hear the voice of God speaking into our spirits. If we will only listen, we will hear that still, small voice encouraging us to move into closer relationship with the One who loves us most. Listen...did you hear that?

No Guarantees

2008-04-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I heard that a friend from a church that I used to go to was, the previous Monday, suddenly stricken with a very serious medical condition and is even now in a Spokane hospital. Praise be to God that he is improving with each passing day and thanks to modern technology and a wonderful site called Caring Bridge we who know and love him are able to keep updated on his condition without pestering his family members without a zillion calls to their cell phones.

Stuff like this always makes me stop and think about how fragile our lives really are. This is a guy who is an athletic, fit, man about my age here he is in the hospital through no fault of his own. Something just went wrong in his body. It happens. And when it happens to someone you know and care about you can't help thinking, "There are no guarantees. We are not promised a tomorrow in this world." It sobers me.

It also makes me think of my friends who choose not to take care of their bodies. I pray for them and ask that God would help them see how important it is to not take this life, this one body they've been given, for granted. It can all be taken in a moment, whether it's a growth in your brain, cardiac arrest, diabetic coma, or cancer or any of a number of other maladies. There are simply no guarantees, but we can increase our odds of survival or recovery by taking steps, even baby steps, to choose healthier lifestyles.

My friend in Spokane has a better chance of recovering precisely because he had good muscle tone and was pretty fit...it makes his physical rehab shorter than a non-fit person.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding preachy and stepping on toes here, but as I approach (rapidly) my 50th birthday I'm more determined than ever to reduce my risks of chronic disease by choosing to eat better, exercise more regularly and lead an active life. It just feels better. I'm not a perfect picture of healthy living, and I don't think you have to be obsessive about it, but I am really loving the progress I'm making. And it's about progress, not perfection. There may not be any guarantees about my medical future, but there are certainly benefits to choosing active instead of sedentary, and healthy food instead of fat- and sugar-filled food.

I love you guys. Choose health!

Oh my...

2008-04-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I've been so remiss! I've had every intention of updating my blog on a regular basis, at least weekly since Easter. April 13 is here and I've written nary a word to my faithful readers. (I've heard through the grapevine that someone other than my friends Tom & Nadine and my wife actually read my blog...joy!) For those of you I affectionately call "lurkers," you know who you are...reading but leaving no comments...I want to clear up a misconception. You do not have to have a Blogger account to leave a comment on my blog. You are more than welcome to post a comment and you don't have to create an account. There...don't you feel better!

I was so inspired with the sunny, beautiful weather this weekend. For those of you still enduring nasty weather - I am sorry. I am truly am. At the same time I am extremely grateful for a couple of near-80 degree days with bright sunshine and few clouds. Ah....And, yes I had the top down whenever possible.

Hmmm....I've got too many thoughts wrestling for supremacy in my head. I am not sure how to organize or record them so, for now I am going to sign off to just that. I'll be back...eventually. ;-)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Easter seems like the perfect time to "resurrect" my blog from a coma of inactivity. Okay, sorry for the pun...it was there and I never have been able to resist the temptation to have pun, er, fun. We had a very different (for us) Easter this year. For the last few years our niece and her husband brought their little tribe of 3 children and our good friend brought her daughter over for an Easter Egg hunt and BBQ (weather permitting) or some other kind of meal together. This year our niece and her children had gone over the mountains and through the woods to grandmother's house...to live...temporarily...while Dad is off to training to become a Medic for the Oregon National Guard. So, this year we had only one child at our house, but she's so cute she could be several kids (yes, I am biased).

Easter's celebration wasn't the only thing different this year though. I've been challenged lately. Challenged to think differently and live differently. Over the course of the last few weeks, through wildly divergent sources including a couple of radio talk show hosts (Dave Ramsey and Dr. Laura), my own quiet time with the Lord, conversations with co-workers, my wife and this morning, my pastor's sermon, I've been challenged. If I had to correlate all the different things that were said that got my attention, it would probably be summed up in two phrases. First, was the ad for Dr. Laura's new book titled, Stop Whining and Start Living - haven't read it but the title got my attention. Second was a single sentence that came to mind as I was reading Ephesians 4:22-24, "What are you willing to sacrifice?"

You see, I had fallen into a feeling of discontent with my life. I wasn't depressed, exactly, but I was definitely discouraged. I'm turning 50 later this year and while I normally celebrate that fact with great enthusiasm, it had begun to sink in that I was nowhere near some of my life's most precious goals. I'd begun, well, whining about it, to be brutally honest. It wasn't pretty. Thankfully only a very few close to me had to endure it. Be grateful if you weren't one of them.

Something changed in my heart over the last 48 hours, though. I decided that all those diverse voices and messages were right. It was time to decide what to do about the things I've said I want to accomplish in my life. I've taken on a new, more productive way of thinking about those things. I've begun by taking stock of what is truly crucial to me. As it turns out...it's relationships. All those career, financial and ministry goals are great, but none of them are worth killing relationships. None of them. So I am taking a fresh look at my life now, and for the future and weighing everything in the balance of the impact each goal will have on my most important relationships. First with God, then my wife, then my closest friends and family...and so on...you get the picture. And funny enough, I find myself excited and content again. Ain't God great?

I've Been Tagged!

2008-03-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged, as have most of the people I know, whose blogs I could tag. Hmmm...what's a fellow to do. Well, first off I misread the instructions (what man reads instructions anyway) so I didn't grab the nearest book to me, I grabbed the book I've been reading.

Dancing in the Desert by Marsha Crockett pg. 123

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been mad, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
God in me. When I sense God in me, I have the power to change my outlook on ordinarily frustrating circumstances--like when I am dealing with people who are habitually late.

I haven't tagged anyone so I'm a big party pooper, I guess. But it's late, I'm tired and now I am going to bed. :)

Blessings to all the taggers!

A Psalm

2008-01-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

I am in the beginning chapters of a what promises to be an excellent book. Dancing in the Desert, by Marsha Crockett is about finding more of God when you are walking in the wilderness times of the spirit, often called the dark night of the soul. In that time, you are stripped of all that you once relied on so that you can learn to rely more fully on God.

At the beginning of each chapter, Marsha provides assignments to help you still your thoughts and focus on entering into God's presence. Chapter two begins with this suggestion.

Read Psalm 136. Consider how God's enduring love permeates every thought, action and circumstance. Write your own psalm in the style of Psalm 136, but use the list of faithful acts you recalled in the exercise above. Read your song of praise aloud.

I have to confess...I didn't write a list in the previous exercise, I just meditated and thought about a list. But as I wrote my psalm, the list sort created itself. Here it is, unedited, except for spelling and grammar where necessary.

Don's Psalm

When I was a child, lonely and afraid, You spoke comfort and peace to me.
Your mercies endure forever.
In my doubts about my worth, you sent teachers, friends and family to speak words of life and encouragement to me.
Your love and mercies endure forever.
When I sinned against You in my foolish rebellion, You forgave me and loved me and welcomed me back into Your arms.
Your mercies endure forever.
When I was sinned against and betrayed by those I loved most You brought assurance and peace to me.
Your loving kindness and mercies endure forever.
As my heart broke under the weight of loss You took me to places of healing and rest.
Your mercies endure forever.
You knit together what had been utterly broken.
Your mercies endure forever.
You made love grow from the ashes of brokenness and defeat.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have made wholeness and health where there was broken sickness of heart.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have given hope for today and excitement for tomorrow.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have shown Yourself faithful in all things, through all things and my love for You sings and dances in worship to You.
Your love endures forever.
You now allow me to speak, sing, dance, hug and pray Your life-giving love into others.
Your mercies endure forever.
You are greatly to be praised for You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.
Praise be to God whose mercies endure forever!

That Thing You Do

2008-01-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking. Dangerous territory for me, but I ventured out there and did it anyway. :) You see, I've been trying to organize my thoughts so I can be more consistent about posting to my little online world here, but every time I think about it, I get...more confused.

Jen(n)'s commenton my last post, "Now that I've taught with you I know you have a ton to share!!!"really got my attention and made me think. The truth is, that I really do have a lot to share. So, why do I find it so hard to write a few words in a semi-organized fashion on my blog consistently? I think I may know the answer.

I am verbal. I like to share by talking. I love to share what's going on inside of me, but I also like seeing and hearing what is going on inside you. I want to hear about that thing you do. I feed on that interaction with my friends, relatives, co-workers, and strangers (friends I haven't met yet). Get me started on nearly any topic I am even remotely interested in and I am a sharing son-of-a-gun. Yakity-yak!

Writing seems like so much work, because I am constantly analyzing what I put on the page. Did I spell that right? (I'm a decent speller, but a lousy typist.) Is my "creativity" with rules of punctuation and grammar acceptable? Am I sharing something that is best left to the privacy of a conversation with close friends? All these things and more swirl around in my head and I find myself making excuses for not posting another day.

The truth is, I love receiving your comments - it spurs me on to fight through the confusion and helps me to know that someone actually gets something out of what I write. I especially like to lighten your day. But sometimes, I'll get serious too, because life isn't all about the laughs.

Thanks again readers, and especially commentators. You inspire me. I'll do my best to return the favor!

Random "thots"

2007-12-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

I just can't help it. I am a little competitive by nature. Not about all things, and I don't absolutely have to win to enjoy a competition, but I am currently getting shellacked here! What is kicking my proverbial behind you may ask?

My wife! She has turned into a blogging machine and I can't keep up. And it's good stuff! If you haven't read Furiously Loved lately because she hadn't written in so long...do yourself a favor and go there next She's been cranking out one profound post after another.

This is all very well, thank you except that I've always been the wordy one in the family - if you know what I mean. I've always had something to say, and sometimes it's been profound or provocative or, at least fun to read. I've sat down in front of the computer many, many times in the last couple of weeks to write and each time, I've gone blank. OY!

OK - enough of that.

I was very moved Sunday by what my friend and Pastor, Tom, shared in his message. He's doing a series on Matthew 5:1-12, commonly called The Beatitudes. You can hear the messages for yourself on our church's website.

This week's message was centered on Matthew 5:8 "God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God." (NLT)

I was very convicted by a particular statement Tom made...it went something like this, "You want to know how pure your heart is? Then pay attention to where your thoughts go when you are alone and nobody else is around." That's not a direct quote, and may be a paraphrase, but it's what stuck in my head.

Where do my thoughts go when I'm alone? I have to admit that too often my thoughts go...astray. I am reminded again that I need a Savior and grace and mercy! Wow, I try so hard to follow after God with all my heart, mind and strength. I really do...but if I'm brutally honest, I think I would, at best, get a "C to C+" on my "pure heart report card". I can go off on wild tangents that have nothing whatsoever to do with pleasing my God in a nanosecond.

To my credit, I am much better at recognizing these little jaunts into soulishness and distraction and reigning my thoughts back to reality. And really, that's what I cling to. I absolutely know that my God loves me. I am His child, the delight of His eyes. He doesn't expect, nor demand instant perfection. So I take comfort in the knowing that He has, in fact, factored in my stupidity, my wild hair thoughts and even my imperfect attempts to 'take every thought captive.'

It is good to be a child of the most patient, loving, kind, gentle, merciful Father. I can rest in that, even while taming my random "thots" I think. So as I, may I say...we... wrestle with submitting our thought lives to the Spirit, repenting when we need to, building our faith in Him, and being cleansed by the Blood, we can look eagerly forward to seeing God. Not just in the afterlife, but in the here and now. Not just metaphorically, but really, really see God. I long for that experience of seeing my loving God, whether it is in a vision or dream or some other spiritual context. I want to see Him. I want to know Him.

Purify my heart oh, God and renew a right spirit within me!

What if?

2007-11-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

I often find myself asking that question about the stuff of life. What if I had been tall - would I have pursued athletics more aggressively? What if I'd taken that turn instead of that turn? Would I have gotten into a wreck? What if I told that person how badly that negative comment really hurt me? Would they be sorry or just say they were sorry?

What if the church could learn to love and appreciate one another's differences instead of obsessing on how to phrase our argument to win the others to our way of thinking? What if the church gave each different movement, denomination, or body the freedom to express their love for Christ in the way that stirred their hearts and be excited for one another's uniqueness?

What if all the world needed really is just love, sweet love? Can we do that church? Can we just allow ourselves to give love, sweet love to a hurting world? What if we could relate to people without judgment, criticism or instruction on the right way to look, feel and move...and just love them with God's sweet love.

And what if, just think about this...what if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about? :)

I'm B-A-C-K

2007-11-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, I had no idea it had been so long since my last post. Sheesh. Sorry faithful readers (all three of you :-]).

A lot has happened since last I posted a post in blog-land. I've turned another year older, started the process of learning to make wine (mentored by my friend and wine maker extraordinaire, John - aka Ratatouille), painted the exterior of my house, started repainting/decorating a guest/meditation room in our house, spent a long weekend with my beautiful bride and some precious friends in a beach house on the Oregon coast, and booked a reservation for a condo in Fiji for next year.

So, while I haven't been blogging, I haven't exactly been sloughing off either. I am having so much fun! Oh, yeah, and I work too - and it isn't always fun, but I am usually able to have a laugh or two at work - often at my own expense - because I find that laughter truly is the best medicine.

So I'm not going to get all thoughtful and deep in this post. I just wanted to get myself back on track to start writing again...sort of ease myself back into writing shape, if you will.

And I promise I won't take so long before the next post...I promise.

That's a Lotta Wattah

2007-09-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, 20,000 bottles of it - actually just a little less, because we drank a bunch as we unloaded it from the truck. Part of the gig when our Spiritual Dream Interpretation Cafe team arrives at Burning Man is to unload the big ol' rental truck full of water. It was all hands on deck and you could tell that this was going to be a special group of people to work with. No one complained. No one did less than their fair share. No one slipped out of the activity for even fraction of time.

We all worked hard and together, in unity. A great sign of a great time to come. I have the honor of being in fellowship with a bunch of awesome people at the Three Rivers Bridge and close friends at the Desert Rock Bridge. In both places there are many, many like-minded people who easily put away selfishness and work for a common good. But in all my 48 years, I've never met such a unified team of strangers as I did at Burning Man 2007.

This Wednesday, as our creative worship night (which my wife facilitates) was getting started Ratatouille and I shared a bit more about our experience there. I was struck again by this thought. We went there at least partially to bring back a knowing of how much can be done by a few people who are willing to lay down their personal agendas and work in complete unity and submission to their leadership. We took some time to ask Creator to download and impart to each of our brothers and sisters there, the sense of unity we experienced at Burning Man so we could fully participate in the promise of this coming season in our fellowship.

I am profoundly and forever marked by the experience of working alongside such a phenomenal group of people. Even more amazing is that most of us met for the first time just two days before Burning Man opened it 'gates' for the 2007 Burn and already we had begun forming friendships - true, for real friendships.

Encounter after encounter with Burners who were looking for 'something more' and having the honor to listen and participate directly with Fuego (fire in Spanish), Fire Rose, Johnny B Good, Rocket, Spotted Eagle, Rhonda, Altered, Randy and MVP through the week was - amazing. Insight, discernment, revelation, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, mercy and tons of love were poured out on hungry people and they absolutely were changed by it. That doesn't even count the many others on the team with whom I didn't work with on a team, but got to know during meal times and breaks.

If I can bring anything back to my town, my friends, and my fellowship, I hope it is the humility to work together in complete unity to help lost and hurting people of this world find their true destiny. Just think - a bunch of pagans worked in unity to build a tower to reach the heavens. They were succeeding at such a rate that even Creator spoke and said that if they worked together there was NOTHING they could not do. Nothing.

Surely we who share a common faith and love for Him can unite to share His love with a hurting world. Surely it must be His heartbeat that drives the rhythm of our love for each other and the lost. Can we make it our aim to lay down our personal agendas for that goal? I KNOW we can - I've just seen 48 talented, gifted, diverse people do it - and do it with excellence!

What's on Your Menu?

2007-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Some of you have let me know, through comments on my wife's blog, that you're anxiously awaiting to hear my take on the trip to Burning Man 2007.

It's getting late (for me) so this will be a brief posting - an appetizer - for more to come.

My heart is so full after a week on the Playa. I have been processing with my wife and friends and I feel as if part of me is still there. It is a surreal feeling. In reality we were only gone 10 days, but it sometimes feels like that 10 days represents the 'real' world and my workaday world here is the one that is temporary. Strange, I know, but I am not sure how else to describe the sensations I am working through.

I wanted to start my posts about our trip with the key to our stay there -the Spiritual Menu from which we served our guests of honor, the Burners. Inspired by the Seven Spirits, we offered a full menu from which our guests could choose. As I talked with folks who served in different groups over the week, it seemed that each group had predominant themes unique to them. My current theory on that is that Creator led the hosts to lead people to groups where the particular gift mix of the team was best suited for that particular menu item. All of the teams I served on, for instance, were dominated by requests for spiritual cleansing (three different leaders and team mates).

More than any other experience I've had, the encounters we had were longer in duration and deeper in impact. Our guests came to the 'table' hungry for a spiritual encounter and were, more often than not, changed dramatically by their encounter with the Spirit of Light.

I'm ruined for anything less. I fell in love with the Burners. I am humbled to accepted and loved by them, and for the opportunity to love on them. For most of the encounters I participated in, our new friends received deeper spiritual touches than many who consider themselves spiritual. They came in open and expectant to have something happen. I loved the comment reported by one of our leaders, that after a particularly deep and healing encounter a guest said, "My eyes have the same light in them as all of you have in yours! How did you do that?"

Well...WE didn't. The Spirit of Light simply answered their invitation to live inside them.

Ready, Set....

2007-08-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's almost time to go! And, no, I don't have a nice orangey-yellow flame job in my hair. My hair stylist had gotten the idea from a co-worker that Burning Man was mostly middle-aged and older people and thought the flames would be too 'young'. Ya just gotta look at the website to realize this probably is a misconception, but I AM a newbie and her co-worker's dad has been several times, so I didn't argue.

Things are happening and my 'spidey sense' is tingling with anticipation for the next two weeks - probably the most intense two weeks of my life so far. I spent a good part of the evening tonight working on my wife's car that suddenly decided to die in the grocery store parking lot. New battery and all is good...except for that lockdown bolt that fell into the fascia where no human can reach it. Ah well...

I am so amped, it doesn't even matter. I am ready to rock and roll in the desert and touch lives with God's wild, fierce, unconditional love. Yep. That's the good stuff. Whether it's in the semi-arid lands of the Benton-Franklin County Fair or in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, I am as ready as I can be, and as unprepared for the full reality as is normal for a new experience.

Life truly is a very big adventure!

Dyeing to Self

2007-07-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

I waited a while to post this because I didn't want to ruin the fun...for me, that is, of seeing my friends faces when they saw new 'do for the first time. I am so glad I waited. What a hoot!

For those of you who actually read my little corner of the web, thank you. Your reactions have absolutely made the change so worth it! If I'd have known the reaction would be so widespread and vigorous, I think I may have done it years ago.

The reactions do bring me to an unmistakable conclusion. Shaking things up once in a while helps keep life very interesting and fun. After all, hair color, unlike a tattoo, is not permanent. It is merely short-term thing that can be quite easily fixed if it's bad. The reactions have ranged from quiet smiles, rolling eyes and shaking heads (older folks I work with) to very encouraging words like 'Dude, I like it!' (from my younger friends) and everything in between. You'd think I'd changed my face. Many people I know well hardly recognize me at first. All in all, I am having a blast.

Kudos to Melissa from Reflections Salon for having the creative vision to see the 'new me' and bringing it into being. Who knows what's next - maybe a 'flame job' to complete the makeover? "Only my hairdresser knows for sure."

Finis!

2007-07-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's finally done! We put the last, finishing touch on my mom & dad's bathroom today. Project complete. Boy, does it feel good to have finished. As promised, here are the pix. Please forgive the quality. We forgot to take the good camera (again), so these were taken with a camera phone.

Virtually everything is new except the toilet, which you probably don't want to see anyway, the mirror, and the vanity cabinet. :) Since the pix will tell the story better than I, I'll let them do the talking.

The Shower, which was the whole point of starting this project.

And, yes, that really is a lot of tile. Way more work than I had counted on, that's for sure. But I am pleased with the way it turned out, overall. Of course, every time I walk in I see the flaws, but it's functional, clean, new and my parents are thrilled so I am happy with it.

On to my own house where we are freshening the paint in a couple of rooms and on the exterior to get it ready to sell. When? Who knows. If we got a ridiculously high offer on it, I would move tomorrow. :)

Peace!

Finishing Strong

2007-06-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long haul, but we are almost finished with the remodel of my parents' bathroom. We've been working on it since late February, using a ton of vacation time, evenings and weekends. The shower has been functional for a couple of weeks now, so we're down to the final finishing touches. Some trim here, repaint there, the details are all that's left.

Through the process, I've been given several opportunities to "call it good" and leave it mostly finished...ugly, but functional. And every time it's come up, I've had to decline the opportunity to bag it, tired as I was, because it didn't yet fit the picture I had in my mind when I started.

Life is like that, isn't it? We work, toil and press on, sometimes through seemingly impossible circumstances and constantly we hear the whispers. "You've earned your rest, just go ahead and stop. Everyone will understand." "No one really cares, you know...just let it go." And when you're tired and worn out, if you don't keep your eyes on the end game, on the finish line, on finishing strong - you can listen and you can rationalize easing up or even quitting.

That's just what Satan wants. He knows that the only real victory he can win over a Christ-filled person is to get them to quit. That's why discouragement and depression are two of his favorite weapons. Paired with fatigue, he has successfully ended the journey to destiny for countless millions of believers.

So wake up to the enemy's scheme. Don't give in and don't give up. As Winston Churchill's famous graduation speech so eloquently puts it, "Never, never, never quit."

Finish strong!

Oldfangled Ideas

2007-06-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

As I was thinking of what to write, I was tempted to call this post Newfangled Ideas but I realized that the ideas in question are really just new to me, and maybe to you. Others have had, or known of, these ideas throughout history.

I learned more this weekend about the power of belief than I had thought possible. After all, I'd made a sort of study of that sort of thing many years ago. I learned then that if you truly believed something, you would act in such as way as to make it come to pass. It's called the law of attraction by some. By some it is described in this way, "What you focus on, you make room for*." I had become cynical in my study. I'd read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich (I don't recommend it unless you're really into deliverance). I'd taken a class based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I'd helped facilitate some of the workshops and it seemed to all come down to a common denominator.

Take truths from scripture (usually Proverbs), strip out the references to God, repackage them in secular humanistic language and make MILLIONS of dollars and build a personality cult. It seemed to me to all come down to making money off the poor saps who desperately wanted to have it all and who were willing to spend a large percentage of their incomes to get there, only to find out that the principles don't always work. At least not for the vast majority of us.

Why?

This weekend, I learned a big part of the answer from a Christian perspective and it makes total sense. You see, Jesus did say we could do all things if only we believed and had faith. So the principle is truth established by God and manifested in Jesus. The difference is that He had no unbeliefs swimming around in his sub-concious mind. We do. We have these areas of unbelief, many of which can be formed at early ages and unless we "reprogram" that area of unbelief, we will self-destruct in our attempts to succeed. We have to get rid of judgments against ourselves and others. We have to accept ourselves. We have to fully believe.

We, the Church, have all the reason in the world to believe for miracles of healing, resurrection from the dead, signs and wonders for our FOUNDER manifested all those things and left with the reassurance that we would do even greater things than these. So why aren't we? Why are so many in the Church running on empty?

Let's take up the challenge to look at our unbelief and challenge it with truth. Let's start believing, truly believing for the miracles and let GOD do the deciding, eh? Don't ya know our enemy will just hate that? Don't ya know there is a dying world out there desperate for the supernatural reality of Christ in us? Let's just do it.

* I just received a comment that I had misquoted someone so I've corrected it inline with the rest of the text. Somehow, I merged two statements into a single quote. The actual two thoughts are these, "What you focus on, you make room for. What you fear, you empower." My apologies for the mistake and thank you, Greg for the correction - and for reading my blog!

It's Been a Hard Day's Night...

2007-05-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

We took tonight off - from working on the bathroom at my parents' house, from going anywhere. We just needed some down time...and it feels so good to just relax with my sweetie on the couch with a nice glass of wine and TIVO.

In case you're wondering where I've been the last few weeks, I now have some preliminary pictures of the work in progress. Mind you, these were taken with a camera phone and the walls are only half done here (they are 3/4 done in reality and we're going over to finish the install tomorrow - grout will have to wait until later).

As you can see here, we installed an new cultured marble vanity top with a built-in sink and added a tile backsplash. That's the pattern Di figured out and cut! It replaces a 60's era putty-colored laminate countertop and mint green sink.

Better, huh. Oh, yeah the outlet, towel ring, faucet and lighting are all new too.

The next shot is looking at the wall that will have the shower fixtures, when we finish the tile. It, in fact is the only wall that doesn't currently have tile to the ceiling...because of the cut outs for the fixtures.

It really is starting to look like a room again and my parents are extremely grateful and blessed at the results. I don't think they had any idea what we were planning we started, but they trusted us to take care of the details and we're doing our best to keep that trust.

Anyway, that's what has been occupying most of our time recently, and will continue to do so until we are finished. Thanks for your encouragement, and patience with us.

Time Flies...

2007-05-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it had been since I've posted a blog entry! Time really does seem to fly, even when you're just busy and not necessarily having fun. ;-) And we have been very busy. As my lovely bride mentions in her last post, we have helped with a wedding and reception (where my friend Sam and I grilled over 60 steaks), become all too familiar with our local hospital (visiting my Mom on her trips there), and the BEAST.

No, I'm not referring to the Anti-Christ...just the bathroom remodel at my parents' house. Have you ever volunteered for something because it was the right thing to do and seemed like it be relatively easy? Then you get into the project and you realize how big it really is? After all these years of working on my own house, you would think that I would have a clue, but once again my optimism about how a project will go got the better of my memory and experience. After weeks of demo, prep and more prep, and finding (and waiting weeks for) new fixtures, and learning more about plumbing code than I ever wanted to know, we actually put some tile on the wall yesterday. YES!

Okay, it was just the back splash/accent row around the counter and sink, but it was TILE and it was a beautiful pattern designed by my wife. She's got the art/design/math skills to pull something like that off. While I love the design, and was thinking of something similar, I am particularly bad at the math and measuring. Not Di. She designed, measured and cut the tiles, while I prepped the walls with backer board. She did an awesome job. We installed the back splash last night and everything fit perfectly. It's really beautiful and I am so proud of her.

When it's all done, I'll post pictures. My goal is to finish before next weekend, so I am taking a minimum of two days off this week, probably four. :) Because when you are closing in the finish line, time just flies!

Sometimes It's the Little Things

2007-04-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I must say I am a happier camper tonight. I've watched God work a miracle over the last 24 hours and I'm just plain excited. My mom improved so much over the last 24 hours that her physician had the ventilator removed this early evening. She's back on a small nose tube to supply oxygen. MAJOR answer to prayer.

How dramatic was this? We were told that if everything went as they (hospital staff) hoped, she might be taken off the ventilator Wednesday morning...if she was ready. They were very cautious. Tonight, while Di and I were sitting with her in the early evening, her attending physician came in, checked her readings, charts and her and declared, with some excitement, that he saw no reason to keep the tube in.

How could this happen - from near death experience yesterday to breathing well today? I have only one answer. God answers prayer. So, while most of us take this whole breathing thing for granted, I have to say that for us it was a very big "little thing" that made our whole night!

Okay, I got a little somethin'

2007-04-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

What I got right now, is a whole lot of need for prayer for my mama! We almost lost her today. It's a very sobering thought.

My brother drove 3.5 hours to stay with my dad today, just to keep him company. He'd called me yesterday and asked if I thought it was a good idea or was he worrying too much. I thought it would encourage dad so I strongly encouraged him to come.

And it's a good thing he did. While visiting this early afternoon, my mom started having an extremely hard time breathing - gasping for air. My dad kind of froze, not knowing what to do, so my brother took steps - a few of them actually, to the nurse's station, requesting help. The next thing they knew the room was full with a respiratory team and a cardiologist who "just happened" to be on the floor at the time looking in on a patient he'd operated on. They worked quickly to get her 'intubated' (ventilator) and under heavy sedation.

Within an hour or so she started to stabilize a bit, her oxygen levels showing an upward trend. All in all, a very scary few hours.

I Got Nuthin'

2007-04-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

It must be something in the air. All of a sudden, I only think is short phrases...after that, "I got nuthin'!" Seriously, it is one of those rare (for me) seasons in my life where I have very little to say. (Right now, someone reading this blog needs CPR...QUICK CALL A WAHHH-MBULANCE!)

I am pretty sure it's because I have been under some relatively heavy mental and emotional strain. Work's been tense as there have been layoffs and I was, until about 3 weeks ago, in a very precarious position. In fact, I accepted an offer that is approximately four steps down on the ladder and has little or no room for growth in order to stabilize my situation. Last week, four people in my division were laid off. I am firmly convinced that taking the 'lesser' job kept me employed. I think of all the lessons in my life and the one that stands out right now is that humility is in my future...so be proactive! By not letting my ego get the best of me I was able to continue to work and, in fact, my new position has the potential to be very fun and exciting.

Through all the adversity, of which work is only one small part, I hang on to the fact that I am in the protective arms of a loving Father. He is not surprised, nor is He on the defensive, trying to make sure I'm alright. Just the opposite, in fact, He is orchestrating events in order to help me reach my destiny in Him. The character I need to fulfill my destiny is shaped in adversity. Strongholds that create obstacles are revealed and broken in adversity.

To borrow from a famous opening line (with my apologies to Charles Dickens), it is the best of times and it is the worst of times. After that, I got nuthin'. At least until next time. Peace and blessings to you and yours. "And God bless us, everyone!"

I'm Just Sayin'

2007-04-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

We recently had another conference (man we are blessed with conferences this year) and I am now catching myself using a favorite catch-phrase of our speaker, "I'm just sayin'!" Hah! I smile every time I even think about it. Why? Because he used it (very effectively, I might add) to help soften some pretty bold and strong statements.

I find that I'm using it more often for humor with my wife lately, but I've tucked it very neatly into my toolkit for those situations that may require an ever-so-mild disclaimer. :) Not that I need disclaimers mind you...well, okay...maybe I need them sometimes. Uh, okay several times. Oh, fine! Most of the time. Whatever! I'm just sayin' it's handy to have little things like that tucked away to help defuse tense situations. That's all I'm sayin'.

Wave Upon Wave

2007-04-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing the chorus of one of my favorite songs in my head over the last few days. You know how you get a song "stuck" in your head and it just won't seem to leave? Often it's a song you may not like so much, but in this case it's a song I love, so I don't mind. Anyway, in the chorus are the words, "Waves of mercy, Waves of grace".

What great picture as we think of God's infinite capacity to love us with mercy and grace. Every time I sing or hear that song (okay, I'll admit it, I sing it every time I hear it) I think of the ocean. And every time I'm standing on the beach, watching the waves roll in, I think of the song. I am profoundly moved by the power of the ocean and every time I'm near it, I am reminded that God, even more so than the ocean, is dynamic, full of movement, full of life and if we can catch the wave, we can experience the ride of a lifetime.

Or, if we choose, we can learn His ways and train, and practice and dive deep beneath the surface -- seeing new life forms that we would never see otherwise. We can, if we choose to dive deep, see utterly alien-looking forms of life that, in an indirect way, contribute to the whole of our life's experience. Just like deep things of the Spirit, the sea creatures are always there, we simply don't see them unless we choose to go deeper. And we cannot go deeper without equipping ourselves and training to do so.

Let's go deeper and experience the currents of the Spirit and see new life where we've never gone before. Let's train and equip ourselves to enter the "alien" world of the deep ways of God. Let's swim in the currents that create the waves of mercy and grace!

Dive into the depths of God's ways. Then rise to the surface so we can catch the waves of mercy and wave of grace and waves of His unchanging love for us!

Dive, dive, dive! Ride, ride, ride!

Dinner with Friends

2007-03-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight was awesome! We started the outdoor grilling season by having a group of our dear friends over. Good steaks, good wine, wonderful salad and delicious appetizers. What could be better? Seriously, how great is it when you can have a group of people who individually, and as a group, bring such joy and encouragement to your life?

We feel so blessed to have a group of people with whom we can be totally real, totally ourselves and we just love each other. All of us have gone through some very tough seasons individually, and some of those tough seasons affected all of us. And through it all, we became even closer. There's grace here to simply be whatever we are in the moment and know that we'll be loved through it. Accountability? Yeah we got that - through grace and mercy and love for one another. No judgment, no condescension...grace, mercy and love. It's too rare in our too-busy western culture. In fact we were talking last night about it. None of us have ever experienced this kind of group closeness in our entire lives.

Thanks to a kind and loving God who teaches us how to be true friends. Now if only there weren't so many dishes to wash! :)

Life! Life is a very great adventure!

2007-03-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

One of the last lines delivered in the 1991 movie, Hook, was by Peter who now thought that living, not dying would be a very great adventure. It's always made me smile. That and the little Lost Boy who said good-bye to Pan with, "That was a great game!" have stuck with me over the years.

I am not sure why, but I think because it embodies the optimism that is so much a part of who I am - or at least who I try to be. I just love the attitude that living is both a great adventure and a great game. We are meant to have fun in this life. We are meant to face challenges that would try to defeat and tear us down. When we refuse to stay down, when we look to our Maker and declare His TRUTH, nothing can truly beat us. We are HIS and He will not allow us to be defeated permanently - unless we turn away from His love.

That's the one danger we believers face. Believing our circumstances can possibly, even remotely, be bigger than God. Believing that God has turned His face from us and isn't looking after our best interests. Oh, that can be a terrible burden.

So how do you keep your wits about you in dreadful circumstances? Do the thing that confounds the senses - praise Him. Worship Him. Adore Him. Give your entire being to giving God the honor due His Holy Name!

Wow - circumstances may not, probably will not, change, but you will. Your heart will sing and maybe, if you listen, you'll hear the echo that comes back to you from heaven as God sings over you (Zech. 3:17). The reverberation of your praises sung back to you by your Father, who loves you with a fierceness that cannot be quenched.

SING! PLAY! DANCE! For life is a very great adventure!

Fun Stuff, This Visual DNA

2007-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks for heads-up Tom... Very fun indeed.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Agin' Ain't for Wimps

2007-03-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I came face to face with a very harsh reality. My parents are old and they're really starting to show it...especially my mom. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with getting old - I want to do it myself some day (though some of my young friends at church will tell you I'm already there). But they are truly getting old. Mom's 85 and Dad's 89.

This weekend the rose-colored veil of denial was rudely pulled from my face as I came to terms with the fact that my Mom's health is in serious decline. No one killer thing, you understand, but the combination of being 85 and having numerous medical issues that limit her mobility and balance. When we accompanied them to her doctor's appointment Monday, it happened. He said that horrible thing doctors say, "Enjoy your life, do the things you want, and try not to fall." Stark reality. There is nothing medical science can do. Just, "Enjoy your life..." with the inference being clear. Drat! My rosy veil all torn to shreds in one sentence.

What I am coming to terms with is that 85 is good, long time to live and it ain't over 'til its over. God will decide how much longer I have to enjoy my mom's company, but I can guarantee you that we will indeed enjoy life, because we know the Giver of Life. We also know that our parting here is only temporary. We'll see one another again, so we're not saying good-bye at all anyway, just "see ya later." And we don't have to say that just yet either. Thank you God, for the good times and hard times and the inevitability of our mortality. It keeps things in perspective to know that we don't have unlimited time and that we can make the most of the time we do have, because You are Life and Life Abundant!

Things that make you go,"Hmmmm"

2007-02-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

I was privileged to attend a conference this weekend that was chock full of things that made me go, "Hmmmm..." I heard new things about the history of the Hebrew language that fascintated and provoked an intense interest to study more about the ancient pictographic language used before the modern Hebrew alphabet was created. I learned new and interesting things about pursuing intimacy with God and how He can use our loneliness as a catalyst to greater intimacy with Him.

I watched a very gifted man deliver four intense, deep, thought- and spirit-provoking talks with no notes, prompted to by his own depth of study and, more importantly, his own intimate relationship with his Heavenly Father. For hours, I sat mesmerized not by slick delivery or smooth presentation skills, but by a "knowing," deep in my spirit, that this man had paid a great price for this knowledge and intimacy, but he'd paid the dues and could now speak with great authority on the subject. The words he spoke carried an almost tangible weight because of the authority he had to speak. This man knew things from his experience with God that went far beyond the obvious scholarly work he had done. Oh, he'd studied in an academic fashion to be sure, but his depth was not because of knowledge, it was due to his deep understanding.

In my experience with life thus far, I have come to believe that understanding does not come from mere information. I can read and study and know things, but to understand them I have to experience them in some way. For instance, I know a thing or two about computers, as do many of you, but I really know certain programs, like Word and PowerPoint, because I have a depth of experience with them. That understanding allows me to think through odd quirks we run across at work, not from a memory of a certain thing, but an understanding of how many things relate to one another and thus form a more complete picture.

It was the same with Jim Driscoll this weekend. His study was enhanced and knowledge had become understanding because he's done more than just read his bible and study the original language. He's experienced God in very tangible ways that have lent him an understanding of God's ways.

My direction for this year has been "prepare" for greater understanding. This weekend of teaching has given me an even greater hunger to do just that, and now I have a greater sense of how to pursue and get that understanding. Thank you, God, for Jim's example and clarity. Thank you for an inspiration that has led to a direction, that will lead to understanding.

Hero Syndrome :)

2007-02-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

My friend, Tom, posted this cool link on his site so I had to go take the test. Turns out I am most like my favorite superhero, SpiderMan. That worked out nicely. :)

So who would you be? Go check it out on the link provided below.

Spider-Man	90%
Green Lantern	80%
Superman	70%
Wonder Woman	60%
Supergirl	60%
The Flash	60%
Robin	50%
Iron Man	50%
Catwoman	35%
Hulk	35%
Batman	20%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

A Life Lived Well...

2007-02-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

We attended the funeral of today of someone we've only known for a short time, and primarily through a mutual friend. We didn't know her well, and I am not a fan of funerals...so what compelled us to go?

The love of our mutual friend for this person. You see, we love our mutual friend and whom she loves, we love. Her heart is so big and so generous and so kind, it is impossible to think too ill of someone with whom she is so enamored. No, this wasn't a romantic love. This was love for a woman who lived well.

In her funeral service today, there was an "open mic" sharing time and the theme I heard over and over was that this was a woman who lived life to the fullest. She was a kindergarten teacher, long retired, and the children who had been her students, now grown with children of their own, remembered her as their favorite teacher. Longtime friends, and there were many, remembered that she was as strong and determined as the tide and yet gentle and soft-spoken with a word of encouragement for everyone she met.

We met her as the mother of our friend's "male friend," although I don't think they were officially dating for a couple of years. "Mama" attended some of our house parties. Our friends gather as often as we can to eat too much good food, drink wine we hope is good, and then settle down to play and sing worship songs. Mama had come from a more traditional, hymn-singing church tradition, but the joy on her face and the LIGHT in her eyes were all she needed to communicate that though she may not have known the lyrics, she knew the heart from which they came. She was a worshipper. And she became Mama to all of us in some way.

Today, in a small farming community, so many gathered to pay their respects and honor Mama that they had to set up a video feed and sound in an adjacent building to hold the overflow crowd. She'd touched so many. Hers was truly a life lived well.

We'll miss you Mama. Thank you for your smiles, your laughter, your joy and zest for life. Thank you for loving our friend and loving us with such complete acceptance. May we all learn from this remarkable woman that a kind deed, an encouraging word, and deep love for others are the legacy we should strive to leave behind. May we all live life so well.

Back to Reality...For Real

2007-02-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah...another "coastie" picture - just another beautiful sunset from our balcony at Seaside. This is from the camera in my phone because it's what I had handy - but it's pretty good, I think. I am hooked on sunsets at the beach, but here I am, back in our little home office with freezing temperatures outside and most of a week back at work under my belt.

Could somebody pass the beach reality back this way, please?!?

I have to tell you that without a doubt, I was wired for fun and frolic. I go to work every day and I do my very best because I feel responsible to the folks who make it possible for me to live in a snug little house and eat decent food and enjoy a fair share of gadgets, toys and conveniences. But I cannot say that I am enjoying work at the moment. Parts of it are great - I love teaching classes and working with people to solve their perplexing computer issues. (Yeah, in case you didn't know it, I'm kind of a geeky person. Not a super nerd, but geeky. I love electronic gadgets, but frankly I don't care about the circuits and wiring. I love great design in a gadget, design that makes things easy to use....but I digress) But for the most part, there is a tremendous amount of stress in my work life and I cannot see what the stress is really accomplishing, except to give me headaches and tempting me to buy lottery tickets.

I was thinking about this "wiring issue" again this week back at work. I've long joked that I want to be full time "Minister of Fun." I just know that in this performance-driven, Type-A world in which we live there is a place for learning to how to relax and just enjoy the moment. When we went to Maui, they told us not to be in a rush, but to relax and enjoy "Island Time". I adapted immediately.

I prefer not wearing a watch, for instance. I love just soaking in the experience of whatever I am doing at the moment - watching the waves dance on the beach, talking with friends, sipping a good Syrah (or Cab or Cab-Merlot, or Sangiovese, or Viognier...you get the idea), grilling up a great steak, and most of all, spending time with my bride of 20 years.

I guess what I'm saying is...if there is such a thing as a ministry to people who need to learn to just relax and enjoy life in the moment...SIGN ME UP! That's what I want to do. I have deep desire to see people released from bondage of time and performance. Organization and efficiency and diligence are great - in balance...I am just saying that if you DON'T know how to relax and have fun...we need to spend some time together. Island time. Trust me.

Back to Reality...Almost

2007-01-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Earlier this evening we returned from our annual anniversary vacation. This year we trekked over the mountains and through the woods to Seaside, Oregon. As the name implies it is a beach town. Of the Oregon beach towns with which I am familiar, it is perhaps the campiest - with fun family activities like bumper cars, bumper boats, go-karts and...you guessed it, helicopter rides. Yep, my wife of 20 years and I took our very first helicopter ride on this trip and WOW - was it FUN! Our pilot, Gary, took us on a "low and slow" aerial tour of Seaside over to the neighboring town of Cannon Beach. It was smooth and the visibility was unreal. We could see Mt. Rainier in the distance.

We felt so blessed in so many different ways on this trip. First, on our drive down, we were able to meet with some dear friends who were on their lunch break for a Streams 101 class they were teaching in Portland - what a treat. Hope the class went well y'all! I am sure it did as three of our best were doing their thing there.

Since our check-in time wasn't until 4:00 pm, we took detour (okay, a rather long detour) to Lincoln City and the Tanger Outlet Mall. Now, I have to admit, I am not so into the shopping thing. I am a hunter-gatherer. I like to know exactly what I am looking for, go in to the store, grab it, buy it, bag it and go home. My wife...not so much. So we spent some time (and money) cruising through some shops there. Fortunately, Di was anxious to get to the beach so we only cruised three stores before heading north to our destination.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Seaside. I realized, several miles out of Lincoln City that we were very low on gas and that I'd forgotten all about filling up in my haste to head north. A few miles...okay several miles south of Pacific City (and about 80+ miles away from Seaside), the warning light for our fuel tank came on. Hmmm. Di started studying the map in earnest, calculating how many miles we had in the tank versus how many miles it was to the nearest gas station, which would be Pacific City. I said nothing about it, but I was getting pretty concerned that I was going to be getting some unwanted exercise that night. Fortunately, God was smiling upon us and we pulled up to the gas station with 1/2 gallon of gas left in the tank. Thank you God!

The favor was just beginning. We decided to have dinner (supper for you Southerners) in a microbrewery/pub called the Pelican. We'd eaten there just last October when we'd come to Pacific City with our friends Sam & Diana so we knew this beach side pub offered good eats and really smooth Scottish Ale. So we went in to this normally packed establishment and were promptly seated on the beach side (which is all windows) and were treated to a gorgeous sunset while we nibbled on appetizers and awaited our meal.

Onward, with full tummies and very happy taste buds, we checked into our room around 9:00'ish. Oh, did I mention our room? No? Well, I must fix that now. We are owners of WorldMark, The Club. This is a vacation property club - not timeshare, but similar in some ways in that most of the properties are condominiums. Very nice condominiums. If you're curious, check out http://www.trendwest.com. If you get interested, let us refer you. You'll be glad you did and so will we. :) So, back to the room. We had reserved a space a year ago because we could and because we wanted something very specific...ocean side. Oh, yeah. Our living room and our bedroom had full ocean views. Actually, the other bedroom did too, but we didn't spend any time in there. SWEET!

That's the view at sunset last night. Di was standing at one end of our balcony, I was about in the middle. To my left, on the balcony is a gas grill on which were a couple of fine tenderloin steaks. It was a cool room with an absolutely stunning view. We were on the fourth floor.

Oh...did you happen to notice that I'm outside in a sweatshirt, no coat, in January? Oh yeah, the daytime highs were in the upper 50's to mid-60's and sunny. SUNNY! On the Oregon coast! In January for goodness sakes! WOO HOO! Favor...blessing...and we thanked God for it every hour of every day.

So, we're back home now, and I have one more day of vacation before I head back to work. We're almost back to reality. But I'm holding onto the sweet sound of ocean waves and the smell of fresh sea air as long as I can until we can get back for another fix.

20 Years Ago Today

2007-01-23T21:19:00.000-08:00

It's mind-blowing to realize that on this date 20 years ago during a snowy, cold, Friday night my beautiful bride and I exchanged vows and rings, committing ourselves to a lifelong love in marriage. Little did we realize the adventure that lay before us. We just knew that everything would be wonderful along the way.
The funny thing is...for the most part we were right! It has been wonderful all along the way. Believe me when I tell you that our journey has had its share of sorrows, heartbreak and trial. We've had to face hard truths about each other, ourselves and our families that hurt so deeply that at times we thought we would burst.
Through it all, we can look back and say that God truly does cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is truly the giver of good gifts, and the most wonderful gift I've been given next to His Grace and salvation is my wife. She well and truly completes me.
There is no doubt that I am a better man for having loved her and known her these 20 + years. She has led me, by example, to new levels of peace and rest in God. Through her loving support I am able to face trials and challenges with more grace. Her love has allowed me to believe that maybe, just maybe, I have something more to offer the world than a quick joke or a chuckle. Maybe, just maybe, God has planted in me the greatness she says she sees in me.
I have such a hard time seeing it for myself, but I love her and trust her and know that God has put her into my life to help me see what I could not see for myself. So I choose to believe, in faith, that she's seeing me with God's eyes and it helps me get through another day when others would tell me that I am not measuring up, that I am a failure, that I can't cut it. The one person on this earth who know me best, my worst and my best, believes in God's destiny for me. She helps me believe I can fly.
Thank you my beloved for seeing through the "funny man" disguise to the sea of love and compassion that swirls within me. Thank you for seeing the me you can love, honor and cherish in the best and worst of times, in sickness and in health, until death parts us...temporarily.
Happy anniversary, my beloved.

Happy New Year, Indeed!

2007-01-05T21:19:00.000-08:00

Reading my wife's posting from this morning has inspired me to post my own feelings on this new year. 2006 ended on a tough note, professionally, and 2007 hasn't been much better. I'm old enough to know that "this too shall pass" but it still hits hard sometimes.

Over the last 2 years I've been in a position that has offered challenge after challenge as I've begun learning what being a manager is - at least what is in my organization. I've struggled to learn a rather labyrinthine financial system, among other challenges and the struggle has come at great personal cost.

Finally, in the last couple of weeks, I've had to lay down my desires and just surrender to God's sovereignty as I have come to realize that the situation is not going to improve any time soon. It's just strange and paradoxical to me that when you reach the end of yourself and finally surrender - not just make a truce - but really surrender, that God's peace can just wrap you up and lull you into a sense of protected rest that literally no one can disturb.

WHY do I wait so long to surrender? ARGH! It's not that circumstances are that much better, it's just that I have a total sense of peace because I know that God's got everything under control. I don't understand what He's doing yet, mind you. I just sense His presence around me and it gives me an uncanny ability to sit back and rest in His promise to provide. He IS Jehovah Jireh, after all.

So I am looking at the end of the first full week of the new year with a sense of calm assurance that my God will provide. I have no idea what that provision will look like, but I know He is good and I know that all good gifts come from Him. So whatever happens this year, I know beyond doubt that my God will never leave me, nor forsake me. He has already made my paths straight, all I have to do is keep my eyes on Him and take the steps He directs me to take. No more, no less.

Happy new year!

It's Looking a Lot Like Christmas

2006-12-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Notice that I didn't quote the famous Christmas song...that would just be too easy. But with an early morning dusting of snow, it is looking a whole lot like Christmas is nearly here.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I absolutely love this time of year, and especially because of the beauty I see in my fellow members of the human race - at least the ones I am in personal contact with. Without a doubt this season brings out the best in many, many people, and I am grateful for it.

I was reflecting on this a bit today as we spent the day with my wife's side of the family, at least some of them anyway. Her siblings have managed to produce children who specialize in producing more children, it seems. Visits with the J clan are very crowded, energetic, a bit chaotic and tiring, but always very fun and full of love.

This year, for the first time in a long time, we did not make the trek across the Cascade mountains to the home of her sister, who in years past (due to having the largest house) has hosted the family get-togethers. With siblings, parents, children of siblings and children of the siblings' children we number in the mid-30s. Quite a crowd. But this is a year of transition. Big sister and her husband are trying to sell their house, so we can't be in there making a mess.

So instead, big brother and his wife, along with their youngest daughter and her hubby (and three cute kiddos) made the trek over to our side of the mountains to spend a "Pre-Christmas Christmas" at the home of their eldest daughter (& hubby and three kiddos).

Because schedules are what they are this year, we had a gift exchange this morning for the families present (and in absentia). What a hoot! Monday, all of us will have a traditional Christmas gift time with our own little family units, but this was "THE BIG ONE" for the extended family and a great time. I never tire of seeing the faces of the little ones light up as they open yet another toy and shriek with excitement! Seemingly forgetting the toy they just shrieked about a minute or two earlier.

Yeah. Christmas is all about giving. Our Lord gave us hope for eternal life in heaven by coming to earth in human form - in the most humble and helpless form possible. A baby, born in a manger and wrapped in humble cloth. I still think that gift, which shook the world and which led directly to the ultimate sacrifice that would change the universe, has generated a ripple effect that crosses time and space to touch us all in this season.

I also believe that if we will pay attention and attune ourselves, as some I know have. We can feel it every day of the year. It's the reason people perform random acts of kindness, wait politely in a long line and treat the clerk with a courteous, respectful smile instead of complaining. It's why we choose to prefer others before ourselves. It's why we give. It's why we love. And the cool part is...some of us even know why - so we do it consciously and with purpose - following the example, as best we can, of the ultimate giver of good gifts.

Merry Christmas, and God bless us - every one!

'Tis the Season...

2006-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

The photo at right is a still image from the new movie, The Nativity Story, which I haven't seen yet, but intend to this weekend. From what I've read it is a pretty faithful account of the birth of Jesus, as told in the Gospels. I can hardly wait to see it for myself.
I've been thinking about the season and the yearly controversy over whether retailers should greet us with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." To me, it's not such a big deal because it is a season of several holidays. For me, it's Merry Christmas, thank you.
I love Christmas. There is no denying that something about this season brings out the best in many people.
Oh, sure, there are a few "Scrooges" around, and curmudgeons. There are also people who, through no fault of their own, suffer profound depression at this time of year as it often emphasizes and/or magnifies a loss they've suffered. I feel for them, deeply, and pray for their healing whenever I encounter them. But for the most part this is, as I said before, a season that brings with it much good.
Why is that? I have many extended family members, in my family and through marriage, who don't have a clue who Jesus really is and, frankly don't want to know. But even the ones who most hostile to any mention of God or Jesus find themselves almost inexplicably drawn to acts of generosity and kindness. They find themselves being more patient and kind and so excited for Christmas day, when they can see if they've guessed right and blessed their loved ones with "just the right gift."
Could it be that we are all responding to the spiritual shock waves of the greatest gift ever given, around 2000 years ago? Could it be that the God of the universe, in giving His only Son created such a splash in the time/space continuum that the ripples lift us each year to a higher than normal awareness of the Spirit of giving that emanates from that gift? For it was indeed a magnificent gift, and one that was given by God the Father, Jesus Himself, and the Holy Spirit. A three-fold expression of the ultimate gift by the triune God simply has to have ramifications, don't you think?
I don't really have any answers to this quandary, but I love to think about the mental picture it gives me, an image of huge ocean waves of grace, mercy, kindness, generosity, and love washing through the universe, lifting the the cork of earth upon which we sit and, just for a moment, allowing nearly everyone to experience the joy of giving for the sake of giving.
Merry Christmas, and God bless us, every one!

What's the Buzz?

2006-11-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school I was really into sound tracks from Broadway musicals. Not Oklahoma! so much, it was more like Jesus Christ, Superstar and Godspell.

Both of these shows were, and probably still are, highly controversial in the Christian community. They were, after all, extremely secular, different looks at the life of Jesus. But I really liked the music. I played those albums over and over again. Yeah, you read that right. When I was in high school we bought albums - on vinyl, or 8-Tracks or the newest game in town...CASSETTES! Yeah, baby!

Anyway, I was sitting here thinking about the fact that sometimes you just don't what to make of your life. You end up praying prayers like, "Okay, Lord, what is going ON here!" To quote one of the songs from Superstar, we might pray, "What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin'." And that's precisely where I'm at today. What's the buzz, God? Please tell me what is happenin' so I can do what I see my Father doing. Please show me Your plan - not the whole thing, cuz that would be cheating - just show what I need to do right here, right now.

I don't have that answer yet, and that's okay because the one thing I never question anymore is that God is good and He has got my back. When things are swirling around me and chaos seems to be gaining the upper hand I am learning to just take a step back, pray, breathe, and rest in the arms of my loving, Father, who has everything under control.

Birthdays

2006-11-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

What is it about birthdays that make us take stock of our lives. Birthdays and the beginning of a new year has this effect on me every year. I have to tell you that I feel like the most blessed man on God's green earth as I look at turning another year older tomorrow, the 3rd. I have a great life. I am married to the best woman you could hope for. She's kind, loving, smart, just a little mischievous, and beautiful. I have a job that provides well for us and I like the work. I have a safe, warm house, a fun car to drive, and, well...you get the picture.

I just thank God for it all, because it hasn't all been roses, this life. Nope. And, truthfully, it's not all roses now, but with God's help I am learning more every day about seeing His hand at work and taking joy in everything. I am learning the truth of James admonition to "count it all joy, my brothers, when you suffer trials." Getting older and the bones ache a little more, it takes longer to recover from vigorous activity, but you know. I wouldn't anybody anything.

God is so good. And, by the way...I'm turning 48. Yeah.

My Little Window to the World

2006-10-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me well, know that I am an unabashed fan of Macintosh computers and, most things Apple produces, truth be told. I often wonder about this strange turn of events because for years I was an Apple-basher. I would often remark to Mac users, "Get a real computer, will ya!" And now, here I am getting those same snide remarks from my Windows-toting friends. Hmm..

So why did this happen? It really boils down to this, I think. I worked a few years on a PC support Help Desk, answering phones, going out to do hands-on field work to solve software issues and the like. During that period I started "playing" with a Mac. Just to learn something new. No harm in that, right? Boy. I had no idea what trouble I was getting myself into.

I found out what long-time Mac users have always known. For the most part, Macs just work. There is very little you need to do to keep a Mac running in tip-top shape. It's nothing like owning a PC. It's...almost effortless. Now, don't get me wrong. Macs have stuff that goes wrong too, just any man-made machine. They aren't perfect, but they are by far the best marriage of computer hardware and software I have ever had the pleasure of using.

I am writing this on our only home computer, a PowerBook G4. That's a laptop for you PC fanboys. A laptop with a gorgeous 17" widescreen. Sweet. Very much like the one in the picture, except that the picture is a 17" MacBook Pro. One of the new Intel-based Macs.

If you like the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads the whole collection is found on the link provided above. Enjoy!

Kitchen Project

2006-09-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Where do I start? It's been quite a while since I had both time and inclination to write in this space. I'm not sure why, but I think at least part of it is the busy schedules, both personal and professional, that have contributed to my inattentiveness.

In the time since I last wrote an entry, we have finished the construction phase of the everlasting kitchen remodel. All that's left is to buy a couple of new appliances, which can wait since what we're replacing still works...mostly. ;-) Yep, all the tile is up, the new countertops is done, new sink and new faucet. A new laminate floor replaces the 20+ year-old vinyl flooring that was peeling up. Old cabinets that were stripped to wood and repainted and hung with new hinges and hardware. We also trimmed the doors out in a shaker style with bead board on the bottom doors. You can't see it in this picture, but on the wall opposite the cabinets, we also installed bead board wainscoting and chair rail molding. Looks pretty good, if I do say so. And, no, we didn't do all the work ourselves. We hired pros to do the drywall tape/texture, countertops, sink and fixtures. The rest...we did with the advice and greatly appreciated help from friends who've been there, done that.

We are so happy to have a bright, "new" kitchen to work in. It makes cooking and entertaining our friends so much more pleasant. Next stop...paint the exterior trim. Not terribly impressive, except when you consider we have a two-story house and I have very short arms. Lots of ladder moves and LOTS of climbing up and climbing down. First to prep, then to paint. (A motorized, lift is starting to sound better and better...)

Our next construction project is the upstairs bathroom. Not a huge project, really, just having our tape-&-texture guy come in to repair some "oops" and finish out the new drywall I put up recently. We are toying with the idea of ripping up the floor and replacing it with the same type of tile we put up in the kitchen to warm up the room (with a floor warming unit underneath, natch). We'll replace the sink too, since the current one is cracked.

After that, we will put some additional recessed lights in the already-exposed ceiling of our basement to brighten things up (along with some paint, I suppose). I think we've agreed to call it quits on projects in this house after the basement is done. We are working toward saving up to buy and sell a "flip" now that we've had so much practice and then...a new home of our own. Definitely a rambler. Definitely set up for having our friends over...yes you're invited. :)

Blessings to you and yours.

Tooth and Fang

2006-07-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

This post is just for fun! My wife recently had a very strange thing happen to her car. She was visiting a friend who lives in a rural county, up on a small mountain, in northern Washington state. Evidently sometime during the night or morning hours as she was sleeping safely in the house, some kind of critter decided to use her passenger side bumper as a chew toy. I've greatly reduced the size of the images, so hopefully they won't overtax your connection...but I couldn't resist posting all of them.

Is that freaky or what? And no, there was no food being stored in the car.

Summer Saturdays

2006-07-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's another Saturday - one of my favorite days of the week. My absolute favorite is Sunday, but Saturday is great, too. I love sleeping in and it's my only sleep-in day. I love doing little projects, especially on no particular rush or timetable. I love picnics in the park, to which we are headed this afternoon. I love the relaxed pace of life on the weekends.

You may have perceived it already, but I am definitely not a "Type A" personality. Nope. I am a sanguine. One who, left to my own devices, would spend my days pursuing relaxation and fun. I could very easily slip into "island style" living. If you haven't been to any of the Hawaiian or Caribbean islands, you may not be able to relate to that term. Spending a week or two on the coast regions would give you an idea, but it's not quite the same thing.

There is a deep something in the tropical air that simply begs you to relax, slow down, and enjoy the moment. Simple things like sunsets, the feel of the sand between your toes, the refreshing feel of a warm ocean current - oh yeah. That's the life for me. Yet, here I am in the near-desert climate of southeastern Washington state...and I am content.

I know I can drive for a few hours and be near the Pacific, I've been to Maui and plan to go back as soon as possible. Actually, I could probably live in Maui except for one simple fact. My church, my family and my friends are here. In the end, that's what keeps me here. I love the relationships Di and I have so much that location has become secondary.

Maybe that's a little taste of what Paul talked about when he said he'd learned to be content in all circumstances. The deep intimacy he had with his Maker and with his fellow believers was all he needed. His location and the circumstances became "background noise" that faded into utter unimportance.

What a great place to be.

The End of the Spear

2006-07-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Last night we watched a movie on DVD. We knew the basics of the story, but few of the details. The movie, The End of the Spear, is so powerful. If you haven't seen it, please do so as soon as possible. Buy it. You'll want to see it again and again. Seriously.
I have rarely been so moved by a motion picture. The background for this story is well known to Christians, but is most often told from the perspective of Elisabeth Elliot, Jim Elliot's widow. This movie takes a whole new perspective on an already powerful history. This is more of a story of two boys whose lives become bound by a single event. Without giving away too much of the plot, you see how two lives from completely different worlds intersect and both are changed forever.
I don' t mean this to be a movie review, instead I want to share the way the this movie has touched me. I was startled at the violence of the Waodani tribe. They lived (still live, actually) in a very dangerous place. There are all kinds of critters there who wouldn't mind having Waodoni for a meal, so there's plenty of reason to be fierce and tough. You'd have to be just to survive. What really got to me was that the very thing that allowed them to survive this harsh world became their greatest weakness. They had absolutely no mercy on anyone or anything that harmed one of their own. Thus, revenge killings became a way of life. A cycle of violence that was leading them to extinction.
I was struck by the similarities in our modern world. You can't look at the Middle East closely and not see the same cycle being repeated by the Islamic fanatics who seem to have taken over the culture there. There is absolutely no respect for human life. No boundaries on what they are willing to do to kill in order to satisfy their sense of justice. It's as if the entire culture has gone mad - they seem to have lost the ability to reason. All perspective is warped by the lens of hate so that they seem incapable of even a semblance of civility.
I am left with the amazing realization that Jesus died for such as these. He bore our sins on the cross so that they may live eternally with Him. And He has given we who love Him the commandment to love them. To plead for their salvation before the Throne of God. To intercede for them with compassion and love.
How can we do this? It seems so hopeless and naive. But it is His command and He has supplied the way...He's given us the Holy Spirit and invited us to abide in Him so we can see as He sees, and love as He loves.
A tall order, and it's one that I am still working on...probably for the rest of my life, but I don't see any other options given in the Scripture. How about it folks? Are we willing to pray? Are we willing to go and die if that is our calling?
Watch the movie. It may change your answer...or deepen your commitment to say, "Here I am, send me."

Unity

2006-06-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

My friends and I have recently finished teaching a Streams 101 Starter School in a beautiful little town called Goldendale. Smallish town, somewhat isolated and so peaceful. I taught three units this time and in two of them a major theme is unity among the brethren. As I mentioned my last blog I am becoming somewhat obsessed with this idea of unity in the church.
I grew up in a mainstream denomination that, during the 60's and 70's when I was growing up (yes, I am that old Emily ) was wrestling with the idea that God might even be dead. Well, the academics in the seminaries and the "upper tier" leadership were wrestling with it. My mom & dad and our small-town church had no such doubts. There was, I am afraid, a distinct lack of bible training in my Sunday school experience, especially after grade school and almost none when I got high school youth group.
After a relatively brief, but intense period as a hedonist (post high school) I started seeking a relationship with God. I found a bible study that promised to open my understanding of Revelations to me, which excited me. It turned out to be a recruiting tactic for a group of believers who, well, let's just say I couldn't support many of their more emphatic belief structures and let it go at that. Many of the people I met had, I imagine still have, a genuine love for Jesus, so I am not willing to judge them. I just couldn't buy in to the movement so I moved on...to nothing. At least not for a while.
Eventually I found this cool little church just down the street from the rental my new bride and I were living in. They had just hired a new pastor and were so excited to have reached 100 people attending a couple of weeks in a row. Yep, a small church in a cinder block building, much like the one I grew up in. This church however, centered everything they did on the bible. Learning to live every day by the Word of God. That was what their sign said, and it was true. What a great bunch of sincere God-loving, people. This was no fire breathing, get-saved-or-die-tomorrow church. These folks were warm, loving, and it was a place of healing and growth for us. My wife became a Christian shortly after we started attending and life was very, very good.
The church grew. And grew. We built a new sanctuary, converting the offices to Sunday School rooms and offices. We built additional square footage for Sunday School space and almost by the time it was built, we had outgrown our "new" building. So we rented a nearby school auditorium. Adults met for two services there, while the kids took over the entire facility - and it grew.
Eventually the green light was given to begin building a huge (by our community's standards, anyway) new church. And a funny thing happened. During that building project, my eyes were opened to a realm of Christianity I hadn't known existed. Through a series of events one could only say were God-directed (for they are too strange and convoluted to be of human invention) I became aware that the little voice in my head that I had heretofore called intuition might just be God speaking to me.
Now THAT freaked me out, as it may be freaking some of my friends from that church out, but hang in there for a bit while I explain. You see, I began to experience a new intensity when I prayed. When I really listened to that voice while praying for people, words would spill from my mouth that directly addressed a situation or issue in that person's life with such accuracy that they often have a physical and/or emotional reaction. What was strange to me is that there was absolutely no way I could have known about that situation or issue in the natural course of events. It was uncanny..and yet it brought emotional healing, comfort and/or encouragement, so I am sure it was God. The fruit was good (see Matthew 7:17-19).
And that led to my leaving that wonderful church. I still love that church, but it didn't support my newfound experience. The leaders subscribed to something called dispensational theology. I wasn't really sure what that was, nor am I entirely sure I understand it now (I plan to make a study of it in the upcoming weeks or months), but I do know that all of sudden I didn't fit into their mold. I was something of a freak. No one was rude about it. You must understand, I was not treated badly. People just weren't sure what to do with me. My definition of what God does and will do had changed into something that didn't fit. Theologically correct or not, I knew what I was experiencing was real and it was God. I had to go. Fortunately, I was called to go to someplace rather than just leave someplace.
I was called to help plant a new church, Desert Rock Fellowship. We were modeling this new church to be an independent, evangelical, charismatic church. We were inspired by a book called The Word and Power Church by Douglas Bannister. This was the pastor of a large evangelical church who had to deal with a supernatural experience in God, and how he lead this large church into an acceptance, no, an embrace of the flow of God's Spirit in their church. It fit who our core group of pioneers were, mostly ex-Baptists who had experienced too many of the supernatural aspects of God to accept the conventional wisdom that the spiritual gifts died with the last apostle.
And now, through circumstances beyond my control, I find myself in another small church, the Three Rivers Bridge Christian Fellowship (and it's only that short because they ran out of relevant adjectives ). As you might guess we simply call it The Bridge, not to be mistaken for the local tavern of the same name. :) I find myself pursuing certification to teach courses from a ministry founded in the prophetic, learning to interpret dreams by the Spirit of God, and then taking that experience to the street to give the lost a "God touch" of love and encouragement, and guess what. It's awesome!
It's more than a little strange sometimes, but always strange in ways that bring us closer to Jesus. Creativity has been released in new ways and is actively sought out. New paintings, sketches, dances, sculptures, songs, and yes...blogs have found life because of this enthusiastic embrace of the creative spirit of our Creator!
So how does all that relate to unity? Simple. I've come to understand that many in the body of Christ take great delight in trashing the reputations and doctrine of those with whom they disagree. The internet abounds with with I call "Gatekeeper" websites, inviting anyone and everyone to participate in the public denunciation of any doctrine with which the orthodoxy had declared unsound. I've read books that trash the Charismatic movement because of emotional excesses that left out solid doctrine. Guess what. That happened, unfortunately. And guess what else. God is a God of GRACE. He forgives. He loves. He corrects first in gentleness and only when we willfully, stubbornly refuse to change does he correct us more sternly. In many case, by withholding a measure of His protection around us, allowing us to suffer the natural consequences of our foolishness.
My plea is this. Brothers and sisters, whether you believe in the current operation of the Spiritual gifts or not...LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Stop the backbiting, snide, mean-spirited criticism of your fellow Christians. Just stop it. Take your complaint with your brother's doctrine to the Judge and let Him sort it out. Do you not believe that God is big enough and sovereign enough to correct His church? If not, your God is too small. The truth is that He is more than big enough to correct those who are out of line. Let Him do it. Let's concentrate on fulfilling Jesus command to love one another so that the world might know we are His. Wouldn't all that energy be better spent on loving and winning the lost?
Think about it. Search the Scriptures. I think you'll find that the keepers of doctrine were more often than not the Pharisees, who missed the whole truth of who Jesus was because they were so busy jealously guarding the word, when the Word, stood before them in the flesh.

Restoration

2006-06-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Restoration has been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe the fact that we've been restoring and remodeling our old house for the last few years has influenced me. Yeah, probably. But there is much more on my mind than a newer looking kitchen (uh, yeah the year-long kitchen remodel is finally drawing to a close...picking out, and putting up the tile backsplash is all that's left - whew).

Actually, I really got on a restoration frame of mind when listening to an awesome young man preach a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, you know him. One of the things that really stood out to me was his uncommonly good common sense about dogma. I was totally captured by the idea that we believers in Christ are absolutely horrible at loving one another with His grace. Just to be clear, that's not what Jason said, it's the thought I had when he talked about Matthew 7:1 - you know the verse, "Do not judge..."

Wouldn't it be cool if the body of Christ could all just get along? I am not advocating that everyone meet in the same building with the same style of worship and same service. No, no, no. Keep your identity and power to you. I just want not to be judged for how I choose to worship, dress, express my beliefs. That's all. I am not telling you you have to believe every word I speak, I am simply asking you to listen with the same grace Jesus gave to His disciples.

Think about it. Jesus' closest disciples, the 12, had all kinds of screwy ideas about who He was, what He was about and were in a near constant state of amazement at His radical ministry. Yet He corrected them with love, mercy and grace. Even when His words seemed a little harsh, there was such love behind them that instead of being angry they simply repented and came around as best as they could.

Wouldn't it be great if "charismatic" or "evangelical" or "Pentecostal" stopped bringing with them all kinds of baggage and criticism by those who consider it their sworn duty to be gatekeepers of the truth? Don't the gatekeeper websites and books sound an awfully lot like the Pharisees of Jesus day? They too, were the learned religious scholars of their day. And they completely missed the day of their visitation.

Let's not miss it, shall we? Let's build bridges of love and grace and leave the tired old dogma behind.

Just Thinkin'

2006-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am guessing that everyone who reads this blog knows me at some level or they wouldn't be here. With that in mind, I feel the freedom to spend a little time just downloading my thoughts here, whether it's profound thinking or not. I know there is love and abundant grace and for that I am eternally grateful.

I've been reading and doing my prep for an upcoming course I am teaching, 101 - The Art of Hearing God developed by John Paul Jackson and Streams Ministries. I love this course. I love the way it changed my life and the way I see it changing the lives of those to whom I've had the privilege to teach it. This will be, God willing, my last Starter School. For those who aren't sure, that means that I am a "Teacher Trainee" so I teach classes for which no tuition is charged, although the Student Notes must be purchased to take the class. It's a great way to take the class at less expense and an equally great way to learn how to teach the class. Everybody wins...most of the time. :)

One of the things I like to do to prepare is listen to CD's of John Paul teaching the first Teacher Training and hearing the deep insights for why a particular topic is emphasized and when this insight came to him, and how the Lord has worked in his experience to reveal the principles, concepts and actions presented in the course. There are such gems of truth in this material. Such profound insight. Yeah, I love it. I love it because every time I review the material I see something that hits home. I do a lot of repenting and clean up when I study to teach this course. Wow, the material is convicting.

It is also edifying and encouraging to note that everyone struggles to follow God well. Everyone. I love God with all I am and yet I find myself struggling to keep my appointments with Him. I struggle sometimes to make time to just "sit at His feet and listen" as Mary did when Jesus visited her house. In the past, I've been prone to beat myself up pretty badly over my lack of discipline, and sometimes I still do, but I am getting over that. One of the most freeing concepts I've ever gotten hold of is that God is into progress, not performance. I love the phrase (thank you Jim Driscoll), "We need to learn to get good at doing things badly."

It's not that I purposely go out of my way to do things badly, just the opposite in fact. I strive for excellence in all that I do. But the idea I've caught hold of is that like the kind, gracious, loving Father He is, God loves me just for trying to follow Him well, whether I am a stunning failure or a smashing success. He loves me for loving Him enough to try. There's FREEDOM in that concept. Grab it!

So here's to doing things badly (like writing a coherent blog entry). Go forth and fail...or succeed...but go forth!

Stick to Your Ribs!

2006-06-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ah...nothing like the taste of ribs that are cooked just right! Can you guess what I had for dinner tonight? :)

Yep, I am sitting here, hours after the fact, basking in the warm glow of a huge beef ribs dinner and you know, I can't think of a single profound thought to record. So here's my first "throwaway" blog...well if you don't count my first blog when I found myself unintentionally creating a blog in the first place. ;) We had dinner with my wife's mom and her husband to celebrate my Mother-in-law's birthday, which happens to be tomorrow, the same day as my sons. What are the odds?

Happy birthday Jan and Branden!

Have you ever wondered what makes something funny? I don't mean just a little funny, I mean universally, rib-splitting, gut-busting funny. Guffawing, snort-inducing, hold your gut and shed tears funny. Me too. There seems to be a pattern to things that make us laugh. Playwrights, screenplay writers, and a few stand-up comics seem to have figured it out. There are body language cues, there specific types of movement in an area, facial expressions, and spoken language. For instance, have you ever noticed that clowns...well trained ones anyway...always move in circular, rounded movements? Hah, I didn't think so! Why is that? Well, that one I actually know the answer to. It's because straight lines aren't funny - they are commanding, so they are used to show aggression. Rounded paths to a destination are "soft" and therefore more likely to be funny and put an audience at ease. It's hard to laugh when you're tense.

I have no idea why I thought that was important enough to share with you, but there ya go.

Blessings...and remember, if you want to be funny walk in circles! :)

Monday, Monday

2006-06-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it was definitely a Monday in every sense of the word. I spent most of the day doing the least fun part of my job (for me, any way) working on budget stuff. It comes with the job as a manager, but at heart, I am still just an instructor. I still love teaching more than any other part of my job. I love watching the light go on in someone's eyes when the concept or skill I am telling or showing "clicks" and they get it. The excitement, the sense of accomplishment...yeah I dig it.

Have you ever wondered how Monday got such a terrible reputation? I mean really. It's just another day of the week, by most calendars, it's the second day of the week. But because it's the first day in many peoples' work week (or school week for my young friends), it has come to stand for the drab and dreary. The hard to get over. The "everything will go wrong" day. The "oh, please don't make me get out of bed" day. I'm not sure when these attitudes made their way into my conciousness, but there they are and I deal with them every Monday. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I was at work doing manager-weinie stuff, and I found, to my great delight that I had money in the budget that I thought had been lost. It was there a few weeks ago, then gone, then today we were able to track down where it went and I am getting it back. Woo hoo! This is wonderful because it was set aside for completing a project that I thought I was going to have to scrap or work on free time to finish. God is so good. Yes, you read that right. I am saying God is good, because I firmly believe it was His plan for me to find that money. Why? Because it gave me the boost I needed to make Monday a happy day in spite of many things going wrong.

Sometimes Mondays aren't so bad after all. Just don't tell Garfield. :)

P.S. Bonus points for all who know the significance of the image without using Google! LOL

Lazy Sundays

2006-06-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

I love Sunday afternoons. My wife and I have made it rule to reserve Sunday afternoons just for us. More often than not, that means a nap or just relaxing in one another's arms for a couple of hours. It's our time to recharge the batteries and get energized for the coming week.

Yeah, sometimes life stuff gets in the way. Whether we have an errand or two that can't wait or we are drawn to visit with friends or family, sometimes we miss our "nappy time." There's always a price to pay though, because as good as making connections with friends and family can be, and we truly treasure our relationships, we end up feeling like we've missed a vital part of our week if we miss our rest time. I've found over time that I tend to run out of energy by mid-week when we miss our Sunday rest times.

Today was not one of the busy days. In fact, I just got up from a nice long rest and I feel so relaxed and so ready for...well ready for ice cream, actually. Another one of our Sunday traditions is to skip "real food" for dinner and have ice cream. Sometimes it truly is the simple things in life that make it best.

So why was it worth the time and effort to capture and share these thoughts, you may be wondering. Well, I was lying in bed and couldn't help thinking of how many times the bible refers to marriage as a metaphor for God's desire for intimacy with us. Christ as bridegroom, the church as His bride. Intimate.

How is it that we miss that part? I mean, really. How often do you and I really, truly, in the deepest part of ourselves, know the connection and the sense of oneness and wholeness, that comes from a deep intimacy with God? How much more often do just skim the surface in our relationship with God. Satisfied with knowing Him at a distance, and believing that that's all there is or even should be. He is, after all, GOD. How can He possibly have time or interest to waste in pursuing such intimacy with with li'l ol' us'ns?

That's the rub. No honest person can be truly satisfied with such a distant relationship. Oh, it may feel more comfortable to fool yourself into thinking you are in control this way, but the truth is, we need that intimacy with the Spirit of God like we need air, food and water. It is woven into the very fabric of our being. Ted Dekker, in his Circle series, calls it the Great Romance. And that's what it is. God is calling us, wooing us, wanting to lavish His love upon us.

I, for one, am all for this pursuit of the Great Romance. It's what lazy Sunday afternoons have come to represent to my wife and I, and it's what kindles the fire I talked about in my last entry. That passionate, newlywed bliss of a deep, intimate relationship with the One who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us with a love deeper than the oceans, more vast than the universe. He knows all our flaws, and covers them with grace. He treasures us, cherishes us, holds us and sings His love songs over us. All we need to do is make the time be quiet with Him, resting in His rest, drinking in His peace and soaking up His presence...like a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Burn, baby burn!

2006-05-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

I was reading Matthew 5 a couple of nights ago and verses 14-16 really jumped out at me. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
As I read v. 16, I stopped and pray fervently that God would shine brightly in me. During my prayer, an image of a camp lantern came to mind. As I focused on it, I was there in a forest setting, watching as a lantern was being lit. I could hear the rush of propane and see the match setting the mantle ablaze. The mantle glowed a yellow white for little while then the fuel was turned all the way up and the light was so white and so bright I couldn't look at it directly.

I looked up and saw the circle of light created by the lantern widen to several feet, then several yards, casting shadows among the trees. And it hit me...this was a picture of what me! I was that mantle.

Don't ya know that once a mantle has been used it becomes very fragile when not lit. It's very easy to destroy with only a slight touch. However, when it is filled with fuel and burning brightly it somehow becomes strong - as if the fuel racing through and being burned somehow also keeps it together.

The fuel is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit and the match, what sets us on fire is the love of Christ. We are so fragile when we aren't filled with the Spirit. It is that combination of the fire of our love for Christ and the fuel of the Holy Spirit that makes our lives bright, warm and oh, such a comfort in a dark forest.

In response, I cried out to be that filled, that brightly lit...burn, baby, burn!

Don't Ya Know...

2006-05-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Don't ya know, that things are rarely as easy as you think they're going to be. For instance, I really just wanted to add a commentary to a friend's blog, but guest commentaries aren't allowed on her blog so I had to create a user name and a blog of my own. Just to encourage a friend on her new blog. This is all your fault Nadine! :)

I had been considering this whole blog business since Nadine's hubby, my friend Tom started writing. I've so enjoyed the insights in his thinking that now I'm reading his posts nearly every day. I'm becoming a Tom-ite! (Gotcha! LOL!)

Anyway this post is really just filler to get my page up and running. When I have something profound to say, I'll post. Hmmm...maybe I'll just post anyway so goofy, profound...it's all good and fair game on this page.

Laters...