so it's been a month since i've last sat down and made time for blogging, and i guess i probably should since this is so therapudic. anyways, here's a rundown of the last moth or so
the highlight of the month would have to be merry xmas madness, my firts pretty big event with the youth group that was completely succesful. essentially it was a video scavenger hunt with the youth group doing all kinds of crazy stuff around town. for example; getting a piggy back ride from a security guard and eating a jar of baby food were the first two that came to mind. anyways, it was a big succes, and i compiled all of the videos together on my computer and put out our youth group's frist dvd, with many more to come in the near future. the kids were awesome, and the chaperones had a blast too. the only minor problem was that shaving your head was the top poiint getter, and now i have a buzzed head, and one kid's mom was a little preturbed her son had a mohawk when he got home. oh well, its all in the name of fun. however i have to wait a few months for my hair to grow out again, which i was just getting used to being long.
the other big thing is that my parents are officially texans again. i went home over christmas and pretty much packed the whole house, and they flew out a couple days ago. i can't even begin to describe how much i will not miss going to washington. too many bad memories from high school. this move was pretty good for the family. aside from the empty nest syndrome my parents are going through, it's getting really tough for mom to keep up with a three bedroom house and take care of dad (which is now a full time job) and still try and make ends meet when the bills come. the cost of living is so much lower in texas, and we have so much family there it really made sense. however, it's still going to take a while to get used to the idea of going to dallas to visit my folks.
being home reminded me of a few things. first of all, my dad is the toughest man in the world. this guy has a tumor that has wreaked havoc on his body and has handicapped him to a point where he can't walk or talk. but he has the best sense of humor in the world. he can barely say five words, but he manages to get me on the floor rolling with simple noises, hand gestures and expressions. once a marine, always a marine, he still manages to hum the national anthem while watching football games on tv. his body may not hold up much longer, but his mind has had cancer beat for years.
secondly, mom is the unsung hero of our family. she never gets the credit she desreves when things are going right, and always takes the blame when something goes astray. at church dad gets the attention because people can see what he's going through, mom is the sidekick. that might not normally be a big deal, but when five guys at church are standing around while mom is struggling to get dads wheelchair out, and they're too busy saying hey to dad to help mom with the front door, then it becomes very apparent why mom is moving to texas. there's a lot to be said about southern hospitality. anyways, in the midst of all the chaos involved with moving over the christmas weekends, i think mom pulled off one of my favorite chiristmases that i've ever had. good job mi madre.
third, there really isn't a write off in our family for emotional issues. we kind of got at each other's throats this past week, mainly due to the stress of moving, and i think it's because we all expect tohers to pick up the slack for us, because we aren't emotionally on top of our game right now. unfortunately, when the whole family is dealing with the same issues, there's no room for not getting thins such as packing taken care of. i'm not sure what the larger raminfications are from that, but i'm sure there's something.
this past week also allowed me the opportunity to drive from seattle to simi valley. even though most of our drive was at night, we had a beautiful full moon throughout the mountains in oregon. we seriously could have driven with the lights off, the reflection of the moon off of the snow was absolutely unreal. that, and i got to do the trip with my cousin matt, who continuously cracks me up. he's about as west texan as the come, but i love him still.
speaking of west texas, one of my kappa brothers from oc is out here in socal for the weekend. he came out to see his belvoed texas tech stomp cal in the holiday bowl. it was the first time in a while that i've got to hang out with dantheman, the first time i've seen friends from oc in a while, and the first time i've been back to san diego since i've moved to simi valley. needless to say, today was kind of like a christmas present in and of itself. there's a lot to be said for going to football games with your buddies. i'll go into the male bonding stuff later, but i will say now that this was the great american alpha male afternoon.
the only thing that's been getting to me lately is the whole topgun girl situation. i took her to disneyland a few weeks ago and we had an awesome date, but we really haven't talked since. seriously, i don't think i've ever been that relaxed on a date before, and i def have not seen a lot of the stuff at disneyland that she wanted to see. my prents always steered clear off the main street shops, the parades and the cheesy hokey stuff that makes disneyland fun. this was topgun girl's night, so we did all the stuff that she wanted, and i had so much fun. unfortunately the night ended with an akward kiss and me getting us lost on the way back to her friends' house. yeah, i couldn't have asked for a more akward ending. anyways. we've only been able to briefly talk a couple of times this past month and for some reason that's been getting to me the past few days. anyways, she's in mexico with the fam for the holidays and i don't have a clue when i'm going to see her next. all i know is i have to find some cheaper dates if we do go out again. between hard rock, street scene and disneyland we've ran up a pretty good tab. i don't mind spending the money at all, but if we do go out more it's gonna have to be renting a movie and ordering a pizza or something. i guess what's really bugging me is i'm going to a wedding of two of my friends in san diego next week, and it'd be really nice to have a response to all of the 'so when are you going to get married' and 'we need to find you a girl' remarks aside from telling people to shove off. yeah, i'm bitter and tired of hearing comments. i could write a whole new page on my opinion of recently engaged couples and the torment that brings on the singles scene in churches. i'm already typing harder, so i think i'll stop now before i work myself into a frenzy. i'll finish this point with a comment from the cuz, "i can't believe this, my mom bought me two books for christmas...'God's advice for single men' and 'how to be happy when you're on your own'... what does she think i am?epressed and in a spiritual crisis? i love my life! i've got a truck that kicks butt and i don't have to ask permission to do a thing." word.
anyways, the job is getting crazier by the day, but i think getting to see my bros is gonna give me plenty of motivation to get a bunch of stuff done in the next few days. and, hopefully i'll get a chance to see topgungirl before too long as well. the next week is gonna be a lot of traveling down to san diego, between the usc game and the wedding, i'm putting a couple hundred bucks aside for gas alone.
well, it's way past the time when a responsible person not staying at thier friend's house would have gone to bed. and now that dantheman has beat itspronouncedlaMESA in ncaa 05, i'm the only one with a light on so i think i'll shut this bad boy down so we can get some sleep.
more to come soon.
oh yeah, itspronouncedlaMESA reminded me i almost ate it twice today. once at the beach, and once on the way to the hot tub. you gotta love being the slapstick comedy for your friends.
one love, one heart.
12.31.2004
12.01.2004
no title for today...
Ahhhh blogging… so much to say…
Today is kind of tough to be honest. I found out yesterday that a kid from my youth group back in Tulsa was killed in iraq. For him the army was a way out of Oklahoma. He wasn't really an active member of the youth group, he came with a friend of his every once in a while, which makes it a lot tougher knowing that there was potential there, and not knowing if the potential for the life of a Christian was ever realized. He was a good kid though. He didn't grow up in the church, I don't know a lot about his family, but I know he led a pretty rough life for the most part in high school. I know the army seemed like a great alternative to hanging to in Tulsa for the rest of his life doing who knows what for a living. The thing that gets me is the way we as Christians throw money and time into events, and we forget the urgency of our job. I didn't know this kid that well, but I know him well enough to feel bad about not doing what I know I could have to help bring him to Christ.
one tough situation that death presents for friends and family is the whole 'what do you say?' question. I've learned that the biggest impact can be just not saying anything, and simply being there and acknowledging the pain of the situation. That being said, here are a few do's and don'ts that should be pointed out.
Don't say:
I know exactly how you feel
At least he doesn't have to suffer anymore
It's God's will
Take this, it'll calm you down
They wouldn't want you to grieve
Don't cry, you'll only feel worse
You can't be angry with God
At least you have other family and friends
I think it's time you get on living your life
Don't talk about it, you'll only feel worse
Time heals all wounds
You've got to be strong
Better alternatives:
I can only imagine what you're going through
They suffered a lot didn't they
One comfort I have is God's promise to never abandon us
Do you feel like talking right now
It's hard to say goodbye isn't it
Sometimes tears are the best way to express your feelings
God understands even when we're upset
Everyone has to grieve in their own way, don't' they
We can talk about whatever you want
Time will lesson the pain I'm sure, but you'll always have a part of them with you
I want you to know it's okay to be yourself around me
Just a few pointers from a counselor friend, given to me a few months ago.
This also has me looking at the way I treat kids on the fringe of the youth group. I've got thirty one kids on my youth roll, and ten of those I would consider ten of those 'fringe' kids that come to very few youth events. There just hasn't been that since of urgency to reach out so far to these kids. I can think of things to say or do that might get them interested, but how do I emphasize the urgency of my job w/o trivializing the death of this young man. I don't want his death to be some bullet point on a presentation, or an anecdote for a sermon. Needless to say, today is a day of prayer and mourning.
On a more positive note, I had a great trip home for thanksgiving. Me and my sister were able to surprise mi madre by getting my sister on an earlier flight home. Pops was pretty stoked too, and even our dog dude was going nuts. Yeah, you gotta love coming home. Mi madre and mi hermana spent all day fri shopping, so me and pops got to chill and hang out and watch movies all day. Thanksgiving itself was pretty cool. The typical families were there, with the noticeable absence of my two friends everlast and nordstroms from the table. Dinner was great and we got to celebrate pops' 50th birthday, which is quite an accomplishment in itself. For the rest of the break I pretty much hung out with pops and laugh, which always makes for a great trip. That, and I had mi madre rockin out to guns'n'roses on the way to the airport.
On Sunday I met the kiddos at pepperdine for the last morning of youthfest. it was cool to see them again and def made me feel good about being back in socal. The akward moment came when the youth group from this past summer came down the stairs and said hola. Two of them seemed pretty stoked, but the rest looked pretty ticked, like I had sold them out or something. Yeah, not the kind of fun akward moment that I typically enjoy.
Last night I took a few kids to see an orchestra performance at pepperdine, which was fun in a sixth-graders-don't-typically-enjoy-the-orchestra kind of way. But my boys toughed it out and they may have even had fun. I had a blast because I've been writing so much music lately. It was good to have a different type of musical inspiration and see how different instruments work together. Thursday we are supposed to go back to pepperdine for a student performance, which should be fun, esp since it's outside and the nights temperatures have been getting down to the high 30's.
Well, I've got a lot of random stuff to do… learn how to install stuff on my new computer, get rides organized, prepare for small group, find video cameras, plans a mission trip and figure out what I'm gonna do with the youth room.
Be sure to keep our troops in your prayers, they all have stories.
One love, one heart.
Today is kind of tough to be honest. I found out yesterday that a kid from my youth group back in Tulsa was killed in iraq. For him the army was a way out of Oklahoma. He wasn't really an active member of the youth group, he came with a friend of his every once in a while, which makes it a lot tougher knowing that there was potential there, and not knowing if the potential for the life of a Christian was ever realized. He was a good kid though. He didn't grow up in the church, I don't know a lot about his family, but I know he led a pretty rough life for the most part in high school. I know the army seemed like a great alternative to hanging to in Tulsa for the rest of his life doing who knows what for a living. The thing that gets me is the way we as Christians throw money and time into events, and we forget the urgency of our job. I didn't know this kid that well, but I know him well enough to feel bad about not doing what I know I could have to help bring him to Christ.
one tough situation that death presents for friends and family is the whole 'what do you say?' question. I've learned that the biggest impact can be just not saying anything, and simply being there and acknowledging the pain of the situation. That being said, here are a few do's and don'ts that should be pointed out.
Don't say:
I know exactly how you feel
At least he doesn't have to suffer anymore
It's God's will
Take this, it'll calm you down
They wouldn't want you to grieve
Don't cry, you'll only feel worse
You can't be angry with God
At least you have other family and friends
I think it's time you get on living your life
Don't talk about it, you'll only feel worse
Time heals all wounds
You've got to be strong
Better alternatives:
I can only imagine what you're going through
They suffered a lot didn't they
One comfort I have is God's promise to never abandon us
Do you feel like talking right now
It's hard to say goodbye isn't it
Sometimes tears are the best way to express your feelings
God understands even when we're upset
Everyone has to grieve in their own way, don't' they
We can talk about whatever you want
Time will lesson the pain I'm sure, but you'll always have a part of them with you
I want you to know it's okay to be yourself around me
Just a few pointers from a counselor friend, given to me a few months ago.
This also has me looking at the way I treat kids on the fringe of the youth group. I've got thirty one kids on my youth roll, and ten of those I would consider ten of those 'fringe' kids that come to very few youth events. There just hasn't been that since of urgency to reach out so far to these kids. I can think of things to say or do that might get them interested, but how do I emphasize the urgency of my job w/o trivializing the death of this young man. I don't want his death to be some bullet point on a presentation, or an anecdote for a sermon. Needless to say, today is a day of prayer and mourning.
On a more positive note, I had a great trip home for thanksgiving. Me and my sister were able to surprise mi madre by getting my sister on an earlier flight home. Pops was pretty stoked too, and even our dog dude was going nuts. Yeah, you gotta love coming home. Mi madre and mi hermana spent all day fri shopping, so me and pops got to chill and hang out and watch movies all day. Thanksgiving itself was pretty cool. The typical families were there, with the noticeable absence of my two friends everlast and nordstroms from the table. Dinner was great and we got to celebrate pops' 50th birthday, which is quite an accomplishment in itself. For the rest of the break I pretty much hung out with pops and laugh, which always makes for a great trip. That, and I had mi madre rockin out to guns'n'roses on the way to the airport.
On Sunday I met the kiddos at pepperdine for the last morning of youthfest. it was cool to see them again and def made me feel good about being back in socal. The akward moment came when the youth group from this past summer came down the stairs and said hola. Two of them seemed pretty stoked, but the rest looked pretty ticked, like I had sold them out or something. Yeah, not the kind of fun akward moment that I typically enjoy.
Last night I took a few kids to see an orchestra performance at pepperdine, which was fun in a sixth-graders-don't-typically-enjoy-the-orchestra kind of way. But my boys toughed it out and they may have even had fun. I had a blast because I've been writing so much music lately. It was good to have a different type of musical inspiration and see how different instruments work together. Thursday we are supposed to go back to pepperdine for a student performance, which should be fun, esp since it's outside and the nights temperatures have been getting down to the high 30's.
Well, I've got a lot of random stuff to do… learn how to install stuff on my new computer, get rides organized, prepare for small group, find video cameras, plans a mission trip and figure out what I'm gonna do with the youth room.
Be sure to keep our troops in your prayers, they all have stories.
One love, one heart.
11.22.2004
Aunt Bethany: What's that sound? Uncle Lewis: You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.
Where to begin...
Well today was one of those days where keeping your mouth shut is the hardest thing to do. Our church helped out this single mom a few weeks ago, when she called on a Friday afternoon and said her and her four kids were going to be evicted if she didn’t pay her landlord by the end of the day. Nothing like coming to the church for financial help at the eleventh hour, especially when we haven’t seen her in a few months. Anyways... we’re a church and it’s our job to help those in need. However, I was reminded of some sr. philosophy reading back in the day, gimpel the fool. The question of the story is, is it better to be a fool and know it and or be a fool and not know it. Here’s the rest of the story...
So one of our guys got a call yesterday afternoon asking for help to move her from one apt to another. Evidently she qualified for low income housing, but that meant she had to move from her apt to another smaller one across the complex this weekend. I’m not going to criticize her for not having her stuff packed up since this was such a rush, but I do have a few things that really got under my skin today. First, she had more stuff in her apt than my family accumulated in nearly a decade of living in seattle. Her kids alone had more toys than my sister and I had growing up combined. Her pantries were full, and this was odd since she asked the church to help her out with groceries. She had more clothes in her closets (3) than could fit in mine and the cuz’s closets combined. Plus, her bathtub was piled three feet high with clothes. I’m not even going to begin to wonder why the clothes were in there. So here we are, myself, three parents and a dozen or so youth groupers helping move her stuff, and she’s on her cell phone the whole time. Aggravating doesn’t begin to describe the feeling... then she starts going off about how her rent is $1300 a month and she only gets $1500 a month in income. This as I’m hauling huge bags full of toys and clothes. Then I realize she’s on the phone with the cable company getting her cable and internet switched to the new place. Did I mention she said she claimed to only have $200 extra to spend a month and she’s asking the church for financial help? Then there’s the topper... we’ve got a bunch of teenagers around, and her four kids all under nine years of age, and some of their friends hanging around, when one of our kids finds some soft-core porn in her bedroom. Now I have to try and urge the kids to look past this and focus on getting the moving done, and try and do it with a decent attitude, all the while this mom isn’t lifting a finger. Aggravation has turned to frustration, to flat out anger over being taken advantage of. Needless to say I let our eldership know about the movies just in case some of the kids say something to their families, and they need to know anyways because they’re supposed to be counseling her soon as well. That and she had this psycho cat that kept attacking the kid, and got my allergies all revved up.
So the question is how should I feel about all of this? Obviously this lady needs help. She can’t budget her money, her kids are running rampant, she has four kids from three dads, and she comes to us for help, then pretty much abuses our generosity. I seriously hoped I could look back at this later and find some good in today.
Well, I guess I didn’t have to look too far. Thanks God. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again gladly. I have an awesome group of church leaders. I came in unprepared for my youth budget meeting, and without any paperwork or exact numbers. I ended up having to ask them to hold back with the money so I could properly plan on how to use it. They were offering way too much to help me out with my new computer, and telling me to take more days off than I have available. Basically, they were going out of their way to help the youth group out financially, and me personally. The big thing is they said to take as much time off as I wanted to spend with my family for christmas, even though I only have two days of vacation after this thanksgiving weekend. Yeah, these guys are getting a nice fat christmas card from me. So here I am worrying about all of this stuff, and these guys are being nothing but nice. I seriously don’t know any of my youth ministry compadres that get treated as well as I do by my elders.
There was another thing that got me revved up this weekend. My cousin found out that kutless and third day were performing at the billy graham crusade at the rose bowl. So we decided to head out there last night to catch the bands and stay for the message, and see what all the hype was about. First, the cuz’s friends ran about an hour late for when we needed to leave, then picked a restaurant that was def going to take too long to get out of. This is why some women should never be allowed to make plans. By the time we get to the rose bowl, and get out of the parking lot, and get to our seats, we caught the last half of a verse from third day and completely missed kutless. Salgoode at this point, at least we’ll get a moving message from billy graham. Not exactly. He spoke for less than ten minutes, and I’ve heard more moving words from jr high kids in my youth group. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt due to his age and medical condition, but that doesn’t explain how thousands of people felt moved enough to come forward at the rose bowl. That, and in his writings and interviews he’s proclaimed the need for baptism, but that was noticeably missing from his message. He’s got the repent part down, but forgot to mention the baptism part of the scripture. Needless to say the six hours worth of time committed to the less than ten minutes of mediocre speaking would have been the low point of the weekend if not for the moving today.
But I’m all about the positive. The kids and I are starting to hang out more often, and I feel like we’re getting relationships set in stone already. That, and I think there are some kids on the fringe that may start to show interest. I can’t wait for the rest of my job. These kids are a blast and we are having fun already, now that the more spiritual groundwork has been laid. Our Thursday roots with the high school was a blast. Friday afternoon two kids playing hookey form school invited me to lunch, then some of us went to see a movie. today we managed to sneak some laughs in while moving and then to top it off, some kids invited themselves over to hang out tonite at the apt.
and to top it off, I talked to topgun girl for a while this week. And it looks like I’m taking her to disneyland for a christmas present. Ok, so that’s more a present for myself, but regardless... I’m stoked. So christmas comes a few weeks early for me, but hopefully she’s as much a sucker for xmas cheer as I am. Ho ho ho.
One love and one heart.
Well today was one of those days where keeping your mouth shut is the hardest thing to do. Our church helped out this single mom a few weeks ago, when she called on a Friday afternoon and said her and her four kids were going to be evicted if she didn’t pay her landlord by the end of the day. Nothing like coming to the church for financial help at the eleventh hour, especially when we haven’t seen her in a few months. Anyways... we’re a church and it’s our job to help those in need. However, I was reminded of some sr. philosophy reading back in the day, gimpel the fool. The question of the story is, is it better to be a fool and know it and or be a fool and not know it. Here’s the rest of the story...
So one of our guys got a call yesterday afternoon asking for help to move her from one apt to another. Evidently she qualified for low income housing, but that meant she had to move from her apt to another smaller one across the complex this weekend. I’m not going to criticize her for not having her stuff packed up since this was such a rush, but I do have a few things that really got under my skin today. First, she had more stuff in her apt than my family accumulated in nearly a decade of living in seattle. Her kids alone had more toys than my sister and I had growing up combined. Her pantries were full, and this was odd since she asked the church to help her out with groceries. She had more clothes in her closets (3) than could fit in mine and the cuz’s closets combined. Plus, her bathtub was piled three feet high with clothes. I’m not even going to begin to wonder why the clothes were in there. So here we are, myself, three parents and a dozen or so youth groupers helping move her stuff, and she’s on her cell phone the whole time. Aggravating doesn’t begin to describe the feeling... then she starts going off about how her rent is $1300 a month and she only gets $1500 a month in income. This as I’m hauling huge bags full of toys and clothes. Then I realize she’s on the phone with the cable company getting her cable and internet switched to the new place. Did I mention she said she claimed to only have $200 extra to spend a month and she’s asking the church for financial help? Then there’s the topper... we’ve got a bunch of teenagers around, and her four kids all under nine years of age, and some of their friends hanging around, when one of our kids finds some soft-core porn in her bedroom. Now I have to try and urge the kids to look past this and focus on getting the moving done, and try and do it with a decent attitude, all the while this mom isn’t lifting a finger. Aggravation has turned to frustration, to flat out anger over being taken advantage of. Needless to say I let our eldership know about the movies just in case some of the kids say something to their families, and they need to know anyways because they’re supposed to be counseling her soon as well. That and she had this psycho cat that kept attacking the kid, and got my allergies all revved up.
So the question is how should I feel about all of this? Obviously this lady needs help. She can’t budget her money, her kids are running rampant, she has four kids from three dads, and she comes to us for help, then pretty much abuses our generosity. I seriously hoped I could look back at this later and find some good in today.
Well, I guess I didn’t have to look too far. Thanks God. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again gladly. I have an awesome group of church leaders. I came in unprepared for my youth budget meeting, and without any paperwork or exact numbers. I ended up having to ask them to hold back with the money so I could properly plan on how to use it. They were offering way too much to help me out with my new computer, and telling me to take more days off than I have available. Basically, they were going out of their way to help the youth group out financially, and me personally. The big thing is they said to take as much time off as I wanted to spend with my family for christmas, even though I only have two days of vacation after this thanksgiving weekend. Yeah, these guys are getting a nice fat christmas card from me. So here I am worrying about all of this stuff, and these guys are being nothing but nice. I seriously don’t know any of my youth ministry compadres that get treated as well as I do by my elders.
There was another thing that got me revved up this weekend. My cousin found out that kutless and third day were performing at the billy graham crusade at the rose bowl. So we decided to head out there last night to catch the bands and stay for the message, and see what all the hype was about. First, the cuz’s friends ran about an hour late for when we needed to leave, then picked a restaurant that was def going to take too long to get out of. This is why some women should never be allowed to make plans. By the time we get to the rose bowl, and get out of the parking lot, and get to our seats, we caught the last half of a verse from third day and completely missed kutless. Salgoode at this point, at least we’ll get a moving message from billy graham. Not exactly. He spoke for less than ten minutes, and I’ve heard more moving words from jr high kids in my youth group. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt due to his age and medical condition, but that doesn’t explain how thousands of people felt moved enough to come forward at the rose bowl. That, and in his writings and interviews he’s proclaimed the need for baptism, but that was noticeably missing from his message. He’s got the repent part down, but forgot to mention the baptism part of the scripture. Needless to say the six hours worth of time committed to the less than ten minutes of mediocre speaking would have been the low point of the weekend if not for the moving today.
But I’m all about the positive. The kids and I are starting to hang out more often, and I feel like we’re getting relationships set in stone already. That, and I think there are some kids on the fringe that may start to show interest. I can’t wait for the rest of my job. These kids are a blast and we are having fun already, now that the more spiritual groundwork has been laid. Our Thursday roots with the high school was a blast. Friday afternoon two kids playing hookey form school invited me to lunch, then some of us went to see a movie. today we managed to sneak some laughs in while moving and then to top it off, some kids invited themselves over to hang out tonite at the apt.
and to top it off, I talked to topgun girl for a while this week. And it looks like I’m taking her to disneyland for a christmas present. Ok, so that’s more a present for myself, but regardless... I’m stoked. So christmas comes a few weeks early for me, but hopefully she’s as much a sucker for xmas cheer as I am. Ho ho ho.
One love and one heart.
11.17.2004
roots, rock and reggae...
so one of my jr high guys (rockstar) is phenomenal at guitar. is it wrong to want to start a band with a 13 year old?
anyways, his brother got me pretty good last night when he started asking me if i liked neil diamond, and proceeded to get a bunch of neil's songs stuck in my head. not even 311 is getting rid of 'coming to america' right now. seriously, 14 hours of neil is enough.
the other thing he got me on was my favorite albums of all time. the kicker is that they couldn't be greatest hits albums which is tough, because that automatically eliminates my numero uno album of all time, bob marley: legend. so, here goes my:
top ten favorite albums of all time:
10. jurassic 5 - quality control
9. the clash - london calling
8. english beat - wha' happened
7. jack johnson - on and on
6. unwritten law - elva
5. strung out - twisted by design
4. social distortion - s/t
3. 311 - transistor
2. rancid - out come the wolves
1. operation ivy - energy
the hard part about this list is there are so many albums, songs and artists that have meant a lot to me, that dont really have a typical list to be a part of. so heres another top ten list of:
top ten most influential albums in my life:
10. green day: dookie
this is the album that made me want to play guitar. i still sing along to every word on this album, and i think i was one of the few that stuck with this as a classic when all the punks were saying that the band had sold out.
9. pearl jam - ten
this was one of the first cds i bought when i got my first cd player. i was about to move to seattle, where i would spend many days listening to alive over and over again while it rained. it was then revived with a vengence in college when juaner and andibro made it cool to listen to non-punk music again.
8. unwritten law - elva
elva was the soundtrack for my senior year of college. road trips, el patioso cookouts, we played the shine off of this rocker.
7. jack johnson - brushfire fairytales
i thought this guy was so lame when i first heard him. he was exactly what i needed to mellow out musically a little bit though. easily the most influential singer for me in the past few years.
6. 311 - blue
the summer i was sixteen and living away from home. i still know every word to this album, mainly because i listened to it every day to and from work. these guys are one of my favorite bands and this album is why.
5. primus - pork soda
i didn't make friends for a while when i moved to seattle, and this ablum was my release. i just gave it a spin to the cuz the other day for the first time and it was like a ten year reunion with some memories of some crazy thoughts. that, and my name is mud has got the best guitar riff of all time (sounds like another top ten list for another day)
4. operation ivy - energy
this was the album that made me put patches on my jacket, bleach and spike my hair, and turn me into a super freak music fan. i can still remember my friend pug buying this and making us shut up as our crew drove home from the store. we sat in my friends driveway until the album was over. this became the measuring stick of everything ska/punk i listen to.
3. mighty mighty bosstones - don't know how to party
i'm not sure when i first heard this, but i fell in love with ska as soon as i did. at the time i needed something more upbeat to listen to. i'll never know how ska became popular, but you can garuntee i was out there with my rudy suit on because of this album.
2. judgement night soundtrack
this was the first album i had that my parents didn't know about. hehe, i should stop there but... this was also the ablum that got me from listiening to rap music to rock. all the rap on the radio was heading towards gangsta, and my white 11 year old self didn't really follow. ironic considering the movie though.
1. bob marley - legend
i taped this off of my youth minister when i was 11. i have probably bought at least a dozen copies of this to give as presents, and my mom normally buys me a copy every two or three years because mine get scratched up from use. this album made me a fan of music. this was the first album that got me dancing around my bedroom. first kiss... marley in the background. the more i think about it, the more i realize i don't have the time to type out how many stories i have from this album.
well, music has and hopefully will be a major moving force in my life. till that changes...
one love and one heart.
anyways, his brother got me pretty good last night when he started asking me if i liked neil diamond, and proceeded to get a bunch of neil's songs stuck in my head. not even 311 is getting rid of 'coming to america' right now. seriously, 14 hours of neil is enough.
the other thing he got me on was my favorite albums of all time. the kicker is that they couldn't be greatest hits albums which is tough, because that automatically eliminates my numero uno album of all time, bob marley: legend. so, here goes my:
top ten favorite albums of all time:
10. jurassic 5 - quality control
9. the clash - london calling
8. english beat - wha' happened
7. jack johnson - on and on
6. unwritten law - elva
5. strung out - twisted by design
4. social distortion - s/t
3. 311 - transistor
2. rancid - out come the wolves
1. operation ivy - energy
the hard part about this list is there are so many albums, songs and artists that have meant a lot to me, that dont really have a typical list to be a part of. so heres another top ten list of:
top ten most influential albums in my life:
10. green day: dookie
this is the album that made me want to play guitar. i still sing along to every word on this album, and i think i was one of the few that stuck with this as a classic when all the punks were saying that the band had sold out.
9. pearl jam - ten
this was one of the first cds i bought when i got my first cd player. i was about to move to seattle, where i would spend many days listening to alive over and over again while it rained. it was then revived with a vengence in college when juaner and andibro made it cool to listen to non-punk music again.
8. unwritten law - elva
elva was the soundtrack for my senior year of college. road trips, el patioso cookouts, we played the shine off of this rocker.
7. jack johnson - brushfire fairytales
i thought this guy was so lame when i first heard him. he was exactly what i needed to mellow out musically a little bit though. easily the most influential singer for me in the past few years.
6. 311 - blue
the summer i was sixteen and living away from home. i still know every word to this album, mainly because i listened to it every day to and from work. these guys are one of my favorite bands and this album is why.
5. primus - pork soda
i didn't make friends for a while when i moved to seattle, and this ablum was my release. i just gave it a spin to the cuz the other day for the first time and it was like a ten year reunion with some memories of some crazy thoughts. that, and my name is mud has got the best guitar riff of all time (sounds like another top ten list for another day)
4. operation ivy - energy
this was the album that made me put patches on my jacket, bleach and spike my hair, and turn me into a super freak music fan. i can still remember my friend pug buying this and making us shut up as our crew drove home from the store. we sat in my friends driveway until the album was over. this became the measuring stick of everything ska/punk i listen to.
3. mighty mighty bosstones - don't know how to party
i'm not sure when i first heard this, but i fell in love with ska as soon as i did. at the time i needed something more upbeat to listen to. i'll never know how ska became popular, but you can garuntee i was out there with my rudy suit on because of this album.
2. judgement night soundtrack
this was the first album i had that my parents didn't know about. hehe, i should stop there but... this was also the ablum that got me from listiening to rap music to rock. all the rap on the radio was heading towards gangsta, and my white 11 year old self didn't really follow. ironic considering the movie though.
1. bob marley - legend
i taped this off of my youth minister when i was 11. i have probably bought at least a dozen copies of this to give as presents, and my mom normally buys me a copy every two or three years because mine get scratched up from use. this album made me a fan of music. this was the first album that got me dancing around my bedroom. first kiss... marley in the background. the more i think about it, the more i realize i don't have the time to type out how many stories i have from this album.
well, music has and hopefully will be a major moving force in my life. till that changes...
one love and one heart.
11.16.2004
i say carpe diem, seize the carp!
man, this weekend was a blast. it started out kind of awkward because i wasn't lined up to go to our jr high retreat this weekend, i had given the duty to one of our parents who used to teach our jr high class, and was looking to stay involved. fortunately he had to bail and i got to go. first off, this kids i took were pretty funny, and always make for some interesting conversation. that, and from what i have learned any and all trips with jr high students is a set up for some comedy, at the very least an adventure. and it wouldn't be a weekend with jr high guys if there weren't any fart jokes. the camp was really well put together, and the kids seemed to enjoy it, and more importantly get a lot out of it. kids aside, i had a blast because i got to hang out with some of my best friends, who happen to be youth ministers around here. dantheman brought his kids up and we had a bunch of good laughs, but the surprise was that joey fatone and noodles brought their youth groups up from san diego as well. sweet action. i got to work and hang out with some of my best friends at the same time. saturday night when we were all standing in the back of the room while a group form pepperdine performed, i got a peek of what is to come in the future for socal ministry. there were a dozen youth ministers there, and all of us are in our mid 20's, with the exception of one, and we all get along as friends. i can't even begin to describe how sweet this is going to be when we start combining camps and doing more stuff together. either way, it was good to see my friends again.
the other thing that was nice about this weekend was getting away to the mountains. i know camps in california aren't exactly as 'roughing it' as some places i've been, but you can't beat the sunsets here in california.
after having such a great weekend, yesterday was a little bit of a downer. my friend from church in seattle got engaged, which means that i now officially have no one to hang out with when i go to visit seattle. i can't exactly explain what it is about peoples' personalities that makes it tough to hang out with them when they get engaged, but there def is something there. sure i'm stoked for my friend, but i know what every conversation is going to be about for the next few years. it's like someone talking about nothing but their favorite hockey team for a year. sure you're stoked they like the red wings, but there comes a time when it's time to find something new. that, and it seems like the sense of adventure is lost when people get engaged. no more random calls wanting to do something at the last minute, no more unscheduled hanging out... and with this friend, no more having someone to dodge all of the 'so when are you getting married?' questions that are prevalent when i go to seattle. this may seem a little selfish, but make no mistake i am happy for my friend and i understand her excitement, which is why i'll be nice when i go home.
that being said, i have committed to doing a random act every day to embrace my bachelorhood. yesterday i drove. for no reason and with no map, i just drove up and down the coast, mainly because it was a nice day and i could. before that i slept in late, watched tv and ate breakfast/lunch while wearing a shirt that is almost a decade old, and has been through a couple hundred concerts and has the holes to prove it. today i think i'm going to build something pointless, maybe a brace in my bedroom to hold my surfboard. tomorrow, i think i'll paint. maybe i'll go hike.i’m sure playing guitar loud enough to meet my neighbors will be in there somewhere too. Whatever I decide to do i'm not going to plan it out. all i know is i have health insurance now and no excuses to go out and do stupid stuff. sweet. let random adventure week continue, and watch out bank account.
well the irony is, i've got work to do before i go out and have fun. what a way to throw some sand in the bonfire. oh well, it's nice outside and i’m going to go play.
one love and one heart.
the other thing that was nice about this weekend was getting away to the mountains. i know camps in california aren't exactly as 'roughing it' as some places i've been, but you can't beat the sunsets here in california.
after having such a great weekend, yesterday was a little bit of a downer. my friend from church in seattle got engaged, which means that i now officially have no one to hang out with when i go to visit seattle. i can't exactly explain what it is about peoples' personalities that makes it tough to hang out with them when they get engaged, but there def is something there. sure i'm stoked for my friend, but i know what every conversation is going to be about for the next few years. it's like someone talking about nothing but their favorite hockey team for a year. sure you're stoked they like the red wings, but there comes a time when it's time to find something new. that, and it seems like the sense of adventure is lost when people get engaged. no more random calls wanting to do something at the last minute, no more unscheduled hanging out... and with this friend, no more having someone to dodge all of the 'so when are you getting married?' questions that are prevalent when i go to seattle. this may seem a little selfish, but make no mistake i am happy for my friend and i understand her excitement, which is why i'll be nice when i go home.
that being said, i have committed to doing a random act every day to embrace my bachelorhood. yesterday i drove. for no reason and with no map, i just drove up and down the coast, mainly because it was a nice day and i could. before that i slept in late, watched tv and ate breakfast/lunch while wearing a shirt that is almost a decade old, and has been through a couple hundred concerts and has the holes to prove it. today i think i'm going to build something pointless, maybe a brace in my bedroom to hold my surfboard. tomorrow, i think i'll paint. maybe i'll go hike.i’m sure playing guitar loud enough to meet my neighbors will be in there somewhere too. Whatever I decide to do i'm not going to plan it out. all i know is i have health insurance now and no excuses to go out and do stupid stuff. sweet. let random adventure week continue, and watch out bank account.
well the irony is, i've got work to do before i go out and have fun. what a way to throw some sand in the bonfire. oh well, it's nice outside and i’m going to go play.
one love and one heart.
11.11.2004
ryan stiles: I'd like to give you the weather for the next 50 years. Sun in L.A., rain in Seattle.
so trying to teach a dozen or so kids that have never swung a golf club the fundamentals is a lot tougher, and funnier than i thought. gennis is played... hilarity ensues. that's the whole purpose of the game. it's like calvinball meets golf. in todays rules, the jr high guys decided that the square foot wherever i was standing was the goal. and they didn't need clubs, they could just throw their tennis balls at me. way to make your own rules guys, you get the 'spirit of gennis' award for the day. needless to say i now have wilson tattooed all over me, and i owe some headlocks to my jr high guys, esp this kid d.j., whom i lovingly refer to as 'mini me'.
that being said, i love my job! and since i'm way overdue for one, here are my
top ten reasons why i love my job.
10. preacher jokes. i can tell the corniest cheesiest joke out there and you have to laugh, otherwise it's your soul.
9. i get to call old people by their first name.
8. a kid laughs: 1 church point, a kid cries: 3 church points (dantheman, this one's for you)
7. people refer to me as 'shaman'
6. my office is the eqivalent to roughly five and a half cubicles
5. youth events = pizza = nuff said.
4. church league softball
3. i get to wear my checkerboard vans to the office
2. the majority of my work today entailed picking stuff up i could play gennis and eat pizza with my kids, and the days only half over, we still have a bible study later tonight.
1. the kids are always stoked to watch bill and ted's excellent adventure
there's one other big thing today. after talking to my friend gennisgirl today, i read her little blog about rainy stormy days in oklahoma. i made a huge realization; i think i may be at a point where i like rainy days again. i can't emphasize enough how big of a deal this is. i lived in seattle for three years, and the sun was out for maybe 60 days total while i was there. okay maybe 90. either way, i've alway hated rainy cloudy days ever since i've moved there. but i was reading gennisgirl's blog today and started to kind of look at today in the same way i look at nice sunny days. the storm clouds today are pretty awesome, and you can tell where the sun is trying to peak out from behind them. i think knowing that they will not be here for the next 6 months is also part of what’s comforting me. so mad props to the oklahomans out there reminding me to appreciate nature. and no props to the hippies up in seattle that love nature for the wrong reasons.
oh yeah, i was looking for a quote for this blog, and i came across an al bundy one that was worth mentioning,"Raymond Burr, Delta Burke, city of Seattle. What's the difference?"
well, my guitar and my jack johnson cds are calling. one love and one heart.
that being said, i love my job! and since i'm way overdue for one, here are my
top ten reasons why i love my job.
10. preacher jokes. i can tell the corniest cheesiest joke out there and you have to laugh, otherwise it's your soul.
9. i get to call old people by their first name.
8. a kid laughs: 1 church point, a kid cries: 3 church points (dantheman, this one's for you)
7. people refer to me as 'shaman'
6. my office is the eqivalent to roughly five and a half cubicles
5. youth events = pizza = nuff said.
4. church league softball
3. i get to wear my checkerboard vans to the office
2. the majority of my work today entailed picking stuff up i could play gennis and eat pizza with my kids, and the days only half over, we still have a bible study later tonight.
1. the kids are always stoked to watch bill and ted's excellent adventure
there's one other big thing today. after talking to my friend gennisgirl today, i read her little blog about rainy stormy days in oklahoma. i made a huge realization; i think i may be at a point where i like rainy days again. i can't emphasize enough how big of a deal this is. i lived in seattle for three years, and the sun was out for maybe 60 days total while i was there. okay maybe 90. either way, i've alway hated rainy cloudy days ever since i've moved there. but i was reading gennisgirl's blog today and started to kind of look at today in the same way i look at nice sunny days. the storm clouds today are pretty awesome, and you can tell where the sun is trying to peak out from behind them. i think knowing that they will not be here for the next 6 months is also part of what’s comforting me. so mad props to the oklahomans out there reminding me to appreciate nature. and no props to the hippies up in seattle that love nature for the wrong reasons.
oh yeah, i was looking for a quote for this blog, and i came across an al bundy one that was worth mentioning,"Raymond Burr, Delta Burke, city of Seattle. What's the difference?"
well, my guitar and my jack johnson cds are calling. one love and one heart.
gennis anyone?
man, this is starting to resemble a job. so i found out yesterday that the kids have today and tomorrow off of school. sweet, i actually get to hang out with the kids some during the day. i think today's weather calls for gennis to make its first official appearance in socal. nice, very nice. gennis is always called for. although the school we are backed up to does not offer the varied lies that the oklahoma christian campus did, it should suffice.
well, they're here.
one love one heart.
well, they're here.
one love one heart.
11.10.2004
You were in a 4g inverted dive with a Mig28?
it's amazing what a couple of well placed phone calls can do for you. last night i called dantheman about a logo project i’ve been working on for him, and through the conversation he ended up giving me a pretty decent compliment that pretty much made my day. then, i decided to give topgun girl a call and we ended up talking for an hour and a half (pretty decent for not being a phone conversationalist). anyways, it was one of those talks where we were able to get past goofy surface stuff, although we did end up delving into past relationships (mostly on her part) which is always thin ice. fortunately, the past is pretty long gone for her. unfortunately for me, these guys were unreal smooth, and i've got a lot of catching up to do... which means extra effort on my part due to the 2.5 hour drive between us. ugh. writing about this is actually not helping the more i think about it...
well today and tomorrow are my 'busy days' with our two bible studies, and the kiddos having tomorrow off of school. the cool thing is i have a bunch of stuff that i've been stressing out about that i think i can take in stride today. i think these mornings where i can get my start and get going help out a lot more than the days where lawdog and i sit around and talk for the first hour of the day.
oh yeah, mom finally mailed my diploma, so i finally have a fully furnished office! i've always seen guys with their diplomas hanging up in their office and not thought that it was a big deal. seriously though, it's pretty cool to finally be able to look up from my desk, in my office, ay my diploma. this begs the question though... how did i ever graduate?
well i'm not gonna hold my breathe to figure that one out. till then, one love and one heart.
well today and tomorrow are my 'busy days' with our two bible studies, and the kiddos having tomorrow off of school. the cool thing is i have a bunch of stuff that i've been stressing out about that i think i can take in stride today. i think these mornings where i can get my start and get going help out a lot more than the days where lawdog and i sit around and talk for the first hour of the day.
oh yeah, mom finally mailed my diploma, so i finally have a fully furnished office! i've always seen guys with their diplomas hanging up in their office and not thought that it was a big deal. seriously though, it's pretty cool to finally be able to look up from my desk, in my office, ay my diploma. this begs the question though... how did i ever graduate?
well i'm not gonna hold my breathe to figure that one out. till then, one love and one heart.
11.09.2004
dad, we need a fire pole!
So I’ve been a pretty consistent opponent of reality tv, but lately I’ve seen some shows that have me rethinking my position. First, is pimp my ride on mtv. Not only are all of the ‘victims’ pretty deserving people, but the guys at the shop really make the show. Going back to the cars they fix, it always seems that it’s a person putting themself through college, helping the family, etc... the best on that show is big dane though, he’s the one that always has the clutch comment like my new favorite phrase, "aloha oi, holla at your boy’.
Secondly, is extreme home makeover on abc. This one had me on the verge of tears this past week. The family they helped had two deaf parents, one normal son, and one blind/autistic son. The two parents were given monitors for every major room so they could communicate across the house, and keep an eye on their youngest son. They also got to go on vacation for the first time in their lives. The youngest son got a new playroom specifically designed by autism specialists was color and touch sensitive. They also sewed sensors into his pajamas so that when he tried to play houdini and leave the house late at night, his parents would see an alarm and the police would be notified. Needless to say the parents could sleep better at night. The mom got her own room to do art, the dad got a new toolshed that was stocked ready to go and the youngest son got a swingset, his old chimes and a few other things that would help him feel comfortable in his new surroundings. The biggest gifts came for the oldest son, who should be nominated for sainthood. Not only did he get a brand new room, an atv, but they brought in marlee matlin to present a scholarship check for fifty thousand for the college of his choice.
Then today there was a show called ‘the biggest loser’. This show is where seriously obese folks compete for a cash prize, based upon who loses the most weight. There’s something to these tv shows that seriously help people in need. This isn’t a couple of neighbors redecorating a living room, this isn’t people supposedly ‘stranded’ voting each other off... these are shows where the people involved end up gaining more by helping than those receiving the gifts. Esp on home makeover. These designers rarely end a show not in tears. The few episodes I have seen have all been families that are more than deserving, but would never complain or whine. And they all thank God for blessing them before any work is ever done. I think there’s a lot to be said for that.
Speaking of interesting tv, while I was surfing around last night I happened across some star seach type of show on the wb. This was a cool find, considering I never really watch the wb.... anyways... there was this hasidic jewish guy in his twenties talking about what his religion was all about... then he starts singing some reggae song in yiddish. A hasidic reggae singer. His cd should be out soon. I listen to a lot of reggae, and this guy is legit, so you can guarantee that as soon as my ‘no money Monday’ is over I’ll be ordering my copy of mitasyahu’s album. Check back for details in a few weeks for a full review.
Personally, today and tomorrow are days for getting myself out of the funk I’ve been in as of late. My goals for Monday were to not think about topgun girl, not spend any money, and write at least two more songs on guitar. Mission accomplished. It was a good day off and now I think I’m ready to try and salvage this week from the grasp of last weeks’ funk. The goal for this week is to get my work stuff more organized, not spend more than $100 on myself (outside of food), and get my xmas trip to seattle planned out. Yeah, this is one of those hit the fan weeks where I’m gonna have to work my tail off to get things back to snowballing stage.
And for the record... viva la bam is by far my favorite reality tv show. Don vito’s subtitles are reason alone to watch the show.
one love and one heart.
Secondly, is extreme home makeover on abc. This one had me on the verge of tears this past week. The family they helped had two deaf parents, one normal son, and one blind/autistic son. The two parents were given monitors for every major room so they could communicate across the house, and keep an eye on their youngest son. They also got to go on vacation for the first time in their lives. The youngest son got a new playroom specifically designed by autism specialists was color and touch sensitive. They also sewed sensors into his pajamas so that when he tried to play houdini and leave the house late at night, his parents would see an alarm and the police would be notified. Needless to say the parents could sleep better at night. The mom got her own room to do art, the dad got a new toolshed that was stocked ready to go and the youngest son got a swingset, his old chimes and a few other things that would help him feel comfortable in his new surroundings. The biggest gifts came for the oldest son, who should be nominated for sainthood. Not only did he get a brand new room, an atv, but they brought in marlee matlin to present a scholarship check for fifty thousand for the college of his choice.
Then today there was a show called ‘the biggest loser’. This show is where seriously obese folks compete for a cash prize, based upon who loses the most weight. There’s something to these tv shows that seriously help people in need. This isn’t a couple of neighbors redecorating a living room, this isn’t people supposedly ‘stranded’ voting each other off... these are shows where the people involved end up gaining more by helping than those receiving the gifts. Esp on home makeover. These designers rarely end a show not in tears. The few episodes I have seen have all been families that are more than deserving, but would never complain or whine. And they all thank God for blessing them before any work is ever done. I think there’s a lot to be said for that.
Speaking of interesting tv, while I was surfing around last night I happened across some star seach type of show on the wb. This was a cool find, considering I never really watch the wb.... anyways... there was this hasidic jewish guy in his twenties talking about what his religion was all about... then he starts singing some reggae song in yiddish. A hasidic reggae singer. His cd should be out soon. I listen to a lot of reggae, and this guy is legit, so you can guarantee that as soon as my ‘no money Monday’ is over I’ll be ordering my copy of mitasyahu’s album. Check back for details in a few weeks for a full review.
Personally, today and tomorrow are days for getting myself out of the funk I’ve been in as of late. My goals for Monday were to not think about topgun girl, not spend any money, and write at least two more songs on guitar. Mission accomplished. It was a good day off and now I think I’m ready to try and salvage this week from the grasp of last weeks’ funk. The goal for this week is to get my work stuff more organized, not spend more than $100 on myself (outside of food), and get my xmas trip to seattle planned out. Yeah, this is one of those hit the fan weeks where I’m gonna have to work my tail off to get things back to snowballing stage.
And for the record... viva la bam is by far my favorite reality tv show. Don vito’s subtitles are reason alone to watch the show.
one love and one heart.
11.04.2004
Theo: He's a minister Dad. He'll tell God we're crazy!
you gotta love crazy people.
we had our youth minister's lunch today, and for the first time I didn't see anyone famous on one of my visits to l.a. oh well. one of the youth ministers there was this barbarian of a man that totally caught me off guard. this guy looked like he would be more comfortable at a biker meeting than a youth ministry meeting, which is one of the many reasons he is awesome. he doesn't have a specific church home, instead he ministers to homeless kids in venice. let me repeat that, he ministers to homeless kids in venice. what an awesome ministry. instead of trying to maintain a youth group at some building somewhere, he is truly reaching out to the lost and those ready to experience God's love. if jesus were around today, i have a feeling he would be hanging out with the same people the barbarian does. there's a lot to be said for that. i know i come from a middle class background and still consider this type of ministry rogue or unusual. i'm so wrong. the hard part is what do i do now that i feel convicted? how do i take what i've seen today and apply it to my ministry.
anyways, the ministry is called dry bones venice. it rocks.
as i was driving back from the valley towards simi i almost got in a wreck again. all of the mountains are turning green and the sun was hidden behind what appear to be storm clouds in the distance. no post card or picture could ever capture that moment. if it's not raining tomorrow i may take a hike up the mountains and finally try and figure out how to publish pics of simi on my little slice of blog pie here. seriously, it looked like i was driving through ireland or something. i can't wait for more rain to bring more green to the hillsides. this place is so beautiful, and it makes it so easy to see where God's creativity is apparent.
needless to say, today is a pretty sweet day. i finally feel like i am somewhat getting stuff done, even though my list is still growing of things to do. um, i'm not sure that really makes sense, but the point should be in there somewhere. anyways, i've come to realize that this is a baby steps job on my part, and its up to God to do the huge breakthroughs. last night was really cool, we had our jr high bible study, and i wasn't really sure about what we were going to talk about, and God totally took over and really impressed me through some 6-8th graders. nice. i think they are starting to really come out of their shells. this could be fun in the next few years.
personally, i've been so busy that i haven't really thought to call topgun girl, or any of my other friends recently. i'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but the big thing is i'm not getting down about not having talked to her in a few days. also, i was going through pictures last night and i was having a blast thinking about old friends. i think i may have to crack open the oc yearbook again too. the only thing that got me down last time was the list of girls that i was interested in that i never really acted on. there were a few pics that reminded of times that left deep bruises that i don't think i knew existed until after school was over. i don't live my life with regrets, but i know given another chance to meet certain females, and other friends, i would have def been more open and honest. def taken more chances. oh well, we live and we learn. also, after thinking about some of my friends from oc, i still hold that there are some who are just as hot as any famous actress out here in socal, without all of the smoke, mirrors and camera tricks.
as always, one love one heart.
we had our youth minister's lunch today, and for the first time I didn't see anyone famous on one of my visits to l.a. oh well. one of the youth ministers there was this barbarian of a man that totally caught me off guard. this guy looked like he would be more comfortable at a biker meeting than a youth ministry meeting, which is one of the many reasons he is awesome. he doesn't have a specific church home, instead he ministers to homeless kids in venice. let me repeat that, he ministers to homeless kids in venice. what an awesome ministry. instead of trying to maintain a youth group at some building somewhere, he is truly reaching out to the lost and those ready to experience God's love. if jesus were around today, i have a feeling he would be hanging out with the same people the barbarian does. there's a lot to be said for that. i know i come from a middle class background and still consider this type of ministry rogue or unusual. i'm so wrong. the hard part is what do i do now that i feel convicted? how do i take what i've seen today and apply it to my ministry.
anyways, the ministry is called dry bones venice. it rocks.
as i was driving back from the valley towards simi i almost got in a wreck again. all of the mountains are turning green and the sun was hidden behind what appear to be storm clouds in the distance. no post card or picture could ever capture that moment. if it's not raining tomorrow i may take a hike up the mountains and finally try and figure out how to publish pics of simi on my little slice of blog pie here. seriously, it looked like i was driving through ireland or something. i can't wait for more rain to bring more green to the hillsides. this place is so beautiful, and it makes it so easy to see where God's creativity is apparent.
needless to say, today is a pretty sweet day. i finally feel like i am somewhat getting stuff done, even though my list is still growing of things to do. um, i'm not sure that really makes sense, but the point should be in there somewhere. anyways, i've come to realize that this is a baby steps job on my part, and its up to God to do the huge breakthroughs. last night was really cool, we had our jr high bible study, and i wasn't really sure about what we were going to talk about, and God totally took over and really impressed me through some 6-8th graders. nice. i think they are starting to really come out of their shells. this could be fun in the next few years.
personally, i've been so busy that i haven't really thought to call topgun girl, or any of my other friends recently. i'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but the big thing is i'm not getting down about not having talked to her in a few days. also, i was going through pictures last night and i was having a blast thinking about old friends. i think i may have to crack open the oc yearbook again too. the only thing that got me down last time was the list of girls that i was interested in that i never really acted on. there were a few pics that reminded of times that left deep bruises that i don't think i knew existed until after school was over. i don't live my life with regrets, but i know given another chance to meet certain females, and other friends, i would have def been more open and honest. def taken more chances. oh well, we live and we learn. also, after thinking about some of my friends from oc, i still hold that there are some who are just as hot as any famous actress out here in socal, without all of the smoke, mirrors and camera tricks.
as always, one love one heart.
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