Reach for the Sky

I found an old bb gun in my basement a while back. My sister and I thought we would help to better establish the stereo-type that all people do in the Midwest is drink and shot guns. Which, if you have never lived here is far from the truth, we also do road construction. With some pop cans, a piece of wood, drop tarp and a couple of buckets we had ourselves a state of the art shooting range. The only problem was after about 15 mins. you would be shaking so much from the cold you would rarely hit the target, which made the game not so fun. The video above is just a small snap shot of your shooting activity time.

Job 31

The words of the Bible have once again opened another door in my heart. Many times the words of Scripture provide a much-needed word of encouragement to press on, to keep up the good work. Often they remind us of the power God has and that he is in control. Other times they shout of the great things God has done, the grace he has given time and time again. And still other times they convict, cause us to ponder and ask hard questions. Such was the case in my reading of Job 31 today.

The passage is a long dialogue of Job in response to his friend Bildad. Jobs response actually starts in Ch. 26, but Ch. 31 is the ending, and what I feel, is the climax of this particular response. Basically, Job goes through all the area of this life recalling the way he carried himself is those situations. Some times we know how Job responded, and other times we are not given that information. But all the while reading this passage I was putting my self in Jobs shoes. Vs. 16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor… “ vs. 17 “If I have kept bread to myself…”  vs. 19 “If I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing…”  vs. 22 “then let his arm fall from the shoulder.” And for someone how has dislocated their shoulder 15 times, reading that makes me cringe. But what is even more painful is being honest in answering all the though questions Job poses through out his reply to Bildad. It’s not easy, no, it’s painful to open a door to your heart that you have closed off or never new existed,  and then start cleaning up the mess in some cases, or just do a light dusting in others. Either way it’s a painful process, but one that is necessary. And in doing so, in discovering where I have fallen SO SHORT of the glory of God, I’m discovering in a new way, everyday what it means to actually live in the grace of God. I would encourage everyone to read these words with a pen in hand and a piece of paper at your side. Give yourself sometime and honestly evaluate how you have carried yourself in the areas you read about. For me, this was not just a, “Oh look, I have failed again and want to change the way I live my life. The passage actually planted a seed that moves me to action. I pray the Lord search our hearts and move us to action in the areas that need to be changed, and grant encouragement in the areas we have been blameless in.

For a cool story of how the words of the Bible convicted and caused Sara to action, see the link below. I saw this on the blog of my old small group leader.
Sara's Stroy

The Days Handy Work

Finding old things in the basement can be both a pain and a joy. Today it was a joy. With 4 boxes of wall paneling samples, some wood glue, a router, stain, skill saw, straight edge, nails, screws, wire, screw gun, brushes, drop tarp and a couple other odds and ends you have what you see below. It now proudly hangs in the basement to help take some of the glare off the white walls. It looks a lot better in person.

San Diego

I returned home from San Diego in high spirits. Good friends and family always make life more enjoyable. And I had a lot of good friends and family to play with, talk with, eat with, and celebrate with. Celebrate the marrage of my cousin Kerri to Ryan. This was the reason for the trip. But I was able to do so much more in addition to being apart of Kerri and Ryan's wedding. I arrived late Tuesday night. And after a 11:00 In-N-Out run I had a full stomach and we had a full car. We pick up grandma and grandpa brought them to my aunt and uncles house. I slept on one of my aunts couches. Side note on sleeping.

This was my sleeping schedule and location for the trip. (just bear with me for a little bit)

Tues. - Aunt's couch - 1:15 A.M.

Wed. - Wes Bruce's Attic - 11:00 P.M.

Thurs. - Floor in one of my Aunts bedrooms - 10:45 P.M.

Fri. & Sat. - Hotel Bed - 11:00 P.M.

And all but Sat. night I sleep in the cloths I wore for that day. One would thing it would be quite uncomfortable, however, I feel I slept the best I have in a long while during this trip. Their is something about going to bed really tired from playing and/or working really hard during the day. And waking up knowing you get to spend that day with the ones you care most about.

Wed. brought about lunch in the afternoon with my Aunt and Uncle from Moreno Valley, Parents, Brother, Sister n Law, and Niece. Thank you Pat and Oscars for some great bread sticks. It was then off to hanging with Wes Bruce. Our first stop was as the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego where he works. He showed me around the building, his office, meet some of his co-workers, and told stories of days past. We had stopped there on your way to the Habitat House, a small gallery space where another of my cousins, Kelli. was having and art show. Wes and I arrived early to help her finish the installation. Neither of us were expecting to have to help out, but we're both glad Kelli gave us a call. We had a really good time, and the show looked really great. Kelli Murray Larson Art. It was also really fun to have a good chunk of my family at here show. It was neat to see Grandma and Grandpa interact with a show that was largely based off where they grew up and what the provided for their grandchildren. From there it was time for California Burritos and hang out time in the Attic. Thurs. brought about another set of adventures. Wes and I took a trip to the beach for a nice morning walk and talk. Then took off to Escondido with his girl friend Emme and a couple of her friends to spend some time at the Fort. The fort is a incredible  installation Wes did at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Wes Bruce Fort. It is just an place to hang out and play or read and reflect. We were here for a good hour and hour and a half. Upon arrival back to Pt. Loma it was Taco Bell time then off to San Clement to see the Eckerts. Along the way Camp Pentelton was busy with activity. Helicopter were everywhere. It was pretty sweet. But it was even sweeter to see the Eckerts one last time before I depart for Guatemala. What wasn't sweet was the chip that got stuck in my through for the rest of the day. After Wes, My sister, and I had sat in traffic for way to long were back in Pt. Loma ready to head north once again to La Jolla. We went to see a film, Flood Tide, about these artist who built these boat to float down the Hudson River. I would finally end Thurs. back at my Aunt and Uncles house sleeping on the floor, a great day. Friday would bring competition and a rehearsal dinner. My uncle organized a golf outing with, teams, prizes, lunch, and all sorts of fun. I got to play with my brother and dad, we went even par on the front, but were three over on the back. We had three really bad holes that did us in, bogey, double bogey, bogey. All of that after a birdie, it was not very encouraging. That three over par put us into a tie breaker hole with my Uncle Kevin, Uncle Larry, Cousin Kerri, and Cousin Max. We each picked two players to play in the play off hole. It was Chad and I vs. Both my uncles. We lost because neither of us could make a very makable  6 foot putt. Saturday was the wedding. I arrived around 1:00 to help with some audio stuff and didn't leave till about 9:30. The wedding went really well. Kear Bear was glowing the whole night. I love going to wedding where you know about %75 of the people there. I guess family weddings usually help with the percentage. It was also really great to have my cousins from Minnesota there. They had not seen many of the family on the west coast for some time. I get along with them so well and really enjoyed there company. Sunday morning was also extremely fun. The whole family had brunch, there is just something magical about eating with your family, playing games and talking. The whole trip was just really good. 

  

Scrabble

Scrabble around the house usually consist of me playing my dad. Using words we don't know the meaning to or will never ever use in normal conversation. I have been keeping a running total of scores since I have been home in an excel spread sheet. It automatically calculates the highs and lows, as wells a provides you with you average score. At the moment I'm averaging 316 points a game to my dads 295.1, and have 5 wins to his 4. Today however, the stats ment nothing as I lost by 40 some points, not by best showing. After a post game press conference with the announcers on Scrabble Net and a taking time to sign some autographs for over joyed fans I took some time create shapes out of the scrabble tiles. Today's post game shape consisted of a Christmas tree with words that represent Christmas to me. Next week I'll be traveling to Zürich for a International Scrabble conference to discuss the possibility of getting scrabble into the 2012 summer Olympics. I'll also be making a stop by the FIFA offices asking them to reconsider their choice for the 2022 World Cup. 

Christmas Tree

Today was decorate the house day. It started out with a little garland and light hanging in the front, both on the house and on this little fence we have. A word of wisdom, make sure you check the lights to make sure the work before you place them in their final resting spot for the cold winter. I had finished putting up all the lights, granted it wasn't that much, only to discover a middle section did not work. After the front yard was finished, it was on to the back. Over the years the Christmas decorations have gotten significantly less around the house, but I don't think any area has taken as bad of as hit as the back yard. This year only two light up deer grace the ground of your house. I must confess, putter up fewer decoration does make the clean up of all this in the spring much easier. For there it was on to the Christmas tree. Due to some allergy related problems the real tree has been replace with the fake one we have had for the past 7 years or so. The most difficult part of putting up this tree is making sure all the branches are spread out evenly. The video below is a time laps of my putting the whole thing together. It's not complete yet, but mom will finish it up tomorrow.


http://www.vimeo.com/17353593

My Saturday

Today was a really good day. One of those days where your feel like you really didn't waste any of the day. Where you made the most of the opportunities and events that took place. It started off at 7:15 in the A.M. with some fine morning reading and waking up. I then meet up with and old friend from Jr. High, Sara Kendsora Zielinski, that  I had not seen in seven year. Thinking about it now, seven years is a long time not to talk to a really good friend you have know since Jr. High. Nevertheless, it was really great to see her again. I also got to meet here husband, Chris,  here about there adventures, their schooling, dog, plans, families, likes, dislikes, and the like. Plus the pancakes at Around The Clock were pretty tasty as well. From there I may my way south to Dundee, to see two other friends I have not seen in over two years, James Erdmann and Steve Cook. There were playing in a Ultimate tournament which I was also able to participate in. I had not played in a competitive manner in three years, but found I still retained a majority of the necessary information to be competitive. I can't tell you how fun it was to run around in the 29 degree weather, having a cold plastic disc chucked a high velocity smacking the palms of you hands, and not being able to feel your ears, all make for a great experience. I really serious, I loved it. Plus the team I was playing for won the tournament, so I can't complain their. I had to leave the tournament early to make it home and then to church before 5:30. However, on the way a phone call from James would reroute my plans. He left his keys in my car during your lunch break to Taco Bell. Thus, route 68 was the most direct path and took me through a cool little downtown area which  provided me with the sunset you see here. 

    
Once the keys were promptly returned to James it was off to church to hang with my brown team in the kindergarden room. I had about three less kids then I normally had, and it made all the difference in the world when it come to getting them to listen. So that went well. On the drive home Mom and Dad stopped and pick up a pizza for dinner. I had never had a Nero's Pizza before, but it was a pretty good thin crust pizza. Keeping with the theme of catching up with old friends, I was able to talk to another old high school friend via cellular telephone. She was back in town from colorado for a little while, but Kaite Parker had to leave for Colorado Early today. And what caps a great day, nothing other then a game of Scrabble with the old man. And after playing my seven letter word 'reprint' I was in control of the game and able to come back and win.


After spending Thanksgiving at my Grandparents place in Wisconsin, and after today I think I'm realized something about myself, or perhaps rediscovered something about myself. My grandmother is a wise women who I love and respect dearly. When taking with her she help to give some insight to my life. She said, "I think your a people person, your need to have contact with people." I have always enjoyed hanging out with friends and just being around others. I know this sounds strange from a person who hates crowds. But I feel my Grandmother is right, I need a lot of contact with people. I also need to be able to retreat. I need to do a job where I have a lot of interaction with people. I need to have a life where God and people take precedence. And after catching up with all my old friends, they make life more enjoyable, then any computer, any project, any adventure. Somewhere between high school graduation and this year I seem to have forgotten that.   

He's 60

Today was my Father's birthday. We had a great time playing b-ball, and going out to dinner. Had a nice Filet. The old man is 60, crazy, but he's still going strong. It was also a day for raking, rather playing, and taking pictures. Here are a few from the day. 

Promiseland

Today I was reminded once again why I enjoy so much working with kids. I served in the kindergarden room at Promiseland (our churches name for sunday school). These little 5 and 6 year olds are a pure joy to hang out with. I spent my time before the large group portion of the service started introducing every body Tristan and Tristan, who just so happened to be the first two boys to take a seat next to me at the chalk drawing station. When another kid would arrive I would say, "Bella, have you meet Tristan and Tristan." "No," they would politely respond in a bashful tone or just say nothing at all and proceed on their way. By the time clean up had rolled around, I had chalk on my face, a couple pictures of who knows what that kids had left behind, my fair share of laugh and giggles, and half the kindergardeners in the room introduced to Tristan and Tristan. Larger group time proved to be much more difficult than drawing pictures and telling stories to kids. I think a large part of that was because it involved them sitting still. And of course my group was placed in the back of the large group setting. This was both a blessing and a curse for me.

Blessing: because it gives me room to stretch out, and not block every 3 ft. nothing 5 year old with my 6 ft. 2 in. frame. Plus, after being gone for 7 years they change the songs up a bit and had no clue what hand motions to do. So it saved me from that humiliation. They didn't sing any Brother Friend either, sad, I know.

Curse: because the back of the room to a kindergardener is like offering a unlimited supply of Pixi Sticks and Mountain Dew at a jr. higher slumber party they asking them to be in bed with the lights out and a sleep by 7:00 o'clock when the sun's still out. The back of the room is open pasture with rolling hills, wild flower, giant oak trees, and flowing streams all beckoning, "come play." Thus, focusing these little tykes attention on the speaker up front makes putting a man on the moon a seem like 1st grade math.

Unfourtantly the small group time following the large group time was not any easier. Like I said, it's been 7 years since I have dealt with kids this young. And where a good number of principles apply to both older and younger children, there are some that don't. One such example, if you have more then 2 seconds where your not talking or asking them to do something, you will lose them. Such was the case today. I learned you really have to be on your game, ready to do the next, next thing if you want to keep their attention. And for every one kid that is an acceptation to this rule there seems to be three who just flat out don't care. One thing I use to hate to do when I was younger and serving in Promiseland was talking to the parents. As you grow up things change and so do your likes and dislikes. I would love the opportunity to sit with each parent and ask them about their kids, what they like to eat, a funny story about them, where they feel they need the most help, a way we can be praying for their family. I would also like to learn about the parents themselves, what makes them tick, what are their passions, how was their childhood. All that to say, I really did enjoy getting to tell these kindergardeners about Job and how God is faithful even when bad things happen in our lives. One quick side note. If your a parent, make sure you take time to really listen to your kids. I wish I could have given my full attention to each child as they were sharing what their 'Really Very Bad Day' was. However, I was distracted with having 12 different eyes in 12 different places, which ment my mind was in 12 different stages. So, use your time wisely and listen when they tell you something. It's a gift they would share with you. And if you have young kid all the better. I feel the older you get the less likely kids are to share how they feel with their parents.

Tarry Botter

Today at around 6:00 P.M. central time I walked out of the Cary Area Public Library with a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But also left with something else, a look of "what in the world" from the librarian helping to check me out. You see, not having used my library card in over seven years they must have deactivated it. Upon my explanation as to why it was not used during those seven years, which apparently the nice lady was not concerned with, she ask me for my age. Promptly I responded, "26." It did not phase her, though I'm sure deep inside, or rather, just below the surface, her thoughts were reminiscent of that Sprint G4 phone commercial where everyone is bumping into every one else, and those being ignored, shout, "Really." I'm pretty sure that's whats she really wanted to say. I mulled over the idea of telling her the book (HP7) and audio book (HP4) were for a group of kids I help out with. But then I though, "you know, I really like Harry Potter and whats so wrong with a 26 year old man wanting to be caught up in a good story and find out if Hogwarts does open this year, or how Voldemort is killed, or if he's killed, Do Ron and Hermione hook up and does Harry decide to be with Ginny or not? These questions simply need to be answered and since every one tells me the books are so much better then the movies, and with the fast approach of HP7 Part I  the movie about a week away I decided it time to pick up the book and read it. However, the book is rather thick, so I really must go.

Grandma and Mums

Due to a missed opportunity to capture a brilliant sky tonight, I snapped a couple pictures of mom's mums which were neatly illuminated underneath the front porch light. In the process of up loading said file I found a couple that were even more beautiful. The newest addition to our family.  

Fox Trails

One my trip back to Illinois hit a larger bump while driving through an intersection. This bump was large enough that it caused the rear end of Nora (my sisters 97 Aurora ) to bounce like that bear in the youtube video where it falls out of at tree on to a trampoline, then soars a good 10 feet before finally landing firmly on the ground below. This large bump was not a problem for Nora, seeing her large frame and boat like appearance can handle pretty much any size wave. It was however a problem for the old Peugeot bike that was on the low profile home made bike rack which rested in the hitch of the vehicle. Upon crashing into this monster of a wave, the steel front wheel of my bike ironically met its nemesis, the pavement. This contact left the front wheel in a bit of a "S" shape. A great shape for jib rails, but not so good for smooth efficient pedaling. Thus, Today I purchased and new alloy wheel, changed out the tire and tube, and took her for a spin around the ole' subdivision. Enjoy. 

This was shot with a Flip Ultra HD (thus the shakiness of the film) The music is from Ratatat.    

http://www.vimeo.com/16679776

Land Of Lincoln

I have recently made it back to the great state of Illinois. Where the corn grows, rivers flow, and state troopers are in abundance along I-88. It's amazing the change that has already fallen upon me. I have always known the pace of life in the Chicago suburbs was more calming and manageable for me. That is compared to L.A. freeways and the progress shed in the Sierra. 


(Quick side note, the Sierra is often miss labeled as the Sierras. As strange as it may seen, the mountain range that runs along he eastern part of California is in fact one giant mountain. Thus it is singular, not plural). 


Allow me to continue. This knowledge of a more manageable pace of life has already manifested itself with in the 48 hours I have been here. I feel I can sit and, really, not do anything the world labels productive, all the while feeling perfectly content with where I am and with what I'm not doing. This new pace of life is already proving to be a huge factor in allowing me to, as Proverbs states in chapter 20 verse 4, be a man of understanding and draw out the purposes of a man's heart which are deep waters. The first thing I was able to do upon arrival to Illinois was be apart of a church service where I grew up. Returning to the church I grew up in is always a rush of memories and emotions. This time was no acceptation and it was magnified knowing I would have a good 2 months to be apart of God's work here in the Chicago suburbs.   


One such realization that hit me was how sure of my own ways I have become over the last 4 years. You know the feelings and thoughts you get when you graduate high school, the ones that say I got this figured out, I know what's up. Yeah, those, I acquaint this realization with those. But after your first couple weeks of college you soon realize you don't have a clue about anything. I had a taste of that being back in Illinois. Why, How is it that we always seem to find a way to think we are right and forget about what God says. This is where I find the words in Hebrews very practical in assisting with this. Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." We need to be DAILY encouraging one another to allow God to be God and not think as Adam and Eve did that we know what is best or not.


Yes, it has already been really good to slow down and reflect, seeking to follow what God may have, and not justifying my own pace of lfe