and a few more!

I especially like the dunking-headband Chris and the Charlie Brown Chris

Thought you might enjoy these. Pics the youth group kids draw of me in church while I am sitting right next to them!

My favorite in this set is the last one where it appears that I am flirting with the Bible!

Fun at the Apple Store

 

High School Christmas Party

Here is a pic with Connor and Ryan. I had this sweet elf hat (with the ears and everything) for a few minutes until someone stole it.

A white elephant is a supposedly valuable possession whose upkeep costs exceed its usefulness, and it is therefore a liability. The term derives from the white elephant of East Asia, which is high-maintenance and has no practical use, but is considered sacred in Burmese culture (and therefore cannot be neglected or abandoned). A common elephant is expensive enough to maintain, considering the amount of food and water it requires. Thus it is considered a good idea to gift a white elephant to an enemy in the hope of bringing them to financial ruin.-Wikipedia

Fun such from last Sunday night!

This WILL be my new Christmas album!!!!!

And I can't wait!!!

TACO TOWN!

This was the funniest thing I saw on TV in 2005!

Chris Tomlin - How Great Is Our God/ How Great Thou Art

Worship Break! Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:1-2

Wildhorse Canyon

I took some of the HS students to Young Life's Wildhorse Canyon this weekend. I am always surprised by the powerful effect of simply getting away from everything familiar and getting a chance to experience something new-a new place, a new landscape, a new place from which to hear God's voice. We had a great time and I wanted you to see this picture. 

What is knocking around in my head right now

Someday I hope to be able to do this-walk around and present a complete, creative, entertaining and enlightening thought with no notes. Will it be the same without the hair and the trying-too-hard-college-prof clothes? This guy is very interesting-watch it if you have twenty minutes to kill.

Check out this link for a little laugh!

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=76986

Go to Costco right now and buy these!

They are like the crack of the dried fruit world, but they won't kill brain cells and they keep you on schedule (if you know what I mean!) Warning-the first time you open a bag of these the smell might seem a little weird-like someone put a little tiny piece of poop in there-but don't worry, that's normal (unless of course you actually see a little piece of poop in there and then you should probably take them back.) 

Montage Part #2

Don't get all excited! I am not even close to making new entries every day. The best plan that I can come up with is that I have some time every Thursday morning here at the office before it gets crowded that could be bloggerific-so I am working on it.

Anyways, in a continuing effort to catch you all up on some of what I never shared with you...

Here is the group on the morning we left for Esperanza. If you don't know about Espo then ask me sometime and I will tell you everything. It was a super good trip-and we even had ultra spiffy matching t-shirts!

The back of the boat

This
is
me
in
the
back
of
the
boat.






I went with 12 kids from my church
and 100 or so from the area to a Young Life camp called Malibu Club this summer. It is in Vancouver, B.C and is only accessible by boat or seaplane. One of the student's families has a boat. A pretty big boat. Like '60 and beds for 10 kinda boat. And we got to take that to Malibu. The trip there was great-good weather, calm seas, no puke buckets, great food...But the way back was a bit different.

A slight mechanical problem made our trip through the Strait of Georgia quite pukey. I don't think anyone actually lost it, but we pretty much all had buckets in front of us. Normally puking is not a particularly social event. Puking is why bathroom doors have locks. And yet that seasickness was one of the most unifying things we did. It was almost the only time that we are all on the same section of the boat at the same time. Know why? Because the back is less pukey. The waves are calmer as you get farther away from the spot where the boat is actually smacking the waves. So this picture is from just after the waves calmed down and we put the buckets away and we rested, 'cuz almost puking is really draining.

There are lots of other things that we all do (and almost do) that are draining. Certain tasks at work, some friendships, ways that we let ourselves and others down, as well as lots of other examples all serve to wretch a little of our lives from us. But there is good news in it. 'Cuz according to Mark 4, the back of the boat is where we meet Jesus.

At the end of another long day of trying to do his Father's will on Jesus' part and trying to keep up with him on the part of the disciples, Jesus requested a ride to a less crowded side of the lake. Along the way the weather got crazy and the disciples got scared and began looking for Jesus. And what they saw was frustrating/unbelievable to them, but is full of grace and hope to me. Jesus, in the back of the boat, sleeping, on a pillow. Jesus, worn out also. Jesus, figuring out the same place that we did for some comfort. They found him there, woke him up, and had their screaming prayers answered immediately. That he calmed the storm is cool and helpful and miraculous. That our Lord was back where the waves are calmer asleep on a pillow is cooler still. Even more endearing and humbling is that he understands the need to find a calm place, calmer at least, and close our eyes sometimes. And that he invites us, by example, to stop worrying about the winds and the waves and instead come back and lay down and share his pillow-that is the Gospel.

Montage Part #1(or what I've been doing since my last post)

As with any good movie montage, this purpose of this one is to fill in things you need to know, point out things that you might have missed and hopefully provide at least one "aha" moment. And just to keep it as confusing as possible, I present this one to you in no particular order.

This first picture was taken by Katie. It is me in Yellowstone National Park. I think this one was taken at the upper springs where we went to see the Grand Prismatic. It was a bit stinky, but super fun.


This one is with some of the youth group kids at a service project. I told them to make mean faces. The person taking the picture told us to make mean faces!



This picture is here for two reasons. One is because a student in the group named Jojo took it and I think it looks cool. The other is because this is what I do. Friends sometimes ask what is my favorite part of my job and this is it. Walking with a kid, a young disciple, a new friend. It is the place where my deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.


One of the fun things that I got to do this summer was get to know a town, Halfway, OR. Katie spent the summer there working at the Pine Eagle Clinic. Halfway is famous for being the first city in the country to sell naming rights for its town to a company, in this case eBay's half.com.

The view from my office window in Lake Oswego, OR

 

Coffee anyone?

There is like 4" of snow at the church where I work right now! Very exciting stuff for the kid from Renton School District #403 that canceled school for two days even if the snow didn't stick.  

How come I am the shortest?

Here is a picture of me and my brothers. Eric is in the middle and it was his wedding that got us all dressed up.

Me and Katie in the San Diego Sun

Here is a picture of us at my little brother's wedding in San Diego, December 31, 2005.

In Memory of Molly

What can I say about Molly (shown here with Katie's Uncle Ned)? How can I pay tribute to my favorite dog ever? I first met Molly on December 25, 2003. After an early morning flight from Seattle to Sacramento, finding out my luggage was lost, then driving from Sac to Pleasanton to have my first Christmas with Katie's family, I was greeted upon arrival by Molly. Her bark of greeting, curious nature, excellent hosting skills (always on her best behavior when guests were present), deep brown eyes and perfectly cuddly fur were a great comfort and always a highlight of a visit to Uncle Ned and Aunt Judy's house. From that moment, through yesterday when she went to meet her Creator on her 14th birthday and on until I see her again, Molly has been, is and will always be my favorite dog.

Molly was a reminder of God's love to those of us lucky enough to know her. God used Molly to bring smiles to a lot of faces during her 14 years on Earth. And while I am sure that the place where she is buried in the backyard will be watered with a few of our tears, the smiles she produced will last forever-literally.

When someone we love dies, we are suddenly consumed with the wideness of God's mercy and grace and we hope with all that we have that we will see them again someday. I haven't yet been to seminary. I don't know what proper doctrine is regarding animals in Heaven and I certainly don't know what you, the reader of this blog, believe. What I do know is that dogs and humans were created on the sixth day together. And after creating the animals God "saw that it was good." And so I hope to see her again someday and picture her right now running through the only backyard that has more beautiful roses than the one she explored here on Earth and hearing all kinds of beautiful sounds and joining in the praise herself.

We miss you Molly-dog!

Someone I Like Saying Something I Agree With

Ira Glass (host of PRI's This American Life) on TiVo:

"Married people always want you to get married, people with kids always think you'll be happier with kids, and TiVo owners always believe your life won't truly begin until the day you get TiVo. God knows I believe that. I love TiVo. We actually have two TiVo boxes in my house, hooked up to our one TV. TiVo is based on an idea that doesn't sound so radically life-transforming when you first hear it. You tell a machine what TV shows you like, and it records every episode of them for you. Then when you come home at night, there's a whole list of episodes of The Family Guy you can watch, there's last night's Daily Show, there's every episode of Celebrity Poker Showdown. TV itself is transformed, from a blur of channels you flip through – most of them lousy – to a concise and hope-inspiring list of shows you actually enjoy. Which means that every time you turn on the TV, there's something good on! Always! Every single time! That dramatically changes your life for the better, in ways my sad TiVo-less friends can't even imagine. I'm such a corny and boosterish TiVo user that I've bought it as a present for friends and family. I shouldn't be here endorsing it at all. Yes, they're our newest sponsor but they didn't ask me to write this and they're not paying me for it or anything and actually, I think it's sort of unbecoming for a public radio host to endorse any product. But here I am. I love TiVo. You're nuts if you don't get one. That's what I truly believe and I'm happy to tell the world." – Ira

What I Am Thinking Right Now

I was pretty sure when I first started this blog that I would do a better job at it. I was pretty sure that I would do an entry or two a week. I was pretty sure that, since it is so easy, I would write a random thought down on my hand and then race back and share it with all of you. I was also pretty sure that it would not become a diary for me-a place where I process actually and then share virtually.

And yet here I am tonight-not able (willing?) to talk this stuff out with anyone else and needing to type it out and make sense of it. I had a bit of a rough day. I messed something up (the category of which I do not want to share-dont worry though-it isnt illegal or scary and I have already shared it with all the people who need to know) and feel like an idiot. I knew that it was going to be kinda bad, I just had no idea how bad. The hard part is that it isnt the kind of mistake that's embarrassing or just a hassle-its the kind that is really defeating. Its that kind that takes away your smile and replaces it with chapped lips and dry mouth. Its the kind that-after chewing you up and prior to spitting you out-makes you remember all the things that you hate about yourself and that you promised you would change. Its that kind that makes you scared-not for your life-but for your ability and potential to EVER become all that God intended you to be.

At first it always seems like the kind I hate most. I used to hate making these kinds of mistakes because they made me think less of myself-made me not believe in myself and not want to cheer me on. I used to hate them because, even though it was only for a moment-they stole my hope and stole my joy and stole my confidence and even stole my ability to chase after those things and try and get them back. That was back when it was just me.

But now my life is bigger. It is challenged and protected and enriched and witnessed and affected by all kinds of amazing people-my wife, my life-long friends, the students I work with and love. And that makes it even worse. It makes me feel so much smaller and more ashamed and so, so much more stupid and irresponsible.

And then I think of my Savior, Jesus Christ and that doesn't help any either. Don't get me wrong-it helps eventually (that's probably going to end up being the entire reason for this post) just not initially. Initially I think of prayers I have prayed and love I have felt and sacrifices He made and all that times and ways I have let Him down or dissapointed Him. And then I feel really low. Today after all this happened I was also reminded of my lack of compassion. Here I am shaking because of something that will soon go away and yet I often miss the chance to pray for people in my life going through things that would give anyone reason to shake (a pink slip, a death, a diagnosis, a tragedy).

And then I did this thing that I sometimes love and sometimes hate-I tried to figure out the worst-case scenario. I guess its a coping mechanism, a strategy for sanity-a way of seeing some ability to come out of this on the other side and still have the ability to walk and smile and help God hear about His love for them. I sometimes hate it because it really makes it all worse-stopping to think about the end of a road you just accidentally turned down sometimes shows you that it is actually going to be worse than you thought. Sometimes I hate it because I want to feel sorry for myself for a while, and this exercise steals that ability. But mostly I hate it because it, more than anything else, makes me feel like a doubter, like a faithless, hopeless, selfish, calloused punk. Because here is what I know (and what I believe is true for you as well):

1. God loves me.
2. Jesus came and died for the today version of me-not some perfect other guy.
3. The people who love me, love me way more than this event has the ability to effect.
4. The people who God needs me to try and reach for him will never know about and could not possibly care less about this event.
5. The Heaven that I long for is not at all effected by this event and neither is my admission into it.
6. His love for me and belief in me and capacity for forgiveness and protection of me is endless and not subject to stupid things I might do.
7. I love Him more than anything.
   

There is really only one mistake that I could make now that would be tragic. I could decide not to fix it. I could decide that I am sick of screwing up and disappointing myself and the ones who love me. I could decide that things like hope and joy and confidence and love are overrated anyway and just let them fade away from my life. I could just give up.

But that is not going to happen-today or ever. The Chris that enters Heaven someday will still not be perfect, nor will the one who sees the Class of 2012 graduate or the one who celebrates a 25th wedding anniversary. But he will be better. By God's grace and Katie's patience and the youth group's feedback and NWL's iron and the Holy Spirit's leading and Jesus' example I will wake up each day more the person that God desires than I was when I fell asleep. I will use events like the one today to remind and shape and commit and reconcile and be taught.

I cried several times today. The first was when I thought of a lyric that Nichole Nordeman wrote several years ago:

Rolling River God
Little Stones are smooth
Only once the water passes through
So I am a stone rough and grainy still
Trying to reconcile this river's chill

But when I close my eyes
and feel you rushing by
I know that time brings change
and change takes time
And when the sunset comes
my prayer would be just this one
that you might pick me up and notice that I am
just a little smoother in your hand

The second time was when I realized that this wouldn't even effect me if my life wasn't so full of love. If I was just a dude, a Lebowski, and this happened I would have just been mad for a second and then moved on. But my life is so full-of love, of hope, of potential, of dreams and fears and God-that I can't help but be effected by it. And so I cried tears of joy that this matters, that I matter, that my love matters and that it matters to God when my heart hurts and when I lose sight-if only for a second-of what is really important. And I am crying now cuz Chris Rice is singing and reminding to "raise my head for Love is passing by."

Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die,
O, raise your head for Love is passing by,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus and live,

Now your burden's lifted,
And carried far away,
And precious blood has washed away the stain
So Sing to Jesus,
Sing to Jesus,
Sing to Jesus and live,

And like a newborn baby,
Don't be afraid to crawl,
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall
So Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus, Fall on Jesus and live,

Sometimes the way is lonely,
And steep and filled with pain,
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain
then Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus and live,

O, and when the love spills over,
And music fills the night,
And when you can't contain your joy inside
then Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus and live,

And with your final heartbeat,
Kiss the world goodbye,
Then go in peace,
and laugh on Glory's side
and Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus and live.

And so I praise you, Father, for today. I praise you for forgiving me even before I asked so that when I asked you could be ready to comfort me and remind me of your love. But mostly I praise you that after you heard my prayers you used the tears to remind me that you have huge plans for my life, plans that have nothing to do with just getting by and everything to do with making you proud and experiencing new aspects of your love everyday.

The guy I stole the title of this blog from says that we should pay attention to tears because "they are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them about the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go next."

I'm ready God. Lead me on.