Good Dog.

My childhood doggy had to be put to sleep yesterday.

The ruling concensus of all the family back home: it was time.

So... while it makes me sad that she's really gone, at least I have lots of good memories.

Chelsea at 12 yrs old... at her after dinner post.

A Good Dog.

She almost lived to her 18th birthday... I vividly remember the day my mom brought her home. It was summer. I was 5. We named her Chelsea Rae.

She somehow built a chocolate immunity, even consuming an alarmingly large quantity of fudge once (when we weren't looking) and living to tell about it. And, really, she was always eating chocolate which, in case you didn't know, is lethal to dogs.

She had an amazing vertical leap (around 36-42 inches in her prime - which is huge when you consider her legs were only about 4-5 inches long), even surprising the birds she caught out of the air and delivered dead on the doorstep.

An avid hunter, I know no other dog who would stubbornly sit out in a snowstorm barking at a squirrel until completely hoarse with a layer of snow that collected on her. (And even then, she didn't willingly come inside... we picked her up and brought her in... and then she paced the house whining to be outside to get the squirrel).

She was always getting into anything that smelled like human food (usually sweets)... whether it was Christmas presents or hidden bags of candy, nothing was safe from her sense of smell.

She loved to lick the dirty dishes in the dishwasher (as you already know from the picture above).

She was a hardcore burrower and cuddler. Blanket + cozy spot (aka bed, heater vent, patch of sunlight) = Chelsea's favorite spot. Unless food was anywhere in the vicinity. But after she ate the food, she would return to her favorite warm spot and burrow.

She was a protective mommy of 16 puppies in 5 litters. Oh the joys of baby dachshunds, even if we did have to sell them. (I suppose my Mom who cleaned up after them may have a different opinion as to how much fun puppies are.)

The fence could not deter her from pursuing adventures - and squirrels - in the outside world. In fact, if there was a crack in the fence, she would find it and run, run, run. And if there wasn't a hole or crack, she would dig one.

Yes... she was a good dog. And she lived a good long life.

Toward the end, she wasn't doing so well. And it was time.

But she was a good dog. And she'll be missed and remembered as a good dog.

Part 2? Just catch up...

Well, I was going to write more about St Louis... but now that it's been almost a week -- and a very long, crazy, stressful week at that -- I'm not feeling very inspired. Suffice it to say, I made it there and back again, met some good people, sat in sessions that reinforced some great things for my job, and really enjoyed getting to know my co-workers better.

Thanks to some out-of-my-control circumstances for a work project I was in charge of back in Portland, I was feeling pretty fried by the time the conference was over. It's really hard to sense your impending doom from thousands of miles away... and still have no control over making it happen well. Wednesday was tough. It was hard to watch the project crash right in front of my eyes but still have no control over it. I learned a lot. Hopefully the others who contributed to the perfect storm learned a lot too so that the same mistakes aren't repeated.

The rest of the week finished fine... rather in a haze, but fine nonetheless.

Yesterday was great. In the morning, 9 of us younger (20s - 30s) girls from work met for our monthly brunch and prayer time. It's a blessing to have a place to be open and honest with solid Christian sisters who love and pray for you. In the evening, Sarah and I went to Newberg to surprise Bekah for her 28th birthday. I love spending time with Bekah and Kara and their group of friends and family.

Today? So far, so good. Early church. Brunch with Jenny. And in a few minutes, I'm off to a friend's farm for a bbq and capture the flag. All good things.

I'm feeling the need to relax. Rest. Reset. Be. The Sabbath is obviously important to God. He knows how desperately we need to stop everything and just be with Him. I'm so thankful for the Sabbath and the Lord of the Sabbath.

PS. Something strange... A year ago this weekend, I was graduating from Fox. Strange. Very strange. And funny that I was in Newberg yesterday celebrating Bekah's birthday at the same time several hundred students were celebrating their graduation. Another time, another place.

Traveling Adventures, Part 1

Early yesterday morning, 3 co-workers and I left Portland for St Louis with a lay-over in Minneapolis. All was going great... I started and finished a book during the flight. We landed in Minneapolis and got some food.

Then... our flight was cancelled. Yeah. Cancelled.

Fortunately, they were able to rebook us on a later flight, and we only ended up having to wait 5 hours. And they gave us food vouchers (for, as my boss put it, the pain and suffering we endured). Because the voucher can only be used at one place (not like cash, they don't give change), we strategically combined our food orders so that we could maximize the benefit of the vouchers. So, we all enjoyed philly steak and chicken sandwiches for dinner -- and had enough vouchers left over to hit up the Ben & Jerry's scoop shop. Definitely eased the pain and suffering there ;)

And, really, the 5 hour wait wasn't bad at all. It was nice to have travel companions to talk to the whole time. In addition, the Minneapolis airport is huge -- so I took advantage of the opportunity to get some mild exercise in and walked from the far end of one terminal to the far end of the other (about 15 minutes one way... walking quickly).

We arrived in St. Louis around 9:45 pm. Fortunately, the Sunday night sessions we missed weren't that big of a deal. Strangely, it felt really late... so Liz and I went to bed before 11 pm (which would be 9 pm back in Portland... which is really early for me as of late).

The sessions went well today. This post is getting long... so I'll write more later.
Also, Liz took pictures while we were in Minneapolis, so perhaps I can post some of those when she downloads them.

Interesting, naturally.

Morning sun. Not glorious warm light, but a cooler dull sun. Gray clouds yonder. Gray clouds here. Rap. Tap. Tap. Rain against the window. No, wait. Snow? Rain falling like snow? Looks like snow. Swirling now straightening... hail. Hail like the coarse rock salt for making ice cream. More hail. Falling harder. Collecting. Collecting quickly. Everything covered in a layer of white. Hail falling in driving torrents. Traffic on the highway slowing. Children outside. Attempting snowballs out of hail. Throwing child-size fistfulls at each other. Neighbors at their windows. Lady across the street taking cell phone camera pictures of her car. Torrents slowing. Hail falling, but thinnest layers on pavement darkening as though to melt. Raining again. No...snowing. White piles of hail still thick on roofs, cars, grass. Sky dullish white but with bright light. Still snowing, but lightly. Large flakes. Still snowing.

Hike at Silver Falls

A day at Silver Falls State Park was just what the doctor ordered - and the weather couldn't have been better. (For months, I've had this hike penciled in for this particular weekend - and what a blessing that God made the day sunny, clear, and 80 degrees.)
Just a disclaimer: the pictures don't do it justice...

Jodi, Jenny, Sarah, and me (from left to right)

Two for one in the women's restroom.
We had a good laugh over this one...

You'll just have to imagine the thunderous roar...
The trail leads behind the falls.

Taken from the other side. I love the swirling mist behind the falls, and I lingered as long as my companions would let me.

For all but one, Sarah and Jenny didn't know I was still taking pictures. Most of these are blurry... but I love the progression. : )

This would be the point on the hike where I got called the "Hike Mom" because I pulled out lunches and individual packages of peanut M&Ms for the girls from my backpack.

I was trying to focus on the falling water droplets and have the unfocused falls in the background. The falls are unfocused enough...but some of the water droplets look like fire.
Said with the enthusiam and drama of a child, "So, we went to see these waterfalls, and one of them was next to a volcano that started erupting sparks...it was totally awesome!!!"

My camera lens fogged up because of the heat and moisture... but I thought the picture was cool anyways.
This is my Father's world.
If I were to keep silent, the rocks would cry out.
My God, how great Thou art!

Been There, Done That

Tonight I had the privilege of talking to a former prof's class at Fox. He had asked me to come and talk to his students about life after college... what it's like... how I got to where I am now... things I wish I had known when I was sitting where they are currently...

Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago -other times like just yesterday - that I was sitting in those same seats with two weeks until graduation and lots of final projects and presentations to do.

I realize that my own situation of graduating and getting a job was not at all the norm or most college students. Therefore, I tried to stick with general concepts dealing with interviews, adjustment, differences between college and work life... I wanted to give them a reality check, but also encourage them.

It was an interesting dynamic. They could relate to me as a peer because I was just where they are, and yet I also held their attention the whole time because I had something to share that they wanted to know.

It was cool too -- several of the students in the class were among those in the Stats class I tutored and sometimes taught last year. And there were a few who had been in classes with me. I really enjoyed seeing them again.

I prayed for God to speak through me what these 14 students needed to hear. And I really feel like He answered that prayer.

Rendezvous in Newberg

I spent the evening in Newberg. A relaxing end to a relaxing weekend.

First I met up with a friend who is still attending Fox. She and I got smoothies from a local coffee shop and then enjoyed them on the 15 minute drive up to Bald Peak.

It was pretty chilly outside, so we stayed in my car with our smoothies and just enjoyed the view. But then, before we had to head back down the mountain/hill, we quickly ran out into the cold to snap a few quick shots (and I do mean quick).

The view was amazing... the pictures don't do it justice by any means.

After I dropped Kristen back off at Fox, I drove over to Kara's new house. (She moved back in January, but this was the first time I had seen it.) She had invited a number of people over for show and tell of all her pictures and stories of her week-long DC to NY trip over Spring Break with 45 of her middle schoolers.

Good food, fellowship, friends, and fun. I'm so blessed.

To be or not to be?

Not to be.

If at first you don't succeed....

As you well know, normally that would end "...try, try again."

But sometimes I doubt baking cookies was ever meant to be a trial-and-error process.

Another cookie experiement failed miserably. No, really. These were bad.

At least the chocolate squirrels were salvageable. But the cookies I attempted Sunday? Not fit for consumption.

I started with a mystery base - a flour mixture with I don't know what else. (well...I do now, but not when I started the experiment)

I made some false assumptions on the unknown variables.

I added more variables (aka. ingredients) based on those false assumptions. (Dangerous...very dangerous -- though less when it comes to cooking, and more when it comes to beliefs. But I digress...)

And the results: strange. Ultimately, disastrous.

Jenny and I each tried the tiniest taste of raw dough and half of the flat, crunchy, crumbly sweet baked things -- and not even 10 minutes later, both of us felt sick and buzzy. Seriously as though we had eaten the entire batch in one sitting.

Not good.

I was VERY confused. (Beware of those false assumptions!)

What had gone wrong?!?

It hit me in the middle of the night. OOOHhhhh.... of course. No wonder.

Sugar haunts me again.

And another batch bites the dust.

Snow in Portland

Snow always seems to cause a huge stir around here (which never ceases to amuse me). I can understand when the roads are sheets of ice... but, seriously, down in town in the lower elevations, it didn't even collect.


And it seemed to people to be an even bigger deal this time around because it happened during spring break. But it just flurried around in the air for an hour or two. I guess people are ready for warm weather and sunshine.

Here are some random converstations I heard around the office and on the radio:

"It never snows this late in the year!"

"Well, I remember back in '58, we had a lot of snow in the spring...a lot more than this..."

"SNNNOOOWWW!!! Soooo fun!!"

"Isn't this weather just crazy!" said disdainfully. "I want a real spring."

"Oh, I had to get out and drive in it!!"

Christ is Risen indeed!

The Easter season is really a special one. The preparation (starting 6 weeks out with Ash Wednesday and Lent) lasts longer than the Advent before Christmas, but in this part of the world one wouldn't necessarily know that.

Remembering back to my Christian Foundations class at Fox, the Western church emphasizes Christ's birth, and the Eastern church His death. I wonder if the Christians in Greece, Russia, Turkey, and other reaches of the Eastern Orthodox Church go as all-out for Easter as we go for Christmas... (hopefully without all the commercializing)

Although we have special programs and services for Lent, Palm Sunday, and Good Friday, do we really get into the "Easter spirit" until right as it's happening? Christ's death and resurrection are paramount - arguably the most important events in Christian and human history.

It's important to revisit... to be reminded... to consider well what Christ has done.
It hurts... it heals... it humbles... it evokes worship - and unspeakable gratitude.

How then shall I live? How then must I live?

Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia.

There and Back Again

I was in Colorado this past weekend. Leaving Friday afternoon and returning Monday, I spent time with my family and attended a good friend's wedding Saturday.

A good weekend. A packed couple of days. A bit of a whirlwind trip... here are some snapshots -

• Long conversations with each member of my immediate family at all kinds of hours and in a variety of contexts.
• Bringing gifts for my family.
• Playing piano duets with my mom ... one piano + four hands = lots of fun.
• Karaoke in the basement with my sister after midnight.
• At the wedding, seeing lots of familiar faces from another time and another place.
• Handsome groom. Beautiful bride. Love. Joy. Peaceful closure.
• Seeing my cousin who will be having a baby soon. (The next time I see her, there will be another little one in the world.)
• Great talks over coffee.
• Attending the early service at my parent's church (where I grew up and everyone knows me), then rushing to Denver to the late service at my sister's church (so I could experience her new pastor in action).
• Surprising my uncle, aunt, and young cousins at my sister's church in Denver.
• Medium-rare ribeye with my grandparents and sister after church.
• Grading middle schoolers' papers so my sister could enjoy her weekend.
• Classic dinner-and-a-movie night with my parents.
• Seeing and experiencing the many specimen's of my sister's newest crafty passion: soap-making. These to soften. Those to exfoliate. All to clean. ... etc.
• Snow. Pretty, white falling snow.
• Sleep-deprived... and fighting a sore throat and runny nose.
• Delayed plane for de-icing.

I like traveling. I want to see the world... but after several hours in the air, it always occurs to me that I really just like to be where I'm going. It is at times like that I wish teleporters really exist.

A Jaunt into the Corporate World

On an important errand for work, I had to run downtown to get some signatures from some VIPs at the Wells Fargo Executive Tower.

When you look at the Portland skyline, I'm pretty sure that building is the tallest.

In any case, I got there. Parked in the garage under the enormous building that takes an entire city block. Found the elevators. I needed the 18th floor.

The elevator only had three options: Level A (parking garage), Level 1, Level 2. This will be an adventure...

I pressed the button for Level 2. May as well get as close to the 18th as I can in this elevator.

The doors opened to a bank counter with multple tellers, vaulted ceilings, cushy furniture - all expensive looking and rather classy.

I looked around.

Since no one was in line for the bank tellers, I walked up to one and asked how I could get to the 18th floor.

"You'll need to use the elevators around that corner there."

I looked to where she pointed. "Thanks!" And off I went.

I found the corridor with eight elevators marked A through H. But unlike normal elevators, the up and down buttons one would press to beckon the next available elevator were nowhere to be found.

Just a key pad (like what you have on a telephone, not including the asterisk or pound) on the far left of the row of elevators at the entrance to the elevator corridor.

I decided to hazard a guess that the key pad wanted to know which floor I needed. I typed in "18"

Flashing. Flashing... "F" Hmmm...

I walked to the elevator labeled "F" and, silently, the doors opened. Empty. I stepped inside.

There were 3 buttons inside the elevator. Open Door... Close Door... Emergency.

"Close Door"

And then we were off, the elevator and I. Sleek and silent. I'll just assume this thing knows where it's going...

In not much time at all, the doors opened to reveal a wide hall with the number "18" on the wall opposite me in the elevator.

Standing in the hall I looked left... then right. There were no signs really to indicate where I could find the very important persons whose signatures I needed. And it was silent. Like a library, but worse.

A lady walked up from somewhere, saw me, sized me up, and pointed to the left before getting into the elevator she had just summoned with the keypad.

Going where she indicated revealed a marble receptionist's desk and room with posh modern furniture, strange art, orchids and other interesting potted plants of various sizes, and floor-to-ceiling windows with a gorgeous view of the Willamette River, tall buildings, and bridges.

Although I had dressed for the occasion in a pantsuit and collared shirt with my long collared coat and with a nice wool dress scarf, black pumps, and my hair pulled into a professional French twist, the receptionist apparently didn't think I looked like one of their typical wealth management clients to grace the presence of that floor.

When I told her who I was needing to see, she narrowed her eyes and asked if they were expecting me.

"They are." In fact, they emailed me earlier this morning to say that what I had for them to sign was important enough that their meetings could be interrupted when I got there. But I kept that thought to myself.

"Hmm... well please wait over there."

And wait I did. I enjoyed the view for a long time. It was one of those hazy, sunny days. But the brightness shining through the sky and creating shadows with the buildings was interesting. You would be surprised how many many buildings have grassy parks on the top of their buildings. I wonder how they get the lawn mowers up there...

"Who was the other person you were looking for?" The receptionist asked after about 20 minutes when she noticed I had stopped watching the world outside and had picked up a Wall Street Journal.

I told her. And she said she would ring the secretary.

Surprisingly to her (though not to me), the Regional CEO would see me right away. I would need to go to the 20th floor.

Inside the glass doors of the reception area of the Executive Suite, I was sized up again by the receptionist... who rang the secretary... and then by the secretary herself. Sheesh people...

She took the papers. Walked down a long hall to a wood paneled wall with a large door, slipped inside the door. I sat in an uncomfortable - though quite expensive-looking chair - set on a magnificent rug with more of the exotic plants and strange art.

A few minutes later she returned with the papers. Signed.

I returned to the 18th floor. Waited a little more. Then the secretary came out, sized me up, took the papers, disappeared for a few minutes... When she came back, they were signed.

Thankfully, this one smiled a real smile as she handed the papers back to me - not a tight-lipped fake smile like all the others.

I beckoned my elevator with the key pad and retraced my path back down to the bank, around the corner to the other elevators, down to the parking garage, and then to my car.

What a bizarre hour of time spent... But I had my signatures. And my Vice President would be happy that the signed letters would go out in the mail that afternoon.

But, seriously... I'm glad I wasn't sucked into the corporate world like I once thought I had wanted way back when. God really changed my heart through college and pulled me in a different direction. He gave me the opportunity to work somewhere that does more than make money. Things with eternal value. For me, fulfilling work. I'm so thankful I work where I do.

And I hope I'm always friendly to people, no matter what they look like or who they may or may not be.

"Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the slendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him." Psalm 49:16-17

Good Old-Fashioned Fun

At the last minute, Jenny ended up babysitting for a family at work. Seven-year-old Julianna stayed with us all day Saturday and Sunday -- and it was a lot of fun. We played a lot and ate GREAT kid food (you know...the classics... mac'n'cheese, spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches). We spent all Saturday afternoon at the Oregon Zoo. Here are some pictures from our adventure...

I had one of those "I'm too young for this!!" moments. Julianna and I were playing at the park... (Jenny was watching and laughing at us... well... she was more laughing at me - and I probably did look ridiculous). I was climbing all over the playground equipment, hanging upside-down, doing little flips on the bars, and seriously having a blast.

Then we played a game of tag which, of course, involved climbing up slides, jumping off of the bridge, scaling the poles, and otherwise keeping away from a very fast 7-yr old. Not even two hours later -- I couldn't believe it -- I was sore. And when I woke up this morning, even more so. I still can't believe it! I'm WAY too young for this!!! So, OBVIOUSLY, there is only one solution: I need to play more often. :)

OH! One more thing... Jenny and Julianna made cupcakes while I was at a baby shower. But I went with them when they delivered the cupcakes to Julianna's next door neighbors and two families from work who also live on our same block. Suddenly, we were secret agents!

The mission:

1. Deliver the cupcakes without being seen.
2. Avoid the "bad guys" (all the people in the neighborhood not getting cupcakes) and other unseen enemies who, if given the chance, would capture our cupcakes - or us! - and thus thwart our mission.

So, we were running and ducking and army-crawling with plates of cupcakes. (Sarah, you would have been proud of my amazing balance -- I didn't drop a single cupcake despite the crazy shenanigans.) Jenny even did the staccotoed theme music for us. (do-do-doooo--shdo-do-dooo...etc) Julianna said we were kinda crazy -- but that didn't stop her from squealing and jumping behind air conditioning units, darting for shrub cover, and army-crawling under open windows. :)

After we made all our deliveries and were running back to the house, a lady across the street came out to walk her dog. Julianna saw her and shrieked, ducking behind a car. I stayed with Julianna, but Jenny had already run up the steps to the front door to unlock it. Julianna kept watching the lady and - giggling - decided we were doomed and probably had been spotted.

After hiding out for several full minutes, in a final dramatic attempt, I told Julianna that we would just have to make a run for it -- to keep our eyes on the front door and not let anything deter us. So, when I gave the signal, we ran, ran, ran -- Julianna squealing the whole way... We flew in the front door, just barely making it. I locked the door behind us.

"Whew," I said. "I don't think she saw us!"

"Actually," said Julianna, "she looked really confused." (So much for Julianna keeping her eyes only on the door...)

Meet Me in St. Louis

I've been traveling to St Louis for work... and that's just what I did Sunday. And I was back in Portland last night. Definitely a quick trip.

• Thick fog on the early Sunday morning drive to the airport.
• Carpooling with two co-workers... both of whom are twice my age and one who is a company Vice President. They elected me driver. Yeah... no pressure.
• Layover in snowy Minneapolis.
• Short, turbulent flight to warm, 78 degrees St Louis.
• Gourmet burgers at hotel restaurant, the only restaurant open downtown Clayton (suburb of St Louis) within walking distance of hotel on Sunday night. Seriously like a ghost town.
• Rooming with one of my co-workers who is usually super quiet, but quite talkative when it was just her and me in the hotel room. She likes ironing and licorice. A lot. (Not together)
• Silent hotel suddenly turns noisy after 10pm - squeaky rolling suitcases in hallway... jacuzzi tub filling above... football game next door...
• Wake up Monday to cold St Louis. Good thing I checked the forecast and packed my coat.
• Tour of old Clayton mansions on short drive to training in University City. Lots of colonial antique red brick and white trim. Quaint. Historic.
• Meeting in basement. Wood-burning fireplace. Quilt-covered couches. Elderly genius imparts wisdom.
• Italian lunch finished with excellent spumoni.
• Hardcore 9-to-5 day of training... tired. Want pillow in Portland. Still have 7 hrs of flying.
• Snowing in St Louis.
• "Inoperable" seat next to me in small plane to Minneapolis. (no seat back - wonder how that happened... probably awkward for whoever was sitting there when it broke)
• Flight #2: Long. Finished book... 2hr conversation with young mom next to me... 1 hr nap.
• Got my passenger co-workers home within 1 hr of plane landing (despite their checked bags and having to take a shuttle to the lot where my car was waiting - yay for no traffic after midnight).

Perhaps not surprisingly, it was really hard to get up this morning. In fact... I slept through my alarm. Thank goodness I have roommates.

Sarah woke me up as she was leaving the house at 8:40, "Jamie, are you going to work today?"

Groggy Jamie sees clock across room.

"Shoot... yes."

Jamie goes into hurry-get-out-of-bed-and-out-the-door mode.

Technically supposed to be working around 8:30... thank goodness for the semi-flexible hours (since I'm salaried) and the 3 minute commute.

Next St Louis trip? April 20.
Hopefully I'll remember to pack my camera...

Parallel Parking

Ever since my trip to Italy and Switzerland May 2006, I've been inspired to become good at parallel parking. Seriously, the Europeans are amazing. And they make it look so easy the way they manuever into crazy-tight spots.

Therefore, I've been quite fortunate to live in a neighborhood where street parking is tight and I've been forced to practice parallel parking.

Just between you and me, I sometimes even grab tighter spots further from my house just to increase the challenge so I can improve.

But all this practice over the past few months was only that - practice.

There is no real traffic in my neighborhood. I have no time constraints. There are very few people out-and-about -- so if happen to mess up and have to adjust several times... I'm almost completely certain no one even saw it.

All this is the background leading up to my momentous victory.

I successfully parallel parked on a real street into a moderately tight spot between two cars in town with traffic this afternoon. I was quick, smooth, close to the curb - all on the first attempt.

It was a pretty sweet moment.

Totally made my day.

Oh, and Jenny was in the car with me. So, there is a witness.

Don't Beat Around the Bush

A passionate man of God, gifted speaker, and powerful leader for evangelism, Luis Palau unashamedly proclaims Truth and ignites fires of spiritual fervor. I am truly blessed to partner with Luis and the team in the Kingdom work - and, seriously, I get paid to serve God and assist the effort of telling people around the world the Good News of Jesus Christ. Such a blessing I do not take lightly.

Today Luis spoke at our weekly chapel (which happens only occasionally, as he keeps a very busy travel schedule) on a life in surrender to Christ.

Sidenote: In case you didn't already know, I've been asking God to help me surrender the past year and a half. (I'm learning it's a process - and something to be chosen daily... hourly... moment by moment.) And since that time, you would not believe (or perhaps you would...) how many sermons I have heard on the topic of surrender. Not just at one church by one pastor on a surrender bent... oh no - we're talking half a dozen pastors at as many churches in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Not kidding. I think the Holy Spirit is on my trail - or, rather, I hope I'm on His.

In any case, I found it reassuring, amusing, refreshing, encouraging, convicting, and thought-provoking to hear another message on surrender.

And Luis cuts right to the chase. He doesn't get distracted by the arguments from the world. He measures everything against God's Word. He speaks Truth. He keeps the main thing the main thing. His heart is for people to know the Living God.

I want the power of the Holy Spirit to be evident in my life. This idea of Christ living in me... the old self dying... ALL being made new. When I look at my relationship with God, I see all the ways I fail, all the choices I should have made, all the ways I could have more wisely used the precious time God gives me, all the opportunities and promptings I ignore... and all the ways I don't measure up. Good intentions don't cut it.

Priority. Balance. Surrender.

Must keep the main thing the main thing. Cut loose distractions. Have the branches pruned. Live a fruitful life in the Spirit. Surrender everything to Christ. Seek God first and foremost - forever.
A willing vessel. I'm willing. And weak.

Please pray for me.

Lamb Song

For El... : )
(sung to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star')

Little baby lamb so sweet,
won't you let me hear you bleat?
Just a little "baa" to say,
"Would you come to me and play?"
Little baby lamb so dear,
is that your small bleat I hear?

Story behind this... I drove to Eugene today to visit a friend, El. And along the road, there are a bunch of farms with sheep. One field in particular held dozens of ewes and their babies -- SOOOO CUTE!!

In talking with El, both of us shared a moment of enjoyment over the adorable lambs (for she had driven past the same farm several weeks previous)... so I thought up the song about them on the drive home.

Shipwreck!

For the President's Day holiday, Jenny and I spent a much needed day at the coast. We started at Cannon Beach.
Suddenly, within a matter of a minute, a thick misty fog rolled in.

We decided to drive up the coast a mile to Ecola State Park. By the time we parked and grabbed our picnic lunch, the mist was already clearing.

After a quick 3 mile hike, we left Ecola and headed north to Ft. Stevens at the most northern tip of Oregon to see the "Graveyard of the Pacific" where over 2,000 ships have sunk since 1792.

(Apparently there's a rather nasty bar and unpredictable currents where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific. They've since built a jetty and dredged it, but it's still not the happiest place to navigate.)

This wrecked ship is the Peter Iredale which ran aground in a densely foggy storm in 1906 - thankfully, no one died.

(I really liked it.)

Sidenote: Don't let the flipflops fool you - it's not as warm as it looks. The air was decidedly cooler and the wind had picked up significantly the closer we got to the very tip of Oregon -- I've got another coat on under the sweatshirt.

Now.Then (1906).





The south jetty to control the currents where the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River meet.
The cold, desolate mouth of the Columbia River. (The land across the water on the left is Washington, on the right, Astoria, Oregon.)

A bit of an adventure coming home... drove on a deserted old logger road for 40 miles. A bit eery, we passed only 2 others cars the entire time on that road. We did, however, see several large herds of elk... but no pictures -- too dark by that time of night.

Overall, a very good day indeed.