and runnin, runnin!

The next 6 weeks are jam packed.
We just finished Vacation Bible School at our church this last week, which was a lot of fun. It gave me a glimpse of what Jude will be like when he gets a little older (before we know it) and it was a kick to watch all the little kids interact with each other.

The next couple of weeks I’ll be covering the pastoral duties as our senior pastor is gone. Then Jess and I will be heading up to staff a summer camp for a week. She’ll have the duty of camp nurse and I’ll be leading worship - which will be a break from directing. Then after that, we’ll be leading an outreach to Thailand for two weeks (see www.fcceureka.org or our family blog for more info on that) to work in the hill tribes around Chiang Mai. When we come back I’ll jump back into action at church, overseeing a kids sports camp.

So if you want to hang out, I’ve got a weekend opened in ‘08 sometime.

It’s pretty hard to sing a Whitney Houston song like “I Will Always Love You” anywhere near as good as she could sing it. I have to admit that this performance, on what appears to be Bulgarian Idol is amazing. It starts out slow but once it get’s going (polka style) you’ll have to hold yourself back from throwing your hands up in the air and tapping your feet.

A local celebrity passed away last night.

Bill the Chimpanzee had lived to the ripe old age of 61 (a year younger than my Dad) and went quietly last night. Bill was believed to be one of the oldest Chimps in captivity. I have a lot of memories of trying to provoke him as a kid and dodge the poo that was sure to be flung. RIP ol’ buddy.

If you are a fan of internet radio, whether it be a local station that has a web cast or an internet only site like Pandora tomorrow will be a dark day. Internet broadcasters have always had to pay royalties for the music they play. Every 5 years those fees are assessed and a new rate goes into affect. This time the rate has increased exponentially (as much as 300% for some) and will put most web casts out of business.

Oh yeah, the dark day I mentioned. In protest, tomorrow (June 26) will be a day of internet radio silence. If you want more info, KHUM will be playing (on loop) a show about what is going on all day tomorrow. Or you can check out www.savenetradio.org.

So if you have iTunes - you need to download the ‘free song of the week’, now!
I went to high school with Sara Bareilles (she was a grade below) and now she is poised to invade the pop ranks, armed with a piano and original songwriting. Obviously there is some home town pride behind my promotion, but she’s definitely worth a listen. A true Humboldt Happening.

Jess and Jude have been out of town visiting family in Washington for the last 10 days and they finally get back today!

After nearly 4 years of marriage this is the longest we’ve been apart and it hasn’t been very much fun. Also not seeing my little man has been tough. Apparently in the last 10 days Jude said his first word, “Throat Goat”, got his first tooth, and was encouraged to root for the Seahawks and Mariners. The latter is akin to child abuse.

My days have been busy, which has helped the time fly by a bit. I’ve eaten a lot of meat which I initially was looking forward to. The first day Jess was gone I had a pulled pork sandwhich for lunch and hot dogs for dinner, with the only vegetables being french fries. Sounds amazing, I know. Unfortunately my body isn’t used to the bachelor diet anymore and I’ve had some pretty crazy side affects which I won’t recount here.

I watched a few ‘guy’ movies as well - The Departed, Harsh Times, and Apocalypto. Harsh Times was like throwing away two hours of my life and the other two were interesting cultural tales with a lot of blood.

All in all, I’ve realized how much I don’t miss (not even a little) the bachelor life. Jess is my best friend and whenever I was hanging out with people over the last 10 days, I kept wishing she was there with me.

Last week was a busy one and so I didn’t have time to put up my weekly book report. So here are the last 2 books I’ve read.

Book 3: I decided to go with some lighter reading, and again read a book I’ve had for some time. Ten Million Steps chronicles my great uncle’s run across the United States back in the early 90’s. While this is a feat that has been accomplished before, (not just by Forrest Gump) there is a twist to this story. Paul Reese was 73 when he did it! It took him 124 days, where he averaged a marathon a day. His wife followed along in an RV and was his support crew. One interesting note is that my current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote the forward for the book which is essentially Paul’s journal of the run. By the age of 80 Paul had run across all 50 states.

Book 4: Ten Commandments Twice Removed was given to me by my Dad a couple of weeks ago and I thought (from the title) that it was going to be political/religious commentary on the Ten Commandments. The first half of the book was an interesting study on the Jewish (Old Testament) covenant vs. the New Covenant, established after Christ’s resurrection. The second half and the real point of the book, was on observing the Sabbath on Saturday. This is a Seventh Day Adventist belief and has really defined their denomination, hence the name. While it was an interesting read from a theological standpoint, it wasn’t a very complete argument and the title was misleading, which left me with a taste of propaganda in my mouth.

Honestly, I still don’t really believe this.

Back in 1994 there was apparently an idea by our genius military to manufacture and use a GAY BOMB on our enemies.

“The plan for a so-called “love bomb” envisaged an aphrodisiac chemical that would provoke widespread homosexual behaviour among troops, causing what the military called a “distasteful but completely non-lethal” blow to morale.”

Who thinks of this stuff? Better yet, where have we tested it?

The last few days have been jam-packed!
Friday and Saturday were spent primarily focused on my Mom’s wedding. It was a small, intimate affair at her and her new husbands back yard.

Saturday night after the wedding, we went over to say goodbye and spend some time with our friends Joel and Sarah who are heading to China to teach English. We’ve been blessed to get to know them over the last couple of years.

Sunday we had a missions presentation by one of the people who used to be in our college group and then Jess took me out for an early birthday dinner to a really nice restaraunt, at a local casino that gives you $50 to spend for your birthday.

Yesterday we chilled and then had a meeting with our team that will be going to Thailand next month.

Today (my birthday) I dropped Jess and Jude off at the airport. They’ll be spending time with friends and family up in Washington while I kick it bachelor style here. If anyone want’s to come over and eat beef - that’s pretty much what I’ll be doing in my downtime - then give me a call.

Tonight I have a meeting and then a 9 PM softball game. ROCK!

One of my favorite ways to unwind is by taking a good run through a park near my house. During the week this is a key time for me to reflect on the things that are important to me –my family, job, and future. For some reason the park trails, surrounded by evergreen trees, make me feel alive in a deep way. While I don’t consider myself a spiritual person, during these runs I sometimes think about a higher power. I’ve read a few books on different religious beliefs and consider myself an open-minded person, although I don’t practice any specific religion.
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