Two good gifts

I have been given tea and chess to enjoy. I am grateful to God for both, because he saw that I would enjoy both. Amen.

Geek Dad

This summer is going to rock.

This isn't just a place to play

Avatar, James Cameron didn't think of it first.

@myspace
@facebook
@twitter
@gowalla
@foursquare

Will these services define us, or will we use them to define the world? Does it matter?

Day Light Savings

I don't like it one bit, no sir. I don't see the point. In my day we got up just how God intended, cartoons, or the yelling of our parents. Ben can shove it.

Google Monster

Ash Wednesday 2010

I am thankful that God has been teaching me four things recently. 1) God is Great so I don't have to be in control. 2) God is glorious so I don't have to fear others. 3) God is good, so I don't have to look elsewhere for satisfaction. 4) God is gracious, so I don't have to prove myself.

Posts

Odd comments have been left. They have been deleted. Unfortunately now I have to moderate the comments. Sorry.

Sweet empty cup

I am returning to the idea of Resolutions, Anti-resolutions, planning not resolving anything, or whatever else the internet wants to call it. This time I am declaring my need to fast. In years past I would stop drinking coffee, coke, or smoking my pipe. This Lenten season I am seriously considering giving up spending money out side of food, gas and housing. But like any radical change, it isn't the fast that counts, but how it changes my behavior afterwards. I have found some tips here and here. Oh yea, this book has something to say about money too.

A friend of mine

Welcome to Parkland. I live here. The taps here are humble but reliable. Come for a visit.

I bet I can make your head ich.

 We have uninvited house guests.

Twenty-10

Four-ish years ago I went to a church conference. The central topic was prayer. I liked it, though I think the pastor miscommunicated some of his heart, but that post is for someone else to write about. The second most important lesson I took from him was the disciple of making lists. And the idea stuck. Since that conference I have come up with one item for the list per year I am old. Here are the first two of said list.

1. As much time as I have left on earth, I want to have Jesus disciple me in a life of identifying with him first. This means, putting my role as husband, father, YFC missionary, collector of crap, coffee snob after Jesus. This is not as easy, as I have become quite an idolater of my time.
2. I would like to begin to learn how the Psalms point to Jesus.
3. There is a growing suspicion that I live my salvation by works. This year Jesus needs to lift this burden from me by his grace. I hope that I will be able to worship Him more fully because of it.

There are other ideas floating around, and I might even share some of them, but for now, this short list makes a good start.

Hazards of Analogue Data Storage

My journal was stolen from the back seat of my car. I guess I didn't lock the doors. What they stole was a bright red backpack. Maybe the thief thought there was a shinny lap-top or ipod to run off with. What they got was the 5 years of me I was keeping that book. Stoopid thief. I know Jesus knows what the last 5 years was like, but I would like to keep some of it in my memory too.

You May Have Noticed

But now I am saying it this blog is "Dead". I might bring it back if the mood strikes me, but for now, please take this opportunity to enjoy something completely different.

Blogger

I could hardly be called a Blogger. I am more of a Squatter. I don't have any good pictures to post or thoughts to shout out. So squat I shall.

To Quote: "neither hope nor desire of recovery."

God wants elect men, men of whom self and the world have been severely crucified. Their bankruptcy has so totally ruined self and the world that there is neither hope nor desire of recovery. God wants men who, by this insolvency and crucifixion, have turned toward Him with perfect hearts. Power Through Prayer ~ E.M. Bounds 

Late for me

Trolling through the internet at 10:30 p.m. doesn't do anything for me. I don't find anything more than what I need to know or couldn't wait to find out the next morning. Then I find this post from May and I lose focus on the screen. It is almost like I am reading a horror movie review. I don't even know how I would begin to handle that kind of event/earthquake/WTF in my life. So here is my question that rings fierce now, but will fade to a dull memory by morning, What am I doing here instead at my bed on my knees?

This morning's text is my comfort.

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.

Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.

John 10:1-19

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.  This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father.

Retweeting the Internet Monk

More things to think about. I have been caught trying to decode God and his actions. This post is a good slap on the wrist to KNOCK IT OFF.

RT: Rain City

This ain't twitter, but the thought is the same. I grabbed this post from Pastoral Musings because his thoughts ring true for me.

Trippel

I didn't know that beer could taste like this. Good.

Walla Walla

I was invited to run around wine country with my Mom and brother this last weekend. I found this place and it was my favorite spot. If you haven't been to Walla Walla, it is a worth while spot to hang out for a day or three or even more if you have the time and money to spend on vino.

A list of 10

Ideas sought here. If you had to take stuff on a walk in the city, what would you take?

To Quote

"A thing may be too sad to be believed or too wicked to be believed or too good to be believed; but it cannot be too absurd to be believed in this planet of frogs and elephants, of crocodiles and cuttle-fish." - Maycock, The Man Who Was Orthodox

Postcards

I like postcards. I like the limited format that they offer. I like the picture on the other side. I found a place on the internet that opens the world of postcards in a whole new way. Check it out here if you like postcards too.

My daughter the Hero?

Her: It's for you. Hands me a flower
Me: Thank you.
Her: It's the antidote to save your life. Skips off.

Playing with a new blog site

I don't know if I will make a switch, but so far I like what I have found at Tumblr. Here is a new post, over there.

More

What we need is one more.

The written word.

It isn't a zine, but the thoughts of my time on the streets of ministry hide within that little black book. The second tip is the black liquid in the cup. It keeps me on top of things in the afternoon. I am thankful that God has given me both.

amen

This world is not simply a theater for individual conversion narratives, to be discarded at the end when we all go to heaven. No, the ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon for sins but also the renewal of this world, the end of disease, poverty, injustice, violence, suffering, and death.

From The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

The whores all seem to love him

"This man receives sinners and eats with them." I have not read this book yet, but having just learning the definition of this word has given me some new eyes for this little gem.

Eastertide

Now that we are in the easter season, I would like to open a couple of ideas. First I would like to offer more sacrifice of the flesh that isn't just "don't eat, don't touch, don't taste." Second, more opening of my storehouse, not that I have much, but I don't have the gracious spirit that the power of the resurection should incite. Third...I am too lazy to write it down, so if you want a cup of coffee you can ask for it, and I would love share #3 with you.

Thought Experiment

If Christians were known for taking in the sick and poor "back in the day" What would a congregation look like?  I am not thinking of the actions of the group but their physical state.

Here's why, I was listening to a woman talking about growing up in Kenya and as a child seeing late stage diseases that here would never be allowed to progress. A child with a cleft pallet was the example she used. So my mind fluttered off to the early roman Christians who would be grabbing the babies from the garbage pile, the lepers, the broken bones that didn't get set correctly and thought about these brothers and sisters being "beautiful feet" brining the good news.

Hmm.

Some days it just is.

And it's hard to step out on them waves
Hard to walk beyond your vision
Oh Lord, it's hard to be a man of faith 


Well, His eye's on the sparrow
And the lilies of the field I've heard
And He will watch over you and He will watch over me
So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds

Gravity Check

One of my favorite S&G songs and a fine way to save my place.



"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together"
"I've got some real estate here in my bag"
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America

"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera"

"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America

January 22, 1973

So many people I will never know .

Theft

My daily reading brought me to a set of questions that needed attention.  So I have taken a very short amount of time and just as little thought answering them. You will notice that some of the questions have been changed to fit my particular circumstances.


1) How is it that I am strong enough to carry my 18 month old daughter in my arms but I am not strong enough to hold her down to change her diaper? 
A. It all has to do with the physics of willingness on the part of the beholden. She wants to be holden.

2) How can wearing socks often be the difference between my being warm or cold? 
A. Heat escapes from the feet and head. In my case, when sleeping I can't wear socks because they make my legs hurt. I don't know why.

3) Why can I play basketball for 3 hours straight but if I go for a run I am ready to die after 2 minutes? 
A. I don't play basketball. March Madness for me is nothing more to me that too many months in the rain.  And I my death meter runs out after 4 minutes.

4) Why are 4 year olds so smart and inquizative and teenagers the opposite? 
A. Teenagers don't want to look stupid. 4 year olds can't look stupid in their own eyes.

5) Why do dogs and kids listen so well unless they don't feel like it? 
A. I'm sorry, what were you saying?

6) When the price of a barrel of oil doubles, why does the price of gas at the pump quadruple? When the price of a barrel of oil drops 70%, why does the price of gas at the pump go down 30%?
A.  This has to be answered by any internet conspiracy theory , make your own, it's fun.

7) Is the sound of angels singing in heaven as good as the belly-laugh of a toddler?  
A. Not even close.

8) How can beer and coffee taste so good when the first time you try them they taste so bad? 
A. It is hard to like coffee and beer when you are 14.

9) When did it become unsafe to put 6 kids in the backseat of a car without seat belts or unsafe to ride in the back of a pickup truck?  
A. My question is this: How did we survive our parents raising us?

10) How is it that I was raised without computers, internet, cell phones, starbucks, and Chipotle burritos but I am not sure life would go on today without them? 
A. Addiction, sweet sweet addiction.

Stoopid books, you go squish now.

So far my lust for new books has led me here .

Make:

Click Here for 2009 part 2.

2009 part iv

I think this is the last thing. And for cheating sake, it can't be started in 2009 let alone completed. It fits squarely in the dumb slot. I would like to, before my oldest daughter is 18, live in a foreign country for 2 years or more. (She is 8.) I don't really know where, or why for that matter. But it is out there. And if I needed to have something that is dangerously unattainable, monstrously big, it might as well be that.

Shock

In all the years of "blogging" I don't have a single post dealing with toast, toasters, or anything remotely connected with the act of browing bread. Until today.

The third item in my list for 2009

I want to be able to grow something I can eat. My life consists of consuming. I have not made anything that someone else could possible want. I don't think this is okay. I also firmly believe that my lawn shall one day be gone, replaced with items that can be eaten by man or beast. So for 2009 I will begin my journey as a hobbyist farmer. Or I will just grow potatoes in a pot.

I wish the link below fit as a paste

Click Here to see how your world might end.

2009 part dos

Did you know that if you break Matthew, Mark, Luke and John into 3 chapters a day you can read all four books in a month? It's true. Well I have been reading psalms, and proverbs to different levels of success for a couple of years now in the same way. You can break the psalms into 5 a day and proverbs one chapter a day. It brings a great peace to know that I don't have to "think of what to read", but I just look at the next chapter and proceed. So in this 2009 A.D. I am going to read the four gospels 12 times.

2009 part one

As is my tradition I would like to put forward some things that I would like to try to do during 2009. So to begin my list of good intentions I would like to say that in the new year I will not purchase New Books. Or another way to look at it is this way: I will try to borrow the book first. Our local library has a great selection and the intra-library loan system does come in handy when I can't get the book If that doesn't work, or I just can't live without the book in my personal possession, then used book stores (and we have many) will have to work.

To Quote

What are we coming to
No room for me, no fun for you
I think about a world to come
Where the books were found by the golden ones
Written in pain, written in awe
By a puzzled man who questioned
What we were here for
All the strangers came today
And it looks as though theyre here to stay

Dangerously Unattainable, Monstrously Big goals.

D.U.M.B.  B.H.A.G. The lists are coming. Will you be ready?

To Ninivah

"Our theme this year prompts three related questions: What are we as human beings, where have we come from, and how may we adapt to meet an ever-changing world?" I wonder if there is anyone of us brave enough to go, and what kind of fish would it take to get there?

In the Pants.

The Evangelical Scandel. We seem to be interested in the Birds and Bees in Post:Re:Em:Evangelical world, but there is something that I think we may have missed. Why is LDS getting heat for something we were supposed to be against? Are we losing our touch or getting in touch? (And the coffee is from Mandolin Cafe in Tacoma.)

Jesus $7.00

I didn't earn it ; 

I don't need it; 

but if they miss one payment, 

I'll raise HELL !

For Her

Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning and I find myself careening into places where I should not let me go. She has the power to go where no one else can find me and to silently remind me of the happiness and the good times that I know, got to know. 

To Quote

"Our grasp of atonement is partial; the God we are grasping for is complete and whole." -Scot McKnight

Victrola

I was able to spend Saturday with my wife exploring some of Seattle's coffee. Victrola on E Pike took the lead with a helpful barista that pulled this beauty.

The Trail of Evidence OR After 11 Years, This is What Makes a Hot Date.

Latte
House Brew
Cappucinno
Macchiato 

Killer Winged Slug

As I was out I found this little guy. I was worried that our local Vandals had given up for the fall.

Grimm's two lines.

Daughter: Mom, the sun is in my eyes.

Mom: Be grateful, it will be dark soon enough.

And I really may just grow up and be like You someday

Did You ever get scared playing hide and seek?
Did You try not to cry when You scraped Your knee?
Did You ever skip a rock across a quiet creek?
And did they tell You stories 'bout the saints of old?
Stories about their faith?
They say stories like that make a boy grow bold
Stories like that make a man walk straight 

Sun

Mud, apples and bees were the delights that greeted the pack on Saturday.

HEDAY

Benjamin Knowles wobbled into the New World.

Magic Cocoa Pixie Dust

Mmmmm, mocha.

Too quick $7

I found myself wandering out of Portland and to this classy little establishment.

What's that on your boot?

I spent some time over Labor Day weekend at a Rodeo.

Dena Mora, Look Out!

Montana viral advertising.

Orbit of Office

After several weeks of "things and stuff" I find myself back into something of a more recognizable orbit. Here is one stop.

Es-Kay-Eight

Two groups of people that I try to stay in contact with are middle school students and skaters. Neither group controls much.

On the Rood Again.

Listen! The choicest of visions I wish to tell,
which came as a dream in middle-night,
after voice-bearers lay at rest.

I am going to Montana, and as a previous saint once said, "Let's go with him, that we might die too."

Going for a walk.

I may have found a new friend. Up the street from where I found the last sticker, this little dude stuck his head out from the noise of Division.

Your Lack of Faith is Disturbing

Norman Mailer wrote a book in 1974 that I was able to get at my public library through the intra-library loan system. There is a quote in the second chapter that struck me as important, "The name is the faith of graffiti."

Choking on the Bones

My body tells me that I have had too much food through the discomfort of my gut. If there is something that smells funny or has a dangerous texture then my throat will not let me swollow it.

Chalk lines

Don't look too closely at the lines or you will get dizzy. It is too easy to complain about the confusion that is fronting itself in my life, so instead of throwing up on you dear three readers, I will give you this picture taken in a corner of Lakewood.

$4.39

Seattle can be obnoxious.

Sticker Thoughts

I am glad that someone thinks this.

Renaissance Cafe

I was hungry as it happens and instead of the usual favorite pho spot, my gut decided to take me in a new direction. Tasty food and helpful but not overwhelming service and a seat at a window renaissance cafe was my happy choice. I have been there before for breakfast, eggs and toast I think, but not being a real morning kind of person I wasn't able to take it all in. The art and newspaper clippings give it a local feel. Give it a shot.

Money to go

We are on the way to Rocky Boy Reservation with Deaf Teen Quest. And taking the rail to get there.

Random Rumblings

I have crossed a line. I don't think I am old, but listening to some 20 somethings talk in a coffee shop say "But that is so gross, she is 31" I know I have crossed a line. This same couple talks about going to see Tom Petty.

hot dog!

Just the other day I was looking absently into the distance. And out of the corner of my eye I found my wandering Paper Brain. It was hiding in the crevice between the door and seat of my car. Sneaky little bugger. I am so happy.

Not confused but...

I am sitting in a local coffee place. The coffee here is bad. It has been that way for sometime, but they support local music and serve food and ave beer on tap which makes it a cool place for the college set to hang out and feel independent.

I have been thinking about where I have been planted and what my neighbors look like. So far I can see several neighbors. The parents of the kids that my kid goes to school with. These college kids that are sitting next to me in the coffee shop (hardest group for me to want to reach out to get to know). The high school kids that I watch walk up and down the street in front of my house. The tavern that is several blocks down the street and the drunks I watch walk (thankfully) home from said place(second group that makes me nervous). Those are the people in my neighborhood.

Christ is calling for active obedience.

A Book Placce

The Black Spot Books

Pt. Townsend

We were going to ride a train for our 10th wedding anniversary but that didn't work out. So to make up for it we waited till May and went to Port Townsend for some fun in the sun. It was hot and wonderful. With plenty of coffee places to explore and food to eat we didn't have time to wonder what to do.

Pin

I have had lots to wrestle with in my time in the bible, being that He is a big God. I am glad that His reach is greater than mine. Here is the latest "pin." They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Paper Brain

Last Monday I lost my brain. I kept it in a little black notebook with an elastic band closure. Now it is gone. I found a second one to replace the first, but it isn't the same. If you happen to find a lonly little book on the ground somewhere in the greater Tacoma area, treat it nice and return it to it's home.

To Quote and to Think

The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the monolithic consensus which surrounds us. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord's work in the power of the flesh ranter than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.

-Francis Schaeffer, No Little People

To Quote

"Utopianism is terribly cruel because it expects the impossible from people. These expectations are not based on reality. They stand in opposition to the genuine human possibilities affored by the realism of the Scriptures."
-Francis Schaeffer in No Little People.

EasterTide

I am so happy for lamb. For those with the misfortune of not having experienced lamb, I am sorry. It is time you go out and enjoy this little treat. And remember, the season isn't over, enjoy the next 80 days or so of history. Those last few paragraphs of the gospels and first few of Acts contain lots of time and frankly, celebration.

Disposable days

The days are getting longer, lent is ending and I am feeling a bit like this coffee.

To Quote

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.

Spoon

A morning without coffee is like sleep.

My Buddy and the Rain.

Rain like this is moody. It becomes a person. Someone that I can't forget, kinda like the character you might see everyday on the bus or street corner, just doing their own thing. But my suburban kindness prevents me from getting to know him. Across the street from the coffee shop sits Wright park. The compact dirt walking trails are collecting puddle characters of their own. Trees are bombing walkers with balloon sized drops. The soft pink blossoms are are hands waiting to drop freely given prizes, like middle school kids who have just discovered gravity. The weather around here doesn't let me forget why I appreciate my Latin American friends.

Italiano

I am reading two books: "Planet India" and "The Pirates Dilemma". Both make the claim that their subject is what will change the world. Planet India talks about a continent of people 1.2 billion strong that will drive the 21st century economy. Pirate's Dilemma is a principle of how goods, services and information should be passed back and forth from producer to consumer. Do I believe that these places and ideas will change the world? Maybe in a materialist/natural philosophy point of view I do. Certainly American Christianity (what an absurd title) is taking notice of how things are changing and mirroring the changes.

Or do I worry about it at all? Should I keep my nose to the street. That isn't my person though. I enjoy the curiosity that rises as I learn. But it all should be tampered with the Fear of the Lord. If I take my eyes off Christ and his work, the rage of the Nations and their princes will over whelm me.

$3.49

Time to think of other ways to get around.

Peet's

Peet's has a warm atmosphere and the beans and tea are allowed to scent the cafe. However I wasn't overwhelmed by the Mocha. It was fair, with no foam art. But Green Lake is a cool place and I would go back.

Waiting

I have about a half hour before turning up at the Drop-In in Tillicum. There isn't anything I can do that will make the lives of these kids any better. I don't have super human strength, money or connections that will save them from bad choices, parents who neglect or rain on the way to the church. But this doesn't bum me out.

On the night stand

Vintage Jesus
unChristian
The Reason for God
The New Christians

It is Solved by Walking

There are spaces were I feel safe right away. Yesterday I was able to spend my day visiting the Seattle Public Library and several coffee places that offer stillness and a place to think. Pilgrimages like yesterday are good for my sole/soul.

I found my Heine in Louisville

Thank you for the great coffee.

Reinterpreting Isaiah

Beautiful feet rolling the good news.

Hymnal Cup #290

"On the battlefield of ideas, winning requires moving toward the sound of the guns." -Newt Gingrich as quoted by St. Arbucks.

To Quote

"Things you say while naked should be considered confidential"

Steam powered radio

Steam, ahead of the curve.

Ash Wednesday

Something to think about here and here.