Monday, December 29, 2008

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.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

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.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

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.

Friday, December 26, 2008

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.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

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

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

To Ninivah

Wicker Man"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?

Monday, November 24, 2008

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.)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

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. 

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

To Quote

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

Monday, October 27, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

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.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Grimm's two lines.

Daughter: Mom, the sun is in my eyes.
Mom: Be grateful, it will be dark soon enough.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

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 

Monday, October 13, 2008

Sun


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

Friday, September 19, 2008

Monday, September 15, 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

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.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

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.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

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."

Thursday, July 03, 2008

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.

Friday, June 27, 2008

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."

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

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.

Monday, May 26, 2008

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.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

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.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

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

Saturday, May 17, 2008

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.

Monday, April 28, 2008

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.

Monday, April 14, 2008

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.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

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

Monday, April 07, 2008

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.

Monday, March 24, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Disposable days


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

Monday, March 17, 2008

Friday, March 14, 2008

Thursday, March 13, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

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.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

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.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

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.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

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.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hymnal Cup #290

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

Monday, February 11, 2008

To Quote


"Things you say while naked should be considered confidential"

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Satellite, best new coffee place in Tacoma.




I think there are 8 seats which doesn't allow for much computer use. So I spent my time with my notebooks. Try the coffee of the day.

Teacher, my brain is full, can I go home now?

I have just spent a blessed weekend with a good friend in ministry. And my head hurts. This gentleman has blessed me with words of wisdom and comfort. There are days when I feel like I am watching the grass grow while waiting for the paint to dry. It is amazing how a well timed word will settle my worries. Thanks Bob.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Movies

I have had the pleasure of viewing a string of great movies.

Once I am still singing along
Dear Wendy A film from Denmark looking at teens and guns.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Thank you 90's

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Dude on ramp


I have made a discovery. Skating is a favorite subject of photography of mine. This was taken in Tillicum.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Thank you

I am happy to say that after several weeks, the car has been deemed Totaled. Now we are waiting for the check, and it will indeed, get us a car. I will post the results as they come in.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Monday, January 07, 2008

Work


Lots of work has been done in Tillicum and these represent not just little bits of metal, but someone's introduction to the life of Christ.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Fire


The short comings of the external combustion become evident.