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When we were out at our District conference I saw Juno for the second time. It's amazing. Great characters...great story
Tonight I went to The Great Debaters with Alyssa. Moms in town so we are cashing in on the free babysitting that we've taken for granted forever. Another great movie. At times I thought Jesus was writing the script. Seriously...really good!
Leading worship on Sunday
Just transposed 5 songs so Jaime can lead if I'm knocked out
Blogging in the dark
Just got blankets out to sleep on the couch. (I'm coughing like a mad man right now and there is no way my wife could sleep next to me tonight)
Anyone else sick? Is something going around? I never get sick...except for the weeks that I play at church...is Jesus telling me something?
Greg Boyd wrote "Myth of a Christian Nation" and it blew my mind it was so good. He weighed in on some politics in this post.
I don't want to ever be on this guys bad side because he owns people when he throws down!
Got back from District Conference. It was good to hang with our team. I tried really hard to have a good attitude during the general sessions...I didn't do very good.
I lost my voice for some weird reason...I'm leading worship this weekend...good times.
I'm going to pick up my mom at the Redding airport in a couple minutes. That's right folks. You can fly right into Redding on Alaskan Airlines to come see us. You have to fly from LAX and the tickets are @ $250 roundtrip as opposed to $100 on Southwest...but hey...I won't have to drive 2 hours to Sac to pick you up!
Should be good to have mom around for a little bit...the kids are missing her and the other grandparents. We just bought an aro-bed (I think I spelled that wrong). We shelled out the big bucks because we are going to have a steady stream of visitors up here in the future. Aaron Foor used to rave about his aro-bed so we went for it.
So no more excuses folks. Come up to Redding and visit the Lances. The bed and breakfast is complete. I will take you to Burrito Bandito and you will meet Jesus all over again!
Nate, Derrick, Meghan, Patrick and myself leave for District Conference today. We are a church plant of the C&MA. We are going to use the time away to have kind of a mini staff retreat. Talk about where we're going...pray for each other...should be cool. I've got other buddies from this district that are in our denomination so that should be fun too. I'm interested to see the differences in the northwest district.
I get back Thursday and my mom is coming up that night through Monday morning. I'm leading worship again this weekend and all our Life Groups start next week. So there are a couple things going on. Not sure how much internet or time I'll have to blog. We'll see...have a great week. Pray for Alyssa and the kids...Leaving for 2 days at this point won't be easy.
So we've settled into a little bit of a rhythm here in Redding. Monday's are going to be our Sabbath here. Alyssa let me sleep in this morning because I was pretty wiped out after our gatherings last night...she is awesome. We took a freezing cold walk with the kids. And we are starting a new Monday tradition. Daddy lunches with Zeke. I took him to Chipotle then dropped him off at school. It's a cool time every week that I'm really going to look forward to. Then it was off to the gym...rested at home...picked up Zeke...we have some friends (Patrick and Bethany) bringing us dinner tonight...and we have a video chat date set up with Alyssa's parents tonight with the kids. Great day. Family, friends, food, recreation. I love that God knew we would need times like this on a regular basis to remind us how amazing he is, and to remind us that our ability to work is a gift. I'm glad to have a semi normal schedule going on. How was your day of rest?
Just realized I haven't posted a picture in a few posts...so you get an annoying photo booth picture of me! This morning we had 25 Life Group Leaders jammed into our front room for 2 hours. I was laying out vision and sharing my heart for where we hope our community is moving. This was the reason I was asked to come and I felt alive! We have an amazing team that wants to share the load and wants to transform Redding...I can't wait. We talked about keeping things simple...becoming family...and we emphasized the language and posture that we want to use to create the culture at the Stirring. Life Groups is our only program. We don't do anything else. It's the only funnel and I couldn't be more excited. Everyone seemed pumped and our team is awesome. God is good. I love what I get to do for a living.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
"Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers."
26 He also said,
"Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth's territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth."
What in the world is going on in this passage? Anybody???
I'm thinking about starting a little mini series of posts containing "Things you see in Redding that you wouldn't necessarily see in Riverside." These post will contain a little stereotyping but it is all in love. I just want my Riverside peeps to get a better understanding of the place that I now reside.
#1 Just saw a mom in pajamas (not like...oh, those could go either way...these were pajamas) pushing her baby in a stroller in the bike lane of a busy street, smoking a cigarette. Went to fast for me to take a picture.
#2 Dudes in the grocery store with their shirts off. Not so much now when it's freezing but I definitely remember this from before during the summer. I seem to remember mullets as well. I'll try to grab some pictures for you in the future.
I love the things that make my town unique! I'll keep you posted on new sightings of Redding goodness.
Moving to Redding has been amazing. We have had people bring us a B-day cake for Sofia (thanks Jeff and Jaime)...Nate and Erica took us to dinner...Sean and Rebekah made us dinner and had us over for dinner...Derrick and Danielle brought us dinner and hung out...We have plans to eat with Patrick and Bethany and Matt and Anna. Yesterday Chris and Cassey had a box of organic fruit and vegetables sent to our house...amazing! I think the food we bought from the store is going to go bad. We have felt welcomed in every way possible. We miss our families and the Riverside crew but our new and old friends up here are making it a lot easier.
For most of my life I have read through the Bible with a check list mentality. I used to get stickers in class when I'd finish portions of it. I've read through the Bible quite a few times. Straight through, Chronologically, Yearly Bible, randomly. It's crazy that it took me 30 years to start seeing the Bible as a story but it has changed everything in my reading. Everything connects, there are no isolated stories. It's a narrative, start to finish. We find our story within the story. Context is king, and the Old Testament is essential for the New Testament.
Anyways, this year I'm going through one of those reading plans that give you some Old Testament and some New Testament to read every day. Right now I'm reading parts of Genesis, Matthew, and Psalms. I stumbled across this website yesterday and it sets you up with a pretty good plan. I know this has been out there forever but I've never done it. Has anyone ever read through the Bible this way? It's a little confusing because you are reading all over the place, but I like the fact that you get insights into different parts of the story every day.
I feel a need to get the content from the scriptures in me on a yearly basis. I'm a pretty undisciplined dude in this area of my life and plans like this help me. Anyone else trying to read through the story this year?
Meeting with Nate and Derrick
Staff meeting
Coming up with goals and prep for meeting with Life Group Leaders on Saturday
Leading worship this Sunday
So it begins...
Can't wait!!!
Last nights one year anniversary at The Stirring was amazing. Lots of awesome stories!
I couldn't imagine the pressure these candidates face with the issues facing us as a nation right now. Terrorism, billions of dollars spent on war, rising gas prices, a crumbling health care, global warming epidemic, energy crisis, terrible situations in education, people ready to build walls and sniper illegal immigrants, homeland security issues, and the list goes on...
The debate was pretty heated last night. A lot of attacks and a lot of defense. Romney and Clinton were getting beat up pretty bad and countered with some red faced political jujitsu. I still love Obama, thought he countered arguments well. Edwards was really passionate and well spoken. It's just funny when a guy with ridiculous amounts of wealth is constantly talking about fighting for the middle class. Clinton was sticking to her experience card but didn't get too specific about what that experience entailed. Seemed like see was trying to knock Obama down most of the night. Richardson actually said some good things but no one is voting for that dude. McCain seemed to hold himself together pretty well on the Republican side. Huckabee had a few good things to say. I felt like punching Guliani in the face. Ron Paul is awesome but his views are so extreme that no one will ever take him seriously.
All in all it was a very interesting debate. Ultimately the Kingdom of God needs to advance in the homes and neighborhoods of those that follow Jesus. That is God's plan for bringing the world to rights. He doesn't need governments and politicians. But this system is a reality that we live in so having leadership that has their head on straight would certainly be helpful. I know you're not supposed to talk about politics but I figure it is going to saturate life in 2008 so I thought I'd see what you think. Be nice!
2nd day here and I bring a hurricane...what the heck?
They said winds last night were anywhere from 60-80 mph.
It felt like our town home was going to fly down the street, Wizard of Oz style.
I think I slept for 15 minutes...The rain was so stinkin' loud...pounding our bay window.
You could literally see the water off the road blowing down the street.
It's good to be back in the 530.
Prepare yourself 951...our storms hit you a day later...board up your windows and buy bullets.
What do you do when you're couped up in the house all day? I'm thinkin' about giving the kids some Tylenol PM...putting them in bed...and going to rent some movies!
That was a joke for people that are unable to read sarcasm on a computer screen!
9 hours and 45 minutes. Beat that Trav!
2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog, 4 bags and 1 stroller strapped to the top, all available space utilized...
2 stops (Paso Robles, Woodland...represent Sam Boone)
Dog only puked once!
2 videos (Cars and Baby Einstein)
MVP of the trip...Sofia (she did amazing)
Most questions of the trip...Zeke (54,239) Most common question...why is Redding so far away?
Coolest thing that happened on the trip...We stop at a Quiznos in Woodland and Bill Russell (the basketball hall of fame player, not the cop) walks in. He had to duck to get through the front door. If I was my brother I would have got an autograph and picture, but I just watched him order and blogged about it.
We are here...finally...feels good to be settling in.
Come on up and visit...the Lance bed and breakfast is officially open for business!
Pray for our trip tomorrow. I don't know if my kids will last. I'm shutting down the computer. Next blog will have the Redding love.
Two days left in Riverside. Yesterday I sang one of my songs to close out the Grove services. It was nice to be a part of one last thing at the church I've been a part of for so long. Tonight we are getting together with a bunch of friends to celebrate the New Year and say goodbye. Tomorrow we are having lunch with our families to celebrate Sofia's B-Day and say goodbye. Wednesday after lunch we are taking off. Lots of goodbyes, a couple loose ends to tie up, then Redding here we come! I'm ready to get into some "normal" life and get our kids into a routine. Staying with our families has been awesome, they've been a huge help. Alyssa and I went out to dinner last night and saw Juno (great movie). We haven't been able to do that in forever. (Thanks mom and dad). We will miss you all. I'll try to be consistent in blog world so we can stay connected in nerdland.
Zeke only watches one movie...Cars. He will quote you every line. And his new obsession is Legos. He makes these crazy cars every day. I go to help him and he makes me leave. He just sits in his room and comes out with these crazy things. I seriously think he's going to be a gear head or a mad scientist. Watch out world!
That's my brother Mike, his wife Becky and my daughter Sofia at Christmas. Mike turned 30 today. What the heck...I'm old. He kicked my butt like usual in golf today. I have great memories of playing golf with my brother. Neck and neck finishes, chip ins, long drives, good times. Usually it entails a lot of trash talk and me telling him how much I hate the Lakers and he tells me Kobe is the best thing since sliced bread. I don't know what that has to do with golf but it is a subject that never gets old with us.
Happy Birthday bro. I'm really proud of you. You and Becky are a great couple. I'll make sure we get tee times when we come down to visit. Have a great 30th year.
There is a possibility that Alyssa and I will actually get away to see a movie in the next couple days. We haven't been to the movies in forever. There looks like a lot of good flicks out right now. If you've seen anything great that is a must see please leave a comment. There is nothing worse than not seeing a movie for 3 0r 4 months and then going to a dud. Help a brotha out!
This is my grandpa. He is an amazing man. This was his second Christmas without my grandma and I know it's extremely hard for him. He's lived a great life and he's said on more than one occasion that he is ready to go. Whenever we get around a table as a family to have dinner he prays and it always moves me. My grandpa knows Jesus. When he talks to him you can hear the relationship come through. I hope at the end of my life my grandkids know that I have a real relationship with Jesus. One that doesn't just show up at church every week and pray at meals. But a relationship that gives my life away to my family and friends and the least. It's pretty powerful to have an entire family around a table that follows Jesus. Because you know it has a lot to do with the old guy at the end of the table and the prayers of his incredible wife. I know you'll never read my blog grandpa, but thanks for the example you've shown me my whole life of how to follow Jesus!
This is Zeke's Christmas performance from last week. He is in the first row, fourth from the right on the screen. He's rockin' the argyle sweater and he's also the one that is squirming and doubling over. Two seconds after I stopped the video I ran up and grabbed him and ran him to the bathroom. He peed for 5 minutes then I ran him back and he didn't miss a beat. We were so proud of him. I love how he caps off his performance with thrusting half his finger up his nose. His last performance he stood up there and pointed out the lights and didn't sing a word. This time he sung every word and knew all the hand motions. I think he might have done even better if his bladder wasn't about ready to explode! He's growin' up.
Go check it out if you get a chance. This was my first time sharing with the Stirring.
Things have been so crazy I failed to realize I had my 20,000 visitor last week. That's pretty weird. Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy year. I'm so glad I started blogging because I had no idea what this year had for us. It will be fun to look back at all this in the years to come!
So the two weeks away from my family was nuts but this two weeks with them might be equally as nuts. I went from no wife and kids and hangin' with people every second to being at my parents all day with my family, my wife throwing up all day, and me taking care of two crazy kids. I'm really looking forward to Christmas and New Years with a bunch of friends but I long for some normalcy. I'm a pretty structured dude. This not having a house or schedule is starting to kill me. Sorry if blogs are spread out over this time. Life will get normal at some point.
Got the compass rose done tonight. He had it run behind the verse from Philippians on my arm. 2.5 hours of sheer bliss. This arm has been designated to tell my story and this compass is the next step in telling the story of my journey. God is definitely setting me in new directions and the emphasis of the compass is pointing north. 600 miles north to be exact. Redding...here we come!
Playing golf with my dad and my brother. I've been doing this since I was 12. My dad is an incredible golfer and my brother is usually a couple strokes better than I am. We love to get together and play golf. My dad is awesome. I'm 31 and I've still never paid for a round of golf in my life. It's been a great way over the years to get the Lance boys together and hanging out. Always good trash talk and competition. Today I shot an 87. I usually shoot in the low 80's. I didn't bring any of my stuff down from Redding so everything was borrowed today. It didn't matter. I had a great time. I'm sure i'll still get some golfing in when we come down to visit but I'm really going to miss getting out there as often as I have in the past. Thanks for the great memories dad. There's been a lot of life shaping done out on the links!
I made it to Riverside about 4pm yesterday. Saw my family for the first time in 17 days...it was amazing. Couldn't believe how much I missed them. Now we're staying with my moms and pops till the 2nd of January. It's funny how you can be 31 years old, married, and have two kids and still find yourself staying with your parents for 2 weeks like it's no big deal. We stayed for month a couple years ago when we were fixing up our house. It's good to have family that will let you invade their lives at the drop of a hat. I'm looking forward to chillin' and spendin' time with friends and family before we head back.
God is awesome. This morning I'm packing up to head back down to Riverside until January 2nd. The only stress and loose end that we still have is that we haven't rented our house on Mt. Diablo. I get a call at 8:47am that says they have money in hand and new tenants move in on January 1st! Around the holidays is a terrible time to get something rented and we thought we were going to have to make another mortgage payment that we don't have. I am so pumped right now. And on top of all that I get to see my wife and kids in six hours. It's been a good morning.
And by the way, last night was awesome at the Stirring. Amazing response from people ready to take what we've been talking about and start living it in the communities that they are involved in. I am really blessed to be a part of the team up here! Can't wait to see the Riverside crew.
These are my buddies, The Myriad. This is the front page of MTV2's website. What the heck. We just watched them on TV. They just won this contest out of 4000 bands. The last two winners have been Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday. They are an amazing band and I am so proud of them. My band and these guys go way back. We have stories of shows and the road that should stay in a vault somewhere. Way to go guys! All of Redding was glued to the TV today.
Here's our two room office that I'm moving into. Meghan works in the front room (first 2 pics). I'm sitting on a love seat with my mac in that first pic. That's where I've been working lately. The last two pics is of Nate's office. The last picture is a shot of my books in boxes and a chair. That's where I will end up. Nate and I are working out office dynamics. It's going to be awesome. It's crazy moving to a 2 room office from a 50 room office. We use laptops and cell phones...no network...no pc's (yeah!!!)...no phone system. Just three people in an office trying to follow Jesus. I love it!
I get to speak at The Stirring this Sunday. I practiced in my front room today and I think the drywall got saved. I am so excited to share. I'm talking about the power in a broken and poured out life. Jesus calls us into a way of life around a table with bread and wine. He's not just asking us to remember, he inviting us to break our lives open and pour our lives out for others. I got so excited in my living room that I almost lost my voice. I haven't been this excited to share in forever. If you think about it, pray for me on Sunday that God would give me just the right words for this community and that we would except the invitation to this way of life around his table. Thanks.
I've been trying to wrap my mind around why the pace of life is slower in Redding and I think I've come up with something. I think it has a lot to do with driving. In Riverside, everything is spread out. Getting from downtown Riverside to Orangecrest takes anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on traffic. Being in your car for 20 -30 minutes is usual. Traffic is a given anywhere you go. Freeways have 6 lanes and you are always conscious that it will probably take you longer than you think to get somewhere. In Redding, everything is within a 5 mile radius. All the freeways have 2 lanes and you can get anywhere at any time without a lot of traffic. Going places is less of an ordeal because you can count on how long it will take you to get there. It allows you to relax when you're getting ready. There's not a lot of road rage, because there aren't a whole lot of frustrating driving situations. Multiply this across the board to everyone in a city and you have a different take on life. Driving and traffic shape a culture. Being tense and rushed, even if it doesn't add a ton of time to your day, rubs off on the people around you. Anyways, just some things I'm learning about pace of life. I heard someone the other day complaining about traffic on Cypress st. I think it took them 3 minutes instead of 2 to get where they wanted to go. Hilarious. It will take me a while to decompress into this way of life but I am so ready for it.
Sorry, but video chatting with my wife and son is the only thing keeping me sane being away from my family. The blog love will resume. I got priorities!
My house officially has blinds! It only took a week. Check out the nine foot weeds in my back yard. And yes I have a view of a huge grove of trees, the local mountains, and I can see mount Shasta from my bedroom. Not to shabby.
Dang...I got some hairy forearms!
Joined a gym in Redding today. Just like Riverside...$12 a month for me...$9 a month to add Alyssa...and they have childcare for a dollar an hour...and it's month to month...I can quit any time. I had to refinance my house to go to a gym down south.
I'd just go outside and walk to work out but it's freezin' buns up here. I rode my Vespa for two miles today and I couldn't feel my feet for half an hour after I got off...good times!
Tonight I led worship for the first time in forever at the Stirring...it was amazing!
I wrote this lyric a long time ago and it feels fitting tonight:
"Can you open up my mouth and let the song ring out that you planted in me the day I learned to breath? Can you open up my heart even if you have to tear me apart? It's like the first time that I felt the rain and there were no words that I could use to explain your love. Can you feel the rain?"So excited about what God is doing in this community of Jesus followers. I'll blog more later. It's 12:35. I never stay up this late. I miss my family. If you see them around give them long hugs for me!
I read this on Andrew Jones blog this morning...classic...I could totally hear my son saying this because he refuses to say the Lord's prayer with us. This is probably what's going through his head when he hears us.
KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese:
"Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen."
Riverside weather for Saturday and Sunday
I just spent an hour through video chat talking with the one girl in the world that owns my heart. Alyssa is so amazing and I miss every second that she isn't up here with me. It was so awesome to see her face tonight as we were talking through the computer. It's crazy the difference it makes when you can see someone as opposed to just talking to them on the phone. I could see her wiping the tears away when she laughs and I could see her great smile. The phone was just not cutting it the last couple days. It's been a crazy day...5 hours of waiting for internet but this last hour made it totally worth it.
Thanks AT&T...even though 4 hours ago I wanted to walk into your corporate office and go postal, you allowed me to spend an evening with my wife and not feel like I'm alone and 600 miles away!
2 days and 5 hours on the phone with at&t...
drumroll....
I have INTERNET!!!!
I need to go spend some time with Jesus letting him know that I'm still a Christian.
Off to the Christmas Stirring party...blog later.
It's been really weird living in Redding without my family.
Normal rhythm of my life:
Wake up 6:30-7am (get kids ready)
Go to work
Come home (hang with Alyssa and kids)
Dinner
Put kids down
Hang with wife
Bed at 11pm
Redding rhythm of life:
Wake up 8:30-9am
Get something done on the house
Spend some time with someone from the Stirring
Have lunch with someone from the Stirring
Go by the office, hang with Nate
Try to find internet so I can video chat with Alyssa
Dinner at someone's house from the Stirring
Go to someone's Life Group
Watch a movie
bed at 12:30pm
I hate not having my family up here but it has allowed me to meet a ton of new people and meet with a bunch of Life Groups and leaders. Being in a house all by yourself sucks! I miss my wife and kids like you wouldn't believe. I need to accept that life is going to be weird till January 3rd. I get impatient, but there is a ton to learn during this time. I'll keep you posted as I find wireless around the city. Friday I get internet at the house! God is amazing. Someone needs to rent our house in Riverside...pray.
The crew that came to help me unload and move in was out of this world. We were done in 20 minutes...they were amazing. The community at The Stirring is great. This picture does not include the 7 people that were upstairs installing our washer / dryer and putting together my sons bunk bed and daughters crib. Seriously...I feel the love. Our house is rad and totally moved in. I have a few boxes that I'm gonna leave for Alyssa because I'm clueless about some things, but it's all done...can't believe it. Thanks y'all!
Sorry about the lack of posts lately...the moving process has been pretty crazy.
Friday I got up at 3:30am and started my trek for Redding. Here's a picture of my Uhaul truck with auto trailer at the gas station. I felt like I took up a city block on the road.
So I filled up with gas...just in case you're wanting to take a Uhaul truck 600 miles...it cost $400 in gas...good times! I was a little out of it and I had 100 things on my mind...I crawled up in the cab of the truck...figured out my ipod that I was routing through an adapter...pulled out three feet slammed on the brakes...jumped out of the truck...ran around to the other side...and saw this...
That's right folks...I left the pump in and pulled it completely out...amazing! I went in and told the dude and he was able to pop it back into it's socket. But of course I snapped a pic for my blog peeps before we got it fixed. I don't encourage you to start trips like this. I am an idiot.
I made it to Redding in 10 hours. Not bad...I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to go 75 mph in that truck when you're dragging a car behind it but I couldn't help myself.
I'm here!
Is this the biggest moving van you've ever seen!!??? At least I don't have to have a trailer hooked to the back that is dragging my car...oh wait...yes I do. Well, at least I got a good night sleep last night to prepare for today...oh wait...Jesus decided to wake me up at 4:10 a.m. and tell me what I was going to share about the Stirring when I preach there the first time. At least he let me fall back asleep 4 minutes before my daughter got up! Awesome. Jesus does live in the Middle East because he's always up and wants to talk when I'm sleeping. It's cool Jesus...at least you have Verizon so we don't have to pay for long distance.
Can you tell I'm sleepy?
That is my life right now...getting close...getting anxious...getting tired...getting excited!
Today we had lunch as a staff and they all said their farewell's to my family. It's crazy that this is actually happening. There are some people on staff that have known me for my entire 31 years of existence. There is something really weird about leaving the familiar. I'm always up for change but it is going to be crazy figuring out how to do life and ministry in a new place. I'm planning on a couple huge melt downs in the next month or two. I'll be up in Redding for 17 days without my family starting Friday so you can bank on a huge panic attack coming soon. Stay posted.
This Wednesday and Thursday I'll be packin' the Uhaul. I could use the love if anyone has any extra to spread around. Thanks.
1. Huge hole in the drywall behind your fridge that you put there to get the water line in.
2. Hole in the ceiling where a fan should go in the bathroom.
3. No baseboards in the laundry room
Every house I've ever moved into is a huge fixer upper. This happens every time. I move in...work like crazy till it's almost all done...leave 7 annoying things that I will fix the week before I move....take that back...I call my father in law and have him come over and help me...thanks Bob. Anyone else do this? 7 places in eight years...same story every time.
Can't believe we are moving into a brand new place that is totally finished! I will have no idea what to do in this place.
...and counting till we load up everything we own and put it into a Uhaul truck with a trailer on the back that will carry my "light blue" Echo and I drive 600 miles to the place we will call home...Redding California. What the heck. It's officially becoming weird.
We'll be loading up the Uhaul next Thursday if anyone wants to throw their backs out for their good ol' friends!
New life
New family
New church
New friends
New house
New food
New conversations
New opportunities
New struggles
New provision
New vision
New hope
New dreams
New songs
New heavens and new earth
Happy Thanksgiving
Here's a pic of our new place in Redding. It's a 3 bedroom town home. All the garage doors are crazy colors. Blue, yellow, etc. I love it. It's pretty easy to lead people to our house. God provided in ridiculous ways for this place. Thanks Nate for makin' it happen. I'll post more pics later.
...the truck is gone and the echo is here! I imported my rims so don't start askin' where you can get some like em'. It's a 2000 Toyota Echo, 73,000 miles. Alyssa had the audacity to call it "Sea Foam"... I'm callin' it light blue. It gets over 40 miles to the gallon...just like my truck! Ended up sellin' the truck for $4,000 and picked this bad boy up for $3,500...I should work at a used car lot. If you want to go cruisin' before I take off for Redding you better get a time slot now...the schedule is fillin' up!
Sorry for the long blog drought...it was actually kinda nice.
We're back...Redding was awesome...Alyssa posted a little about it.
I got 129 blogs to check in my reader
Gotta pack the house
Gotta rent our house
Sold our truck
Gotta find a little cheap car...good gas mileage
Found an amazing pad in Redding...gotta post pics
Gotta find some time to blog
Gotta go...
Alyssa and I leave tomorrow at 5:30am to head to the airport. We are going to Redding to find a place to live. Please pray that we find a great place to call home. We want to make a decision with the kingdom and our kids in mind. Thanks for joining us on this crazy journey!
This morning my son (who normally wants to wrestle 98% of the time he's awake and can't sit still) asked me to sit on the couch...I did...he came out with his blanket and pillow...laid in my lap for 10 minutes...then tells me, "Daddy, I love you all day and all night."
I'm good for about 3 months now!
Then he proceeds to ask for the U2 Zoo Station DVD...goes to get his drum sticks and tambourine...plays along with the songs and tells me he wants to be Larry.
Seriously...this morning made my year!
...click above and order...trust me...i just watched it...good times
Technology is awesome sometimes. I'm sitting on the couch watching the football game...writing some blogs...watched that commercial on tv and laughed really hard...thought to myself...why not share the love with my blogmates...googled fedex kinkos commercial...grabbed the embedded youtube link...30 seconds...done.
I looked at the calendar today. I have 7 more days in the office till I'm off to Redding...crazy! I'm in Monday and Tuesday of this week then off to Redding to find a place to rent. I'll be back in the office Tuesday and Wednesday of the next week, then we're off for Thanksgiving. The week after I'm in three days and then I leave for Redding on the 30th of November. That's the day I drive the Uhaul up there with all our stuff. I'm flying back on the 17th of December to be home for the holidays and then we leave as a family on January 2nd. When I fly home for the holidays I won't be going back to work so that only leaves me 7 days in the office...It's starting to set in that things are winding down...it's pretty crazy!
I told the young married group today that we were going to be leaving. I've really enjoyed being a part of seeing that group become a reality.
Starting to process through the keyboard.
For those of you new to Rev Rock, I have a weekly post about my Sabbath. I do this for accountability to the rhythm and pace of life that Jesus has given us the freedom to live. Here's how my day of rest went this week.
Left the phone off.
Morning: Breakfast then time with family.
Afternoon: Picnic and playing with family at the park
Went home, had an incredible nap
Night: Made a pizza, wrestled with Zeke, played with Sofia
Went to go see my friends band play
Great day. How was your day of rest this week?
I just fed my daughter for the first time in two months when she didn't turn into the spawn of Satan. This is our normal routine...double bib...try to find your che...10 deep breaths...put in ear plugs to get through the next 15 minutes of your life...start with the rice cereal...start singing songs as loud as you can to distract...dodge left and right and back left as Sofia spits, screams, and throws the cereal at you...pull her hands away as she rubs cereal in her hair, clothes, face and eyes...curse under your breath so she doesn't subconsciously pick up those words and start sharing them with all her buddies in the school yard...run for the bottle of salvation...sweet redemption in 7 oz of water and generic Target brand formula...nipple of bottle hits mouth...quiet...happy baby...start preparing for how you will survive the next cereal experience in 12 hours.
Fast forward to today. We switched to oatmeal cereal. She didn't cry once...ate the whole thing...no complaints...what the heck...maybe we should have tried that sooner...oh, the joys of having no idea of how to raise your kids...don't lie...we are all fakin' it trying to act like we know what we're doing...98% of the time totally flying by the seat of your pants...I love it...wouldn't trade it for the world. Just look at her. (thanks for the pic Jon)
I had a piece chip off on my macbook...sent it in Monday at 4pm...it was waiting for me when I got to work today (Thursday) at 9:30am. Amazing!
So there is this guy that cruises around our neighborhood on a bike that is connected to a huge cart that has a lawn mover, weed eater, blower, brooms, rakes, and sheers sitting on top of it. I am intrigued by this guy and want to know his story. Can he not afford a car so he goes from place to place with his bike and lawn gear to make ends meet? Is he just a stud and loves the calf workout of the century as he works? Either way...kudos to my lawn-bike neighbor with freakishly large calves. You are the man! I wish everyone had the drive that you do to pay the bills. I will try to grab a picture of this guys set up...it's amazing. I just didn't want to photo him like he was some kind of freak show in the neighborhood. Maybe I'll try some guerrilla paparazzi techniques and creep up on him in some bushes...is that weird?
Side note...new friend in blog world...my friend Jonathan. Great guy. Go give him some love.
Last night I ran into Bernie from Best Buy. I hadn't seen him in a couple months but he remembered my name and we had a chance to talk for a little bit and he got to say hi to my family. His leg is doing a little better but he's still inching out a living by washing people's windows at Best Buy everyday. If you're shopping there over the holidays look for him.
Just a friendly reminder. I know I wont be here to reap the benefits of positive leadership but I cast my vote for all my fellow Riversidians. (why did spell check have a problem with Riversidians?)
(pictured above...both sides of my left arm)
So I got an appointment with Sid when i was with Alyssa getting her tattoo. I'm going back right before Christmas. I need some help on what to do. You'll notice that I have a nice little banner (my 1st tattoo) that cuts my bicep in half. I thought that was going to be my first and last tattoo...I was wrong. So basically I cut my arm in half when it comes to the sleeve that I'm trying to accomplish. So now I'm left with this gap between the ship and angel on my forearm and the banner on my bicep. I want to keep with the theme I have so far and I'm looking for ideas. The one thing I know I'm getting for sure is a compass on my elbow. After that I'm open for ideas. My ship tattoo represents my journey into something new over the last couple years. The angel is from Isaiah 6 and it's a reminder that I was created to worship. The banner on my arm is Philippians 3:8. Any ideas? It's got to be traditional...that's the only given...because that's how I roll. Let me know what you think.
We made the front page of The Stirring website. I think that's awesome. We can't wait to get up there and join the team.
Related news...We head up to Redding next week to find a house to rent. Please pray that we find the right place for our family. We also need to find a renter for our house here in Riverside. Anyone interested? Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.
Sofia + Zeke + Me = lots of green boogies
Stay away from our house if you know what's good for you!
Saturday was 1/2 garage sale, half Sabbath. First half of the day...up early...getting rid of a ton of stuff. Second half of the day...fat nap...family...watched "We are Marshall" (good flick).
This is me with my eyes fully open right now. I've had allergies since I've been a kid and I have no idea what brings them on. I am totally annoying to be around right now. Good times!
So I've been off of aspartame and sucralose (aka Equal and Splenda) for about 2 months now. I haven't had a diet coke since the post I put up a long time ago...feelin' pretty good about that. Then this morning I go to have my Kashi granola cereal with my yogurt and I realize that my yogurt is made with Splenda....uuuurrrrggggghhhh! This breakfast was my highway to weight loss when I was on Weight Watchers. 3 points in the morning and it filled me up. I was talking to Adam about this yesterday but there are a lot of ways to cheat when you are doing Weight Watchers. You can manipulate fiber and drink diet coke all day and lose weight like crazy. So I figured out the system pretty well and dropped 55 lbs. but now I've put 18 back on. This time I'm trying to eat things that are actually good for me and do it right...much harder. The good thing about Weight Watchers is that it teaches you portion control. If I could just figure that out I could do this without cutting any corners. As American's we have a warped since of what we "need" to eat to get full. The portions that we are served at restaurants is usually plenty for two people.
Anyways...sorry for the ramble...just trying to bring you into my process. I'm trying to drop 15 lbs. by the new year. People always binge at the holidays and make resolutions but my resolution is starting right now. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing.
Feel free to bring over any crapito that you'd like to get rid of. We are downscaling a ton before we take off to Redding. I'm also trying to sell my truck again if anyone's interested...cheap!
Just came in today. Alyssa is the photographer in the family but I'm gonna try to figure this out so I can post some sweet pics in the future. Watch out world.
