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It's about time

A lot of people my age are in the opposite boat of me. They regret a lot from their 20's and wish they could "erase" some parts of that life. One thing a lot of these people are doing is trying to get rid of the silly tattoos they had inked on their skin. I'm 38 and kinda feel that I know what I want and won't regret things. So today I got a tattoo. I've been wanting to do this for a while and finally did it. I'll post a picture later.

Haven't blogged much

For the last couple of weeks it's been tough for me to get much done with this blog. On top of being in Bolivia for 8 days my assistant's last day was today and my program director is about to go on maternity leave. On top of that most of our summer interns just started today and I'm getting ready to head to Princeton on Sunday for a think tank deal.

Here's just a quick though. I'm constantly amazed at the things God trusts me with. I would never of thought in all my dreams that I would be in the place I'm in now. God I need you to take control because if it's up to me I'll screw this up too much.

Great weekend and last week of school.

Not a lot to post from this weekend. Our good friends James and Rachel were up from Houston. James and I went to SPU together and we lived together in Pasadena when we went to Fuller Seminary. They are our friends in Texas that we've known for a long time and feel like we can be "normal" around. It was good to see them. Tomorrow is our all staff lake day where we eat, hang out and try to be nice with all of the people we regularly work with at the church. It's a fun, awkward day that usually ends with a weird contrived tug-o-war. Danielle and I are going a couple hours late as tomorrow is Soren's field day and then family picnic.

So stoked that summer is here. But, my forehead is read because I forgot to put on sunscreen.

My Favorite Theater

Today I went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie. The movie was horrible but the theater experience was amazing. Only about 2 miles from my house the Inwood Theater just did a major overhaul with couches, beanbags and other cool stuff. On an even more positive note this theater plays mostly independent movies as well as a few blockbusters and often has a midnight re-release party.

Memorial Day in the past

I woke up today thinking about this weekend we're about to start. When I was living in Seattle in College Memorial day was always a "huge" deal. For about 3 years in a row a group of friends and I would drive to Eastern Washington and spend the weekend waterskiing and exploring. It was always an adventure weekend and also just a ton of fun with friends. In Seattle there were a number of things that also happened Memorial day with concerts and stuff like that.

In California Memorial day equaled only one thing: The Beach. It was nice when we lived in San Diego because of everyone came to us.

This weekend is a little different. There are two things I'm excited about. One of my best friends is coming with his family. James and I went on all those trips together in college. Our plans for the weekend are a little different now though. The most exciting thing about this weekend is that the local pool where we have a membership opens tomorrow. So, instead of a long trip across the state of Washington I'll be driving a mile and swimming in a big community pool. But, I'm just as excited.

With that said though I'm still just as excited about the weekend. Excited about all of it except the amount of work I have to do today to get my yard ready.

Hello World

Ok so I'm finally back from Bolivia. It was an amazing trip and met all the goals we had. 1. Grow as a staff. 2. Have an opportunity to serve as a staff. 3. Get some time away to prep for summer. Everything was amazing. I'll post more tomorrow on the overall trip. I will say this though that it is nice to be at sea level again. 14,000 feet was tough to breathe.

Texans like their guns and their President to shoot one.

I haven't posted very often on Politics on this blog but with everything happening this year I thought I should. When we moved from California to Texas we knew we were in for a culture shock but I didn't realize how much of a political shock there would be also. Apparently the "South" and the "Bible Belt" has a pattern of voting that has made the term "Conservative Evangelical" synonymous with the Republican Party.

Read an article today that I thought would rattle some cages so I'm posting a link to it here. Basically it talks about how some 18-29 year old evangelicals are supporting Obama. As I read the article I thought a lot about that age group that I know here in Texas. I don't think many here will be making that shift.

Granted this article was written in the Seattle Times a state known for its left leanings but I think it significant that several of those quoted attended a conservative evangelical school.

These next couple of months will have an interesting impact on our country. I live about 1/2 mile from the site where they will be building the new President Bush library. The Bush daughter getting married here in Texas was a big deal yesterday. I wonder what will happen if our country votes in someone who is decidedly different.

Heading to Bolivia

Today I'm heading to Bolivia with 6 of my youth staff. Several months ago I was meeting with Scott who coordinates all our Youth Missions trips. We knew that we had a crazy summer coming up and we wanted to do something with the staff before it. We also had been talking about summer 2009 missions projects and the possibility of doing a 3 to 6 week trip in one location. After consulting with a number of people at our church we contacted one of our churches missionaries and set up a time to go visit.

For the first 3 days of this trip we'll be down at a jungle camp below Bolivia building houses. Because the airport in Bolivia is so high (14,000 ft) everyone gets altitude sickness so the best plan is to go down several thousand feet right away.

The last 4 days of the trip we're staying in La Paz and doing work in several different schools. This part of the trip is also aimed at providing opportunity for the staff to read, hike, pray, worship and connect with God before our busy summer.

Really looking forward to this trip although it comes at an awkward time. This month ended up getting a bit crazier than I had anticipated with my assistant leaving, Danielle going to London and just some general odds and ends.

I bought copies of Nouwen's book "The Return of the Prodigal Son" to read this week. If anyone has it feel free to read along with us.

Castle Rood Day #5 no Mama

Danielle has been gone for five days already and things are starting to look grim at Castle Rood. For dinner I ordered Pizza and wings and after dinner took the kids to the park to tire them out. :)

It hasn't been so bad though. I realized how much easier it is being a guy in the mornings. Today I threw on a Oklahoma t-shirt I had in my drawer and with uncombed hair and a smelly stench I got all the kids to school and then came home and showered.

Just bought a new domain name that I directed to this site. I wonder how much that might change things.

Danielle gone day #2

This week is going to seem that I am pretty focused on my wife. Danielle left for London yesterday afternoon and is gone until Friday. I miss her. I'm stoked that she gets to go on this trip though. She's such a great mom and wife and really deserves something like this. The last seven years as we've had 3 kids, moved to two different churches and ultimately left friends and family behind to move to Texas have not always been easy. Sending her on this trip for me was a way of saying that I get it and that I want her to be able to have some of the adventure back you lose when you have three kids to raise.

I think I may be a little different than other dads in that when Danielle is gone I really love being around the kids as much as I am. I enjoy getting to be a part of more of their everyday lives. I enjoy being forced out of bed in the morning by a demanding two year old princess who just wants juice, cereal and Dora the Explorer, I enjoy taking the boys to school (which I do everyday anyways) but it's different being the one who is getting everything ready in the am.

Today when I picked Kaije up from school he told me that I didn't give him any pudding in his lunch but that I gave him two spoons. He wasn't mad just informative.

One of my closest friends is coming into town tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with him.