So We Went for this Hike

So Monday, Andrea and I went snowshoeing. Of course there were other reasons we were going, but Andrea didn't know that. And I couldn't let her know until just the right moment. Only one problem: when would the right moment be? I'd never been to this trail before. So here was my challenge: Find a perfect spot at a perfect time, and keep the whole thing a secret until then. Then I had to get pictures afterward. Keeping my mouth shut wasn't a problem, but how do I hide the bulge of the ring box? How do I get someone to take our picture? hmmm...

I got to her house, and we loaded the car. I had the ring in my tightly zipped coat pocket (how tightly can one get a zipper anyway?). We were headed to Government Camp to hike the Crosstown Trail. We stopped along the way in Sandy to get some snacks and some cash. On the way up, I felt for the ring, and realized that it was bulging out in a rather obvious fashion. I tried to push it behind the arm rest, but soon discovered that I had only made it worse! I thought for sure the gig was up, but Andrea never said a word about it. When we got up there, the fun began.

It was a tremendous day for a hike. Clear sky and no wind, and mild temperatures made for the perfect day, so at least that detail was taken care of. It was soon clear that the weather was too warm to wear my coat. So where do I put the ring now? And how do I transfer it without her seeing? She never seemed to turn away from the car long enough for me to get it into a pocket, so I decided to leave without it. Just as we got to the trail head, I realized I needed to use the restroom (this was no lie, I was determined not to lie in order to accomplish this mission). This provided the perfect excuse to go back to the car and transfer the ring into my sweater pocket. It still bulged out a little bit, but it was sort of hidden under the straps of my snowboard pants.


We finally set off. I was still wondering where I was going to do this, so I just prayed as I went. I knew it needed to be in a place we could find again in the future, so I at least had an idea of what I was looking for. Soon, we crossed a stream over a snow-covered bridge. That seemed like a perfect spot. However, we were both a little hungry and I figured it was too early to pick a spot, so we continued on. We eventually hiked down into town, and had lunch at the Huckleberry Inn. That is my recommendation for THE place to eat in Government Camp. I had some halibut and chips, and Andrea had a stack of huckleberry pancakes. We shared each other's meals and a huckleberry milkshake. We both felt pretty tired, and Andrea had been suggesting that we just walk through town to get to the car. After the meal however, I was able to convince her that it would be a good thing to hike back the way we came so we could walk off the rather substantial meal we had just eaten (again, no lie. We needed to work that lunch off).

Heading back, I had pretty much decided to propose at that first bridge. It would be easy to remember if we ever wanted to return to that spot. So we finaly got there, and stopped to rest, and I got down on a knee and pulled out the ring. I had barely finished my prerehearsed line when Andrea said, "Yes," and hugged me, nearly knocking me over in the process!



Not a moment later, some cross-country skiers came upon us. We asked them to take our picture. One of them happened to be a photography teacher! They were very excited to be taking our first engagement photos, and wished us well. After they left, I took the picture you see in the previous post with Andrea's cell phone. Then I sent it to her family. I will never complain about that sort of technology again. It allowed us to share that moment with a lot of people very soon after the event.

We got home very tired. But the day wasn't over. We had people to call! So we called friends and relatives, and soon the wedding planning was in full swing. Within hours of our engagement, we were already tasked with setting a date, arranging a place, and compiling a guest list! I'm wondering if an elopement isn't out of the question.

The Answer

to the question...
























































...is yes.

All the Difference

I just switched my blog to the Beta format, and was exploring it, when I ran across this post that I had saved, but never published. This was yet another step in my spiritual journey which is still ongoing. It's a good reminder, so I thought I'd post it, so I'll be reminded. I started writing this just after the One Point Three retreat in May of this year. I was pretty confused and frustrated back then. I am less so now, and reading this post motivates me even more to press forward. My goal is to begin some type of school in January.

So the Saturday of the retreat, I went for this hike. It started out that I found an easy trail in a hiking book that would take me down to a remote beach. Well, I tried to find the access road, and couldn't seem to figure out where it was. So I ended up stopping in this small little parking lot just outside Lincoln City at Cascade Head. I started up the trail only to find that it was quite overgrown with salmon berry bushes. They were really thick in places, and I'm glad I had my hat on, or my hair would have been full of brambles. This was truly the road less traveled by. The trail was 3.5 miles to the very road I had been trying to find. It turns out, that the road is closed until July, so I wouldn't have found it anyway.

Why a hike on an unknown trail by myself? Well, about a month before I became a believer, I went on a similar walk through a large park in Tacoma. At the time, I was trying to firgure out how to approach this whole Christianity thing. I knew I wanted to approach it by focussing on why I would follow Christ for myself, and not just to make certain people happy. Then, I asked God to show me the path I should follow, and it ultimately lead to my accepting Jesus as Savior.

So this time, the hike was meant to be a time of again asking God what path I should follow. I've been listening to some tapes of Howard Hendricks and he says that one of the questions he asks any prospective leader is, "Where are you going?" And that person needs to be able to answer without hesitation. He needs to have a clearly defined goal or objective. That was my first question to myself, and to God, "Where am I going?" Do I want to remain in my current career? Do I want to continue to pursue going to school? Why? The career question has been the hardest to answer, because the implications are bigger than I want to admit. In the end though, I needed to answer the question once and for all, so I could stop sitting back on my heels and start running my race. "Man makes his plans, but the Lord determines his step." The Lord may determine my steps, but I still need to make plans before He can do that. So I've determined to pursue learning how to teach. I'd like to teach Bible. The main reason, is that I've found teaching people something that I naturaly fall into whenever the need arrises.
Primary Objective: Teaching

I'm thinking that that really ought to be my primary focus. Should God tell me to head in a different direction, then so be it. It's a lot easier to stear a car when the wheels are moving then when it's standing still. I just want to be heading in some sort of direction. I'm thinking that I'll take a speech class since I'm not a very good speaker. That, or a math class to get my math skills back up to college level. God knows. That's why I'm asking Him. ;)

Hard at Work and at Play

I thought I'd give you an update on life in general. Work has gotten pretty busy in recent days. That's good, cause I don't like running out of things to do since I'm easily distracted. It's fun too. I sold a $1,000 digital piano the other day. I've never sold anything that expensive before! It was cool!!

This past weekend, I played at the Grotto for their Festival of Lights. I also helped Andrea take care of her two nephews (see 'My Turn for Cute Nephews'). Her nephews couldn't be more different. Preston is VERY strong-willed. Aidon is happy-go-lucky, and is quite satisfied as long as he has his sippy cup close by.

I have a concert with the Rose City Flute Choir tomorrow night at Westside United Methodist Church in Beaverton. It's not far from Nike. This will be last one of the season. In the spring, we'll be performing Peter and the Wolf with the HART Community Theater in Hillsboro. It's supposed to be the grand openning of their new theater building. It sounds way cool. I haven't played for a musical since high school.

What's everybody planning for Christmas? I'm headed to Tacoma to be with my parents and extended family on Dad's side. Andrea is coming with me, Lord willing. It'll be complicated to plan out, but I think we can make it work.

In the mean time, the next two Mondays for me are wide open, so Andrea and I are going snowshoeing. We went last year and had a blast. Here are some pictures:





































We went to White River last year, but that's probably not an option this time around (besides, the crowds were kind of overwhelming). I have a book of snowshoe routes, so I should be able to find something fun. Plus, we rented the snowshoes, and we weren't really impressed with the style, so we both bought our own this year in the traditional style.

Home Sweet Home

I realized tonight that I haven't shown anybody a picture of where I live. So here are a few pictures taken recently and some taken last year after a dusting of snow.
















When Autumn leaves have fallen.














Ah, the old Intrepid. How I miss that car sometimes. not.














Picnic anyone? How about some iced tea?





















Here's the road in front of the house. This is a dirt road, and where I'm standing, in front of the house, is a half mile up it.



















I guess I should try and get some pictures during better weather next time, but the place just seems to have this quality about it that comes alive in the fall and winter months. I love it here. I'm truly blessed to have a great place to live, and great people to live with.

Running and Being Still

I hope Sara doesn't mind my using her blog title. Thanks Sara!
I did a few firsts these past few weeks. I started running with someone else for the first time: Andrea and I started a running routine called "The Couch-to-5K Running Plan". I don't really like running in and of itself, but it's nice to be running with someone else, and since I haven't been reffing games for a while, I need to get back in shape. I went to my first Winterhawks game at the coliseum (first time in the coliseum too. Now I just need to visit the Rose Garden). It was the Teddy Bear Game, so when the Hawks scored their first goal, the fans all through stuffed animals onto the ice. Which is another first for me. Then, I went to Portland's Old spaghetti Factory for the first time on Sunday. I bought my first pair of snowshoes this month, so I'm ready to go for my for hike in them. Those are a lot of firsts for one month, and I don't think I covered them all.

I stopped at church today to talk to the Redheads and pick up some CD's before going up to Woodland to see my Grandparents. Since the snow was going to be pretty bad, I decided to wait until the traffic across the river subsided before venturing out. That gave me a couple of hours to kill.

I decided to go into the prayer room to kill those couple of hours (I took care of one, before going into the worship center to watch a friend's basketball game).

One of the things that that time put on my heart tonight is to invite all who read this to spend one of the weekend services in the prayer room. You don't have to be on a schedule, it's open to all (When I first started going in, I went in during whichever service I felt like that particular week. I eventually made it a weekly habit that I'm sad to say I've neglected in recent months). Just drop in. Sometimes you'll be surprised at what God does in there. I can remember many times when a hurting person has walked in and interrupted our praying and asked for prayer. Those are the most potent times in that room when men gather around a person, kneel down and lay their hands upon them and pray in the Spirit. Writing this post is bringing back a flood of memories from those times and convicting me of neglecting my favorite ministry in the church. I would urge you to join in the blessings as well. You don't have to be on a team or signed up for a particular service. Just come on in. You're always welcome. :)

Sorry for preaching at you all. I felt that this was a soap box worth standing on in this setting, and I hope my feeling was correct.

My Turn for Cute Nephews (even though they're not mine)

There are so many friends posting pictures of their cute nieces and nephews, that I kind of felt left out (not really). Fortunately, Andrea has cute nephews that I can claim (not really). Andrea and I went to Horsetail falls with her sister-in-law Carol and her two boys Preston and Aiden (really). Here is Andrea's claim to the world's cutest nephews:




Here's Aiden hamming for the camera. Doesn't he look excited to be riding on my back? Don't tell Carol, but this was the first time I had a baby on my back. It was fun!






















Preston getting his camera time:
























Exploring the depths of Oneonta Gorge.

























Preston and Mommy

























Of course, there was also some gorgeous scenary. Here's Oneonta Falls.

























Horsetail Falls from up on the trail.


























This has been declared the cutest picture of Kirby to date. I have a hard time disagreeing. Is he not the world's cutest dog?


























Andrea, Carol, and Preston (Ainden's still on my back, so he's not in this picture. I think he was asleep at the time too).

More Interesting Stuff from the Bible

So I'm reading through the Gospel of John. It's 'coincidental' that the church is now going through it as well right now in our current sermon series. 'Coincidental,' in that I didn't set out to read this part of the Bible just because the church is too. I'm just reading through the New Testament right now, and this is where I find myself. I was reading in chapter 5 about Jesus' healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus confronts the man afterward and tells him, "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

I'd always skipped over that part as Jesus just admonishing him to stop sinning. It never hit me till now that Jesus also implied that something worse could happen to the man! So I asked myself this question: What could be worse than being paralyzed for thirty-eigth years? It makes me cringe just thinking about it.


Now, I'm bogged down in chapter 6. There seems to be a bunch of stuff for me to learn in this chapter, so it's taking me several days to get through it. Most of it centers around the people who came looking for Jesus after He fed the five thousand. The people went to a lot of extra effort to track Him down, but Jesus saw that they were only coming to Him for more food. That got me thinking, do I go after Jesus just to get more physical things? I may truly need them (the people's need for food was certainly justified), but is that the only reason I'm seeking Jesus? Jesus urges me, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life..." Hmm, food which endures to eternal life... That would imply something spiritual I would assume. So I need to spend my time working for the food that is going to endure for the rest of eternity.

The two questions I have to ask myself at this point are thus, "How can I spend my time and energy seeking food that endures to eternal life?" and, "Why to I spend so much more energy and everything else?" Hopefully I'll have some answers for you in the future.

Crossroads Part II

"'Deep' is not a place we visit in our search for God, it's what happens to us when we find him." --Calvin Miller

So I've just gotten into the book called 'Into the Depths of God' by Calvin Miller. It's apt that it comes right on the heels of Melissa asking the question, "What does it mean to live deeply?" It's a strong question. It's a convicting question. I know that I am living my life on the surface, or at least ankle deep. But have I ventured into the deep, unknown world that lies beyond?

Simply put, no.

I can sound quite deep when I'm writing, or discussing an issue with someone, but that's simply a gift for words and not much more. There isn't a whole lot of substance behind them. They may be true, and even helpfull, but they likely have not penetrated into my most inward being and become part of who I am.

Miller's words hit me gently, but squarely between the eyes. Listen to this, "Most of us dress our Christian faith in an ill-fitting discipleship that, like a cheap suit, leaves us uncomfortable most of our lives. Among our friends at church we struggle to keep our reputation for godliness bannered forth. We would like to appear to be like Jesus without the discipline of really being like him. Reading several dozen fill-in-the-blanks self-help manuals, we talk ourselves into a spiritual reputation we have never really earned."

I keep reading this over and over again, seeing just how much of my life this simple paragraph applies to. I spend so much time putting on a mask that I honestly don't even know I'm putting on. I don't deliberately go out and contrive some way of looking good to my friends. On the contrary, I want to be genuine with them. The trouble is, there's always something that stops me short of going that extra step. Diving a little deeper, as it were.

So I won't try and define living deeply here, because I'm pretty sure that I don't have the faintest clue as to what it means. But let me show you what I'm finding as I begin this journey toward living deeply:

"Deep is the dwelling place of God. Deep is the character of the ocean. Hold the metephore for a moment and savor its lessons... For deep is where the noisy, trashy surface of the ocean gets quiet and serene. No sound breaks the awsome silence of the ocean's heart. Most Christians, however, spend their lives being whipped tumultuously through the surface circumstances of their days. Their frothy lifestyles mark the surface nature of their lives. Yet those who plumb the deep things of God discover true peace for the first time."

This isn't just another lament on the busyness of our lives, though it does point to that as well. It's an invitation. I could agree wholeheartedly that my life is this tumult of meetings and work and rehearsals and whatever else, but I would never get to the real issue. God. Even the deepest person is going to encounter busyness in their life. How a person handles it, and where it leads them is determined by how deep they are with God.

But what's it look like to go deep with God? Try this, "We do not go deep to study God, we go deep to taste his reality. In such experience we cannot define God, for he is not definable. But we do, ultimately, define ourselves. In the depths we meet our smallness, our powerlessness, our need. On the positive side, we discover the folly of trying to find our satisfaction in surface relationships. We learn to our credit that God hides neither his greatness nor our self-understanding in three hurried minutes of Bible reading a day."

A few months ago, I found myself a crossroads in my spiritual walk. I've kind of paused there, trying to figure out which road is mine and often getting distracted by the surface tumult of my life. How do I follow Jesus without reservation? I may be closing in on the answer to that question. These are but brief excerpts from this book. I'm taking them one by one to see if I can't actually begin to live deeply. Live in touch with God on such a level as to be indescribable. Live in touch with people as to make a mark in their lives, and have them make a mark in mine.

Just imagine the possibilities...

A Little Less Wise

I got my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. It went very well. The dentist made swift work of them. I was in and out in half an hour, and there was very little pain involved. My mouth is healing nicely, and I'm not feeling any discomfort from the proceedure other than some very dull soreness when I open my mouth wide.
I only had one side done yesterday, and this next Monday I will have the other side done. I'm praying that it goes just as smoothly.

Oh, yeah. I scheduled the last payment I will ever make on a credit card. EVER. So unofficialy, I'M DEBT FREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! It feels real good. The only debt I should carry from here on out is a house. There's a lot of money you can spend when you're not making credit card payments. I don't actually know what to do now that there is one less bill to pay. Hmmm...

That's just a quick update. I'll check in again in the near future. I'm going to respond to Melissa's blog about what it means to live deeply (and not deeply in debt!), so stay tuned!

Hello!! McFly!!

Is anybody in there?!

Yes, I'm still blogging. No I haven't gotten tired of it. I have however gotten tired period. September, in the instrument repair and rental business is the month when all...well...you name it, and it will probably break loose in September. I've been working six days a week (isn't that biblical?), and have already had several 11-plus-hour-days. Plus I'm working both in the repair shop, trying to keep our stock of instruments ready to rent, and in the front, renting out those very instruments. It's been quite a month at my new job. Though I'm very tired, and a little worse for wear, I couldn't be happier with where I am. I've accomplished a lot since I've been there. I've worked hard, and have seen that hard work pay off. It feels real good.

So I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Next week, I will once again have Mondays off, and getting home a sane our of the day. Next Monday, I'm having some teeth pried out of my coconut, so I don't know if I'll be up to posting that day, but you never know. Please pray that that goes well, and hopefully you will see regular posts on this blog once again!

Despite the Name, there was None

Andrea and I went to the beach this weekend. For all those who stayed in Portland and weathered the 90+ degree temperatures, good for you. We were weathering temperatures in the 60's, so I must admit that we weren't nearly as toughened up by the end of the weekend. ;)

We camped on Sunday night at Cape Disappointment, the foggiest place on earth (107 days on average per year). We both tried out brand-new air mattresses. I must say, it may not be quite as hard core as the old therm-a-rest, but I slept a lot better, and besides, we were car camping. How hard core can that be? We even made espresso the next morning (the traditional way)!

Monday, we went up to Long Beach for the start of the International Kite Festival. Unfortunately, there was no wind, so there were no kites in the air for the entire time we were there, including mine. So we didn't stay long, cause I had to be home by the early evening, and we were planning on stopping in Woodland to see my grandparents. We did stop at the local coffee roasters and picked up a fantastic bag of coffee before leaving town.

The lack of wind was a little 'disappointing' (get it?), but it's not the destination, it's the journey. So I decided to turn this trip into a journey. We were on our way to I-5 via Highway 4 when I saw a sign for the Grays River Covered Bridge. Hmmm... (it must be stated now, that my genes kicked in at this point. My dad is not a point A to point B type of person) So as soon as I saw the sign marking the road to the bridge, I announced to Andrea that we were going to go check it out. So we did.

It was really neat! We actually had to drive over the bridge in order to get these pictures!

This is the bridge of course.















We found a nice person to take our picture.
















Remembering that I need to get more scenery shots, I turned and saw this. There are some beautiful areas to see on this part of the Columbia River.














And finally, a shot looking back through the bridge as we left. I suggest you click on it and see the full picture. Andrea took this one, and it really is a great shot.












So then we went on to Woodland and talked to both pairs of grandparents. I don't get up there often enough...



So, the next day was the opening round of what we call 'rental season' in my business. I spent over twelve hours at a local school renting out instruments to new band students. It was a good day. I wasn't nearly as tired as I expected to be at the end of such a day. In fact, I was ready for more! Is that sick or what? The pressure of rental season is mounting though, and I'm starting to get a little frustrated with myself for some lack of progress at work. If you could pray for that if you get the chance, that'd be great.

Friday, I'll be taking the Intrepid up to Woodland to try and sell it up there. Things seem to sell from my grandparents house on River Road, so I'm optimistic that I can finely have this car sold, and only have one car to worry about. Please say a quick prayer for that too.

Observation Peak

This blog entry starts with a simple test. Can you count to four?

Let's see...

One...


















Two...


















Three...

















Four...















Good job class!! If you haven't figured it out, these are the peaks you can see from Observation Peak (Mt. St. Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood). If it hadn't been so hazy, you would have also seen Mt. Jefferson, and even the Three Sisters! This was a great hike. It's pretty steep, but it's well worth the effort.

I went with Andrea and her friend Kim, and of course, Kirby the Energizer Dog. Here are pictures of us...

Andrea and I in front of Mt. St. Helens. This was the first trip for my new hat.

















Here I am precariously balanced on this rock. Below me on the other side is a few hundred feet of nothing.





















Kim and Andrea in front of Mt. St. Helens.














I'm now caught up on my blog entries. Hopefully the next one will be fresh, and not a few weeks old! Ew...

Seattle 9 Boston 8

So I get a call from Andrea on a Saturday. We were planning on going up to Tacoma to see my parents the next day, so she decides to get online to see if there's a Mariners game that day. As it turns out, there was! And she calls me the day before to see if I'd like to go and if she should buy some tickets. Uh, YAH!!!

So off we went for a marathon run up to the Greater Puget Sound Region. We drove to Tacoma, and parked at the bus station and took a bus to the stadium. We watched a fantastic game! It ended with a home run by the Mariners to win the game in the 9th inning. If you happened to see the highlights of the game, you actually would have seen us, because the ball landed in the bullpen right in front of where we were seated. It couldn't have gotten more exciting. The whole stadium just erupted. I love going to see games there. I've yet to find a bad seat.


Here are Andrea and I at the ball park:

























I was on the edge of my seat in the 9th inning, so I wasn't paying attention to my camera. Fortunately, Andrea had the wherewithal to grab the camera and snap a couple of pictures. This one is right before Richie Sexson hit the game-winning home run.














And this one is of the celebration afterward.















So after the game, we went back to Tacoma. I took Andrea on a brief tour of my home town. We drove down Ruston Way, and then drove up to Point Defiance Park, and drove around Five Mile Drive. There are some great view points along this road. Here is Andrea and I in front of the Tacoma Narrows.













Here's a picture with the old Narrows Bridge in the distance with the new one being built right next to it.

Ramona Falls

I went to Gary's to change my oil a couple of weeks ago, and Andrea met me there when I was done. We wanted to go hiking with her friend Suzanna. Gary suggested Ramona falls up the Sandy River. We found it quite easily. I would highly suggest this hike. It's a good loop hike. Go to the right when you get to the junction in the trail, and just follow it to the falls, and head across the creek, and back down the hill. YOu hike up the Sandy River, and see great views of Mt. Hood. Then you hike down along this nice little creek. Here are some pictures:


Andrea and Suzanna in front of Mt. Hood on the Sandy River.



















Andrea and I, same place. On a side note, this is the last picture you will see with me in the green hat. It fell victom to some spilled motor oil so it had to be thrown away. It served me well all over the world. Now, I have a new hat that will hopefully be just as trusty, if not more so (I forgot I wore the hat on this hike, so I moved the note from the previous post to this one ;).




















And this is Ramona Falls. I forgot the name of the creek, but it cascades down these rocks. It's tucked in amongst the trees, but it's also pretty big and spread out. A very unique site that photographs cannot do justice to.



















































Next time, you'll have photos from Safeco Field in Seattle!