I Gave Up Coffee for Lent

I could have gotten coffee this morning from my favorite coffee shop. Tabitha's comment the other day, however was enough to keep me from using money I hadn't set aside for such a purpose (thanks a lot Tabs ;). I discovered too late that I hadn't made my own coffee this morning as has been my custom the past couple of months (it's a lot cheaper than getting an espresso every day). So I grabbed my ibuprofin and headed to work without coffee for the first time in probably a couple of months. The results were not pretty. All work and no coffee make Nate a very dull boy. Fortunately, the pain killers made the day bearable, and I'll probably sleep better for it (the other reason I didn't have coffee today was the fact that the last couple of nights I had been sleeping very poorly). I thought of staging a picture of what I look like without coffee, and then realized that I didn't want to be kicked off Blogger. ;)

So this Saturday will be interesting. First, I have a rehearsal at church in Boring from 8:30 to 9:30. Then I run all the way of to Flute Fair at Aloha High School to perform with Rose City Flute Choir. Then I'll be doing a little volunteering and a little looking around, and hopefully pick up a few items (don't worry, they'll be in the budget ;). After that, I get to run back to church to play with worship team! From one end of the Portland Metropolitan Area to the other and back again all in one day! Hmmm... I think it was Bob Dorsey who said that men thrive under a certain amount of stress. Well, we shall see.

My Buddy Rob

This is my housemate, Rob. As I said before, he rocks. He's a constant example to me in my walk with the Lord. One must be carefull around him however, or shenanagins and tomfoolery the likes of which Sean hasn't seen can break loose (read his blog, and you'll see what I mean). Like tonight. Marilyn and I are sitting in the kitchen, and Rob goes into the bathroom, and blows his nose. Then he says, "Oh, tell me that's not salsa." Now, we had to pause and consider what we'd just heard. Then he said that it was salsa and that he needed to be more carefull. "Hmm, that's dissapointing," I thought to myself. Marilyn actually had the guts to ask him the question that was on both our minds. It turns out, Rob had blown his nose, then looked down, and seen a salsa stain on his sweater! It's fun to drop into the middle of a conversation, or get only half the information you need. (Sean, is there a WC? ;)

Nothing else exciting happened today. No Chuck Norris, or any other celebrity. But Rob was complaining that I don't talk about him enough. So I decided oblige him. ;)



He's not mad, he's just committing some tomfoolery.




So I did go to the book store yesterday with my buddy Sean. I picked up 'Quiet Talks On Prayer' by S.D. Gordon. I'll share what I learn when I start reading it. I'm reading a couple other books right now, so It may be a while. I really wanted to pick that book up, becuase I'm struggling mightely in my prayer life right now, and I'm looking for some fresh insights into the subject. So I'm excited to read it and to share what I learn. My friend Andrea told me that she remembers her devotions better if she shares what she learns with other people.

After I'm done with that book, I think I'll pick up 'Fresh Faith' by Jim Cymbala. Now he's a guy I like to listen to, and I've only heard him once. He and his congregation have the disease so bad, even the stories that come out of his church are contagious! But I have to pace myself, and not spend my money all in one place. Especially considering that my car's check engine light came on again today. Fortunately I have an emergency fund, so it won't hurt as much as some car repairs have in the past. This comes just as I'm getting ready to sell my other car! (I'll give you the whole story when it's finished). Maybe God is telling me I should ride my bike more often. ;)

Karate Kicking Law Enforcement Official

Can you guess who it it? Well, I posed this riddle to my buddy Rob when I got home from church, and asked him if he could guess who'd been there today. He couldn't figure out what I meant. The news spread like wild fire, and most people I told didn't believe me, until they'd heard it from multiple witnesses. It was none other than the man who's occupation is to portray Walker Texas Ranger. Someone asked me if I'd seen Chuck Norris, and I didn't believe them either until I saw him with my own two eyes. It was pretty cool, and fun to watch other people's reactions to the news as well (especially the girls! ;).

So from that to-do, I headed out to my friend Andrea's house, and helped her transpland some bulbs to make room for some raspberries. It seemed to go well. Then we went for a walk to get some pizza. I pulled out the camera...


It was a very nice day all around. We also saw a picture worthy house. I just liked the was it looked.



So that was my day. Now I'm sitting at home waiting unitl it's my turn to pray for the Sudan Team. I don't know why I like to take these late night shifts, but since I don't have to be at work on Mondays, I always figure I should cover a late night slot.

This is only a smattering of everything that went on. I always feel like I'm leaving things out that are important when I write these posts. Hopefully I'll continue to improve with practice (or else this blog will get real old real fast ;).

Chickens and Easter

So Marylin picked up six more chickens and a rooster. It really is amazing to see how big the older chicks are compared to the new ones, and they're only a week older! We'll have lots of eggs come August when they'll all start laying (all but the rooster of course. He'll be crowing, and my room is the closest to the chicken yard!). Chickens seem to take a long time to grow up, especially when they get big enough to jump around and fly short distances, but aren't big enough to be out from under the heat lamp. That's the time when they can be fun at times, but also they can be just plane annoying and darn right dangerous (hmm that sounds like a certain age group af whom I am no longer a member of...and thankfully so ;). But actually, they grow up in no time flat. In another week, they'll have doubled in size and weight from what they are now! Assuming all of them survive to maturity (mortality is a possibility when dealing with these animals) we will have twenty chickens out in the chicken yard this summer!


If only chickens could be smart, like chicken little here. He's always saying yes to my crazy ideas.








I had an eventfull week. I started rehearsing with the Easter Orchestra at church on Tuesday. Every year is different, and this year, we're playing some fun music, but we're not playing vary much. It's been a big part of the services in the past, so it's exciting to see what's going to happen this year. Anyway, earlier that day, a young lady came into my work with her mother to get her oboe fixed. Her mom said that her daughter had a "band thing" that night. Well, I'm sitting in rehearsal, and Bruce, our worship leader looks to the door, and exclaims, "There's our oboe player!" And who should it be but the very same girl, sho promptly recognized me! Funny things happen at big churches like mine. You run into people outside of church who have been going for years, and you don't even know it until something like this happens.



So here is part of the orchestra. We're an exciting bunch...






Then, I discovered that I was playing penny whistle with the worship team next weekend! Everybody seemed to know but me. How come I'm always the last person to know these things?

Thursday, I reheased with the Rose City Flute Choir. We have a performance at Flute Fair next Saturday. Which means, I'll be performing at Flute Fair, which is in Aloha, and then heading out to church, which is in Boring, to play for worhship. That is going to be a busy day, but should make for an interesting post. :) By for now.

First Hill Walk of the Spring

It's the first day of spring, and it was a full day to say the least. I went back to Rest Harbor for the first time in a few months. It was great. It was good to see everyone again, and playing my flute by ear is good practice. Here's some pictures from that day:


I play with the Jim and Pat Major. Pat is at the piano. She plays all the songs by ear! There is no music in front of her the whole time! Then, if she doesn't like the key, or someone else doesn't, she just changes it and keeps on going. Jim is the one in the blue shirt at the podium. He can sing bass, baritone, or tenor, and he plays the harmonica. They are great people. Plus, they're patient with me when I'm having trouble playing something! They love God and really have a heart to use they're considerable talent to bless the folks at the home. Speaking of which, they're pictured here too! I don't know all they're names, but Kayla (pronounced KIGHla) is in the pink shirt. Alan is on the far left in the hat. Janice is in the back with her hand raised. They love Jesus, and they know Jesus loves them. Sid, the gentleman in the vest, is one of the people who's there week in and week out, and ministers to the residents whenever he gets the chance. Sid rocks. He still gets excited like a school boy when God does something cool.

After that, I went and showed my car to some people from church. I'm trying to sell it, but I'll tell that story in another post.

After that. I went to my good friend Andrea's house (pronounced ahnDRAYuh emphasis is on the middle sylable). We both love going for walks. She picked up a book called Portland Hill Walks. It's really well done, and the walks we've taken have been really cool. This one was no exception. We had her dog Kirby with us. The picture you see is of her and Kirby walking up one of the hills. It was the first hill walk of the spring, and the weather was fantastic. You could see all kinds of different views of downtown Portland, and the Eastside. I would have pictures of that for you, but the batteries in my camera died shortly after taking the shot of Andrea you see now.

So I'm more comfortable with this blogging thing now, but I still haven't gotten the hang of how to layout all the pictures and the text together in an orderly manner, so this may look a bit cluttered. Sorry about that, but I promise it will get better.

Nate

Counting Our Chickens

We had chicks last year at this time, and this year is no different. Once they're out in the yard with the others, we'll have a total of 13 chickens. They're cute. Cuteness should be preserved.

I've begun to eat away at the elephant that is the messes within all the little storage areas in my room. I can keep my room pretty clean, but it usually comes at the expense of my closet and cubby holes; which are now full of things that I probably should have gotten rid of a long time ago. So my file drawer is now properly organized and bills and paperwork are no longer strewn across the top of my dresser. Next comes cleaning out all the plastic grocery bags I have saved up over the past three years. Then maybe all my gear will finally fit in my closet instead of hidden behind furniture!

I heard a sermon on James chapter 3 today (in case you don't know, James 3 is about taming the tongue). Dan gave us a new way to look at the chapter, which I think make more sense than what I've heard before. I can't really do it justice but I tell you how to get what he said for yourelves: read the first verse. Then, read the entire rest of the chapter, and I do mean the entire chapter, in context to that first verse. James is talking to those who suppose themselves to be teachers. Kind of interesting. I'd never thought of that before.

The Lions Den

My buddy Rob. He rents a room in the same house I do. His love for Jesus is surpassed only by. . .well actually nothing. He rocks. Rob brought some kids from his church's student's ministry over to the house tonight (Lions Den they call it). We watched Legend of Zoro (Fun movie). It's cool to see Rob's heart for people. He's always around to help bring my world back into focus, even if he doesn't know what he's doing. Anyway, we had a great time tonight.

I was reading my Bible tonight, and came across the early part of John 13 just before Jesus washes His disciples' feet: 'Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God'. I got to thinking about that in terms of my attitude toward the leadership roles I am in. If I truly believed who's in control, where I came from, and where I'm ultimately going, does humbling myself as much as Jesus did really seem that difficult? Just a thought that came to mind. I'd never noticed that verse before. But don't take my word for it, read it yourselves!

Okay, not the most exciting post, but I'm getting the hang of it, and hopefully there will be something worth reading soon. ;)

One More Round

I'm still getting used to how this whole blogging thing works, so please forgive the rather spartan look of this page so far. I was going to completely change the look of this blog, but apparently there's a bug that blogger is still working on that won't let me. So, you're stuck with this one for now. Who knows, maybe I'll come to actually like it as time goes by, and I learn how to actually use all the features that go with this sight. It really is a good set up they have here. So that's the progress I'm making with my blog, now what about my life:

I listened to Focus on the Family today and yesterday. There was this guy who was from Philidelphia preaching in the classic Black Baptist fashion. He was great! He got the folks at the normally subdued crowd of Focus staff whipped up into a frenzy. On top of that, he was simply a solid preacher (something you don't always get with that style of preaching). He taught about this boxer who was going up against the heavy-weight champion of the world. The champ kept hitting him hard and knocking him down, and around. But no matter how beaten and bloody he was, and no matter how many times the trainers told him to throw in the towel, he always told them, "One more round." He ended up winning that fight after 25 rounds. (I really don't do this story justice. It must be heard to truly get the full weight of what he said. Just go to Family.org and you'll find it. Sorry, I don't yet know how to do links yet)

The story stuck with me. I know that these past weeks and even months, I've felt beaten and bloodied. I've been knocked down more than I can count. Yet now, each night as I go to bed, and can kneel before God and say, "Just one more round." I know He will give me the strength to go one more round each and every morning. And then, when I get knocked down again, I'll go home again, and remember, "One more round." The day will come when I will score the knock out punch.

Where have I been?

So here I am. I figured that since all my other friends were blogging, that I would join them (tomorrow we're all going out to jump off the Glen Jackson). I've been thinking a lot about friends and family who I don't get to see very often, and am terrible about keeping in touch with. So, again, here I am. Today's post won't be exciting, because I'm not very good with computers, so it will take some getting used to to get this all down pat. For the few that have actually gotten this far, I plan on writing about various aspects of my life, as well as things I learn or read about.

So where have I been? Well, I hope to tell you in the coming days, weeks and months ahead. I hope to also tell you where I'm going.

Oh, this is me in France last summer. I hope to go again next year.

So that's all for today. I hope this comes out well. And I hope that everyone who reads this will get to know me again for the first time. :)