pedro negro

Two Months

I am a little embarrassed about how long it had been, but enough of that.  

The weather has been great up here for the last week and after a long drawn out winter I remember why we fell in love with the Pacific NorthWest.  People move to Portland for the summer and rightfully so.   

This blog is going to be a jumble of all the ramblings that go through my head on a daily basis. 

I feel like I am so busy everyday with more on my plate than I have time to get done.  When in reality I believe that what is actually happening is that I have so many wonderful people in my life wanting to spend time together and calling me that I just run from one place to the next as the hours slip by.  The relationships that I have made in just the 8 months that we have been here are absolutely amazing.   The weather has been so conducive to sundays in the park playing bocce, brisk evening playing ping-pong at RonToms and Zach's.  Lauren is going to school again for nursing so between that and her school schedule we have night that is just us hanging out on the couch watching some TV show on DVD.  Dinners have become more and more extravagant as Lauren continues to expand her recipe book.  Church has been great for community and as we have moved into the book of John I have enjoyed the messages more and more.  

Here is something on my mind a lot.  I used to get up every morning and read the Bible and spend time in prayer but ever since I have worked at starbucks this has been pushed further and further out of my morning routine and now it is altogether gone.  I love the morning routine and I retain so much more, can concentrate ten times better than at night but with a schedule that changes every day I don't know how to get that set routine.  I beat myself up for not having it but I have been so long with out it I don't know where to begin.  I know I just need to start and stop making excuses but I find it so hard to get into routine after it has been so long with out it.  So this week I am going see if I can just spend some time each day dedicated to prayer and study even just for ten min. but hey I gotta start somewhere right?

Been so long I wonder if anyone reads this anymore? 

Karate Kid

I watched Karate Kid the other day and I noticed a few things. 

1. Now days when you watch any movie (other than a Disney or Pixar) with a love story, the characters falling in love will sleep together in about four scenes after they meet.  I hate it.  

2. The male character will have sex with someone else and then have to reconcile with the female but in Karate Kid he is rude because her parents are rich.  Its a lot easier to reconcile with someone that you called rich than slept with her best friend.  

3. And finally at the end of the film when Daniel beats Johnny in spite of all the odds Johnny hands him the trophy and congratulates him.  

Here is why I am writing all this.  I find it crazy that when you look back to 1984 when Karate Kid came out society and morals seemed a lot different.  (Just a disclamier because I could be talking out of my rear but this is something that I have been thinking about after watching it.)  What I have been thinking about is does society follow the arts, cinema and music as they head downhill or as society heads downhill do the arts, cinema and music follow?  I know that this could go a million different ways and obviously there have always been times when society is worse than others and it is up for debate if we are going downhill or not.  But I am saying that we are in fact going downhill and I am coming at this from a Christian belief and background.  

Lazy Saturday

Here I am sitting at Albina Press (not the usual one. the one in the north) This shop is crazy.  So many people and busy busy. Not a lot new up here, I work, I have had a better attitude these days since there are so many people with out jobs, I hang out at Albina, Nate is staying with us, and occasionally when we have some money we will go out with some friends.  

I finished reading Searching For God Knows What this morning.  I enjoyed it cover to cover.  For those of you who are looking for something to read that will get the wheels turning and help with perspective I recommend picking up a copy.

This last Sunday we went to a new church with some friends.  Evergreen Community Church meets at a pub that is closed Sunday morning.  There is one located on the west side and one on the east (close to our place).  It is a very small community, and I mean community literally, the sermons are partly discussion and it seems like going to a small group more than church.  They give a lot of their money to other organizations which I really liked seeing.  I would like to go back to check it out again.  We love Imago and Rick's preaching but the problem is so do a lot of other people so we get guest speakers while he is away.  We are still figuring things out.

Right now I am looking forward to thanksgiving.  I get to hang out with steve and the whole family will be here.  Sorry that it is a long blog but before I go you should watch the best trailer I have seen in a while.  (Watch the film clip...best movie of 2008...that or maybe Death Race)

Searching for God Knows What

I am reading this book right now and I am throughly happy about it.  I loved Blue Like Jazz! I have read it at least four times and each time I do, I pull one thing out that I didn't catch the time before. 

In Searching for God Knows What miller is heading the route that I have seen and heard before.  Jesus loved everyone and that is what we should do.  I feel, at times, the thick parts of the bible are left to the wayside in order to just love.  Now I know that this is immensely more difficult than I give credit for, loving unconditionally, but what I am getting at is why do we love?  What is the reason that we do what we do?  I have meet plenty of people that are much more loving than me, much more compassionate, more kind and so on and so forth.  But what is their reason for doing so?  You can feed a million people but if you are giving them only physical food............what is the point of sending people to hell with a full stomach.  (Please don't get offended.  I am not judging, I am just trying to make a point. God can judge I don't want that responsibility)  Where am I.  What I am trying to say is, I feel that Miller in saying that we need to love, he is giving the reasoning behind it.  Backing it with good scripture and interesting points.  Not just your classic Luke 10:27.  I don't even know if you are tracking with me, I am just happy with the route Miller is going here as opposed to what I am used to.  I am distracted right now at Albina Press but I am going to post a little passage for you all to enjoy later.  Lets just wrap it up with I am loving the book.  A great mix of emerging church theology, good old-skool theology, and a little irresistible revolution.

Oh yeah, and I watched Back to the Future III last night with some friends. (Noah, I think it is just as awesome as I & II only less believable) 

married group PDX

I miss the groups that I have had over the years in Redding.  Lauren and I attended leadership meetings, young married groups, the Refuge (in the Refuge house and in my living room), book clubs, sermon discussion groups, event planning and so many more.  Starting this Wednesday we will be starting a married book group.  Wednesday nights rotating from house to house of the five married couples, reading a bit of the book each week and talking about the book and life over some finger foods.  Lauren and I are excited to get back into purposeful, Christ centered fellowship, no more talking about things, we need to do them.

I want to be the change that I desire.  I need to be the example that I wish to see.  I want to make a difference.

Side note: if anyone can can direct me to a website, book or even post address to LaBrie (I think that is how you spell it.  The spiritual retreat in Switzerland I think) but I have been looking for information on the web and I just cannot find it. Leave me a comment or email me.

The old college try

So I am going to give it the old college try, switching from a normal life to the full blown life of a zombie.  It is currently 12:30am and I am going to read, drink coffee, make breakfast, shower, shave, read blogs, pay bills, and get ready for work.  I have decided that since I work at 3:30am everyday this week and I am always tired anyways I might as well give it a shot.  I will work all morning, or night however you look at it, and then sleep 6 to 7 hours when I get off each day at noon.  I will let you know how this goes.  

Church was great today.  We had Christmas trees, sang a Christmas song and everything.  It was all in preparation for the Advent Conspiracy.  Christmas came early so that we could all prepare, well at least prepare for what the church is doing (not really prepare for Christmas yet we haven't even had Thanksgiving), spending less so that we can give more.  Great message even better thing that they are doing (and getting so many churches in Portland to join together) anyways there is a great video on the website and hearing Rick talk about it was awesome.  Spend Less. Give More.

Nate took off yesterday (well Saturday) and it was great having him here, he is a wonderful friend and was a great roommate. However it is nice to be back to normal but I am looking foreword to seeing him up here soon when he gets a place.  Feeling better today though not excited about this work week coming up, it will be a great opportunity to get sick again.  I could really be setting myself up for failure with this new schedule but we shall see.  

I love Sundays

I love Sundays for the fact that I do not work on Sunday, hang out with the wife, watch movies and just relax in general.  Sunday is know as Lauren and Lords day.  I like that about Sundays. 

Last night we went and saw the Cold War Kids at the Wonder Ballroom.  We had a good time but we didn't really like the venue and it was not the best that we had seen them.  It is always fun to see them though they are a lot of fun to watch.  Maust is the quietest person that I had ever met and then once he starts playing he goes nuts and it just makes me smile.  There were a lot of friends there and and it has been good being able to go place and know people. 

This morning Lauren and I met some friends at Imago Dei for church and it blew us away again.  We thought that of all the churches in Portland that this one would be the most liberal, relativistic, completely segregated (only young adults), and very topical (all you have to do is love people and they will see God in you, ect, ect, but never really bringing the word(totally different subject for another day)).  We have found this to be exactly the oppsite of what it really is.  Filled with all ages young and old, more adults, old people and young fmailies that 20somethings.  The preaching is amazing so far, we are going through 1 Corinthians verse by verse and today we talked about how Paul was not afraid to talk about hell, death or the true message of the cross.  I obvously will not do it justice trying to sumarise it but you should listen to it.  Plus, they only do a few songs mostly hyms which I like and today when they were doing communion they did "i'll fly away" with a violin, bango and a full hillybilly twang.  It was amazing.  I couldn't stop smiling for the 15 minutes that they did the song.  It filled me with so much joy. Check it out.

Settling In

Yesterday was Sunday and we would normally be heading to church in Lake Oswego, but Eric and AnnMarie went to see beck and cold war kids in Bend last night and that meant we didn't go to church.  Eric was hired at a church and we are planning on attending the Sunday evening service but with him gone and a church of strangers we spent some time relaxing just the two of us and later met up with some friends.  Most of the people we have meet go to Imago Dei and Lauren and I are not sure yet if we want to go there just because of the size of the place.  We love neighborhood church don't get me wrong but Lauren and I have our issues with it too.  We want to get back into smaller churches and i'm not sure that Imago is the right fit for that.  It is massive and almost all young adults.  This is an entire blog in itself.

Zach and Kelly took off yesterday, it was so wonderful that they came up here.  I think that everyone needs to visit Portland and spend some time here.  It has been raining off and on and so far no depression.  After this winter I will get back to you.  Well this has been a terrible post so I am off to do laundry with the Mrs. 

And hanging out with Joey everyday again is as wonderful as I remember.  He is one great friend and good guy.

Portland Day 2

Great news Goose got a job at Nolita! Praise be the Lord.  I also got a transfer to the Starbucks in Pioneer Square, a super busy, and exciting store.  All glass and the storage and office is underground.  I am really excited to work at this store, I think that it will be lots of fun since it is so crazy.  The first store in Oregon and one of the busiest stores in Portland plus lots of crazy homeless people.  Hopefully we will get that apt. now that we have some jobs here.  After a very productive morning and a great breakfast at JAM we went to a art show in the north west witch Joeys roommate did some of the art for.  I didn't have a lot of expectations for the show but most "modern art" I see these day is pretty lame so it was great to see some artists that actually have some artistic ability.  Then we went across the street for some cocktails at the Doug Fir and Jupiter Hotel....amazing.  That place is so cool.  I would love to start something like that someday, it is like what I had always talked about years ago when I worked at sues. Creating a coffee shop/bar/venue/hangout spot for people to gather and spend a evening.  Some of the other things here in portland I love that are similar to the Doug Fir is the McMenamins brothers places. 

Tomorrow we are supposed to go hang out by the river and watch the Flugtag....I don't really understand all of what it is but apparently people make planes and take off a ramp and most just crash into the river....awesome.  

I'll let you know how it goes.  Way to go G-O-D for making all the plans work out thus far.  Whoop Whoop

Seriously....

....does anyone want to buy a truck?  I am just throwing this out there again for anyone or if you know of someone help a brother out.  The truck is now in the bay hoping that it will sell but I can go and get it if someone is interested.  We are going to be moving sooner than we thought so if this sold that would help out a lot.  On to other things...

Like I said things are moving fast.  Lauren now has two interviews on Friday and we applied for a place online today.  Great little apt. right where we want to live and for a great price.  We cannot wait to be up there.  Got the time off work (I think I need to double check that), got some things on order from the bike shop, and closed the saving account so we can open a checking account when we get to portland.  "It's all happening" (I love Almost Famous) 

Finished reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac and I loved it.  Raw and crazy for that time period, very honest and sad at the same time.  I cannot say that I recommend this book because of some of the content but I enjoyed it none the less.  I think that you can really get a view into society and peoples minds through honest writing and see the human soul left with no absolutes but the absolute desire for selfish pleasures.  Great stuff to think about.