addict

I love adventure.

Not like it's a secret or anything. Right now, I'm in my brand new tent from REI. Granted, it's set up in the living room. I love adventure, and when there aren't adventure partners I will pretend to have adventures.

Today, Dad came over to help me fix a hole in the bathroom wall. I was venting/complaining/whining about how none of my friends have time off work to go on adventures. He pointed out that Mom & Jeannie came on an adventure with me to Fort Flagler two days ago. (And yesterday, to retrieve the cell phone that I left there on the initial adventure.) Then he made a really good point, as Dads often do.

"Not everyone requires as much adventure as you do, Laura."

Hmm. Valid.

I've been rolling this idea around since this afternoon. I require A LOT of adventure. Hiking trips. Climbing adventures. Mapless road journeys. Youth camps. Mission expeditions.  I mean, it's a Tuesday night and I'm camping in my living room!

Tomorrow, Shannon and I are embarking on a trip to the Redwoods in California. We will get rained on. Soaked, probably. But that's the adventure!

I hate the rain in Kitsap county. It makes adventure partners choose to do "boring" things, instead. Sometimes the "boring" things are very worthwhile. But I was made for adventure!

Trusting God is an adventure.

"I have come that they might have life, and they might have it ABUNDANTLY." John 10:10

its nearly here!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

There's only one candle left to light on the advent wreath.

There's only one waxy chocolate left in the calendar.

This time tomorrow night, we'll be rocking out at the first of three Newlife Christmas Eve gatherings.

It's almost here!!!

life these days

Two of my friends had their wisdom teeth removed last week.

And it's Christmas vacation.

I have little wisdom to offer... but a few photos that capture life these days.

our happy Christmas tree

Melissa with 2 of the white elephant gifts from our Christmas party

UNITED worship night (over 500 people for our youth gathering!)

lip-syncing

I think I'm going to quit preparing lectures and just lip sync Bill Nye videos.

Today, I gave a two-page science exam to my freshmen science students. Already, I've spent 3 hours grading and I'm approximately 30% of the way done. Quick math tells me that I will be grading for SEVEN MORE HOURS.

Why should I switch to lip syncing Bill Nye?

Here's a sample test response:

Question: "Write the Law of Conservation of Energy in your own words."
Response: "Use green light bulbs?"

How many days until Christmas break????

the remotest parts of the earth

This morning after church I settled in for some Bible-reading time at Starbucks.

Acts 1:7-8 say: "It is not for you to know times orepochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."


My Bible has an added footnote from college. After "the remotest parts of the earth" it says "Pullman" in parentheses.

Today, in the midst of the deluge, Silverdale seems pretty close to the ends of the earth, too.

Waiting on God's power.

the most depressing song to listen to in western Washington

Amanda Conrad has excellent taste in music.

However.

On a certain mix CD (yes, she still mails me mix CDs because she is that awesome) there is a certain song by Eli Young band. It's called "When it rains." It is seriously depressing.

During the summer, it probably wouldn't be that depressing.

But there have been days this week when it never really got light outside. Yesterday, there was a thunder storm during first period. Klahowya (the school where everyone in my family graduated from) was struck by lightning.

Anyways, here are the depressing lyrics from the depressing song:
"When it rains, I don't mind being lonely, I cry right along with the sky 
When it rains, I don't pretend to be happy, I don't even have to try 
When it rains, Some people get down, They're sporting a frown, so I fit right in 
Yeah, the sun may brighten your day but if I had my way, I'd take the rain ."

And again, the answer is: JESUS!

In other news, Dad rescued a hawk with a broken wing. Random, right?

Quest for the can opener

It all began with a question:

"You wouldn't happen to know where my white can opener is, would you Laura?"

And no. No, I had no idea what had happened to Shannon's can opener.

"Could you have taken it to school?"

I had no idea. My classroom is a disaster area. Much like my car. Much like my bedroom. Much like my closet.

And such began the quest for the white can opener.

First, we looked in the kitchen (an obvious spot for a can opener). Then, I looked through the tub of random objects that used to live in my car but now sits by my parking spot in the garage. Still empty-handed, I dug around in my office and classroom. On the plus side, I did find my digital camera that had been missing for a month!

This morning, Shannon and I went snowshoeing at Mt. Rainier National Park. I couldn't find my hat. Or my gloves. Or my other pair of gloves. Or ANY of the dozen pairs of hiking socks I own. Or my left gaiter.

Can you say... INTERVENTION?!

There's a verse in Proverbs that I shared with a friend this week: Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready, after that, build your house. Proverbs 24:27. (NIV) My outdoor work is actually indoor work sometimes. My disorganized mess is my proverbial field.

So, it was decided that after the adventure I needed to organize my life. Finish grades. Do my laundry. Put away the once-cleaned clothes overtaking my room. Look for the can opener. That sort of thing.

I unearthed four Sterlite tubs left over from moving into the house. They are now labeled: Clothes that are inappropriate for this season, Adventure clothes that should stay inside, and Skit-closet-clothes-and-props.

In the process of cleaning my room, I discovered the following treasures:

• My missing beanie
• One pair of missing gloves
• A lot of hiking socks
• My left gaiter
• Thirty-three dollars
• A 48-page pad of 12" x 12" scrapbook paper
• Posters for my classroom
• Many trial-sized toiletries for our school toiletry drive
• Two sets of curtains
• Christmas wrapping paper
• An extra charger for my cell phone

Staying in for a night (you know, to get the fields ready) I also was blessed with another treasure. One of the students from our youth group was texting me on the way home from her soccer playoffs. We talked about God's strength and the temptations to give in when no one else seems to care about God's plans. We got to read through some of the beautiful promises of Romans chapter 8.

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know how we should pray, nor what we should pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." Romans 8:26 NLT

If anyone cares, I also found the white can opener.

sweater fashion show

Hanging out with my friend Laura tonight. We hit up the second hand stores in search of some classic Christmas sweaters.

Here are some photos of the winners:

throes of the season

Life has seasons. Life lately is the major decisions season. So many friends becoming engaged, getting married, accepting jobs across the country, building homes, and starting families. Tis the season.

Listening to a podcast from The Village Church near Dallas. Of course, about Ephesians 5. I love love LOVE this chapter.

A good way to end the night, praying for friends to know deep blessing. Praying in the throes.

priorities

I'm glad that life isn't like Zoolander.

Zoolander
There's a scene at the beginning of the movie where the reporter (Christine Taylor) asks the model (Ben Stiller) why he is a model. He tells her a story about catching his reflection in a spoon as an 8-year-old and realizing, "Wow, I'm really really ridiculously good-looking." Then he explains how he decided to do that for a job... be really really ridiculously good-looking.

I'm glad that life is about more than being really really ridiculously good-looking.

Re-evaluate Priorities

A few weeks ago, Shannon and I established our "priorities" list.

1. Jesus.
2. Adventure
3. Safety*
4. Work*

* as necessary

 With work canceled for the week, and adventures canceled by weather and safety (okay, just partly canceled...) I'm seeing disturbing trends. Lately, adventure has been edging out Jesus for time.

So, I try to justify adventure with verses like John 6:3. It's one of a couple verses where Jesus heads out to the mountains for some peace & quiet to worship the Father.

But my identity needs to follow after the sentiments of the disciples in John 6:67-69. 

"Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, "Are you going to leave, too?" Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them and we know that You are the Holy One of God." (NLT).

Mountains have their time and place. But, they're just there for God's credit.

Summer Memory

This summer was so full of purpose and calling. Like, confidence that God had a plan. And I was walking in it.

One of the awesome students from our youth ministry came over to my condo this summer and designed this t-shirt.

We ended up buying bright green shirts because they were cheaper. But the message is the same.

It's the task that Jesus left us with. It's the reason He came in the first place. It's the principle that guides each priority.

"Therefore, go and make disciples of  all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all of the commands I have given you. And be sure of this; I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

paraphrased, not plagiarized

Between conferences, snow storms, power outages, and Thanksgiving, I officially worked for 3 hours this week. Translation: I've had a lot of time to stalk people on facebook.

Someone posted a CS Lewis quote as their status. (I can't remember who... as I've stalked nearly every one of my fb friends.) I also cannot remember the actual quote. It was very good, though.

Here is my paraphrase:

There are two kinds of Christians: those who say, "Oh crap. It was supposed to work this way, God!" and those who say "Thy will be done."

Apparently I'm a Type A Christian.

--apologies to CS Lewis. (and to whomever's facebook I was stalking)

house full

There are fires in both wood stoves, upstairs and down. Jeannie is home from UW. Sasha is over to work on college admission essays (yet to be written).  Shannon is editing pictures taken today... of beautiful mountains and the fire in our wood stove! And Jeremy is home...somewhere.

We have heat, electricity, and Internet. But more importantly, we have a happy house full! (:

snapshots

Pictures of my life at the moment.

1) A climbing rope that is MUCH more pink in person than it appeared online. Now for the time and partners to go try it out...

2) Grading papers in front of the woodstove. Conferences were cancelled today because of the snow. Bummer to reschedule, but grateful for an afternoon by the fire!

3) The first 2" of snow this afternoon. It's been snowing on and off (but mostly on) since 9 am!

passion & glissading

November is heart-check month. Not nationally, just personally. It's the month where my attitude reaches the ultimate level of suckiness and God calls me back to Himself in grace.

Passion
This morning, I was watching a friend's kitten. And I HATE cats. I just do.

So, leaving the apartment, my attitude was pretty dismal. Walking into church, God kept pressing this idea of "renew your passion" onto my heart. I sat down in the gym where our church meets to scribble down some prayer requests:

"Pray for God to renew my passions, to line up my goals with His vision."

Then, our lead pastor shared a message from John 5. About miracles. About passion. About lining up our goals with God's vision.


Miracles happen when we let Jesus have control.

Glissading
Later this afternoon, I was driving through the snow flurries to hang out with Megan at the climbing gym. Out of NOWHERE this idea pops into my mind. (Thanks, Holy Spirit, for taking the time to talk).

This idea: "It's like glissading".

So I say out loud in my car, "What's like glissading?"

"Trusting Jesus."

This past summer, I joined Shannon and some of her friends for a "summit bid" to the Brothers. It's a nice entry-level mountaineering trip. Like, a long day hike that helps to have an ice axe.

After the hard work of climbing to the summit, you get to take in the view. Celebrate. I took a nap.

Then, coming down you get to glissade. I think it's French for "slide on your butt really fast down a frozen hill that wasn't as steep when you were coming up but now seems like a sheer cliff." Usually, glissading speeds up the descent process. You sit on your butt and steer with your sharp, pointy ice axe.

I had never glissaded with an ice axe before the trip up the Brothers. On the descent, I was terrified. I would try glissading for about 10 feet, then FREAK OUT and self-arrest. That's when you dig your ice axe into the hillside above you and throw your entire body weight onto the hillside to stop from sliding. Sometimes, I refused to glissade at all and would take baby steps while the group waited.

That's how I trust Jesus sometimes.

He asks me to glissade down a frozen hillside and I take baby steps in my boots and crampons. I want to control my progress with the sharp, pointy teeth attached to my feet.

But you know what? Glissading is really fun. And incredibly efficient.

Kind of like trusting Jesus...

a final thought
All of this passion, glissading, and trusting should make me pretty strong. Good thing:

"She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong." Proverbs 31:17

big plans and big questions

The bigger the plan, the bigger the questions about the plan.

Example:
God wants to do great things in your life.

Okay, great. But, now what?

How much can I trust Him with? All of it? Really?

How big is His grace?

How complete is justification?

Is my faith big enough?

Does my amount of faith effect the scope of His plan?

hmmm

quenching

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" -Psalm 42:2


"Jesus said to her, ' Anyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but anyone who drinks of the water that I give will never be thirsty again." -John 4:13-14


Questions we cry out. Needs we throw before the King.

Already answered in grace.

Already accounted for in the economy of mercy.

The thirsty are quenched with living water. Those without an audience on Earth stand before the King of Heaven. Anyone is offered grace.

Beautiful.

novemberrrr

Let's just say, November isn't my favorite month. It's the month where life spirals out of control and it rains.

As the month begins, I've been repeating the promise of Psalm 94:18

"When I said, 'My foot is slipping!' Your Love, O Lord, lifted me."

Quarter ends this week and I want to be adventuring instead of reviewing Newton's Laws. Two of my classes went on nature hikes today. The other three are having a tug-of-war tomorrow.

Only three more cross country practices...and then I have to run by myself! On the bright side, there is more after school time free to work on grading and parent calls...

Our youth series "Seven" ends this Wednesday. So many students have been impacted by the Gospel! Now we're trusting God to transform their lives.

Altogether, there will be a lot of moments this month where it feels like my foot is slipping. But God's love is steadfast. It always lifts us up.

chocolate chip goodness

Shannon just baked these cookies.

I wish you could smell them.

They're like...AMAZING.

love letter

God, You are the author of my story. You designed my heart. Nothing I do or dream surprises You. Your love is wider than my life. Your hope runs deeper than my fears. You see the entirety of my existence, and You sing over me. Jesus, thanks for calling me Your shorty.

Haha, it’s stupid really. I spend all of this time worrying about how You’re going to play out the plan of my life. But it’s not about my story at all. It’s Yours. All of this is about You. I’m not the lead character. You are.

Fix my eyes on You, author. You’re the perfecter of our faith. You’re the protector of our hearts. You’re the King who gave up everything to love us. You’re the Rescuer who dropped into Earth to pick us up from our heartache.

When it seems like everyone else is in love, You’re the One who is loneliest. When it seems like no one cares, You’re the One weeping for us. When it seems like hope is hibernating for winter, You’re Wisdom crying out in the streets.

You. It’s all about You.

You’re the Lover of our souls. You’re the gatekeeper of our hearts. You’re the champion of the abused. You’re the leader of the listless, the hopeless, the reckless. You’re Prince Charming, riding a white horse through the clouds of fire. You’ve won eternity and proclaimed Your love as victory.

So why am I still close to crying?

You are the source of all Joy. You didn’t make my heart with any voids. You filled them all. You are always present. You are always crying out to be the only Lover of my life.

You’re the God of the rain. You’re the God of the lonely. You’re the God of the rejected. You’re the God of the exhausted. You’re my God.

can you plagiarize yourself?

I love looking over old journals, blog posts, letters to myself, etc. Some attitudes are annual, always hitting at the same time each year.

Looks like I was in a similar spot last October:
"What breaks my heart

• People who feel alone
• Injustice to children
• Physical abuse
• Wasted opportunities
• Abandoned relationships (especially between parents and children)
• Hearts hardened to the Gospel
• Idolatry in my own life
• Watching loved ones make poor choices

What irritates me:

• Flaky people
• Students who don't study
• Gas that costs more than $3.00 a gallon. Seriously?
• Dark and cloudy winters
• Internet going out
• Poor listeners
• Snooze button (and how often I use it)
• Poor communicators
• Ambiguity
• Guys who ask you out over text messages.

What excites me:

• Hiking (anywhere)
• Starting a new task
• Impossible challenges
• Potential in others
• Good musicians
• Seeing old friends after a long absence
• Being in love
• Sharing the story of my life and what God's done

What gives me hope:

• New believers being baptized
• Compassion projects
• Prophecies
• 50-year wedding anniversaries
• Students sharing the Gospel
• Seeing the mountains when the clouds break
• Parents invested in their children
• Reading the Bible
• Hot cocoa by the fire"

So, what's really changed? Well, gas is cheaper and the internet doesn't go out as much. Otherwise, I guess my character is pretty consistent.

filter

Shannon and I went on a few adventures this month. In the process, we created the "Life Filter". It's a ranking of priorities that allows us to filter our decisions of how to use our time and how to take risks.

1. Jesus
2. Adventure
3. Safety
4. Work

#3 and #4 are to be applied as necessary.

So far, the filter has preserved our lives and helped us deal with situations in a healthy way.

This morning, I used the filter to invite a climbing friend to church. Will he come? Well, that's beyond the scope of the filter.

Yesterday, we used the filter while lost on a hike on Gold Mountain. Pouring rain. Cold. A guy with two pitbulls that we kept running into (evidence that one or both of our hiking groups were taking circles). But, by elevating adventure over safety (and keen geographical sense) we ended the day in the nice warm car.

Try it out. See how well the filter works for you.

No, this is my place

The November issue of National Geographic Magazine came in the mail today.

There's a story about a boy named Logocho. He grew up in Southern Sudan. Then, the war happened.

The story explains his struggle to find his place, his purpose. He wasn't made to be a cattleman. He wasn't made to be a soldier.

Read it here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/11/southern-sudan/teague-text . Logocho chose to alter the path of his life. He found his calling when he began reading a friend's Bible.

The entire testimony reads more like a book by Shane Claiborne of the Simple Way in Philadelphia than anything I've ever read in NGM before.

Logocho changed his name to Simon. Changed his purpose. Found his purpose.

The story ends with the reporter asking Simon why he never left Sudan to get a better life. Simon replied, "No, this is my place."

Beautiful reminder: God asks us to grow where we are planted.

Okay, Lord, here I am. Planted to bear peace in Kitsap county. Fix my eyes on You, train my heart to sing Your praises. Make my soul say, "No, this is my place."

boundaries

bound·a·ry

   [boun-duh-ree, -dree]  Show IPA

–noun, plural -ries.

1.

something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting orbounding line.

2.

Also called frontier. Mathematics . the collection of allpoints of a given set having the property that everyneighborhood of each point contains points in the set and inthe complement of the set.

(Plagiarized from www.dictionary.com)

Currently working on setting mine. 

Only always redefining my life.

"Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ." - Eph 3:18

autumn burn-out

It's too early to burn out.

The leaves haven't fallen off the trees yet. The weather's just bi-polar. Responsibilities are only beginning to pile up.

It's only October...

My heart needed some mountains. And some Nutella. And some adventure.

So, this weekend (and tonight too, actually) I filled up on adventure quota for the month. Here's a snapshot of our Saturday hiking crew. Well, the crew minus Mike who staged the whole shot:

We tried again with Megan taking the shot, since she wasn't as big on the jumping thing:

It's funny how a beautiful day outside can change my mood so much. This is what joy looks like, to me. Leaping on mountain summits. Gorgeous blue sky. Crazy friends. But even adventure can't stop the burn-out. In fact...adventure robs my sleep!

So, this week is about seeking deep joy. Burn-out resistant joy. The joy that comes from trusting Christ. From listening to the God who "moved into the neighborhood."

Shannon and I are starting each day with some sweet Bible-reading. 6am comes way too early. Always. There is never a good time for 6am. For anything. But for the Bible...well, maybe.

That's the plan...

Let's see how God shapes this week. His adventures don't always involve mountains. But He always comes back to grace. May I experience, show and share that grace this week. And joy! May this week be full of finding joy in even the busiest Octobers!

refreshing truth in Romans

"But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done." - Romans 3:21-22


This is how we live and love with great zeal. We have a different way of being right in His sight. Our hope isn't in ourselves. Our trust is in Jesus. We're all saved the same way, no matter what we've done.


Reading these verses tonight was like the moment you realize you've been holding your breath. That gulp of oxygen that just tastes so sweet.


Lately, there's been a lot of "go" and a lot of "do" in my life. But the big picture is to love God. Trust in Him and the details fall out...or just fall away. There are so many moments, rich in relationship, that I miss when I focus on the obeying and the doing and the going and the now. 


Life works because of Jesus.


Here's to trusting HIM.