Photo Booth

Having fun with the Mac…

 

X-Ray Joe

Joe the "Slob"

Comic Book Joe

Pic of the Day…Again

 

Somewhere in the middle of Wyoming

Quick Update

All is well. The Generation Unleashed craziness if over and everything is back to normal. Life has been good. I was sick for a few days, which means I’m a little behind on my homework now. I pre-ordered Israel Houghton’s new CD and I’m stoked about it, oh yeah, I’ll be seeing him live in about two weeks! Went on a sweet hike on Monday. All is well.

 

Looking out into the Columbia River Gorge.

Pic of the Day

 

At Multnomah Falls with the Grandparents

A White Portland & Great Friends

 

Hanging out by a white Waterfront

Yes, it’s true! It snowed yesterday in Portland and I loved it! CBC ended up canceling their second service, so a small group of us took advantage of the day and headed downtown to enjoy the snow.

Speaking of friends, something hit me recently. It’s as if I received a new revelation of how important they are. What I’m about to say is risky, and I know it, but I’m gonna go for it anyway. I’m at a point in my life where I’m realizing that all of my close friendships mean something, and because of the genuineness that lies in the foundation of each one, I truly believe the small group of people I spend most of my time with will be in my life until the day I die. A while back I was challenged with this concept when I saw one of my Pastors lean over to another Pastor during worship, laugh for a little bit, and then continue on with what they were doing. Then it hit me that those guys have shared more than thirty years of their lives together. It was proof that it’s possible to build lasting relationships with the people God has placed around us.

I’ve recently challenged myself to not judge any of my friends when they make a mistake, but instead cherish those moments because I have a front row seat to watch God not only do a work in my life, but in theirs as well. I can cherish those moments because wherever they end up twenty years from now, most of the people around them will only have the privilege of seeing who they became, not what it took for them to become that. I think of guys like David, who serves the church with all of his heart, and I wonder where the hand of God will take him after PBC. Wherever that is, I’ll always be able to look back to our traditional Friday night Safeway runs and know that our lives were shaped on the same training ground. I’ll always be able to look back and know that when I drove back to campus, I knew he was there because he was the only student to park their car backwards, because according to him, “the way you leave is more important than the way you park.” I think of guys like Scotty, who constantly challenges me to keep God in the center of everything I do, and I wonder what our first trip to Scotland will be like. I have no doubt that he’ll find himself right in the middle of what God’s called him to do and I can’t wait to walk into the ministry the Lord entrusts him with, take a look at him, and remember how we met once a week to talk about life, read through books together, and spent time praying for each other. I also think about guys like Matt, who always provokes me to see things from a balanced perspective. I see his heart for kid’s ministry, and to serve the homeless, and I’m excited to see where he’ll end up. Wherever that may be, I know that if I need a quick laugh, I’ll always be able to hop onto YouTube and watch an episode of the Matt and Joe show, or think about our time as roommates when we lived in the Dorm 3 quad. What about me? Where am I gonna end up? What will they say about me twenty years from now? What mistakes will they be able to look at during the preparation season of my life only to see how that shaped the final result?

When those closest to us make a mistake and we judge them, could it be possible that we’re actually missing the beauty of God’s work in their life? I realize that I’m not perfect, and nobody I know is, but I’m in a season where I get to watch a lot of people who are passionate for God go through life thinking they know what they’re doing, make a lot of mistakes, only to be picked up by the grace of God and start over. It’s the principle of seeing people for who they’ll become. All of our closest friends should be able to look past our mistakes and focus on who we’re becoming more than who we currently are. Thirty years from now, wherever I end up, I’ll always have the privilege of knowing that not only will I get to see who my friends become, I’ll also know how they got there, and to me, that’s priceless.

Now that I’m done thinking, here are some of our kodak moments from yesterday…

Living Large

A friend recently asked me if I would be okay if I were poor. I gave her my answer right away, but now that I’ve had a few days to think about it, I don’t think being “poor” is something I’ll ever have to worry about. I’m convinced that our culture has given us the message that if we don’t have a lot of money, we’re obviously poor, and if we’re cruising the streets in a Mercedes Benz, we’ve definitely ‘arrived’. The problem with this mentality is that it’s a horrible way to define whether or not a person is living a “rich” life. I’m learning that no matter what, there will always be more. There will always be something better. If I’m not careful, I’ll fall into this trap and forget to ask myself what really matters. I have to arrange my life around what matters most. 

This is why I’m a “rich” man…

Goodnight from Catskill, NY

It’s close to midnight and I really need to get to bed, but I thought I would give you guys a quick update. Marc’s already asleep, what a wimp. The youth service tonight went great. It was so much fun! Marc preached a great message entitled World Changers and their was such a sweet presence during the altar call. After the service I headed over to the gym because I really wanted to hang out with the teens. I loved it! I became the all time quarterback for their football game and some of them were fighting over me because I was the “dude from Oregon.” Gotta love it. I’ve been so encouraged to see the body of Christ outside of my normal atmosphere. It’s just another reminder that what I belong to is so much bigger than myself. 

We have another full day ahead of us. We’re gonna wake up in the morning and head back to the church for Round 2. It should be fun.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Pastor Rick’s wife made us some chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream on the side and it was heaven! She also put this fudge on top of the ice cream. She said she got the recipe from Jack Hayford’s wife. All I gotta say is that them Foursquare Pastors wives sure do know how to cook! It was glorious.  

Till next time…

 

We just came to serve. It's all about the people!

Hello from Albany, NY

I made it to New York. All is well but I’m so stinkin tired! The flight to Virginia was pretty cool and Albany welcomed me with its beautiful scenery. I recently read Bill Hybel’s newest book Axiom and was challenged when it talked about how leaders have a mandate before God to constantly grow. So, I viewed my six hours in the air as a wonderful time to increase my leadership skills by finishing a book, starting a new one, and busting out a few podcasts. I love iTunes so much!

I’m still here at the airport waiting for Marc’s flight to arrive. It’s 7pm NY time and I think I have to wait another hour or so. Anyway, there’s this couple making out in front of me so unless their little “welcome home reunion” goes somewhere else, I think I’m gonna find another spot to surf the web. Good grief. 

Till next time…

Oh yeah. Hey Stevie, thanks for the camera!

Mt. Hood

My connecting flight from Virginia to Albany. Probably the second smallest plane I’ve ever been on.

I wish I had Nintendo powers that allowed me to run on top of the clouds.

Preparing for the East Coast

I’m leaving for New York on Thursday! What can I say? I’m stoked!  

 

Can you tell I'm excited?

Pic of the Day

With my next trip being to New York, I started reminiscing about the last time I was there. I came across this man right down the street from Times Square. This is by far one of the coolest homeless signs I’ve ever seen! Don’t worry, I payed him way more than his asking price to take this picture… 

Holding it down in the streets of New York