So Annie is an amazing wife. For my birthday or anniversary present and an early valentines day present she decided to start getting me copies of the games I played in at UCLA. We got the first shipment last and watched one of the games, Oregon State from my freshman year.
Part of the reason why this gift is so awesome is simply because these games aren't cheap. Somehow, they don't feel bad about charging 40 bucks a pop to burn a dvd of a game, but I guess I don't know about the copyright issues and all that so I' guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt.
Anyway, another reason is that when I quit football after my sophomore year, it was one of the hardest things I've done. One of the ways that I dealt with it was by basically blocking most UCLA football memories form my mind. I also made sure I was busy every Saturday of that following fall, but that's another story. Well, after I mentally and emotionally separated myself from all that stuff, I found there to be a pretty big blank in my mind when it come to football stuff. Now, Annie never got to see me play, atleast when she knew me (she went to one game I played in, but didn't know me), so she always asks me questions ab out my experience and asks about games and playing and stuff. It has been hard to answer her before simply because I blocked it out of my mind. Watching these movies is starting to bring those memories back, which is awesome, because there were many great things about playing fullback at UCLA, even when we weren't very good (hopefully with Chow and Neuheisel we will be awesome now!!!!!). Anyway, Thanks to Annie and the others in my life who are helping me remember, (Mom, and Dad, Momma B and Pop).
Well, I must go, the east shore is currently being slammed with a swell so I'm gonna go get a quick post-work surfing session in at Kailua beach.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Scrubs again
I legitimately fear I might act like this. But I hope not too much
My wife wanted me to clarify that I don't endorse or think I will do the content, but rather that I will hold my child on my lap and ventriliquize him/her. Its just really funny to me because its childish guys with children, and the outcome is hilarious and naughty.
My wife wanted me to clarify that I don't endorse or think I will do the content, but rather that I will hold my child on my lap and ventriliquize him/her. Its just really funny to me because its childish guys with children, and the outcome is hilarious and naughty.
Refresh Continued
Well, I know it has been ridiculously long since I have last posted, which doesn't work the best with a to-be-continued but here we go. This is roughly what I want my life to be about in January 2009.
I want to have more disciplined time with God, I have time in the bible and in prayer, but it isn't what it could be, nor is it what I want it to be. I also want to be more patient; in light of my impending fatherhood, I know that my patience needs to increase, so I am working on it, and more importantly praying about it. In other personal areas I have realized that I'm pretty selfish when it comes to things around the home and such, so I am working on changing my attitude, my heart and mind, about that.
A big area that I am working on, which will affect everything else in my life, is that I am working on better time management skills. I don't really have much in the way of those right now, and I know that the things I want to do on a weekly basis, coupled with my added business from parenthood will most definitely need me to be better at this.
I hope to focus my time so that I can devote more time to interests like reading, writing, guitar playing and worship leading, and simply being with my wife. And on that note... I want to be better at making time for my wife as my wife, not as my co-director, not as my room-mate and house-mate, or the mother of my child, but as the woman I love and fell in love with.
I lastly want to make a commitment to writing. Specifically in this blog, and generally creating more content where I am engaging my struggles, questions, hopes, and triumphs as I go along with life. I have a goal to start being involved in writing specifically in the literary sphere by submitting articles to the Burnside Writers' Collective, a Portland based online magazine for Christians (probably classified as emergent). I am also trying to get my teeth into the publishing world by helping my friend and former High School football coach, Tom Smythe, by reading a manuscript of his (not like I'm the editor, just another set of eyes).
I realize these things are pretty ethereal and undefinable, but they are what God has placed on my heart as areas I need to work on, so, I'm doing that. Any other thoughts on things to work on in '08? Shout 'em out.
OIL
I want to have more disciplined time with God, I have time in the bible and in prayer, but it isn't what it could be, nor is it what I want it to be. I also want to be more patient; in light of my impending fatherhood, I know that my patience needs to increase, so I am working on it, and more importantly praying about it. In other personal areas I have realized that I'm pretty selfish when it comes to things around the home and such, so I am working on changing my attitude, my heart and mind, about that.
A big area that I am working on, which will affect everything else in my life, is that I am working on better time management skills. I don't really have much in the way of those right now, and I know that the things I want to do on a weekly basis, coupled with my added business from parenthood will most definitely need me to be better at this.
I hope to focus my time so that I can devote more time to interests like reading, writing, guitar playing and worship leading, and simply being with my wife. And on that note... I want to be better at making time for my wife as my wife, not as my co-director, not as my room-mate and house-mate, or the mother of my child, but as the woman I love and fell in love with.
I lastly want to make a commitment to writing. Specifically in this blog, and generally creating more content where I am engaging my struggles, questions, hopes, and triumphs as I go along with life. I have a goal to start being involved in writing specifically in the literary sphere by submitting articles to the Burnside Writers' Collective, a Portland based online magazine for Christians (probably classified as emergent). I am also trying to get my teeth into the publishing world by helping my friend and former High School football coach, Tom Smythe, by reading a manuscript of his (not like I'm the editor, just another set of eyes).
I realize these things are pretty ethereal and undefinable, but they are what God has placed on my heart as areas I need to work on, so, I'm doing that. Any other thoughts on things to work on in '08? Shout 'em out.
OIL
Friday, January 4, 2008
Refresh
The new year is always a great time for me. Beside the fact that it takes me longer to switch the date over when I sign on papers, checks and things that, the start of a new year gives me a chance to take stock of my life. There are the obvious vocational refreshers that happen at the new year; reviews, goals and reports, but I really enjoy seeing where I am and where I have b een and where I am going in my personal and spiritual life during this time. Our lives were created cyclically; we have a diurnal cycle (day and night), we have rough monthly lunar cycles, and we have yearly cycles, originally based upon our planet's rotation around the sun and including seasonal changes.
Call me pagan, but I love how before Pope Gregory, the New Year celebrations occurred in April, aligning with Spring's advent. This happened because everyone associated Spring with new beginnings and therefore the new year. This now happens for us in the dead (figuratively and literally) of winter. Even though our New Year's lacks the amazing visual metaphor of spring, it is great to look at our life and figure out the bad things that need to die, and the new good things that need to come alive.
Looking at my life over 2007 it literally has been a year of change for me. I moved to the Island of Oahu in Hawaii and started a new job as a Youth ministry intern working equally with my wife, with whom I shared an office and a two bedroom cottage. We went through the transitions of first-year marriage and were blessed to have everything come to a head quickly and then get resolved pretty quickly. Try staying mad at someone you share a bed with, share an office with, and share responsibility with; the problems don't go away with distance because there is no distance. Like I said, that made for some more difficult moments, but the outcome is that our marriage rocks; we have worked out so much in such a short period of time that we enjoy each other alot more.
Just about when we were feeling comfortable doing the apprentice thing, our leadership decided that we want to expand our church's role and maximize our leadership. That involved our Youth Ministry Pastor moving into other areas, and Anni and I filling that void in Youth Ministry. We were promoted to Student Ministry Directors in December and now enjoy the challenges of leading two ministries instead of just one.
One thing I think I was good at before was being a college guy. everyone knows the type, pretty irresponsible (and I enjoyed that), late for stuff, bad at communicating, just happy doing my own thing. When I got married it was a little weird at first. I knew how to be a college guy, I felt like i was pretty good at that, I had a grasp of LA as my home; but when I got married that stuff was supposed to change. To say the least it doesn't really feel like much changes at first, yea there are the obvious things (sharing a bed and a constant companion) but you don't necessarily feel any different. I feel blessed that in 2007 even though I don't really know what it means to be a husband, at least I feel like one and Annie and I feel like we are a real family. To me this is a giant and monumental thing that when you try to put it into words makes you sound like a second-grader. But the truth of the matter is, when you get married things are different, and it doesn't feel like it at first, but slowly that changes and instead of feeling like we are a couple, I feel like we are a family.
Then comes the bomb. right around the time we celebrated our first anniversary and I turned 24, it hits. Annie is pregnant and our world is about to change 2 years earlier than planned. Like I said, I don't really know what it means to be a husband and I am doing the best I can to live that out, but i had just begun to fee the reality of it. Now I am faced with this fast approaching new reality. A two foot wonder of existence that depends on Annie and I for everything. I think God gave us pregnancy so we could have 9-10 months to mentally prepare for being responsible to make a good person, but right now even that isn't feeling like a ton of time. It's awesome though, and aside from Annie's terrible sickness, I really enjoy this process.
Well, I am running out of time. One of my students is going to the beach and I need to get out there and bodysurf with him, maybe try to bring another student in the process. Yes these are the perils of working with youth in Hawaii. Anyway, this is where I've been and where I am. Stay tuned for where I am going. Until then, peace
Call me pagan, but I love how before Pope Gregory, the New Year celebrations occurred in April, aligning with Spring's advent. This happened because everyone associated Spring with new beginnings and therefore the new year. This now happens for us in the dead (figuratively and literally) of winter. Even though our New Year's lacks the amazing visual metaphor of spring, it is great to look at our life and figure out the bad things that need to die, and the new good things that need to come alive.
Looking at my life over 2007 it literally has been a year of change for me. I moved to the Island of Oahu in Hawaii and started a new job as a Youth ministry intern working equally with my wife, with whom I shared an office and a two bedroom cottage. We went through the transitions of first-year marriage and were blessed to have everything come to a head quickly and then get resolved pretty quickly. Try staying mad at someone you share a bed with, share an office with, and share responsibility with; the problems don't go away with distance because there is no distance. Like I said, that made for some more difficult moments, but the outcome is that our marriage rocks; we have worked out so much in such a short period of time that we enjoy each other alot more.
Just about when we were feeling comfortable doing the apprentice thing, our leadership decided that we want to expand our church's role and maximize our leadership. That involved our Youth Ministry Pastor moving into other areas, and Anni and I filling that void in Youth Ministry. We were promoted to Student Ministry Directors in December and now enjoy the challenges of leading two ministries instead of just one.
One thing I think I was good at before was being a college guy. everyone knows the type, pretty irresponsible (and I enjoyed that), late for stuff, bad at communicating, just happy doing my own thing. When I got married it was a little weird at first. I knew how to be a college guy, I felt like i was pretty good at that, I had a grasp of LA as my home; but when I got married that stuff was supposed to change. To say the least it doesn't really feel like much changes at first, yea there are the obvious things (sharing a bed and a constant companion) but you don't necessarily feel any different. I feel blessed that in 2007 even though I don't really know what it means to be a husband, at least I feel like one and Annie and I feel like we are a real family. To me this is a giant and monumental thing that when you try to put it into words makes you sound like a second-grader. But the truth of the matter is, when you get married things are different, and it doesn't feel like it at first, but slowly that changes and instead of feeling like we are a couple, I feel like we are a family.
Then comes the bomb. right around the time we celebrated our first anniversary and I turned 24, it hits. Annie is pregnant and our world is about to change 2 years earlier than planned. Like I said, I don't really know what it means to be a husband and I am doing the best I can to live that out, but i had just begun to fee the reality of it. Now I am faced with this fast approaching new reality. A two foot wonder of existence that depends on Annie and I for everything. I think God gave us pregnancy so we could have 9-10 months to mentally prepare for being responsible to make a good person, but right now even that isn't feeling like a ton of time. It's awesome though, and aside from Annie's terrible sickness, I really enjoy this process.
Well, I am running out of time. One of my students is going to the beach and I need to get out there and bodysurf with him, maybe try to bring another student in the process. Yes these are the perils of working with youth in Hawaii. Anyway, this is where I've been and where I am. Stay tuned for where I am going. Until then, peace
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