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What a summer it has been. I know its not over yet but it is getting closer. For my friends in Alaska it is over actually. I think they started school this week.
Usually I try to blog about something introspective or deep (as deep as my shallow mind can go) and all summer long I just wasn't feeling it. So rather than forcing something deep or remaining silent I think I just want to write an update.
On May 19th I resigned as Youth Pastor of Wasilla Bible Church and within a month Cathy and I were on the road to Oregon. I am so thankful for all of our friends who helped us as we packed and loaded the truck and headed out. I will never forget the last hour in Wasilla. I had mentioned to Patsy Inks that we were going to get a Crazy Moose sandwich on the way out of town. When we got there all the Inks (except Paul) were there waiting for us to have lunch with us and say good bye one last time. I really appreciated that.
The trip from there was long. That night we camped in Fairbanks. The next morning we decided to see how far up the Dalton Highway we could get and made it all the way to our goal - The Arctic Circle. There were very few people around and I didn't have anything that would repel or kill a bear so we decided to sleep in our car. BIG Mistake. We should have put up the tent. The tent would have been far more effective at keeping out the mosquittos. The car was hot and stuffy (it was about 73 at the arctic circle that day) so we needed to crack the windows. That meant that a horde of mosquittos laid siege to our car. Many got in. It was a sleepless night and the sun barely went down (it was two nights before solstice). The next day we traveled to delta junction to begin our trip down the Al-can.
We actually spent 8 days on the Al-can. We took our time as saw some really amazing scenery. We say 13 black bear, 3 elk, 4 moose, 15 bunnies, 31 Bison, 5 bald eagles, 1 linx and 3 brown bears (aka grizzly to non-Alaskans). The brown bears were a small family out for a stroll along the highway. Just a mom and her two cubs. Probably the most dangerous situation a person can face in the wild. We stayed in the car. We didn't see what happened to the nice stupid lady who got out of her car to take pictures of them.
We ended our trip wit a day in Victoria BC. Then we dashed through Washington in a couple hours and made it home in the middle of the night where our son greeted us with bleary eyes. It was really strange being back in Oregon at first. This was the place I had left and did not expect to move back to any time soon. Yet here we are living in the same house we left a year ago. Things have changed. I have made a ton of friends in Alaska who I miss very much.
I have spent the summer working with (or for) Cathy getting the yard and house in shape. We have replaced the back door of the house, dug up a couple garden beds, hauled dirt, hauled wood chips and pulled up hundreds of nasty black berry bushes that were taking over the yard. I have spent several hundred hours looking for work with very little success.
I have managed to land a couple temporary jobs. I am doing some occasional contract work for a translation company. I'm not translating just doing the desk top publishing part of the process. I start Monday on a job that should take a couple weeks at the company where my son Chris works. I will be helping them with a huge inventory project.
Tomorrow we are throwing my son a HUGE birthday bash. He is turning 21 on Monday so we are inviting all of his friends over to hang out, play some games, drink lots of root beer, and celebrate his special day. I am excited.
God continues to meet all of our needs. I know that he is with us. I have been reminded that this life which I call mine isn't really. It isn't my life it belongs to Christ and therefore it is not really about me. I think I begin to turn toward depression and despair every time I stray into thinking that this is my life and its all about me. But if I simply relinquish ownership to Jesus and let him live through me every change is an opportunity, every trial is doable, every disappointment has some deeper meaning and every heartache is consoled by a savior who loves me. That is pretty cool. So these days I am trying to live by my life verse.
Galatians 2:20. -- “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update)
Usually I try to blog about something introspective or deep (as deep as my shallow mind can go) and all summer long I just wasn't feeling it. So rather than forcing something deep or remaining silent I think I just want to write an update.
On May 19th I resigned as Youth Pastor of Wasilla Bible Church and within a month Cathy and I were on the road to Oregon. I am so thankful for all of our friends who helped us as we packed and loaded the truck and headed out. I will never forget the last hour in Wasilla. I had mentioned to Patsy Inks that we were going to get a Crazy Moose sandwich on the way out of town. When we got there all the Inks (except Paul) were there waiting for us to have lunch with us and say good bye one last time. I really appreciated that.
The trip from there was long. That night we camped in Fairbanks. The next morning we decided to see how far up the Dalton Highway we could get and made it all the way to our goal - The Arctic Circle. There were very few people around and I didn't have anything that would repel or kill a bear so we decided to sleep in our car. BIG Mistake. We should have put up the tent. The tent would have been far more effective at keeping out the mosquittos. The car was hot and stuffy (it was about 73 at the arctic circle that day) so we needed to crack the windows. That meant that a horde of mosquittos laid siege to our car. Many got in. It was a sleepless night and the sun barely went down (it was two nights before solstice). The next day we traveled to delta junction to begin our trip down the Al-can.
We actually spent 8 days on the Al-can. We took our time as saw some really amazing scenery. We say 13 black bear, 3 elk, 4 moose, 15 bunnies, 31 Bison, 5 bald eagles, 1 linx and 3 brown bears (aka grizzly to non-Alaskans). The brown bears were a small family out for a stroll along the highway. Just a mom and her two cubs. Probably the most dangerous situation a person can face in the wild. We stayed in the car. We didn't see what happened to the nice stupid lady who got out of her car to take pictures of them.
We ended our trip wit a day in Victoria BC. Then we dashed through Washington in a couple hours and made it home in the middle of the night where our son greeted us with bleary eyes. It was really strange being back in Oregon at first. This was the place I had left and did not expect to move back to any time soon. Yet here we are living in the same house we left a year ago. Things have changed. I have made a ton of friends in Alaska who I miss very much.
I have spent the summer working with (or for) Cathy getting the yard and house in shape. We have replaced the back door of the house, dug up a couple garden beds, hauled dirt, hauled wood chips and pulled up hundreds of nasty black berry bushes that were taking over the yard. I have spent several hundred hours looking for work with very little success.I have managed to land a couple temporary jobs. I am doing some occasional contract work for a translation company. I'm not translating just doing the desk top publishing part of the process. I start Monday on a job that should take a couple weeks at the company where my son Chris works. I will be helping them with a huge inventory project.
Tomorrow we are throwing my son a HUGE birthday bash. He is turning 21 on Monday so we are inviting all of his friends over to hang out, play some games, drink lots of root beer, and celebrate his special day. I am excited.
God continues to meet all of our needs. I know that he is with us. I have been reminded that this life which I call mine isn't really. It isn't my life it belongs to Christ and therefore it is not really about me. I think I begin to turn toward depression and despair every time I stray into thinking that this is my life and its all about me. But if I simply relinquish ownership to Jesus and let him live through me every change is an opportunity, every trial is doable, every disappointment has some deeper meaning and every heartache is consoled by a savior who loves me. That is pretty cool. So these days I am trying to live by my life verse.
Galatians 2:20. -- “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update)
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