Move Sucka Move

Newness

2011-05-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

The company I own is very shortly going to have two more locations for business to advertise in and I am super excited about it. A cab company contacted me a few weeks back about running advertising in their vehicles. They make a lot of trips from the airport to hotels as well as around town on Fridays and Saturday nights.
Could be a great place for local hotspots to advertise to out-of-towners.

Brought to you by cave man like tools.

2010-06-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

For the last two weekends I've been working on this gate for the side of the garage, as the old one is rotting off. It's been taking so dang long becase I've been using a handsaw and chisel to cut all my tenon joints. Though I did use my electric drill to bore out the dowl holes, I did use a spokeshave(thanks Jeremy) to size my dowls to fit. And it worked great! Working with handtools is very satisfying.

I am happywith the work for the most part, its very rustic looking which I like, though that was less by design and more lending to the tools I had at hand.

In the next few weeks I'll be looking for hardware. A friend of mine suggested I hit up the Habitat for Humanity reuse store in town, which sounds like a great idea. I'll let you know what I find...

Redemption of a bench

2010-05-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

I have been stairing at this butt-ugly bench in our shop bathroom for the last year. This week, I finally had enough of it! I planed the paint off of the 2x12 fir boards and got to work bringing it back to life....

I enjoyed the opprotunity to work on my through mortise and tenon. The chisel work was pretty rough, but it turned out alright.

The legs of the bench(as a tenon) come through the holes(mortise) in the top. I put one coat of Natural oil on it a 4 coats of poly-urethane.

Not 100% sue what I'm gonna do with it, but it will probably just hang around the shop.

Wider footprint

2010-04-05T22:40:00.001-07:00

It's been over a year since we've hosted a link group in our home in Creswell, which was a great experience by the way. And my wife and I are planning on starting a link group through or local church here in Medford and I am nervously excited about it. I had a great meeting with the link group pastor at our church, Table Rock Fellowship. We seem to have similar vision for the benefits of link groups and how they can support the vision of the church, that's a big deal to me as I don't want to work against the leadership in the church. I'd much rather be a part of the support structure in the church than on the outside looking in throwing rocks or on the inside setting fires.

Simple is better

2010-03-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

A few Saturdays ago Julie and I woke up and decided that we wanted to put a built-in book shelf in our living room. We had a shelf already hanging on the wall where we wanted to put the book shelf and we didn't want to move it, so I designed the shelf around it.

This was a really quick project. I picked the pine up at Builders Bargain Center in White City for $50, and did the machining and assembly at the shop in the morning and stained and finished it in my garage at home. I hate spending my Saturdays away from the family, so I did as much of it at home as possible.

Quick and dirty little project, but it gets our books out of the garage!

Furrer Farms Central Point is on the move!

2010-03-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

After work today the whole family packed into the van and went down to the Grange Co-op in Central Point to select some baby chicks. My wife and I have talked about getting chickens for some time now, and since we have a backyard that belongs to us, now seems a good a time as any. They'll be staying inside for a few weeks until they are big enough to weather the weather, the girls are gonna love having these little guys around the house!

5 baby chicks came home with us today. Julie grew up with chickens, but I didn't. So this is all very new to me. So far so good though its been 2 hours and they are all still alive.

My daughters are really enjoying having animals in the house, I believe that they have named all five chicks: Lady, Wiggles, Tiny, Blossom and Blossom I Love You. I guess one of the Blossoms just can't get no love.

Now I need to start thinking about building a coop and pen for our little ladies....

Joan

2010-03-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

I found this video for the song Joan by an artist named Butch Walker on a friends Facebook page a week ago and couldn't get it out of me mind, its deep and raw. I spent some time pondering the lyrics and discussing them with my wife, and it seems to me that its a call.

"Joan" is a story of a women who is coerced, oppressed, abused and then is either murdered or takes her own life. Catchy, huh?. Statistically, one in four women will experience domestic violence in there lifetime. Thats every fourth women you know, and every year nearly 1300 of those women will be murdered by their abuser.

Joan is a cry to the abused, abuser and those who walk on by.

Joan- She is waiting on a ride, that is waiting for someone to take her out of this situation that she has put herself in. There is a lot to be learned about Joan ladies. Loneliness would have been a far better option for Joan. Be careful who you let into your life, and sex is a deadly bargaining chip. Stop waiting Joan. Get out. Make it right, this isn't who you are.

Abuser- He is misplacing her life. Taking what doesn't belong to him and sidelining it for his own ends. He is sick,selfish and cowardly.

Us- Butch sings at the end, "they slowly misplaced your life....go get it right...". It feels like the I/we are part of the "they" who slowly misplaced Joans life. Am I the ride who never stoped by? Are you? I don't know much about how one gets involved in this sort of situation.

Angry shouting at the neighbors.
Bruises.
Children acting out.

I pray God would give me wisdom and courage and grace if He brings me into a situation like this. I pray He gives you wisdom and courage and grace.

Its out there...

Get it right.

I dug this up out of a real old blog post....The Dude Abides....

2010-02-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

I watched The Big Lebowski for the first time about a month ago, and the phrase that has stuck with me ever since was"the dude abides". That phrase brought me a lot of peace last week when I was walking through a really tough decision to change careers. As a Christ following movie critic, I believe that when we engage entertainment we should filter it through a receive, redeem, reject biblical filter( I learned this from Cinemagogue ). John the Baptist would abide. He was the son of a temple priest, who would have traditionally followed in his fathers footsteps. Yet, he was called to be obedient to God's call on his life to be a priest on the fringes of society, in the desert eating bugs and honey and preaching repentance.

What would the neighbors think?

Yet, John would abide in God's call on his life.

Society expects him to follow in his fathers footsteps.

Yet, John abides in the footsteps that his Father has set before him.

He would have been a bit of an embarrassment to his family and friends.

Yet, John boldly preached the repentance and love of a Father to his children.
How did John expect to make a living in the desert?

Yet, John would abide in God's providence.

In the movie, there is much that cannot be abided: lust, envy, pornography, pride, arrogance...

Luke Chapter 3 7-9

He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The dude abides the will of God

I am a Reader.

2009-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Since God jerked me from my troff of stupidity, I have slowly become more and more of a reader. It had been a while since I truly finished a book cover to cover, so finishing two books last week was particularly satisfying to me.

'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac has been my introduction to the Beat Generation. Since digging into the book again I have been combing the web for articles by and about the Beats. Its got me wondering if the Beats, being a generation that grew up in the shadow of WWII has any lessons for a generation growing up in the shadow of 9/11? The Church in America sure seems to be going through some re-thinking.

Emerging

Neo-Calvin

Relevant

The death of the 'seeker-sensitve' movment adds to my hope though...

'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy left me feeling doubtful if I could read anything other than another Cormac McCarthy novel next! I tried to pick up 'The Shack' but had to put it down, I felt like I was wading through the deep weeds of punctuation and adjectives...

Fear and the nuclear winter

2009-04-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

I just finished two books I've been reading. 'The Road" by Cormac McCarthy and 'On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. The later I have been trying to finish for the last three years, I had gotten so disgusted with the choices that the charecters, Sal and Dean were making when I first started the book that I only made it half way through. Three years later I finished the book last friday and boy what a fantastic journey that was, traveling east to west across the north american continent with a final journey to Mexico City. It was a great intro to the beat poets!

A friend let me borrow his copy of 'The Road' Sunday night and I had it finished by Tuesday afternoon at second brake at work. Great read. Hope, fear and survival in a dark and brooding world. I very much identified with the man in the story. Making his decisions out of the fear of danger or loss. The boy in the story could see the fear and need in other peoples lives and vary much so wanted to reach out to them in spite of his fathers opposition.

Looking back over this last move that we have made to Medford I wonder if there was some fear in that decision. Trusting only my own reasoning and making decisions quickly. I confess I made many decisions in 08' out of fear and selfishness. I pray that God gives me the courage to repent and trust in him. That I make myself accountable to good men around me. I'm sure that'll take some time to establish, but it must be done. Else I wander the barren land in loneliness.

Crash Landing

2009-02-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

So here we are in Medford, like Abram coming up out of Ur into a strange land. How are we to explore this new land. How are we to communicate Christ?

Lord help me to be obedient!

Last night Julie and I had an opportunity to go out on a date for the first time since landing in Medford. We ventured over to the local Barnes and Nobel/Starbucks and spent our hard earned gift card on some caffeinated beverages. I always loved looking through the art/photography and graphic arts section. While Julie spends her time in the food and-or craft sections.

We went to Table Rock Church this morning and boy is it big compared to our Nazarene church in Creswell. Everything about the church was good. Great Sunday School for the kids, a right-on worship band and I liked that they do communion every Sunday. But, it just didn't feel right for us. Maybe if we spent enough time there and got connected into the core group. Maybe, I don't know. But this next week-end we are going to visit our old church New Song, which I am looking forward to.

Define...

2008-11-23T05:58:00.000-08:00

This video starts a little slow, but really comes around in the end. My wife and I had the chance to see John Piper at the text and context conference at Mars Hill in Seattle. He has a wonderful way of delivering the Gospel in its simplicity and its entirety at the some time. Blows the mind!

(thanks Mr. Piper and Vitamin Z)

Blood and worship blah blah blah

2008-11-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

For the last forty days the church that I attend has been going through a curriculum put out by Pastor Warren called Forty Days of Community, a series I have struggled with. As part of the series I chose to include the bible study God has blessed us with into the small group portion of the Forty Day curriculum. It has been trying to meld the methods and content of Pastor Warren into the culture of our group. Though we have struggled through it and watched the video (some slept through it), and read the devotional (well....), it has proven to be beyond me to reconcile it to the group in a way that I felt content with. To put it bluntly I screwed it up.

Last Wednesday night was our last Forty Day group meeting, and instead of turning the group over to Pastor Warren, I decided to pull the content for that evening from the previous Sunday sermon ( also part of the Forty Day curriculum, and well delivered by our pastor, thanks Stacey) and Mark Driscoll's Vintage Jesus (page 160something). It was the first time that I ever lead a topical Bible Study, though I think it went rather well. Worship is an all encompassing topic. We spent time defining what worship was and wasn't ( we decided that music was only a very small part of it ), and what worship looked like practically in our lives.

Here are a few of our talking points...

We are all worshippers Christian or not
Worship isn't a musical style (thank you Jesus!)
Worship is holistic and on going
Without sacrifice or a person or object of glory, worship is not happening
Worship costs us something (or everything)

next stop Colossians!

Puke and Politics

2008-11-08T23:21:00.000-08:00

Colossians 1. 3-5

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hop laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel...

Colossians 1.19-20

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

and I ramble....

November 4th was a very exciting day for me. Because it was a day that conservative leaning elements of the Church in America can look back on as a great stepping off point. A victory if you will. An opportunity to divorce ourselves from a political party that has been groping us for far too long. To pack our bags only with the Gospel and go out into the world as the bride of Christ and not the servant of a political party. Hopefully when you cast your vote, it wasn't for an old man from Arizona, or a young upstart from Chicago. But, for the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. Who's platform is to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. What could be more important? Nation first? America the hope of the world? Where do you cast your lot?

to this I add, Vote early and Vote daily...

Jesus is my President.

A rabbit trail.

2008-10-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

I've been wrestling with a decision I made a few months back to change jobs. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the idea of becoming an electrician and though I didn't expect to be where I am today, here I am. I have been driving to and from Crescent Junction everyday ( 1.5 hours each way ) and it is exhausting me and my family. I use to be very involved in my church and community, but this new job is robbing me from a lot of what is important to me. Sometimes I wish I had kept that lesser paying job, where at least I was a part of a community and not a collective of individuals.

Early this morning I had an hour in our church's prayer room and I opened my bible to 1 Corinthians 12 and the verses that jumped out to me were vs 21-26. To me it describes a community that is interlocked in both its strengths and weaknesses, and a community like that takes some sacrifice. To have the same care for one another? Treating the less presentable parts with a greater care and modesty? Suffering together and sharing the honor? Can we truely do this?

These verses are followed by a section on various giftings given by God and how they range in authority in the church. Paul talks much in 1 Corinthians of the churches need of structure. An organization of individuals (vs 27) committed to Christ and his teachings, individually unique yet collectively united. Chapter 13 is filled with the gooey adhesive that we call love, showing us how we can propel this community daily. An honest reading of Chapter 13 tells me one thing. Love isn't about me, is it.

Paul paints a picture of a faith community that is sacrificial one person for another. With purpose, vision and direction that is bonded together in the love of Christ. To what extent were its members committed? To what depths did they have to submit their lives to it?

I titled my blog Move Sucks Move after a line from a Rage Against the Machine Song - Renegades of Funk -. That spoke a lot to me of were the church in America is going. We are a stone statue that is coming to life. The church has painstakingly crafted itself as a perfect, clean and pure marble statue to this nation that is cold to the touch and unbearably heavy. Though I don't agree with Rage Against the Machines' violent and revolutionary overtones (anarchy and Christ are incompatible), I can't help but feel that there is something in what motivates them that is redeemable for God's Kingdom. And that is seperation. We are called to be in the world, but not of it. How we have compromised for the world, HOW I HAVE COMPROMISED!

how have i?

(rebel) download

2008-10-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I 've been into the music vain. I just picked-up the new Lecrae album (rebel) on iTunes tonight, and boy am I impressed. I turned to my wife after listening to the second track "Don't Waste Your Life" and confessed to her "This is good!" I couldn't help myself.

I first was exposed to Lecrae at a Mars Hill event in Seattle where they performed "Send Me", a track off of his previous album "After the Music Stops" where my wife launched herself out of the seat engaging in the call to respond!

Before Christ, I listened to a lot of rap. 2Pac, Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang, Master P, Busta Rhymes. After I began to followed after Christ's call and was exposed to "christian" rap, I felt as if it was a little wanting. I appreciate what their doing at Reach Records, and I'm sure in other studios across the US, and world.

God be with them!

Can anybody say Led Zeppelin?

'Send Me' - Live at MHC | Ballard from Re:Sound on Vimeo.