Lent Day 35

Ashland, OR

So, I’m still playing a bit of catch-up.  I wanted to share a couple photos and some thoughts from the Sunday that I spent in Medford.  The photos in this post were taken with my cell phone, hence their lower quality.  I took this shot from the top of some huge boulders on a hill in Ashland.  My friend Joey who I mentioned in the day 33 post first showed me this place several years ago when we were in school together.  We used to make the short 20 minute hike up the hills of Ashland on a fairly regular basis.  We would pack picnic food and hang out on the rocks, in the sun, praying and reading Psalms and sometimes we would bring other friends with us.

This “ritual” was necessary for us, it was healthy, it was a kind of sabbath in and of itself.  The school we attended was fun, but we were always so busy, always at the church, doing homework or serving in the community in some way.

My friend Joey is one of the most honest, dependable, loyal and true friends that I have, if not the most. Each time I go to the Rogue Valley I look forward to hanging out with him.  No matter how much time passes or what goes down in our lives, when we get together it’s as if no time has passed at all.

We were both really looking forward to this hike and to favorable weather.  What you can’t see in this photo is that it was actually raining pretty hard and that’s why I didn’t take my camera out and just used the phone.  It didn’t matter though, we sat on the rocks discussing life, reminiscing about our college days and drinking some coffee.  I think the reason I love hanging out with Joey so much is the fact that it’s like being with family, I can be completely who I am, no pretense, no mask.

Joey is one of those people that renews my faith in the church, in her ability to be the good news of Christ to others.  It’s been a struggle to not be jaded or cynical about the church as I’ve meandered through my twenties.  It’s been difficult to continue to be open with people as you grow and change because there’s always that fear of rejection.  I think some people just get it, they understand the brokenness and the daily grind of reconciliation with God and engagement in life, the balance of living.  No one is perfect and no one has it all figured out, no one.  This fact make room for grace.

In the wake of my trip to Medford I have been thinking a lot about my friends, about how our lives have gone in different directions and how we have all changed so much.  In light of that, I can see just how much I’ve changed, the man I am today is not the man I was two years ago.  It’s cool and scary to see that clearly and it makes me wonder who I will be in another two years, will that man still be accepted and loved?

Justice toward God and self.

Lent Day 2

Breakfast (justice toward self) – click photo to enlarge

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day, it is supposed to be the meal that gives us the sustenance to start our day on the right foot.  Breakfast, however, has become much more important to me over the past several months.

In the mornings, I often find myself sitting at the table in our dining room, sipping my coffee and contemplating the coming day.  It is in this moment that I find my true sustenance, peace. Sometimes I like to open our dining room window and listen to the cars passing by on Barbur blvd.  Doing this reminds me that the day to come, even life itself, is filled with noise and traffic and to savor the moment that I am in.

Breakfast has become very important to my day to day life, it is my moment of peace before the day begins, it is my communion with the divine, it is simple… and that, is beautiful to me.

“be still and know that I am God.”

Stumptown 2.0

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR – (click to enlarge)

Just another brick…

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR – (click to enlarge)

Stumptown

Stumptown Coffee Annex, Portland, OR