A Man on a Bike ...

One of the questions I have heard asked in the last few months in thinkin and talking about emerging expressions of the body of Christ is - "what will it look like?" What will an incarnational/missional expression of the body of Christ look like?

If you want to read an amazing book that does that question serious justice - then check out "The Shaping of Things to Come" by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. If you wanna check it out - here's the Amazon link:

The Shaping of Things to Come

Anyhow - with the thought of what a missional/incarnational body of Christ look like - on my mind - we as a family were on our way to attend church a couple of Sunday mornings ago. It was a church that we had not been to before but we had arranged to meet some of our family there this particular morning. As has happened before on this Sabbatical - I/We got lost. We had promised to meet our family there and now we couldn't find the place. I wanted to use the intuitive approach (ie - just drive around aimlessly until we stumbled across the church) but my wife wouldn't allow it - so as we stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change - she noticed a man riding up beside us on a bike. She rolled down the window and said we were lost and could he help us with directions to the particular street that the church was on.

After putting his head down to think and trying to come up with the location for us - he let out a frustrated sigh and said that he had had a rough morning and a tough week and for that matter a tough life and and that he really wasn't sure where the road was. In fact he wasn't sure about much of anything as he said he felt so discouraged and frustrated that he was thinking about ending his life.

That's a little awkward for first thing on a Sunday morning now isn't it. What would you have done? What would you have thought about?

Now - here's what happened at that poignant intersection. I wanted so much to "be the church" for this man and the thought came into my mind immediately that we could offer to take him to breakfast and love him like Jesus would love him for a while that morning. But as soon as that desire came in - the corresponding thought also came in that we had commitments/expectations and people were counting on us to join them at "church". So as he peddled away to who knows where - we drove away and I sat in a stunned and nummed silence. Les, Travis, Leah and Grace (for once!) all sat silently trying to make sense of what had just happened. We all knew that something had indeed happened, we just couldn't put words to it yet. At that point "going to church" seemed about as ridiculous as wearing a parkha here in 100 degree heat.

As I have reflected on that moment - and what felt so awkward about going to church - wasn't that church was bad - in fact the gathering was really good. The sermon was good and as part of our time in prayer we gathered around a young 19 year old marine who's unit had been called up and was heading to Iraq the next morning. That gathered community would mean everything to him as he shipped out. I thought how important and beautiful these people were to him. The time of musical worship was great too - and I thought perhaps how this community's fragrance would be pleasing to God.

No - it wasn't that there was anything wrong with the place or the people and I'm sure some of you are asking - why didn't I just invite him to church with us? It certainly seemed like it could have made a difference to him. I guess I'm wondering why I felt as though I couldn't just drop every plan I had and go with him and "be the body" and why I felt like inviting him to church wasn't an option either? In short - why did I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place?

Most likely because for most of my life I have lived with the "unspoken rules" of an attractional model of church. The attractional model asks the question what can I do to help "attract" people to church? What ideas, programs and events will make it possible for people to come and get connected to the church? At that moment with someone I didn't know - I had nothing but my attractional model and asking him to join me on "my turf" so to speak, just didn't seem to make much sense - wasn't there another way to let this man meet Jesus?

But what if I had simply just invited him to breakfast and been the incarnate body of Christ to him that way? What if I lived every moment of every day with that outlook?

In considering that moment and trying to answer the question what will a missional/incarnational body of Christ look like - I guess it will be one in which people have the freedom to seize the moment and love radically, joining God in the moment and change plans and traditions in order to be a cup of cold water to someone in need. Even if it means having to swim against the "unspoken rules" of "attendance" or "expectations" to be at a place the priority over giving the gospel hands and feet. Here's an example to perhaps its most extreme - wouldn't it be cool to be gathered on a Sunday morning and have someone come and anounce that the speaker/teacher that morning was not able to be there because they were living in a moment of incarnational love - responding to the need of someone they pulled up next to in their car on their way to the building that morning?! That kind of community freedom would be amazing and radical and yes, annoying for some who have come to expect certain things at certain times. I'm sure - that God would not be caught off guard as a servant obeyed His spirit and He would take care of His gathered bride as they met. That's the kind of community - I long for the church to be. Is it different? Does it defy norms and expectations? Absolutely! Is it messy? Definitley - but what a testimony of radical love and grace!

The story here also helps to illustrate what I think is one difference between the missional/incarnational body - which looks for and is given the freedom to respond immediately if prompted by God's spirit to the needs around, and the attractional model which works diligently to get people to "church". It's about location - one asks how can we be the church in the world - the other asks how can we get people to church. I envision the church being a "people who" are loved by God and who practice His love in dynamic and out of the norm ways, and that characteristic makes the "place where" a much more attractive place to be.

Peace.

The Place - Victoria!

We've made it back into Canada! After a final farewell to some new friends in Tacoma who Travis and I met on our first stop in the west - we are on to stay with old friends - Don & Karen Crawford and their kids Megan, Frasor and Colin in Victoria, BC. We're gonna be getting a chance to be part of their community for the next couple of days and hang with the crew from Lambrick church - and The Place Community.

You can check out Lambrick and some of the very cool things that God is up to here with this expression of His body - by clicking below:

Lambrick Church

Here's the link to The Place Community there:

The Place Community

Peace. Seriously, everyone ... peace.

We visited Yosemite National Park on Monday! It's breathtakingly amazing and hard to take a bad picture - unless of course you are trying to avoid a hungry bear ... which happened! 

Here's Half Dome in the setting sun. 

Some Perspective...

I read an interesting article in the LifeStyles section of this morning's Modesto Bee newspaper. It's about religion and perception. If you are interested in some opinions that can be helpful in gaining an understanding of another perspective - here's the link:

Ye of Little Faith

If that doesn't work - try:

Modesto Bee

Then on the left hand side click on LIFE and then the link to the article should appear on the right - it's entitled "Ye of Little Faith"

Peace.

Hanging Out ...

Long time no post. It's nice to know that some people are following along and thanks to those who are staying interested with our journey.

We've been hanging out in Turlock, California for the last couple of weeks and have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with family and to meet some new friends. One of the nicest and yet most unexpected blessings came from the chance to hang out with Enclave - a very cool part of the body here in Turlock. You can check out their web site by clicking below and then looking for the Enclave link to click on.

Enclave

Their pastor Brian has been a real and geniune friend and brother and I have enjoyed the chance to be part of that community for the last few weeks. Brian and I have also had the chance to talk about the beauty of the body of Christ and the struggles and joys of the emerging expressions of the body we are witnessing. He is also the only pastor I know who owns a pot bellied pig!

I have felt such a peace to be part of the Enclave gatherings. Enclave is a missional/incarnational expression of the body that I felt right at home at. They have been gathering for a little over a year now and it has been great to ask Brian questions about who they are, how they birthed and what their vision is for the future. It will be very cool to see where God leads them as a community in the next months and years.

I have been reading "The Shaping of Things to Come" and looking back on this Sabbatical I can see how God has knit the moments, meetings, conversations and experiences together. All have been affirming and encouraging and for the few moments of harsher reality that have found their way into our journey - they have also helped me to process the future and to consider the story that God is writing in our lives as well as asking how the radical sabbatical can continue after the road portion stops for a while. Les and I are passionate that the adventure not stop upon our return home - but that we live radically in ways we haven't before. I expect there are those who are afraid of what that will mean - but I am no longer afraid of what that will mean for my family and I. There are a lot of paradigms that are shifting and I am at peace with where those shifts may lead.

I had a chance to watch the re-launch of the space shuttle Discovery and I was so inspired by the bravery of those who would take great risks to lead us beyond where we think we can go. There are those who will say such risk is foolish when the status quo allows them comfort and to them I say that's okay - but I want to be numbered with those brave souls who say - "Why? Why Not? and What If?" and who stack hands to step out into the place of risk, adventure and possibly ridicule in order to be about loving God and kingdom building. To all those who have inspired me these past few weeks - I thank you - you have been the body to me. To those who seek a milder adventure or a different one - I thank you too and look forward to the time when we will all worship as one at the great gathering and share the stories of the different journey's that brought us to there.

Peace and continued adventures ...

Fish Tacos!

Ever had a fish taco? I agree the name is intriguing if not exactly enticing. I had the opportunity to have a fish taco while visiting Saddleback church a week ago. I spent the afternoon with Josh from Purpose Driven Youth Ministries and we opted for some typical southern California fare. I enjoy IN N OUT burger myself but "when in Rome..." and the opportunity to say I had tried/survived a fish taco was just to much to pass up. Pretty much the rule of thumb when eating a taco is never, under any circumstances look inside. It comes under the "what you don't know can't hurt you" type of mentality. Well - we ate at a place called Wahoo's (for more info you can check out their site below:

Wahoos

Anyhow - I loved it! The fish taco was definitley surviveable and the shrimp enchilada was amazing! But the whole vibe at Wahoos was what I really liked best! It was a very cool place. Surfboards and surf culture stickers dominated the walls and it was a place I could spend all day hanging out in. It totally appeals to what I like - the whole SoCal surf scene. As I sat there eating my fish taco and drinking my Dr Pepper - I thought - wow, it would be so cool to have a place like Wahoos with all of it's surf culture, back home where I come from. I could hang out there everyday for lunch and perhaps dinner too and if they decided to serve breakfast - I could be like Norm on "Cheers" at a place like that! Man, someone needs to open a Wahoos franchise back home. Maybe this was what I was meant to do. Perhaps God has wired me up to be the Canadian entrepreneur who will bring the fish taco to the rightful place at the top of the fast food pecking order it so rightfully deserves. Yes - this is what I was created to do! I can see it now on the cover of Fish Taco Illustrated. This will be huge! I can see people driving from miles around to be part of the culture they so desperately want and need. The papers will want to cover the phenomenon, it will inspire millions to reach higher and be a place where the human spirit will be lifted with each consumed taco. It will inspire childrens names and of course there will be the inevitable clothing line and reality TV show. This is it - I've finally found it.

There was just one thought that kept creeping into my mind as I considered all this - my home isn't anywhere near anyplace that anyone can surf at. Do I think that will be a big deal? I mean doesn't everyone want to be part of something that so obviously works and tastes great? I mean they've obviously perfected the fish taco "model" here in Southern California and it's been established since 1988 - that's golden man! So why wouldn't it work where I'm from?

As I rolled that over in my mind throughout the day I thought about how ridiculous it would be to say that just because I like something - everyone else should like it too. Or because something works in Southern California (or Timbuktu for that matter) it can be transplanted with a few tweaks to another location and prosper there. The more I thought about how that didn't make any sense to do something like that - the more I thought about how I have done exactly that over the years when it comes to youth ministry programming. I'd see a program that I liked - copy it and implement it in another location thinking that because it was dynamic, exciting and successful where I saw it - it will have those same qualities in my setting. At that moment I had an epiphany (or perhaps it was the reverberation from the fish taco) and I could see places like SOMA, IMAGO DEI, VINTAGE FAITH and SADDLEBACK for what they are - unique expressions of the body of Jesus living missionally in their unique communities. They have not sought to compare or implement someone elses strategies or structures in another location - but have instead sought to honour God by the way they lived their lives and instead of trying to "become" something they have sought to "be the church" by letting God love them, listening for and to God, asking some really great questions about their neighbours and community and then taking risks to love practically into that community relying on the Holy Spirit.

I love the freedom that characterized ministry in those settings. Freedom to incarnate the love of Jesus and live missionally by stacking hands on the purposes and then stacking hands on what the different expressions of those purposes could look like as they seek to find out what the cultural "rhythms" of their community are. The cultural rhythms of Tacoma, Portland, Santa Cruz and SoCal are unique and diverse - fish tacos totally "fit" one place but would cause indigestion in others.

The Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom!

As I said earlier I have enjoyed the chance to refresh, recharge and refocus on this sabbatical and our week in Southern California was incredible too. We visited Saddleback and had some time to hang out and laugh as a family at Disney. My mom flew in and met us for this week that we kicked off in San Bernardino at my Uncle Jim and Aunt Carolyn's place before heading to Disney and Saddleback.

I have always loved Disney and the idea that a place could be created where parents and children could have fun together. That was Walt Disney's dream and above all else Walt Disney was a dreamer of big dreams and has passed that legacy on to others. Disneyland is a place full of laughter, adventure, memories and stories. It was a blessing to be able to spend a couple of days there. I'm not good enough with words to be able to describe the wonderful looks on our kids faces as they hugged characters and connected with Mickey, Minnie, Peter Pan, Wendy and Goofie - characters they had seen in movies and on TV. But the physical connection was amazing to see.

Disney's dream was to create a world seperate from the world outside the gates where generations could play together and be inspired, challenged and encouraged.

As we rode the monorail from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom I caught sight of the hotels across the street that help to serve the nearly 6 million visitors that come here each year. As we moved on I couldn't help but feel sorry for the hotel operators, although they are most definitley profiting from the people coming to Disneyland. Here's what struck me - they are so close to the action yet no matter what they do to their hotels - they will never "be" part of the magic of the "kingdom" of Disneyland. They can offer large pools, free high speed internet, free meals, gourmet coffee, luxurious rooms - but they will always, always be "across the street from Disneyland".

"Across the street from Disneyland" - what a horrible place to spend life. I thought how sad to be so close to a place filled with joy, stories, laughter and energy and yet be on the outside looking in. Playing a necessary yet comparitively secondary role in the bigger story. Forgive me if my analogy is flawed but for me it hit home as I have been contemplating the role of the body of Christ (the church) as it expreses the kingdom of God in community and communities thoughout the world. For me the Kingdom of God is a beautiful "place/moment/time/people" full of adventure, risk, joy, sorrow, exhilaration, messiness and above all the peace, presence and love of the father - perhaps hard to express in words but yet you know when you have and are experiencing it. I believe we are called to live in and by the way we live - love those God loves - to the kingdom. The "kingdom" is an exhilarating place to live if we are doing so missionally and incarnating the love of Christ.

But when that "kingdom" becomes about personal preferences, expectations, rules and "culture" run amuck - we, the body of Jesus become like the hotels across the street from Disney. We easily make ourselves and the church, bit characters in the grand story. And that is sad - because it doesn't have to be that way. The kingdom is where the real story is being written and to be so close and to be doing many good things and providing many good services and yet missing out on what's going on "across the street" is profoundly sad and ultimately such a waste. Even worse - thinking that somehow by relying on our programs and events we have created something that resembles the kingdom. Perhaps that's the inherent sadness I feel about the older brother in the story of the prodigal son. The younger son - who left and returned - knew what it was like to "live" in the kingdom - whereas the older brother couldn't seem to experience the kingdom first hand and had instead gotten used to living "across the street from it."

Perhaps you don't agree with my analogy and that's okay - it was just something that caught me as I rode the monorail.

For me I want to live heroicly in the vast freedom of adventure that is the kingdom of God and I want to express that daily. To me that's where the church - the "body" of Jesus Christ is supposed to be. I never want to be the owner/operator of a "hotel" that's "across the street from Disney." I don't want to be part of any place that simply points people to the kingdom and yet doesn't live as part of it, instead has grown content with living near or "across the street" from it.

On the way home from Saddleback and Southern California we stopped by Palm Springs and rode the Aerial Tram up to the top of Mt San Jacinto! Awesome! 

Here's one of the breathtaking views of Palm Springs from the top of Mt San Jacinto. 

Here's the family at about 8600 ft above the desert floor at Mt San Jacinto. The desert floor was 115 degrees but at the top of the mountain it was an awesome 75 degrees! 

We all met a lot of characters at Disneyland and California Adventure - Gracie seemed to like these next 2 the best! 

Here's Gracie with the "bgad" - Big Guy At Disney! 

Here's the bunch of us at the end of our stay at Disneyland! It was an amazing time to be together as a family with my mom! 

Costa Mesa ...

Man, California is such an amazing place! We've enjoyed a couple of days hanging as a family at Disneyland (from which I need a couple of days to recuperate!) I'll get to some pics soon! Right now we're in Costa Mesa for the next couple of days checking out Saddleback Church and asking some questions of a large established church as to how they are handling the emerging culture in their community.

If you wanna check out their web site just click below:

Saddleback

Peace.

The Adventure Continues ...

When we began this sabbatical adventure a month ago it was Travis and I leaving early (for me) on Saturday June 4th to begin our westward journey. Last Wednesday Les, Leah and Gracie arrived in the early hours of the morning on a flight from TO to SF. Travis and I were there at midnight to welcome them to California to continue our adventure as a family! We have made our home in a fantastic trailer at my Dad's house provided for us by Eddie and Jodie Huber and Rachel and Cassie! It's been awesome! Amazing weather and blue skies everyday! Seriously, I haven't seen a cloud in two weeks!

So the sabbatical part of this adventure has been amazing. I'm reading and thinking and praying and listening to what God is saying about Himself and our journey together. I believe that God is always speaking and my difficulty is not being a) a good listener and b) quiet enough to listen. I have been able to work on the quiet environment a bit as mornings here are filled not with the sounds of trucks, cars and phones (not to mention the sound of my own agenda and deadlines for the day) but rather, with the sound of birds and sprinklers and the breeze. I'm working on my listening skills too as I've found it hard not to hear God speaking in the books I'm reading, the converations and interactions I've had as well as the movies I've seen (and plan to see!) All that to say - it's exciting as the chance to rest has brought some recharging and some refocusing!

So - as I looked over this blog, I realized that I had titled it "Radical Sabbatical" but it had become more of a "sabbatical" report at this point. I don't want this to become simply a "here's what I saw and here's what I did" kinda blah blah thing that is the written version of the family vacation movie. It won't, but I woke early this morning with a realization that there are those who will be reading this who may not enjoy anything else but some nice pictures and descriptions of what we are doing. I'll still include those because they are part of our experience out here but when I began this sabbatical blog it was my intent to put some thoughts together about what I was hearing and to have dialogue with those who may be interested.

Having "attended" church for the last 36 years and 9 months - I felt this sabbatical was a radical adventure to experience what the "body" of Jesus is about in different and unique expressions in unique and different places. I no longer want to "attend" church or "go" to church but rather it is time for me to lead in "being" the church (thanks to Dan Kimball for that phrase!) and that perhaps will lead (for some) to more "radical" thinking.

The blog has been quiet the last week or so because - quite honestly - I was/am afraid of someone reading my thoughts and getting annoyed because my thoughts don't line up with their perceptions of how the world of the "church" should be. It is most definitley easier to report facts on places visited and show pictures as it is less likely to offend anyone but I'd get bored if that was all this was about. And most likely you would lose interest as well.

So courage is the order of the day for me. Since this blog isn't sponsored by anyone and I don't speak on anyone's behalf but my own - you are free to read and not feel this is propaganda by any organization, because it isn't. And if you are comfortable with "church" as a "place where" people come and programs form the structure - that's cool, but I would brace yourself if you want to follow along here - because I don't believe that's a full picture of what the "bride" of Christ is. I would be careful if you come to this blog looking for new "programs" that I have seen - because I'm not looking at programs at the churches I am visiting.
If you are looking for some evidence to add to a list you are compiling that I am "losing it" or that I have gone off the deep end - then depending on your perspective you may just find it here but I'll leave that to you to decide if you want to read on.

I've been a youth pastor for 14+ years now and in that capacity have been given the opportunity to watch and experience trends and new approaches to ministry in an attempt to "shepherd", "guide", "lead", "attract", "inspire", "keep" and "grow" healthy young people to know who Jesus is and to experience His love yada yada yada. The most annoying part of that responsibility has been to counteract a prevailing culture within the minds of some people that the teenage years are simply a "holding pattern" for young people. I heard one youth leader say that very thing to me a few years ago, basically saying "if we can hold them steady for a few years and keep them coming to church then when they 'mature' they will become productive citizen's of God's kingdom." Well, basically that's a load of hooey (which is greek for baloney!) But buying into that "hook" mentality of providing exciting programs as a kingdom daycare is the way to keep most people happy. Flashy posters announcing the next "event" give a sense that "something's" happening - there's a lot of promotion going on. But is it an allusion? Is what's happening really just another meal for the church "culture monster"? Make no mistake - good things have and are happening but for me there is something missing. Something that feels incomplete. Why is it that so many young people seem to "leave" the "place where" of church looking for something else when the finish high school? I know there are many different reasons but one that sticks in my mind constantly is this - have they played the game we lead them in long enough and look around and say - "get real!" "The world around us (that Jesus called us into) is loved by God and there are so many ways to be "in" the world and yet we spend most of our time being 'in' the church culture and doing things that we find entertaining, distracting or fun - that have little or no impact on a world created by God that needs to hear Him calling their names."

My personal opinion is that young people are way smarter than that and are simply waiting to experience what it means to be the body of Jesus and we need to lead them to that authentic expression which includes more than we have seemed to have the courage to allow in years past. I think it's time for courage (for swinging for the fences as a friend recently shared with me) engaging a culture within the church that is way too much about 'me' and what 'I' want and to love God - experience His love and then love others in intentionally practical ways and let God's spirit do what He desires to do - reconnect with the hearts and lives of mankind. I think that the "place where" culture of church is good but incomplete. I think I have been part of a system of "experiencing church" that is out of balance and we need to bring balance by living missionally and "expressing the body". I think when we look for ways to do that we will "be" the church as Jesus gave His spirit to empower us to do and that the "people who" mentality of the body will profoundly affect the "place where" reality.

So if that puts the "radical" back into the sabbatical - that's the intent here. I hope you will follow along - feel free to comment and interact - that's also the intent. And if you enounter people who feel differently about what church should be like I hope you will engage them with humilty, honesty and integrity as we are all part of the body in which love is what binds us together. In all the expressions of church I have encountered so far on this sabbatical - I have not encountered complete agreement on all philosophies by those who are part of that body expression. But I have encountered an uncanny overdose of love by everyone remotely associated with that body. I have heard stories of people expressing Jesus' love that tells me again and again - the body and God's kingdom is not about a business philosophy or strategy and is messier and less structured but more profound, deep and lasting than anything a building or system can contain.

Tune in again as the adventure unfolds ...

San Francisco

We headed into San Francisco to check out Fisherman's Wharf for the day today. SF is an amazing city. No sign of fog and fantastic weather! We even saw the "world famous Bushman" scaring people at the Wharf!

No this isn't from Alcatraz! Although not a bad idea. Actually this is taken from Battery Spencer which is an old Anti-aircraft gun installation that was set up near the Golden Gate to protect the bridge during the second world war. This is actually Trav in one of the old officers quarters. 

Here's my Dad and I at the Golden Gate in SF. 

Here's my Dad and Trav from above the Golden Gate bridge. 

This is the famous Lombard St. in San Francisco. The crookedest-short street in the world. 

Here's Alcatraz prison from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. 

The sun dipping below the horizon. It's so cool to stand at ocean and consider God's creation and the possibility that He created these sunsets to dazzle mankind. 

It was such a kick watching Trav chase the waves at the beach. The waves were amazing! 

Here's Trav at the ocean at sunset. 

Here's the sunset on Father's Day 2005 from a beach near Santa Cruz. I have wanted to watch the sunset at the ocean for a long time. To have Trav there was amazing! 

TO - Tacoma - Turlock!

Vintage Faith church in Santa Cruz was awesome! Thanks to Kristin and Hannah who gave us their time at the coffee shop to tell us the story of people on an adventure themselves and encourage and affirm us on ours.

We arrived in Turlock, California (about 90 minutes east of San Fransisco) on Monday night! It was exciting to see family and friends and to find a semi-permanent home away from home for the next 2 months!

It was a little sad to see one part of our trip come to an end - the father and son adventure across the US. For as long as I live I will never forget these last two weeks. Once in a lifetime do you get the chance to have some time with your son like that. The memories are so rich and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. We learned about Trav's favourite movies, favourite actor, favourite sports team, favourite chocolate bar, favourite thing to do when there's nothing else to do, favourite place to eat (although we learned that too much of Taco Bell is not a good thing!), what he wants to be when he grows up, we found out what Dad's favourite everything and anything was (twice, in fact) we learned that Dr Pepper beats anything else hands down, and we forged a bond and a memory as we tamed the roads from Illinois to Washington. Although the roads in Santa Cruz did get the best of us near the end! We celebrated Father's Day at the best burger place on the planet (IN-N-OUT) and we watched the sun go down on a beach beside the Pacific ocean. These last two weeks have been dreams come true. Thanks to all who've shared the adventure thus far.

Now for some time to relax and begin reading (a long list of books I've wanted to get to for a time - including "The Shaping of Things to Come" and thinking about the story God is telling in our lives and where the past two weeks will lead us in the chapters ahead!

... the adventure continues ...

On Maps, Roads and Hotels...

Okay - here's the thing about maps ... apparently the big blue lines are roads that get you where you want to go fast - without much fanfare and with great efficiency. It's important to consider that the map makers used a very thick blue marker to make those lines - just like the ones your teacher used to use - to draw your attention to something important!

The small pink lines are apparently roads that get you where you want to go with a whole lot of scenery but at the same pace at which the glaciers are reseeding. The small pink line seemed so straight to me - getting us to where we wanted to go but with the benefit of a whole lot of cool scenery! Sure everyone else seemed to be on the big blue line but hey - the road less traveled right?

Well, the trip that should have taken 7 hours from Portland to Santa Cruz, California took 14 hours! Here's the thing - I've always wanted to drive the Pacific Coast Hwy along the coast and figured we could watch the ocean after spending so much time in the mountains. Well after about an hour during which we covered maybe 15 miles - I began to see the ocean as overrated. Particularly because there was a storm and we couldn't tell the difference between the sky and the water!

Along the way - we also realized that when you buy McDonald's at 10pm in a town where they rolled up the sidewalks at 8 - you really should never look inside your burger (generally a good safety tip for McD's at anytime, anyway).

And while we're on it - you know when that guy on the Motel 6 commercial tells you that at Motel 6 - "we'll leave the light on for ya..."? Yeh, well that light is actually a "bug zapper" - seriously - RAID makes better motels than these folks! And if you get a sense of "timelessness" at Motel 6 - it's because none of the rooms have clocks in them!!!

Okay - so with all that in mind what's the point? Well, the point is that on our twisting and turning mountain to ocean to mountain drive yesterday as we were wondering if the invention of sasquatch came from people lost on drives like this - I remember Mike Yaconelli's words to live by - cherishing each moment with the perspective - "What a ride".

This sabbatical journey has been an incredible ride and God has been - well, God. Inspiring and speaking every step of the way. And what wisdom did He give in the midst of the extra 7 hours? Just this - sometimes to be part of something really special - you have to take the "small pink lines" even though many others are doing quite well with the "big blue lines."

!Manana!

We finally made it! Although at this point the days' journey was just beginning! 

Here's a view of the Pacific while we drove along and along and along HWY 1! 

Here's what happens when you arrive at your hotel at 1am and find out about your hotel after you've slept a night! This is the technical way of saying "we allow smoking in designated rooms!" 

On The Road Again...

Well we're packing up from Portland. It was an interesting stay and I hada chance to think thru a few things so far which I'll get to blogging on soon. We're heading into California and a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway into Santa Cruz. There we're hooking up with Vintage Faith church. You can check out their web site by clicking below:

Vintage Faith church

Since I've been checking out what it means to be the body of Christ - I think it's pretty cool the series they are in right now at Vintage Faith! Looking forward to it!

I got a feeling back a few months ago that my plans may not come out exactly as I figured they would but so far I can see that God has opened some doors and experiences - that I wouldn't have thought of or dreamed of! So we'll look forward to VF! It's been an amazing journey so far! What a ride!

If you've read "Blue Like Jazz" you'll remember this place fondly! 

I looked for a confession booth but alas Renn Fayre is in May! 

On the way out to Mt Hood we stopped by this place for something to do but ... couldn't find anything, really. Very slow ... not much to do there, not very exciting at all ... go figure. 

Trav and I took a run out to see Mt Hood today! It's pretty awesome! Kinda weird to see snow. Nice, knowing that I won't have to see it at home for a few more months! 

Here's another picture of Mt Hood