west coast

My first trip to the west coast was absolutely gorgeous! I cannot wait to go back.  We went with paul's family.  it was so great!  here are some pictures.  hopefully this will talk you into coming to visit.

we hiked to the heceta head light house

paul thought this tree was really awesome.

and as the fog started to roll in, i got my 1st glimpse of the pacific ocean!

'For I am the LORD your God,
   who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
   the LORD Almighty is his name.'

Isaiah 51:15

we had the whole light house area to ourselves, but it started to drizzle a little as you can see in the pic above.

glad i wasn't out to sea with all that fog!

the hike back up from the beach... i liked this little walkway.

photo of heceta head lighthouse that i didn't take just so you can know how beautiful it is!

source

my love's birthday

Happy Birthday to my love!  He's 27 today!  wowsers!  I remember when he turned 23, I am so excited that I've known him that long :)  I hope it's your best birthday yet, babe!

Dog Park

We go to the dog park a couple of times a week.  It's nice because Des gets to be off leash and there is a little trail we can walk.  We usually take a lap and head on home.  Des really likes it!

There are lots of places and trees for Des to pee.  haha!

Pre's Trail

Pre's trail is amazing!  It is almost 4 miles long and breaks up into loops so you can decide how far you want to go.  We go on it almost everyday.  I'm up to running 1 mile (sad when you get so out of shape).  My goal is to be able to run the whole thing a couple days a week.  Not to mention it is a gorgeous trail!  The Willamette (rhymes with damn it) River runs next to the trail for about a mile and there is also a pond and another little stream at different parts of the trail.  It's just an awesome luxury.

Click the photo to enlarge it and you can see all the different loops and how long they are.

Notice there is not a cloud in the sky and it's about 72 degrees when I took this photo.  It's awesome here in the summer.

we know we're close to home when we see the big 'O' for Autzen Stadium.  Did I mention all of this is less than a quarter mile from my house?!? 

allergies

My allergies are terrible here.  and so are Des's (poor fellow).  We sneeze all day long, even with taking local honey and allergy medicine.  

Thank you cotton trees.  I think you're a major contribution to my allergies.  The cotton is so thick it sometimes looks like snow across the grass in our apartment complex!

"Good Wine, Glad Hearts"

a sermon by mark driscoll.  honestly, i think it is the first sermon by him that i have actually listened to.  well i actually didn't even listen to it because my internet was too slow, so i read all of the transcript.  haha.  i am impressed.  it was a phenomenal sermon and i highly recommend it.  here is the link.  listen to it and/or read the transcript.  Click here for the sermon and transcript.

If you listen to the sermon, spare yourself this entire blog post.  I'm just recapping what he says.

Three stances in The Church:
Prohibitionists teach that all alcohol is a sin no matter what. 
"Wow, right? But, that is a stupid position that you can’t argue for Biblically. I’ll give you some verses. Psalm 104:14-15, down at the bottom of your notes there. “God makes the grass grow for the cattle, plants for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth, and wine that gladdens the heart of man.” Who makes wine? Who created wine? God. And why did he make it? To gladden the heart of man. Does it still work that way? It does."  Did Jesus consume alcohol? Yes.  Did he ever get drunk? No. He never sinned. He was blameless.  Mr. Driscoll goes into a lot more detail... please listen to it or read it.


Mark then made the second stance, 'Abstentionist position that says, “Alcohol consumption is not a sin, but because so many people abuse it, we should never drink alcohol.”'  and of course, i loved his response to this one...


"The abstentionist says, “Well, we should just get rid of things that cause us to stumble.” My question is this. Is there anything on planet earth that someone has not used to sin against God with? Everything has been used to sin against God. Martin Luther said, “You know, there’s stars in the sky and certain astrologers worship them. If it’s causing them to stumble, then we gotta find a way to take them down.” This position sounds good, but what it ends up doing is abstaining everything. You ever been in a church that said, “Well, we’ll abstain from this because people are stumbling. Oh, look, they’re still stumbling. We’ll abstain from this too.”? And next thing you know, right, you’re in a suit and tie. Your wife’s got a doily on her head.  You’ve set the drum kit on fire. You’re reading the King James Bible. And you’re just praying that Jesus comes back ‘cause you’re so sick of being in church."  hahaha!  With this one he also makes the point that we just keep making all of these rules on top of rules on top of rules.  And when Jesus came he did not break any rules in the bible, but he did break the rules of the pharisees  or the religious teachers.


The third stance in The Church is that of the 'moderationist position that says that alcohol consumption is not a sin, but that some people can drink and some people can’t.'  A weak person cannot and a strong person can.  a weak person cannot make a rule to take away the strong person's freedom in which Christ has given us.  and a strong person needs to be humbled by the weak person and love them by respecting their weakness and not drinking in front of them. a weak person isn't just an alcoholic, a weak person is someone whose conscience does not allow them to drink.  and that is good and should be respected.  "Romans 14:1, “Accept him whose faith is weak.” In light of our discussion, people who do not drink, are they weak or strong? They’re weak. People who cannot drink with a clear conscience are weak."  He gives this analogy, "Is it a sin to be weak? No, it’s not a sin to be weak, but a lot of people who don’t drink think they’re really strong. “Look how strong I am. I don’t drink.” Well, no, you’re weak. It’s not a sin, though, to be weak. Are some of you physically weak? Right? You just about die carrying your groceries.  You’re weak. Okay, I’m sorry about that, but it’s not a sin. Okay, it’s not a sin to be weak."  For this point he used a beautiful scenario that I love so much.  One of my most dearest friends, Amy, does not  drink alcohol because of her job and her heart is so beautiful on this subject.  I wish she would give a sermon about it.  So here is the scenario, "Let’s say there are two couples. One drinks; one doesn’t. They sit down for dinner together and they’re Christians. One couple has a glass of wine and the other couple says, “Sorry, we don’t drink.” The one couple then says, “I’m sorry. Am I gonna cause you to stumble? Are you a recovering alcoholic? Is there a problem here?” “No, it’s just a conscience issue. I don’t drink.” “Okay, do you mind if we drink?” “No, we don’t mind if you drink.” Is it okay for one couple to have a glass of wine with their meal and the other couple to not have a glass of wine with their meal, and they both sit at the table and love each other? That’s beautiful, isn’t it? Your conscience, my conscience, we both belong to the Lord, we love each other. I don’t cause you to stumble. I don’t make you drink. You don’t cause me to stumble. You don’t take away my freedom in Christ. Mutually beneficial."




Really I'm posting all of this so that I can have a quick link on my archives to this sermon since it seems to be such a hot topic in the American church.  Anyway, If you actually read through all of that, you probably have a lot of time on your hands and should go listen to this sermon right now.  you wasted your time reading this blog post.

source

Des

How cute is my puppy.  Be still, my heart, be still.  :)

Spencer's Butte

We hiked to the top of Spencer's Butte here in Eugene.  It's a lot shorter of a hike than Castle Craggs, thank God. haha.  I can't get over the beauty out here. It definitely puts me  in my place.

"He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth - the Lord God Almighty is his name." Amos 4:13

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." 

Psalm 90:1-2

eugene dress

half of the time i feel like i stand out like a sore thumb in eugene because i match.  just check some of these out.  and yes, this is normal... and yes, i've seen worse.

pirate pants, motorcycle boots, cowboy hat

yes, that would be a man in a kilt.  no irish festival, just a typical august day.

and i'm super bummed because i had a ton of pictures to show you, but something is wrong with the memory card. bummer.

dva

dva is 2 in russian.  my favorite russian number.  yes, today i've been married to the most amazing man in the entire world for 2 years.  i don't know who i would be or where i would be without him.  i can't believe it's already been two years... CRAZY!  it's the best decision that i've ever made. i love you, mr. dawson!

cheers to 2 years!  (sorry i can't rotate this)

poem

a friend shared this poem with me that i find so much truth in.  the poem is titled 'Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front' by Wendell Berry. i hope that you enjoy it as much as i do.  

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more 
of everything ready-made. Be afraid 
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head. 
Not even your future will be a mystery 
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card 
and shut away in a little drawer. 

When they want you to buy something 
they will call you. When they want you 
to die for profit they will let you know. 
So, friends, every day do something 
that won't compute. Love the Lord. 
Love the world. Work for nothing. 
Take all that you have and be poor. 
Love someone who does not deserve it. 

Denounce the government and embrace 
the flag. Hope to live in that free 
republic for which it stands. 
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man 
has not encountered he has not destroyed. 

Ask the questions that have no answers. 
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. 
Say that your main crop is the forest 
that you did not plant, 
that you will not live to harvest. 

Say that the leaves are harvested 
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. 
Put your faith in the two inches of humus 
that will build under the trees 
every thousand years. 

Listen to carrion -- put your ear 
close, and hear the faint chattering 
of the songs that are to come. 
Expect the end of the world. Laugh. 
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful 
though you have considered all the facts. 
So long as women do not go cheap 
for power, please women more than men. 

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy 
a woman satisfied to bear a child? 
Will this disturb the sleep 
of a woman near to giving birth? 

Go with your love to the fields. 
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head 
in her lap. Swear allegiance 
to what is nighest your thoughts. 

As soon as the generals and the politicos 
can predict the motions of your mind, 
lose it. Leave it as a sign 
to mark the false trail, the way 
you didn't go. 

Be like the fox 
who makes more tracks than necessary, 
some in the wrong direction. 
Practice resurrection. 

Wendell Berry 

(source)

thanks for popping in

two nice ladies from a nazarene church 'popped' into our home the day after we visited their church.  it was such a nice gesture and so creative.  the popcorn was just what i needed for a nice relaxing evening with my husband.

isn't that such a creative idea?!?  we felt welcomed.

boxes and messes

yes. my apartment still has boxes everywhere and it is still a mess.  shall i share? don't judge me.

camping and hiking

here is the 1st thing i saw when we pulled into the camp ground.

yes, that is a cooler that had been mauled by a bear. the director of the camp facility proceeded to tell us that a mother bear and her cubs had been spotted on the camp ground earlier that morning.   imagine the terror i felt in my heart when we saw our bear locker that had bear claw marks all over it.  thank goodness i can say, that we're all still alive and there were no bear attacks.

we hiked up castle craggs and let me just tell you, it was the most strenuous thing that i've ever done in my entire life.  i was an athlete and i've pushed my body physically pretty hard.  i ran out of water half way up the mountain.  not smart.  but the view was so worth it.  here are some pictures.

this is about half way into our hike, but this is castle craggs and we went to the very tippy top.

this is the beautiful view of mount shasta from the top of castle craggs.

then the next day we went to crater lake

and this is crater lake.  the most beautiful site that i've ever seen.  it is a volcano that caved in and formed a lake.  the water was sooo clean it was pure blue and you could see straight to the bottom on the bank.  no boats are allowed in the lake.

this is a couple of awesome people in Paul's master's program that we camped with.  the yellow stuff in the water is pollen!  my allergies here in oregon are insane!

thank you jesus for showing me the beauty of your creation.  i am in awe.