evening musings

I think the real reason I don't blog that often is my life seems boring and rather uninteresting to the teeming masses that populate the internets. But every once in a while, I happen upon a subject that I want to pontificate upon more than usual. As in, usually I just sum it up in a facebook status update, and leave it at that. But I need to say more, and making a bajillion status updates as this continually crosses my mind just doesn't seem like the right way to do this, so I'll put it here.

simply put, I've been pondering one thing:

How do people live without the love of Jesus??

The answer I've come to is that they don't ever actually live...they exist. And rather poorly, I might add. Working in the job that I have, I see a lot of squalor, depravity and the very needy, in more ways than one. This comes in many ways - drug and alcohol addiction, situations that cause poverty, decisions that cause poverty, and a myriad of other things. But the number one thing I see, every single day, is the need for love.

Of course, this can come across like some hippy post, and I know I'm going to have some people saying "But Andy, you're a right-wing, gun-toting, rush-limbaugh listening capitalist! What's this?" This is different. This is not the need for our pathetic human joke that we call love. This is the deep need, yearning and outcry of the human race for something beyond ourselves, a love that cannot be found on this earth.

The love of Jesus, of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is so much different than anything that can be found here. I don't think words can really express this, but I'm going to give it a shot. What I see in people, every day, is the need to feel worthy, to feel wanted, to feel needed, to feel appreciated, to be taken care of, to be understood, to be held when they need to break down and cry, to be absolutely loved and adored for exactly who they are, problems, screwups and all.

This is what the world as we know it cannot provide. At times, the love of God shines through people - when we love others by doing all of these things for them. But we cannot find is someone who will do all of these things for us, 110% of the time, no matter what we are doing. And that is what sets God apart - He loves us, no matter what, every second of every day. Even if we're cursing His name, or denying His existence.

All I can think of anymore is how my heart is breaking for the world - for those who don't know Jesus, for those who find themselves feeling a yearning for this love beyond anything else they've ever wanted - beyond the need for food, for water, for air, for life. The actions of people on this earth merely support this theory - our entire purpose in life, if not for Christ, is for substituting the things of this world in an attempt to fill this desire. And it never works.

Surrounded by the world, I am struck with a desire to help people find Jesus, to find the final answer in the question that is life. I cannot describe how my heart is breaking for young men and women especially. I see a group that has been told over and over again, by their parents, by their teachers, and by their peers that life is nothing but a great quest for pleasure, for "what feels good." Yes, on the surface that sounds well and good - of course you should want good things for yourself! But oh, how different the "good" things of this world are from the good things found in Christ Jesus.

Pleasure in this world only becomes pain as our generation is realizing that finding a girl, finding a guy, having money, having this car or that house is only temporary. For that house will crumble, the car will be outdated, and odds are good that your relationship with that special someone has deteriorated to a point where you don't even recognize them for who they used to be.

This has all been racing through my mind as I think of some of the people I have met in the last few weeks, especially young women. When I see their predicaments, I feel as if it has penetrated my own heart. I think of my wife, my sister, or my frinds in that situation and it is horrible. Women of the world need a loving Father - one that they can only find in God. I realize I'm rambling on, but well, it's what's on my mind.

All said, I want to help. I don't know how to help, and that's the end result of all these musings - what can I do? How can I, how can we, reach the world with the love of Jesus? We face a daunting task, as the majority of the world wants nothing to do with God, as they have all heard it before, and we Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites, and a place to run when times are tough (because churches are such suckers, and will give free handouts to the needy.)

But what could be different? We've got Big Brother and Big Sister programs, how about a "Great Father" program? There has to be a way to help heal the hearts of women who have been hurt by men, who can't imagine that there are guys out there who love them (not romantically) for who they are - not what they look like. Because so many women have given up everything in hopes of finding this love in the world, and are now desperate and broken.

Can a band of men get together - those guys who raised their daughters right, who told them they looked beautiful every day, who tucked them in at night, who helped them find a dress for the dance, who encouraged them to be themselves every second of every day - and that no boy was worth them if they didn't love them in the same way? And beyond that, the men who love Jesus - and use him as an role-model? Can these guys get together and show women that men can think beyond short skirts and skin?

I could go on and on, but it's late, and I know that it's starting to get jumbled. As I continue to write, more and more pops into my head. But I'll leave those for another musing, another time. But the question foremost in my mind is, how? I know that god is the only one that can answer that question. I want to help. I want to reach these people, to show them the mighty, awesome and amazing love that God is - beyond all that we know on earth.

And what I know, is that our current methods aren't working. We're timid, we're afraid, and we think that just "telling people about Jesus" is the answer. We need to truly reach out - beyond words, into action. Showing people the love of Jesus, and not just by wearing a cross necklace, not joining in on a dirty joke or whatever. We need to do our best to love like Jesus - heart, mind and soul, all reservations aside.

ideas are welcome. please send them my way.

Amazing when you're strange

Too true...

Decorating!

I've been dreaming about decorating our house and I've actually been planning it all out before I go on a money spending binge (which I'm trying really REALLY hard not to do) and I've refined some of my ideas since I've started pondering how we should decorate and fill our newly purchased home.

I haven't found one photo that perfectly captures what I've been looking for, but these two photos are the best options that I've come up with thus far:

This is CLOSE to the color I want to paint the walls in our bedroom:

or

My idea is to paint the walls a really bright color and then decorate all in black and white with tiny accents in that are in the same color as the wall.

This is similar to what I've been thinking:

.

However, instead of a boring white wall, I'm going to paint it bright teal like the pictures above.

Also, I'd love a non-couch version of this couch piece that Andy and I found at Macy's to put at the foot of the bed. So cute!

That's all for now folks!

15 updates on our life

The problem I have with blogging is that once I stop blogging (even for a short period of time), I feel like I have to give a detailed account of everything we've done since the last time I blogged - which is a rather daunting task since endless craziness has happened in the interim. And honestly, who really wants a detailed boring account of what has happened over the last few months (besides you mom ;D ). So to appease my nagging need to update everyone and to make it as minimally boring as possible, I'll update you in a list and if you want a detailed post about anything below, ask and you shall recieve.

1. We found Siku a doggie friend named Sadie and we love her. She's a sheltie.
2. We bought Elisha a pretty motorcycle and she crashed it. Twice.
3. Elisha now has stitches in her eyebrow from effect of event #2 and it makes her eyebrows uneven - grrrr.
4. We still haven't finished unpacking and decorating the house. Although I do have ideas which I will post later!
5. We both work a lot.
6. In support of event #5, wedding season is in full blow. However, we're avoiding it as much as possible, so if you want a glimpse of our recent shoots, you'll need to check out our lovely assistant/intern/friend's (Becca) blog - http://rebeccadryer.blogspot.com/. While the photos posted are entirely hers (isn't she awesome?!), they were all weddings that she has shot with us over the last few weeks.
7. We disappeared to Canada for 8 blissful days of sailing and mentally, I haven't returned yet.
8. I'm almost finished with my third quilt! I really need to take a photo of the last quilt I finished and show you. But that requires using a camera - and I'm tired of working. Sorry!
9. We sold the BMW. ::frowns::
10. But we bought a pretty new honda... I think that's what it is...
11. I love my baby grand piano.
12. I've been on a Mercedes Lackey reading binge. I believe I've read about 20 of her novels in the last 3 weeks.
13. I miss Mandi!!! Come home!!
14. Mandi and Ian got engaged!! Yay!! We will be promptly headed out to go wedding dress shopping when she returns.
15. Finally (although I'm sure there is more to write about that I've simply forgotten), the reason for this blog post is attributed to my darling and decor-inspiring friend, Lauren, who began her own personal/DIY blog which made me excited about blogging again. http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/. Thanks Lauren!

e

Sometimes, the best things in life aren't free

While free is a very, very good price, sometimes it's just not worth it. Sometimes, spending the money is the way to go. Something I enjoy is surprising Elisha with the things she loves, and something she's wanted for a very long time is a baby grand piano. Hooh. That's a tough one to just pull out of the 'ol back pocket.

However, sometimes I forget about the amazingness of our awesome heavenly Father and how He loves to bless us in ways we can't imagine. So, Monday morning as I'm perusing craigslist (as I am wont to do...) I find a good price on a nice piano. Hmm. I go to the dealer's website and find an even BETTER deal on a perfect, used mahogany finish baby grand. My interest is piqued.

Skiving off work an hour early, I rush to downtown Portland to check it out, and it is beautiful indeed. Now, it has nothing on the $90,000 Steinways and $190,000 Bosendorfers (What the crap, pianos that cost more than a house!) that were in the store, but it is beautiful, and I know she'll love it. I say I'll take it. Delivery included? Fabulous. You say it can be delivered on Friday, while she's out garage-saling with her mom? Couldn't be better.

I really have to give some props to God on this one - it's a double blessing. Not just one person, but two (if you include Elisha's mom, 3) people got to experience great joy because of this. It's been Elisha's dream to have a baby grand since, I don't know, forever. And she thought it was 5+ years coming because of money. It was like Christmas for me on Friday morning, the anticipation of surprising her with it when she came home. I don't often get to do this, because she's so darn perceptive...

The surprise was totally worth it. Squeals of joy followed by exclamations of "no way!" and more squealing were heard, along with much piano playing, as I had thought it wise to purchase her favorite music (Les Mis, Phantom & Wicked) and have it displayed on the piano. Suffice to say, there is a video of the event, and it should be on facebook sometime in the next few days.

Reflecting the next morning, all I can say is "thank you Lord!!" for the joys and blessings that He bestows upon us. We don't deserve them, as is sure. But I love the way He loves us.

Victory! (And another year of life for NBC/ABC execs...)

I just want to express how truly excited I am that both NBC and ABC have made stellar decisions, albeit a little late. Despite their almost-epic-fail of not choosing to re-up Chuck(NBC) and Castle (ABC) at the beginning, they have restored my faith in humanity for one more year. While not avid tv-watchers (we don't even have cable/satellite/antenna) Elisha and I are rabid fans of Chuck (best tv show ever) and Castle. Thank you internet, for providing me with the TV shows to watch at my own leisure at no cost. If you haven't watched them, you should. And if you have watched them, you should be rejoicing about the next year of awesomeness that we will be able to partake in.

Nathan Fillion is awesome.

Oh, and by the way...Fox execs, I'm coming for you. Because you killed Firefly. I know this is in the past, but didn't you know there's no statute of limitations for murder?

Motorcycles, Mortgages & Mutts

It's been a while since I've penned some thoughts and observations on this blog, but I implore you, hear my fabulous excuses, which will also suffice for updates on our life (to be explained.)

1.) We bought a house.

2.) Did I mention that we bought a house? That is a lot of work folks. Moving, decorating, getting another job so that the mortgage can be paid, all those sorts of things add up!

Okay, so that's it as far as excuses go, but for those of you that have gone through the process, you know it's about as simple and painless as differential equations. Despite all this, we are extremely excited, as it is our first home and we got a stellar deal, and we're loving it! We're now residents of Damascus, OR (Oddly enough, it's where my parent's first house was...) and the proud owners of a 2,452 sq. foot home. Yeah, we don't really know what to do with all the space since we've upgraded from an 800 sq. foot apartment!

So the last few weeks (we closed April 27th) have been a whirlwind of activity, moving and organizing and throwing away those things that you haven't used since you last moved...and God has been generous. Things are a little crazy, but He's never stopped blessing our efforts and showing us just how amazing He really is. In light of the new place, Elisha has decided to upgrade to a full-time job at the bridal store, and has been hired/promoted as the manager of the alterations shop. We're excited, as it means another steady paycheck, but it also means less free time together. Sad. More on this later as we see how it's really going.

I mentioned other things in my title, and I suppose I must hit on them as well. Motorcycling season is hitting full swing, as the weather 'round these parts is hitting well above 70* each day (whoo hoo!) Lane and I have been taking advantage of this and hitting up the backroads for fun. We also coerced Matt into buying a bike, so now the crew is up to 4. We're looking forward to many rides this season, as all 4 of us will be in P-Town all summer long. All this to say, I am extremely excited about my current lack of "chicken strips." (see ref: Chicken Strips)

This means I have pushed my motorcycle to the limits of it's abilities as far as tire-contact goes, which is a pretty big feat for me. It's also kinda freaky, seeing as I'm at the point of needing those fancy titanium knee-pucks so I can drop my weight off the bike even more. Crazy.

On a complete subject change, I think God is really continually teaching me patience. Because holy toledo I wanted to strangle Siku this morning. How a dog is able to do what he did is beyond me. Since Elisha is now working, I decided it would be nicer to take him to work with me than to leave him at home in the backyard. Wrong. He decided, through what method I don't know, to use this as an opportunity to drive me bonkers. Training forgotten, he proceed to take not one, not two, but THREE ginormous dumps inside the building within the span of an hour. Luckily no one else was present to witness this, but it is not really nice to spend your first hour of work cleaning up poop. Oh, and I gave him 3 separate opportunities to poop today as well. Did he poop outside? No, oh no. He ate some grass and looked at me funny. However, God is gracious and he is now being the perfect dog, resting behind my chair as I type this. Lord, give me patience.

That's all for now kids, I'll be back soon. I hope. Amidst my house-things, motorcycle season and dog pooper-scooper duties, I might just be too busy.