Pumpkin Carving Fun

Today, Kimmy, myself and the kids went and got our pumpkins. (Yes, we are slackers!) We went to Van's Valley in Romeo, MI, because I know the family from the church that I first served as youth pastor. So we came home and everyone picked out their own design and we carved them up. Kimmy did Caleb's for him and I cheated and found a design online. Kimmy's is the bat next to Caleb's Dracula Spongebob. Then you see Hannah's smiley face in the small pumpkin next to mine with the sinister smile.

Heading Up to Springhill

Here is Dave and myself in our very own van to take up to Springhill for Revolution: United, which is Rockpointe Student Ministries fall retreat. We are driving up there now. Should be a blast. I will update from up there if I can.

Gignormous Full Moon

This was the full moon from last night. It is supposed to be the largest full moon of the year. Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, there is a period when it is closer to the earth and this is that time. It was a really cool sight to see.

Dumbledore is Gay

Not that there is anything wrong with that! (Seinfeld fans should get that joke) It was recently revealed by J.K. Rowling that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy in the fictional world of Harry Potter, is gay. You can read a transcript of the entire question and answer session from Carnegie Hall here. I have already been asked by one of my friends, who is a christian, how I can still think that the book series is okay. But besides that, I wanted to express my views on this anyway. Read More Here

Apple Picking

Not exactly the kind of apple I was hoping to get, but there are delicious McIntish's. And apple picking with the family is always a great time.

Trip Pictures

Bill and Shannon posted some pics on the Pacific Catalyst website. You can go directly to them here. We will be getting some up on our family website soon.

HOME!!!

YAY!!! We are back in Michigan!

Keeping My Sanity

This picture has helped me stay sane through all of thi crazy travel delays.

Closer to Home

Here we are sitting in the Chicago airport wishing we were home. Instead we will be home 13 hours than we should have been. But at least we are out of Sidney, B.C. (no offense to B.C.'ers) and much closer to home.

Still in Sidney....

Our adventure continues. We got to the airport in Sidney, B.C. and checked in our baggage about 7.5 hours early, because there was only one ferry from Friday Harbor, WA to Sidney, B.C. which was no big deal. So we went back into Sidney to hang out for a few hours. We got back to the airport about 3 hours before our flight and waited here at the airport. Then decided with 1.5 hours left that we would go through security and wait at the gate. I saw the flight before us boarding and was going to ask the lady at the counter if we could get bumped onto that flight and just as I walked up there they flashed on the screen that our 7:30p flight was cancelled. So we went back through the security gate to go back to the main Horizon desk and find out what to do. Of course that was last flight and only flight to Seattle, WA. So we would miss our connecting flight to Detroit, MI. After standing in line for 3 hours we got a free hotel, 3 meals and a new flight that would get us home 13 hours later than we had originally planned. So now we are back in the airport awaiting our Air Canada flight to Vancouver, B.C. which will then take us on United to Chicago, IL and then on United again to Detroit. But we will be home today! We love this part of the country, but home is where we want to be. Who knows maybe it was a sign we should have gone back to Friday Harbor, WA and stayed?

'Til We Meet Again

Here we are on the ferry getting ready to leave. And you can see our "Love Boat", the Pacific Catalyst, over my shoulder. We will miss her.

Leaving Friday Harbor :'(

This is our goodbye to Friday Harbor and the Pacific Catalyst, until we meet again. And we WILL meet again. So now we sit and wait for our ferry to come to take us to Sidney, B.C. where our plane awaits us. Well, we will be waiting for it, since we get there about 11:00a and the plane leaves at 7:00p.

Friday Harbor

Here we are at our final destination, Friday Harbor, WA. We are staying at Friday's Historic Inn. What a beautiful place to live. We hope to explore more of San Juan Island today and maybe see some orcas, which we have not seen yet.

Our Last Morning

As I sit here early in the morning and look at all that God has blessed me with, I am in awe. And suddenly all of the "stuff" in my life seems to not matter anymore. All of the drama with friends and those things means nothing in light of the amazing grace of God. All of the tensions of waiting for God to open that door for a full-time job in ministry pales in comparison to the amazing grace of God. I hope that I will never forget to look at life through the lens of this beautiful morning and realize the awesome and amazing grace of God. If I forget I will simply close my eyes and remember this place. Thank you, God, for giving Kimmy and I the opportunity to experience you awesome creation aboard the Pacific Catalyst. And thank you for blessing my friends Bill and Shannon with this boat, and for them blessing us. You really are awesome, God!

Last Night :'(

We went ashore on Jones Island for a late night campfire. And Bill sang us some Irish songs.

Strange Signs of Wildlife

Wonder what kind of animal lives here?

Have not found any Jones Soda here on Jones Island, but we have found a lot of beauty.

Jones Island

Hiking on Jones Island. We have seen some deer already and I am hoping we can get some close ups.

Small Island Home

There is a home on that small island. What a beautiful place to live or vacation at, not to mention a wonderful backyard! :D

Pirate Captain Todd

Here I am after taking over the Pacific Catalyst. The ship is now in the hands of Pirate Captain Todd! ARRRR!

Leaving Sucia Island

We are heading out of Sucia Island to go to Jones Island, but we are taking the 3 hour way to get there instead of the 15 minute way. Should be fun!

Mount Baker

That is Mount Baker in the center of the picture.

Leaving Matia

Here we are leaving Matia Island.

Matia Island Cove

I can only hope that this picture can help you see the beauty of God's creation that we are witnessing.

Just so you know, we are both still alive. :)

Matia Island Hike

We went in the skiff over to Matia Island. We are now hiking on Matia Island. Check out this huge tree!

Sucia Island Hiking

Here we are hiking on Sucia Island. It is so beautiful.

Sucia Island

This is the bay where we will be staying for a night or two. It is Sucia Island. Currently, we are looking at a bald eagle.

Leaving Stuart Island

Here we are leaving Stuart Island and on our way to Sucia Island. When we get there we plan on going hiking. Yesterday we went kayaking, which I did pretty good for my first time.

Stuart Island

Here we are going into the bay of Stuart Island to stay for the night. We might do some kayaking or hiking again. Do not know, but I know we will enjoy it. This place is beautiful!

Mount Young

Bill and Shannon made it up Mount Young just fine.

Mount Young Summit

We made it up Mount Young on San Juan Island. Well, Adam didn't make it up so well.

Our Cook

This is Shannon. She is Bill's trusty side kick and beautiful wife.

Captain Bill

This is our trusty captain aboard the Pacific Catalyst, Bill.

Our First Meal

Here we are eating our first meal aboard the Pacific Catalyst. What a beautiful boat.

Ferrying To the Pacific Catalyst

We are on the ferry to Friday Harbor, WA. Soon we will be aboard the Pacific Catalyst.

Ferrying to Sidney, B.C.

We are on the ferry to Sidney, B.C. where we will stay the night and then catch the ferry to Friday Harbor, WA. There was a person with a car that had the alarm going on and off for about an hour, so they just made an announcement for the owner to go shut it off. And everyone clapped. LOL So far everything has gone smoothly for us.

Mobile Blogger Test

Just trying out this mobile blogger, so I can update y'all with it on my cruise.

Feeling Great!

For the past two months Kimmy and I have been going to our local World Gym and I have been feeling great. I stop by 4 days a week on my way home from work for about an hour and a half (I play softball on Mondays or else it would be 5 days a week). I ride the stationary bike, lift weights and then sometimes hit the treadmill. My energy level has been great! I wake up almost immediately as soon as my alarm goes off at 4:30a for work. The other good side of this is that extra large shirts used to be kind of loose on me and now large shirts are loose on me. I used to wear size 38 jeans that were a bit snug, but comfortable, and now size 36 jeans are loose on me. And I am getting a bit more muscular. I am really looking forward to see how I look next summer after working out like this. It is so nice to be getting into shape and feeling healthier. The other thing I am feeling great about is that in 32 hours Kimmy and I will be on our way for our cruise aboard the Pacific Catalyst. I am really looking for a nice relaxing vacation with my wife and some friends. it may be a bit chilly and rainy, but I know I am going to enjoy it anyway. I will be posting pictures when we get back. I am so glad that we got that Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi camera.

FREE BURMA!!!

I, sadly, have not been following the news of what has been going on in Burma, but I am aware of what is going on and have been praying. What the government is doing there is horrible and we as citizens of this planet should be outraged and we who are citizens of the United States should demand that our government should be doing something about this. So join with me and many other bloggers and post a simple message on your blog. You can get graphics and more info at FreeBurma.org. My friend, Derek, has been posting some regular updates on his blog and you can it by clicking on his name.

Why?

As I was thinking about the tragedy the Amish faced a year ago, which I blogged about yesterday, I realized that my Bible reading for that day was the Sermon on the Mount. Which when you think about it the principles taught by Jesus there was exactly what the Amish demonstrated. And that is exactly the kind of image the Church should portray. Read more here.

Amish Grace

One year ago was the tragedy at the West Nickel Mines Amish School where a man entered into this peaceful community, and killed five children and traumatized the other five. He then killed himself. But even more amazing then all of that was the Amish communities response to this horrible tragedy. Did they demand justice or retribution? No. Instead they did something completely unfathomable. They decided to forgive this man and embrace his family. When money came in from around the world to support the families of these dead girls, the Amish community chose to give the family of the man who created this tragedy some of the money. And a man named Steve Nolt co-wrote a book entitled, Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. The USA Today had an article about the book in todays newspaper that you can read here. It looks like a very good read. But it got me to thinking about something.... Maybe our country should have taken a page from the Amish on 11 September 2001 and instead of demanding revenge and retribution for that horrible tragedy and instead offered grace and forgiveness. What if we had done that and instead of sending troops around the world, we beefed up or security here at home to protect us from any further terrorist attack, but made a public declaration of forgiveness to the people who committed this crime against our nation and offered a hand of grace, by offering humanitarian aid? I don't know, it just got me to thinking that maybe our American way of life is getting in the way of our Christian way of life. Just something to think about. Feel free to comment with your own ideas and thoughts.