if you're not reading donald miller, you're not reading.

Are you living a great story with your life? from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

articles.

i thought these were interesting, and that you might as well*

on gender as seen in the nation's leader.

Why This Court Keeps Rebuking This President

*they're both chiefly political just so you know.

some pans from Europe.

the Colosseum (Rome, Italy)

a Norwegian fjord (near Pulpit Rock outside Stavanger)

from the Alps near Lugano, Switzerland

the stadium at Olympic Park, Munich (home of '72 Olympics)

the view south from atop Schloss Mittersill

photos.

i'm getting the photos up, though not all here. you can see them by following the links below (this will be growing over the next few days...)

peace.
sg.

one.
two.
three.
video.

home.

so i mentioned i am in 3 weddings. the first was completed just a few hours ago. for anyone still looking at this thing, i am planning to do a "best of" pics/recap post by midweek, now that my duties for Dan and Melissa (CONGRATS!!!) are taken care of.

stay tuned...

some teachings you should check out.

something you should listen to.
from jay pathak, colorado.

something else you should listen to.
from Toby Foster teaching @ Almond Vineyard, Edinburgh, Scotland.

the end is near...

I am in Stavanger, Norway. the video below shows "Pulpit Rock" a beast of a thing erupting 607 m straight up out of the fjord below. Bryon and I climbed it today, had lunch there, and then headed home. It was a great hike, and a challenging one. It markes my fifth hike into mountains/wilderness of this trip through Europe, and ranks at the top!

I am here (sadly) for only two more days. Tuesday morning at 0605 i'll be flying to Oslo, then at 0800 to Paris, then 1430 to Newark, NJ. From there my sis is driving up to grab Syl and I and get us back to Cbus early wed sometime. This is all due to Skybus kicking the bucket (R.I.P.)

Within 5 weeks of being home I am a groomsman/best man in 3 weddings. Crazy.

I have loved Europe. The varying languages, the art and history, the foods, the culture of walking and using metros and bikes has really captured me. I am leaving almost 15 pounds lighter than when i arrived, something I plan to maintain/continue when I return stateside.

My summer plans are to get the weddings done first of all. After that would be sorting out where I will be finishing up my bachelor's degree; i am looking at a few options including OSU. I am also planning on going to Costa Rica for a month (July) to study Spanish. This will enable me to knock out a minor (at least) as i'm finishing up school, something that should help with cash later in life.

I am looking forward to seeing friends, to catching up on rest and sleep, to seeing movies recently released (someone please tell me that Arena Grand is still in business...) and to maybe getting a new vehicle?? I hear the Jeep still runs which amazes me thoroughly. I will be glad to have the Mac back, and not have to pay $$$$ out the rear to type to you.

Man thanks to all who have read and posted or not posted. To all who have waited to say what's up, and all who miss me, and all who signed my book. I am thankful for friends.

I will be heading to bed soon so that I can rest for tomorrow's activities. I'm hanging with my Murdocks (see the link on the left of my page) and their 16 month old and 6 week old!! Great kids. Kids rock incidentally...


be blessed. as red green says, keep your stick on the ice.
sg.

a video for you...

MY GOODNESS, MY GUINNESS!!!

i just toured the Guinness factory with sylvia. it was great. the pint wasn't "worlds" different than what i'm used to...

A Texan walks into a pub in Dublin and slaps €100 on the counter saying, "this goes to anyone who can drink 10 Guinnesses straight!" There is commotion in the room in general, and one man gets up and leaves.

After about an hour, the man who had left earlier came back to the bar, and asked the Texan if the offer was still on the table, and found out it was. He proceeded to order 10 beers, and one by one drank every one of them!

The baffled Texan merely asked while handing the Irishman his money, "Just one question. Where did you go when I told about the offer?"

"Well, I had to go and see if I could do it first!"


cheers.

growing (slowly)

10 May 2008 1122
~some mall in Berlin~

Prague was very good. Martin was an amaying host with great generosity and a nice pad. Prague as a city was cool. The architecture was cool--but the pace was probably better. Perhaps that is why Munich and Berlin have felt worse/less desireable--too quickly running around...

My other thought is that it is spiritual--2 weeks of great rest and great time with Jesus in retreat have their cost. I think too (with respect to wasted money) there is a pride issue. I want to do this trip well, and am frustrated when I don't achieve/experience the results I want. Control. If I learn from Benner, and perhaps Sienkiewicz, it is that God is in control, and I can park/rest my lack of greatness in him...It is otherwise certainly ruining my trip. Is it only that? Is it merely the decision to lay down my pride and rest in the embrace of Christ--who cares not whether I "perform" well or not? I think so in part. I am mediocre by nature/discipline, and the feigning of greatness/perfection will certainly ruin me...

It continues to be a war of identity. Where will I find security? If I search long to myself, I will come up dry--as all men before me. If I give it up--all its power is stolen.

I was asking Jesus his lesson plan this morning at 5 when loud snores woke me. I thought the answer jealousy, and do still in part...but perhaps more it is all this lesson--that I forget not my source of true peace. That freedom is not gained through perfection; rather, it is gained when the whole system is forsaken.

Is freedom an illusion-a false goal? Are people really born bound to a system that diverts their affections to things which take life rather than give it? Am I the only one who wades in the shallows of these thoughts unable to fully swim and unable to rest fully on the shore?

For now the verdict is that a battle for my attention is taking place, and I certainly am not interested in giving it over and again to circular musing about my %?$# performance!

Control is okay--so long as it is about the correct business: that of choosing to live, not responding with alarm to all my insufficiencies. That of stopping to listen to the voice of acceptance for who I am, not to the voice of condemnation for who I should be. Man. That of being, and not that of drifting along with wherever the current chooses to take me.

This lesson will be long-learned...correct it and shape it and administer it Jesus. Thanks for love and not wrath--you do know how to teach. 18:1.


further thoughts...

*i felt a lot better after this time of thinking the other day.
*check out shane and shane's ''embracing accusation.'' the lyrics/message will rock you.
*Paul nails this discussion in Galatians (also the source of inspiration for Shanes' song)
*I cannot commend to you enough Benner's ''Surrender to Love''

month 2 under way...

some thoughts as i head into month 2...

1. i miss chipotle
2. i say that, but i really am serious.. please don't mock, and remember me when praying over your next burrito.
3. you can spend a bunch of cash living at home, or you can spend a bunch of cash travelling around seeing amazing sights.
4. it would be good to have a computer wherever you go. sounds a little materialistic, but it will save money on internet fees, and be good to jot down thoughts perhaps. there are plenty of lockers to keep it safe and sound. it is also good to leave it home though, and break off the addiction to 'stuff.' (shout out to rick...)
5. i think i've lost about 10 or more pounds...
6. i miss my merrells\vibram-souled shoes are the only way to roll.
7. please, please plan to go to the alps in your life.
8. i can really survive on 2 pair of socks, 3 pair of boxers, 2 pants, and 2 shirts.
9. when you wake up in the middle of the night, and there is a symphony/competition of snoring in your hostel dorm room, and you have one earplug in your hand, and can't find the other one, the only thing to do is to get out of there and go blog about your thoughts at the moment, even if it is 5 in the morning.
10. ''il Gelato'' in Prague was second best to the stuff in Milan--i mean REAL good...
11. people are real cool here. some dudes are ''dodgy'' (shout out to the Vancouver chicks) but most people are pretty generous to travellers.
12. i threw away a pair of jeans 2 days ago that i bought from ragorama. they were dying and needed the 'old yeller' treatment.
13. i have a ton of pics to put up sometime, but i can't put any up right now.
14. im going to come home and shell out 10 bucks at the dollar theatre to catch up on all the sweet new releases...
15. 15 is a nice number to stop on.

sg.
currently fatigued, but knows it's part of the process. (shout out to being real)

update.

hey! i made it through Switzerland and Austria well. I got a ride this morning for the new director of the castle i was staying at, and am now in Munich. reconnected with Syl (who ironically is now sick...)

hopefully Munich is cool--back to the hiking. it was cool though that said director is heading to the states soon, and so i gave him a couple pounds worth of extras that he'll ship back home for me!! SUPER blessing to off some excess weight!

i have many new pics and some video of a dungeon that you need to see that i hope to get to you soon. i dropped an exorbitant (sp?) amount of money in CH and AT unfortunately, so back to bread and cheese for a while...much planning today and tomorrow for the May portion of the trip. it all ends very soon :(


lates.
sg.

hey!

i've been enjoying interlaken. pray for me because i have a sore throat and DO NOT want to get sick. i may do some more hiking tomorrow (today i went to the "top of Europe" on Jungfrau--you can read more on google.)

um, and i'm posting a video salutation soon so you can see my grubby face :D.

i will leave either tomorrow or sunday for austria--to a castle/convent deal there for a few days. then to Munich.


love from Switzerland.
sg.

**video is up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O5o4R2DbEg

in switzerland.

the kezboards change the z's and y's here :(

it's CRAYZ expensive to use the net, so no updates for a bit, sorrz.
give me like a week mazbe, unless i can grab someone's puter...

i'm flzing solo up here. szl is down in greece and don went home after
a GREAT week in italy, that i'll tell zou bout next time.


peace and love.

the long road home...

so florence was quite a trip. check it...

a bit from 15 april journal entry:

Florence came to us late last night via a quick train and brought with it similar mundanity (as Venice), but with a few cool stories. We arrived about 2100 at the train station--devoid of poeple, help, and direction. My call earlier to a Hostel only yielded instructions to take the #17 bus to Salviatino. We jumped on next to a guy (Duarte) from Portugal, who was also heading to Ostella Villa Camarata (the hostel). Like us, he knew no more than that...They dropped us all off (a women on the bus pointed it out) and we saw immeadiately a large clear sign and a giant stone entrance-through which we began to follow a windy, paved and broken, desolate road.

Duarte, though seemingly safe, lead the way due to Sylvia's hesitation (and my easy agreement, though Don was ready to "go ninja" on any perpetrators). We all were pretty hesitant, for though the road was lit by street lamps periodically, only two people and one taxi passed us. Both sides were ominously walled by fairly dense brush/woods--one side with a chain-linked fence. I clutched a caribeaner "brass knuckle" style in one hand, and a small but sharp knife in the other. The entire trip took probably near 15 minutes, the end of which brought us to a large villa that has been turned into a youth hostel. (end journal entry..)

From there things went a lot better: a private room with private bathroom (not all accomodations have provided such) gave peace to help us forget mostly about the threatening journey there. The next night we stayed in downtown Florence in a great place, and got to see some cool sights overall. My journey through Milan (pictures sometime soon) overshadowed so much that it is hard to compare Venice and Florence, especially now that we are in Rome.

This morning we saw St. Peter's basilica and Vatican museums that culminate with Michaelangelo's Sistine ceiling. It was mind boggling.

Gratzi for now, we'll be here in Rome 4 more days and I'll try to get some pics up.

next stop...not sure yet :D
for those in CBus, enjoy the Justice Revival!!!

sg.

this scene was tuesday night in Florence from Ponte Vecchio...

various pics from Europe 1.

john the baptist.
hall of mirrors, palace of Versailles... (was waiting for this one!!)

same hall, sorry can't rotate right now...

something in Madrid...Sylvia can tell you maybe.

sylvia connecting with Mirta (middle--housed us) and Monika (who was on her way to CR).


these pics are not in chronological order, but i'm sure you don't mind...ahem.gardens of Versailles, out back of the Palace...

St. Michael's Square, Paris.

self-explanatory.

Jupiter coming up out 'the ground in Versailles gardens...

one of the many painted ceilings of Versailles


notre dame cathedral. paris, france. no hunchbacks present :(


como se dice, "Rolls Royce?""

italia.

so here's what's up...i have a lot to say about Barcelona, but i'm in Milan and have a lot to say (again-sorry) so i'll write about that, and then the next one will be a photo opp, i promise...
bear with me.

this is my journal entry from a few days ago...

11 april 2008 1520 Milan

I am writing from the exquisite house of the descendant of a fur trader's widow. He himself built this entire building and we are in her 2 story house that boasts artwork, sculptures, fabriced walls, silver, a maid, and a seamstress. My view overlooks Milan out to Duomo--the world's largest Gothic cathedral. It took some 600 years to contsruct, and is fashioned with 3400 statues, 135 spires, and 155 gargoyles! According to Lonely Planet Western Europe (LPWE), this city is the fashion capital with a ''wicked'' nightlife--and costs resemble that. After the 3-course meal, shave, and shower I just had, I'm prepared to relax. Carola (Sylvia's friend) will take us around a bit tomorrow. Her grandmother--the widow in whose house I am staying--said at dinner to me 'I like you.' :D I think it was soon after my comment (via Carola into Italian) ''please forgive my appearance'' (for I was scruffy and had not recently bathed...)

The 13 hour train ride from Barcelona stretched into 14 as we sat at the border for almost an hour for a reason unbeknownst to me. It stretched our wallets as well--for up till now we only have paid up to 15 euors for a train reservation with our passes, but had to drop 46 for the trip here :(

I sat next to 3 Mexicanas in a quad-area of the train (as I was assigned) who were lively and with whom i conversed a lot. Gisela, Marcela, and Malu are here for a beauty expo in Balogna, and are travelling around a bit as we are.

In Quo Vadis (the PHENOMENAL book I'm reading) it seems that Vicinisus has reached a point of [spiritual] conversion, but it was strikingly anti-climactic! In any case, Peter and Paul addressed him and more than anything--revealed to him objectively the life of following Christ, and the position of his changing heart. They took him to Lygia, where Peter blessed their love for each other as good, not as sin. I have over 250 pages to go still (and have gone that much so far) so I am on edge as to what all else it holds. All I know is that I am thankful to have brought it (thanks Ben!) and I trust that it is part of God's intention for me at this time. I shy away from that seemingly circumstancial theology, but feel at times its nearness and poignancy--therefore I cannot deny it outright. Time will tell ultimately (in the case of these books) how poignant, in fact, the specificity of God in the (seemingly) minutia of details.

Walking around this house today, and talking/listening at long length to Carola's experience working with the U.N., her desire to impact the cycle of poverty from generation to generation, and her disgust with her country's corruption from the government down, has had my mind again at attention. Part of me thinks\desires wealth--as I see it throughout this house on plain display. Part of me too desires justice and to ''put a dent in the world'' (steve jobs i think). Always the theme of my favor with people shines clearly to me--from the Mexicans on the train, Pam and her daughter from Oregon, Dave the Aussie, to this affluent aging widow from a world altogether different from my own. To what profit can I invest this favor given me? Certainly sharing life with people/teaching comes first to my mind. I struggle still with encountering a particular way of sharing faith, though with Dave, and almost here with Luiga (the widow), have I seen conversation open up despite me--and invite me to step in if that be my desire. I feel that I can only see crossroads, and that choosing a direction and going are at once as or more important than understanding or foreseeing their outcomes.

This has been a helpful brain dump. In my best moments I am enjoying this trip and what it presents to me day by day. In the others I worry about money and the future, and sin thus unto lack of peace.

Jesus be near me and give me rest. I give to you (over and again) this life and abilities and resources you have given me. Lest you guide me, and lest I learn to love you more than my own control, life is not worth living. Bless and keep my family and friends at home, bring Don safely to us Sunday, and thanks again--for I trust your control...

a simple note...

apparantly spammers can leave messages on my blog.  

if something says "click here"  DONT.

thanks.

europe or bust.

¡hey all! 

for the non-spanish literate, the upside down punctuation mark is used in spanish.  for those that don´t know, i´m in Madrid, Spain right now :D  

the trip began 1 April with my friend Sylvia and I arriving in New York via Skybus (R.I.P.)  i had to unload a bit of stuff--perhaps a little overzealous, perhaps a little too overprepared--via FedEx to 

my boys back home.  i´ve only lacked a few of those items, but the reduced weight and size of pack were well worth the sacrifice.  we visited m&m world at time sqare, i passed a chipotle near there (but am waiting until back home with the boys to get mine--we had our last together as well..) and then headed to new Jersey via bus to leave Stewart airport with Air India.  

we dropped into Paris early the next morning after sitting near a wonderful French-American named Bruno who has been a pastor for 20 years.  he talked of his gang life and broken upbringing which prepared him well to receive Christ at a young age.  he is still loving Him and loving seeing others come to freedom as they pursue a healthy life which doesn´t neglect spirituality.

Paris was AMAZING.  any rumors I (and possibly you) have heard regarding the rudeness of the French were dispelled after the first day.  the most I felt with respect to that is perhaps curtness, but beyond that people were interested in our journey, and more than willing to help with whatever we needed.  one such occasion was when we were looking for a train station and ran into several mechanics.  Sylvia asked for directions, and after the language barrier prevented the men from sufficiently leading us to the proper bus, one of them walked us 2 blocks to the stop, spoke with the driver, and then let us go!  of course there are exceptions to every rule, but my 3 days in Paris have broken the rule in my mind.  

the Louvre and Palace of Versailles have been intriguing to me since Humanities 112 last summer. after seeing the Hall of mirrors, it is a breathtaking look into the power of the former King, and the splendor of artistry that went into the entire place.  the Louvre as well was breathtaking beyond just the exhibits.  the building itself, with painted ceilings as in Versailles, is enormous and decorated to every corner.  the pic above is of le Sacre Coeur, an amazing place where i was not allowed to take photos inside.  it overlooks the city in an area called Montmarte (i think).  looking out the window of the first hostel bedroom sent one staring right at its dome!!  pretty neat.

we took a train overnight from Paris after two nights of hostel life, and have been staying here in Madrid at the house of Mirta--a friend of Sylvia´s.  it has been great using this computer (a Mac!!) and being able to rest, and save money from hostel living.  i´m currently saving my photos from one phase of the trip, and hope to get a few on here for you to see later on.  she has been a wonderful host, patient and taking us all around.  we saw Don Quixote, the Spanish Senate, and took a nice long bike ride around a beautiful (and huge) park downtown.  about 8 million people live here, and i think i´ve already seen about a million of them! there are people everywhere, especially in an area called "el Sol" where they have a large Time-Square-esqe clock that they celebrate near during New Years Eve.

presently we´re heading out to set up a rental car (the cheapest method at present) to leave tomorrow for Barcelona.  i can´t imagine what a drive through Spain will introduce, but the countryside i saw already coming in on the train was breathtaking.  

on a personal note, i´ve been dreaming nightly, about driving in my Jeep, talking with people back home, etc.  last night i was expressing to someone in a dream that there was no way that i could be back home yet, and that i must be dreaming. nevertheless, i told them i´d keep talking for a bit, all the while knowing that i would soon awake.  strange.  

¡¡Love and blessings from Europe!!

steve.

*and please forgive grammar and editing, as i don´t have sufficient time to polish this right now...

flight

a little deal i did up for philosophy.

abandoned!

left to fly
up from this lowly nest
and find the sky.
to learn flying
but more-
to discover the meaning
of flight.
have we but awaken into this place
and accepted it as the point from whence to know?
are we fallen from some greater nest-
which gave us leave
yet beckons us return to it and rest?

in strife do we persist-
to spread our wings and rise
amidst the pains that clip our wings.
we yearn for better things…

The sky beyond the nest
and the dreams that flood our rest
do beseech us, “come and know.”

but lost are we to change our ways
which oft tickle us-forget and stay-
to forget the sky
to forget the dreams
and curse the thought of deeper means
by which our humble nest has come to be.
perhaps it is that deeper means
lie not within our realm of things.
perhaps the sky is the limit.
perhaps our life of flight is nothing more
than nature’s given way for us to soar.
And if so, then off with these-
of life’s ethereal complexities.
off with the ponderings of flight-
just fly!
and accept the limit given us of sky.
surrender your incorrigible claims,
and free yourself from intangibility’s chains.
silence the questions and have peace again to fly.


but-
if flight’s ways do leave you yearning still,
if the beating of your heart won’t be stayed-
and the road itself is lost into the hills
press in-you’re surely on your way!
we must step out from the nest to fly
and only then may we investigate the sky.
for it is that when our questioning begins
we can leave behind presuming for what Is.
perhaps you’ll find as I-
that indeed there’s more to life than just to fly.
that beyond the sky and beyond the trees
beyond all our identities
beyond the nest and beyond what’s seen-
goes further on than we could dream!

formed are we-woven into this great nest
and graced with the means to swim the skies.
and after swimming for a while realize
that our wings and woven world lock their eyes-
with one.
the weaver-the wing wielder, the nest builder
the dream maker-flight’s creator.

had our nest and sky possessed all there were to fly
surely we’d have silenced doubts and finished going by.
surely we’d have left the thoughts and questioning of flight
and sought again to spread our wings to free us of the plight.

for some will choose to leave the nest
and some will choose to fly
but some cannot content themselves
to continue asking why-
so while they enjoy flight
they must know its design.

and to finally unfold the great purpose for all flight,
they’ll away to seek the weaver which will appropriate new sight.
he’ll unpack the why’s, the how’s, the who’s-the all perplexing doubts
and satiate their deepest thirsts and eradicate their plight.

free again they’ll be to fly
now with new eyes to see the sky…

found!

roadtrip.

so i just went on a fun little roadtrip with my sis. it was a whirlwind exploration of some spots in the U.S. before school resumes for her and begins for me.

here's the link for the journal we kept while on the road.
http://roadtrip101.livejournal.com

this is a view from glacier national park in montana, one of the best stops on the trip!

number one.

greetings. first off, i am leaving. my sis and her buddy and my gf and I are heading to chicago to visit some friends. from there, my sis and i are heading west (rawhide music anyone..) to see the sights. seattle, portland, denver, frisco, glacier, yellowstone, stuff like that. we'll see where we end up. i begin school the 20th and she returns a junior, so we have a few weeks to get it done. peace.