our new home

here's our place. yipeee! it isn't finished yet. they should be done with it by june 15 and we close by june 27. wahooo!!!!

oneplace

And this weekend I went to my church in phoenix, oneplace. The first time I have been back for a service since I left last june. I can’t tell you the power of place. It is so strong for me. Maybe it is that I’m a highly visual person and that I think the environment is more than just cool colors and lights…there is meaning and significance in that. But it also was very powerful because as a church we helped create this space. Last January we tore down walls, ripped out the floor, exposed a brick wall and let our imaginations go to work, to create not just a church, but a venue, not just a building, but a space for artists to show their work for first Fridays...It was the beginning of something very good for oneplace. We were no longer meeting in a high school auditorium, but in a place of our own that expressed the community. All that to say, it was more emotional for me to be back in that space than I imagined, so see the quotes in the bathroom, the chairs that were recovered. And it was a reminder of God’s grace and what great things he has done.

mexico

Our mexico trips have a way of breathing life into me. It is different than other vacations where you have places to explore and things to do. The whole agenda in mexico is to relax.

I sat on the balcony with my feet propped up most of the 4 days we were there. Listening to waves roll in, feeling the breeze, soaking up the sun or looking at the stars, having good conversations or reading a good book, writing in my journal. I can’t think of anything I would rather do. It was so good to connect with old friends and have good conversations. So good to play “mafia” and spades and spoons (and see Israel diving across the table to grab a spoon.) So good to smoke a cigar and drink a hefeweizon. To hear about what books and music people have found lately…and to talk about life. I did swim a little, lay out on the beach a little, go to a fabulous chicken stand (which I seem to enjoy more and more each year…they bring the whole chicken, to your table and you tear it off to make your tacos. It is a place I would never try in the states, outside, under a tent…but it is very, very good.)

But besides the time I spent hanging out with everyone, I also had some time to myself…to walk along the beach, to feel the water coming over my feet and talk to God, actually, I think he did most of the talking through his nature. My “conversations” with God have become less and less verbal. They are still very real conversations where I gain so much from it, but I am not trying to come up with words to express, it is more in thoughts, more visual, more emotional. Looking at the tide coming in, seeing and hearing the rhythm of the waves and hoping, praying that I will have the same rhythm to my life some day soon in Portland…to not just focus on me and getting to know the area and be familiar, but finally be at a place where I am looking past myself to the people around me…being part of a church community…where we give and serve and don’t just expect to get. To be able to part of the city and be part of something bigger than ourselves.

And walking in the sand, I could see God’s artistry at work. You look at the sand as a whole and it is the light brownish khaki that you think of when you think of sand…but you look close and you see millions of brilliant colors…rusty reds, mossy greens, deep oranges, purples, browns. The colors are magnificent and beautiful. Each part of nature seemed to amaze me. And if God put so much detail in this sand, then he must care for the details of my life. (You can hear that and you can read that, but when you experience it, it is different.) Last year at mexico, I was still living in phoenix and I was anxiously awaiting our move to Minneapolis. And almost overwhelming to think that this time around, I’m anxiously awaiting being settled in Portland. And I’m just ready to be settled. And as these thoughts ran through my head, I realized that I am having a hard time trusting God with our life. I look back on our time in phoenix and our short time in Minneapolis. And I see how God’s hand was clearly there. that we were where we were suppose to be. How he provided for us and provided a “family” around us. How much I have learned and how much I have been stretched. But I look forward in the future and I wonder how God is going to do it this time. Will we really feel at home here? Will we find a community that can be our family, that will challenge us and love us? And as I sang “Jesus Jesus how I trust thee, how I prove you o’er and o’er.” On the beach, Tears went down my face and I saw that my heart is full of doubt and I am not living in hope…when God is screaming YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO HAVE HOPE…we have gotten through travis going back to school and me being layed off, while I was the only one working, we’ve gotten through a furlough and two big moves across the country in less than a year…and even in that we were able to make it through and not just make it, but really live and experience things. We are moving into a new chapter where a house and a family are hopefully in our future, where we might settle in for a very long while...we have every reason to look with hope. Maybe I’m just weary, maybe I don’t know how to “settle” maybe I like newness more than I care to admit. But whatever the case, I know that God has gone before us and he can prepare us for whatever lies ahead. That is what God said to me while walking by the beach, maybe not in words, but I felt it.

So, I feel renewed and inpired and ready to conquer life…or at least I have a fresh perspective.

we will be painting walls soon!

Last week we put an offer in on a townhouse in Beaverton, OR just west of portland (and while I was in mexico, the offer was accepted) so, if all goes well, we will be closing on it by the end of June. It is a new build with wonderful features and even a bonus room for my office. It is oh so small, but I think we’ll manage just fine. It is 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 2 half bath, with a bonus room, three story townhouse with a garage and balcony. Walking distance to the max light rail which we can take to downtown Portland all the way to the airport. Let me just say we are excited. I have already started decorating everything in my head. I found inspiration for the colors in the grains of the sand in mexico…you can find inspiration anywhere, if you just look! I’m so excited to finally be in own place. I can’t wait to create this space . yippee!! We are one step closer to being settled in portland!!

a beautiful sunday afternoon

Yesterday travis and i went to the evergreen community. i think every time i go i like it more. and i'm excited to get to know the people that are part of this church. i think we'll have to go to some other stuff and get to know the community. and this sunday they did something "a little different". i always like it when that phrase is said at the beginning of a service. it means i'm going to like it. it usually means more interactive stuff and more participating. wahooo!!! we focused on different types of prayers...and it was just what i needed. and the times of quiet were like music to my soul. i have been so anxious lately thinking through all of this house stuff and it was so good to sit in silence and quiet my mind and rest.

and in the afternoon we took our weekly spades game with our friends to mt tabor for a picnic. it was so much fun. and it was beautiful. i still can't believe we have this amazing nature right at our fingertips!! no wind, perfect temperature. everyone was out with their dogs enjoying the afternoon.

and we still debating about the renting/buying issue. today we are leaning towards buying something, if we find what we are looking for.

the most livable city

last night we went to the most incredible neighborhood in SE portland. I think my favorite so far....ladd's edition. just sw of the hawthorne district. it was absolutely gorgeous. travis and i loved it. we met our newby friends that also moved from minneapolis. we went to palio, a desert and coffee bar in the neighborhood. i love that in the middle of this gorgeous place, there are a few stores on the corner (well, actually it was on a round about) i left thinking i found another great spot in portland, but i also left feeling a little sad that we will never be able to afford to live in a cool place like this. these homes had to have been ridiculously expensive. sure, portland is voted one of the most livable cities...but i don't see how it is livable if you can't afford to live there!!!! all we seem to be able to afford is a condo in the suburbs. what is the point of a condo if it is in the suburbs? if i'm going to be in a condo, it should be because we are in the heart of a cool area, not that we are far far away in no man's land. i don't mean to be a pessimist...i'm just being a realist. but ya know what? i think i'm actually going to be okay if we rent for a while. (and if you would have told me that last year, i don't think i would have taken it very well.) so, this is a miracle coming from me. sure maybe buying is better than renting and we're "throwing our money away". but i think it might be the best thing right now. and we might actually get to live in an area we like. we'll see. we could use your prayers!

a city that flows

it has been beautiful outside. and 3 years without spring in phoenix makes this spring more glorious than ever. i forgot how much i love spring!! (and I can't believe how GREEN everything is! i just thought it was green when i moved here in feb!) last weekend a group of us went to the kennedy school and ate at the courtyard restaurant outside. it was great! we plan to go back and play cards there soon! one of the guys we ate with use to live in portland and now he lives in seattle. he said, "seattle doesn't flow...portland flows." i've never been to seattle so i can't say whether seattle "flows" or not...but i do agree this is a great way to describe this city.

portland just flows.

good article

i read the da vinci code when it came out and i'll go see the movie. but i'm a little sick of hearing so much about this controversial FICTION novel...saying that : ) here's an article that i really liked on the subject from sojourners.

brian mclaren on the da vinci code

mexico

2 weeks from today i will be laying on the beach in mexico with a group of friends from phoenix. every year there's a group of us that rent a house right on the beach. it is glorious! i can't wait!...

househunting, i mean townhouse hunting

well, for the last 3 days travis and i have been driving around the greater western portland area. (not the best thing to do with gas prices, but it was worth the gas!) i feel like we have been down every street and now we have a feel for the different areas and how much bang for the buck. houses are out. first we were hoping for a 3 bedroom with a yard. now we are just hoping for a 2 bedroom with a garage...could we do a 1 bedroom? i don't think so. could we do without a garage? could we really do a condo? whew. travis and i are totally on the same page when it comes to what areas we like and what we could live with, so that makes life a little easier. we are meeting with a realtor this friday for her to show us some properities. i'm excited and anxious...and friday couldn't come soon enough! who knows, we could end up renting for a few more years. only time will tell!