a couple of corks

Chocolate chip pancakes and cheesy eggs. What a way to start the day! I only make chocolate chip pancakes when Kevin his here. It's a tradition.

Bill and Jane were kind enough to let us take their sea kayaks out into the Pacific Ocean this afternoon. It was 80 degrees outside, so we refused any indoor activities during the day. We shoved them both into the Explorer, and Bill helped us get launched from the harbor. I tell you what, the ocean is a much different animal than any lake or river in MN or WI. It's a little scarier. It was fine inside the harbor as there is a no wake rule. We could hear sea lions barking from far off. Both Kevin and I rounded the edge of the harbor to head out into the ocean and saw a number large boat heading for the harbor. They were HUGE! Not only were the boats huge, but their wakes were even bigger. Not to mention the waves the ocean produces on its own. When one of the boats came charging in, we both started paddling our little arms off. The waves rolled under us no problem, but as a little cork in a huge body of water, we were a little freaked. So, we paddled away from the harbor and went and floated down by the pier for a while. No boats to worry about. Sadly, no dolphins to worry about either. They were no where to be found. Lots of sea lions, but no dolphins. On our way back into the harbor, we noticed a dock completely covered with sea lions sunning themselves. Those animals are monsters. Them and the freaking seagulls. We got attacked by an angry flock of them, and one pooped a stream of white diarrhea in the water right next to my kayak. Of course, I started screaming, turned around and let Kevin paddle ahead without me. Eventually, we paddled back for the dock. Kevin had brought his camera along, and I brought Bob's in the water proof case. Kevin paddled ahead of me and hopped out onto the dock first. He jumped out and I heard him yell, "OH NO! OH NO!" I knew immediately what had happened. His camera was tucked in his shirt so it wouldn't get wet. When he hopped out, it fell into the water. So, I started paddling back as fast as I could, fully prepared to jump into the ocean to retrieve it, as we could see the bottom at this point. Luckily, he pushed his kayak aside and it was floating on the top of the water in the little plastic baggy. No damage done. Thank you, God! We were only out for about 2 hours, and I got some major sun. No matter how much sunscreen I put on my nose, I am still managing to get brown sun spots! Not that I can complain. The sun is such an amazing thing to wake up to. Just so you can see just how beautiful it is, here's a shot taken of Torrance from our drive down from Palos Verdes yesterday. I love it here!

We decided not to go to the movie shoot tonight. It would've taken up our entire evening, so instead we did a little shopping and went out for a delicious steak and shrimp supper. We keep checking things off my "to-do while in LA" list. It's nice to have Kev out so we can make these memories together. 2 days just wasn't enough though! Only 36 days until the whole crew is out for a week! I can hardly wait!

The Tonight Show with Amber Marten

He's baaaaaack! Let the craziness come out! Kevin made it! He arrived safely last night. We enjoyed a wonderful supper of Chipotle, hit up Banana Republic to get Kevin some clearance clothes, and came home and crashed.

Today was a beautiful day in southern California. It got into the upper 70's today. Not too shabby. A nice change for Mr. Minnesota. We took a trip up to Palos Verdes and went to Abalone Cove. The tide was much higher, so we had a hard time getting out to the shady (picture perfect) spot. But, we hiked along and made it ok. There were about 12 Coast Guard men training for scuba in the water near where we were, so we figured we were safe if we got swept away by the waves. No naked men to report today...just Kevin, me, and my camera. I'd been dying to wear my new teal dress, so this was the perfect excuse to put it on and take some pictures with my love. We left the cove after hiking a new secret trail back up and ran to Rascals for a quick lunch.

We had to get to Burbank by 3:00 for a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We got in line with about 200 other eager show-goers. Producers from the show were walking around pulling people out of the crowd and asking them questions. Kevin and I said we were by far the most interesting people there: why weren't they picking us?? :) We figured out later that they were doing a Superbowl special, and needed men to do some goofy games on the show.

We got escorted inside and were sat in some awesome seats not too far from the band and definitely close to Jay. He came out and welcomed everyone and then went backstage to get dressed and ready. Meanwhile, his announcer came out to get the crowd fired up and to give us instructions on our participation. Toward the end of his announcements he said, "So now, we're looking for people with talents. Can any of you sing, tell a joke, or make a strange noise?" (This part gets a little foggy as I have no idea what I was thinking)...I literally JUMPED out of my seat and threw my arms in the air. The guy pointed to me and told me to come down to the stage. As I was walking down I was thinking to myself what's my talent? what am I going to do? what should I sing? Here's the dialogue that followed:

Announcer: What's your name and where are you from?

Me: Amber, I'm from Minnesota (a few people in the audience cheer)

Announcer: So, you must be Norwegian then.

Me: You know, I'm not really sure what I am. But probably.

Announcer: Ok...so what do you do in Minnesota?

Me: Well, I'm actually living here in Torrance for 10 months doing an internship. I'm in school to be a pastor.

Announcer: Oh, interesting. I used to be a Christian once. ZZZZ (making snoring noises)

Me: not impressed, but fake laughing anyway

Announcer: So what are you going to do?

Me: I'll be a pastor.

Announcer: But what are you going to do?

Me: Preach.

Announcer: No, what are you going to do for your talent?

Me: Preach. (joking, obviously)

Announcer: We're looking for people to fire the crowd up, not put them to sleep.

Me: Ok, I'm going to sing. The announcer gives me the go ahead...I have no idea what I'm going to sing, so I say: What would you like to hear?

Announcer: I was hoping you'd have that figured out by now.

I started singing "I only want to be with you" by Dusty Springfield. This is the song I sang when I tried out for American Idol two years ago, and honestly it was the only song that I could think of under such pressure. About two bars into it, I got the audience to clap along with me. I could see Kevin smiling and clapping from his seat. I made it about half way through the song...forgot the words, and sang my way out of it. Everyone cheered, I was given a Late Show hat, and I went back to my seat. What was I thinking? It was awesome and also really scary at the same time. There was no monitor facing me on the stage, so I had no idea what it sounded like. That made it even more freaky. Two people told me I did a good job, and of course Kevin was thrilled that I got up there and did it. Once that was over, the rest of the show was great fun. Jenna Fischer from 'The Office' and Justin Long of 'He's just not that into you.' were the guests. The musical guest was Franz Ferdinand. It took longer to get us all in the studio than the taping itself did. Great fun. I hope to go do that again when I care more about the guests on the show. I see Jennifer Aniston is going to be there this week! I better pace myself.

We got out of the show around 5:30 and didn't want to drive home in the traffic so we hopped a trolley and went up to Universal City near Universal Studios. It was a cool outdoor promenade with a theater, restaurants, and shopping. We just walked around and killed time. The carpool lane proved to be our friend once again on our way home. Tomato soup and grilled cheese late supper and another early crash. What a day!

fair weather surfer

Well, it's been 8 hours since I got out of the ocean, and my bones are still chattering. I decided today that I am going to be a fair weather surfer. Literally. The off shore winds made sitting on my board torture. My wet head + wind = 1,000 needles stabbing me. OUCH! And to make matters worse, I didn't really catch a wave. My arms were like jello from my arm workout at Bally's, so popping up on the board was a challenge. When I got out of the water, that's when the real torture began. There wasn't the warmth of the water for comfort. It was just me, my board, and strong wind gusts. Cold hands in CA are the same as cold hands in MN. Like when you come in from shoveling snow and can hardly take your boots off because your fingers don't function. It happened this morning. I was trapped in a freezing cold wetsuit, and laughed as Bob had the same problem. "Work fingers!"

Time spent in the office was incredibly fruitful today. I was able to get through meetings and make all the contacts I needed to for the day. I got a few awesome e-mails today: one that said Kevin and I got tickets to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for Thursday. The second said that we get to be extras in a new movie "Warrior" on Friday night. Talk about taking in the LA life in a 2 day span. It was fun to call him with the exciting news!

I decided today that friends should have similar cars that can be parked next to each other for fun. Alicia and I drive the same year VW, so today they got to snuggle while she and I had an afternoon date. Tuesday is now officially my "froyo" day (as Alicia would say). She and I hit up Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt for my first (her 1 millionth) time. They have way more flavors than Pinkberry, and it's not quite as expensive either. SOO good. You even get gold plastic spoons to eat with. Alicia was kind enough to give me her free yogurt coupon so I got to try a cake batter and chocolate bowl of goodness. I might have to invite myself in on her Tuesday tradition. Growth group tonight, plus worship planning makes for one tired intern. Less than 24 hours until I get to see my love. Not that I'm counting! :)

baby, I was born to rock!

There's something so worshipful and just plain awesome about playing guitar for worship. Yeah, the acoustic was fun for 8:00, but when I pulled out a black electric for the other 3 services, you better believe I was pumped!! What a blast. I told Mark and Lea (our worship directors) that the only way I'd sing a rock song was if I could play electric guitar with it. They agreed. I didn't bother to tell them that I'd only played an electric 3 times in Kevin's basement. Surprise! It was pretty funny to see reactions from the people. There were looks of shock. Both good and bad. Some people were playing air guitar along with me, nodding their heads, rockin' out themselves, others were listening and probably thinking, "I like it when she sings sweet songs better." This was no sweet song. It was loud. It was a song of conviction which cried out, This is who I am! So take me and make me better than before! And I decided I couldn't possibly sing a rock song in dress pants and a nice shirt, so I put on my favorite pair of jeans (complete with many holes), and the most rock-like t-shirt I could find in my drawer. One of the little old ladies who came to the 9:30 service came up to me and said, "I usually enjoy your singing, but today it was just so loud." I replied, "Yeah, but sometimes it's just so fun to sing loud." Made me laugh. FYI, I'm not trying to be all full of myself by posting these photos. Kev was sad he didn't get to see me play, so I promised I'd put a few up so he could pretend he was there. :)

The young adults met this afternoon for our second huddle. We read Psalm 139 and used that as our basis for using the circle. It's been so rewarding to meet with them, spend time working through our kairos moments, seeking God's guidance for our lives, and encouraging each other. I'm definitely taking this concept of "huddling" with me for future ministry. It's so powerful and really does raise up leaders.

Today turned out to be a day filled with words of affirmation from a number of Good Shepherd people. We had the annual congregational meeting today. Jerry Heffernan, the council president, said he was sad to report there wouldn't be an intern next year, but that he's been so pleased with the internship program and every time he turns around, he sees me playing a new instrument. He made mention that I'd be leaving in June, and a number of folks gave me sad eyes. A few others said, "no!" :) Maybe I'm making a little mark here. I sure hope so. Tonight after worship another council member came up and gave me a full fledged bear hug, held on tight and said, "You're the best decision the council voted on this last year. We love you!" I just about started crying. It really touched me to hear those words from someone in the congregation. Bob has said "we love you" many times to me, but to hear it from someone else hit me in an all new way.

Speaking of love: my love is coming to visit on Wednesday! Boy am I ready for some time with him. It's supposed to get up to 70 by the time he gets here, so he'll have a nice break away from the Minnesota cold.

highs and lows

Low: I'm trying really really really hard not to be disappointed right now. I can't help it. I spent all afternoon contacting people on Craigslist for our bowling event tonight. I exchanged multiple e-mails with a few folks, even set up a place where we could meet at the bowling alley. After about 30 minutes of waiting and watching, I got stood up by all of them. What's up with that? I feel like my energy, time, and care were wasted. Luckily, there were 3 other Good Shepherd people there. But the point is to reach out to new people, and nobody brought a friend. I am trying to make these events for other people--especially when they're off campus--an even easier opportunity to invite. It seems a waste when there are no new people there. Ministry can be so discouraging sometimes. Despite that, the four of us had a great time. I bowled the best came of my life: 198. 5 spares and 5 strikes in a row (6 total). We gave each other nicknames for game. I quickly became "craig" since I got stood up by Craigslist people.

High: Goodwill had a sale today: all clothing $2. So, I bought two skirts, a t-shirt and this great $4 Timbuk2 backpack that I can use to carry my laptop when I'm skateboarding or biking. The store was jam packed full of people, so it wasn't quite as peaceful as browsing usually is, but it made for great people watching. Oh, and I got to talk to Presley on the phone today. I think I got her to a point where she's excited to come and see the ocean. She asked if there were sharks. Then she said just she and Madison were coming alone without mommy and daddy. Those would be interesting travel arrangements if it were up to her...what a kid! 6 weeks from now they'll be here for a week of fun! I can't wait!

welling with tears

Rain was falling from the sky and from the eyes of many today as we gathered for a memorial service at Good Shepherd. The woman who died a few weeks ago was remembered today by her family and friends. This was the first memorial that I assisted in and sang for. Nearer my God, to Thee got sung for the second funeral since my arrival. The classical style reminds me of voice lessons at MSU. It's fun to sing phrases with dynamics and a ton of vibrato! I'm an opera singer wanna be sometimes. We watched a slide show of photos from her life while listening to Vivaldi. I chuckled inside to think how hard it'll be to do this at my funeral. I only have 30,000+ photos on my hard drive to choose from! Her son read her eulogy, read cards, and told stories. Occasionally, he got choked up. So did I. After all my hours of CPE, I was worried I had become immune to sadness and grief, so it was really a pleasant surprise to feel the sorrow he felt at that moment. Plus, seeing a 70+ year old man tear up when talking about his mother just yanks at my heart strings. Bob shared a few memories, and Dave gave the homily. He too got choked up while speaking, as he just lost his father 2 weeks ago, and is still grieving his personal loss. I can't imagine so many funerals in one week. Not to mention one of them being a parent. My eyes began welling up with tears with him, I tried going to a different place in my mind, just so I'd have my composure when he was done. He ended strong and up I went. What a different crowd to be leading. Much different than Sunday morning. I led the creed, commendation, a prayer, benediction and sending. I pre-scripted my prayer before the service because I had this sense that people would be listening super carefully to each word I said and I didn't want to babble. When one of the family members came up to me after and said, "Gosh, I know I should've been listening to what you were saying, but couldn't get over how cute your shoes are!" I knew my sense was way off! :) I should've done the extemporaneous thing after all! The family made a wise decision in choosing Rascals for the lunch meal. Chicken teriyaki bowl for me! With extra sauce of course!

When I got home, the mist was still falling, so I grabbed an umbrella, my camera, and headed outside to see what kind of images I might find. The long spike-like plants here have beautiful leaves. The water beaded up inside in a perfect line. Flowers were welled up with tears of water as well. Individual drops waited to fall from the petals. Perfect funeral weather.

I've been getting e-mails from relatives concerning my Great-Aunt Francis as she's been sick lately and undergoing chemo. So, I wrote her a card, and left it sitting on my desk for 3 days before I finally bought a stamp for it. I sent it out 2 days ago, and got a call today from my dad saying that she had died. Let this be a lesson to me. Say what needs to be said sooner than later. I'm sad I didn't send it when I originally wrote it. She definitely didn't get the card in time.

After an afternoon long web-cam conversation with Kev, I got picked up for a hot date with Sue Labate. It turned out to be another night of overwhelming kindness. Sue invited me to a second round of card making with her and her teaching friends. Gosh, those ladies are the nicest people ever. The woman who leads the creative fun put our names in a bag for a number of drawings. We each won a personal stamp for the backs of our cards, and then my name was drawn for a five piece birthday stamp set! So cool! After Sue dropped me off, she called me to say that the hostess had secretly given her an alphabet stamp set to give to me as well. Such generosity! I'm looking forward to getting back to MN to my stamping supplies so I can use these new toys. There's another young woman in the group who is my age, and truly has one of the kindest spirits I've ever witnessed a person to have. My mission for this week: to get her number, call her up, and invite her to do something. She's awesome! So, I've got 5 new Valentine/love cards to give away, and more gratitude for the invitations to spend time with others. Thanks to Sue for her incredible welcome and for demonstrating true generosity.

i love you

Sometimes I get to the end of a day and ask myself, "was there anything worth blogging about?" Even when I try really hard not to write (as I've become a little obsessed with writing) I can't help but jot down a few notes from the day.

I was browsing through my external hard drive tonight and decided to look back and see exactly what I was doing a year ago today. It made me laugh to see that Kevin and I were in Las Vegas this time last year. I had just gotten back from Guatemala, we hopped on a plane 1 day later and headed to Sin City. We spent a week there seeing old friends, enjoying my first 7 eleven Slurpee, hitting up the strip, and dancing! Ok, this isn't what I felt compelled to write about. On to the good stuff.

Growing up, my family didn't have a video camera, so there are absolutely NO videos of me from childhood. What my voice sounded like, what my mannerisms were, what kind of attitude on life I had--mysteries to me. This morning, I was putzing around on facebook and saw that a grade school classmate of mine had uploaded a video entitled: "3rd Grade Christmas Program Central Elementary." He and I were in the same class somewhere in grade school. Was it third grade? Let's see. So, I watched the video and just about fell out of my chair when I saw little me in 3rd grade. I had a speaking part in the program, did all the choreography (why am I not surprised about this one?), and seemed surprisingly shy. The turtleneck and red skirt, I can remember arguing with my mom about the outfit. I thought it looked too grown for me. What I should've been arguing with her about was my nasty bowl cut hair-do! GROSS! Either way, an instant message went out to my class mate thanking him for putting it up. I'm grateful that Channel 3 in Worthington, MN taped these moments in time, and even more grateful he converted it to a digital file and shared it. I feel like rushing out and getting a video camera right now just so I can document what's happening in life since it seems to slip by in seconds.

We had run-through tonight for worship. It rocked. That's all I can say. You're gonna wanna be there on Sunday!

Tonight I painted my fingernails to match my Crazy Love book. I seem to grab for it at the most random moments, and the words sink deep within me. It's almost as good as the Bible for that kind of thing. The chapter I read got me thinking about love. What is it? What does it mean to say "I love you" to someone else? I say it all the time. When someone is leaving, when I'm getting off the phone, when I'm signing a card. I'm even known to get a little perturbed when someone doesn't say it to me. But what does it matter if they say it or not? Does it change the love I have for them? Nope. Not the slightest.

A few weeks ago I heard a sermon about love. I loved the way the preacher said, "Love is to live in the best interest of someone else." Maybe you should read that twice. Here, I'll write it again, just to help you resist the urge to not listen to me: "Love is to live in the best interest of someone else." So, if I say it and write it all the time, am I really loving them if I don't have their best interest at heart? Maybe I ought to stop saying it so much if it's become a habit rather than a commitment to truly love them.

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4: 20-21

This verse is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Sometimes people drive me crazy. I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate someone, but truly, some people are just darn hard to love. But I need to love them. I mean, it was commanded to us after all, "love your neightbor as yourself." Not loving them is not loving God. Imagine if we all loved and thought as highly of one another as we do ourselves? That'd be some serious lovin' going on! Kevin and I make hearts out of our two hands. I'm trying to learn to love people with the image in mind that they constantly have their half of the heart extended to me. To complete the heart with my hand, I need to live in the best interest of them, to love them the way I love God, so that we can both be empowered by the force of God's love that blows through the center.

pile of human pretzels

My second morning in a row at Bally's. This time we went earlier. 7:00 to be exact. The crowd was a little different. No inauguration to draw us to the TV's. Instead, a broadcast church service with an African American preacher talking about the fruit of the spirit. Only, no one was watching it. Eyes were deep in magazines, gawking at other folks, even eyes closed. No one wanted to watch church. Gee, imagine that.

Yes, I wore my Chaco's to work. Funny, they've become the first thing I put on in the morning. I'm still walking around in a towel with a wet head, but by golly, I've got my Chaco's on! I used the morning and afternoon to get a lot of work done. Sermons, e-mails, meetings & event planning.

I was able to scoot out of the office early so that Kelly, Amy and I could drive up to Azusa to pick up Bobby and the boys for our second attempt at snowboarding. The 405, the 105, the 610, the 210, every possible freeway in CA, we took it on our way out. 3:00 is not a good time to leave town. Luckily, the carpool lane was fast and furious, so we hopped in and cruised on out. Bobby and his 4 roommates (5 boys) live in a 2 bedroom apartment at Azusa Pacific University. Talk about a bachelor pad. The smell of pipe smoke, video games, computers, and smelly boys created a sensory overload. They even had a throne of VampEnergy Drinks in the kitchen, so us girls took a moment to sit on it so they could all hail the queens! :)

We hit the road for Mountain High, and took the same road that I took when I drove into LA. I haven't been that far out there since I got here. Seeing signs for Vegas, snow capped mountains, desert like areas, and McDonald's for supper. Mmmm...McDouble and a McFlurry, do you think they're overdoing the "Mc" thing a little?

We arrived at Mountain High around 6:00. With one glance at the hills, my stomach dropped. They looked steep, and I've never snowboarded before. But luckily, I would be right at home...skiers were definitely the minority. 95% of the people out were snowboarders. The parking lot was full of colorful jackets, boards, hats, and people. What fun. After getting our lift tickets, Bobby took us over to the bunny hill for a quick lesson. I just about died getting on the magic carpet...it's hard having your feet strapped in. At least with a skateboard you can hop off. Not so with a snowboard. Amy and I eventually got the hang of it. But not until after bruising our knees, tailbones, and just about breaking our wrists. Even on slushy snow, the falls were hard. Kelly skied, and was way more stable than the two of us, so she shot some "Kelly-Kam" videos on Amy's camera. Talk about a couple of rookies! The best moment of the evening: Amy and I were riding on a chair lift together to the highest (and last) run of the night. Kelly was in the chair behind us. As we're nearing the top, we notice how steep the hill down from the chair lift is. We were both saying, "Oh crap!" I'm laughing as I write this...we put our boards down on the snow, start going down the hill, I start falling, grabbed Amy, and took her down with me. Amy was on her stomach and I was on top of her right at the base of the chair lift drop off. Well, here comes Kelly right behind us. She sees us down, tries to stop and can't, so she lays down to try and stop herself and runs right into the two of us. A 3 person pile up. Kelly managed to get her ski back behind her head all twisted, so basically, we're a pile of pretzels at this point. Then, the chair lift operator has the nerve to walk out of her little cave and says to us "you need to hurry up and get out of the way! there are other people coming up the chair lift!" WELL, STOP THE CHAIRLIFT LADY! Nope. She let it run, came out to pick up some stuff on the snow, and didn't even lend us a hand. So, Kelly had to untangle herself while we put our bones back in socket. Gosh, I can't stop laughing.

We spent so much time on our butts, hands and knees, my gloves were completely soaked through. I was able to ring them out and watch about a 1/2 cup of water drain from them in between runs. The water had soaked all the way through my 3 layers of pants. But, by the end of the night, we had gotten quite good. Cutting back and forth across the hill. I was still suffering the occasional wipe out, but was doing it gracefully. Amy had learned to go 80 mph down the hill. Not quite ready to stop yet, so there was a fun wipe out to watch at the end of each run. What a great night! The snow, new friends, and wet butts were refreshing! I'm ready to go again!

There's a good chance I am running low on lactic acid. After surfing, playing volleyball, working out, and snowboarding all within a week, there are no more muscles left to surprise. I'm one ball of tired. I just finished writing a worship theme document that I forgot to do. It's 3:00 a.m. and I need to go to bed. What a day!

many many milestones!

Watching President Obama's Inauguration via captions at Bally's this morning just didn't do it for me. I could hardly workout. I was glued to the TV, trying to take in each word he said. But I wasn't alone. The treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes were packed full of people who didn't lower their eyes for a second from the big screen. When I got home, Jane was manning the TV as well, and luckily recorded it so I can actually hear what he said. What a huge milestone for our country. The hope, anticipation, energy, and achievement makes me so proud.

I took a look at the calendar today and realized something, not only was this a milestone for Obama and the US, but for me as well. Today marks my official half way point in this internship. 5 months from now, I'll be loading up Vera and heading back to MN. Where has the time gone?

And if that's not cool enough, Kelly and I hit up Pinkberry (her first time--imagine that, I introduced her to something new in CA!), then we hopped in the car, drove all the way to Whittier, CA so I could make a purchase that I'd been anticipating for 2 years...ever since I met Hannah. I am the proud new owner of a pair of Chaco sandals. I found them on Craigslist, had to drive 30 miles to get them, but only paid $30 for a brand new pair! The woman selling them was very kind and boy was I glad to take them off her hands! I'm ready to do some serious hiking when Hannah gets here! Kelly and I are making another early morning run to the gym, so I gotta get to bed. I wonder if I can wear my Chaco's on the treadmill??

4 hours!

No, it's not what you think! Not in meetings, sermon writing, or preparing for a class. 4 hours playing sand volleyball on the beach! This morning I rode my bike down Torrance Blvd. (on the sidewalks, because I don't have a helmet) and hopped on the bike path that can take you all the way up the coast. I didn't ride up the coast, just down to Redondo Beach where I spent the next 4 hours playing the sport I love most! The Coco's are a family from church who love to play, and I've been begging them to call me when they go. So, today was the day! It was so hot and humid. We won some, lost some, and made some great new CA friends. The were a fun group to play with. All the other players are super tan from playing, and I'm still looking like an albino (without a six pack). So, I held off shedding my shirt until I couldn't take it anymore. I never expected using sunscreen in the middle of January, but I did today after there were noticeable tan lines from my shorts and bra. I can't keep my hair dark either. The sun we've had these last two weeks is lightening it so much. I use dark brown Aveda conditioner that deposits color in it so it doesn't turn blonde, but the sun is too powerful. Good problem to have, I guess. Oh, and the dolphins and surfers were out in full force all day long. I couldn't believe how the waves held up for hours.

Like mother, like daughter, I got a headache from all the sun exposure (I drank tons of water, so don't even go there), so came home to take a quick nap that quickly turned in to a 3 hour deep sleep. I guess I needed that. My head is still hurting despite the web-cam head massage and hug Kevin gave me. It was a good try. Thanks, love. Time for a technology break. Adios!

butterflies on a string

With each minute, my eyelids are growing heavier and heavier. Rather than reaching for the lamp cord, I reach for my book and read a chapter that will likely having me dream wildly tonight. "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan (though only two chapters in) has got my mind crankin' on these issues of life. Here's a passage I found interesting tonight:

"In about fifty years (give or take a couple of decades), no one will remember you. Everyone you know will be dead. Certainly no one will care what job you had, what car you drove, what school you attended, or what clothes you wore. This can be terrifying or reassuring, or maybe both."

I could die at any moment. I could've died trying to take this picture of a flat tire while oncoming traffic (in a foreign country) were flying by. All it would've taken was one jerk of the wheel by the driver of the truck to ram into our van and crush me under the wheels. But it didn't. I'm still alive. But for how much longer?

Chan goes on to talk about life as a movie. We think we're the ones in the spotlight--the stars of the movie. But we're not. Think about it. All that's happened before us, and all that may happen after we're dead is evidence that we're one unseen extra in the cast of the movie. Our part in the show is one fraction of a second, yet we're so thrilled to be in it, we invite everyone we know to the opening night to point our our huge part in the movie. Only, it's not huge at all. It's so small, people walk out of the theater in disgust of our arrogance. Our part in the movie of life is microscopic. God is the main character. God is the only one who has been around long enough to keep the show on the air. So, why are we walking around like it's all about us? But, God, what should we do with this ridiculously small part we've been given in the movie? "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" -1 Cor. 10:31.

Our existence in this world is as fragile as a vapor. John Piper also speaks of this in his book "Life as a Vapor." I was given this book by my long time friend Beth Schulze a number of years ago. "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes" -James 4:14. A year ago at this time I was in Guatemala on a cross cultural trip with some friends from seminary. This vapor talk reminded me of some butterflies we saw hanging from a string. With one flick of the string, they would fly away. Vanish. The next day they'd be back hanging in the same place on the string. We vanish alright. Only, we don't get a chance to fly back the next day. Our time is so short. With one flick of the string, we'll be gone. How does that change the way you'll live tomorrow?

national day of service

13 people in the service mood hit the Avenues this afternoon for some beach clean-up. It's all part of Obama's National Day of Service. Four families (two of them who were not affiliated with GS) and I grabbed large trash bags and got to work picking up the beach. I love meeting new people. Two of the kids were 10th graders who were really excited about volunteering, and wanted all the information they could get on future events. Even the kids pitched in by grabbing what little pieces of trash they could spot. We were all rewarded for our efforts when a dolphin swam in within 30 feet of the beach to meet us. Everyone crowded around to see it. The 75 degree day, light breeze off the ocean, and people galore made it a spectacular event. And really, it felt so good to be a part of something bigger than Torrance, CA. Knowing that other people around the country were partaking in some type of service project made it even more meaningful. I was extra impressed by the parents who didn't just send their kids to work, but got their hands dirty too. What a great example they are setting for their children! It was so easy to do too: Kevin told me about the NDS on Tuesday morning, I had an event set up by Tuesday afternoon, and people started signing up within hours of the posting. It's amazing to see how fast people got on the site and registered. I'm especially grateful for the GS people who came with and got to know the new families. Thanks to all who helped out in making our beach an even greater place to be!

I took some time this afternoon to do some deep cleaning at home. I vacuumed, swept, put away clothes, and even made my bed. It's nice walking into a room that's organized. I didn't drink enough water at the beach this afternoon, and managed to get a migraine, so I took a 45 minute siesta before heading to White Elephant Bingo at church. I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived, but was thrilled to see 50 people gathered in the Community Life Center for an evening of fun. A table full of wrapped white elephant gifts had us all eager to play. Round after round, people were winning, winning again, and again...but not me. People were opening every random gift you can think of: candles, ceramic figurines, plates, food, household junk, maybe it was ok to let the others win. With less than 10 gifts left everyone at our table had prizes, except me. :( So, when Dena won for a second time, she sent me up to the table to get my own prize. I grabbed a purple bag, expecting to find a stuffed chinchilla inside. Instead, I wound up with the coolest gift of the night: PHOTO COASTERS! You can insert your own photos! Perfect for me! I let out a loud cheer as I opened them...they must have thought it was a $100 bill or something. Better than that. One woman's junk is Amber's treasure! I was reminded of the generous nature of the people here in a variety of ways: Dena's gracious offer to let me pick a prize, seeing other people give up their prizes to those who hadn't won anything, and the ladies of the congregation who made yummy brownie sundaes for everyone there! What a wonderful event and a great way to end the week!