Last night Doug and I took advantage of the gift of Grandparents and had our very first date night of this trip (Doug says our foray into Tillamook nightlife at the Shiloh Inn bar after a late-night Fred Meyer run counts as well–I’m not sure). We first headed to Hales Brewery in Ballard for the… Continue reading Hot date
Category: Family
Eyes to see
Advent is a time where we give a fair amount of thought to expectation: watching and waiting for something we long for to take place (Ted Gossard has a nice piece on this today). And we often consider the ways we have, or don’t have, eyes to see what God is doing in our midst… Continue reading Eyes to see
What’s next?
It has seemed like wherever we have gone on this trip, trouble has followed. We arrived here in Seattle two nights ago and felt like, perhaps, the tides were changing and we were now entering a restful, uneventful stretch where babies would sleep through the night and we would not darken the doors of any… Continue reading What’s next?
Home interrupted
We are back in Portland now. We had a sudden change of plans Sunday after church so we decided to try and see some really good friends of ours from Fuller who moved up here a year ago. Because this was on short notice we did not have access to their phone numbers but we… Continue reading Home interrupted
The Divine Hours
We have very close friends who just last week gave birth to a precious baby boy. We were devastated to learn that he is now in the hospital in critical condition awaiting surgery to repair his tiny heart. I physically ache for them as I imagine their anguish and fear. The night after I received… Continue reading The Divine Hours
The lengths we go to
We are in the final stages of potty training with our two year old. She started the process quite early, in the days leading up to her baby brother’s birth. It was an awkward time for me to take the potty training plunge with her, as her timing would inevitable coincide with Aaron’s need to… Continue reading The lengths we go to
Snort City
Down the street from Doug’s Mom’s house, there is a large mill where trees are delivered and processed. The place hums with activity every day of the week, and from the living room window here we can see the pillar of smoke that marks the industry of the place. When we visited here before Mercy’s… Continue reading Snort City
Life in the slow lane
Living in Los Angeles, I rarely feel a sense of or ability to simply slow down. Life just feels fast, and most days I find myself scrambling and rushing, in spirit if not in body. Today, negotiating life in the coastal town of Tillamook, Oregon (home of the cheese factory and not much else!), I… Continue reading Life in the slow lane
The little man
I stayed in bed this morning, sick with what I hope is the end run of whatever bug I have had for the past two weeks. Doug was single Dad for the morning, and when I got up I asked how Aaron had been (he’s been a little fussy on and off the past few… Continue reading The little man
What missional looks like
I read a great post by Don Johnson recently about service in the local church. He contrasted the “ivory tower” of ideals and innovations with the simple and seemingly unimpressive quiet faithfulness of local churches everywhere. As a minister who is certainly in a church context that presses the boundaries of normal, a church context… Continue reading What missional looks like