JULY IN PICTURES.

Jose and I at Silver Spur

Student Ministries

The Critchfield Men at Lake Alpine

Jenna's Wedding

Carpetballin' at Junior High Camp

What a joy it has been. See you soon.

ON THE GO.

Sorry for the blog silence - this last month has been crazy busy, but so good. The rundown:

- 2 weeks at Silver Spur Conference Grounds
- 2 weddings in Southern California
- over 2000 miles driven
- A day camping with the family at Lake Alpine
- A day of fireworks at Rio Del Mar beach

After having my arm hanging out of my window for countless driving hours, my left arm is blackened in comparison to my right. But now I'm back at home to settle in to do some solid work and get ready for the rest of my life. More to come - thanks to Jesus. See you soon.

FLIX - RATATOUILLE.

Last night, I saw my first movie in Vallejo - Ratatouille. As it came out on my birthday, I felt a special connection to it and I wasn't disappointed. I love Pixar movies for being unbelievably creative, winsome, and beautifully rendered, and this story wasn't an exception. I continue to be amazed by the vibrancy and freshness of the stories that they tell, and the interaction between the three main characters was very well done.

Some people I talked to couldn't get over the thought of kitchens and rats going together, but after living in a fraternity house for three years, it not such a big deal for me. (Just kidding, it was clean.) Though I'd prefer a grilled cheese sandwich at Country Way over some fancy-schmancy french thingy, this movie compelled me to move beyond my daily dinner staple of wheat pasta with red sauce to explore to joyous suprises of cooking stuff that tastes good. See you soon.

MOVING ON.

On Tuesday, June 12th at 5:30 PM, I walked out of my last final as a UC Davis undergraduate student. The shadows were just starting to get long, and the the burning heat of the Davis summer was beginning to give way into the cool of the Davis summer evenings. As I walked away from the Music building to get into my car downtown, I turned to look down Hutchinson to a campus that had been my first home away from home. It seemed like yesterday that I was walking to class holding a campus map up to my face in the blinding sun, but here and now you could drop me anywhere on that campus in the dead of night and I could tell you exactly where I was.

I remembered the long walks I took, praying to GOD and calming my mind under the dim vacuum bulbs sparsely placed to give a better view of the stars. I remember sitting on the cool grass of the quad, chowing on some frozen yogurt in a plastic cup or munching on a CoHo sandwich on a muligrain roll while talking with a good friend. I remembered walking to class on a brisk winter morning, wearing the coat I inherited from my grandfather and treasuring the cold air on my face. Even as I write this, these four years of memories of the place that I came to treasure so dearly weigh heavy on my heart. The friends and relationships I developed and the spiritual and emotional maturity that I experienced could never be fully described or understood, but I have a special place in my heart for things: I experience the joy and providence of GOD when things do what they're meant to do (I think it's the influence of Herbie the Love Bug), and UCD served me well as the backdrop of some of the most significant moments of my life, and it will always have a special place in my heart until I get back to my true home.

In spite of these strong feelings, this past few weeks have not felt at all like an end, but rather an exciting new beginning. After finals I took a trip out to Yosemite to climb Half Dome with some good friends, and then I spent a few days on a houseboat up at Lake Shasta with some awesome youth workers who are a part of Sonshine Specialized Camping Ministries. It was an awesome time to be out in GOD's creation, reflect on GOD's work in my life over the past four years, and pray over how he wants to use me in the next four. This last week was my first as the Youth Pastor at New Harbor Community Church - I can't believe that five years after coming to Christ, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else but serving GOD's church. Add to that my upcoming marriage to my awesome bride-to-be and I'm blown away with how blessed I am.

So I'm moving on - I pray that just as he has lead me this far, that by his grace Jesus would lead me on for today, tomorrow, and forevermore. See you soon.