The Shape of Things

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Last night at small group we had the leader of all the small groups show up to just oversee our group and to give us tips to make us all stronger in our faith. What I took away from the meeting was that verse. He talked about how his mom made him say it out loud before leaving the house everyday. He really didn’t understand it at the time, but looking back he realizes that he helped him make the right decisions during the high temptation situations.

Recently I came across Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

I have decided that it will become my verse for 2005. I will memorize it and live my life according to it. I have a hard time letting go, I am bit of a control freak so it will be hard to “seek his will” but I am going to do my best to surrender to God’s will.

TV…

Television…

Do we need it? My TV is about 14 months old and already it’s at the repair center. I am weighing the pros and cons of just doing away with the whole thing. The only part of it I will really miss is watching DVDs.

hmm…

More to come on the TV situation…

Another picture from the beach

Sunset from the beach at the hotel we stayed at in Pismo Beach

My sister and brother-in-law came out from Minnesota for a visit this week. All I can say is WOW!! We had a blast. I drove 1300 + miles in 6 days showing them the big state of California.

26.Feb.2005

I drove down to LAX to pick them up and then we drove over to our hotel in Santa Monica. We toured the local attactions (Third Street Promenade, and the Pier) on Saturday night. The highlight of the night for me was going to a British pub and getting a huge bear hug from some crazy Wales rugby fan.

27.Feb.2005

Sunday we took off early to beat the traffic to the California Speedway in Fontana. My sister and her husband were nice enough to buy tickets for all of us for the Auto Club 500. I had never watched a nascar race (live or on TV) so this was going to be a interesting experience. I have to say that Nascar really knows what it is doing. Almost every fan I saw was covered in Nascar clothes (hats, shirts, jackets, headphones, shoes, etc…) and I believe the attendence at the race was around 90,000. I won’t say that I am a die hard fan, but I certainly have some interest in the sport now.

28.Feb.2005

Monday morning we left for Pismo Beach which is on the central coast halfway between L.A. and San Francisco. I think the day and a half that we spent there was my sisters favorite location. You could tell that she was amazed by the spectacular beaches and laid back vibe that Pismo gave us. I will post a picture of the sunset that we witnessed soon.

Monday night we had dinner with my girlfriend and then just hung out in the hotel lounge exchanging some really great conversation. My girlfriend was extremly busy at school, so I just want to tell her thanks for taking the time to come out with us for a few hours.

01.Mar.2005

Tuesday we drove back to the central valley so that I could show my sister where I lived and worked. I gave her a mini tour of my place of employment and introduced them to a few co-workers.

Tuesday night we went out to eat with a couple of my co-workers at Torii’s. My brother-in-law was really digging on this place. It has a really fun atmosphere and it was great to see both my sister and her husband eating Japanese with chop sticks!!

02.Mar.2005

Off to San Francisco!! Let’s see, we went to the following neighborhoods:

The Haight:
Saw some very interesting/shady characters around. How do people live on the streets?? I wonder what the path they took in their early years to end up living on the streets.

Golden Gate Park:
We really just covered the tip of the iceberg at the park, I just wanted to show them how secluded the park is. I love how quiet it is while being so close to the big city.

Fisherman’s Wharf:
This is where we spent the majority of our time. We hit a bunch of the little shops, studied the sea lions on Pier 39 and also took a bay cruise that went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz.

China Town:
Took a stroll through the madness that is China town. I love that you can just dive into a totally different culture just by hoping off the cable car and walking a few blocks. All the signs are in Chinese and you just lose yourself in all the little markets where people are battling for the best fish/meat/produce.

Union Square:
Shopping mecca, loads of people chilling out in the square.

SoMa:
Excellent little park called Yerba Buena. We sat on the overlook and could see over the whole park and the SF MOMA.

Marina:
We had to go to my favorite pizza place… Amici’s

So needless to say we were quite busy. We ended up staying in a hotel down by the wharf so that we could just take off from there to the Sacramento Airport in the morning.

03.Mar.2005

Took off early from SF to the Sacramento Airport. We stopped at a starbucks on our way, my sister had never been to one!! So they are now a part of the craze that is Starbucks. The airport wasn’t busy at all so I parked and went in to make sure that my sister got through security ok. It was a tearful goodbye and I have to say that I am so happy that they made it out here for a few days of relaxation. I really enjoyed their company the whole time and I am looking forward to the next time!!

I had a busy day, but I also threw in a couple movies to keep it relaxed.

8:00am
– Woke up and gathered all the flight info for my sister. I emailed her all the stuff she needs.

10:00am
– I called my buddy Steve to tell him that he will be in my prayers this weekend because he is going to Hume Lake for the weekend and he was having a hard time staying true to God. We ended up going out for brunch which was really nice.

12:00pm
– Did some laundry, but while it was going I watched a movie called Venus Beauty Institute, it was ok. I would give it 6 out of 10.

1:30pm
– Washed my car, filled it up with Gas. I also had some greasy chap stick type streaks on the rear window of my car so I finally got that cleaned off. I am not sure who did it to me but some day I will find those savages!!

2:00pm
– Took a nap

3:00pm
– Cleaned up the apt… vacuum, took out the trash, etc..

5:00pm
– Went to Target to get some misc items for my trip to L.A. I also stopped at Quiznos for a tasty sandwich.

7:30pm
– I started a movie that my flatmate recommended called Amores Perros, it was a lot better than the movie I watched earlier in the day. It had 3 different stories that intertwined within each other that kept your attention for 2 + hours. I give it 8 out of 10.

Now I am just printing out some maps so I know where I am going tomorrow. I am really excited to see my sister. She doesn’t get a lot of time off so I really want to show her a good time.

Well I won’t have internet access until Tuesday night, so this is the last entry for a few days, but I will leave you with this…

Matthew 7:7-8

Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

living for yourself
me against the world
struggling with change
acceptance
aligning my will
afraid of the future
standing strong

This are not predictions… they are simply who I would vote for in each category.

Best Actor: (Don Cheadle)

Don Cheadle – HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp – FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio – THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jamie Foxx – RAY

Supporting Actor: (Alan Alda)

Alan Alda – THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church – SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx – COLLATERAL
Morgan Freeman – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clive Owen – CLOSER

Best Actress: (Kate Winslet)
[I haven't seen Being Julia or Vera Drake yet]

Annette Bening – BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno – MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton – VERA DRAKE
Hilary Swank – MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Kate Winslet – ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

Supporting Actress: (Virginia Madsen)
[I haven't seen Kinsey yet]

Cate Blanchett – THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney – KINSEY
Virginia Madsen – SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo – HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman – CLOSER

Best Picture: (The Aviator)

THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS

We’ve only got one,
searching endlessly,
investing your heart,
weathering the storm,
longing for the future,
keeping the faith.

My little sister and her husband are coming for a visit next weekend so this weekend I will be assigning myself clean-up duty for the apt. I am really looking forward to seeing my sister, she has never been out to visit me. In fact I don’t think she has ever seen the ocean. Growing up in Mn, I had never seen the ocean until I moved out to Cali.

On Saturday I am planning on going to see the movie Being Julia, it is being held at the old school State Theatre in Modesto.