Bring On Baltimore!

Okay, I admit it. I'm really enjoying watching the Steelers mop up the field with the Chargers. I could get all fidgety about next week's Steelers/Ravens game, but Matthew 6:34 reads: Do not worry about [next Sunday], for [next Sunday] will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Honor Rail System

I had a day off coming, so today Janelle and I enjoyed a foray into Portland. We'd never ridden the MAX before, so that was a welcomed new experience. But I really don't get it. We bought our passes and got on the train. There was no turnstyle to go through, no one checking our tickets; we just paid our fares, slipped the tickets in my pocket, and we rode all day. It basically amounted to the honor system. The last place we rode mass transit was the METRO in Washington, D.C., where there is no honor... wait a minute; did that come out right?

Anyway, we had a great day. We walked a few blocks from the MAX line to Powell's Books, the greatest bookstore in the world. They have the biggest selection of theology, biblical studies, apologetics, and discipleship titles I've ever seen, in any bookstore of any kind. I think they might have some other books, too, but who has the time?

As our train was heading toward the Lloyd Center, where we were planning to have lunch, we spied a couple of our favorite food places, Romano's Macaroni Grill and Great Harvest bakery. After lunch, on the ride back, we left the train (when it was stopped) long enough to grab a loaf of Great Harvests cinnamon bread. Then it was back to Aloha.

Snow Day (Week?)

We're enjoying a snow day. Actually my kids had 5 snow days in a row last week, making their Christmas break three weeks instead of two. On Sunday the 14th, it started snowing at 7:30 a.m. cutting our attendance in half. Then it basically snowed all week long, and we really got dumped on this past Saturday and Sunday. I'm always reluctant to cancel church, but in this case it was basically decided for me.

We woke up this morning to somewhere around 8 inches on the ground, with more coming down. Final total would be about 9 inches. That's my best guess anyway.

Chains or studded snow tires are required everywhere in our county. I thought that meant that I could drive as long as I didn't get stuck, but I've been warned that the police could pull me over just for driving. Bummer. It's kind of fun driving in this stuff... not that I would know that.

This is good weather for catching up on some reading, and for cleaning off the DVR. If the Steelers had just won yesterday, I wouldn't have a thing to whine about.

Year of Transition (3 of 3)

We waited forever for tomatoes this year. I don't think our plants had enough sun, which delayed them from turning red. But once they ripened, it was all worth it.

These are two shots from Whitehall Camp & Conference Center, home of Western PA Ministries of the Church of God. The shot above is of the swimming and fishing lakes on a misty morning. That's where Ben spent a good part of the summer lifeguarding. The picture below is of the barn where the youth worship services are held during camp meeting and youth camps.

The remaining six pix are from our cross-country move in October. The next picture is (I think) the only one in this collection taken with a real camera. This is the birthplace of Henry's Fork in eastern Idaho. The river springs (literally) full force right out of these rocks. The water is crystal clear and the water plants are absolutely beautiful. I'm told moose think so, too, but we didn't see any this trip. Some good friends opened their cabin to us just a few miles from this spot.

The final five are of Yellowstone - one of our favorite places on the planet. First, the Gibbon River. We were interested to see the dead trees still standing from the lightning-sparked fires of twenty years ago. We were here just after those fires, and the place looks much better.

Above: One of the beautiful and seemingly bottomless hot springs. Below: This mountain highway always impresses me.

Above: The road to Mammoth Hot Springs seems to vanish into this field of bolders. Below: These are the terraces of Mammoth Spring. On the one hand, the sulfur fumes and the apparent barrenness make me think of what a physical hell would be like. On the other hand, I see God's artistry even here. How can God make something so beautiful out of something so fowl? I guess that's his specialty.

And that's a fitting place to stop. We are anticipating good things for the future. Who knows what my favorite pix of 2009 will capture?

Year of Transition (2 of 3)

This is a second installment of some of my favorite pictures from the year. And let me remind you, these were all taken with my camera phone. These first two pictures are from Cook Forest again. Above are some steps cut from blocks of Western Pennsylvania sandstone, which is abundant in these woods. Below is a bridge over Brown's Run on the Brown's Run Trail (I wonder how they chose that name).

Below is my favorite picture of all time. I have it as the wallpaper on my phone and laptop. This is exiting the Rockland Tunnel on the Allegheny River Bike Trail. It makes me think of eternity.

These two pictures are from our last Pirates outing in late August. Above is the Roberto Clemente Bridge named for one of my boyhood heroes, who played for the Pirates from 1954-1972 (18 seasons!), earned 12 Gold Glove Awards and was selected as an all-star 12 times. Clemente was killed in a plane crash while en route to deliver aid to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. The bridge is closed to automobiles and opened to foot traffic for every game. We were at the game especially because Janelle and her Sweet Adeline's chorus were singing the National Anthem. That was an exciting evening. Below is Pittsburgh at night from PNC Park Stadium.

These shots are of Will (above - 13) and Ben (below - 16) at Seaside, Oregon, on Monday, September 8th. We had an extra day on our candidating trip, unlimited mileage on our rental car, and we had a great day at the coast. I realize I am especially blessed to have a wonderful wife and two great boys who love me.

More Seaside Beach below:

And this final shot (for today) was taken while waiting for our evening connecting flight from Newark to Pittsburgh on the return trip the very next day. Our lengthy flight from Portland to Newark was delayed because of east coast thunder storms. I just enjoyed the colors and shapes in this shot. Getting seated on that final flight was the first time I was able to relax all day... even though I still hate to fly.

Year of Transition - (1 of 3)

This has been a year of transition for us. This time last year we were dreaming about how cool it would be to live in the Portland area, and here we are! As the year winds down, I was reminiscing with some pictures. These are some of my favorites from 2008. For the most part, these are all taken with my camera phone (I remember thinking, What a waste! Who needs a phone in his camera?) I'll share these in 3 installments, 9 pix at a time in roughly chronological order.

The above picture is from our Whitehall cabin porch last March. We saw more snow during March and April at Whitehall than we had the previous 9 years (that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much).

Pennsylvania dogwoods (also from the porch of our cabin).

Tess is a pretty girl (and she knows it), and I think she might have a little crush on me. Will (13) can't remember life BT (before Tess). We've had her since she was a puppy. She's the dog we always dreamed of... even if it did take her about 5 years to become that dog. Maybe there's the kernel of a sermon in there somewhere.

These two shots (above and below) are from Highland Hammock State Park in central Florida. I traveled to Florida to spend some time with my mom in May. She was in pretty rough shape from Thanksgiving of 2007 through the spring, but she's doing better now. She turned 87 last month!

These two shots (above and below again) are Cook Forest (near Clarion, PA), one of my favorite places in the world. I've climbed the firetower since I was a little kid, and the rocks below are another favorite play place. (I don't remember playing on them when I was a kid, but I sure enjoy it now!)

This is our adopted dog Sparky. We brought her into our family when her long-time owner passed away. She's supposed to be the same age as Tess (11 now), but she acts a lot older. She can't hear very well, and sometimes she acts confused. Was I talking about Sparky? ...or me? After a haircut, we call her Yoda. Can you tell why?

We also call Ben Yoda after a haircut... no, not really. Ben had his first job last summer at Whitehall Camp & Conference Center. His main duties were serving as a lifeguard, but he also did more than his share of weed whacking and dish washing. It was a good experience. Now we're 2600 miles away from there, and we all miss our good friends at Western Pennsylvania Ministries of the Church of God.

More to come...

Voting in Oregon

Almost every blogger I've read today has something to say about last night's election results. Some are obviously very happy about the outcome, and others are less enthusiastic, but everyone has been polite.

My thoughts are more random, and not nearly as profound:

• This was my first time to vote in Oregon. I didn't have enough identification to get an Oregon driver's license (until I've actually had a utility bill mailed to my home address), but I had enough to convince the state I should be able to vote.


• I've never voted anywhere that didn't have voting machines of one form or another. I just drove up and handed my ballot to a guy in the parking lot. Very simple, very easy. Of course, for all I know the guy put my ballot in a dumpster with a thousand others and it's already sitting in a recycling bin somewhere. Probably not.


• After I handed over my ballot, I wonder if the guy noticed my Pennsylvania license plate as I drove away.


• It feels good to participate in the political process. I'm glad I voted.


• 1 Timothy 2:2 -- [Pray] for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all goodliness and holiness.
• The above verse means that if you vote for the loser, that does not give you license to whine for four years.

So, what are your thoughts on the subject, Hobson?

Around the World in 80 Days... Or Cross Country in Ten

Below are some pictures from our cross country drive, as we moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon. Most of this Janelle and I had seen before, but it never gets old, and it was a joy to share these things with our boys Ben and Will. Janelle and I honeymooned in Rocky Mountain National Park, so it will always have a special place in our hearts. This spectacular valley vista shows the last of the beautiful fall aspen colors.

Above is a picture of the Wind River Canyon in northwest Wyoming. Driving north through this canyon was just beautiful, and delivered us to Cody, where we took a left and headed for the East Entrance to Yellowstone.

Some hot springs, such as this one, are incredibly beautiful. The color and the clarity are mesmerizing. It's amazing to look into their depths and imagine how deep they might be.

This mountainside highway in Yellowstone leads to Mammoth Hot Spring. It's another amazing scene.

This spring is the birthplace of Henry's Fork in Idaho. Pictures don't do it justice. Imagine a full flowing river birthed right out of a hillside, and that's Henry's Fork. The crystal clear water shows off its lush foliage. We didn't get to see one, but I can just imagine a moose munching to its heart's content in this paradise.

I'd like to share more pictures, but unfortunately one of our memory sticks got lost. It's probably laying in a parking lot somewhere in Yellowstone; we're really not sure.

Going West!

It's official. We've been moderately tight-lipped about our upcoming move, but now we can share with you our joy. We are excited about going to Aloha, Oregon, to pastor Aloha Church of God. Aloha is on the west end of the Portland metro area, between Beaverton and Hillsboro. The church was started in 1950, with my cousin (Gene Linnaman was my dad's cousin; would that make him my second cousin?) as its first pastor. In their 58-year history, they've had only five (now six) pastors, and the people are (and this sounds scary!) just like us.

Our calendar looks like this:

Saturday, September 27th - Moving Sale

Tuesday, September 30th - Mover Picks Up Our Stuff

Sunday, October 12th - First Sunday at Aloha

Wednesday, October 15th - Furniture Arrives at New House

Thursday, October 16th - Collapse

Please don't hold me too tightly to this schedule. Blessed are the flexible.

I was first contacted by the Aloha Pastoral Search Team last spring, maybe April, when they asked for sermons. They then contacted us about a phone interview with both Janelle and me. Before that interview actually took place, we were invited to candidate at a Pennsylvania church. We went ahead with the Aloha interview (and really seemed to connect with the team) but informed them by email within a day or two that we could not pursue our relationship with them any further until we walked through the open door that had presented itself with the Pennsylvania congregation.

Things didn't work out in Pennsylvania, so we contacted Aloha again, but wouldn't you know it, they were already considering a local candidate. I couldn't blame them for moving ahead with their search, and we were told they'd keep us informed. About a month later (after several emails back and forth) they invited our family to fly out. The earliest date that was good for all of us was the weekend of September 7th. We flew from Pittsburgh to Newark, and from Newark to Portland. The church was gracious enough to reserve two hotel rooms for our stay, which gave us some privacy and room to spread out.

On Saturday, while Janelle and I were in meetings, Garth and Kathy Hamilton (youth directors) took the youth, including our boys Ben and Will, on a hike up to Multnomah Falls. Will, who has never caught the hiking bug, said it was the best day of his life!

Sunday, we got to meet those we had missed on Saturday, and I had the opportunity to preach. Several of the youth sat with Ben and Will. We thought that was a wonderful show of support and friendship. It felt great, and the congregation was incredibly warm. We fell in love with everyone.

On Monday, we had the day to ourselves (and unlimited mileage on our rental car), so we headed for the Oregon Coast. We saw both Seaside and Cannon Beach, and had a great day. Ben and Will wanted to get back to Aloha because they had plans with some of the youth.

We had to return the car at 6:40 the next morning, but we were there by 5:30, and then our plane was delayed almost two hours because of bad weather in Newark. We sat at the airport until we boarded a little after 9. Four and a half hours later we landed at Newark, rushed to our gate for our connecting flight, and found out it was delayed, leaving us to sit and enjoy Newark International for about another hour and a half.

By the time we touched down in Pittsburgh, retrieved our luggage, and drove home, it was after midnight. Thus ended a physically tiring, but spiritually and emotionally refreshing, journey.

More to come...

Western Pennsylvania Camp Meeting of the Church of God

Whitehall Camp Meeting is in full swing. Due to the increased population of the campground, and the limited accessibility to the Internet, I will likely be unable to post on my normal schedule this week. I'll get back to Watchman Nee's book The Release of the Spirit as soon as I can. We'll have to see about Thursday's 365 post.

I just left Janelle's conference, based on the Andy Stanley book The Best Question Ever, and I'm really enjoying it. That young Stanley fellow might just amount to something if he's not careful... and Janelle's doing a great job.

Today is Will's 13th birthday. What a great kid! I'm not even on my own computer at the moment, or I'd post his picture. I'd love to share a picture from Janelle's conference, too. Maybe I can later in the week, or early next.

Pray for Ben (16); he's worn out. He's been working as summer staff here at the campground, and this is the hardest week. The camp started out short staffed, and they've had three kids quit since the beginning of the summer. Yesterday, Ben had to do both the 6:00 a.m. and the 11:00 p.m. restroom cleanings. By the time he dragged himself into bed he was a tired young man.

Have a great week!

From Everlasting to Everlasting

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2 NIV)

Janelle and I have fallen in love with Cook Forest all over again. I've posted some pictures here and there, but wanted to share even more. The fern explosion was taken by Janelle.

The following two pictures were also taken by Janelle. The first reminds me of God. Some of these trees were sapplings when William Penn claimed this ground. They were already old by the time of the Revolution, and even older by the Civil War. Walking these trails feels like stepping back in time to primordial forests, untouched by humanity. Seriously, a dinosaur would seem to fit better than we do. And yet the three hundred years some of these White Pines have been around (or 400 for some of the Hemlocks), are just a blink of the eye to God.

This stairway is obviously a more recent addition, but even it seems old. One of the marks of western Pennsylvania forests are the abundance of sandstone. Once in a while we are lucky enough to see an old farmhouse made completely of sandstone blocks.

Besides hemlocks and white pines, Cook Forest is also known for its old growth hardwoods. It has some of the only virgin stands of deciduous trees left in the United States.

This is the area I call Rocky Top, near an old fire tower. These rocks just invite me to forget I'm not a kid anymore, and go play.

This has been our getaway place from our beautiful home in rural western Pennsylvania, the place where I grew up. Thank you, God, for allowing me to reconnect with these ancient paths and forests and rocks.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his rightousness with their children's children. (Psalm 103:17)