Years of marraige: 3. Moving trucks: 4

When Kate and I moved into our apartment here in Seattle we told ourselves we are not going to move for as long as possible. Well, we made it almost a year. Fortunately we are only moving .9 miles away. Now we love our apartment here in Lower Queen Anne. The hardwoods are beautiful, our little office where we type all of our papers has been good to us, and the Thai place right our back door has provided far too many of our meals. There is just one thing that is lacking: sitting outside on a porch and grilling (and numerous other outdoor/yard/porch activities).

So we are moving up to the top of Queen Anne Hill into a little house. It has a big front porch and a little backyard. Oh yeah and we will be joined in the house by our friends Shelly and Mazie (I am not sure if I spelled Mazie right? But she is a dog, so she doesn't read blogs. She doesn't read anything actually).

Ummmm I can already taste the delicious grilled meat.

Regret

This past weekend I partook in a three day intensive class on leadership at MHGS. At a young age I took on leadership responsibilities. For a beginner I think that I did some things well, and I am thankful for many of the opportunities that came my way. On the other hand though I made mistakes. There were instances that my words were not very wise nor loving. There were times that I did not value the people around me. And there were times where I simply took on more than I should have. With that said, and without going into further detail about my past, I carry with me regret. Now in one sense regret has served me well. It has caused me to seek new ways of doing things. It has brought me to MHGS, where I have entered a community that seeks to re-imagine what the gospel is.

As I went through this class though this thought came to me:

Regret you have taken me this far; you cannot take me any farther.

Regret can motivate us to do many things. It can motivate us to change the way things are, often in positive ways. But ultimately it will destroy us, and it will prohibit us from living into the beautiful things that we desire.

So we must come to a place where we grieve the past. Recognize the wrong that we have done, and then embrace the beauty that we hope to create.

These are simple thoughts, but powerful if we were to live by them.


*We watched the The Mission in class as a tool to examine leadership. For a poignant example of the power of regret watch Rodrigo Mendoza, the character played by Robert De Niro in the film.

I think I like it here...

In a couple of months Kate and I will have lived in Seattle for a year now. As far as we know we will not be moving next year. A pattern that we are happy to break. As the cloudy Spring dragged on here, and the vast majority of time was spent confined to the concrete of the city, I was beginning to feel claustrophobic and somewhat resentful of city life in the midst of a cloudy and dreary March, April and some of May.

But all of my unhappy feelings are quickly being burnt away by the beautiful blue skies that have arrived. The wonderful secret of Seattle is June, July and August, where the sun comes to stay and it rarely gets above 90. So to get to the point of my post, I have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and have ventured into the great outdoors.

I work early mornings so I am off usually by noon. This has allowed me to spend my afternoons lying on the beach,reading for school and attempting quick immersions into the ice cold Puget Sound.

Furthermore, I have made my way out into the nearby Cascade Mountains for some beautiful hikes. Here are some pics from my most recent excursion. My friend Mark and I hiked up to Lake Serene. The Lake sits below Mt. Index (6000 ft) at 2500 ft. It was 3.5 miles up to the lake, with 2 miles of considerable elevation gain. It was a beautiful day. And yes, I think I like it here.







I don't think I will be able to do any homework this Summer.