The Road yet to come

Wow time got away from me. I haven't written anything in over a month

Let's see. What has happened since then...

I got a job, fancy cell phone, a freakin' awesome safe, a car, medical/dental/retirement, a computer, new acquaintances, and a whole lot more.

I got to help two people move, saw my little Communion Team grow 30%, saw my reading list triple, attended 2 parties, received an advanced copy of Pastor Mark's new book Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together, went shooting with a former Azerbaijani soldier, a Marine, two Chinese students, and a good ol' Brit, saw a Film and Theology on the Movie Thor, attended a theological seminar on Perseverance and Assurance by Tom Schriener, painted the exterior of my house, attended a wedding for some dear friends, worked security at a Metal concert at Mars Hill Ballard, and managed to start cooking using the sous vide technique.

My plans... You know I like to plan things 12-24 months out so here are my schemes:

• A 2,500 mile road trip during the week that Mars Hill Church is closed after Christmas. Peter, Amy, Steffen, Amy's brother, Peter's sister, two yet-to-be-named people, and I will all pile into an eight-person rental vehicle (maybe another Chevy Traverse as seen on my last road trip) and drive to San Francisco and LA to see the sights. (Total cost should be under $160 per person)
• Reading 100 books over this next year
• Begin and complete Training to build endurance up to a 20 mile continuous run (December 2011- August 2012)
• Acquisition of a motorcycle in February 2012
• Possible road trip to the Grand Canyon in late July of 2012
• A Summit of Mount Rainier in August 2012
• And a few other items still in the R&D phase

In the shorter-term, I've got some pumpkins and candy, so this week end I will teach Germans how to make Jack-o-Lanterns (the only problem is I've never done this). Hopefully Amy will bring some creativity and artistic ability. One of the pumpkins will be the Mars Hill "m".  I hope to get some Trick of Treaters...I need to get some paper bags and candles so I can do the little luminary walk-way thing.

Now some Pictures with no explanation: