I'll Be Home For Christmas

Oh the fun we have on Christmas DAY
All day long we laugh and play
If only everyday were like today

We just ask for figgy pudding
And we wont go until we get some
So bring it right now

Merry Christmas!

And I would appreciate some one to tell me what figgy pudding is!

Life is but a breath

Micah's funeral was this past Friday. It was a very memorable service at the Rosecrans Cemetary in San DIego, CA. The car ride to the funeral was the hardest because inside I knew that nothing could make me feel better-- he is gone and he would not be at his own funeral. Something inside wants there to be one more time to see him and hug him, but there are only the memories. I love this picture of him, but I despise it also because the foreign landscape in this picture is where my friend, Micah, had his life taken from him. Its funny how you miss someone when they are gone for good. I haven't seen him for two years and right now, now that he is gone, I miss him.


He always had a thumbs up!

Old Pictures

I arrived in Chico a couple days ago and i have been sorting through some old pictures. I found some pictures that I love and I am not quite sure why I love them, I just do. Here they are:

A Sad Day

Today was a sad day. A couple days ago, my friend Nickie called to tell me that our friend Micah Gifford died in Iraq. His truck was hit by a bomb. He was only there for eight weeks and it ended his life. The world seems to pause at times like these. Its hard to think about his existence as no more. His being, his presence, his personality, his smile, and hilarious ways will never be known to anyone in the flesh ever again.

High school feels like it was yesterday-- for some reason it seems like yesterday we were riding bikes, running on the track, and going out after football games.
But, I haven’t seen him in two years. He came to Chico to visit me at Lifescapes. When he came to visit, he had recently moved to Redding and it was a wonderful discovery to know that we lived so close to each other. I can still remember our walk down Longfellow Road. We talked about Jesus and love, and our call to love people as Jesus did. We talked about the power of loving as Jesus loved. It was a profound talk and it encouraged me. As we departed that day, I never thought it would be the last time I spent with him. He was on his way to a Mexico for a mission trip, which he was really excited about. He was working for a telephone book company--- he was in Chico for "work". ;)

I can’t seem to stop crying today. I feel a deep sadness. I know that I’ll see him again. I know that he has all the answers to the questions we pondered about God, Jesus, the world, people, denominations, and church. It brings me joy to know that he KNOWS. He has met our Truth, face to face. My tears are because I will miss him. I will miss his humor, his laughter, his sarcasm, his heart, his determined spirit and probing thoughts. I will miss thinking about what he is doing and what he will become. I will miss him at our high school reunion in June. Micah was the icon of our high school class….there is and will be a huge gap with out him. It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. (Micah, Joe and Brian sang this at our high school graduation)


A great article on him:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/4901981.html

Mt. Hermon and my hair!

Yes, my hair is red. Yes, I hate it. Yes, I am getting it fixed in two weeks-- hopefully.

I went to CA for a few days....stopped by Chico long enough to devastate my hair.

On a different note, had a great time at Mt. Hermon with friends. The Wesley's, The Wilhelm's, The Tricerri's and I stayed in a cabin together....yes, I was the 7th wheel and loved every minute of it. Why? Because i love being with married people and especially these married people. My friend, Vyria, came the second and third night....so things were even. ;) Side note: I saw Sarah and Kyle for the first time in a year! I love them! I want to be like them and travel the world.

Truly, the weekend was a gift. Amazing! I was able to completely disconnect from the everything and thoroughly enjoy my friends, the beach, the mountains and redwoods.

Ben Stein

Long BUT good ...

If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

Herewith a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But thereare a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something lik e this Happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and thenwonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but questionwhat the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and theyspread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgarand obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussionof God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, orwhat they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought
process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards .. honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Chinese Proverb:

"When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others."


NOTE: I copied this directly from Jeff's blog...yes, i'm awesome and understand my moral obligation to share this with you.
;) Thanks Jeff.

One of my Heros

The Ugly Mug

The Ugly Mug, quite possibly the best name for a sports bar!

Jess, Ben, Dietrich, and I went to the Ugly Mug on Saturday night to watch the USC game. It was fun and amazing-- USC kicked booty!
We also ran into our friend Russ, who leads the UCLA fan club--- needless to say, he hates USC. It was fun to have a little competition in the room-- too bad I wont be in town this upcoming Sat. to battle it out with him during the USC vs. UCLA game.



A little bit artsy---


Dietrich


Ben






Jess

The Many Faces of Amber Rader!

My friend, Dietrich, got a hold of my camera and took about 50 pictures. hahah!
Here are my many faces!

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!