Moonshine on my shoulders makes me happy!

I'll start by explaining the title.   "Moonshine", aka Kirsten Jones came to Portland for a visit all the way from Charlotte, NC!  She has called me "Sunshine" for years and since one good turn deserves another, I needed to find a suitable moniker for her.  For those of you that know Kirsten, you understand that "Moonshine" fits the bill quite nicely.  While you are catching up on our visit, I have included the John Denver song that I often get serenaded with when I am blessed with a phone call from Mrs. Jones.  Welcome to our world.

She arrived on a rainy Thursday afternoon.  We brought her home, fed her some soup, introduced her to the neighbors (whose children she adores!), and put her down for a nap.  We later went to dinner at Baja Fresh, while the kids were in Awana.  Friday morning was leisurely and after some breakfast and Chai tea, we headed downtown via bus to meet Greg.  We spent the rest of the afternoon trudging up and down NW 23rd Ave, which is packed with cool, trendy stores and restaurants and interesting Portlanders.  We ate a good lunch at Rose's and later enjoyed gelatos and lattes while we slipped out of one store into another.  Kirsten and Sarah Grace got hand massages at some funky soap store.  The smell of the store was so strong Samuel couldn't stand it, but SG was right in her element!

Dark had fallen just after 5:00pm., so we caught our bus back home to Lake Oswego.  We picked up movies and had soup and sandwiches for dinner.  

Saturday we got an earlier start and headed for Multnomah Falls.  Kirsten, Greg and the kids went on the hike up to the top, while I stayed down in the restaurant and did some reading and knitting (I am recovering from some running injuries).  The day started out rainy (as you can tell by the pic), but the sun poked out a bit later when we were headed for Mt. Hood.  Kirsten enjoyed the hike, but in true Moonshine fashion, she got naughty and climbed over the fence onto a cliff at the top of the falls.  Greg got a picture of this as Samuel was making his way over the fence to join Kirsten on the cliff.  I can always count on her to set a good example.  sigh.  

I'm glad there wasn't a park ranger around.

Fortunately, the sun came out and it was around 40 degrees going up Mt. Hood to the Timberline Lodge.  If it had been much colder, I think we would have had trouble getting up even that far, as we did not have chains on the tires.  When we got to the lodge we looked around a bit and let the kids play for a few minutes in the snow.  We couldn't stay long, because we didn't have the proper gear and it was quite a bit colder once we got to the lodge.   Dinner was had at a Gustav's restaurant, back in Portland, that serves mostly German fare.  

Sunday morning we went to church and showed off our Southern friend.  Northwesterners are fascinated with Southerners.  It's kind of cute.  After church we lunched at Players and watched some football while the kids played.  The girls climbed into their beds for naps back at home, while the boys watched TV and played on the computer.  After a walk to the park with Sadie (our neighbor's lab), we went to dinner at the Corbett Fish House in Portland.  They have won various awards for their fish and chips and.....they are gluten free!  They use rice flour, so I can have almost everything on the menu!  It is a very fun, relaxed place with fishing stuff all over the walls and maps and whatnot.  The food is awesome too.  We can't wait to take Kayla and Jason (you guys will LOVE it!).  Anyway, it has been years since I have had fish n' chips and clam chowder soup.  It was a treat!

We hurried home to get the kids into bed and watch "24".  After that, Moonshine still wanted to par-tay, so we went out and got that Untraceable movie that I swore I would never see (I don't like torture scenes).  It actually was pretty cool, because it was filmed in Portland and a whole lot of what you see in the movie, we had just shown Kirsten. 

All in all we had a great time.  Our days were packed with non-stop excursions, but we relaxed at night and enjoyed each other's company as we read to the kids,  chatted and made fun of stuff on TV, movies, etc.  

This morning we bid her farewell at the airport.  We love you and we will miss you Moonshine.  Thank you for coming all the way out here and being our very first guest!  

Who's next?

LYMYWY,

Kara

Yes we can.

The election is over and as much planning as I put into these blog entries (not a lot), I think I can safely say this will be my last political entry.  Since I opened my big mouth last week, it somehow feels irresponsible not to follow up with this entry.  

In short, I am neither surprised or fearful about Barack Obama winning the presidency.  

"Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."  Romans 13:1

There you have it.  God voted for Barack Obama.  

So is it the Judgment of God, or is it that some of us were wrong about what the best thing for this country is?  Personally, I feel safer leaning towards the "I was wrong" possibility.  That's because I don't like to play God and from everything I read in the Bible....judgement belongs to Him.  I'm just not going there.  I don't think God's judgement can be mistaken for anything other than what it is, so if that's what is coming we will all know.   So let's leave the judging to Him and get on with what our response to this country's problems should be.  

The other day my friend, Paul Smith, sent out an email about what a Christian's response to the election should be starting on Nov. 5th.   The following ideas come from Mark Earley, the president of Prison Fellowship Ministries:

1.  Get involved in the political process....you may even consider for running for office yourself!

2.  Work at a pregnancy care clinic....help young women in crisis pregnancies.

3.  Volunteer in prison, bring the hope of the gospel to those there that need it and help them to transition to life on the 'outside'.

4.  Speak to lawmakers about bringing Biblical principles into the prison system.

5.  Have a monthy fund-raising party and give the money to charities that are working to heal our culture.

6.  Support attorneys that are working to protect the rights of Christians.

7.  Encourage teenagers into leadership positions such as leading Bible study or running for student council,  or mentoring young children.

8.  Donate your time and money.  The example he gave was supporting school choice by holding a pizza party where the proceeds to to a scholarship fund for poor children....even if just one child is helped out of a failing school...it's worth it!

Mark Earley ends with this:  "Besides being fun and worthwhile, these kinds of activities will help you light a candle instead of being tempted just to curse the darkness."

To this I will add that it is our civic duty to support our president.  It is our spiritual duty to pray for him.  I will be praying for Barack Obama to know the leading and guidance of God.  I am going to be praying for his safety and the safety of his family.  I am going to pray that he and his family will get into a good church and be nourished by the truth of God's word.  I will pray that he will be surrounded by good advisors with sound minds and level-headed thinking.  I will pray that he will grow in favor with both God and men.  Israel had leaders for whom these things were true , and so this is how I will pray for our president-elect.

And finally, these words from Jesus,

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.  

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  Matthew 5: 14-16

Yes we can!

Kara

America is about to get it wrong.

The election is fast approaching.  For much of the past 18 months, I have gone from not caring at all to caring just a little about the crazy political activities of our present and future leaders.  Just when you think the media is going to give you something meaty, something of substance.....you instead find an article on your homepage investigating the merits of each candidate as determined by pet owners.  This is not a joke.  People are actually writing about that sort of thing.  

The nations are raging.  The economy is in the dump.  Gas prices are all over the map.  Our national debt is through the roof.  People are losing jobs.  People are losing their homes.  BUT....not to worry it's all going to be OK because with a little tax navigation wealth can be shared.  With some careful Supreme Court drafting, legislative loopholing and creativity, gay people can get married and abortions can be obtained with even greater ease than they are now.  I mean, these are the important things in our country's life right now, right?  Oh!  I forgot that new "Fairness Doctrine" thing where all opposing view points will HAVE to get equal airtime in the media.  Hmmm. I wonder how that will be policed and how fair such a 'doctrine' will be.   America is about to get all this and more when we elect Barack Obama as president.

Barack Obama is an intriguing figure, no doubt.  He has far more flair, charisma, smoothness and just all around like-ability than John McCain.  I wanted to like him enough to want to vote for him, but I just never could get there.  He certainly has more money to spend than McCain.  His campaign is more lavish than any I've ever seen or remembered that is for sure.  I do think it's ironic though.....you know, that it's the Democratic candidate that is throwing all this money around and is surrounded by all this glitz and glam, while the Republican candidate (who chose to keep his word) took public funds and now can't compete with Obama's media blitz.  It's not ironic that we would see the Democrat spend more....we know that is what they do and I've never met one who denied this.  What is ironic is that the Democrat is supposed to represent the little guy!   Yet the Republican here is the one that is standing ground with the little guy.  

More and more Obama comes off elitest and untouchable.  He is clearly the media darling and I dare someone to argue that point with me.  Aw shucks!  I don't really want to get into a fight about politics.  I really have kept my opinions to myself for the most part.  It's just that I've always liked McCain.  It's true, I have.  I know a lot of conservatives havn't embraced him from the get go, and are only doing so now because they feel they have no choice.  I've always liked him though.

He is more moderate than some would like, but I find it to be a good thing.  A check against corruption if you will.  That is my frustration with an Obama presidency.  More and more,  I fail to see the possibility for moderation in it.  It looks very, very leftist and not very pragmatic.   He has a lot of ideas, so many they make my head spin.....so many promises.  I wonder if people realize he will not be the saviour they are looking for.  

So why am I going to vote for John?  Well because he's a maverick of course! ;>  Sorry, I just had to throw that in.  I like John because he's sensible and he's not making promises he can't keep.  We don't have to wonder about him....he hasn't changed in 40 years.  He upholds the things that make conservatism truly conservative.  I feel confident that he is the best man for the job especially when it comes to foreign affairs.....and there is quite a bit going on in our world today regarding such affairs.  I don't think our nation's future hinges upon what Europeans think of us or our president.  Uh, have you seen what has been going on in Europe over the last century?  They have enough problems of their own thank-you-very-much.

I think he means it when he speaks of energy independence and I think he could actually help to get this done.  That would be pretty huge.  

Since the congress will be mostly Democratic, John would bring balance, but he would also be able to get things done, because he knows how to work with others and he is respected by others.  He's not giving any easy answers to really tough questions because there are no easy answers.  I appreciate that he hasn't tried to make them up.

Bottom line, he's the real deal and.....NEWS FLASH!  He is not George W. Bush.  The notion that his presidency would be a continuation of Bush's is media-spun hogwash.  

Sadly, I don't think the right guy is going to win it.  The current economic turmoil coupled with  our blatantly zombified, Obamaified media have turned too many voters away from the prudent and pragmatic John McCain.

Go vote your conscience, and remember.....God is sovereign!  

In Him we put our trust.

Kara

Our house.....

I'm a very visual person.  When I am thinking about or talking to someone on the phone, I visualize where they are in their surroundings.  Before we left for Oregon we made a trip to Orlando to see Jimmy and Tobitha in their new house.  We wanted to see them and they could have met us in Charlotte, but we really wanted to see where they live.  They had already been in that house for 3 or 4 months before we got to see it.  I'm sure to some it seems silly, but it meant a lot to me to be able to see my girl in her home.  Now when I talk with her I can see in my mind her sitting on her leather sofa in the family room, or loading the dishwasher.  When I hear her kids playing, I can imagine what room they are in and what toys they might be playing with.  It helps me feel connected to them.  It helps to illustrate their life for me, and it is a gift.

So I have posted some pics of our home for you.  The house is small, but airy.  There are plenty of windows but the house is surrounded by lots of trees, so sunlight doesn't exactly pour through them.  Speaking of sunlight, there isn't an abundance of it here.  During the summer you get quite a lot of sun and very little rain.  The rest of the year the atmosphere is mostly grey and green.  I hear the leaves are gorgeous in the fall, but they havn't really changed as of yet.  Lately the temperatures have been cool or cold, with an occasional warmer day (high 60's--but today is supposed to be in the 70's!).  

Well, we are going to the zoo today!  Gotta run.

LYMYWY,

Kara

Recent Adventures

Thanks to everyone who helped make Greg's birthday special!  He was very blessed.  

The last couple of weekends we have tried to incorporate some fun outing.  First we took the kids to Multnomah Falls.  We hiked up to the falls and back down again.  The air was crisp and the day was sunny.  We all had a great time, and you can see some of our pics.

This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch with Colleen, Marisa, and KJ of the M. family next door.  

Again, we were blessed with a beautiful day!   The kids had fun with various amusements, followed by picking out their pumpkins and finally carmel apples and hot apple cider.  Yum!  

I have posted some pics of this as well.  The two little kids in the pics that you don't know are Marisa and KJ.  

In unrelated news, Colleen shared with me yesterday about a prayer chain going on.  Christians across the country are asked to take one minute and pray for the direction of our country.  The time for this prayer is 6:00pm pacific time....which translates to 9:00pm for all you folks back east.  Thought I would pass it along.  It doesn't seem like a bad idea, you know?

LYMYWY,

Kara

Why I love this man!

Today is my love's birthday!  He is 39 today.  Most people reading this blog know Greg pretty well.  Most of you have your own reasons for loving him.  Here are mine.

He loves my God.  He is a devoted follower of Christ.  I learn so much from him, and he inspires me to love Him better.  He serves our savior with a quiet determination.  His is not a flashy faithfulness but an ever consistent one. 

 

He loves people.  He enters easily into other people's lives.  He makes people happy.  He's such a good friend.  If you are his friend you are lucky,  and you probably know that he will always be there for you.  That's how he is.  He's the kind of guy you meet and later say to yourself, "That's the nicest guy!".  He smiles a lot and his smile is contagious.

He loves his family.  He's a mama's boy, did you know that?  It's true!  I tell all my girlfriends that marrying a mama's boy was a really good thing.  He knows how to treat a woman.   He knows that love and respect are flip sides of the same coin and he is generous with both.  He is fiercely devoted to his family which is very big, because it includes his family, my family and everyone else he is even remotely related to!  It even includes some people we are NOT technically related to but have somehow gotten absorbed into our family.  He is devoted to all those people.  He would never disown any family either.  It's not his way.  One of our children could totally go off the deep end, they may get into some unbelievable stuff one day (though we pray not),  and he will always love them.  They will always be his and he will never disown them.

He loves his children.  I know our kids are our family, so I seem redundant right now, but it's special with your very own kids.  He is an amazing father.  He is gentle and kind and when he loses his temper (like we all do), he is remorseful and tries not to do it again.  He's much better at that than me...yet another way he inspires me.  He builds his kids up.  He is always talking to them, teaching them things.  They respect him, and they love him so much.  They still scream "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" when he walks through the door.  They love being with him.  He is very protective of our relationship with our kids.  He is my biggest supporter in our homeschooling them.  While I do the teaching, he is always reinforcing what they are learning.  He is always encouraging me in my mothering and schooling the kids. 

 

He loves me.  He has pursued me since the day that I met him.  I can be so difficult and so unlovely at times and he still pursues me.  He reminds me, often, of the lavish way the Lord loves me.  No one else reminds me of this the way that he does.  No one else even comes close.  I didn't love him when I first met him, but it wasn't long before I somehow knew that I would...and then it wasn't long after that and I did.  I still feel like there are places to go with our love.  It's still growing, changing and deepening.  I know him better than anyone else on the planet, but I don't know him fully.  There is always more to him and I am really enjoying getting to know him! 

 

He doesn't let me get by with stuff.  He holds me accountable, and he looks for me to do the same for him.  We are partners.  We're doing this thing together.  He has never once lost sight of that.  That's a big deal, because a lot of times in a marriage one spouse will want everything to be all about them...you know, like centered around them.  I've been like that before, but Greg never has.  Really, he never has.

He gives me more ice cream.  If one of us is going to have 'more' of something, it's always going to be me, because he makes sure of it.  He's always been this way.

There is a lot about him that is really cool.  He plays soccer and tennis and basketball and well just about any sport he can.  He doesn't obsess over any of them though.  He loves the Jaguars.  He's pretty conservative politically, but he gives everyone a fair shot and he doesn't obsess about any of that either.  He's so reasonable.  He's just got so much common sense.  He is really refreshingly smart.  Actually, he's really, really smart but a lot of people don't always know how incredibly smart he is cause he doesn't show off.   And my goodness!  Do you see how cute he is!?

I could go on.  I definitely could, but I know I should stop here and give my readers a chance to ponder my hubby's greatness all on their own!  Seriously, if you are reading this, leave a comment and give him a nod on his birthday.

Happy birthday baby!  I love you!

Kara

 

Blue Like Jazz--A review

Here comes my first book review installment!  

I started reading Blue Like Jazz (BLJ) about a week ago after meeting a lady from Rolling Hills Community Church that recommended and then loaned it to me.  She prefaced the book by saying that it would help conservative Christians to love liberals more.  Well, that intrigued me because I am always interested in ways to get conservative Christians to love anyone more.  Of course I lump myself in that group as well.  I decided I should definately read the book.  I'm glad I did.

The author is Donald Miller who is a thiry-something, unmarried, writer/speaker who lives in Portland.  He attends Imago Dei Church in Portland, which is known for being very progressive in it's outreach to our lost and broken world.  Donald doesn't mince words and he doesn't worry too much about political correctness within the Church.  He certainly doesn't come across as a very religious man, although the reader is left with no doubts about Miller's personal relationship to Christ.  His recollections are funny and touching.  I found myself relating a lot to him, as I imagine most Christians would also, if they are honest with themselves.  He uses the term "Christian spirituality" in place of Christianity with the premise that he cannot relate what the term 'Christianity' means anymore in todays world.  I'm not big on renaming things.  Seems kind of trendy, but his essays in the book are so real and down-to-earth,  I was able to overlook the renaming thing.

He touches on a number of subjects ranging from love to tithing, politics to Jesus.  His spiritual journey begins within Christian fundamentalism.  He took some fair shots at fundamentalism without alltogether tearing it down.  Ultimately his journey takes him far....very far from his fundamentalist beginnings.  It is during his time at Reed College (known as one of the most intellectual, yet Godless institutions in the country), where the rubber starts to meet the road with regards to his faith in God.  While spending time in the midst of free-loving, pot smoking liberal geniuses, Miller begins to learn what following Christ is really all about.  Not that those free-loving, pot-smoking, liberal geniuses knew what following Christ was about, they definately did not.  Still, it was in their midst that he began to learn.   This was truely fascinating to read about.  It was eye-opening and convicting.  

Ultimately I have to heartily recommend this book.  For ultra-conservative believers, it is a must read.  Some things are more important than being 'right' and what you will gain from this read is one of those things.   Miller deals with issues that are usually off-topic and taboo in the Church.  There shouldn't be anything we can't talk about in the Church.  We are

 children of the Most High God of the Universe!  We don't need to fear honest conversations...honest questions. 

 Believers have times of doubt.  We deal with crises of belief.  It happens.  God is still God, and if we know Him, we are still His child.  I am reminded of a blog I read recently where a pastor, that will remain unnamed, actually called into question whether or not Mother Theresa was really saved....because she had doubts.  She suffered from the crisis of belief at times.  He pretty much stated that this would not have been the case had she been a true believer.  I had to swallow back the bile that was rising up in my throat upon reading such trash.  It isn't even because I am so sure that Mother Theresa is saved (though if I were a betting woman, I'd say she's probably resting securely in the arms of Jesus right now), it's because who was he, that pastor guy, to say she is or is NOT saved?  What is the point in even discussing something like that about a dead person!?  However, the real problem there was that that pastor, from his place of self-righteous condemnation, was just so un-real.  He was trying to say he has never doubted his faith....never struggled with the crisis of belief.  If that is true, I don't think he is probably a very good pastor.  

Get real.  There is stuff in this book that every believer would do well to read and ponder.  It's a quick read and can most likely be found in any library since it was a best-seller.  I don't know everything about this Donald Miller, but from the bit of research I've done on him, I think he's the real deal.  Does that mean I buy everything he's selling?  No, but I'm a thinking girl and he gave me a lot to think about.  I can appreciate that.

By His Grace,

Kara