Veritas Blog

Holidays

2011-11-30T20:47:00.001-08:00

Holidays are always the hardest time of year for retail even after not being in the stores for a while. You still feel the stress of trying to keep up, of keeping more of the plates spinning in the air. I had a good walk with a friend yesterday at work who said one of the most profound things I have heard in a while, a reminder. As a Christian we believe we are the temple of God and He is living within us. His presence is among us. This is what Christmas is all about. Emmanuel, God is with us. How often in the midst of our daily lives, the walking out of our lives we forget about His presence is with us. He is walking us through the valley, to the mountain top, every step of the way.

Trask Fall Induction

2011-11-12T21:05:00.001-08:00

This is the 3rd Induction we have had this year with Ta Tanka Lodge. We have had an Induction at each one of our Council Camps. We had a good time this weekend with the work which was given to us. We had 7 candidates turn out. Earlier in the week, the forecast was for 2-5" of rain for Camp Trask so to even hold the event was an accomplishment. We laid a new cement block next to the dining hall, rebuilt a fence along the Nature Center, painted the hallway in the Admin building, worked in the warehouse and did brush abasement around our tent platforms in the upper reaches of camp.

We also had the opportunity to hold a Brotherhood ceremony last night. It went very well. 2 of my sons are on the ceremony team. They also helped with Pre-Ordeal and Ordeal ceremonies. My work this weekend was to help with the food.

With darkness falling early at this time of year, it tended to speed up everything else this evening. Everyone is having a great time with fellowship. But of course they are also tired after a long day.

I have been coming up here and helping with Induction Weekends and Service Weekends since 2003 when my oldest son became inducted into the Order of the Arrow. I enjoy coming up here and helping out.

Fall 2011

2011-10-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first weekend off since the first "official" day of Fall back in September. Fall has become my favorite season. I love the fallen leaves on the ground, the turning colors of the leaves against the crisp blue sky, (although in January the most beautiful leaves turn gold along a road in San Marino, I will have to take pictures and post them). You can really sense the turning of the seasons more and more every Fall. We had our first rain fall this past week, next there will be temperatures over 100 in Southern California. What is October in Southern California without temperatures over 100? What made today great was, being able to work in the yard. And finally, had the chance to attend our Lodge Banquet and listen to the Chief give a great speech. And I am not just saying it just because he is my son, ask other people who were there last night and had the chance to hear the speech. May you enjoy your Fall with your Pumpkin Spice Latte and a slice of pumpkin pie! Enjoy!

Initiative

2011-07-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest things in my life is taking initiative. Normally, I like to sit back and let life come to me. Well this past month, God has been speaking to me through 3 separate mediums about changing this in my life.

The first was through a church meeting at the church I attend. I believe He spoke to me about needing to take the first step forward in my life/role at church. I had been feeling very frustrated about the way things were happening. I believe he told me I need to change this by stepping out more there.

The second time was later in the week through a homeschool convention I attended in Pasadena. Rick Boyer gave a key note address about taking the land God is bringing us into. I believe this was a confirmation about the word He spoke to me earlier in the week.

The third time was through a book I purchased at the convention. It has been a really good book. The book is the Mark of a Man by Elisabeth Elliot. In this book, she writes that one of the traits of a man is taking the initiative.

If God is speaking to me through 3 different mediums then I think I should be paying attention. The hardest part is the change doesn't occur over night unless He does the healing within my life.

Bonhoeffer Book Review

2010-12-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

I finished reading the biography on Bonhoeffer which was published this year. There are 2 things which I gleaned from the life of Bonhoeffer which can be applied to the church in USA.

The first is he was a man of the word. He firmly believed in the preaching which exposited the word of God to the congregation. We are missing this too much in the Church today. There are more than a few things which we over look or don't preach on especially if we don't teach verse by verse. If we do happen to preach on those subjects we are viewed as radical by our society and culture and dismissed. This is what I liked about Bonhoeffer he saw years ahead in his culture to see where the church was headed and what would happen to it. The Church is not meant to be an organ of the state to justify the existence of either party in control. The Church should not be used as a justification of the parties policies whether they be left or right. To be in the camp of either party is to be sold out. There are views of issues on both sides which the Church should support.

The second part I learned from Bonhoeffer is total belief and acceptance of the presence of the Lord. When the book wrote about his prayer, Bonhoeffer was a man who when he prayed he actually prayed as if Jesus was right there in front of him listening and conversing with him. Sometimes, it seems as if the "belief" in Jesus is broken down to what He did for us rather than actually believing in Him. Jesus has called us to follow Him. He still calls us to follow Him not a belief about Him. There becomes a distinction between do you actually know Him or do you know about Him? Do you see his footprints in the sand or are you actually there walking with Him? Is He real to you?

After finishing this book, I would highly recommend this book, especially to learn from the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and how real Jesus was in his life.

Love

2010-10-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

I received a letter earlier this week from John Eldredge in which he wrote about love. The letter has been like a seed planted in my heart this past week. For our lives, it truly is all about love. His love for us which caused him to die on the cross for us that we might be made whole once again. It is His love for us which compels us to reach out to others with His love. It is only through His love that we are able to do this.

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus.

Camp Cherry Valley 2010

2010-08-01T17:28:00.001-07:00

This is the first time I have been to summer camp at Camp Cherry Valley. I went as the scoutmaster for Troop 373. I had a great time with a great bunch of Scouts. SPL was Seth Castro who was a great leader. The troop earned the Honor Ribbon for participation. All of the scouts earned at least 3 merit badges, 1 went through the ACE program and 1 was certified as a BSA Life Guard. The program was great, something different everyday, great stories told by Lafe and Shaun Conner, great staff. The troop had 2 great troop friends, Alex (X-Factor) and Johnnie D. All of our scouts had a great time at camp. We hiked to Goat Whiskers then Little Fisherman on Wednesday for the day hike, a 7 mile hike.

I will be going back to CCV for Cub Camp in 3 weeks. I can't wait to go back. This time I will be working in the kitchen all week and be the chaplain. I will be using one of the stories I heard at summer camp in the Scout's Own for the Cub Scout Campers.

Henninger Flats

2010-05-31T20:32:00.001-07:00

Cara and I took a morning hike up to Henninger Flats this morning. This is the first hike we have taken together in a couple of years. We parked our car on Altadena Dr then hiked up the Mt.Wilson toll road to Henninger. It was a lot steeper than what I remembered! We left a few minutes before 9am and got there around 10:37. The hike was 8 miles round trip. After coming down from the top we soaked our feet in the little creek flowing through Eaton Canyon. It felt really good! For lunch we ended up at Daphne's. I had a Gyro Salad, very healthy. The hike was very hot because you are hiking up and down a fire road with very little shade.

Henninger Flats is an experimental forest station which is operated by Los Angeles County. When you get on top it is very cool with pine trees. The camp grounds are very nice. I need to take my BSA troop up there for a camp out. We met a young family coming down who had camped out for the night. If you have the chance this is a nice moderate hike.

Milestones

2010-05-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

There are a few things which have been happening so far this year.

We have had our 2nd daughter get married within a year. Kathleen was married to Matt on April 30. They are a wonderful couple. I am so happy for Matt and Kat.

We will have our 7th child graduate from AWANAS next Wednesday. AWANAS is a great program which promotes the word of God among our children. This is something which is starting to be missed with our children in church. There is more entertainment going on now in the church in an attempt to "draw" children to Jesus. My question is what method did Jesus employ to draw the children to himself? Did he use entertainment? Or did He draw children to himself just because of who He is? The church doesn't gimmicks and programs to draw children to Jesus, first it was the parents who brought their children to Jesus to be blessed by Him.

As you can tell, Jesus is laying upon my heart again his love for the children.

Children's Ministry Update

2010-03-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a few years since Cara and I have been involved in Children's Ministry. This is still the ministry God has called us to. As we are getting back into the ministry the spiritual warfare is intensifying. I believe this is where our hearts are. This is what captures our imagination, what fuels our passion. Bringing children to Jesus so they can know him.

To Know Him and to Make Him Known!

Eaton Canyon Falls

2010-02-13T18:15:00.001-08:00

The Falls were beautiful today with the recent rains we have had in Southern California. It took multiple crossings of the fast running creek to finally reach our destination. It was such a beautiful day for a hike. The creek was able to get 2 scouts soaked who missed the rock they needed to cross the creek. But with the sun and warm temperatures they were able to dry off quickly when we got out of the canyon. I hope to have pictures of the falls later on Facebook.

We found an abandoned hut, shack, structure,??? in the creek bed on the way up then had the chance to check it out later. It was like a Robinson Crusoe type of structure. Probably abandoned from a homeless person. It was in the middle of the creek so can understand why it was abandoned. Place to go when I am in the dog house? Hmmm...

Nature Hike

2010-02-13T18:09:00.001-08:00

Went for a nature hike today at Eaton Canyon with 3 scouts, 2 who needed to pass plants requirement for 1st Class. It was a great day. Learned about a plant which helps with sore throats, laurel sumac whose berries were used as an aide for digestion, another plant which helped with bladder problems. Cowboy Sage which was used by local cowboys as a cologne before they rode into town. It was like going to local pharmacy.

Wish more of the Bat Patrol could have come for the hike to learn about our local native plants in Southern California.

It was a great way to start off the day. A beautiful hike in Eaton Canyon.

Foodies

2010-01-31T21:48:00.001-08:00

We spent the weekend up in Northern California this weekend visiting Cara's dad. He is doing well considering...

We were taken out to dinner at his favorite place. Our favorite was ice berg lettuce salad with kidney beans as a topping. Yum...

Tonight, we ate at a restaurant on the highway home. This should have been the first hint. Cara had a tri tip salad with cubed tri tip recooked in grease. I had a shredded beef ice berg lettuce salad which was ok. We were longing for our new favorite restaurant here in Pasadena, Stone Fire Grill.

Transition

2010-01-22T22:13:00.001-08:00

I went camping last week with my son on a Boy Scout camp out to Calico. He is my next son who has been in Scouts now for a year. The transition which struck me is teaching him how to help me set up camp, break down camp, etc... I have been camping and going on outings with his older brother who had his Eagle Court of Honor this week. He is 16 the younger is 11. Another one to teach and train on the trail to Eagle. 2 more after this one!

Start of a New Year, 2010

2010-01-02T16:02:00.001-08:00

Today is a beautiful day in Southern California. It has been in the mid-80's all day. Next week, we are supposed to go camping with a chance of rain. This weekend was the kickoff of the birthday celebration of BSA with a float in the Rose Parade then the unveiling of AB100. The weather couldn't have been better!

Today was also incredible, got to hear the CSE of BSA speak, Bob Mazzuca. Talk about OA being a bond of brotherhood! I was introduced to a dancer from the Pow-Wow this morning through a fellow friend then found out he went to the same high school in Germany, Zweibrucken American High School. He went there a few years after I was there. I was there in 73-74 and he was there 77-78. Amazing! It is a small world after all. This is the first time meeting someone from the high school I went to in Germany. And through OA!

Last year may have ended on a bad note, my car quiting on me twice on the way home on Dec 31 but yesterday and today have been beautiful! And Kathleen getting married on April 30, 2010 in OC. This year is going to be a whirl wind. I will try to post more than what I did last year.

Birthday Bash

2009-03-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

This week marks the annual Birthday Bash at the Deveau household.

March 7, Josiah turning 16, Cara, I won't tell but only say it is her birthday. They are spending their day at Disneyland. Cara invited Rachel his oldest sister so he would have a companion to ride on the rides with him.

March 8, Alyse turns 19, she isn't at the age yet where I am not allowed to tell her age.

March 11, Martin, my birthday, I am on the downhill side of 50 now, 51! Wow! My birthday is Wednesday this year. I don't know what I will be doing this year. I have Roundtable on my birthday and since I am the camporee chairman, I should be there. What a better way to spend my birthday then at a Scout function! :) I don't think I will be going to Disney for my birthday unless I want to spend the day alone. :( Our family should check into getting annual Disney passes for Christmas presents this year. Hmmm.... Family of 11 minus the older kids who could pay for their own pass, means purchasing annual passes for 8 which.... Hmmm.....

Memorial Service

2009-01-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

These past 2 days I have had the opportunity of attending 3 Scouting events. I had the opportunity of attending an Eagle Court of Honor. It was an awesome Court of Honor. The Color Guard was presented by the Marine Corps. I couldn't stay though until the end because it was off to another scouting event.

I attended a memorial service for the father of a good friend. His father was a WW2 veteran. My son was involved with the Color Guard presentation for the memorial service. He was the caller. He did a very fine job.

Today, we went to the graveside service for the same individual. I haven't been to a graveside service since my dad was buried 9 years ago at Arlington in the rain. Josiah was the caller was again and helped 2 younger scouts fold the American flag. It was very touching to see Josiah present the oldest daughter of the veteran with the American flag. It was a job well done. I can say I was very proud of my son as he handed her the flag. The weather was very cold and overcast.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T17:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008 has come and gone already! It came quickly this year. Our family had a wonderful time yesterday with Christmas. We had everyone home for the day to celebrate together the reason for the season, The Birth of Our Savior - Jesus Christ.

Before we started opening presents in the morning, I read from Luke Chapter 2 about the birth of Jesus. I then read the commentary from the new Bible I had bought from the Fuller Book Store. It is the Renovare Bible. The commentary spoke about the messiness of Jesus birth and how God used it to bring our Savior into the world. Even the birth of Jesus was messy so it is the same in our own lives. Our lives are messy and out of that messiness God brings forth his deliverance.

After the opening of the gifts we had a time of fellowship, nerf gun battles, nap time, and then the cooking of the meal. We had prime rib, twice baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce, green beans, and rolls. For desert, we had a wonderful apple pie baked by Rachel and a pecan pie provided by Bristol Farms.

We had the opportunity to share Christmas this year with Brian F, Matt K, and Paul S.

May the Lord and Creator of the universe bless your Christmas Season this year!

Valencia

2008-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 weeks, I have been focusing on helping with the Grand Opening of the newest Bristol Farms in Valencia. It is a beautiful store. I have spent the past 3 weeks working 6 days a week and sometimes working 12 hours a day.

On Saturday morning, I woke to fires out of control in Sylmar which is on the route I take to Valencia. 2 of the freeways I take to get to the store were closed. This meant I had to drive 85 miles to get to the store. It took 3 hours in the morning to get there. I left the store at 12:30 to deliver a cake to our store in South Pasadena. It took me 5 hours to get there in the afternoon. My commute that day was 8 hours in the car! What joy!

I can't believe this year is almost over. It has gone by so fast, too fast.

Anniversary

2008-10-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well, with it being October 4th this is my calendar anniversary date but it actually occurred Thursday evening a year ago. It was at this time last year, I had a beautiful view of the mountains from my hospital window!

I was admitted to the hospital in order to undergo further tests where it was revealed I had a "minor" stroke. If you can call a stroke "minor!" I spent the next 4 days in the hospital hooked up to an IV and undergoing tests. With a MRI, the neurologist found a minor blood clot in the upper left hand corner of my frontal lobe. For a few minutes on Thursday evening, I could not put together words longer than a syllable. I could think the thoughts but could not express them.

Through the grace of God and the prayers of my friends, I am where I am today. It is truly amazing! I am truly blessed. I don't know what more to say other than to think about the goodness of God! He is truly amazing! His love amazes me!

I think a lot more now about life and family and how precious each of those are. Jesus reminds me through incidents like this just how precious each and every one of us is.

LA County Fair

2008-09-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it is finally almost here, Fall is just right around the corner. In Southern California, the leaves may not be changing but the LA County Fair is happening for almost the entire month of September. This gives at least me the sense of Fall is just right around the corner. It doesn't quite have the feel of the Aspen turning in Colorado but hey when the leaves turn here around January it at least gives the sense of the seasons changing.

We had a great time at the Fair. It is an annual event for the family, which is dwindling as our older children are working and no longer attend with us. We buy our kettle corn, cotton candy, honey stix, view all the animals, milk a goat, and of course ride the rides.

Another traditional Fall event for the family is our annual pilgrimmage to Apple Country in Oak Glen. I can't wait to get back up there with the family buy a fresh crop of apples, apple cider, and of course a fresh baked apple pie from Laws.

Tomorrow, it will be a hike up to Hoegees Campground for Josiah's Eagle Project.

Vigil

2008-09-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great time this past weekend. I spent Friday through Sunday at Holcombe Valley Scout Ranch near Big Bear, California.

We had our OA Fellowship there. On Saturday evening, our Lodge, Ta Tanka had it's Vigil Ceremony. This was a proud moment for me as a Father because my son, Josiah, was inducted as a Vigil Honor in Order of the Arrow! This is quite an honor as a scout because one must be selected by his fellow peers in the Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts National Honor Society. It has been a great scouting summer for Josiah, Philmont, Cub Camp at Cherry Valley on Catalina, and now Vigil Honor. He is a "young" Vigil by being inducted when he was 15! Me, I was 48 when I was inducted.

Treasure Island

2008-08-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to work as camp staff for 9 days in August for a Cub Scout camp on Catalina. I worked as kitchen staff at Cherry Valley. It was a lot of fun even though it was hard work. I worked 9 hours a day in the kitchen, all of this while I was on "vacation!"

I was able to bring along Josiah who worked on Junior Staff for camp. He worked as a den chief, in the archery range, and in the handicraft department. Caleb was able to come along as a staff kid. This was his first and last opportunity to attend a resident cub camp. Next year, he has the opportunity to go as junior staff as he moves up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Caleb's favorite activity was archery where he shot 140 bull's eyes for the week. If you wanted to know where Caleb was, you could find him at the archery range.

The theme of the camp was all about pirates. There were 300 people attending each session of Cub Camp. There were 2 sessions for the week. Next year, I will have the chance to bring along another son, Benjamin, to attend camp. He will become a Bear Cub Scout next year so he will have the opportunity to attend as a staff kid. He should have a lot of fun as his older brother, Caleb, did.

ZZ TOP

2008-08-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Jacob and I went to a concert last night at the Glen Helen Pavilion in San Bernardino. It was a great show. Rodney Atkins opened up the show with some great tunes. This is the first time I have heard of him.

The next person on the ticket was Brooks and Dunn. This is also the first time I have ever become acquainted with them. They were great. I have heard of one tune which they have recorded, My Maria. They got a star today on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What can I say about ZZ Top? I have been listening to them since 1975, my senior year of high school. They bring back many memories of a youth now lost in time. But they brought back a sense of having a good time and not taking myself so seriously. Most of the time I can be so serious so it was good have a good time with ZZ Top!

I have found some new music to listen to in Brooks and Dunn and Rodney Atkins. They were a great team with ZZ Top.

Huntington Hospital

2007-10-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, this isn't a subject I wanted to be posting about. I just came home from spending the weekend at Hungtington Hospital. I had a TIA, which is a mini-stroke.

On Thursday evening, I wasn't able to communicate with my wife, just a bunch of nonsense syllables. The episode lasted about 5 minutes. I had an earlier episode in the afternoon at work. My doctor told me I needed to go to the hospital right away so off I went. I ended up spending the next 4 days in the hospital. I had a beautiful view of the San Gabriel Mountains. The air was clear all 4 days so it was definitely beautiful.

While I was in the hospital I had a bunch of tests run. They determined I had a tiny stroke, blod clot in my brain. My left carotid artery is also completely closed. My right carotid artery is probably 45-50% closed.

I am home now with only a very slight headache. The headache is enough to make me paranoid now though. I am off of work for the week. I am supposed to get plenty of rest.

Long Beach Triathlon

2007-09-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it! I finished competing in my first triathlon. I competed with a team so I only had to do the swimming part. I have been training for the last 6 weeks. When I first started training, I was swimming for around 30 - 32 minutes. Today at the end of the official competition, I swam in 23:04 minutes. This is my first time swimming in a triathlon and was my best time I have posted in swimming this year. Or better than what I know of. I don't even remember swimming this length of a distance although I must have because I earned the swimming merit badge when I was a boy scout at summer camp in Oklahoma.

Well, I am very happy for myself. I want to keep on swimming and training to compete in future swim events at triathlons.

Oh, and the water was filthy! It was the morning after the first storm of the season so all of the junk and filth from Los Angeles had washed into the ocean. Yuck!

But, it was still my first triathlon swim and I am extremely happy for finishing the event.

LA County Fair

2007-09-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

We made our annual pilgrimmage to the LA County Fair last week, September 14, 2007. We had a great time at the Fair this year. We went in at a little past 9:00am and left around 7:45pm.

Some of the highlights included watching a baby lamb being born. We watched the ewe in labor for about 45 minutes. It was an amazing event for the children to watch. We also watched chain saw competitions, chain saw sculpting, and a log rolling demonstration.

Later, we were able to watch the Shang-ri-la Chinese Acrobats. They were amazing. If you ever have a chance to watch Chinese acrobats you should take the opportunity.

We didn't stay for the entertainment. In the past we have watched Monster Trucks but they were scheduled for this evening. Maybe next year.

If you have a chance you should go to the LA County Fair or any fair with your family.

So Far

2007-08-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

This year has been moving very quickly. There has been a lot going on in my life lately and this past year since my last posting back in January.

Order of the Arrow - In March, I went to NLATS (National Lodge Adviser Training Seminar) in Santa Barbara. It was held over my birthday. Later I went to W4A Conclave in Santa Clarita. It was a lot of fun. In May was Induction Weekend. June was Scout Expo where we had the opportunity to help serve by cleaning up the Santa Anita Race Track after Expo was over. Finally, in July, I flew to Indiana for 5 days for NCLS (National Conservation Leadership Seminar), the summit where the next OA plan for the next years was presented to the OA leadership. It was held at the University of Indiana at Bloomington. It was a lot of fun and lots of learning. I am also the Chapter Adviser for my chapter, Hunkpapa. Which requires extra time/service for the Order of the Arrow.

Scouts - This past year, I was the Chairman for my district's camporee. The camporee was held in April. It went off fairly well. The theme of the camporee was "Rev It Up!" I am the chairman for next year's camporee as well. The theme is "Rock It Out!" It will be based upon a rocket theme. This year was a lot of fun. Next year should be a lot of fun as well.

Family - Cara and I had an opportunity to spend an evening on the Queen Mary in May. It was great. Our room was a suite room. We had a discount rate because of a Bristol Farms conference. In July, Cara and I went to CHEA by ourselves, no children! We stayed at a Hilton with a view of the lagoon and the Long Beach Bay. This is our 25th anniversary this year so we have been celebrating our silver anniversary all year long. Rachel also found out the other day we are directly related to Joan of Arc. In September, Cara and I are planning on spending our anniversary in Cambria and 2 nights in Napa.

Work - In July, I was voted Employee of the Month for June for the corporate office. I have been overseeing a couple of resets of the grocery department for a couple of stores. Our next reset will be in Long Beach starting Monday night. What this entails is working graveyards for a week. The store will be looking like grand opening when we are finished. What I am responsible for is making sure all the schematics for the store are up to date. A lot of these stores start doing their own thing when it comes to schematics.

House - We had a new roof put on in April. We are in the process of painting the exterior of house right now. We have also emptied the garage and put a majority of the contents in the backyard so you know what are backyard looks like right now. You don't need pictures. I have also planted some roses in the front, finally, after all these years about planting roses. Planted some tomatoes and basil.

Well, that is it for now. I promise to start blogging more on a regular basis.

San Francisco

2007-01-28T09:44:00.000-08:00

I spent the a couple of days from the past couple of weeks up in San Francisco. Last week, I spent 2 days in San Francisco.

One of the things I was able to do for a day was visit the Fancy Food Show. This is a shot from one of the booths at the show. Can you guess what booth it was? I thought this was a pretty cool looking motorbike so I snapped the picture. I have one other picture which shows just how many people are at the show. And this was on the last day when it is the lease crowded with people. There are two venues for the show. Next year the show is going to be in San Diego.

One thing I do like about San Francisco is the public transportation. It makes it really nice when flying in to Oakland that you don't have to rent a car. The BART is a great way to get around. I would like to use LA's public transportation more but it makes it hard when it takes an hour longer to get where you are going and then you have to find alternative transportation to get to your final destination. I think these are a couple of reasons why more people don't use public transportation more.

Calico

2007-01-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

My son Josiah and I had the opportunity to camp out at Calico this past weekend. We had to pick one of the coldest times in recent memory in Southern California. The overnight temperature was 17 degrees, nice and cold in the Mojave desert. The land was so barren it was amazing. Just a few miles in the canyon areas, they use to bring the moon buggy for practice because there was only rocks and no vegetation.

There was very interesting rock formations around the camp area such as the one above. The rocks were red and turned to orange when there was a sunset. It was very beautiful. If only it wasn't so cold it would have been more enjoyable.

There is also a commercialized ghost town for you to visit with daily gunfights on the weekends.

School Field Trip

2007-01-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

My family was able to take a school field trip to the Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Vally last Friday.

Every time I go there is a moving experience, to relive the events of my youth. The turning points of when I was a youth. It still brings tears to my eyes when they show video of his assasination. It was at this time when I started believing in Reagan. This past Friday, I believe I found the root of why it touches me so much. It brougn back to me the assasination of another president when I was much younger, too young to understand, the assasinaition of Presiden Kennedy.

To see so many memories of President Reagan was very moving. I wish we had more time to take a slower tour of the museum.

If you are ever in Simi Valley, it would be worth your time to visit the Reagan Library.

Palm Desert

2007-01-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

I spent the last week of December in Palm Desert. It was definitely the right time of the year to be visiting Palm Desert.

I was there to help with the opening of our newest Bristol Farms. It will be opening the first week of January. It is a beautiful store.

Palm Desert is a place I would love to retire when I am older but we will see. I have strong attachments to this area I am living in now.

I was able to take a picture of this hot air balloon on one of the last days I was in Palm Desert. It was the first day we were able to get off while it was still light outside. While I was driving back to the hotel, I noticed a couple of balloons making their descent before the sun set in the horizon. The fire lighting up the balloon was beautifle against the darkening sky. The fire actually lit up the balloon which lightened up balloon for the picture.

I was there the same week President Ford died in a neighboring town, Rancho Mirage. I didn't attend the viewing because I didn't want to wait in a long line.

Christmas - 2006

2006-12-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

Another year is quickly fading past into the distant past which means another Christmas will soon be upon us. The most significant changing of this Christmas is how much the children are growing. The older ones now are starting to participate more in an independent way every year. We have one who is going to split her time now between another family and ours this Christmas, gone is the opportunity of the family celebrating the holiday together.

Everyone is starting to get sick this holiday season. Once one person gets the bug then it starts going down the line. Right now, it appears to be a one day incubation period. One son got sick yesterday another one today. Hopefully, through prayer it will soon stop. It wouldn't be enjoyable for anyone to be sick during Christmas.

We went and saw the Nativity Story earlier this week. The story is incredible. If you have a chance to see it in the next couple of days you should take the opportunity to check it out. I don't think it will be around after next week. After that, it will be a definite buy when it comes out on DVD. I wouldn't anticipate it coming out until right before next Christmas season though.

In 3 days, I will be heading out to Palm Desert to help with the opening of the newest Bristol Farms. It is going to be a beautiful store. I will be gone for a week to help then be back before the New Year. My younger kids want to spend the night at the Rose Parade. This is something I am seriously considering. At least it shouldn't be as bad as last year. No New Year's Party this year at church? Nothing advertised yet, it is getting late.

Well, Merry Christmas, may you know the Risen One who gave us the reason to celebrate this season.

National Leadership Seminar

2006-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Josiah and I had the chance to attend the National Leadership Seminar this past weekend, November 16 - 19, 2006 in Fairfax, San Francisco. It was an awesome learning experience. It was taught by the regional and national leadership of the Order of the Arrow, BSA. It was incredible. It had young men teaching concepts of leadership which are normally taught to executives of major corporations, ideas such as situational leadership, a concept I learned about at the Food Industry Management Program, USC, Go Trojans! The young men who planned, taught, and delivered the program were all no older than 21. It was just inspiring to be in the presence of young men who were so gifted.

Tom and I had the opportunity to take 4 young men from our lodge to be taught at this seminar. I was impressed by their maturity level as well. They definitely already had down one of the concepts we were taught that weekend, "You need to walk as you talk," which is leading by example. I know this seminar will definitely benefit our lodge, Tatanka Lodge.

The picture is of the 4 young men from our lodge, the national and regional chief, l to r, Josiah, Brian, Sean Murray, National Chief, Cody, Nathan, and Kieran Thompson, Western Region Chief.

This is definitely the learning experience of a life time.

Mt. Gleason

2006-11-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go camping and hiking over the past weekend, Oct 28-29 at Messenger Flats. I went with my sons Boy Scout Troop, 373. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to go but I had a great time nonetheless.

I hiked 2.5 miles roundtrip up to the summit of Mt. Gleason, 6,500ft. The view from the summit was incredible. On the way up on one side of the ridge is the rich forest then on the other side is the Mojave Desert. It is a great lesson in climatology. The next morning I took the Scouts on a hike up to the summit where we had a Scout's Own Religious service. It is always inspiring to have a religious service in the wilderness.

Later this month, Josiah and I will be traveling with 3 other Scouts and 1 Scouter to Northern California to attend a NLS, National Leadership Seminar, for the Order of the Arrow. Josiah and I will be learing about leadership issues and characteristics.

Messenger Flats

2006-10-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

I went to Messenger Flats to check out the campground to see if it would be suitable as a campsite for a troop campout. It is a nice campsite, not many people were at the campsite. Actually, there was no one at the campground. The campground is right next to the PCT so I took my little children and had them hike a little bit on the trail so my children have hiked the PCT!

The view from the campground is gorgeous. It is based on a ridge. On one side you can see forests and then on the other side you see desert and the city of Palmdale.

San Francisco

2006-10-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

I spent the past 8 days in San Francisco for my work. It was quite the experience. There is definitely a difference between Southern California and San Francisco. I am so glad I live down here. I mentioned to a friend that living in LA is like living in Orange County compared to living in San Francisco. But then again, I did spend most or all of time in the Market Street/Union Square area of San Francisco so my image or impression of San Francisco my be distorted a little.

I would like to visit San Francisco as a tourist next time with my wife. The 8 days I spent in San Francisco was mainly work so I didn't get much time sight seeing. The thing I missed the most thought was spending time with my family here in LA. Tomorrow it is back to work and getting ready for the finished remodel of one store and then 4 weeks later the opening of another store. Then it is the holidays!

Oak Glen

2006-09-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

We went on our annual Fall Family Field Trip (if you don't count last year)to Oak Glen. We had a great time this year. It is amazing how much it has changed driving up to Oak Glen. Everyone always tells us to take the Cherry Valley exit and go the back way up to Oak Glen but I decided to take our traditional way through Yucaipa. I am so glad we did, on the way out there was a major grass fire so they closed both the on and off ramp to the 10.

We had a picnic at Parrish Ranch, bought our apples and cider at Snoline Ranch, and then stopped at Los Rios. We picked raspberries at Snoline. It was great! So fun and relaxing, picked 3 pints of berries!

We ended our time in Oak Glen by purchasing a fresh baked apple pie at Laws. It was still warm when Cara bought it! That is how warm it was.

I love going to Oak Glen with the family. Spending time with the little ones is so important before they get to old to make the trips with you is very important. I am starting to realize that more and more as the children get older.

The picture is of a cider mill at Snoline which dates from 1896. There is also a chestnut tree which was planted in 1898.

Hoegee's Hike

2006-08-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I went on a hike with my son Caleb. We went up to Chantry Flats, which is finally open. We got there around 10:45am, found a parking spot then hiked down around 11:00am. We made it into Hoegee's around 12:15. It was a 2 mile hike from Chantry Flats to Hoegee Campground.

The weather was beautiful in the canyon. It was a good 15 degrees cooler in the canyon than up on top at Chantry. We found a gold mine on the way in which I had never seen before. We were going to take Upper Winter Creek Trail on the way out but decided to hike back the way we came. We made it back to Chantry at 2:30. Overall, it was a very nice hike with Caleb. This was my first hike after coming down out of the Sierras. It was an uphill hike to the campground. We gained about 800 feet elevation in about a mile and a half.

Caleb is a great little hiker. This was his first hike into the woods. He had previously hiked to Echo Mt. with me.

Sierra Trip 2006

2006-08-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are reading this post on August 14, you know I am back home early. The 2006 Sierra Trip was scheduled from August 12 ~ August 21. The trip was 60 miles from North Lake through Piute Pass down through Evolution Valley and Evolution Lake, Muir Pass then out through Bishop Pass.

The first day of our hike was 7 miles from North Lake, 9350 feet through Piute Pass, 11,450 feet to a creek feeding Golden Trout Lake. The second day of the hike was 11 miles to Muir Junction at about 8,900 feet.

I only made it through the first day. I made it as far as Piute Lake, 10,958 feet. It was the last lake before Piute Pass. It was beautiful. I would have had to ascend another 500 feet to make to the top of the pass. I don't have a picture of the lake but I do have a beautiful picture of a lake just below it, Loch Leven, 10,748 feet. It is a beautiful lake.

The reason I had to come down was a combination of reasons with the main reason being altitude sickness. I also was having high blood sugar results so I didn't want to be further down the trail and be taken out then. So, I decided it was best that I come out on the first day. It was a very hard and emotional decision because I wanted to finish the hike, the scenery was beautiful, and I had never not been able to finish a hike. It was a very emotional decision for me.

I owe a lot to Arnold Gaffrey who was a bigger help to me then words can ever describe. There aren't enough words to express the thankfulness and gratitude I have for him in helping come down off the pass.

Cooper Canyon Trail Camp

2006-07-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Josiah and I went backpacking to Cooper Canyon Trail Camp this weekend. It was a wonderful time. We got to the trailhead at 12noon and reached the camp at 1pm when we had lunch. We hiked part of the way down on the Pacific Crest Trail. The hike in was 1.8 miles with an elevation loss of 700ft. Yesterday, we were the only people there until about 7pm when 2 other campers came in to camp. The stars at 3:30am were beautiful this morning. It was like being at Yosemite. The stars just lit up the sky.

We hiked out this morning at 9:00am and reached the car at Cloudburst summit at 10:45am. It was a 2.6mile hike out because we took the PCT all the way out to the car. The last 1/2 a mile we had an elevation gain of about 400ft. Now that was a training hike (the last 1/2 mile.) I feel fine after coming home. I don't feel to sore but I will see how I feel tomorrow morning when I have to be at work at 6:30am.

Well, the next backpacking trip we will be on is the trip through the Sequoias. We will be going in from North Lake and coming out Bishop Pass and South Lake. I will post pictures from that trip when we get back.

Oh, this was a much better of a training hike than Orchard Camp. It wasn't 104 on the trail at 12:45pm. The high was 84 and a low of 60 this morning. We camped at 6,300 feet elevation.

Orchard Camp Hike

2006-07-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Josiah and I went on a 6 mile hike today to Orchard Camp. We hit the trailhead at 8:45am. We hiked 3 miles up to Orchard Camp. We started out at approximately 950 feet and hiked up to 2,800 feet for an elevation gain of almost 1,900 feet.

The hike was miserable. This is definitely a November ~ May hike. When we started out it was 98 at 9:00am. At least half of the hike is in the sun. On the way out when we were coming down, the temperature reached 104 on the trail. This was at 12:45pm.

We did this hike as a conditioning hike for the Sequoia hike we will be taking in the middle of August. I don't think we will have to worry about 104 degree heat at 9,000 feet elevation.

We did ok on the hike except for the extreme heat. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this hike to anyone who was looking for a hike. It is a hot hike with not much scenery. 1st Water was a nice waypoint and we had lunch at a nice shady spot with running water but the hot sunny parts of the trail left both of us with bad memories of this hike.

Cooper Canyon Falls

2006-06-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

Cara and I took a hike today to Cooper Canyon Falls. It was a beautiful hike. The hike was through a pine forest at 6,200 feet. There was an elevation gain/loss of 600feet.

The first part was a 1.8 mile hike to the water falls. The water falls were beautiful. We took a couple of pictures of the waterfall.

We had intended to take a hike to Mt. Islip but the road to the trailhead was closed. The hardest part of the hike was the return to the trailhead. The last half of the hike was all uphill.

Cara and I liked Buckhorn campground. We want to take our family camping there sometime in the near future, probably near the end of July.

I think this would be a good training hike for a camp out at Cooper Canyon Trail Camp. There are a couple of places where the trail is steep.

The Getty Villa

2006-05-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to the Roman Villa in Malibu. The last time I was there was almost 10 years ago. The Villa was very beautiful. The only bad thing about the day at the Villa was the 3 hour bus ride. It took an hour to get there then 2 hours to get back to our cars by bus. It seems the Getty wanted us to be taken there by bus so there wouldn't be so many cars at the Villa.

We were thinking private tour bus, air conditioned nice seats but... what we rode down on was an Old Blue Bird school bus. It was like the bus I used to ride on when I was in 10th grade in Germany. The shocks on the bus were probably from that time also. We felt every bump in the road as we drove along.

But the Villa was well worth it. If you ever have a chance to tour the Villa you should take the opportunity.

Chou!!

Fish Canyon Falls

2006-05-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Cara and I went on a beautiful hike this morning. We went to Fish Canyon Falls. The hike was only 5 miles round trip. The canyon was so beautiful with the water and all the vegetation. The wild flowers were all in bloom today.

The falls are listed as being a 3-tier water fall. It is billed as being the most beautiful falls in the San Gabriel Forest. It is only open to the public once a year on the weekends during the month of May. The rest of the year there isn't public access to the trail head. Otherwise, you have to hike up a tick infested trail head.

If you have a chance during the month of May I suggest hiking the Fish Canyon Falls trail. The only drawback is the amount of people on trail. By 11am there were 160 people on the trail.

Camp Cherry Valley

2006-04-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

My Order of the Arrow Lodge had a great time this week end duing a service project for one of our council's camps, Cherry Valley. It was a great time. My chapter, Hunkpapa, had th most Arrowmen participate in the service project.

We had the opportunity to rebuild 2 trails. I helped to rebuild one trail which overlooked the Pacific Ocean. We had great food for Saturday and 1/2 a day on Sunday. We were able to receive free boat travel over to Catalina Island because of the service project.

It had threatened to rain all week end but only rained hard after midnight, just like the weatherman said, on Friday night. Saturday was a beautiful blue sky day on Catalina Island.

After the work was completed we had a great dinner, campfire, then a tour of an old silver mine on the camp. The silver mine explained the 2 gravesites which were on the trail we rebuilt that day. I receive some California history that day. What a filling day!

This was my first trip to Camp Cherry Valley, CCV. I hope Jesus grants me the opportunity to come back many more times to help with the maintenance of CCV. If you ever have the opporunity you should visit CCV.

Family Night

2006-03-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

We have family night on the weekends for our family. Every Saturday night, we have family dinner. We have "christianized" the Jewish Sabbath dinner except we celebrate it on Saturday evenings. What I finally realized it part of the meal is a celebration of communion. We have a toast of grape juice/wine and a breaking of the bread with every meal. Every Saturday dinner when we celebrate Sabbath dinner we are celebrating communion, remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross, His sacrifice.

Tonight, we are watching a great family movie, "Dreamer." It is a movie about a horse. I haven't watched a finer family movie in some time. We rented the movie from Blockbuster. I am in the mood to buy the movie and have it as a regular movie in our family movie library. I highly recommend "Dreamer" for your family movie night.

Trust and Faith

2006-03-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

This past month has been quite amazing. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. This time of month always seems to be busy anyhow, it is the month of birthdays, 4 birthdays in one week, 5 birthdays in 2 weeks. And, all of thisd within one immediate family. Whew!

On top of all of this, work is getting very busy. I have put in a couple of 12 hours days now and with more on their way in a short while. Schematics are starting to pile on top of one another. The good thing for me is work has decided to give me a laptop to I can work at the store and at of course at home! Oh, boy!

But last all of is the amazing thing which has happened to me this week. Jesus has given me the same word within the same week, do you think He might be wanting to tell me something? I am trying to understand what He is wanting to tell me or learn from what He is telling me.

"I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." John 10:10. He gave me this verse on Sunday during church and today the same exact verse from the devotional I get on the internet.

It is interesting especially what my family is going through at the time. It is a matter of trust and faith on my part in his word.

"I See His Blood Upon the Rose"

2006-02-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

I read a beautiful and moving poem tonight in "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill.

"I See His Blood Upon the Rose"

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice-and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

Winter Olympics

2006-02-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

Another moment in time which occurs every 4 years, the Winter Olympics. It doesn't seem to be getting much attention this time. There doesn't seem to be much excitement around this Winter Olympics.

Today, I went and helped my two sons with the Rain Gutter Regata event in his pack. They had a lot of fun. They built a sailing boat out of styrofoam, put a sail made out of paper on it then raced them against time in a rain gutter. Both of my sons came in third place in their respective divisions. My youngest was very happy and proud of his blue ribbon. He hung up the ribbon on the wall by his bed.

Today, was my first Valentine's Day Tea Party that I remember attending. I kind of made a barbarian lunch out of the delicate tea sandwiches. While everyone else was eating delicate cucumber tea sandwiches, I was eating 2 Chicken Jezebel Sausage sandwiches with heaping mounds of saur kraut. It brought distress on the females in my family and made my sons proud. Next year, I won't be such a barbarian! NAH!!

Bailey Canyon

2006-01-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

Cara and I went on a hike today in Bailey Canyon. It was hard at first finding the trail head but when we found it we made good time on the trail. The hike was 4.4 miles long (roundtrip.) We went to the foundation of the ruins of a cabin up on the trail. It was 2.2 miles to the cabin.

On the way up, we met a hiker who at the age of 13 in 1940 restored the cabin with some friends. After the war the Forest Service tore down the cabin. All that is of the canyon today is a wall surrounding 3/4 of the cabin. The wall is about 18 inches high in it's tallest spot. We had lunch at the cabin.

The hike was pretty steep. I knew it was going to be steep according to the contour lines on the map. They were pretty close together and the trail went straight up at times. At the end of the trail we starting going down hill so I knew we were close to the cabin because according to the map we would start going down hill a little bit before the cabin.

I like going on hikes with Cara. It gives us a time to be together without any distractions except for being on the trail. It was a nice hike. I would like to go on the trail again. Except this time we would hike a mile further to Jones Peak.

One More!

2006-01-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

Denver won one more game. They are a game closer to the Super Bowl. Everybody had them counted out at the beginning of the year. The majority of people had New England picked to win the game tonight. It was a great game by Denver. 5 turnovers by New England. Turnovers are what creates wins in the post season.

You should know who I will be rooting for tomorrow! I am rooting for Pitsburgh to beat Indianapolis. If Pitt wins,then Denver is playing at home again.

Well, here's to another week to wait for another great game next week. Tonight was really exciting watching the game at home with my sons.

Christmas 2005

2005-12-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. The difference with this Christmas is my children are getting older. It is amazing to see the older children going out shopping and purchasing gifts for the rest of the family on their own. It is amazing to see the love they have for each other and what they gave to the family. Christmas is all about family. That is what God has been teaching me this season.

It is about God sending his only Son, Jesus, into the world to take on the form of a man so He could be one of us. Yet, he also remained God but gave up his godly powers. He did this that the Father might be glorified when Jesus died on the cross for us. It was the initiative of the Father to offer his Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that He might be glorified. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I am a new creation. I no longer live but He lives within me. He has created a new heart within me. I am wonderfully and beautifully created in His image.

Christmas is also about my family spending time with each other this holiday season. It is the blessing of God that I am able to get off early enough this year to attend Christmas Eve service with my family. This is the first time ever in many, many years that I have been able to do this. Jesus is so good! The greatest He has given is His life that I might be free from the stain and stench of sin. Yet, He still provides blessing after blessing! I have a wonderful wife and beautiful children.

God is so good!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2005-11-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

I wanted to shout Merry Christmas from my blog site because it is so Anti-Politically Correct! It was as a friend and I were talking about yesterday, in the ancient church it used to be "He is Risen!" "He is Risen, Indeed!" which distinguished whether one was a Christian. Today, one can know if a person is a Chrsitian if he greets someone with the saying of "Merry Christmas!" It seems as if only Christians are saying Merry Christmas. The popular saying everywhere is Happy Holidays. Sooo, Merry Christmas!

I discovered a song on another website which I would like to share with you. It is called "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew.

"My Jesus"

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

May you come to know Jesus this Holy Season. God who came in human flesh, the God who came and with us, died for us, rose again, then ascended into Heaven and set us at the right hand of God.

Blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

This has been a very different holiday season. For the first time in almost 30 years I am not working in a grocery store during Thanksgiving. And for the first time in 8 years I won't have the added stress of making sure everything goes right for this holiday! God has been so good to me lately that it can't be hard but to be thankful to Him for everything He does.

Jesus moved me out of the stores in the middle of September. He put me in a new position at the corporate office. I am now officially the Manager of Space Allocation and Product Demonstrations. This means I now have weekends and holidays off. I don't have the stress of the added pressure of running a store. He is so good. People have told me the stress is so less visible on my life. One person told me just the other day I look 5 years younger because of the stress not on my life. Thank-you, Jesus. My doctor told me my health will be a lot better with less stress in my life. Stress is bad for my blood sugar. Thank-you, Jesus!

Then to put another piece to the puzzle in place, He moved upon my pastor's heart to ask Cara and I if we would consider being small group leaders. It would have been very difficult to be a Care group leader if I was still a store director. So again, I am thankful to Him for the opportunity to be a small group leader. I am also signed up to be an usher at church. That will start in December. I will serve for the whole month.

So for this Thanksgiving, I am so thankful to Him for his goodness to me!

Things

2005-10-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

There isn't a single focus or thought which has been running through my mind latety, just a variety of things. It is just like living in California, there is such a variety of daily activities which take place. But, life needs to have a focus to make an impact in our lives or else it is just a matter of random things.

The biggest focus in my life lately has been getting into a deeper relationship/walk with Jesus Christ. This has been happening by a variety of means lately. Every morning I have been getting up I read through our church's bible plan. I also read a portion of Scripture before I go to bed. I have been reading a very good book by Greg Laurie, "The Upside Down Church." It is a book about evangelism. He makes several good points in the book confronting the modern church. I am almost done with that book. I am starting another book called, "No More Mister Nice Guy." It is a book about not being passive as a Christian man. This is a very major point in my life. I tend to be on the passive side. I let life happen to me rather that stepping out and taking charge. I avoid conflict at pretty much any cost. This is not what God has called me to be. I have been also listening to an abridged version of "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. For me, it has been a very good book. It is about how we view our walk with God. It is about our heart.

So pray for me that Jesus will continue his healing work in my life. To take a more active role in my life. To make a stand for the gospel of Christ and not to have fear rule in my life, not just to drift down the swift flowing stream of life.

Anniversary

2005-09-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Cara and I had a beautiful anniversary last weekend. Our anniversary is Sept 25. We have been married 23 years. Every year I plan a weekend away with the one I love. She is definitely a gift from the Lord. She is the most precious gift He has given to me.

Last weekend, we went to Dana Point. I made reservations for our hotel 4 months in advance to the day. Our hotel was right across the street from Doheny State Beach. We could see the fire rings lit at night and the waves illuminated in the light of the fires. We spent 3 beautiful days together. When we checked out of the hotel we found out that people who were registering that day for the hotel were paying more for one night than what we paid for 2 nights. Jesus is so good!

On Saturday, we went to the San Juan Capritrano Mission. It was great to take the time to spend 2 hours at the mission just observing everything, taking pictures of everything, and not having to worry about the what the little ones were getting into.

I am already plannning a couple of ideas for our 25th anniversary. I want it to be espcially special for Cara. She works so hard and means so much to this family and to me. She deserves to be blessed.

King Tut

2005-09-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

We went on our first school field trip of the year. We went and saw King Tut or should I say the in-laws of his father. As far as seeing Tut it was kind of a disappointment. The majority of the exhibit was dedicated to the Golden Age of the Pharoahs which was in the small print of the brochure. The sarcophagus wasn't there and neither was Tut.

We arrived around 10:30,which was a good thing because it was crowded enough at that time. When we left around 12:30, it was really crowded with lines. It would have been really tight within the museum.

After the museum trip, we went and had lunch at the Farmer's Market of L.A. We then walked around the Grove. It was a lot of fun. The family had a chance to ride the trolley up and down the Grove. It was a double decker so we rode up on top.

Then later in the evening, we had a pool party with Shiloh Academy. There were about 5 families who came to the pool party. It was a great time sitting down and having fellowship with the other families. The families who didn't come missed out on a really great time of fellowship. The strength of Christianity is in community. We need to be there for each other to hold each other up.

Yosemite Backpacking

2005-08-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have been back a week now from backpacking in Yosemite. It was a great time. For the first 4 days of the trip we saw only one other person on the trail Talk about being in a different universe! Then when I get back it is right in the middle of the opposite universe, Sunset & Fairfax in Hollywood. It is totally different there.

The flowers were over 5 feet tall, everything was green, the sky was bright blue, Mars looked like an orange golf ball. I could go on and on about how amazing it was. We did not come across any wildlife though because some of the wildlife was with us. A couple of the boys were really loud, loud enough to scare any wild life away from the area.

The trip was for 5 days and 4 nights. It was about 24 miles long, with some steep climbs on the trip. Those steep climbs really put me under because of the lack of food intake to compensate for the calories I was burning trekking along in the wilderness.

The biggest thrill I got out of the trip was my son and I are planning on having some of our own backpacking trips in the local mountains when it starts to cool off. Even my 7 year old is starting to bug me about taking him along on a short hike to get him adjusted to hiking.

The picture I have posted on my blog is the site of our first night on the trail. We camped right in front of Turner Meadows. It was absolutely beautiful as you see. There was a stream running right in front of our campsite with Turner Meadows right behind us. The meadow was about 3 to 4 inches of water.

Yosemite Family Trip

2005-07-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

We had our bi-annual family vacation. This time we went to Yosemite. I wanted to share with Cara what the boys and I saw and experienced last year when we went to Yosemite. Everyone had a great time at Yosemite. We did all of the normal stuff one does when you go to Yosemite.

We went to Glacier Point, Pioneer Village, and Yosemite Falls. We were able to hike up to the lower Yosemite Falls and enjoy the spray from the water fall. On the day we left Yosemite we went out of Tioga Pass. We stopped at Tioga Lake for lunch. The bread had gotten moldy by then after being 5 days in the hot car, I gues that is bound to happen. The kids saw snow on the side of the road so we stopped to play and take pictures in the snow. Walking back to the car, I saw a bald eagle flying over the lake, then another bald eagle actually flew over Josiah. We then spent the next 5 - 10 minutes watching the eagles fly up in the canyon. It was great seeing our national bird flying in the wilderness.

Next week, Josiah and I have the opportunity to return to Yosemite for a back packing trip in the high country of Yosemite. I am looking forward to the return trip to Yosemite. It will be the third time for Josiah and I to Yosemite in a year!

Church

2005-06-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a very hectic couple of months, hence the lack of postings from this blog site. Not that anyone reads my postings anyhow? 'cause I have only received a couple of comments from my sister Kathy when I first started blogging. But, I like blogging because it helps to clear my thoughts.

I have grown really fond? of the church we have been attending the last few months, Abundant Life Community Church. It has its quirks but all churches have their peculiar quirks like we all do because we are human. I guess I have just been growing as a human or can I say man in this politically correct culture? I am starting to value church membership more importantly now as I grow older. We need to make a committment to a body of believers. There was a really good paper written by the Ekklesia Project about church membership. It really spoke to me about the importance of church membership. I read J. Harris book but this short paper is what convinced me about why we should committ to church membership.

So, now I have asked the pastor for a meeting to join the church. Yes, we have to go through a formal interview to be able to join. If we are not allowed to join I don't know what we would do but hey, Mr. Happy Camper, I am not going to focus on the negative. I am looking forward to becoming a member of ALCC. He is supposed to get back to me later in the week about my family joining the church. He said the meeting would last about an hour.

Patches

2005-04-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

We have a new dog named "Patches." We rescued her from the Pasadena Humane Society on April 8. She has been a great dog. She is a Pointer/Dalmation mix although, I think she is more Pointer than Dalmation. She is a calm dog who likes to go on walks and play with the children. She is a year and half old, which makes her almost the same age as Nathanael. She has spots all over with a patch over her right eye and black ears. From the pictures I have seen of Pointers, she looks just like an English Pointer. The children really love their new playmate. They are having a great time with her. She is a wonderful addition to our family. She loves going for car rides already.

Happy Camp

2005-03-11T22:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, I was able to attend a seminar called Ed Foreman and "The Success in Life Seminar." It was sponsored by Albertson's and since Bristol Farms is now part of Albertson's I had the opportunity to attend. I loved the 4 days being away and learning how to be positive in my life. It also taught about the influence of having a positive thought process and outlook in life. It was a great course. I know it will affect the rest of my life and how I live my life. I am now a more positive person and know how to focus on the positive things in my life. For me this is hard to do since I used to worry a lot about everything but now I just focus on the positive things in my life and am thankful to Jesus for the many ways He has blessed me. I am starting to look at all the little things in life which are such a blessing to me. It is a real blessing in my life.

Joshua Tree

2005-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

This week-end was our troop's annual trip to Joshua Tree. This marked the first time for me in camping at Joshua Tree where we camped at a different campsite. The campsite we normally camped at for the past few years was Indian Cove. It is a short distance from the town of Twenty-nine Palms. The campsite we were at this time was Sheep Pass. I liked the campsite at Sheep Pass much better. The difference though is the group campsite is 20 miles from the town of Joshua Tree. Some of the dads couldn't make their morning run to Starbucks. It was a good time this week-end. The patrols practiced the patrol method in preparation for the camporee. On Saturday, we took a short, strenous hike up nearby Ryan's Mt. Saturday afternoon we had a short thunderstorm with wind, rain, hail, thunder, and lightning. That evening we had the privelege of looking at Orion's Nebula, the Rosette Nebula, Saturn and its rings, the Bee Hive, and the Two Clusters. We also saw Jupiter rising with the full moon. It was a great week-end. The only thing which was missing was my oldest son, Jacob. Jacob had been to the 7 previous Joshua Tree trips out to the Mojave Desert. A couple of dads asked were Jacob was. He was missed.

California Adventure 2

2005-02-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention one thing which is really exciting about us going to California Adventure. The whole week before we were to go, they had been forcasting rain in Southern California starting on the Tuesday before we were going to go on Thursday. Well, we prayed as a family for a week before that it would not rain on Thursday because then we would not be able to go. Guess What? It didn't rain until 2:30 that afternoon! If had rained that morning then we would not have gone to California Adventure! To God be the glory!

California Adventure

2005-02-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

We were able to go to California Adventure 2 weeks after we went to Disneyland. California Adventure was new and shiny but it is not Disneyland. There is still a sense of nostalgia and warmth at Disneyland which isn't at California Adventure. California Adventure is just too new and too much into the post-modern culture. There was a show which was called California Dreamin which was a little bit occultic for my tastes. It had Whoopi Goldberg as the California "Spirit" who is there to guide you and give you advice any time you ran into adversity. It also had two big idles at either side of the stage which came alive and spoke to the audience. If some ancients ever saw these statues they would have worshipped them as gods. It is so easy to imagine about the image of the beast coming to life in the temple and being worshipped in the Book of Revelation. The best ride I liked was California Soarin which took you flying all over the state. The worst part of the trip was the first ride I went on with 2 of my kids, California Screamin. It was a roller coaster type of ride which left me feeling nauseous for most to the morning. It almost ruined my whole trip for me. The best part of trip was being able to spend time with my family for the day.

Disneyland

2005-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Disneyland! That is what all of my family members had to say yesterday. That's right all of them. All of us had such an enjoyable time spending the whole day there. Some of my children haven't been there at all. The last time we were there was 9 years ago in 1996 with my mom and dad. It was a great time by all because it was during the middle of week, it was still winter, and there weren't any crowds which meant no long waiting in lines for the rides. We went on almost all of the rides. We got there at 9:30am and left at 8:30 in the evening. What a great time we had. Boy was it exhausting just walking around all day with a pack on your back and running from ride to ride so we could enjoy as many rides as we could in our short day. Actually, by the end of the day we weren't running so much any more but just dragging our tired feet closer to the car. It was really nice to visit. We have the chance to return in 2 weeks when we attend California Adventure except this time we will be short the 2 older girls since they will be at school. Oh, and since this was Southern California, the weather was beautiful, bright, sunny, but not to hot, just the right temperature.

Reagan Library

2005-01-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit the Reagan Library with my sons' Scout troop. To say it was an emotional moment is an understatement. Maybe I am getting older or something but the moment we arrived at the library and saw the buildings my emotions came over me, I felt overwhelmed as if I was in the presence of a great man. Reagan was truly one of our great presidents. Just to see the piece of the Berlin wall was incredible, to see one of the last symbols of tyranny in pieces was incredible. If ever you have a chance to be in Simi Valley, CA, you should take the chance to visit the Reagan library.

Malibu Creek State Park

2005-01-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

I spent this past weekend at Malibu Creek State Park. I went with my sons' Boy Scout troop. We were able to stay in the group campground there. It was perfect since we were on our own at the end of a plush meadow.

Every morning there was dense fog in the meadow which burned off by 9:00am. After the fog burned off the deer came out to eat the wild oats in the meadow. There was a hered of 7 deer. My 6 year old was so excited to see the most deer he has ever seen in his whole life! It seems camping is in his blood. He learned how to build a fire the first night we were there. It only took one match for us to start a fire. He learned about starting with small twigs then moving on to larger branches to build the fire. On Sunday, he was so disappointed we would not be going on a hike with the troop, he cried, so I had to take him on a special hike with his older brother.

Every evening we were blessed by our Creator to enjoy a moon which was nearly full. In the middle of the night one could hear the coyotes sharing their joy of the latest meal they would be sharing with each other.

It was a great weekend to be out camping with the Boy Scouts, being able to teach a new group of scouts and older scouts about scout craft. I was able to purchase a map of the area which helped with maps and orientering. One scout was disappointed we weren't going to have an orienteering course! This is the first time I had a scout who was disappointed about not orienteering.

Another first was my six year old losing his first tooth on the second day of the campout.

All in all, it was a great weekend of camping. The only thing which was sad about this trip was my oldest son, who is an Eagle Scout, wasn't there to share the experience with. Can't wait till next month when we head out to Joshua Tree. Next month, I will tell you all about the experience of Joshua Tree.

A New Year

2005-01-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Rain, Rain, Rain! When will it ever end? I feel like I am living in Seattle with the amount of rainfall we have been receiving lately!

The New Year is starting out really good. It is amazing how much God has blessed me so far this year. The hardest part of it all for me is to realize and accept how much He has blessed me so far this year.

I am really blessed by the family Jesus has given to me. I have a beautiful wife who has a real servant's heart and children who really seek after the Lord.

With work it seems to be just in a holding pattern with waiting to see what will happen in the upcoming year with all of the changes which are supposed to be happening. This is a year of which there are going to be alot of changes.

I have 2 children who will be graduating from school this year, one from college and one from high school, both homeschooled.

With all of the changes which are going to be happening I know it will come out ok by the end of the year because Jesus holds the universe in the palm of his hand, He holds everything together.

Blessings unto you for this New Year!

Camping in December

2004-12-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go camping in December in California. We went camping to Hoagies which is in the Angeles National Forest. It was beautiful weather, the temp was in the 60's today and in the 40's last night. I packed for a cold night but it never got cold at all.

Hoagies is a camp site which is 2 miles outside of Chantry Flats. It is at 2,400 feet alongside a nice little creek. The water in the creek was running fast because of the recent rainfall we have had. We went in at 4:30 in the evening by the time we reached the camp it was dark out. The camp site is in a little valley so it was really dark at the camp because of all the trees. When we went out of the camp back to Chantry Flats we took the Upper Winter Creek Trail which is 3 miles back. The initial part of the trail is a 400 foot elevation gain from 2,400 to 2,800 feet but after that initial gain the trail levels out and then drops 400 feet to Chantry.

It was a real nice week-end spending time with my 2 oldest sons and their Scout troop in the forest. They were able to work on a service project while at Hoagies.

Camping and backpacking provides a great opportunity to spend quality and quantity time with your family. You should give it a try!

Re: Winter Season

2004-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I last posted about it being the Advent Season but I have found out recently about another season which is upon us: the Flu Season!

With 9 children it can be a pretty lengthy affair but thankfully so far only 3 children have gotten sick. These 3 children have gotten sick on 2 different days though and during the middle of the night so it doesn't give much time for rest during this very busy season.

We are reading a very good devotional book for children for Advent called Jotham's Journey. Last year we read Bartholamew's Passage. Both of these books are about a young boy living during the time of Jesus who becomes involved in the birth of Jesus. They are both very good books which tell about the spiritual journey of these 2 young boys.

Kathy, I received your post, can you give me your full blog address so I can read your blog?

I did have a very difficult evening last Sunday night watching the Broncos lose to the Raiders. It was even more difficult the next morning when I had to go to work to face all of the Raider fans. Now, I have to wait and watch the game this Sunday when the Broncos play the chargers, or listen to the game since I will be traveling all over LA on Sunday. Hopefully the Broncos will win because if they don't they will have a hard time getting into the playoffs.

Go, Broncos!

First Sunday in Advent

2004-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. My family will be celebrating this holiday season starting tonight. I believe the first Sunday is the Prophet's candle. We will be contemplating about the message the prophets had to bring about the coming birth of the Messiah.

Rachel, my oldest daughter, will be able to celebrate with us before she returns to TMC to finish her studies before the Christmas break.

Take the time this Advent Season to remember why Jesus came to be with us, Immanuel (God is With Us)

Veritas Blog

2004-11-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

Veritas Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!

2004-11-27T21:56:00.000-08:00

This is the first posting on my blog. It has been a good week-end with Andrew visiting from Monterey. He surprised us yesterday by driving down to see Rachel.

Today, we celebrated our Thanksgiving dinner together. We shared the story of the five kernels of corn. Five kernels of corn was the ration the Pilgrims had the first winter they were in Plymouth. On the first Thanksgiving, the wives of the Pilgrims brought out the plates with 5 kernels of corn to remind everyone what they had come through the previous winter. We are going to celebrate this tradition from now on our Thanksgiving dinners.

Well, God Bless You! May you have a Blessed Christmas Season and remember why we celebrate this season - The Birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ!