roseville

Imagine with me:

The clock ticks, and he cannot sleep. The tires screech, and she cannot run far enough. His whole life could change tomorrow, and so he runs. She is convinced her life can never change, and so she runs. Captured in worlds of their own, he never suspected that tonight he would understand what it means to be great. She never knew that she was worth something greater. Tonight their paths cross, on the road to Roseville.

Well, I am (kinda sorta) taking my first foray into the world of filmmaking, which has fascinated me for most of my life and only grows more interesting. The first step is supporting those that have the talent to create beautiful, memorable, and meaningful stories in this medium. My dear friend Mandy is producing our friend Peter's short film Roseville which is scheduled to start shooting at the end of March in the LA Area. I have been asked to be the "Seattle Liason" for this production. So far my responsibilities are fundraising for the project and planning the wrap party at the conclusion of principal production. Exciting!

If you are interested in learning more about Peter and Mandy, please click
HERE

And if you are intrigued enough to donate a little necessary (tax-deductible) funding, please click
HERE
Every little bit helps!

exultation

There are blooms all around; there's a fragrance in the air. The breezes have lost their chilly edge. The sacrifice of one hour's sleep is worth the lingering blue of dusk...

Spring comes.
Easter comes.
And hope is alive.

I am a new creation. Good things are coming!!

morningsong

"...Looking at the snow and trees that grow
Outside my window
Looking at the things that passed me by
Wondering if where I've been is worth
The things I've been through
Ending with a friend named Sunny Skies..."
(James Taylor)


I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me up out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.
Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise His holy name.
For His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.
(Psalm 30:1-5 & 11-12)

Guess who gets to go see the original JT at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in July? I can hardly wait! But before summer; spring. And it is coming, swiftly, surely...resurrection, new life, warmth, golden days.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

Well, it's one of those days where it feels like the only thing holding me together is the hope and purpose and grace and love of Christ. It gets so tiring to be in this battle, to be fighting for good, to be struck again and again and continue to get up and face the enemy with the strength of the one who loves me. The ache of the pain of this world ebbs and flows and seems to cripple me. So many hurting hearts and I want to heal them all. I can't. My own heart is battered, bruised, broken again and again. And I do not love with the love of Christ. I try, but on my own I can't help but love in a way that wants desperately something in return. I expect that my love, sacrifice, caring should be reflected back in equal measure. It rarely is and then it just hurts more. I have been learning more and more the last few years how true it is that Jesus is our brother, that he was human and knows what it is to feel this way. Imagine Jesus loving us so much and of ourselves we can never love back in equal measure. Imagine the pain He feels when He reaches out to us again and again and we ignore Him, turn our backs on Him, even spite Him; when we accept and appreciate His love but do not change; when we don't allow that love to transform, renew, resurrect the dead! This is how I find my comfort in Him. When I start to despair, when I am confused, when I feel that my efforts are futile, when I wonder why they don't love me, He whispers in my ear "I have been there."

I have mentioned before that I adore the music of Denison Witmer. There has been one refrain that has been haunting my mind for quite a while...I hear it now...

I have been where you are
I am well aware that there is hurt
That never goes away
I have been with you
Things I know will not let your hurt carry you...

I am weary. I just want to hang my head and sleep, go somewhere quiet, let the tears flow and let Him carry me.

whistler weekend

Little things I loved about the weekend:

* Everyone drinking Earl Grey Tea on the drive up

* Hiking through the trees and snow while the sun shone in the blue sky

* Yoga by candlelight

* Crepes

* Red wine and dark chocolate

* Zoolander and Michael Clayton

camp.

heaven on earth.

green IS gold

Thanks Adrian. Your serious expression (and serious beard) make me even more determined to take environmentalism seriously.
(Also thanks to www.gofugyourself.com for the photo and the hilarity)

total eclipse of the moon

My dad and I stood on my parents' deck and watched it for a while. I felt about seven years old again. My absolute adoration for astronomy (hey check out that alliteration!) has been dormant for a while but I feel it stirring again lately. I can't wait for a warm evening when I can lay back and just drink in the stars, all their stories, let my eyes adjust to all of those small lights in the vast, infinite darkness of space. We saw Orion, Cassiopeia, Taurus, Ursa Major...too many neighborhood lights to see much more.

los angeles

i remember thinking
that you'd never leave
praying in your bedroom
before i fell asleep
i still feel the moment
when you came alive
like a poem about springtime
nothing to hide

all of these homes
are lined up so straight
but here on the inside,
it's not that way

i gave you my life and more
from sadness to sunshine,
i'm yours, i'm your lost happiness
up in your los angeles sky

lately i've been thinking
that you'll never know
if you don't mark the way back
the further you go
lately i've been feeling
like i'm the bright star
that fell behind the mountain of feeling you are

-denison witmer

Biola, abundant sunshine, old friends, new friends, lots of laughter, cheeseburgers, lying in the grass, dance party, adventures, talking about film, late nights, happiness, more cheeseburgers, great conversation.

So yeah. It was a pretty great weekend.

valentine

Do not be silent with your love. Tell them.

Proverbs 16:24
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

my love for jim (and guitars)

Okay, so when listing my celebrity crushes a few posts down I can't believe I forgot about this guy:

















Thanks to J. Spiro's blog I did a little digging on my boy JK and came up with these photos. Below is John on stage with Death Cab's Ben Gibbard:

















Oh man. Looks like so much fun. I just want to be friends with everyone! It's like that dream I had once upon a time. I'm sure many of you have heard me talk about it. Me, Matt Damon, and George Clooney hanging out late at night, playing cards, drinking beer, and laughing like crazy. Those guys are so FUNNY in my head. Now every time I see one of them on screen my brain seriously thinks we're friends. I had a similar reaction to Ethan Hawke that one time. Then he totally made me fumble by having the same reaction to ME. Like "oh hey, don't I know you?" Weird. Twilight Zone.

Okay, I also have to share this cute picture I have of Travis' Dougie Payne (married to the so talented Scottish actress Kelly McDonald):

What can I say? I'm probably stating the obvious here, but I think I have a thing for guys with guitars.

And what ties this all together? On the day that Jim & Pam find the manuscript of Michael Scott's screenplay "Threat Level: Midnight" and they have a dinner of grilled cheese on the office rooftop, and then Jim walks her to his car and shares a song on his iPod, it's Travis. Of course. And that's right when I fell head over heels in love with Jim & Pam.

weekend (backwards)

last night:

Lars and the Real Girl














SO GOOD. A very unusual premise that tells a heartbreaking story of grief, love, and hope. "Winter doesn't end 'til Easter." Come, Spring!! Ryan Gosling is quietly, intimately, amazing.


saturday:

Breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe and Barney's etc. with Paula. Did you know that Barack Obama shops at Barney's? It's true; at least for suits. The guy's got style! Then on to Logan's 1st Birthday party; yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting (my favorite) and board games. Super fun. Then Mono in VCF at the Triple Door:
















I love watching Kim play her part of dangerous, sexy, frontwoman vixen. The dessert and wine was great too; I love the Triple Door! Afterwards Jamie and I watched Big Fish which I hadn't seen in a while. It's so fantastical and real at the same time. Why do we know so little of who our parents really are, the people they were before we existed?


friday night:

LOST redux.
















Four new characters (including a British cultural anthropologist named C.S. Lewis, a twitchy, nervous physicist, and a creepy ghostbuster)? A working helicopter? Sayid to the rescue? I LOVE THIS SHOW.

tuesday

Well, the anticipated conclusion of the WAFF and our date with the brothers Wilson was foiled. But that did not stop Serrah and I from, in the words of her friend Kaylin, "turning the night around."

Dinner at Julia's in Wallingford, dessert at Trophy Cupcakes (the BEST), and game night back at the house with a few friends.

Ahhh, I love having neighbors such as these.

boys du jour

Just for pure silliness...


Adrian...


Adam...


Luke.

Sometimes, happiness is a little celebrity crush. Who's yours?

Oh, YES.