iWonder

What A Week.

2009-04-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

This week was also the week Marty went to be with the Lord. The service was at our church and we expected a lot of people. And of course, being the awesome tech guy that I am, the service was streamed across the internet for people to see. Well we had to get our church network ready and the camera and the computer and the sound to pump through the computer. It was a little stressful and everything worked out in the end. I just wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted to let Marty know that I was putting 110% in this service, not skimping on nothing. I wanted him to look down and be proud of me. I think he would.

The service was nice and the sanctuary was packed. The satellite room we had setup was a little glitchy, but that was bandwidth problem. It was what Marty would have wanted, Raider Black and Silver with people who love and adored the man there. He was a big man with an even bigger heart for people and youth especially. When it was time to say something at the funeral, I had already set in my mind not to say anything. I spent a lot of time with Marty, and I wanted other people to have a chance. So I'll say it now, since they have internet in heaven.

There have only been a hand full of men in my life that have truly shaped me into the man I am today; Marty was one of them. I remember going to Northgate for youth for the first time and meeting Marty. Now being 16, he towered over me and he spoke with a gruff voice. I remember sitting in couches around the room and hearing his testimony and it blowing me away. Now I grew up in church and had already given my life to the Lord, but I had never met someone with a story like that. That story I would hear dozens of times over my ten years of knowing him. And you know what I learnt from them. Even though my life has gone pretty good and it might not be that crazy, we all have a story. We might not think it, but there is a testimony that we can share with people and will show the love of Christ though us. We just have to bold enough to share it. And Marty was bold!

I will miss him. But! I will definitely see him again. Most definitely

Camp Berea

2009-03-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings All! Yesterday James, Joe, Mike and I went to Camp Berea. Basically we went up there to do some grunt work. Moving stuff from one place to another. Up and down the hill. But of course knowing us guys, we don't try to work too hard. After a couple of hours of work, we shot some guns.

Part of the going to camp though was to get some ideas for church camp. I have recently taken over Marty's role as District Youth Adviser and there are lots of things to figure out. I feel that I am ready for this huge challenge. I have been under Marty's guidance for that past several years, and he has taught me so many things when it comes to youth ministry and over all leadership. But even with this new role, I am really excited to see how camp is going to look this year and the lives that will be changed.

That being said, we are looking for volunteers for the two church camps. We currently are looking for some to head up the junior high camp. The junior high age range is 7-12 and the dates for that camp is June 21-27. I am heading up the senior high camp but am still looking for people to work it. The age range is 13-18 and the dates are July 19-25.

Let me know if you are interested in helping. Thanks all and God Bless!

Almost A Year

2009-03-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! It has been almost a year since my last post. It's amazing how much things change in a year. The last post was about how Te and I were getting an apartment. Well we ended up getting that apartment and having been living here for 10 months. The tone in my last post was one of...well terror. To look back and see me then I wonder what the heck am I so scared of. We are fine now and God provides the work for me to pay the bills. It blows my mind that I have my business and I actually make money from it. It really shouldn't be that shocking, God is the creator of the Universe...yes the whole thing.

Trust. That seems to be the recurring theme in my life. One I am continually growing in.

The Time Has Come

2008-05-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

To say that I'm not scared would be like saying I love bees. I just so happen to dislike the flying stinging insect species. As of last Friday, Tiffany and I have an apartment. This will be the first time Te and I are going to be one our own. Although Tiffany won't be living there till November. This is one of the biggest steps in my life. Our own place! This isn't living with my girlfriends family house, or the church house, or some ladies from the church house or even mooching of my parents house. Our own place.

At first I was like no freaking way. But it was at the apartment complex I wanted to live in. Near the church, but far enough away from the kids that live in a nearby apartment complex. This place is fully loaded: gas stove, fridge, dish washer, 2 spacious bedrooms, a nice size living room and kitchen nook.

Like I mentioned I was a little hesitant towards the who thing. Thinking, "Is this a little soon?" and all the rest of that kind of crap that comes into my head. But if I've learned one thing from Te, it's that she incredibly in tune with God. Let me explain. When we first looked at the place, at first I was we are gonna live here. Then the crap in my head comes flooding in. Blaa blla this! blaa blaa that! Anyways you get the picture. Lots of Crap. Te and I sat down and we talked for a bit about the whole thing. And just talking with her made me feel at ease. Becasue she knows that God is not gonna give us this apartment and le us fail at it. He will provide. So I had to take this lesson from Te and apply it quick becasue I had to hand ove the money for the rent and the deposit. But something happened when I handed the money over. I felt good. At first I was, "paying that much money to live...that's lame" but know I can't wait to pay the lady her $810 each month becasue it's our home now. And most of all that's what I wanted. To share a home with Tiffany.

Now that is not to say that that feeling won't sneak up again. but this time I know that God won't have us fail. SUPER SIZE GOD! I need to remember that. So please keep Te and I in your prayers as we embarke on the start of our journey together. Thanks.

P.S. - If anyone needs to get rid of some stuff, Te and I could use it. Thanks

Wedding Update #1

2008-05-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hello All. I was like, "what a better topic to blog about than the status of the wedding." Here is what we know so far is going to happen on November 15th.

1. Te and I are getting married (if all the following fall through we will get married at city hall...jk).
2. We are getting married at Northgate Community Church
3. Pastor Steven will marry us.
4. Lori is going to be taking our pictures

That is all really know for sure. I heard Tiffany got a wedding dress but I'm not supposed to see it. As for the cater, we want our favorite taqueria to cater La Playa. We know the owner and talked with him yesterday. He said that he will give us a deal of the food. We want to keep it simple: beans, rice, chicken, beef, torellas chips and salsa bar. I can't wait.

We've been having a hard time to find a place to have the wedding reception for 200 people. That was no typo. Most places we've looked at are way to much money for what they offer. Today we called Zion Church in Ripon and was told to come in on Tuesday and talk to the secretary. Then I called the Ripon Community Center contact and it was WAY TO MUCH MONEY. Then I called New Hope Church and I talked with my former youth paster, now the Senior Pastor Tim. I think it would be great if we can have it there. We seem to have a graps on everything except the reception. I want to be nice bu not havet give up my first born as payment. I would ask that everyone be in prayer for Te and I. That we can find the perfect place to have the reception. Te and I both belive in a SUPER SIZE GOD who is able to provide immensely more than we can imagine.

Circle of Life

2008-05-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

A blog post so soon you ask? Yes. Today was kind of a day off for me, although I had to make some tough decisions about an account with my buisness. It was pretty chill. Since it was my "day off", I was looking for something to read. I'm currently read Andy Stanly's, The Next Generation Leader, a great book. But, I had my laptop and the book was in the car. So decide to read a blog. I ended up reading some of the posts on our pastors blog from 2006. The ones I found most interesting were the ones when he would write about interviewing for with church and submitting resumes. Just the mere journey of him finally coming to a small town in the middle of California. It boggles my mind. It was this time last year that we were like Steven who? I think it was June 18th when he first preached here. Crazy!

I guess the point of the post is really for me. I've seen the journey of someone and the journey of this church. Seeing how in God's timing there was a collimation of the two. And how out of the blue, when we were the most discouraged, that God stepped in and provided. Amen, Amen, Amen.

A Continuous Fire That Started On A Hill

2008-05-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

I titled this blog, "A Continuous Fire That Started On A Hill". For me that's the feeling when you go to a conference or maybe a summer camp and you get really jazzed at what happened at that certain event. You are pumped! Now for all of us who have been in the Christian scene for a couple of years know this feeling. I can recall when I would go to summer camp when I was a wee lad. Old Oak Ranch is where I would go. And I remember when we would go and hear all these people speak and we would get pumped. And they would even warn us by saying things like, "when you get off the mountain, it will be hard..." and, "don't let the fire go out...".

Now we just got done with our Brethren District Conference. And for most of us, those ol' camp feeling come back. We get pumped! We had some really good people speak and we even had some AMEN shouts. It was really a good time. We talked about the future of the Brethren Church and talked about the new day. I love this stuff!!! Tonight Rickey was talking about if you can dream and not put God in a box, then God will respond. Super Size God. Again I love this stuff. I love to dream. I love to move foward! Now I know that I sit in the minority in this thinking, which is fine. But I feel that things are going to be different this time around. See before I felt like people were holding on to the past. Like Rickey said. But with the Brethren Church new mission, A New Day, I feel like this is a huge step foward. We need to engage and transform the people around us. It was so good.

One side note. I have never meet more sincere and honestly real followers of Christ. I've been around the christian block for...well my whole life. I think that a lot of churchs are getting stuck in some kind of bog. Again what I mentiond above. Unchanging. I feel so honored that to be apart of such a open minded body of christ. And the people who run the show in the background are so cool.

Now back to the original post. So, here we are. The conference is over and people are pumped. Aside from some of the meida fallouts. We are ready to move foward. How do we keep the fire blazing? How do we stay on the hill? It's one of those things that needs to on our minds at all time. We need to dream! And not small dreams. SUPER SIZE DREAMS. We get stuck with the mundaine and loss that connection thru all the hussel and bussel.

We need that continuous fire.

-Jesse

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2008-04-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here I am sitting at my laptop and about one hundred things are racing through my head. For those who are on planet Mars...Tiffany and I got engaged. Yeah, Yeah...It's about time. Trust me I've gotten that...lol. now the planning for the wedding, I feel it going really good. We have a lot of decisions already in motion...which is good. Now some ask, "Why wait so long" Yadaa, Yadaa, Yadaa. And the answer is, I can't answer that question. I knew it was something I had to do though. I got a message from God. No really! I asked God, oh some time ago, about what is the next step in life. What do I need to do next? Which piece to lat down? And like most cases, I got my answer real quick. Now usually when I get an answer that quick, it's because it's something that is really important. Like I should pay really close attention. Believe it or not, I even remember where I was when I asked God. It was on the Cache Creek backpacking trip. It was an, "ah ha!" moment.
Now like most people know, I can be really good a procrastinating. It only took 1 year after that to get around to buying a ring and asking. But like most patterns I find in my life, things happen for reasons. Timing. I knew that if I asked her then, Te and I would not be in the right place. That was B.S. ("Before Steven") came to California. Te and I own our relationship because of him.
So here I am only 2 weeks and 3days after asking Tiffany to marry me and I'm trying not to freak out. I know during this time I am going to be stretched, broken and molded and then multiply that by like 20 times. But I have faith that God's timing is sovereign. And that is something I need to reprogram. And I'm no programmer. Luckily I know who created the program. With me and Him going through all the lines of code and checking all the syntax errors. I know we will make it trough.

And Te and I will live happily ever after

I ate way to much food!!!

2008-02-23T00:15:00.000-08:00

Well I went against miss conventional wisdom and ate a huge Thanksgiving size meal at 11:35ish P.M.

Now it was really good, especially the harvest grain and nut pancakes. YUM!

But I feel really, really, really full.

I would not wish this feeling on my worst foe.

I think I need to stay up a little while longer just to help with digestion.

Wish me luck.

I'll see you all tomorrow, lest my stomach explodes.

God....Creator....Father....Friend

2008-02-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

I was looking at a friends, Big Nick, myspace today . He has an awesome video of a guy named Aaron Weiss. If you don't know who Aaron Weiss is, he is the lead singer of the band mewithoutyou. Now if you don't know, mewithoutyou is one of my favorite bands. In the movie, I like what he has to say about relationships and how we need to find love in God and not in people. And also an idea of who God is. Enjoy

Misinformed People Bug Me

2008-01-30T23:54:00.000-08:00

My tolerance for people who talk out of there butt is usually high, but this time I could not help myself. It all started when I went to Staples to buy a calculator. I went to the area where the calculators where being displayed at. While browsing, I overheard, “Tech Talk”; so I couldn’t help myself but eavesdrop. When I found the calculator I wanted, the lady was like, “I’ll have to find it in the back. I’ll b right back.” Right then I knew that I should have just walked away. Instead I stayed and tried to grin and bear the sales person conversation.

Let me set it up for you, there’s the buyer and the sales person. The buyer is trying to figure out which computer buy. There are two models on sale. The sales person is trying to clarify the differences between the two and is basically trying to sell this person CRAP. The problem was that the sales person obviously had no real computer background, because he kept referencing an Intel site to define what processor does what. He’s like Vista NEEDS 3 Gigs of RAM and I was really…3Gigs? He was totally saying things that were just not true.

Now let me tell you I tried to hold my tongue, but I hate seeing people getting the once over by misinformed people (see I can restrain myself...lol). I saw that he was having a problem with his “solid” Vista computer and I was , “Are you trying to find the system specs?” He said, “No” and continued to explain what he was trying to do. At this point, the buyer asks me which computer I would choose. I was thinking, “I wouldn’t touch this with a million mile pole”( they were that bad). I then I asked him, “What do you plan on doing with the computer: web browsing, email, productivity or gaming?” He was, “yeah all of those.” I got the feeling he just wanted to buy a computer that would not be a dinosaur in 6 months. I then compared specs on both computers, which thosevdidn’t make any sense. It was like someone stuffed random parts in a cheap shell. One was a Pentium D and one was a Core 2 Duo. Both “dual core” processors. I went on to mention that both are dual core. And the sales person was, “No, Pentium D is Hyper Threaded” At that point I was……hrmm. And the sales person went on to spout off about stability and other things that did not make sense. Again all this happened while the lady was finding the calculator. I felt like saying, “DON’T LISTEN TO THIS GUY!!!(as if the caps does not show my frustration)”Here’s my card and just call me.” But I felt that would have been unprofessional since the sales person was right there chatting away. Now if sales person left to find something then, GAME ON!! Now, being that I wasted too much time, I excused myself, bought the calculator and left. When I left I was all worked up. I was like why? And after thinking for a bit, it’s because I take a huge amount of pride in what I do. It’s an artwork...of sorts. And I just hate seeing people getting taken advantage of.

So there it is, my Staples experience. Enjoy.

Poison Ivy

2008-01-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

What I thought was a bug bite has now turned into Poison Ivy. At first I thought I got bit by a bug in my bed, but then a second bite showed up. I was like how can the same bug bite twice one two separate nights. I knew something was wrong when the bites started getting bigger and started to bubble. Now I have never had poison anything so I had no clue. And then I remembered a Mythbusters episode about poison Ivy and how it can take up to a week to show up. Well last week I went to Henry Coe State Park for a backpacking trip. The oils must have got on my cloths then transfered to my arm because I was covered the whole time. So tonight I went down stairs to get some bandaids and my Mom insisted on looking at the bite. She was like, "That posion ivy!" and insisted on going to her magical medicinal book to find a wholesome remedy. Well we found one that consisted of rubbing alcohol and white vinegar. Now..I smell like Easter egg coloring and my arm itch. But I guess it takes 10 days to get better. So until then bring your nose plugs.

-Seacrest Out

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-13T22:37:00.001-08:00

mood: still optimistic
listen to: still listening to Vineyard Music, More Than Ever

Usually these updates aren't little. They sometimes expand into what seems like a novel.

I'll try and keep it short.

Well for the appetizer, well start with me moving back my parents. Now it's not as bad as it might sound. I get my own spacious room, with a TV. Who can complain. I seem to have a hard time finding a place to stay. First I was living with my girlfriends family. Then then church parsonage. When we got a new pastor I had to leave. That time was fun time(that was sarcastic). It reminds me of Mosses. How God gave him a rather laid out plan, and Mosses, still questioned God. That is the story of my life. When things happen, like moving, and not knowing where you are going. I start to question, "God where are you?!?". But almost as soon as I ask the question, I seem to get an automated response from God. And the response is similar to how god responded to Mosses, "I will be with you". STOP FREAKING OUT!!! That was another response that I would get. I would also get, "I provide you with all these things: food, clothing, work and friends. Will I just leave you hanging?" Then I start to calm down and holy smoke, things work out. So I moved into a house with an older lady from the church. And the answer is no to the sponge bath! And it was cool there. then I remember praying, asking God to provide some kind of housing before the end of the year. I should really think before I ask, because that exact thing happened. But not how I thought. God is awesome that way. I get a call and is the lady and she said I had to move out because of family drama. So if you could imagine, it's like five days before Christmas and I need to get out of there. So I started to freak out again, not nearly as bad as last time. But freak out non the less. I was in a state of, " where the heck do I go?" So here we have it, I need to get out of there and no place to go. I knew I could go back to the one place I thought I would never go back...my parents house. It was my only choice trust me. So I called my mom and to say the least, was elated to have her prodigal son home again.."for a season", as she puts it. And here I am, writing from my old room, minus the two other bros I shared it with.

Like I said before, it's really not that bad. The relationship between my parents and I has matured. They know this is only temporary, and that I need my space. Which I appreciate. It's almost better than where I lived before. As much as I tried running from this place, I think that after 6 years I am here for a reason. To maybe mend somethings. It's not clear as of right now, but I'm positive that I will gain a clear understating of why I'm here.

Please keep me in your prayers.

Till Next Post,

-Jesse

A Fresh Start

2008-01-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

mood: optimistic
listening to: Vineyard Music, More Than Ever

Welcome. Since everyone one I know has a Blog, I thought I might try and give this a shoot again. I want this to be a place to where I can be a little vulnerable, to maybe expose more of myself. For you, the reader, to get a glimps into my head. To view the snap shoot of my life at any given time. And last, for me to look back and see how my life and beliefs change. To see just what kind of a journey I can get myself into. To see where God is guiding me. For you to see my valleys and mountains. This will be a prayerful expedition in which we will embark on.

Let jump together!!!