On Top of a Mountain

One of the highlights of being back in Cali this summer has been the opportunity to get out camping and hiking at elevation! The Midwest is fun and I enjoy getting out to Forest Park and state parks around, but they do not have much going on for getting up above everything and looking out over it. On Saturday morning, after a great night at an Angels game with Alan, I went with the college group from Friends Church Yorba Linda (where my brother-in-law serves as pastor) to hike up Mount Baldy. In just a 45 minute drive from Orange we were at 6,000 feet positioned to hike 4 miles and climb another 4,000 to get to the top of the mountain. I got excited to see snow at the top that I would hike to and got excited for the view I would see on the summit.

After a couple hours hiking with Nick Alvarez and pushing my legs on the climb I reached the top and felt a great sense of joy and satisfaction in the climb and the view from up there. The marine layer, or June gloom, covered the LA area with a couple peaks sticking out through it and the eastern mountain range shining clearly. Here's a shot of Krista, Aaron, and I at the top.



The trail was steep and the way down a bit painful, but it was awesome to get up high and get a perspective on everything below. The last couple weeks at Harbor have been a chance for me to get away and get a big picture view of what I have learned over the last couple years at Covenant and where God is leading me. My meetings with the various site pastors of Harbor, have been excellent and their questions have helped me reflect on my strengths, gifts, and vision for ministry. Just this morning I had a great conversation with an old friend from Cal Poly, Danny Kim, and he encouraged me a lot as we talked about Strengths Finder and what is important for me in being effective and content in ministry. We also talked about the need to fit volunteers within the church with the areas of leadership and positions they take. The conversation was extremely encouraging and I am thankful for the time with Danny and even the opportunity to be in San Diego serving with Harbor.

This came after a triple header of Harbor services yesterday with meetings or updates at each, Harbor Mira Mesa, Harbor North County, and Harbor Uptown...lots of Harbor, lots of processing, and lots of driving along the beach between them!

2 weeks in and loving Harbor and San Diego!

Angels in the Playoffs

On Friday night I went with my dad to the Angels playoff game and saw an awesome comeback from a 4-0 and 5-1 deficit before K-Rod gave up a game-winning homer in the 9th to crush all the momentum and spirit of the fans. I got an email from a guy that I watched yesterdays stomach churning game with (which the Angels pulled out in the 12th) which gave Boston's perspective on the Angels.

Choke's on California Again



If the Halos win tonight, though, they can take the series back to Anaheim for one decisive game!

Josh Hamilton, Proof that Hope is Never Lost

Did anybody watch the home run derby last night? Did you see Josh Hamilton pounding the ball out of Yankee Stadium, hitting 13 homers in a row?

Before last night all I knew about him was that he had the lead in RBIs for the AL and that he had hit a walkoff homerun against the Angels last week. After last night I couldn't help but check out his story and read a few articles about him, 'I'm proof that hope is never lost'

Check out the article where he talks about dreams battling Satan with a bat on his own and then with Jesus on his side. "This devil seemed unbeatable; I couldn't knock him out. But just when I felt like giving up, I felt a presence by my side. I turned my head and saw Jesus, battling alongside me. We kept fighting, and I was filled with strength. The devil didn't stand a chance."

All this coming from a man that spent 3 years careening down into an endless tunnel as a crack addict, drug user, and a man kicked out of baseball for his substance abuse. He then took the steps he needed to have a man keep him accountable, hold his money, and run from any temptation he faced and remove any thoughts that Satan put into his mind.

The end of the article is epic, a story of him talking with a boy after a game.

"But there is one story that sticks with me, so much so that I think of it every day. I was driving out of the players' parking lot at Great American Ball Park after a game in May, with Katie and our two girls. There's always a group of fans standing at the curb, hoping to get autographs, and I stop to sign as many as I can.

And on this particular night, a little boy of about 9 or 10, wearing a Reds cap, handed me a pen and something to sign. Nothing unusual there, but as I was writing the boy said, "Josh, you're my savior."

This stopped me. I looked at him and said, "Well, thank you. Do you know who my savior is?"

He thought for a minute. I could see the gears turning. Finally, he smiled and blurted out, "Jesus Christ." He said it like he'd just come up with the answer to a test. "That's exactly right," I said.

You see, I may not know how I got here from there, but every day I get a better understanding of why."

Here is the video from last night,

Who could have thought his dream of playing in a home run derby would ever happen?

Here is one more quote from another article that made me think,

"In the dream, though, he never saw himself actually swinging the bat. He remembers only being interviewed afterward on ESPN, and describing how he'd gotten to this miraculous point, through the power and the grace of God.

But now, here he was, 2½ long years later, and he got to find out how it all turned out. How beautiful was that? "

What do you think about Josh Hamilton?

I Love the Angels

Last week in college group we talked about the different things in life that bring us joy as we looked at Philippians 4 and when I talked about joy and happiness I immediately thought of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (even though I'm not a big fan of their "LA" move). My dad, uncles, cousins and I love to watch baseball and especially the Angels and Cardinals. After Fall of 2002 I got the World Series DVD as a gift from my parents and proceeded to watch it about a dozen times over my Christmas break from High School.


I remember watching Spiezio's 3-run homer in game 6 that brought the Angels back into the game. Then I had the thrill of a lifetime of going out to Game 7 with my dad and seeing the Angels win their first ever World Series.

It is amazing how tied you can get to a sports team and the desire to see them do well. Last night they no-hit the Dodgers for 8 innings and still lost, but they won today. Check out their website, one of my top visited sites, Angels Do you follow a sports team "religiously"? Which team?